Chapter 87: Romance Novel With A Twist
A few minutes after Martin’s conversation with NukEncore, she sat at the counter while countless sweets lay spread across it, all prepared by Martin and Samu.
The kitchen had turned warm and crowded in a comfortable way. Steam still drifted from fresh tea, and sugar and cream hung in the air.
Plates, crumbs, fruit peels, and half-finished desserts covered the counter in cheerful chaos while Samu moved through it all with the weary control of a chef guarding his kingdom.
She devoured them like a gluttonous little monster and did not care in the slightest what she looked like. Her cheeks puffed adorably as she chewed, a smear of cream touched the corner of her lips, and the little pile of emptied plates beside her kept growing. Even in a game, the sight was enough to make a person stare. After watching her tear through only a few snacks, even Crimson Halo felt her eye twitch. She could not bring herself to take another sip of tea.
Girl, if anyone caught you like this in the real world, it would spark a full-blown scandal.
It was true that North American artists had never reached the same worldwide fame as The Moon Walker back in the day, but NukEncore was one of the few modern artists who had. A single picture of her devouring that many sweets at once could probably launch a whole new era of obesity in the real world...
For God’s sake, I need to warn Alex that not just anyone can enter this party. One wrong guest could endanger all our careers, especially with how genuine everyone seems to be.
NukEncore noticed Crimson Halo staring at her. "Why aren’t you eating? We don’t get fat here."
"I must maintain appearances," Crimson Halo replied.
"Mhm... sure. So, are you going to be our new healer?" NukEncore asked.
"I do believe I passed Martin’s evaluation," Crimson Halo said. "But it is still up to him. Martin?"
All this time, Martin had been careful not to look directly at NukEncore. He kept his attention on Ao Tenshin’s plate, on the fruit he was cutting, on wiping crumbs from the counter, on anything but her.
She looked cute stuffing herself without a shred of restraint, cheeks puffing as she chewed, but he still could not meet her eyes for long. He had been relieved when she said she loved playing with everyone, including him.
At the same time, the whole thing had left a dull knot in his chest. He had stepped into something personal without realizing it, and the last thing he wanted now was to make another mistake.
Back there, Crimson Halo had saved him from making an even bigger mess.
So he turned back to Ao Tenshin and the food in front of him, safer work than meeting NukEncore’s eyes again. The little Dragon Turtle stood beside the dishes like a palm-sized glutton, opening her mouth expectantly every time he set something down. She was still small enough to fit in two hands, yet the amount she packed away was ridiculous. She had grown a lot despite being only level three, and she seemed to need a ridiculous amount of nutrients.
Her appetite was bigger than her shell.
Martin opened her status again and still felt shell-shocked by what he saw. The numbers looked absurd for a level-three companion.
[Ao Tenshin]
[Level: 3]
[HP: 512/512]
[MP: 404/404]
[Defense: 118]
[Shell Defense: 196]
She already had more HP and MP than he did, and her defenses were downright monstrous. Her shell’s value was the stupidest part of all. Then another pale blue window slid open before him.
[Dragon Breath]
[Racial Skill]
[A Dragon Turtle condenses mana and force deep in its throat before releasing them in a pressurized stream. In water, it becomes a piercing jet. On land, it blasts forward more like a firefighter’s hose, battering targets, knocking lighter enemies back, and soaking an area.]
Martin stared at Ao Tenshin’s round little face, then at the skill window again. A creature that looked that cute was apparently about to start blasting people apart.
As if sensing his attention, Ao Tenshin lifted her tiny head, puffed out her throat with visible pride, and let out a little huff toward the empty air. The sound was harmless. The skill window hovering before him was not. Martin could already picture that palm-sized body unleashing a raging stream hard enough to throw goblins across a room.
"Martin!" NukEncore shouted.
Martin looked over. "Yeah? Want more snacks?"
"Nuh-uh! Has Crimson Halo passed your evaluation? Is she going to be our healer?" NukEncore asked.
"Yeah, she’s great. She adapts really fast, just like you," Martin said with a chuckle.
Crimson Halo dipped her chin with her usual elegance, her smile widening.
NukEncore smiled at the praise. For a brief second, she looked at Martin instead of the sweets, and her gaze lingered just long enough to make his fingers pause on the knife. There was still softness there, but it no longer felt light. Martin looked down again and slid another piece of fruit toward Ao Tenshin.
