This day, the Peace Festival in Elf Country had begun.
Shane and Luoqi took to the streets and discovered that the whole of Elf Country had been decorated beautifully, teeming with people, lively beyond measure.
This atmosphere, compared to when Shane first arrived in Elf Country, was undoubtedly much diminished.
Back then, Elf Country was tranquil, peaceful, dreamy, beautiful—like a utopia that gave one the impression of entering a Magical Forest.
Now, Elf Country had transformed completely into a bustling festival scene, not only filled with stalls but also crowded with people from all around the world, no longer just elves.
Frankly, Shane felt rather uncomfortable.
The reason was simple.
"Isn’t that Count Beizut of Mitra Kingdom?"
"He really got invited to Elf Country."
"Even though he’s a man, being able to freely come and go in Elf Country is truly a rare sight."
"One can only say, he is indeed favored by the Dragon Demon."
"The fiancé of the Kingdom Treasure, impressive."
Chuckles and teasing comments like these continuously drifted from nearby, giving Shane the urge to flee.
Luoqi walked beside Shane, and while surveying her surroundings, she casually dropped a comment, intentionally or not.
"With such a bustling festival, it seems you’re the only man here, our Count Beizut."
Luoqi’s deliberately serious comment gave Shane the impulse to bury his head.
On closer inspection, although there were many people of other races in Elf Country at that moment, as Luoqi had said, they were all female.
Meaning, in this lively Elf Country, Shane had become the sole man.
Women were casting him looks filled with interest and murmuring chuckling remarks as they saw him, making Shane feel like he was on pins and needles.
It was no longer like entering the Daughter country, but rather like entering a girls’ school, surrounded and observed by cloistered ladies of deep courtyards who had been secluded for who knows how long.
Of course, that was not the main point.
The main point was that the attitudes of the elves passing by had also changed toward Shane.
"Look look, that alien male is walking down the street."
"I heard he not only gained the recognition of the Nuadra Goddess but also helped us annihilate our archenemy’s Demon Spirit."
"In order to help us annihilate the Demon Spirit, he even allowed the Evil God beside him to act, turning the whole Taiger Forest into an Evil Land."
"That’s kind of scary..."
"But I think he’s really amazing..."
"He seems different from the men our elders talked about..."
"He isn’t looking at us with eyes like he wants to devour us, as the elders said."
"He really must be a gentlemanly and highly principled heroic hero, right?"
"Only such a man wouldn’t harbor bad intentions towards us, according to our elders."
"Then he’s a good man, isn’t he?"
"Should... should we go up and greet him?"
Groups of elves initiated such discussions upon seeing Shane, causing the alien tourists around to look at Shane with surprise and more teasing, intensifying Shane’s urge to bang his head against a wall.
And there, a certain princess kept nagging beside him.
"It sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? The gentlemanly and highly principled heroic hero, why not greet those lovely elves?"
Shane decided that tonight he must show this annoying princess a lesson she won’t forget, to teach her why the flowers are so red.
And with so many unusual eyes on him at the scene, Shane felt somewhat overwhelmed.
Thus, Shane initiated a change of topic.
"Speaking of which, how is the Peace Festival of the Elf Clan conducted?" Shane asked Luoqi stiffly, "It surely isn’t just setting up stalls and selling Magic Potions and Magic Tools?"
On hearing Shane deliberately changing the topic, Luoqi wanted to say something more but was shut down by Shane’s fierce glare.
She knew that if she continued to mock him, it would ultimately be her own loss.
Although still somewhat unreconciled, Luoqi nonetheless followed the new topic Shane had started.
"According to the Elf Clan, during the Peace Festival, it’s just , bringing out various kinds of Magic Potions and Magic Tools for sale, and only at dinnertime will food prepared by the elves be served on the streets, followed by various performances."
"There are performances featuring the Light Tree."
"There are dances featuring the Fairy."
"Then there are the elves’ Magic shows and exhibitions of rare creatures like the Unicorn, among other events during the Peace Festival."
"Finally, when the Peace Festival is about to end, the Queen will make an appearance, representing the Elf Clan, to thank and give a speech to alien friends from around the world."
This was the entire process of the Peace Festival.
"It sounds quite nice."
Shane felt his attention somewhat diverted.
