Chapter 622: Book 5: Chapter 221: Wedding Proposal

“Our true name is Aristides Castro G Morris Brooklyn Washington George I. We are the lord of this empire, the Shadow Keeper, the Guardian of the World, the Terminator of Eternal Time and Space…”

“Enough already, are you serious?”

The teenager stood tall with hands on hips, radiating confidence as he declared, “Of course! This name will surely spread to every corner of this world in the future.”

“Sheesh…”

Luna clutched her forehead, starting to wonder if this behavior stemmed from a subconscious need for self-preservation or if he simply had a terrible case of Eighth Grade Syndrome—a new term learned from her reading.

“Just tell me your real name…”

“Our true name is Aristides-…”

“Enough!”

Luna pulled out a piece of grilled steak from her storage ring expressionlessly, filling the air with its aroma. After spending so much time with Lilith, she had developed the habit of storing food.

The scent of the beef quickly overpowered the camphor tree’s fragrance, and the teenager’s attention snapped to it. Drool began to trickle down from the corners of his mouth.

“Tell me your real name, and this is yours.” Luna waved the steak in front of his eyes.

“Tadashi! My name is Tadashi.”

With that, the boy snatched the steak from her hands and began to wolf it down. Occasionally, he choked on the beef, making Luna’s eyelids twitch in concern. She feared that he might choke to death just when he finally had a decent meal after years of hardship.

Fortunately, he produced a crumpled mineral water bottle—recycled many times and filled with clean water from the park’s drinking fountain. He tilted his head back and gulped it down to dislodge the meat chunk stuck in his throat.

It seemed like it had been a long time since he’d eaten meat.

Luna tilted her head and watched him.

“How do you spell Tadashi? Does it begin with a T or a D?”

“It’z T… foo twee…”

With his mouth full, Tadashi’s speech was a bit slurred. Fortunately, Luna’s automatic translation function was powerful enough for her to understand him.

“T for tree huh…? So you are literate. Have you attended school?”

“No, but someone taught me.”

“The guy you call Old Shen?”

“Mhm.”

“I see.”

Luna nodded, realizing that in a way, Tadashi was lucky. Despite being reduced to a beggar, he had met people who were kind to him. She couldn’t help but think of how many others had fallen to such depths only to feel the world’s cruelty.

“Tadashi… your name is just as strange as Jeorgetown City.”

After a moment’s thought, Luna dismissed the idea; after all, the two names only sounded similar. This world had many homophones; Jeorge and Tadashi might not necessarily be connected.

“What is thy name?” Tadashi asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and wearing a satisfied look on his face.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Thou hast given us such a delicious delicacy; it would be rude not to know thy name.”

“You don’t need to know. We’re just casual acquaintances,” Luna replied, waving her hand dismissively.

“Thy name,” Tadashi insisted, looking at her seriously.

“Fine, my name is Luna. Luna Heisse,” she replied exasperatedly.

“Heisse? What does it mean?”

“Heisse as in the cereals harvested in autumn. Luna as in the moon.”

Tadashi raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips.

“What’s wrong?”

“We do not fancy thy last name.”

Luna snorted in amused anger. “Ha, bold of you to say that, but why?”

“Because…” Tadashi took out a twig and began sketching on the ground. “Luna starts with an L and Tadashi starts with a T. Old Shen told us that L comes before T alphabetically.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Luna frowned, struggling to understand the teenager’s reasoning.

“The difference between being second or first in the world!” Tadashi replied seriously.

“Why do We have to come second after anyone?! We are the lord of this vast empire, the guardian of light, and the keeper of darkness. Shouldn’t We be the first?!”

“Huh?” Luna couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a bit far-fetched, isn’t it? There are many other people with names that begin with alphabets before L!”

Tadashi pouted and huffed, “We just don’t like it.”

“At your age, you need to look on the bright side, or you’ll suffocate yourself with all that negativity.” Luna’s initial distaste for the teenager had faded as she conversed with the goofy boy. She sat up from the bench, leaned over, and playfully knocked him on the head.

As she moved from the shade of the trees into the moonlight, the pale clouds parted, allowing a gentle brightness to envelop the world. The moonlight illuminated Luna’s face. Although she hadn’t been taking care of her skin, it was still strikingly beautiful.

Tadashi froze, captivated by her true beauty for the first time, unable to blink as he processed the sight.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Luna wiped her cheek and looked at her fingers. She realized she hadn’t washed her face in two days; in the past, she would never have dared to go out looking so disheveled.

Self-doubt crept in, and she thought she must look dirty.

But Tadashi suddenly stood up in his “castle”. He stepped out and moved to stand before Luna, directly in the spot where the brightest moonlight shone upon him.

In that moment, Luna felt a strange sense of awe; the teenager reminded her of a knight bathed in moonlight.

“What are you doing?” Luna was quite confused yet curious to see what the teenager—whose mind seemed to work differently than the rest of the world—would do next.

Tadashi took a deep breath, his expression turning serious.

Luna also put up her guard.

“Lady Luna Heisse.”

“Hmm?” A twinge of discomfort hit her.

Without warning, Tadashi dropped to one knee and fished out what appeared to be the pull tab of a soda can he had cherished for a long time.

“Will thy marry Us and be Our supreme consort?”

“Scram,” Luna rebuffed him without hesitation, her face as dark as a frying pan.

“Please, Lady Luna, consider this. Although We can only offer this crude ring for now, We promise to present the most gorgeous ring in the world to thee in time,” Tadashi said earnestly.

I’m impressed that you are aware that your ring is “crude”!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

She’d expected something strange from him, but this was beyond what she imagined. Now, she was so embarrassed she didn’t know what expression to wear on her face and seriously considered just killing him and finding a nearby spot to bury him.

“Get out of my sight!”

“What will it take for thee to give thy hand in marriage?”

“Nothing! Now, scram!”

“What a shame. We thought sincerity could touch thy heart…”

“Damn…” Luna cursed, unable to bear this any longer.

“Look behind you!” she suddenly exclaimed.

“Huh?” Tadashi instinctively followed the direction of her finger and glanced back, seeing nothing. But when he turned back, Luna had already vanished.

“Hm? Where did Lady Luna go?” Instead of being shocked, Tadashi’s excitement grew. “Wow, she runs really fast! We didn’t expect Lady Luna to have such impressive skills. She truly deserves to be Our future consort. Just wait—We’ll definitely win thy heart with sincerity!”

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