There were naturally girls' nights for brides-to-be, and, of course, there were bachelor nights for n as well.
Felix received an invitation from ACE and the others. After hesitating for a mont, he decided to go. He handed the signed docunts to Irene and casually asked, "Where's Ines?"
"She took the afternoon off. She said she had so personal matters to attend to."
Felix simply nodded. With the wedding date drawing near, taking leave was only natural. He had always urged those employees who worked so hard they practically wanted to die at their desks to take proper breaks, treating everyone equally, whether they were natives of Terra or players. That attitude had touched many players deeply. Quite a few of them even joked that they wished they could work for Tomorrow's Developnt in real life.
anwhile, Wiš'adel, Ulšulah, and the other girls had gathered in Theresa's room for a heart-to-heart talk. In the future, they would all be close companions, and each of them loved Felix with the purest feelings. Naturally, their conversation drifted toward how they first t him, how their stories with him began, and when their hearts first started to flutter.
Qalaiša, Nymph, and Mudrock made snacks themselves, while the others brought drinks, pillows, and blankets, clearly intending to spend the whole night in Theresa's room.
When Theresa saw this, a bright smile appeared on her face, though there was still a trace of shyness in it. Even though she was much older than the girls around her, whenever she was with them, and whenever she was with Felix, she always felt like a young girl just beginning to understand love.
That was the change Felix had brought.
Without Felix, there might have been only estrangent between her and Theresis. He would have died alone beneath that throne, and Theresa herself would never have had the chance to be resurrected. She would already have rged with the countless past Sarkaz Kings and beco one more voice in the collective soul of their race.
"When did Miss Theresa fall in love with His Highness?"
The mont Wiš'adel asked the question, Theresa's eyes darted away. Her cheeks flushed red, and she looked so shy and gentle that she resembled the girl next door.
The other girls imdiately leaned in.
They had only ever seen Theresa this bashful in private, intimate monts, and now that she looked this way in front of all of them, they found it both novel and adorable.
"…Actually, from the first ti I t Felix and had a long conversation with him, I found myself thinking how wonderful it would be if Felix were a Sarkaz."
Theresa lowered her eyes slightly.
"If he had existed back then, Kazdel would never have split apart. There would have been no war. The Sarkaz would not have wandered this land for so long without a ho."
She paused.
"Until the mont I was about to die…"
Wiš'adel's face stiffened slightly, and she bit her lip.
Theresa smiled faintly.
"I thought then that all the words I could not say in this life, all the feelings I could not bring myself to confess to Felix... if there were an afterlife, if I were only an ordinary Sarkaz, then I would absolutely walk bravely to his side and never leave him again."
"Because I was dying, I could make no promises. I only wanted Felix to forget and live a happy life."
"At that ti, I thought that if there truly were another life, and if I could et Felix again, I would definitely confess to him, no matter our age, our status, or our positions."
Theresa smiled softly.
"And then… I woke up."
"The first person I saw was him."
"How romantic…" Nymph said, clearly moved, clasping her hands together. "It's wonderful that Miss Theresa woke up!"
Theresa smiled gently, then turned her gaze toward Wiš'adel with a playful expression.
"Wiš'adel, when did you fall in love with Felix?"
At that, Ines imdiately started smiling like an auntie watching a child being teased. Wiš'adel's sharp eyes instantly turned toward her, and Ines quickly coughed twice.
Ah. Her child really was far too cute.
Wiš'adel hesitated for a mont, then muttered, "At first, I didn't like him much."
"Because he wanted to take Miss Theresa's place, I thought… hmph, anyway, at the ti I felt he wasn't qualified. He was just a Sankta. Why would he help the Sarkaz?"
"But I was wrong. He could tell I was upset, so he deliberately used reverse psychology to comfort ."
Wiš'adel's two soft reddish ahoge drooped slightly over her forehead. She hugged her knees, pursed her lips, and continued.