Sadly, Luoqi skewed that bit of his attention again.
"I heard, when the Peace Festival officially concludes, the elves of the Elf Clan might give friendship wreaths to friends they care about as a token of eternal friendship."
Luoqi couldn’t help but say one more thing.
"With your current popularity among the Elf Clan, you should have received quite a few flower wreaths by now, right? Are you happy, Mr. Hero, so gallant and honorable?"
With these words, Shane fell completely silent.
Following that, Shane quietly reached out his hand and pinched Luoqi’s cheek.
Pinch, pinch, pinch...!
"Ouch, ouch, ouch...! Let go...!"
Luoqi screamed in pain, her beautiful face, capable of bringing disaster to the nation, was mercilessly pulled by Shane from both sides, as if he intended to tear her entire face off, distorting it completely.
"Come on, continue talking."
Shane spoke with a forced smile, a "well" character formed on his forehead.
Clearly, Shane was furious and embarrassed.
"It’s going to rot! It’s going to rot!"
Luoqi, in pain, started to cry, waving her hands nonstop like a doll being choked, dancing with her feet and hands, attracting a large crowd of onlookers.
The onlookers looked at each other, watching Shane and Luoqi with disbelief on their faces.
"He dares to treat the Kingdom Treasure ?"
This was their first thought.
"The unparalleled Princess is making such sounds...?"
This was their second thought.
They could not believe Shane would be so harsh on Luoqi nor could they believe that the flawless Princess could be so undignified.
If this scene were to occur in the Royal Capital, then Luoqi’s perfectly curated image of seventeen years would probably be ruined, right?
But Shane didn’t care about these things, determined to discipline his presumptuous fiancée.
Otherwise, this girl was close to forgetting who the real master of the house was.
However, Shane wanted Luoqi to show an unsightly appearance, but this girl seemed to have cheated, for her face, despite being pulled like that, didn’t seem ugly at all and still had a unique charm.
"It really is a blessing from God that you have such an unscientific face."
Shane didn’t know whether to feel happy or angry, his tone becoming complex.
"Wuu wuu wuu! Let go!"
Luoqi, unaware of Shane’s complicated feelings, pleaded with tear-filled eyes.
Shane, playfully, uttered.
Luoqi didn’t hesitate and called out immediately.
Given how practiced she sounded, it was clear she had often been coerced by Shane to call him that.
Of course, the term "husband" did not exist in their world, so the onlookers didn’t grasp what Luoqi meant by that; otherwise, they would surely be blushing and astonished by Luoqi’s boldness.
In fact, initially, Luoqi was reluctant to use this term when she first heard it from Shane.
But under Shane’s "stick" method of teaching, she ended up calling even ’daddy’, so "husband" wasn’t too far off.
The Princess probably dared to say it so loudly and clearly because she believed no one understood the meaning of the word.
This energized Shane.
Shane said with a mischievous smile.
Luoqi’s eyes widened.
Not just Luoqi, but the onlookers were also stunned.
Do these two play so intensely usually?
Just as Shane and Luoqi became the focus on the street and Luoqi was pushed to her limits by Shane, a savior appeared.
"...Can’t you two keep it down for a moment, and not cause a disturbance every now and then?"
With a resigned sigh, Carol appeared with a group of elves.
Luoqi called out as if she had seen a savior.
This girl had completely thrown aside any concerns about her image.
"is this how you treat your own fiancée, your country’s Princess?"
"It’s just a bit of spousal play."
Shane shrugged, released Luoqi, who then held her reddened cheeks, rubbing them while on the verge of tears.
Carol, watching this scene, didn’t know what to say, sighing with mixed feelings.
Especially when she saw the enthusiastic onlookers from the elf community who had once shunned Shane, the Vice Division Commander of the Elf Corps felt even more conflicted.
It proved her concerns were right.
Once their guard was down, her people were completely charmed by this man of another race.
And with Shane having eliminated the Demon Spirit, their sworn enemy, Carol could foresee how drastically Shane’s image and status in the hearts of her people had changed.
Carol knew she could not stop it now and, for the moment, was lost for words.
However, an Elf girl standing behind Carol watched Shane with equally complex eyes.
Shane felt her gaze and looked back.
Immediately, Shane recognized that still somewhat familiar figure.