Sun had already set.
Max and Nina walked back slowly, with the latter clutching the wooden box preciously. They could've just asked for the item to be delivered, but the girl was adamant about bringing it with her.
"It's a precious gift, so I would like to hold it myself." She said.
He could only smile at her reasoning and let her do whatever she pleased. As long as she was happy, then there was no problem.
Like a gentleman, he walked her until she reached home safely. Chef Rush was standing in front of the restaurant, waiting for them.
The large man looked at the wooden box and glanced at Max. Nodding, he turned back to his daughter.
"Go inside and put that in the safe place." He said.
"Ah, yes." Nina nodded at her father's words. She went inside the restaurant, but not before saying goodbye to Max.
After she was gone, Chef Rush looked at him with a gaze that could chill even the deepest of hell. Then, the chef crossed his arms and sighed.
"I don't know whether I should thank you for supporting Nina's dream or punch you for making her cry."
"Haha... Please do go easy on me if you choose the latter, Chef Rush." Max laughed wryly while looking down. "I just want her to follow her dream. I don't know whether that would make her happy or not. I can only hope. Humans can't really fully understand each other."
Chef Rush was silent and only looked at him. Nervousness settled in. Max was ready to get punched, as the atmosphere was definitely saying so.
However... the punch that he was waiting for never arrived.
"You're too mature for your age." Chef Rush said, looking at the sky. "And she's also forced to mature due to my negligence. So, thank you for allowing her to pursue her dream again. Do come around even when she's not here. I have many menus that I'd like you to try. And here, take it.
I've reheated it."
It was the way Chef Rush showed his consideration. He entered the restaurant without saying any other words after he gave a box. It was the stew Nina made.
I am so desperate right now.]
[Flexy: I am waiting for your reply. [emote:prostrating] Please, I am begging you! Reply to me with a positive answer!]
The reply made Max burst into laughter. So, just as he had expected before, StoneSword refused the invitation, and he had to find another person. And it seemed like that person was quite skilled but troublesome at the same time, so he took a lot of time convincing him.
'He could have just found other people... Or not. If Flexy said that this person is the most skilled player he has ever met, even when he knows StoneSword, then his skill is the real deal. Spending a lot of time to convince him might be worth it.'
A player with skill approved by Flexy and StoneSword... Max wondered what kind of person he was.
Replying to Flexy might make him only get the answer later, so he immediately called that orange-haired streamer. The calling screen rang a few times before his image popped up. His friend looked really tired and had black circles around his eyes.
"Yo, dude. Look at your face. Hahaha, you look like a panda."
Flexy, on the screen, smiled wryly.
"If you saw me similarly as that extinct animal, I must have looked really bad. Not that you're any better. It seemed like you drank last night."
That sentence surprised Max. Not because Flexy said his complexion looked bad or because his friend found out he was drinking last night, but because the panda was extinct. It was a loss for humanity.
"Well, hahaha. I was a bit stressed, so I drank a little bit." Max responded with a wry smile.
"Understandable." Flexy nodded in understanding. Then, he suddenly jumped close to the screen and shouted, "Anyway, buddy. Are you calling me to give me your answer? You won't just walk away after saying that you'd like to do this Roach Planet with me, right?"
"I wonder." Max shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, I was ignored for a whole day and getting stressed because of that. Whose fault was it that led me to drink, even though someone knows I can't even handle alcohol?"
Of course, it wasn't Flexy's fault. Max only drank because he wanted to last night. He only wanted to play with his friend.
But the other party didn't know about it. A guilty expression was written on the orange-haired streamer's face.
"Ugh... Please, dude. Just yesterday, our last teammate also left for some reason, saying that it was hopeless. Thankfully, the person introduced by StoneSword also knew another skilled person who was willing to join. If you change your mind, I might need to find another person again, which is hard."
Flexy looked desperate. He was holding his head, which probably throbbed in pain due to overthinking.