Knock! Knock! Knock!
"This door lacks an art!"
A certain someone entered Viktor's workplace after knocking on the door thrice. It seemed he believed he had considered the place's owner enough with this act.
A dark knight stepped in.
He took off his helmet, revealing his handsome face.
Jake instantly peered at Ingrid's face. She glanced at him before looking away, recognizing him as Jake's teammate. Her reaction told Jake she knew about him, yet she didn't fangirl him like other women.
It was a breeze of fresh air indeed!
Jake chuckled, "What you need, Damien?"
Prince hollered. "I have a few things to talk about with you. Mind you leave us alone, beautiful?"
Ingrid packed her axes into her inventory. She did that with a sweep of her hand, meaning she could operate the system like the best of the best could.
It shocked Damien. He narrowed his eyes at her.
Ingrid, however, told Jake it was about time for their third break and for her to log out.
He thanked her for the time she had sacrificed for him and sent her off.
Damien stood still inside the house.
His arms were crossed.
He was in a deep thought.
"I don't know when the owner of this place returns," Jake said after closing the door. He sat down on the chair and slightly grimaced as he'd perspired a lot.
No one would complain about it since his sweat was now that of a wine. It was such a sharp yet pleasant small.
Damien sat down across him at the table. "She must be your archery teacher, right?"
"Yeah," Jake nodded.
"Any chance she's Grin Grid? She's skilled," Damien asked. He didn't forget to tell Jake that a storyline of a newbie archer being trained by the best archer in the world was an art. "So many possible routes! The romance route! The best friends' route!
The team route! The villain' route! I'm getting goosebumps!"
Jake choked on the tea.
He hit his chest a few times.
When he finally could speak, he stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "Those kinds of jokes are off limits, Damien! What?! Me and El? She's not my type! I want a woman who is more obsessive than me!
That's the first condition!"
Damien harrumphed, "Our hearts often choose the opposite of what we desire."
Jake sat down, "We will see. I don't have any particular interest. I'm often drawn to women, but that's only because of... you know..."
He blushed.
Damien burst out laughing.
"...wait? You're interested in her?" Jake asked.
Damien nodded. "Indeed, for I, Damien Twice have taken a fancy to Lil Queen. I talked with my dear sister about it. She was also suspicious of you being into Lil Queen, then told me you were pushing her to my side. It's her speculations, but she believes in them... and that you have a reason for it."
Jake sighed. "It's not difficult to see that she's more of a tomboy and someone... aggressive? I met with one of the game masters, and he told me a little about her without going into detail. Her upbringing was difficult, and that's the main reason why she's like that. He told me that she was close to committing a serious crime and wanted me to stop her.
I wanted her to become a genuine member of our team and have fun in competitive."
"It makes sense now that you said it," Damien nodded. "And it makes more sense for me to give her what she deserves."
Jake stared silently at the man.
He said, "Do you want to... just score her?"
"Don't sell me short, my dark horse," Damien said. "I'm not going to give her what she deserves because she's from a poor household, and I have so much money I can afford this. In my entire career, I have had only three flings at most. I'm always serious about relationships, regardless of how I act and speak about it. Whether they can keep up with me and deal with my real self is up to the other side.
My art of love is exquisite, Jake."
"Oh," Jake nodded.
The talk was over.
Jake asked when Damien was about to leave the house and log out. "How do I know it's something serious, not just lust?"
Damien sneered. "You know deep in your guts that you want that chick to be yours. Then comes stage two, where you truly realize if she's meant for you. There are a few stages to the art of love. My manager says I must share a roof with a woman for at least a year until I know she's for me. That's how we get to truly know our other half.
But for me, so long as she can cope with my eccentric side, I'm fine! So stage two, after the initial affection is gone, is the most important for me!"
"Oh, cool..." Jake nodded.
"See you soon, Jake," Prince chuckled, leaving with the style.