Big Mama watched them disappear into the bustling crowd beyond the tavern. "They're going to make an absolutely perfect couple."
Annie pouted dramatically. "No fair! He's destined to be mine!"
Big Mama rolled her eyes with maternal patience. "Sure, sure. Now get back to work, girl—we have a full evening shift ahead of us."
"NOOO~ nya! I just want to cuddle with Drake instead!"
Big Mama grabbed Annie by her fluffy tail and began dragging her back toward the kitchen.
"Work first, romance later."
"MY PRECIOUS TAIL~!" Annie clawed desperately at the wooden floor.
"DRAAAAAKE! COME RESCUE MEEEEE~!"
Her plaintive cries echoed through the tavern as the door swung shut behind them.
---
Meanwhile, in the bustling streets of the kingdom...
Elsa maintained her grip on Drake's arm, her expression visibly flustered. Fluffbun floated serenely beside them like an ethereal companion, observing the world with cosmic curiosity.
Drake raised an eyebrow with growing amusement. "Uh, Elsa? You can release me now."
"Oh!" Elsa blinked, immediately dropping his arm as if it had burst into flames. "I'm so sorry!"
"No harm done," Drake said, dusting off his sleeve with practiced nonchalance. "But what exactly has you so worked up?"
Elsa's mind flashed back to Annie's provocative challenge: *"If you don't hurry up and claim him properly, I'll steal him away~ nya."*
"Nothing whatsoever!" Elsa puffed out her cheeks and spun away defensively.
*Talk about being painfully obvious,* Drake thought, fighting back a knowing smirk.
"Stop staring at me like that and let's keep moving," Elsa snapped without turning around.
"Move where, exactly? You keep saying 'let's go' but haven't actually specified a destination."
Elsa froze mid-step. *Wait... where exactly am I taking him? I didn't think this through at all.*
"Cat got your tongue?" Drake asked with barely contained amusement.
"I'm formulating a plan," Elsa said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
*Sometimes I genuinely wonder if I'll ever understand this girl,* Drake sighed internally.
Elsa suddenly brightened like a light bulb activating. "Perfect! I'll reserve you a room at the finest inn in the kingdom!"
"WHAT?!" Drake's voice cracked. "An inn?!"
"Absolutely! And not just any ordinary inn—the most luxurious establishment in the entire Sidonian Kingdom!" Elsa proudly brandished her MirrorNet, fingers dancing across the crystalline surface. "Oh look, one premium room remaining—perfect!"
She tapped the screen with triumphant flourish. "Done! Reservation confirmed!"
Drake's jaw practically unhinged. *That was incredibly fast... it's like she just booked a five-star hotel through some kind of fantasy travel app...*
"What's wrong? Not satisfied with my choice? Should I book somewhere even more expensive?" Elsa teased with growing confidence.
Drake's expression shifted to something dangerously charming. "Actually, I was thinking... I'd much rather sleep in your bed instead."
Elsa's cheeks erupted in crimson. "R-Really?!"
"Of course. I feel completely safe around you, unlike some creepy inn filled with strangers. I want your warm, protective arms wrapped around me as I drift off to sleep..." he said, placing a hand over his heart with soap opera-level dramatics.
Elsa's blush vanished instantly, replaced by narrowed eyes.
*Poke!*
"GAH! MY EYES!" Drake stumbled backward, clutching his face.
"Why did you assault my vision?!" he protested.
Elsa raised a smugly superior eyebrow. "Need I remind you that I'm nobility?"
"Oh right... you did mention that prestigious lineage. But what's the actual problem here?"
Elsa grabbed his ear and twisted with surgical precision. "Use that supposedly functional brain of yours! I've been absent for three entire years, and I suddenly reappear after dark with a strange, perverted boy in tow? What exactly do you think my parents' reaction will be?!"
"Okay, okay, I understand completely! Please release my ear!"
*Yeah, she makes an excellent point,* Drake admitted internally, rubbing his abused appendage. *Imagine me casually strolling up to her family estate, meeting her noble parents...*
**[In Drake's Vivid Imagination...]**
*Drake stands nervously in an opulent parlor. Elsa's father—a towering, intimidating man with an elaborate mustache and gleaming golden armor—glares at him with murderous intent.*
*"Who is this... COMMONER?! Guards! Execute this peasant immediately!"*
*Elsa's elegant mother dramatically faints onto a velvet couch. "Oh heavens! A lowborn wretch has contaminated my precious daughter!"*
*Armored guards charge forward with gleaming spears while Drake screams in cinematic slow motion.*
**[End Imagination]**
*Yeah... absolutely not. Inn it is,* Drake concluded with a shudder.
"Still want to reconsider my generous offer?" Elsa asked with saccharine sweetness.
Drake straightened with renewed determination. "Nope! I'm perfectly content with your original plan!"
"Excellent. I'll escort you there before heading home to face my father. I'm already running embarrassingly late, and knowing his temperament, he's probably working himself into a legendary fury."
"Fathers... they're always complicated when it comes to their precious daughters," Drake muttered philosophically.
Suddenly—
"HELP ME! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! HE STOLE MY BAG!"
An elderly woman's desperate cry shattered the peaceful evening atmosphere.
Elsa and Drake whipped around in unison. A masked figure in full black combat gear sprinted through the crowded marketplace, clutching a leather handbag in one hand and a wicked crimson dagger in the other.
"Haha! Like taking candy from a helpless baby!" the bandit laughed maniacally, shouldering innocent bystanders aside with ruthless efficiency.
Cart owners and concerned shopkeepers immediately gave chase. "Stop that thief!"
