--- Chapter 5 ---
Hayate realized Xia Qingyue's presence, and he was butt-naked in front of her.
"Ah..."
"C-Cover your thing!" Xia Qingyue raised her voice slightly.
She turned around quickly and covered her blushed face, but Hayate's naked body seemed to plague her innocent mind.
Xia Qingyue's Frozen Heart Art should have kept her calm and collected against any desire, but it doesn't work now.
Since Hayate altered Xia Qingyue's Heart of Snow Glazed Glass when he opened her profound entrances, Her Frozen Heart Arts were affected indirectly.
It's not a really bad thing because she'd become open to expressing her emotion.
Of course, Xia Qingyue couldn't maintain her calmness in front of Hayate because he was the first person who exposed the naked male body to her.
"My bad, I didn't realize my profound art has such an effect," Hayate said naturally.
He quickly pulled some clothes out of his spatial ring and wore them quickly, covering his naked body from the breeze. Hayate sighed because his baggy outfits had become tighter now.
"Whatever." He muttered in defeat.
After checking a few things, Hayate nodded his head in approval. He has become more vigorous in terms of pure physical strength.
Hayate measured his strength by checking how many Kaiju's cores he could use and believed he could break through to the Earth Profound Realm in a month or two.
"A-Are you done?" Xia Qingyue nervously asked.
Hayate made sure everything was okay for the second time and answered, "Yes."
Xia Qingyue pressed her developed bosom slightly to calm herself down and looked back. Hayate stood there with his new appearances.
He had become taller because of [Body Reconstruction], and baggy clothes couldn't hide his refined muscle. Hayate's face also changed faintly, becoming fairer and neatened with sharp eyebrows.
Xia Qingyue noted Hayate was the most handsome person she had ever seen in her heart. However, she gradually lowered her gaze to his crotch for some reason.
Hayate, who noticed her gaze direction, covered his crotch quickly and commented with a disgusted tone. "Pervert."
"I didn't know the young lady Xia is such a degenerate." He remarked.
Xia Qingyue panicked and responded, "N-No, I mean-... I'm not a pervert!"
She tried to refute Hayate's statement and made herself look adorable instead in front of him. It was like a kitten trying to fight back after you teased it.
Hayate chuckled inside and teased, "If you are not a pervert, raise your eyes and look at me."
Xia Qingyue slowly raised her gaze and found out that Hayate was holding his laugh. He grinned playfully, which made her mouth twitch in annoyance.
She realized Hayate had been teasing her all this time. "I'll blast you with ice if you ever try to tease me again." She warned.
Hayate shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Of course, you are not a pervert."
"A pervert will think about my bare body in their mind like no tomorrow."
Xia Qinyue was dumbfounded, and an image flashed in her mind, which caused her to blush again.
'This is fun.' Hayate thought.
He never had this much fun for a while because two years after he got reincarnated into this world focused solely on improving his strength and connection.
As Hong Guan has stated, Hayate should have taken a break and walked out of his room. He never really wandered past 200km from Silver Lake City in two years.
Hayate shook his head and suggested, "Young lady Xiu, can I meet your father?"
"I have a business proposal for him."
Xia Hongyi wasn't an unfamiliar name for Hayate because he remembered almost every merchant's name in this empire, whether they were noble or not.
Even though Xia Clan is small, their business is quite well off compared to nobles of the same rank. Unfortunately, none of Xia Hongyi's children want to take their family business because they want to focus on their cultivation.
"What a waste," Hayate observed Xia Qingyue, who slowly regained her composure.
After getting teased by Hayate a few times, Xia Qingyue has gained a bit of resistance against him, but it doesn't make her immune.
Xia Qingyue couldn't read Hayate at all for some reason, which made her wonder if those creatures within him disturbed her judgment.
Nevertheless, Hayate hadn't shown any extreme character so far, he did call her a pervert, but besides that, he was nothing but an extraordinary person.