"My feelings for him… are kind of complicated. Sotis I want to rip off his fake, pretentious mask, but other tis I feel like he's incredibly reliable, and just being near him makes feel safe…"
"Oh~"
Everyone let out a long, knowing ohhh, and Wiš'adel imdiately bristled.
"Anyway, I just fell in love without even realizing it! What am I supposed to do about that? I dream about Felix every night when I'm out on missions, when I'm working for Tomorrow's Developnt, but so what!"
"…"
The girls looked at Wiš'adel with strange expressions, which imdiately made her cheeks flush red. She buried her face in the pillow and refused to speak. Her toes curled slightly, and her little tiger teeth itched with the urge to bite down, as if she wanted to sink them into Felix's shoulder.
Your Highness… what are you doing right now?
___
As the na suggested, Bachelor' Night was an event for a man shortly before his wedding and friends who were still unmarried. For example, Hoederer, who was already married, naturally could not attend, well, he could but it depends on the activities planned. His eldest child was already in elentary school, and rumor had it that he had recently welcod a second child, a little girl.
When Felix arrived at the bar, he found that it had already been booked out by a large group of male operators. Among them were people he knew well, such as Rhodes Island elite operators ACE, Logos, and Scout. Storye and Sharp were also there, along with high-ranking mbers and operators from Tomorrow's Developnt, including Anthony, Feist, and Thorns. There were even guests who had co from afar, such as Enciodes and Federico.
By the ti Felix arrived, everyone had already started drinking. Glasses were raised in greeting, and ACE waved him over. The two sat down side by side at the bar, surrounded by Rhodes Island's elite operators.
…It felt a little strange sohow, but Felix did not dwell on it. After all, he was still technically a hidden shareholder of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals.
"That's enough…"
ACE downed a mouthful of strong whiskey, and two lines of tears stread down his face.
"I never thought you'd get married before . I still haven't even t a decent woman."
He could not help recalling the ti he and Felix had traveled to Columbia together. Back then, Felix had already had a girlfriend nad Muelsyse by his side, while he himself had still been single.
Several years had passed since then, and yet he was still single.
"ACE, what exactly are your requirents?" Felix leaned back in his chair and waved a hand. "Tell what you want, and I'll help you think of sothing. There are plenty of excellent girls in Tomorrow's Developnt. There's bound to be one that suits you."
ACE's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"What, do you think I'm lying?" Felix snorted lightly. "I'm telling you, you're not getting any younger. Look at Hoederer. He was already married, had kids, and was receiving family subsidies back in the early days of Kazdel's reform. You might not be a citizen of Kazdel, but right now Terra is peaceful, isn't it? There's no world-ending war anymore. Isn't this the perfect ti to find yourself a wife?"
Then Felix turned to Logos, Scout, and the others.
"I an what I say. Tell all your requirents tonight, and I'll help solve them."
ACE's face flushed slightly.
"Hmm… I'd like soone family-oriented, and preferably soone who can accompany on missions."
"Oh my God, ACE, are you planning to drag your future wife onto the battlefield to do missions with you?"
"That still sounds pretty romantic," Scout said, giving him a thumbs-up.
Felix pointed at the Clever.
"Search according to ACE's requirents and select suitable candidates."
"Yes… Searching within Kazdel… search complete. Matching female candidates: 75,205."
ACE froze.
"That many?"
"ACE, did you forget this is Kazdel?" Logos looked like he was about to laugh. "You haven't forgotten the combat ability of Kazdel's rcenaries, have you?"
"Uh…"
ACE wiped away cold sweat, laughed awkwardly, and muttered, "The point is, I thought my requirents were pretty simple…"
Felix waved a hand, then transferred several files to ACE's device before turning toward Logos and Scout.
Logos nodded slightly.
"I want soone young, beautiful, preferably soone who can communicate with through incantations, soone who enjoys listening to my bad jokes, and soone who can race office chairs with …"
Felix's lips twitched.
"Why don't you just look within the banshee clan?"
Logos's expression twitched as well.
