ALL NOVEL Chapter 269: The Award Ceremony (4)
Jake quickly recognized Shiro.
Her stare was unmistakable.
Jake would also never mistake her obsession, which was prevalent in her eyes as she stared at him. He couldn't tell what she wanted from him, but her tone was calm despite her gaze.
"Connect your server with ours," Shiro said.
Meredith's expression turned cold in a second. 'How can she ask for something like this?! Refuse her, Jake!'
As though Jake could read her mind, he raised their interlocked hands and showcased them to Shiro. She stared at them for a second before tilting her head.
She didn't know what it meant.
Jake sneered. "I'm going to connect my server with Europe. I'll do anything to achieve this."
"Why?" Shiro asked.
Meredith's thoughts fought to become words, 'Because he likes me! Can't you see him holding my hand?! Have you never read any romance books?! OMG! Change the topic, or I will smile silly soon!'
"I've fallen for Meredith. That's why," Jake replied with a smile.
'YOU ROGUE!' Meredith squealed. She looked away, causing Jake to smile wider.
Shiro crossed her arms. "You can love me? Too? Yes? I not give up on triggering your obsession."
Meredith retracted her head and glowered at Shiro.
She said, "We live in a civilized world with modern standards. Don't impose your weird outlaw ideas on others to placate your obsession. This rogue is going after me. He's mine to play with, no one else."
"Rogue? What it mean?" Shiro asked.
Meredith widened her eyes. She went red.
Jake stared at her with narrowed eyes. Since when did he become rogue? If he was a rogue, what role did Meredith play on their date? A princess meant to be stolen?
He didn't know what to think of it, but this little slip of the tongue had given him an idea that he could become closer to an unprincipled man.
Wrapping his arm around Meredith's shoulder, Jake brought her closer to himself.
He said, "A bad man stealing the gullible princess, I guess."
'What have I done?! I don't want to be a princess, but it feels so nice! He also smells so good! My heart feels so good! Ah! Am I a pervert?!' Meredith screamed.
That was when the fourth person found a room to enter the chat. He was Meredith's former guild mate and the second-strongest member of their international team.
Hussar smiled at Jake and Meredith. "These two have found a common language despite cultural differences. You must have seen their battle, Miss Shiro. It was a pretty exciting battle."
He came to terms with Meredith's leave and her choices.
"You and your trace are a strong team, too," Jake said.
Hussar chuckled. "I only have one, while you have three or maybe four. I re-watched the battles, and Miss Shiro appears to have Tsukuyomi within herself. Meredith never shared her class with us, but I'm sure it's also connected to the main plot."
Jake glanced at Meredith.
She didn't want to disclose this information for a reason. Jake didn't bother pressing her about it.
Instead, he exerted pressure on Shiro.
She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "My skills are from Tsukuyomi, but I don't have her legendary trace."
"I think Rolling Thunder is similar to Miss Shiro. I tried talking with him, but he chased me off. Not a friendly type, haha! So, I think it'd be good for us to connect since the statues are our enemies. You must have realized it by now. Those statues are leading players by a nose," Hussar said.
Jake nodded. "Yeah, I don't like them."
"It's just a theory, but I think everything those statues, aka true humans, do is purely for their advantage. Players are guided to statues for classes and quests when they start their journey on the mainland. It must create a link with the statues that prevents players from getting special class from monsters." Hussar said.
Since Shiro needed time to decipher and translate his words to her native language, and Meredith didn't seem in the mood to converse with Hussar, Jake took the lead.
He said, "Legendary traces drop from monsters. Are you saying that connection with the statues stops players from looting legendary traces?"
"You're quick to uptake, Joker!" Hussar nodded. "That's what I think. We don't know much about those legendary existences, but there were many of them! The game world is supposedly to be huge and vaster than Earth. It's impossible to hide them all in dungeons, so I think each monster type has a legendary trace. That's my theory."
"Sounds plausible," Jake nodded. "You're searching for players with the same or similar classes for future events, right? I'm up for whatever you have in store. I'll also consider messaging you if I need help."
Hussar looked overjoyed after hearing this. "Yeah, share it with Prince, too. I didn't have a chance to confide in my theory and stuff with others, so I didn't want to miss this chance. If you make a bridge between Europe and North America, I'll add you to friends, Joker. Thanks."
"Likewise," Jake said. He shook hands with Hussar.
Because of Meredith, Shiro couldn't deal with Jake. She had also just lost against him, so her mood was different. She took Hussar's leave as a cue to bid farewell.
"I'll wait for you," Shiro said, leaving the couple alone.
Jake nodded. He didn't really like her much, but he could see that she had the potential to change. After losing to him, she became more docile and respected boundaries more.
Meredith needed to say a word or two, but Shiro's future was moldable nonetheless.
This didn't mean that Jake could be alone with Meredith. Other participants stopped them, compelling them for a conversation. A few high-level players also butted in, inviting them to their guilds.
They were also interested in Casual Clowns' plan for the main prize of the international tournament.
Jake talked back to them as though he had studied PR before. He told them he didn't have time to discuss it with his team and wasn't interested in joining guilds.
Meredith needed fewer words to shoo away the bothersome crowd.
At last, Jake and Meredith were free.
These two left the hall and headed upstairs.
A shadow was in their wake. Find more chapters on m_v l|e'm-p| y r