Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu blinked. His senses were far too sharp to not notice the emotion in Meralda's eyes. The first part was one he was used to. But the second… That was…? Recognition?

Where would this woman have recognized him from? Even though the Origin Flame was becoming less useful, something like remembering a face was as easy as child's play for it so long as no odd sensory obstruction techniques were used. 

Beyond that, even without the Origin Flame, the memory of an Immortal wasn't fallible enough to forget a face so easily. 

After a moment of curiosity, Ryu's gaze flashed and a hint of surprise was hidden in the depths of his heart. As expected, there was a line of Fate connecting himself and this woman before him. And… The line was quite thick, at that. Far too thick for it to have just been the result of a single meeting. Unless, that is, that single meeting was a very important turning point in one of their lives. 

However, Ryu had no idea who this woman was. 

There were only two possible explanations. 

The first was that he really had experienced that year of life he lost. In that case, he likely met that woman more than once during that year and they had a small relationship. 

The second possibility was that she had observed him without his knowledge at some point. And, during that time, she had either saved his life or had tried to take it from him. 

Considering the fact the Line of Fate between them was an almost absolutely pure white, it was safe to say that their relationship was positive. So, if it was the second, it meant that she had saved his life at some point. 

'… When could that be…?'

Ryu had put his life on the line so many times even he, himself, had lost count. It was impossible to tell when his life could have been saved by someone else. 

That said… There were some clues. 

Firstly, Meralda was in the Dao Pedestal Realm. Clearly, she was a genius, almost too much so compared to the others of the Blossom Plane considering back in Ryu's time, the highest level of cultivation one could find here was just a single Realm above this. And, those were the Ancestors of their Clans who spent much of the time in deep seclusion. 

However, this cultivation wasn't nearly enough to hide from Ailsa who had a soul and Spiritual Sense comparable to a Cosmic Seed Realm expert. This likely meant that this either happened before he met Ailsa, or after Ailsa fell into a coma should the second option be true. 

Ryu shook his head. 'To think that I'd have such an ambiguous relationship with a Holy Saintess. The Heavens really like to play tricks on us mere mortals.'

"Do we know each other?" Ryu probed. 

"Ah… Um…" Meralda didn't know how to respond. But, this told Ryu something else. 

'She's nervous. She doesn't want others to know how we might be related? Why is that, exactly? Did she help me even though it might anger others? Or…'

Ryu thought of another possibility, but that one gave him a headache. He would prefer it not to be the case. Though, thankfully, it was unlikely to be true. 

There was always the possibility that his 'ambiguous' relationship was 'deeper' than just that. In that case, this young lady would probably be worried about him appearing here because his life would be in danger. 

A Holy Saintess having relations with a mere Immortal Ring expert? It was grounds for trouble indeed. 

Luckily, as Ryu thought, this was unlikely to be true. If it was, he wouldn't have been pent up to the point of needing Eska for such things if such a thing really happened in his 'lost year'. 

Ryu shook his head. He wouldn't be so loose, right?

Never mind, maybe it was best if he didn't answer that question at all. 

Ryu waited patiently for Meralda to finally settle herself. 

"… N… No, I don't know you. It's nothing, you just reminded me of someone else. Yes, your identification plaque is still valid. Please feel free to display it at any one of the outer city's inn's to find accommodation."

Ryu nodded and pretended like he accepted Meralda's reasoning. Since she didn't want to tell him, there was no reason to press her to do so. He didn't know enough about the situation so he might be putting her in a tough spot by pressing for an answer. Since she had helped him or they at least had a good relationship, there was no need to make her life difficult. 

"I see. Farewell."

Ryu walked by Meralda before he suddenly paused. 

"Right. There should be a young woman by the name of Melody here, right? Do you know where she is?"

Meralda blinked. She had been mid sigh of relief when Ryu suddenly spoke to her again, so she ended up coughing on air a bit. 

She couldn't help but kick herself. Since when had she been this flustered by anything? As much as it seemed like it was because of Ryu himself, the truth was that was only a small part of it. Ryu's appearance could lead to all sorts of trouble for her Dugo Clan, especially if his Faerie is ever revealed. 

The main issue was the Fidroha, the Apostle tasked with chasing after him, was also here. On top of that, the city had become a central hub for all sorts of experts, all of whom wanted to see everything go as smoothly as possible. To them, Ryu was like a wrench in all of their plans. 

This wasn't because they already knew that Ryu would cause trouble. In fact, Ryu himself had no intention of disrupting anything. He was only here because his [Intuition] insisted. Since he would only have three such opportunities in a lifetime, how could he possibly ignore one?

The trouble stemmed from the fact Ryu was supposed to have been part of the training program all the other Pedestal Plane geniuses had been going through over the past several hundred years. Yet, not only had he not participated, he was suddenly showing up at the final moment. How could that not raise many questions? 

And... There was something else that Melody couldn't put her finger on.

"Melody… I… I'm not sure. But, there are only three inns that most of the participants would have gone to. In all likelihood, she is within one of them."

Ryu nodded. "What about an individual called Sarriel?"

Meralda's lip couldn't help but twitch. How many women was this young man going to ask her about? What a playboy. 

In truth, Meralda's opinion of Ryu couldn't help but take several steps down, something that ironically helped her to reach her usual state of calm once again. Ryu, of course, noticed this and could guess why. But, he couldn't very well do much about it, right? 

"I think I did hear about a Sarriel, yes." Meralda was partially surprised with herself for actually having an answer. "She should be…"

Meralda explained with great detail where Sarriel would be. That girl should have come with some Silver Touch branch members along with their new recruits and she happened to hear her name spoken among them. 

"Thank you." 

Ryu didn't stay for much longer and simply walked away. The truth was that he could just use his [Third Perspective] to reflect the entire city in his mind. But, it was quite taxing for a city as large as Golden Leaf City. In such an environment, he had to try to remain in top condition for as long as possible. 

The Blossom Plane didn't have the same spatial pocket restrictions the Shrine Plane had, so their cities were absolutely enormous. Even thousands of kilometers wasn't enough to paint the picture. The only reason it looked reasonably sized was because it might as well have been an ant before Shrine Mountain. 

Meralda watched Ryu walk away and it was only after he truly disappeared that she finally sighed in relief. 

At that moment, she finally realized why it was that she was so uncomfortable. It wasn't because of what was at stake, it wasn't because he was handsome, but it was because… Her Bloodline was actually being suppressed?

'… Who is he, really?'

… 

Ryu walked through the city. Though his expression didn't give much away, he felt waves of nostalgia. This city was different from the last time he had visited it, but not different enough that he was at a loss to recognize it. 

The last time he had come here had been with Elena, it was among the last times she had actually completed her duties as a genius of the Holy Wing Clan. Of course, this was before she chose to sever all ties with them and 'marry' into the Tatsuya Clan. 

Ryu couldn't help but feel that he was far too stubborn in the past. He couldn't blame Elena for feeling like she felt now. 

One might say that Elena should have been aware that this would happen. After all, at some point, since Ryu was a mortal, she would outlive him. By then, let alone 900 million years, she would have to spend billions, maybe trillions alone. 

But… Ryu didn't feel like these were the same things. However much anger Elena had in her heart was as much as he was fully prepared to withstand. In this life, the last, and any others… She could only be with him. 

By the time Ryu made it to where Sarriel should have been, the sun was already fallen and the moon was high in the skies. His pace had been completely unhurried from start to finish. Despite the fact he could have crossed the distance in just a few moments, he took several hours. 

However, before he could open the doors, they blasted open just as his hand was reaching out.