Beneath the dreamlike, breathtaking aurora-lit sky, the most romantic proposal in the world unfolded at this very moment. The night wind carried countless blossoms high into the heavens, as if offering blessings to this couple.
The queen-like girl pinned the one she loved against the tree.
Ah... her gaze was so resolute and serious, yet also so noble, dignified, and valiant. Such domineering charm could captivate anyone, regardless of gender.
Mei: "Will you marry me, Elias?"
Like a king who had conquered the world, it felt as though agreeing to her proposal would come with an entire world as the dowry.
Yet the one she proposed to did not lack "worlds." The white-haired boy was the most sacred and exalted savior in existence.
If he were to unfurl his six white wings, countless people would surely mistake him for an angel descending from heaven. One glance alone would make others offer up their hearts and faith without hesitation.
And now, this king was proposing to this angel.
The scene formed by Mei and Elias was as beautiful as the ending of a fairy tale brought into reality.
However...
"Uh, shouldn't I be the one saying that line just now?"
Elias twitched at the corner of his eye, looking at Mei's breathtakingly beautiful and cool face so close to him, thinking that his girlfriend was not just cute—sometimes she was overwhelmingly cool.
He could tell Mei had prepared this carefully.
This mountain wrapped in a sea of flowers, the auroras covering the night sky, the piano playing the "Wedding March"—and countless other details.
To be honest, Elias' heart was racing wildly right now. But he was the guy—he should be the one proposing!
Right now, the one pinned against a tree with a racing heartbeat and a blushing expression should be Mei!
But...
If there were a third person present, they would definitely give an objective evaluation—there was absolutely no sense of dissonance! Compared to an angel proposing to a king, it was clearly cooler for a king to propose to an angel.
"What's wrong, Elias? You're not willing?"
Queen-like Mei frowned slightly. She leaned in closer, and the pair of red oni horns atop her head pierced into the tree behind the white-haired angel.
Elias was shocked to find that he couldn't suppress her aura at all. At this moment, Mei truly seemed like a queen who had conquered the world.
And because she hadn't received an answer, the queen now appeared somewhat displeased... though in truth, she was nervous.
(Well, this isn't so bad once in a while.)
Elias felt a mix of embarrassment and excitement. Looking at the imposing girl before him, he quickly made a decision.
He would not submit!
Absolutely would not submit!
He could indulge in the charm of the Raiden Queen, but he would never become her kept man. After all, things are more precious precisely because they are hard to obtain.
More importantly, it felt like if he were conquered by this girl even once, he would forever become the one on the receiving end.
This certain someone firmly refused to accept that. He should be the one doing the conquering!
So although Elias intended to accept Mei's proposal, how he accepted it... would be his choice.
"You really surprised me, Mei."
"Elias?"
Suddenly, Mei's body tilted and fell to the side.
Because Elias had swept her leg.
Even though Mei had trained in swordsmanship since childhood and had a very stable stance, in the face of absolute strength, the queen still had no resistance.
The next moment, before she could hit the ground, Elias caught her in a princess carry, lifting her by the legs and shoulders. At the same time, six white wings spread from his back, carrying her into the night sky.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them entered the auroras. Within those exquisitely beautiful streams of light, Elias directly kissed the queen's crimson lips.
"Mm!"
Mei froze for a second, then immediately responded with equal intensity. She was still trying to conquer Elias, but he clearly had no intention of yielding.
Thus, ten minutes later, Queen Mei's cheeks flushed red as she was the first to give in. With a swift motion, she cut off the shimmering connection between them, her expression lingering with satisfaction yet filled with unwillingness.
A conquering queen was not accustomed to being conquered.
"Honestly, Elias, why won't you just obediently submit to me? And you're always so composed, so calm. You're always like this... Doesn't that just make me... want you even more?!"
Mei raised her hand and gently caressed Elias' cheek. In her purple eyes burned a flame called desire.
Because she could not have it, she wanted it.
