The Black Saint is My StalkerCh68 - Time was different

The fight that devolved on Mt. Xingjing was a sight to behold. Even the villagers that thrived at the base of the mountain took notes of the flashing lights that shimmered from above.

The battle was intense, both sides stubborn and unrelenting. But it was only when Graham had swung his sword into a wooden pillar of her manor that the Immortal of Star Mirror Lake began to shriek like a rooster. “Stop, stop at once!” gH15aG

“…” Graham felt like he had discovered something good. So he pointed his sword towards the manor, which caused the Immortal of Star Mirror Lake to squawk and squeal some more.

He wished that his memories were clearer past this point but in all honesty, it was predominantly a chaotic mess that unraveled with little rhyme or reason.

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First, there was a lot of crying. The infamous Immortal of Star Mirror Lake began flailing and whining about him being a bully.

Then, if he remembered correctly, there was some clinging involved. QC1voM

They discarded their weapons at some point and began throwing punches.

And at some other point, Han Ruyan poured them tea.

The tea was exchanged for alcohol.

Honestly, the chronological order of these events was debatable.

But after this and that, Graham recalled clearly that Han Ruyan was sobbing on the ground, slamming her fists against the table with her face red, tears mixed with snot.

“Fine, I’ll help you!” she finally relented between the wailing, “I’ll help you if you help me.”

Helping her apparently involved a contrived plan of making a Junior Sister of hers jealous. That was an entire other mess that Graham got a headache from just by recalling.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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There was another time when Han Ruyan came to visit him back in his homeland. Not only had she completely redecorated his estate without his permission but demanded that he bring her to see a unicorn. He had stared at her calmly back when, stoic while she lounged on his black velvet couch, moved from his bedroom into the lobby, with all his servants waiting at her attention. He ignored her demands and said, “Ruyan, there was a time, if I remember correctly, when you forcefully strung me along to embarrass yourself in front of your junior sister.”

Fast forward another century or two or maybe more and they were beneath the moonlit sky during the Sunless War. Graham remembered sharing tea with Han Ruyan beneath the trenches while bombshells erupted amid banshee cries. The army of undead was approaching.

Though the two friends wore calm expressions, the dim lighting from the lamp was enough to reveal the dark circles beneath their eyes. During a rare moment of silence, where the battle was quelled, suspended, Graham had spoken, “Ruyan, do you still remember the time we first met and you demanded that I join you on an absurd endeavor?” yvimdq

Han Ruyan had laughed then, both bitter and nostalgic.

The Hunter’s Association’s first conference was held in Britia, three years after the Sunless War. It was on a cold, dreary day and Graham was standing outside a majestic building in the middle of the capital city. Even in the better part of town, it still smelled of sewage mixed with industrial smoke and horse manure. Despite the advent of the automobile, horse-drawn carriages were still a common sight amid the streets.

Graham was a rather conspicuous-looking fellow standing outside the western exit, with his homburg hat angled rather low, but the guards ignored him. He’d been busy trying to light his cigar with a damp box of matches. Han Ruyan was his savior, appearing with a talisman that summoned a tiny flame. “What are you doing out here instead of in there? I know it’s been decades yet, but were you not the head of the Round Table Union at some point?”

Graham took a dreg, sampling earthy cocoa with underpinnings of salt and cedar. “It’s been centuries,” he corrected her, “I have little sway in their new structure.” And honestly, he didn’t really care. Not anymore. 3EfWMJ

“Oh?” Han Ruyan wiggled her eyebrows mischievously at him, “Don’t tell me it’s because of that awful rumor about you and that Lady Valoise?” She slapped his back so hard that he almost choked on his own cigar. “Look, I know not the details of what happened between you and that harlot but your Big Sister Ruyan will always take your side in these types of matters. After all, I know that sweet little Graham has no eyes for a shrew without womanly curves!”

“…” Leave it up to Han Ruyan to pick up the strangest and most annoying of rumors. “Ruyan,” he said slowly, “need me to remind you of the time I had witnessed your desperate attempts at winning back your junior sister’s affections?”

