Chapter 127: The Bunny Girl (Part II)
Nathan swallowed hard, struggling to apply the classic tropes of a "charming, confident guy." He adjusted his posture, threw his shoulders forward, and carefully controlled his expression to appear completely unfazed by the spatial majesty of the palace or the girl’s presence—even though his trembling knees and body said otherwise!
At first, Nathan tried to channel the quiet aura and dignity of legendary shonen protagonists... but he shook his head inwardly, thinking that the dark, mysterious charm of seinen heroes was usually far more enigmatic, deep, and attractive to girls!
Even so, a genuine dilemma gripped him: What if she didn’t like the mysterious, brooding type and preferred straightforward, powerful men instead? He was caught in a dilemma—a grueling internal struggle that ate at his mind!
Thoughts and questions clashed continuously in his head until Marfina finally approached and arrived where he stood. In a fraction of a second, Marfina made eye contact with both the servant tasked with escorting Nathan and Head Butler Zardar, exchanging a swift silent telepathic conversation in a mere flash.
After those brief moments, Marfina shifted her gaze away from the two servants and fixed it directly upon Nathan... who felt as if his heart were slowly melting and collapsing under her gaze!
The girl with the rabbit ears bowed before him with elegance and grace:
"Welcome, sir... It is my utmost pleasure to be of service to you."
Hearing those words—confirming with his own ears what he saw as the girl bowed before his eyes—a surge of overwhelming certainty washed over Nathan that he wasn’t imagining things at all. He was finally the chosen hero in this legendary fantasy tale, and he had no desire to return to the boring planet Earth ever again!
He saw with his own eyes the delicate, oval rabbit tail twitching beneath her maid dress... It wasn’t just amazing; it was something legendary beyond imagination!
Attempting to gather the best words in his head while feigning absolute confidence, Nathan stuttered:
"And I... I... am very pleased to meet you too!"
Nathan felt his words knotting in his throat from pure nervousness; he was trying to speak smoothly, fluently, and elegantly, but he had clearly failed miserably... He felt his dignified facade crumbling, yet he made one resolve: to hold out until the very end!
He thought to himself: Nothing is settled yet; the palace is vast, and the guest room certainly isn’t close. There’s still enough distance for me to charm her and enjoy her company... There’s still hope!
Marfina offered a formal smile and said, "Very well, sir. We may walk this way, and I shall guide you to your suite."
Nathan nodded rapidly and set off alongside the rabbit maid, leaving Zardar and the other servant behind.
At that moment, Zardar and the servant beside him noticed that Nathan—who was practically trotting to keep up with Marfina’s swift pace—had cold sweat soaking the back of his neck, his clothes completely drenched even though it wasn’t summer at all!
The other servant smiled and remarked in a calm tone, "This sight brings back old memories... I feel a bit sorry for him, not knowing the truth yet."
Zardar glanced at him and asked dryly, "Didn’t you inform him before coming here?"
The servant replied with indifference and a mocking smirk, "Why should I meddle? Let him find out on his own... Hardships make the man!"
Zardar nodded in understanding, and both turned to leave, returning to their usual, routine palace duties... as it always was.
Meanwhile, Nathan, who was walking through the lavish corridors beside Marfina, gathered his courage to break the mounting silence:
"So... what... what is your name, Miss?"
Marfina let out a very light, fleeting chuckle upon hearing Nathan’s question before quickly suppressing it—a reaction Nathan completely missed due to his intense nervousness. She instantly restored a cold, professional expression to her face:
"My name is Marfina, sir."
Nathan felt a surge of awkwardness because she had answered in such a brief tone without even bothering to ask for his name in return. Based on his light novel experience, this wasn’t a good sign, but he pressed on and tried again:
"Marfina... That is a very unique and lovely name! I truly wonder what it means in your language?"
Marfina replied curtly in a calm voice:
"It is a very common name in my race... It means ’Good Bunny Girl.’"
Nathan’s face froze in utter embarrassment, and he racked his brain searching for any clever way out of this awkward situation:
"Being common doesn’t mean it isn’t special or unique at all! Not in the slightest... Commonality always indicates that it carries a deep and very lovely meaning... Don’t you agree? By the way, my name is Nathan... I don’t know what it means exactly in our world, but what do you think of it?"
Marfina replied coldly:
"It is good."
Nathan felt his hopes shattering piece by piece, realizing this girl didn’t even have the mood to talk or engage in a passionate conversation with him!
He grinded his thoughts fiercely, squeezing his brain to come up with one stroke of genius... and suddenly remembered: there was one trump card he hadn’t used yet—his strength and physical build!
He had to prove to her that as a human man, he was far from weak; he figured that was the main reason she wasn’t interested in him, because she hadn’t realized yet how strong, athletic, and full of masculinity he was!
Nathan spoke in a tone overflowing with pride while feigning modesty:
"Did you know, Marfina? I’ve been consistently going to the gym... and in just twenty days, I managed to chest press twenty-five kilograms in each hand! I’ve even started building and bulking noticeable muscle..."
Nathan then rolled up his shirt sleeve, flexing his arm with all his strength to show off his bicep... The muscle wasn’t large by any means—in fact, it looked a bit small and ridiculous—but to Nathan, it was a display of sheer, overwhelming manhood!
Nathan smiled, closing his eyes with a touch of arrogance to hide his lingering embarrassment:
"What do you think of my muscles and strength, my lady?"
Nathan kept his eyes closed for a few moments, awaiting words of awe and praise... when suddenly, a massive, deep male voice echoed through the corridor, shaking the hallway:
"Hello, my dear... What are you doing here?"
Dear?!
Nathan snapped his eyes open in shock and disbelief... only to be confronted by a colossal rabbit man standing right before them! He possessed two giant rabbit ears and a towering, monstrous physique with muscles dozens of times larger than Nathan’s!
The giant rabbit man smiled, addressing Marfina in a warm tone:
"Oh, my dear wife... How is your work going today? And who is this boy?"
At that exact moment... Nathan’s bicep completely collapsed and deflated, as if experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure from the sight of this terrifying wall of muscle!
Marfina replied with a gentle smile, her tone brimming with affection toward the giant man:
"Oh... He is one of the Supreme Master’s new guests; I was just guiding him to his suite... My dear husband, did you bring our little children home from school today?"
Husband?! ... Our children!!
Nathan’s heart nearly collapsed and stopped beating altogether... at the exact same speed as his poor, deflated bicep.