Chapter 111: Chapter 110: A Reunion Hug is Etiquette...?

"Is that so..."

After hearing what Pascal said, Jon paused for a moment. He subconsciously glanced down at his Armor, which was covered in snow and the marks of battle. A thin layer of frost was slowly melting on its surface, leaving behind wet streaks.

Reya wanted to see him, and how could he not want to see her?

He let out an almost imperceptible sigh and turned to look at Big Mimi.

"You stay here. Someone will bring you food, but if you dare bite anyone, you know the consequences."

As he spoke, he shook his fist as a warning.

"GRRR..."

The pure-white manticore let out a low growl in response, then lay down, tucking its heavy paws underneath itself in a cat-like loaf to show how well-behaved it was.

Seeing this, Jon nodded, called out to the astonished young steward, and walked into the trading post.

The familiar warmth and the faint scent of incense seemed to wash away some of the weariness and dust from his long journey.

The young man strode confidently through the corridor and up the stairs.

However, just as he stepped onto the thick carpet of the second-floor corridor, he saw an unexpected figure outside the familiar, ornately carved wooden door at the far end.

It was Reya.

Her slender frame was wrapped in a thick, velvety robe, the voluminous fabric nearly swallowing her whole and making her already pale cheeks seem all the more delicate.

Her signature fiery red hair had lost its usual flamboyant vitality, lying loosely over her shoulders with a few damp strands stuck to her temples.

She was gripping the doorframe so tightly her knuckles had turned white, clearly struggling to keep herself standing—yet her emerald-green eyes were astonishingly bright.

"Mr. Jon!"

The girl’s voice was a little hoarse, but filled with unconcealed delight.

She tried to take a small step forward, but her unsteady legs made her sway visibly.

Jon’s brow furrowed instantly. He shot forward in a single bound, catching her arm just before she could fall, his voice tinged with reproach.

"You’re being reckless!"

"Who told you to get out of bed? Didn’t Mr. Ingram tell you that you need to rest?"

Before he could finish, his gaze shifted past Reya’s shoulder to the room beyond.

The room was not empty.

Rosalind stood silently to one side of the door like a silent shadow, her silver eyes as tranquil as still water.

Joyina, meanwhile, leaned against the other side of the doorframe with her arms crossed, a subtle smile on her face that was a mixture of knowing amusement and eager anticipation.

But Reya paid no mind to Jon’s scolding.

Instead of steadying herself with his support, she leaned forward slightly, opening her arms toward him like a child asking for candy.

"A hug."

Her voice was quiet yet remarkably clear, with a faint, almost imperceptible tremble.

"Just one, Mr. Jon... A reunion hug is a perfectly formal piece of etiquette!"

This sudden request made Jon freeze.

’A reunion hug etiquette? I’ve never heard of such a thing, okay?’

’This girl probably just made it up...’

’But... should I refuse?’

Jon looked down at the girl before him.

She was looking up at him, her emerald eyes filled with a near-obstinate persistence and an astonishingly frank desire.

’Her feelings are so direct and fervent... can I really refuse her...’

’...after she was the ’damsel saving the hero’?’

After a brief standoff, someone’s resolve finally wavered.

’I’ll just treat it as taking care of an injured person...’

Jon sighed inwardly and muttered in resignation.

"I really don’t know what to do with you... At least let me change my clothes first, right? This stuff is hard. Won’t it be uncomfortable for you?"

He tried to use the discomfort of his armor as a final "shield."

However, not only did Reya not back down, but she leaned forward a little more, her slender fingertips almost touching the edge of his cold Armor.

She shook her head slightly, her red hair swaying with the movement. Her stubbornness was tinged with a soft, almost coquettish quality.

"No! I want it now! Mr. Jon, just one hug..."

That soft, slightly nasal tone, combined with her cute face, pale but tinged with a feverish blush, sent a jolt through Jon.

Who could have imagined the majestic Flame-haired Princess acting so coquettishly?

Even if she was still in her "younger form" and didn’t possess her future majesty, this was still way too potent!

"PFFT—"

A stifled chuckle finally came from the side.

Jon’s head snapped up like a tiger’s, ready to see who was so bold.

Joyina quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but her crinkled eyes and trembling shoulders completely betrayed her schadenfreude.

She shook her head as she laughed, clearly finding the scene of the "strong Warrior being wrapped around a frail girl’s finger" incredibly amusing.

Rosalind, on the other hand, wasn’t laughing. Her expression barely changed, but a soft warmth flowed through her silver-gray eyes.

Caught between their two gazes, with a stubborn "little trouble" in his arms demanding a hug, Jon took a deep breath and closed his eyes in resignation.

When he opened them again, his expression had returned to its usual calm.

"Fine, fine, fine, a hug it is..."

He spoke quickly, no longer hesitating, his movements crisp and decisive.

He bent down slightly, slid one arm around the girl’s delicate back and the other under her knees, and with a slight lift, Reya’s light body was instantly off the ground—it was a princess carry!

"Ah!"

A short, involuntary gasp escaped Reya’s lips.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness and the intimate contact of "being swept into the arms of the one she adored" made all the girl’s courage evaporate in an instant.

It felt as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her cheeks and the tips of her ears, turning her skin, once pale from weakness, bright red in a flash.

She almost instinctively buried her burning cheeks in Jon’s chest.

The cold touch of the armor made her shudder again, and she curled up, leaving only the soft tip of one ear, as red as a drop of blood, exposed to the air.

’Mr. Jon... how... how could he do this?’

She had indeed wanted to use this reunion as a chance to ask for a hug, but she had never imagined this kind of "hug"!

In that moment, she could even feel her own heartbeat thundering in her ears!

Jon, meanwhile, glanced down at the girl in his arms who had instantly transformed into an "ostrich." Seeing her bright red ears and shy demeanor, a stark contrast to her imperious and stubborn demand for a hug just moments before, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

’As a man, what’s there for me to be afraid of in a situation like this?’

’As long as I’m not the one who’s embarrassed, someone else will be!’

’She’s just a little girl. It’s far too early for her to think she can get the best of me.’

But in front of Rosalind and Joyina, he ultimately refrained from laughing out loud. He simply stared straight ahead and strode into the girl’s warm, bright room.

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