The bandit reached the pursuing crowd, then—
*FWOOSH!*
*THUD!*
—executed a perfect acrobatic flip over their heads, leaving his pursuers tangled in a heap of limbs and scattered groceries.
"Pathetically easy," he scoffed with obvious disdain.
Elsa's emerald eyes hardened with righteous fury. "I need to stop him immediately."
Phoenix-armored kingdom guards materialized from side streets, forming a defensive barrier across his escape route.
"Surrender now! Return the stolen property and submit to arrest!" the squad captain commanded with military authority.
The bandit threw back his head and laughed. "Please. Shiny armor doesn't make you remotely intimidating."
"You arrogant little—!" The captain charged forward, his enchanted blade singing through the air.
*CLANG!*
The bandit flowed like water around the strike, countering with a devastating spinning kick—
*WHAM!*
—that launched the armored officer directly into a fruit vendor's cart.
*CRASH!*
Shocked gasps rippled through the assembled crowd.
*He's incredibly fast... genuinely skilled,* Drake observed with growing respect. *Should I intervene? But if I use my pistols, I might expose myself to unwanted scrutiny... testing... dissection... yeah, definitely not worth the risk.*
"Take him down!" the remaining knights shouted, coordinating a synchronized assault.
*CLANG! CLANG! SPARK!*
The bandit danced between their flashing blades like a deadly phantom, parrying strikes with his crimson dagger while maintaining perfect balance.
"Seriously? All this effort for one simple thief? You people are absolutely pathetic," he mocked, then delivered a bone-crushing punch to the nearest knight's jaw—
*BAM!*
—sending the armored figure crashing into his approaching comrades.
A brave merchant attempted to grapple the bandit from behind. "Got you now!"
"Do you really think so?"
*WHOOSH!*
The bandit swept the man's legs with fluid precision, then—
*SWIRL—TOSS!*
—hurled him like a sack of grain directly into the regrouping knights.
*CRASH! BOOM!*
"Well, that was moderately entertaining! Farewell, losers!" the bandit declared, executing another graceful flip over the pile of groaning guards.
*He's heading directly toward us,* Drake realized with crystal clarity. *If I don't act now...*
He raised his hand with growing resolve. "I have no choice. Twin Pistols of Midnight Howl, come to—"
"FLUFFBUN—PHASE SHIFT ACTIVATION!!"
Elsa's commanding shout cut through his incantation like a blade.
Fluffbun squeaked adorably and began spinning in mid-air, its celestial form dissolving into pure luminous energy. The ribbon-like light spiraled gracefully into Elsa's outstretched palm, solidifying into her magnificent silver-blue staff. The sapphire gem at its apex pulsed with otherworldly power.
*Incredible. So that's how her Echoform transformation actually works... absolutely mesmerizing,* Drake stared in genuine awe.
The bandit barreled through the panicking crowd like a battering ram. "Clear the path, you worthless sheep!"
Elsa raised her staff high, emerald eyes blazing with mystical energy.
"BEHOLD—FROSTFANG BURST!"
*WHOOOOSH!!*
A devastating wave of glacial energy erupted from the staff's crystal focus, instantly freezing the cobblestone street ahead in a sheet of treacherous ice.
"Out of my—WHOA!"
*SLIIIIP—BOOM!*
The bandit's confident sprint became an ungraceful slide, ending in a spectacular face-first collision with the frozen pavement.
Elsa immediately pressed her advantage, staff crackling with residual frost magic.
*SWING!*
The bandit rolled desperately aside just as her weapon *SLAMMED* into the stone where his head had been, leaving spider-web cracks in the ancient cobbles.
He shoved Elsa backward and resumed his escape—charging directly toward Drake's position.
*Well. Here we go.*
"Haha! Look at this pretty boy, frozen stiff with terror! I absolutely despise pampered nobles—guess I'll gut you first!"
The bandit lunged forward, crimson dagger aimed at Drake's heart—
*SWISH!*
But Drake's enhanced reflexes kicked into overdrive.
*Now.*
*SWOOSH!*
He ducked under the lethal strike with liquid grace.
"What the—?!" the bandit gasped in shock.
*THUD—FWOOOSH!*
Drake spun behind his opponent with supernatural speed, captured the extended dagger arm, twisted it with precise leverage, and executed a perfect shoulder throw that would make martial arts masters weep with envy.
*BOOOOM!*
The bandit's body impacted the cobblestones with earth-shaking force—pavement cracking, eyes rolling back, consciousness departing like a fleeing spirit.
"Oops... sometimes I forget about my enhanced physical capabilities," Drake muttered, crouching beside the motionless figure. He pressed two fingers against the bandit's neck, checking for a pulse.
*Steady heartbeat... good.*
"Relief—he's still breathing."
The gathered crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
"He did it!"
"Took him down like it was absolutely nothing!"
"Even the elite Solar Knights couldn't touch that criminal!"
The elderly victim hobbled forward with tears of gratitude streaming down her weathered cheeks. "That's my precious bag!"
Drake smiled warmly, retrieving the leather satchel with gentle care. "I believe this belongs to you, ma'am."
"Oh, bless your noble heart, young man!" she said, enveloping him in a surprisingly strong embrace.
The crowd's enthusiasm reached fever pitch.
"You're absolutely incredible!"
"Marry me!"
"No, choose me instead!"
"Ladies, please—everyone remain calm!" Drake waved diplomatically, his cheeks twitching with barely suppressed amusement.
Elsa stood several paces away, arms crossed, her staff still radiating faint mystical energy as she studied Drake with laser-focused intensity.
*I knew he wasn't ordinary... but now I absolutely must know the truth. Who exactly are you, Drake Lorenzo? And what other secrets are you hiding behind that charming smile?*