"Mhm, thanks. You adapted even better in your fight against Thorn’Shield. I heard about it from other people... maybe somebody recorded it and posted it online. I want to watch it."
Martin let out a sigh. "I hope not... I didn’t even know there were options for streaming and recording."
NukEncore tilted her head. "You don’t want to be famous in-game? Couldn’t you turn that into money?"
Martin shook his head.
Samu offered his two cents. "Because of Cassandra Selfmore, Martin had already caught the elders’ attention. But now he has proved himself even further, and without her help. That means he no longer needs fame for the other residents to notice him, though I do not know how such things work in your world."
NukEncore explained, "Just ads alone would make him good money. How many players are in the Hidden Forest Monster Hunter Academy right now?"
Samu thought for a moment. "The last time Ragnar told me the exact number, it was around ten thousand players."
"Ah, then it’s not that many. But it would still be good money even if only twenty-five percent followed Martin. And if his fame spread beyond this academy, he’d get even more clicks. Word spreads fast in our world too."
"I see, I see," Samu said with a nod. Thank the Light you are in a better mood now, Missy, but could you please stop eating already? At this rate, Martin will have to kill ten thousand krakens just to keep my kitchen supplied!
NukEncore cut off another piece of cake and tossed it into her mouth as if that were answer enough for Samu.
He sighed and turned away.
NukEncore tipped her head again. "But maybe it’s better that you don’t want to be famous..."
Crimson Halo smirked. "Want to keep him all to yourself?"
"Mhm, I might as well after this bet," NukEncore shot back, glaring at her with red cheeks.
Crimson Halo’s smile sharpened. That answer told her plenty. It was not only the words. It was the flush in NukEncore’s cheeks, the stubborn glare she threw back, and the possessive edge hiding beneath that casual little mhm. More telling still was Martin’s side of it. Even while avoiding her eyes, he answered NukEncore with an ease he did not use with most people. Careful, yes. Guarded, yes. But the familiarity between them was already there.
The diva is much closer to Martin than I thought. So the two of them have already crossed into private ground. Now I need to see how close Cassandra is.
In an instant, Crimson Halo could see it: a commoner, a cold CEO, and a diva tangled around the same man. The image sent a thrill through her. She was not about to waste a script that delicious.
"Why are you level five?" NukEncore asked.
Martin explained, "I actually ’unleashed’ the Baby Kraken and the dungeon itself. It’s branded to our guild now, so we can level there and get drops too."
"Seriously?!" Samu called from the other side of the kitchen. "Martin, you had better bring me lots of Baby Kraken meat!"
Martin glanced at the food NukEncore and Ao Tenshin were gobbling down.
He nodded. "Yeah... don’t worry, Chef."
"That sounds awesome! We can get more drops than other people, right?" NukEncore beamed. "We still have a lot to do in that dungeon. Like taking down more goblin bosses."
"And categories," Martin added. "All of that gets us rewards and items. I still need to walk Crimson Halo through it properly.""
"I’m all ears, Martin," Crimson Halo chimed in.
Just then, Cassandra logged in and sent Martin a message as Kill Clause.
A few minutes later, steady footsteps approached the kitchen. The easy noise of tea, sweets, and chatter thinned almost at once. Samu glanced up from his station. NukEncore’s chewing slowed. Crimson Halo’s attention sharpened with open delight.
Then Cassandra stepped inside as if the place belonged to her.
She still wore a beginner Ranger’s outfit, but on her it looked far less innocent than the academy had probably intended. The fitted leather top traced her waist cleanly, and the short mantle and quiver at her back only pulled the eye up and down in turn.
The snug lines of her gear made her long legs look even longer. Nothing about it was showy. On Cassandra, that only made it worse.
Cool and composed, she carried herself with the sort of authority that made the room adjust around her without being told to.
At the sight of her, Crimson Halo’s smile widened on its own. Ah, here you are. You are a tougher book to read than Elisebeth, but you cannot hide from me. I cannot wait to see whether Martin has managed to put even a little warmth into that cold heart of yours.
To Crimson Halo, it felt like reading ahead in a romance while writing it at the same time.
She did not yet realize that the next turn would leave even her struggling to keep that perfect smile in place.