While Draigo was having possibly the most dramatic moment of his life, Zhen Liu was busy dealing with some...other issues.
'...Why is that maid...just standing there?...And why...are there...so many uses for rope?,' Zhen Liu thought as he gripped the side of his head. It, alongside several other pores on his body, felt like it was on fire. Sexy, sexy fire.
<...one minute and fif-wait, User. What do you think about Tiny?>
'Tiny? She's great, awesome protector.'
"Hey...do you think if Tiny could turn human... she'd be a MILF?'
<...One minute and thirty five seconds...>
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An unfortunate truth of life, is that tragedies have a tendency to ignore the time and place.
...
The time was a warm, summer evening, while the place was a beautiful seaside town.
The creatures of the night were playing their symphony, the waves crashed upon the shore, keeping in time with this all natural melody, and all of it was illuminated by a brilliant full moon and a sky full of countless stars.
Upon such a beautiful evening, a pair of young musicians and lov-friends were out and about, leaving behind the lights and bustle of the town, to walk along the beautiful beaches.
As the duo walked, they talked about the concert they had just performed.
"Bwaha! That was such a good show! Didn't you think so, Draigo?"
"Yeah. It was."
Driago and Wyavra had been on a performance tour of sorts, going through all the kingdoms that composed the Alloy Republic. They were about half way through their journey when they decided to stop by a place called Ebon Pearl, a port town for the Crystal Blossoms Kingdom.
Ebon Pearl was a beautiful place to stop by, but for Draigo and Wyvara, it was a tad more... nostalgic.
"Ay! We have to stop coastal towns more often, Draigo! I missed these sea breezes," Wyvara said as she stuck her toes in the sand and allowed the tide to wash her legs, "Reminds you of home, no?"
"It does," Draigo said wistfully, his focus not on the beautiful woman standing in the surf, but on a peculiar little box in his pocket.
'Alright Draigo, you have known her for almost all your life, you've performed with her over three years now and the two of you are now at arguably the most romantic location in the whole world. It's now or never,' Draigo told himself as he took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
It took a few seconds, but he eventually managed to gather his nerves.
"Wyavra."
"Yes?"
"There's something I've been wanting to ask-"
"WYVARA THE WILD!"
"Huh?"
But before Draigo could ask the question that's been plaguing his mind for years on end, he was interrupted by the arrival of an unknown third party.
Illuminated by the full moon, Draigo and Wyvara were greeted by the sight of a tall man, dressed in copper colored full plate armor. The helmet covering the man's face reminded Draigo of a wolf. As far as he could tell, this man was probably one of the famed Jewel Knights of the Kingdom, however, the way he carried himself reminded Draigo more of an actor than a knight.
"Good evening, oh beautiful and glorious muse! I must say your performance this most auspicious night was nothing short of soul stirring! Bravo!," the wolf knight exclaimed with much gravitas.
Draigo was thrown aback by the weirdo's bravado, while Wyvara just sorta laughed it off.
'Something about this doesn't feel right...'
"Why thank you good sir. My partner and I try our best every performance," Wyvara answered in a breezy tone, "May I have the honor of knowing who our admirer is?"
"Oh I do not mind me, I am just an ardent fan who loves your musical talents," the knight replied, "Well...I also like to think of myself as a provider of opportunities."
"Oh?"
In the blink of an eye, the wolf knight produced an extravagant bouquet of exotic flowers, composed of both mundane rarities and treasured aether medicinal plants that most cultivators would fight to death over, and had positioned himself into a kneeling pose right by Wyavra's side. This had the (un)intended consequence of distancing the two of them from Draigo.
"I have fallen head over heels for you, oh beautiful and talented Wyvara! It would be a great honor if you accept this humble proposal of mine: Please, marry me!"
Needless to say, both Wyvara and Draigo were shocked and stunned at the sudden marriage proposal, moreso the latter than the former though.
'This...this asshole! I was about to propose!'
Draigo was about to go over and give the unusual knight a piece of his mind, but stopped when Wyvara moved instead.
"Sir Knight, I..."
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The Marquis pulled the shamisen from Draigo's bent back with fluidity and grace, barely disturbing the old bard's hunched over position. Once the shamisen was in his grasp, he gave a most devilishly brilliant smile.
"Yes! If the authorities hadn't shown up at that time, I could have had a complete set ages ago! Ah well, at least now I can reunite it with her," the Marquis chuckled in a weirdly nostalgia indulgent tone.
Draigo could only watch on as the Marquis took away his precious shamisen and rub his insolent fingers all over it, all while walking towards the covered altar. With his eyes now drawn to the altar, Draigo could finally make out that there was a person underneath the cloth covering the altar.
"Look my darling muse, a gift! It matches the one you carried," the Marquis said to the covered altar, "What's that? You wish to see our wonderful gift giver in the face? By all means darling, allow me!"
The Marquis grabbed a corner of the cloth sheet and yanked it off with force and flourish, revealing to the world what was under it exactly.
Draigo's eyes went wide, as a face he didn't expect to see in several life times, suddenly greeted him.
"N-no, it can't be..."
"Lovely, isn't she? She's now more beautiful than day we met," the Marquis said with a smile.
The grim nature of what Draigo was seeing, did not match the Marquis' jovial tone.