When he was little, his mother had dressed him up as a girl because he had been too pretty. His childhood friends had teased him endlessly about it, and that mory had beco a dark stain he could never erase. Now he just wanted to stay as far away from Banshees as possible. Whenever he saw one, his first instinct was to turn around and disappear underground.
Scout raised an eyebrow.
"My requirents are… soone who can go on missions with , shoot with , and drink with ."
"That request is practically useless. Which Sarkaz rcenary can't fight or drink?" Felix said. "But for the shooting part, I can screen so sniper operators for you. Are you sure?"
Scout nodded happily.
Felix silently sent the Clever search away, then picked up his wine glass and walked over to Anthony, Feist, Thorns, and Elysium. The four of them grinned as soon as they saw him. Anthony stood up and offered Felix a seat, but Felix simply smiled and waved him off.
Tonight, he had no intention of putting on the airs of a king.
Being close to his subordinates was, in its own way, another kind of charm.
"I was just talking with ACE and the others. Those bachelors are still looking through the eligible won that Clever selected for them." Felix took a sip of wine. "You're all getting older. It's ti to find wives and settle down. Anthony, let's start with you. Tell , what's your ideal type?"
Anthony shook his head decisively. "My ideal is simply to follow Your Highness. Nothing more."
Holy crap, that answer is amazing! Elysium's eyes widened. It sounded like he was desperately trying to score points.
"If your parents heard that answer, they'd probably beat you to death." Felix clicked his tongue. "Alright then. What do you actually want?"
"Feline."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Felix slumped back in his seat and waved a hand, signaling Clever to begin the search. Then he turned to his student, Feist.
"Tell . What's your ideal type?"
"Teacher, what I truly love is science and machinery!"
Felix imdiately flicked him on the forehead. Feist winced and gave an awkward laugh.
Felix sneered. "You know, Clever has a recording function. In a mont, I'll send that voice clip to your grandmother. What do you think is going to happen then?"
Feist instantly fell silent.
Anthony added from the side, "She'll definitely take the sea route to Kazdel, co over in person, and settle accounts with you."
"Teacher, I'm done being abstract."
Feist looked troubled. "There was soone… just a classmate from college in Columbia. Nothing ever happened, but she helped solve a research problem, and I developed a bit of a crush on her."
"Na, race, age. I'll have Clever look her up, then recruit her into Tomorrow's Developnt."
Feist let out an embarrassed grunt and gave the na, after which Clever began searching again.
When Felix turned toward Thorns, he was silent for a mont.
After thinking it over, he said, "An Aegir who has achieved sothing in scientific research."
"Hey, hey, hey~ As for , I want an outgoing, cheerful girl who can chat with all the ti. Ah, and it'd be even better if she could cook and go on reconnaissance missions with too~" Elysium imdiately raised his hand as soon as Thorns finished. "And of course, her race should preferably be Liberi. As for age, I like the older-sister type. I wonder if there are any like that?"
Felix handed all of it over to Clever and let it handle the rest. Before long, a list of candidates was delivered to the four of them and they were told to review it themselves.
The table where Enciodes sat was not quiet either. Although he was the chairman of Karlan Trade and the true ruler of Kjerag, he was very approachable and carried himself like a friendly older brother.
Felix sat down beside him, and Enciodes smiled.
"You're not here to pressure into marriage too, are you?"
"I don't think I'm in any position to pressure you. You're the ruler of Kjerag, so naturally you already understand your own situation. What you should really be thinking about is which noble family's daughter would bring you the greatest benefit through marriage, right?"
Enciodes sighed.
"Several nobles from Victoria sent letters before. Openly and secretly, they all hoped I would marry their daughters. Hah. What a beautiful dream they're living in. Terra has only just ended its war, and seeing the faces of those nobles suddenly reminded of the old days."
"There's not much Victoria can do right now, at least not when it cos to annexing territory. If Horn found out, she'd probably just bombard their lands."
Enciodes waved a hand. "I'm tired anyway, so I'm not thinking about any of that for the mont."
Felix then looked toward Federico.
Federico slowly nodded.
"What I love is Laterano."
Reviews
All reviews (0)