Because she could not conquer him, she became deeply obsessed.
The Raiden Queen's desire to conquer was on the verge of going out of control.
"Yeah, that's on purpose. Because right now, Mei, you're absolutely amazing! But... I want to see you even cooler, even more dazzling than you are now. So conquering me? Not happening."
Elias nudged his golden dragon horns against Mei's red oni horns. His heterochromatic eyes gleamed with the same desire to conquer. He had no intention of backing down.
After all, Elias was the same as Mei at his core—someone who would never submit.
"Hmph. Sooner or later, I'll conquer you, Elias. And right now... you should answer my proposal. Or are you planning to reject me?"
Mei unconsciously clenched her fists.
"How could I? I'm just not planning to be conquered by you—but I would never reject you. After all, I love you so much right now. So, my dear queen... will you marry me?"
Elias took Mei's left hand and gently kissed the ring on her ring finger.
But the answer didn't need to be spoken.
The moment she wore the ring he gave her on her left ring finger, it already meant Raiden Mei's answer.
Yet unwilling to admit defeat, the Raiden Queen chose to respond in her own way.
She reached out—and somehow pulled out a... marriage application form.
Elias: (O_O;)
And the bride's information was already completely filled in.
"Mm-hmm~ Your turn, Elias."
"Ah... I really lose to you, Mei."
Half laughing and half exasperated, Elias took the form. Although it differed from the Previous Era version, having gone through it once before, he quickly filled in his own information without hesitation.
"This is great!"
"Wait—hold on, let me take another look."
Suddenly, Elias noticed something that caught his attention.
After all, this was a marriage application form from a different era, and there were significant differences. Even within the Current Era, the format varied depending on the region.
For example, in the Previous Era, as long as both parties intended to marry, they could fill out the form, stamp it with their personal seals, and submit it to the Civil Affairs Bureau to receive their certificate.
But things were different here in the Far East.
In addition to the information and signatures of both Elias and Mei, a third party—a witness—was also required to provide a handwritten signature and seal.
As someone always meticulous, Mei had naturally not overlooked this detail. The witness section was already filled in and stamped.
But what made Elias widen his eyes in surprise...
He had assumed the witness would be Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma.
Yet the name written on the form was—Himeko.
"Huh? Himeko? Shouldn't it be Father-in-law Ryoma signing this?"
"No need for that. I looked it up online. As long as someone can sign and stamp it, anyone will do. In extreme cases, even a complete stranger would be fine."
Mei's face was already blooming with joy. Looking at the completed application form, only the final step remained!
On the other side, Elias laughed helplessly, thinking to himself—Father-in-law Ryoma, you really got the short end of the stick... I'll just take a photo and inform him later.
"Ah~ I would have liked my father to sign it, but he's very busy working with Anti-Entropy right now. And besides... Elias, do you think my father would obediently sign and stamp our marriage application?"
"Hmm... statistically speaking, the chances of the world ending tomorrow are probably higher."
Elias imagined it for a moment. The only image that came to mind was Ryoma transforming into a furious demon, drawing his blade and fighting him to the death. Of course, he would win in the end.
But signing and stamping? Absolutely impossible.
Raiden Ryoma: (You want to marry my precious Mei? Elias, you're fifty thousand years too early! Even if I chop off both my hands today, I will never sign or stamp this!!)
Elias: "Doting fathers are terrifying... but honestly, I don't think Himeko would obediently sign it either."
Although Mei had once allowed Himeko to "step in," leaving Himeko feeling deeply indebted, asking her to act as a witness on a marriage application still seemed unlikely.
"Hehe, Himeko is actually very easy to deal with. A few bottles of alcohol are all it takes."
Mei revealed a sly smile.
She had gotten several fine bottles of wine from Eden, poured them into Himeko, and then handed her the form.
In her drunken haze, Himeko had signed and stamped it without hesitation.
After all, dealing with a drunkard was incredibly easy.
