Nicole listened to his voice that suddenly turned very serious,
“It is a pity that I won't be getting to know about the place you treasure but teacher I do want to say that no matter which place I find myself going in the future, you will always be a big part of what makes me a player.”
“Without your guidance and care I am sure that I wouldn't be what I am today. Though the nobles appreciated me but if there was no teacher Nicole in my life then that possibility would never have presented itself to me. This fact can never be changed.”
“...”
Nicole was stunned. To think he had so much respect for her in his heart. Being chosen by the nobles still didn't change him in any way. He was still the same Blue, that heartwarming personal student of hers.
Yet here she was feeling doubt of how to even interact with him. She felt very at peace and her feelings towards him intensified. The previous thoughts of their awkward mood seemed like a joke to her as it seemed that from his perspective she was still the same person in his eyes, his personal teacher who was there for him since the beginning of his academy life.
Nicole got out of her reverie as student Blue grabbed her hands and cupped it together before continuing,
“No matter the change in circumstances, distance or the years that have passed I want both of us to always be there for each other, after all, both of us aren't strangers and never will be so. I will always be that Blue who you can share your stories with. So teacher Nicole, please don't change how you treat me… ever.”
His sincere words said with warmth in his eyes as he looked at her seemed to twist her heartstrings.
“Ah… I love this man.”
Nicole found the true feelings that she kept burying in her heart. Now, she decided to face it. There's no reason to keep denying it. Even though he has a girlfriend, even though he was just a young adult, even when his social status changed for being involved with the nobility she still loved him.
It was just that simple. A truth that's no longer hidden within her.
“Blue, thank you. Thank you for being you. Truly…”
She said with a gentle tone as she also took the hands that were on her and cupped it in affection. There were still many people on the banquet floor so she restrained herself from giving him a tight hug to convey some of her overflowing feelings to him.
There's no need to be hasty. Since she had decided to face her true feelings then she would work on it slowly. Even if he wouldn't go to her faction so what? She put that consideration away. In front of her happiness there was nothing more important.
Now, her happiness was to follow the heart's desire. From the personal teacher he had ever respected, she now wanted to be someone more intimate and more special to him. She wanted him to reciprocate her feelings.
As a Gunslinger, she now had a target to shoot. A very difficult target since the terrain was disadvantageous as there was a complicated landscape of relationship.
That was… his heart.
°°°°
Blue bid farewell to the guests after the banquet ended. With a dozen people’s dining needs he still cooked for them. All the dishes on the banquet floor were made from his expertise in culinary arts.
It wasn't much work and neither did it exhaust him as he was now awakened.
That being said, this banquet was very fruitful as he resolved the issue with Nicole. There was also another fact that had made his mood happy. He checked the [Mission] menu that had managed to shock his composed self.
Ding!
[Mission]
[Current Main Mission: 1
(Sow And Plunder)
Ongoing Side Mission: 3
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
(Luna The Reincarnator)
(Daemonic Cult Traces)
(Nicole's Desire)
Completed Main Mission: 1
Completed Side Mission: 4]
Ding!
[Side Mission (Nicole's Desire) -
Summary: The academy teacher, Nicole, has finally decided to admit to her true feelings and now wishes to get a place in your heart. This expert Gunslinger has now aimed at the target which is you. Only reciprocating her feelings would truly allow you to get the best benefits.
Mission: Get her favorability point to 70 and make sure that it wouldn't drop anytime soon.
Time Limit: Before the Inner Area trial.
Restriction: Bloodline ability usage.
Reward: Information about her dormant bloodline]
That's right, he got a side mission from her. This shouldn't have happened though. After all, he still hasn't appraised her. In the previous overviews of [Mission] and [Appraisal] menu there were specific lines mentioning that part yet look at the present situation now.
This system was a big liar!
That being said, he was also glad to have gotten the side mission as it would surely take him a long time to finally be able to appraise her. After all, the academy only supported newbie players and Nicole’s current level and in result the existence level was also much higher than him so there was no way he could have gotten to appraise her while being within the academy.
There was no telling of what the future holds so it was better to get the job done while the time still permitted.
He, however, had some speculation as to why this system went back in its words to generate this side mission. There were two reasons he had surmised.
First of all, her favorability point. Even without having to appraise he was certain that because of his grind she was at the peak of “goodwill” stage, meaning 59 points. She had been kept there for a long time and he had previously guessed that she needed some sexual stimulation from him to get past the last hurdle. Since starting from 60 points it went in a sexual direction so it was only natural for him to conclude that way.
Yet it turned out that it was not necessarily so.
Even without sexual stimulation, his “sincerity” and “respect’’ for her had managed to touch her heart to the point that she had acknowledged to be sexually attracted to him and now wanted to gain his affection. This decision of her had seemed to make the system generate the side mission as the favorability point had reached the 60 on her own.
Even more importantly, also the second reason, the system’s interest in her. From the revealed information about the reward from the side mission, she seemed to have a dormant bloodline that went unnoticed till now. The situation was somewhat similar to Luna's as she had a dormant innate ability.
He was sure that as a core denizen she knew of the status window trap so she probably arranged for not to get exposed in her own way but Nicole wasn't the same.
He couldn't be sure if the mastermind at Core Area had the same capability as the system to collect the information about her dormant bloodline. Back when he got that skill akin to a slave collar, that even the system didn't acknowledge in the [Host Stats] menu, the frightening effects of it that the Primordial Auditor was able to uncover did let him know that the skill had enough capabilities to gather information about anything present in the individual that had signed the contract.
However, anything “dormant” was a bit hard to define as it was still “present” but not quite “there” as the conditions hadn't been met yet. That's why he was unsure if that particular information of her was already exposed to that mastermind. Well, he always considered the worst case scenario so he just decided to take it as affirmative.
As mentioned, the system’s interest in her had further made it take the initiative to generate the side mission. The 60 favorability point was probably its own rules or some kind of restriction to finally be able to reveal the mission to him.
He had long since known that this system wasn't all that free in how it could go about in its works. Let it be the various menus or the needs for evolution requirements; it was inherently dependent on him.
If he said without any scruples, this was nothing but a parasite.
This fact had further made him muse about the truth behind such an existence. The so-called Origin Spark Fragment he got in the shape of a cube back at the original Endless Void made him certain that only the likes of core denizens like that old man in the Abyss or Luna's true self of Enshrouded Blade has knowledge or some clues about it.
They were core denizens after all, no? People who lived in the center of the universe, either it be Endless Void or Parallel Void. Well, “near close” should be a more accurate term as he, just like other inner denizens, had no certainty if it was really the center.
The “Core Area” named spatial areas actually represented the space where the place was at the center of the universe, or close to it perhaps? This tidbit was known pretty much to anyone of his past peak self's caliber.
Blue had previously decided to finish up Clara's side mission in a single night because he wanted to wholeheartedly focus on Luna but look at the situation now.
Just before tomorrow when he was finally about to commence the plan that had been cooking for a long time after he got her side mission, there was another added tonight.
Now he had three side missions and one main mission to complete.
He could only sigh at this. Since the time limit for Nicole was long enough he decided to put it aside for now. Though the grind would intensify later, what needs to be done still will be done.
Luna the reincarnator was the priority now and he had a sinister plan that would shake the entire academy just for her.