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She rolled her eyes and huffed at him, no longer embarrassed by an event that had occurred so far, far back in the past. But she knew that it was Graham’s way of telling her to mind her own business.

And then several decades later she would chase him down to Merriva, demanding that he return with her to Yang in order to avoid the conflict that would later lead to the Edelstein Barrier meltdown. P LVda

She had followed him all the way to the New United Merriva headquarters. At the time, the black monolithic building hadn’t yet been sky born and was located in the dense woodlands of the midwest.

“Those DASR fools are up to no good,” she tried to reason with him, marching after him through the narrow forest roads. It had been nighttime, and Graham took the most treacherous path in attempts to lose her trail but to no avail.

“Merriva needs the DASR,” he had argued, walking forward without even giving her a glance. Not just Merriva, but the entire modern world would not exist without the DASR’s merits and technological advancements. The Hunter’s Association would be crippled without them. “If not for the DASR, we’d have another Sunless War.”

“You don’t honestly believe that,” Ruyan was flabbergasted. dYZizh

And Graham had lost his patience then too, “Ruyan, do you recall the time you stuck your nose into something you should not have?”

“You’re serious,” she deadpanned.

He finally stopped and turned to face her. “I am.”

Their eyes were locked, tension thick. Han Ruyan frowned. “You’ve changed, Graham.” 2l4VW8

Graham hadn’t believed her.

What had been presumed to be minor conflicts between local supernatural beings and the DASR only continued to escalate. One thing led to another and the first higher demon had summoned for the first time in years.

Han Ruyan, who had still been in Merriva because of Graham, had the misfortune of encountering it first.

And she dealt with the demon alone. 3VKmlW

How she managed such a feat was a secret that she kept to her grave, but plenty of rumors and theories arose after it was revealed that she had a half-demon child inside her belly.

Six years after giving birth to Han Li, Ruyan was cremated and buried thousands of miles away from her homeland. All because she wanted her own son to be able to attend her funeral. Due to strict supernatural control laws, even someone who was half like Han Li wasn’t allowed to leave the country easily. Chairman Duan was still upset at Graham, for supporting her decision about this matter.

Graham, the terrible friend that he was, came to her funeral late because he had just returned from a long string of A and S-rank missions that he’d been taking back to back.

He stood vigil at her tombstone, lost amid a sea of others at the center of a loud, concrete Merrivan city. The night sky was bright with light pollution, the stars obscured. On the gravestone, the epitaph read: “A mother’s love grows by giving.” TCB2Yh

It was raining, just a light drizzle. He couldn’t even light incense for her. Ah, even if he couldn’t light her incense, he really should have brought her some other offerings. Too late now.

Graham, stone-faced gazed upon the grave, trying to imagine the Immortal of Star Mirror Lake buried beneath it. With a low, even voice, he said, “Ruyan, perhaps you may not remember any longer, but I won’t ever forget…”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Seven hundred years’ worth of friendship amounted to this. All he did was mindlessly rush to her gravesite from his mission, not even stopping for flowers.

He sighed and continued, “I won’t ever forget the time you thought it wise to use me to make your Junior Sister jealous when you already knew that she had taken a new lover. It was absurd, and I almost died of second-hand embarrassment. I believe that I had realized it then, just how shameless of a woman you are— were.” fDeUYv

He stood there for what must have been hours. And when he asked, “How have I changed?” the dull tombstone gave him no answer.

Time was different when one lived so long.

Because the next thing he knew, Han Ruyan’s son had already grown so big. And she was still dead, buried beneath the earth in that noisy concrete Merrivan city, thousands and thousands of miles away from her home.

Author: Hello, this is Val. Val is sober. Please don’t think that I’m an alcoholic. Also…! Not going to lie, I’ve been pretty excited to share this chapter so I hope you enjoyed it ; w ;” I hope it humanizes Graham a bit more as we slowly explore more of his character– or something!?!?! 4aqPzL