"Unfortunately, I'm on house arrest so I cannot take you on a date" Bruce replied sadly.
"Why are you on house arrest?" Sophia asked.
"I have a big bounty on my head sent out by the Dark Forces. I have to stay in the Imperial Academy for my own safety" Bruce sighed.
"So that's how it is"
"Why don't you stay with me at the Church of Light then?" Sophia suggested.
Bruce was surprised to hear that Sophia wanted him to come with her to the Church of Light. After all this time, he still didn't know why such a wonderful girl fell for him.
"Sophia, come inside" Bruce didn't answer the question.
He invited Sophia into his dorm and sat down on the couch.
"It's a shabby place but make yourself at home"
"Thank you" Sophia sat down next to him.
"Tell me, Sophia, why are you so good to me?" Bruce asked.
"Does it matter?" Sophia looked at him gently.
"Yes, it matters because someone as beautiful as you will have countless suitors"
"Tell me, why did you choose me?" Bruce knew that Sophia felt something when she shook his hand the first time that they met. It was the only explanation that he could think of.
"If you're that curious then I shall tell you" Sophia replied softly.
"When I was born, the Goddess of Light blessed me with her powers"
"Not all children from the Church of Light get to have her blessings. Meanwhile, I had the strongest connections with the Goddess of Light in the entire history of my family"
"As you know, nothing in this world comes for free"
"My mission is to support the one chosen by the Goddess of Light. That is why I was granted the power of light."
"Is the chosen one your fiancée?" Bruce pieced the puzzles together now that he heard the story from Sophia.
"Correct, the chosen one is indeed my fiancée" Sophia smiled.
"I'm guessing you picked me because you didn't want to be forced to marry someone you never met" Bruce came to this conclusion after thinking for a few moments. After all, he had never seen the Goddess of Light which means it was not possible for him to be the chosen one.
"No, you idiot, you are the chosen one" Sophia giggled.
"What?" Bruce was flabbergasted.
"Whenever I am near you, my connection with the Goddess of Light grows stronger"
"That is proof that you are the one chosen by the Goddess of Light" Sophia explained.
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Bruce exclaimed.
"I have never met the Goddess of Light"
"Maybe in this life you haven't. But what about your previous life?" Sophia grabbed a hold of Bruce's hand.
"It also doesn't matter if you are not the one chosen by the Goddess of Light. I have already fallen in love with you" Sophia blushed as she confessed her feelings.
"Do you know difficult my life was as my family searched for my fiancée?"
"Other than my parents, everyone else in my family hoped that I would never find my fiancée so that my powers would be taken away"
"As a woman, I also don't want the love of my life to be chosen for me as soon as I was born."
"Sophia, I didn't know you went through so much" Bruce was saddened when he heard Sophia's side of the story. The beautiful goddess that everyone admired held a façade so that no one would look down on her.
"When I was 12, I heard about Edward Solomon. People claimed that he was the strongest talent on the continent. I had hoped that he was the chosen one" Sophia continued to narrate her experience.
"Unfortunately, he was knocked out by a certain bandit during the preliminary exam" Sophia looked at Bruce in a teasing manner. Bruce blushed when she brought up his bandit past.
"Ahem, I think you meant a gentleman, not a bandit" Bruce tried to defend his past deeds in front of the beauty.
"Haha, what kind of bandit goes around and beats people up with a frying pan?" Sophia laughed charmingly as she recalled Bruce's past.
"Madam, please stop teasing me" Bruce was embarrassed when Sophia called out his behaviors.
"Anyways, I began to hope that the bandit was the chosen one because at least, my life would be much more fun with someone like that as my companion"
"Over the years, I tried to find your identity and battle against you in the exams"
"However, you would only run away whenever you saw me!" Sophia was slightly angry as she remembered how the damned bandit always made some dumb excuses whenever she encountered him.
"Thankfully, you exposed your identity this year and I was able to confirm your status by shaking your hand"
Bruce finally understood Sophia's obsession with him. Like others, she was obsessed with the Bandit of Solitude and somehow hoped that he was the chosen one. Bruce couldn't help but smile at the situation. His bandit identity helped him meet the women of his life.
"Sophia, I want you to fall for me not because I am the chosen one, but because of who I am" Bruce held her hands tightly as he looked her in the eyes.
"I know and I am glad that I was able to fall in love with who you really are" Sophia smiled under her veil.
"The you that's a bandit or you that's an invisible war god. I've seen it all over the past couple of days"
"I didn't mind your appearance back then but now that your real appearance has returned, I have to say that you're the greatest threat to women, Mr. Bandit." Sophia touched Bruce's face as she closely examined his facial features for the first time.
"Please don't call me Mr. Bandit" Bruce coughed.
"Bandit or hero, it doesn't matter because I fell for you"
Sophia began to take off her veil to reveal the most beautiful face that Bruce had ever seen. Even the woman from the other human group in the trial is lacking when compared to Sophia.
"In my traditions, the woman may take off her veil when she finds her companion."
"Starting from this day onward, I, Sophia Bennet will be your companion for life"
Bruce looked at the flawless beauty blushing as she proclaimed her love for him and couldn't help but feel great pride. He had great luck in this life to be able to obtain the heart of someone like this.
"I, Bruce Stellae, will also be your companion in this life Sophia." Bruce held her hands and made a vow as well.
The symbol on Sophia's forehead began to glow brightly as the two held hands. Sophia's aura began to rise dramatically as the seal on her body was finally broken.
Mid Stage Divine King…
High Stage Divine King…
Pinnacle Stage Divine King!
Her aura finally stopped evolving and her skin glowed even more. Sophia had become much more beautiful. Bruce couldn't even fathom that someone like her could exist in this world.
"Sophia, you…" Bruce was at a loss for words.
"I'm surprised as well. I didn't know the seal placed on me by the Goddess of Light would be broken this early" Sophia began to inspect the changes on her body and was startled that she grew much more powerful.
"This means that you are indeed the chosen one Bruce because the Goddess of Light has given us her blessings!" Sophia said happily.
"I see…" Bruce nodded like a chicken even though he didn't understand how Sophia just got stronger like that. A pinnacle stage Divine King at the age of 18, the continents would go into an uproar once they hear about this.
"Fufu, do you honestly think that you'll always be stronger than me?" Sophia teased.
"Hmph, I just defeated an early stage Divine Emperor for your information" Bruce refused to be weaker than his girlfriend.
"Oh? Shall we have a friendly spar then?" Sophia began to taunt Bruce. She never had the chance to fight him because he kept running away from her in the exam.
"Absolutely not! I'd rather admit that you're stronger than me than hurt you" Bruce refused.
"Oh my, how overprotective of you" Sophia laughed.
"Sophia, what's your favorite meal? I'll make something for you to celebrate your breakthroughs" Bruce got off the couch and headed to the kitchen.
"I'd rather not say…" Sophia lowered her head with her ears red.
Bruce immediately took advantage of that and kept on attacking.
"Please let me know your favorite meal. I'll cook it for you every day" Bruce begged with all his heart.
"Fine… But you cannot tell anyone!" Sophia said in a threatening tone.
"I promise!"
"It's chocolate ice cream…" Sophia whispered.
"Seriously?" Bruce was stunned upon hearing about his girlfriend's favorite food.