"Ah yes, Young lady Xia, you better not rely on that ability to calm your heart forcefully," Hayate warned with a gentle smile.
"It wouldn't be good for your future. You should smile more with that beautiful face." He added, to which Xia Qingyue responded with a frown.
Xia Qingyue only nodded and kept Hayate's advice in her mind until her teacher came in a few days.
"About meeting my father, you might have to wait till next morning." She said naturally.
"It's already midnight after all."
Hayate glanced at the moon and responded, "Well, that's true."
"I don't realize how times have passed so quickly."
He wondered about a piece of advice in "How to be A Gentlemen." and offered, "Then, should I escort you back to your house?"
"It would be dangerous for such a beautiful young lady to walk alone, no?"
Xia Qingyue reacted with a deadpan expression because Hayate was most likely the danger itself for her, which was ironic.
"Sure." She replied calmly.
Hayate smirked inside and began to escort Xia Qingyue back to the Floating Cloud City. Koro emerged on his shoulder and stared at her with a gloomy look.
"That creature..." Xia Qingyue distanced herself from Koro.
"It's called Koro. He was feeling sorry for attacking you all of a sudden." Hayate said while patting the small Kaiju.
"!!!" Koro nodded, which made Xia Qingyue interested again.
This creature is one of the beasts who resided within Hayate and possessed a strength above the True Profound Realm.
Xia Qingyue was sure Koro wasn't a Profound Beast because she couldn't sense anything from its little white dog body. There is not even a trace of Profound Energy.
Even though She's a little bit afraid, her restraint slowly was overtaken by curiosity.
"Can I pet it?" Xia Qingyue asked.
Hayate hasn't even answered her, and Koro has already jumped into her arms. Xia Qingyue panicked and squished Koro's body too hard in an accident but felt like hugging a thick cloud instead.
"Fluffy." Xia Qingyue's eyes shone in amazement.
She seemed to have forgotten that Koro blasted her just a few moments ago and enjoyed the small Kaiju's fluffy body. Koro's body is not too soft or too hard, at the right consistency where one can comfortably sleep on it like a pillow.
Even the high-quality pillow is probably not even close to Koro.
"You seem to have fun," Hayate commented when they passed the inn he rented, which surprisingly was still bright inside.
They stepped onto Xia's manor, which caused a few guards to greet them.
"Young lady." They greeted her with a surprised expression.
The young lady Xia brought over a male to her home, which shocked them because they had never seen her smile so freely. Yet, they have to admit that it was better for her to smile than to have a cold expression.
Xia Qingyue nodded and released Koro from her grasp, making the little Kaiju jump back to Hayate's shoulder.
She glanced at Hayate and said, "Good night."
"Good night, see you again later." Hayate smiled slightly and waved his hand at her, who entered her house.
"Boy, what did you do to our young lady?" The guard immediately interrogated him.
"Nothing? I only have a chat with her." Hayate replied with a chuckle.
The guard frowned because they knew Xia Qingyue's personality very well. She always has eyes for one's character and could judge if someone's horrible or not.
"It's up to you if you want to believe me or not." Hayate pulled a letter Hong Guan prepared for him.
He handed the letter to the nearest guard and added, "Give this to the Xia Clan's head in the morning."
"Then, see you later."
Hayate flashed in their vision and disappeared like a wind, causing them to stare in amazement because such speed exceeded a Spirit Profound Realm's cultivator.
The guard, who held the letter, noticed a familiar symbol and trembled violently. "S-Silver Lake City's Head."
"Silver Lake City? Isn't that a city that has grown tremendously in the past two years?"
"Y-Yes..."
"I heard it was originally a small village with barely any attraction."
"But a miraculous doctor suddenly decided to live there, and merchants flaunted that place to do their business."
"Hmm, What's the young man's connection with Silver Lake City's lord?"
As they wondered what Hayate's background was, he arrived at the inn and quietly entered his room.
He removed his coat and dropped onto the bed, "What an interesting night."
