Chapter 88: I’m Starting To Like Your Boss Attitude
As soon as Kill Clause entered the kitchen, she found an empty seat and calmly sat down beside NukEncore. She moved with the same cool certainty she brought everywhere, as if the chair had been waiting for her all along. The moment she sat down, the kitchen seemed to settle around her. Even NukEncore, still puffing her cheeks a little, grew quieter at her side. Martin noticed it too and straightened almost instinctively.
One glance at the piles of empty plates, the sweet snacks, and, naturally, NukEncore’s puffed cheeks told her all she needed to know. Something as significant as Martin’s duel with Thorn’Shield had happened.
The smell of coffee still lingered in the warm kitchen, mixing with sugar and the buttery scent of the snacks NukEncore had been attacking moments earlier. Plates sat stacked in messy little towers across the table, giving the gathering an oddly domestic feel despite the tension running beneath it.
Martin knew better than to underestimate Kill Clause.
"I made you some coffee," he said, sliding a warm cup toward her.
Kill Clause smiled. "Thanks, Martin. So? What happened to our mage?"
She could tell Martin wanted her on his side in whatever had happened with NukEncore. Of course, she already knew the details of Martin’s duel with Thorn’Shield. She had even dealt with Thorn’Shield herself and made sure he handed over the sword he owed.
Even Martin’s discovery and new level-five status were no mystery to her.
What she did not know yet was what had happened with NukEncore.
NukEncore wanted Kill Clause’s opinion on the duel. Since they were both aware of each other’s identities, she spoke between the lines, fishing for every answer she wanted. One of her hands lingered near her snacks, though she barely touched them now. Her earlier puffiness had not fully faded, but it looked less cute than strained.
She tried to keep her tone casual, yet a faint edge kept slipping into her voice, making it obvious she wanted Kill Clause on her side.
Then she explained the situation from her perspective and asked, "...that’s what made me feel betrayed. You know how vulnerable our positions are."
She stressed the word "our" so Kill Clause would understand exactly what she meant.
Kill Clause nodded. "If that had happened to me, I’d have agreed to the terms and fought that enemy Ranger."
NukEncore blinked.
Kill Clause continued, "There’s no better motivation than crushing an enemy who once got the better of you. It would make me put far more effort into this game. Besides, chemistry between players is what makes a party truly strong. It’d be hard to top ours, don’t you think?"
This time, she put the weight on "ours," and NukEncore nodded hard.
She could feel the difference herself. Martin had somehow pulled people like them into the same orbit and made it work. Thorn’Shield would never have held a group like this together. He would have dragged it down before it ever became a real party.
"Yes... you’re right. When you put it like that, I just sound pathetic." NukEncore looked down.
For a brief second, the room seemed to dip with her. Then Martin reached across without hesitation and took both of her hands. The sudden warmth of his touch made her fingers twitch in surprise, and her eyes lifted at once. He smiled at her. "Hey, don’t talk like that. I don’t know the whole story, but it made you stronger. It helped shape who you are now. Look at me. I regret my delinquent past, but I don’t run from it."
NukEncore beamed. "Mmh. Thanks, Martin. Thanks, Clause."
Even after Martin let go, NukEncore stayed a little closer than before. Her shoulders were still tense, but she no longer looked like someone ready to shrink away. If Kill Clause had entered expecting to find a wounded mage, she would only find one who had chosen to remain at Martin’s side.
Kill Clause smiled. "No need."
"Martin."
"Yeah?" Martin turned toward her.
Kill Clause met his eyes then, giving him a rare, genuine look. "Good job standing up for the party and for your place in it. If that happens again, I’m with you. We can do a two-on-two. How’s the sword?"
Martin stared at her for a few seconds, caught off guard, before his expression warmed. "Thanks. If someone comes at me again, I’ll ask for a two-on-two with you by my side."
Kill Clause gave a cool nod.
NukEncore clenched her hands as she watched them. That short exchange stung more than she wanted to admit. Kill Clause had spoken with clean confidence, and Martin had answered her just as naturally, as if trusting her was the easiest thing in the world.
There was nothing flirtatious in it, which somehow made it worse. It felt solid and earned, like the kind of understanding NukEncore wished she had given him from the start.
Jealousy twisted inside her, followed at once by guilt. She hated that she had doubted him, and she hated even more that someone else had stepped in so cleanly where she had faltered.
Still, the past had a stronger hold on her than she wanted to admit. She swore she would let that go and be bolder in-game, where no one knew her identity anyway.
She could not argue with what she had just seen, so she said nothing and kept quietly munching on her snacks.
Martin picked up his own coffee and glanced between them, uneasy without knowing exactly why. On the surface, nothing in the conversation sounded especially strange, yet every answer seemed to land with more weight than it should have. All he really knew was that he had stepped into something delicate again.
Crimson Halo, on the other hand, was shaken to the core.
Cassandra Selfmore... she’s aware that I’m sitting beside her, yet I see no hint of that "COLD CEO" aura. Instead, she’s clearly looking after everyone, including Martin. No, she’s kinder to him and far more affectionate than I expected. Has he already found a soft place in her heart? Amazing... I have to give you that, Martin.
If NukEncore was the most famous among them, Cassandra Selfmore held a different kind of power.
She had money, reach, influence, and the competence to use all of it well. A woman like that did not move carelessly.
And Crimson Halo was right.
Cassandra was not even trying to hide her appreciation for Martin. She treated him the same way she always did, and NukEncore too.
She knew Crimson Halo might notice and use it against her, whether in the game or outside it, but she accepted that risk. Her time in Martin’s party had been too enjoyable for pretense to feel worth the effort anymore.
Kill Clause made it sound simple, but Crimson Halo caught the weight in it at once. This was more than a welcome. Kill Clause was measuring her, accepting her, and quietly giving her a place in the party all at once.
Martin only looked pleased that things were going smoothly. Crimson Halo saw something else. His duel, his new sword, the dungeon, the party forming around him, all of it was beginning to take real shape.
"You’ll be our healer," Kill Clause said to Crimson Halo.
Crimson Halo’s smile deepened ever so slightly. "My, how careful everyone has suddenly become."
Crimson Halo nodded. "Indeed. I’ve passed Martin’s evaluation."
"I look forward to working with you, then. If you’re looking for a party to join, you’re in the best place. Naturally, that only applies if you’re competent and can deliver results." Kill Clause smiled softly.
Martin laughed. "There it is again, that boss attitude of yours. I’m starting to like it."
Kill Clause closed her eyes and let her lips curve a little wider at the praise. A faint blush rose to her cheeks, unexpected enough that she did not even notice it herself.
Crimson Halo did, and the sight nearly stole her breath. It was not the blush alone. It was how strange it looked on a woman who carried herself with such controlled precision. The softening at the corners of Kill Clause’s lips, the faint color in her cheeks, the quiet way she accepted Martin’s praise without denying it, all of it told Crimson Halo far more than any confession could have.
So even she softens for him like this... how fascinating.
She had no idea that once the last member of the party arrived, her heart would be shaken even more.
Just as the room began settling into its new shape, another shift approached. Crimson Halo felt it before anyone said a word. Martin, however, only looked down at the message with an easy smile, unaware of how much that small expression sharpened the atmosphere around him.
[Chaosgraphy: Where are you all?]
[Emperoar: Ah, we’re at Samu’s kitchen. At this point, just come in and we’ll talk about the future. I have something exciting to tell everyone!]
[Chaosgraphy: Okay, I’ll sprint over, I guess.]
[Emperoar: Haha!]