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< Earth, Europe: Cailworth Estate — 9:00 P.M.>
"Young master, your dinner is ready." As the clock struck 9, an old and masculine voice rang out in the opulent bedroom of the Cailworth Estate. This man's voice echoed through the large room adorned with treasures and things that were exclusive to the elites of society.
This voice belonged to an old servant, one who his master tasked to prepare lunch exactly at or before 9.
"You don't have to tell me. I already know," Another voice responds, his tone filled to the brim with agitation.
This person, referred to as 'young master,' was none other than Shun.
The same Shun who recently lost two equilibrium-tiered beauties that were sent to his frontlines.
Earlier, he did nothing else but grind...he was branching out his connections, training his battle sense, and doing everything in his power to find new equilibrium-tiered girls he could add to his harem.
He didn't even mourn and went straight into gaining more power for his benefit. It might seem a cruel and dastardly move, but this was his norm.
To cope with the losses by doing everything in his power to recover them.
Why does he think and act like this? Well, that's because he's Shun fricking Cailworth!
A prestigious and prodigal son of a large conglomerate company!
"Did my order arrive, Reynolds?" He asks, walking to the dining table and sipping the glass of water with elegance and grace.
"Yes, I got it, young master." His butler, Reynolds, answers, giving him a box...and inside it was a plush, and not just any plush, but the plush of one of the slimes in the game.
Yes, you've heard that right.
A literal rich kid who was known to be colder than ice actually bought a plush that was cute as heck!
"You can leave it beside my bed," He says, never revealing the contents of what's inside the box.
If he did, he would have to talk his way out of why he was acting like a child when he was already 21 years of age. So naturally, he showed his default expression through public eyes: a cold and neutral expression that he got from his father.
As Shun was drinking water and eating food, he was also scrolling through messages and notifications on his phone.
All to know what was happening in both the business world and game world that he must have missed.
"As usual, my schedule is packed tomorrow morning and afternoon," Shun thinks to himself, frowning as he looks at all the meetings that he'll have to deal with tomorrow.
He then switches his focus to the Charming Beauties forums.
To see if there is anything new, like a dungeon discovery or a new item released.
...and so, after just a minute of scrolling, his eyes immediately widened, the hands holding his phone shaking incredulously. "Reynolds, wrap this dinner up," He says, finishing only 1/4 of the steak that was presented to him.
"Pardon?" The old servant exclaims, surprised by the attitude of his master, but he quickly reverts to his calm demeanor and nods.
Without even a moment of silence, Reynolds speaks up almost immediately. "I'll do as you say," He says, hiding the curiosity he had regarding why his young master was acting like that.
In reality? It was because there was an event in Catelia! An event!
It's been a while since he had ever participated in one...and the best part was that it was an event directed to a deity!
He was hoping he could rake in either cash, treasure, or stories of the world.
Most especially, he was aiming for those stories.
Stories that told more about the origin of this world and why there were only women in it.
Yes, he is a history nerd.
"Sh*t...it's going to cost me a lot to travel from Underwyn to Catelia..." He sighs as he goes to his VR console.
"Log me back in," He voices out, an exasperated sigh escaping his mouth as he is transported back to the game world in just a minute.
It's the perks of having the most expensive game gear.
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As I saw the skies turning to that of strawberries, I felt two things: hunger and fatigue.
I have to end this battle quickly if I want to eat and beat my mother with my cooking.
The man, who was using a whip as his weapon, lashed his weapon out at me, hoping to hit my shoulder or chest...fortunately, this was nothing that I couldn't avoid.
A simple sidestep faint is enough to divert their attention from where I'm actually going.
I learned this from my master...who never gave me any opportunity to attack her. She was moving in ways that were indistinguishable to the human eye without training.
"Okay...I'm done..." I tell myself, sighing, as the guy looked surprised...but he couldn't recover his weapon in time. Taking advantage of this, I don't give him any time to recuperate and thrust my spear close to his neck.
He retreats and sighs, giving me 5 copper coins. "You're really good...you sure you're not a newbie?" He asks, squinting his eyes at me suspiciously. I civilly take this interaction and smile. "Yeah, I just have a good master,"
He looked more motivated than ever and smirked. "Yeah, I'm definitely getting a trainer to help me train!" He says, shaking my hand. I smile at him and then walk away from the duel center.
From 45 copper coins...to 80! It's a huge jump!
I'll go back to the beam of light now...maybe I...
No, I'm going to Rosalina's pagoda with that ruby tablet I have.
I'll use it as a shortcut so that I can give Rosalina the plush without having to go up the mountain...it's a hellish experience.
My current state of fatigue is only making it worse.
I use the ruby tablet, and after I glow into the light...I'm sent to her pavilion.
I then walk inside and see her in the courtyard.
She was still training.
It's actually insane!
My wife is very dedicated to polishing her training!
She was slashing her sword in all sorts of directions, with their forms varying from something as free as a wave, something to par with motions that were going against you...to something linear, meant to deal a big a critical attack to an enemy.
And in her 3-minute performance, I couldn't help but feel encapsulated by it...especially with the way her hair and sword shone in the moonlight.
She looked lonely, but something was intriguing about that sense of loneliness.
She notices me from the side and stops swaying her sword. "Husband, for what reason have you come to our abode?" She asks, her tone as monotone as ever. I then get out of fantasy land and smile.
"Ah, I wanted to give you a gift!" I tell her excitedly...but honestly, I don't even know why I was acting like that...
Maybe that old merchant cast a spell on me.
I felt like a kid today.
"A gift?" She asks as she turns her attention to me, holding the sword down to the ground and placing her hands atop its hilt.
I come close to her and give her the pillow-like plush of the old woman.
...and then came chaos, as she looked at me with a fiery look on her face.
Her bloodlust seeps into the area, cowering my whole body in fear.
Her body was illuminated in red: the eerie glow in her eyes prominent as the sword below her hands trembled beneath the land.
As a result...I was shaking and fell to the ground.
Along with the plush.
"From where did you get that?" She says, her tone becoming condescending by the second. She immediately grabbed the sword that was on the grass and raised it to my head.
What am I supposed to—
"Answer me!" She shouts, pointing it directly at my head. She wasn't joking in the slightest...especially when she was also trembling, her red eyes glowing intensely.
Another minute passes, and the sword is now pointing at my forehead.
A mental abnormality is placed upon me. Blood is flowing at the tip of the sword.
...oh goodness, I messed up! I probably shouldn't have been too curious!
Damn, this game and it's hidden lore is really confusing!