Chapter 130

[System: Hunter Melody Hansol has sponsored 6,270,000 points.]

Melody Hansol, a member of the support staff, was in charge of settling the monthly membership fees and cafe profits as a sponsorship.

This brought the total points collected so far to about nine million.

‘That’s quite a sum. I can finally exchange it for the fourth ultimate skill.’

I went into the shop and searched for ultimate skills.

“Sort, beginner ultimate skills, Wave.”

[System: Exchange 5,000,000 points for <Beginner Ultimate Skill — Wave>?]

[Exchange] / [Decline]

“Exchange.”

As the points I had saved up bit by bit vanished all at once, I was left with about four million.

The last remaining beginner ultimate skill was Annihilation (滅). It required a staggering fifty million points to acquire.

‘What missions are left?’

The three missions involving Igrid were worth one million points each.

The absurd mission to receive a sincere confession from Dante was worth a thousand points.

‘The mission involving Johan seems the most plausible…’

Just saying ‘YES’ would earn me a million points.

Just then, Zenia spoke cautiously.

“Guild Master, I’m sorry to disturb you while you’re resting, but Sir Johan has been waiting outside for a while.”

“…What?”

“He said you looked very busy and that he would wait. Shall I show him in?”

“W-Wait!”

This is bad!

‘What did I say to him inside the Earth Dragon’s mouth?’

“Live. If you get out of here, I’ll do anything for you, so just live. If you give up in front of me, I’ll kill you for real.”

“…Damn it.”

In my haste, I’d acted without thinking. I just wanted to save Johan, no matter what.

‘How should I turn him down?’

Honestly, now wasn’t the time to accept Johan.

Most importantly, I couldn’t just start dating him without being sure of my feelings. That would be deceiving him.

‘If I refuse… Johan will be disappointed.’

I have no choice. I’ll have to apologize. I’ll accept it even if he curses and blames me. Until his heart is at ease.

“Um… Guild Master, what should I do?”

“Haa, show him in.”

I moved to the sofa.

A moment later, the door opened, and a handsome paladin, dressed impeccably in his uniform, entered the office.

“Sir Johan, welcome.”

“You seemed very busy. Is everything all right now?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“Not at all. It was interesting just watching people pass by.”

A brief silence fell after Johan’s words. He watched me for a moment, then smiled gently.

“You look like you have a lot to say. It’s all right, please speak your mind.”

I looked him straight in the eye and said,

“Then I’ll be honest with you.”

“Yes.”

“I like you, Johan.”

Johan’s clear blue eyes wavered.

“But I don’t know if these feelings are romantic or if it’s the affection I have for a comrade.”

“…”

“What I said inside the Earth Dragon’s mouth… I won’t make excuses. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

I bowed my head in apology. After a moment, Johan asked quietly,

“If you’re not sure about your feelings, shouldn’t we spend more time together to find out?”

“That’s one way, I suppose. To truly know your feelings for someone, you need to spend a lot of time with them.”

“…So you’re saying you won’t do that.”

“I’m saying I can’t. I’m currently in a relationship with the Second Prince.”

“It’s a contract… isn’t it?”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have to be faithful. I have an obligation to do my best until my arrangement with His Highness is over.”

“…”

“Accepting your feelings in this situation would be cowardly. I’m sure you know that as well.”

The light in Johan’s face dimmed. He stared at me for a moment before giving a bitter smile.

“So that’s a no.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I actually expected this. I knew the time wasn’t right yet.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“What you said inside the Earth Dragon’s mouth… it was to save me, wasn’t it? I had a feeling.”

Johan ran a hand through his hair. His soft blond locks scattered through his long fingers.

“But the way you treat me is so different from how I feel about you, and it made me impatient… I knew I shouldn’t, but I got greedy.”

Did he feel a sense of crisis seeing me treat him like a younger brother?

He probably thought that if he waited any longer, I’d completely cement him in the “little brother” zone, and he’d lose his chance entirely. That he couldn’t let things stay as they were.

“But I don’t regret it. It’s enough for me that you now know how I feel.”

“…”

“And I even got to hear you say you like me. You said you weren’t sure if it was romantic, but it still made me happy.”

Finding hope again like a true paladin, he gently took my hand.

“Lady Astell, I’m not going to give up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I won’t just stand by and wait for your feelings to become the same as mine.”

“Then… what are you going to do?”

“I’ll have to woo you earnestly. Like this.”

He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand.

As I felt his soft lips on my skin, I suddenly started to feel warm.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

This wasn’t the first time Johan had kissed my hand, yet heat rushed to my face unexpectedly.

Before, it was the kiss of a paladin expressing reverence. Now, it was the kiss of a man longing for affection.

“Would it be all right if I tried to tempt you?”

“You’re already doing it.”

“You felt that way? Haha, I’m glad to hear it.”

Johan’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. His face, revealing a perfect set of teeth, was so beautiful I couldn’t look away.

‘Wow…’

A paladin’s determined attempt at seduction was surprisingly potent.

Enough to make my heart flutter just a little.

Truthfully, it wouldn’t be a problem if I accepted Johan’s feelings.

I’d definitely told Dante I would cause some trouble at an opportune moment, and we’d agreed to use that as an excuse to break up.

So, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to cause that trouble by two-timing him with Johan.

In fact, wouldn’t it be a good way to both end things with Dante and accept Johan’s feelings?

‘But I don’t want to treat Johan like that.’

Not that anyone should be treated carelessly, but that was especially true for Johan.

If I were to seriously consider Johan, it would have to be after my contract with Dante is over.

[System: Mission <Say ‘YES’ to Johan> has failed.]

It’s a shame to lose a million points, but it can’t be helped.

“Lady Astell, on my way up, I noticed the cafe has many kinds of cake. Would you like to go down with me?”

“Tempting me twice in a row is against the rules. You have to give me time to adjust.”

“I wasn’t trying to tempt you just now…”

“…”

I’ll have to keep it a secret that the thought of cake made my heart flutter more than Johan’s kiss.

I stood up with a prim expression, straightening my back.

“Hmph, now that I think about it, I feel I’ve been neglecting Patissier Jean. I had the cafe built but haven’t even used it myself.”

“Then this is the perfect opportunity to visit. Allow me to escort you.”

I took Johan’s offered hand, and he politely opened the door for me.

We went down to the first floor together.

* * *

A cafe was set up on the first floor of the Guardian headquarters.

A spacious and pleasant area, elegant and comfortable sofas, sunlight pouring in through the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows, and the savory scent of butter wafting through the air.

Even without any special attention to the interior design, the atmosphere was perfect for enjoying dessert.

The guild members were scattered about on the sofas, enjoying their leisure time.

There were no longer people lining up to taste Jean’s creations as before. This was because it was a guild-members-only cafe where everything had to be purchased with points.

When Johan and I appeared, the guild members in the cafe greeted us warmly.

“Oh? Guild Master! Hello!”

“Hello.”

“Did you come for some coffee? May I treat you?”

“No.”

“Guild Master! The fresh cream chiffon cake today is a work of art!”

“I see.”

I answered stiffly, like a machine, as I took a seat.

This was why I had avoided using the cafe. This exact reason.

Why do I find people’s warm welcomes so burdensome?

Hostility is easy to deal with, but when people show me affection, I don’t know how to react.

“I’ll place our order. Lady Astell, what would you like to drink?”

“…Iced black tea, please.”

As if sensing my discomfort, Johan headed to the counter in my stead.

As I sat there blankly, feeling the prickling stares, a strange shriek came from somewhere.

“Oh my! If it isn’t the most wonderful Guild Master in the world! Guild Master!”