"Uh..."
Elias didn't know what to say. When Himeko sobered up tomorrow—if she remembered what she had done—she would probably regret it deeply.
Though on second thought, it might be a good lesson. Drinking too much always led to trouble.
"Since it's filled out, let's go."
"Go? Where? Back to the dorm?"
"Of course not. We're going to submit it to the Civil Affairs Bureau."
Queen Mei spoke as if it were only natural. Then she opened a portal directly leading to the Civil Affairs Bureau—planning to get their marriage certificate tonight!
Elias looked surprised. Although he had been married before, he had never personally gone through the registration process, so he wasn't familiar with the details.
"Oh? It's already so late. Is it still open?"
"There's a late-night window in the Far East. It stays open until midnight. Right now... there are ten minutes left. We can make it."
Mei glanced at the time on her terminal and let out a breath of relief. To avoid any unexpected complications, she intended to finish everything as quickly as possible.
Thus, she grabbed Elias and stepped through the portal, arriving at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
They submitted the freshly completed application form. The staff, who had been about to clock out, were surprised to see someone registering a marriage at this hour.
What surprised them even more was the overwhelming beauty of Elias and Mei.
They wondered if these two were celebrities trying to avoid attention by coming at night.
But then again, their extraordinary presence didn't quite match that idea.
After all—what kind of idols looked this young, yet carried themselves like a queen and an angel?
They seemed more like a royal prince and princess from some distant nation. For a moment, the staff even imagined a Romeo-and-Juliet-like story unfolding before them.
Though their minds were full of wild scenarios, they still processed the registration efficiently.
After learning that Mei and Elias were Valkyrie and male Valkyrie, they even provided special treatment, offering exceptionally attentive service.
A process that normally took an hour was completed in just five minutes.
"Alright. With this, you are now officially husband and wife. Congratulations on your marriage."
"Th-thank you."
Holding the marriage certificate handed to him, Elias felt a little dazed.
He pinched himself hard to confirm this wasn't a dream—then broke into a joyful smile.
On the other side, Mei was trembling with happiness.
The Raiden Queen, who had been so majestic just moments ago, now had tears shimmering in her violet eyes.
At this moment, she was no longer a queen—just a girl.
Her right hand held the marriage certificate, while her left was tightly interlocked with Elias' fingers.
Right now, Mei felt that her life had reached its absolute peak. She had no regrets left.
"Elias, we really... really..."
"Yeah. We're married. No need to pinch yourself to check—I already did that."
"I see... Then I must be the happiest woman in the world right now. What should we do next?"
"Uh... I'm not sure either. Prepare the wedding ceremony?"
Both Elias and Mei were overwhelmed with excitement and didn't know what to do next.
But one thing was certain...
Tonight would be a sleepless night.
There was no way either of them would be able to sleep.
And a certain pink elf would definitely explode.
Actually—no.
The entire Valkyrie dormitory was going to explode!
But...
Mei: "Doesn't matter! Let them come. No matter how many enemies I have to face, I'm already Elias' wife now. I have no regrets left in life."
Even if tomorrow she were found with eight bullets in her back and it was ruled a suicide, Mei wouldn't care.
Because the outcome was already decided.
The Raiden Queen had completed her magnificent comeback.
Elias: "Don't say such unlucky things. With me here, who could possibly harm my Mei—my wife? But... now that I think about it, Mei's current strength might not be enough."
Now that their relationship had advanced further, Mei's importance in Elias' heart had skyrocketed.
But the fact that she was currently only a dual-Core Herrscher made him uneasy.
Although aside from the Honkai, no one on Earth dared to provoke Elias anymore, just in case—just in case—he felt he needed to give Mei an overwhelming power boost.
To raise her safety to an entirely new level.
And in his mind, he already had a perfect plan.
Even if she didn't become the Herrscher of Origin like in the original story, reaching the level of the current Herrscher of Truth would be no problem at all~