Chapter 184: Chapter 172: This Is What You Call a Welcome

"I thought that after not seeing each other for so long, you would at least give me a proper welcome."

Flora Bloom sighed. Seeing the disappointment flash in Lex Cross’s eyes... ’Damn this soft heart!’ Just saying "welcome" wouldn’t kill her.

And so, "Welcome."

The words had barely left her mouth when she found herself pulled tightly into his embrace.

"Now *this* is a proper welcome, Flora."

Pressed against Lex Cross’s chest, the powerful thumping of his heart echoed in her ears, stirring a strange flutter within her. But Flora Bloom felt it was better for everyone if she made things clear sooner rather than later. She gently pushed him away to create some distance, then looked up at him and asked.

"Lex Cross, I need to make something clear. If this is about that night... you don’t have to overthink it. I never said you needed to take responsibility for me. So you don’t... you don’t have to do this."

Lex Cross stared into Flora Bloom’s eyes for a long moment. The trace of softness in his gaze hardened as he listened to her, replaced by something stiff and dangerous. The smile on his face slowly faded, becoming less gentle as the sharp glint of a predator flashed in his eyes once more.

"Hah. Flora Bloom, why do you think I traveled all this way to find you?" He had known it ever since he saw her again in Varden Village: once the heart is stirred, it can rarely return to its former, mountain-like stillness.

Flora Bloom was taken aback by his question, momentarily unsure of what to do. ’Did he misunderstand me?’

"Did... did you misunderstand me? I mean, you really don’t have to take responsibility for me! Do you understand?" Flora Bloom looked earnestly into Lex Cross’s eyes, trying to hide the way her heart fluttered at his words.

"I don’t understand!" He could clearly see the hesitation in her eyes. But how could he, Lex Cross, ever let the woman he wanted refuse him so easily? "I only know one thing: when I set my heart on a woman, I’ll find her even if she runs to the ends of the earth. I’d cross mountains of corpses and seas of beasts to get to you."

"Huh?" Flora Bloom couldn’t ignore the determination in his eyes. ’But... I was trying to push him away. How did this turn into him showing off his possessiveness?’

More importantly, the heart she had been trying so hard to suppress began to pound uncontrollably once more.

But before she could say anything, a sharp flick to her forehead made her wince. She immediately glared at Lex Cross, her eyes wide with indignation.

"What’s with the ’huh’? Am I forcing you into bed with me right here and now? The moment we meet, you’re already trying to keep your distance. What am I, some kind of monster that’s going to eat you? You heartless woman!"

Flora Bloom rubbed the throbbing, warm spot on her forehead, unsure if the flick had cleared her head or muddled it even more.

"Who are you calling heartless?! I was just laying my cards on the table! And why did you hit me?"

Watching her glare at him so fiercely, Lex Cross felt a perverse sense of satisfaction. He found this much more delightful than her earlier, conflicted expression.

His warm hand and long fingers reached out to cup Flora’s head, and his cool lips pressed against the red mark on her forehead.

The burning on the red mark was soothed by the cool touch, but the sensation itself struck her like a lightning bolt, leaving her thoughts a tangled mess.

"Does it still hurt?"

’Good grief. Do all lightning users know how to land critical hits on people’s hearts?’

She still hadn’t fully processed his "tough guy acting cute" routine, and now she was seeing genuine tenderness in his eyes.

She shook her head, her expression dazed and blank, her eyes following the slight smile playing on his lips.

"Flora, we have all the time in the world."

A "BUZZZZZZ" sound suddenly shattered the strange and ambiguous atmosphere between them.

"Ahem, Flora, Leader Sterling was afraid I’d get lost, so he showed me the way." Caleb Bloom, Morgan Sterling, and a curvaceous woman who radiated the power of the Water Element stood outside the barrier gate, not daring to take a single step inside.

The reason was that a dozen or so giant bees had suddenly flown out of a massive hive on the lawn and were now staring intently at the newcomers.

Flora Bloom glanced at her father’s knowing, suggestive smile and quickly put some distance between herself and Lex Cross.

"Dad, you’re here." Flora Bloom quickly regained her composure and turned to Morgan Sterling. "Thank you for bringing my father, Leader Sterling. If that’s all, you can leave now."

The smile on Morgan Sterling’s face froze, and he stood there, awkwardly at a loss. He glanced past the gate at the lawns and the enormous beehive in the tree.

’So those strange bugs were actually bees? With a hive that big, just how many of them were there?’ His look, as he turned back to Flora Bloom, shifted from awkwardness to terror.

’Could it be? This woman doesn’t just control that little white tiger... she controls these bees too?’

"Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave," he said, his awkwardness suddenly vanishing. "Oh, by the way, this is Azure Leroy, the head of the Water Resources Management Department for the Morhaven safety base. I know you’re a very powerful Water Ability User, Flora Bloom, but your group is large. You surely can’t handle everything on your own. If you wouldn’t mind, I could leave her here with you. It would make storing and managing water for everyone much more convenient."

Azure Leroy stood gracefully beside Morgan Sterling. And though she put on an air of detached calm, Flora Bloom, as a woman, noticed the way her gaze had unintentionally drifted over Lex Cross at least three times.

’Her intentions can’t be that simple.’ On top of that, why would Morgan Sterling offer to leave a highly sought-after Level 3 Water Ability User with her group for no good reason? She’d have to be an idiot not to see his ulterior motive.

So she gave Azure Leroy a cool glance before turning her attention back to Morgan Sterling.

"Morgan Sterling, Miss Leroy is beautiful, has a wonderful figure, and is a Level 3 Water Ability User. Are you really willing to part with such a lovely confidante and send her my way?"

Morgan Sterling’s gaze flickered to the man beside Flora Bloom. The image of what they’d seen at the gate moments ago made him feel a strange sense of discomfort. He looked at Flora Bloom, his expression turning serious as he forced a smile. "Azure Leroy is the sister of a dear, departed friend. I treat her like my own sister, so please, don’t get the wrong idea."

Before Flora Bloom could refuse, Lex Cross spoke, his voice deep and cold. "That won’t be necessary. Our team isn’t short on water. Leader Sterling, if there’s nothing else, you may leave."

As he finished speaking, Lex Cross naturally slung an arm over Flora Bloom’s shoulder. "Uncle, Flora has been waiting for you to help her pick out a house."

Caleb Bloom smiled, nodded, and stepped through the gate, nervously making his way past the dozen giant bees to join his daughter.

Strangely, the dozen huge bees parted to let him pass, acting almost human. They showed no sign of aggression.

But when Morgan Sterling tried to follow him through the gate, the bees suddenly began to beat their wings furiously. The loud "BUZZZZZZ" was a clear warning: one more step, and they would attack.

Recalling the nightmarish experience his people had when three factions joined forces to clear this villa district, only to be tormented by these very bees, Morgan Sterling hastily retreated back outside the gate.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the bees didn’t follow.