This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Chapter 747: Chapter 747: Not a Date

The second phase of the tournament was scheduled to begin in two days.

For most teams, it was a brief and well-earned reprieve. A time to recover, relax, and indulge—sleeping in, eating shamelessly from food stalls, and wandering the confetti-dusted streets of Celestial City their casual clothes rather than the stiff combat school uniforms.

But for Kain Newman, the concept of “downtime” had never really existed.

Still, even he couldn’t deny the strange allure of the city this time of year that practically seduced him to relax and enjoy himself.

Outside the Celestial Arena, the once-empty relatively plaza had bloomed into a bustling mid-tournament festival. Vendors hollered out deals while the scent of grilled skewers and sweet, fried pastries drifted through the air. Children ran past dressed as popular spiritual creatures seen in the tournament. One of the most popular vendors surrounded by children sold butterfly wings reminiscent of the Elemental Fairies recently discovered by Kain and still enjoying the peak of their popularity. However kids, and even some adults, could be seen wearing costumes and/or face paint resembling dragons, the Gilded Serafin, felines, rabbits and more.

And through the throng of food, noise, and flashing merchant signs… walked Kain and Serena.

Together.

Kain wore a high-collared grey jacket with black accents and a fitted belt, casual but sleek. Serena’s usual skin tight training gear was gone, replaced by a casual light cream shirt and shorts. Her silver hair was loosely braided, a few stray strands catching the sunlight as she paused to admire a music-playing orb being demonstrated by a vendor.

Kain watched her without meaning to.

It was muscle memory by now, like the way one always notices the moon when it’s full. His eyes drifted toward her whenever she moved—even when she wasn’t saying anything. Maybe especially then.

He felt his face warm up at that realization—and then promptly strangled the idea.

‘This was not a date.’ He almost slapped his forehead to drive that point home, since his subconscious did not seem to get the message.

They were simply here together because they were meeting her father for an arranged visit with Pheneos and Dorian. That was all. They were killing time. Plus her father would be arriving any second now anyways.

He was being polite. Civil. Definitely not entertaining thoughts of—

“My father says he’s running late,” Serena said suddenly.

Kain blinked, pulled from his thoughts. “Ah. Really?”

“He said to go ahead to the meeting location,” she added, glancing at her comm. “He’ll meet us there shortly.”

Kain scratched the back of his neck. “So… we’re early, then?”

Serena nodded with an amused glint in her eyes. “Apparently.”

“I suppose there’s no harm in… browsing a little,” he offered.

Her lips curved upward faintly as she failed to resist smiling. “I suppose not.”

They began walking again.

The crowds swirled around them, but it didn’t feel suffocating. It was a strange sort of bubble—isolated, yet full of energy. Performers danced on raised platforms, musicians plucked spirit-threaded instruments that shimmered in the air, and even the weather cooperated, the sun shining down with only a soft cooling wind—it was the perfect temperature..

At some point, they stopped at a stall selling rare and vintage spiritual trinkets. Supposedly. A sign declared: “Vintage Rings. Antique Jewellery. Still Worth Something.” The shopkeeper was asleep behind the table, scarf covering his mouth, half-swallowed by his own snores.

Looking at the goods available, Kain instantly understood why the words vintage and antique were emphasized, majority of the goods in the stall looked like old and broken junk. Rebranding them as ‘vintage’ was being very generous.

However, one object in the stall stood out. A silver crescent-moon hairpin that looked barely worn, and was inlaid with a variety of white jewels that emitted a faint amount of spiritual power to trigger a glow reminiscent of moonlight. It was quite beautiful.

Serena reached forward toward the hairpin.

Kain reached for it at the same time.

And accidentally grabbed her hand instead.

The hustle and bustle of the crowd seemed to fade away as he focused on the sensation of her fingers held in his palm. He froze in place, realizing he had made contact first. He should pull away. Maybe he should apologize?

But she wasn’t pulling away either.

His heart thumped against his ribs—so strongly he felt as though it was loud enough to be heard, making Kain feel exposed. Her hand was warm and soft. Slightly cool at the fingertips. There was a pause in the air—one that didn’t come from awkwardness, but from the fact that neither of them quite knew what to say.

She looked up at him.

Her eyes were a familiar bright blue. But something in the light today made them look… brighter.

He felt himself lean forward, just slightly.

And then his body felt like it was suddenly dunked into an ice bath without warning.

A presence approached—powerful, dignified, and utterly unimpressed.

Kain’s instincts screamed.

DANGER.

He turned, slowly.

Lord Storm stood there.

His eyes met Kain’s.

No words were spoken.

And yet Kain heard every single one of them.

He yanked his hand back like it had been incinerated. Serena’s dropped more gracefully to her side, as if nothing had happened.

“Sir,” Kain managed.

Lord Storm lifted a brow. “You two seem to be enjoying yourselves.”

“We were just browsing,” Serena said without missing a beat. “Since you were running late.” She ended with a slight ribbing comment.

“It doesn’t look like either of you minded,” the man replied, tone perfectly mild.

There was no hostility in his voice. But Kain somehow felt like he was being examined by an apex predator that was calmly debating the merits of exterminating him.

“Not at all,” Serena said. “We had fun passing the time together.”

Her father’s gaze only grew colder as he stared daggers at Kain, ‘There’s no reason to tell him that…

Thankfully, her father soon turned off the glare of death, looked away, and turned around. “Then let’s proceed and go meet this acquaintance you mentioned.”

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