"!!!" Koro nodded in agreement and fell asleep beside him.
"Xia Qingyue, huh." Hayate grinned while remembering the blushing girl.
He shook his head slightly and fell asleep quickly while using [Hibernation]'s skill again.
Hayate hasn't realized how many things he has changed in this world after meeting with Xia Qingyue. The fate of this world has been altered tremendously by his actions.
Xia Qingyue slowly rested on her bed and felt relaxed inside. She usually would meditate as soon as she arrived in her room, but tonight was enjoyable for her.
She smiled when remembering Hayate's demeanor and blushed a second later because a naked image of him flashed in her mind.
"I'm not a pervert!" She threw a pillow away.
(An: Pillow Abuse)
Xia Qingyue breathed roughly and buried her face in the bed, whining in embarrassment because the naked image wasn't leaving her head.
A few minutes later, she fell asleep with a smile on her beautiful face.
The sun ascended to the sky, and the Floating Cloud City slowly was welcomed by a morning breeze. A few farmers have gone to their lands and began their works.
In the Xia Clan, the guard sent the letter from Hayate to Xia Hongyi and shocked him.
Xia Hong glanced at the letter on his hand and trembled slightly because the Silver Lake City's lord actually set her gaze on his business. It's a great chance to make the Xia Clan grow even more.
As Xia Hongyi opened the envelope, a few lines on the letter caused him to frown in confusion.
"Xia Clan's head. My young master will visit the Floating Cloud City soon."
"I hope you give him some generous assistance there."
"Don't worry... He's not a bad young man."
"I've sent some business documents you should stamp and prepared free business space in Silver Lake City."
Xia Hongyi called his guard and briefly asked a few things related to this letter, which led him to another surprise.
"Eh, Qingyue was smiling?" He reacted with a surprised expression.
"Y-Yes." The guard nodded with a solemn expression. "Young lady has such a relaxed expression when talking with him."
"It's quite bizarre to see because she was usually cold and indifferent."
Xia Hongyi knew his children, and Xia Qingyue was actually a soft-hearted girl. However, She couldn't express her emotions well since his wife left them in the past.
"To think, Qingyue would open her heart to a person." He whispered with a smile.
Knock!
"Master, it's time for breakfast." A maid gently knocked on his door.
"Young master and the young lady also waited in the dining room."
Xia Hongyi placed the letter on his desk and slowly stepped out of his room, walking into the dining room with a curious expression.
As he entered the dining room, Xia Hongyi noticed his son had a weird expression on his face.
Xia Yuanba is a 13 years old kid with a 185 cm height and weight of over 150 kg, still growing every year. He's not fat but has an exceptionally robust yet solid physique.
"Good morning, Father." A melodious voice entered Xia Hongyi's ears.
Xia Hongyi gradually moved his gaze and saw Xia Qingyue smiling gently at him. "Qingyue, are you okay?" He asked with a worried tone.
"I also asked the same question before, father." Xia Yuanba nervously added. "Big sis is acting weird."
Xia Qingyue shook her head and replied, "I just realized that I should smile more to my family."
"There is nothing wrong with me."
"I mean... that's a good thing," Xia Yuanba lowered his face.
Xia Hongyi chuckled at this scenery and said, "Qingyue, is this connected to the young man you met last night?"
Xia Qingyue's face blushed, and sheepishly answered, "O-Of course, not."
Xia Hongyi and Xia Yuanba had never seen her in such a state, to think she would be embarrassed when a person got mentioned.
She coughed to regain her composure and continued, "This is my own decision to smile more, so Hayate has no connection with it."
"Hayate?" Xia Yuanba tilted his head.
'They definitely had a connection.' Xia Hongyi glanced at his son and nodded at each other.
A maid approached Xia Hongyi and whispered something in his ear.
"Qingyue, follow me." He said, to which she responded with a nod.
They walked to the front door and saw a young man standing there with a calm expression.
"Ah, good morning." Hayate politely greeted them with a smile.