Chapter 228: Decisions (3)
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 chuckled. "I'd not be surprised if Master turns out to be Grin Grid. It'd be cool to have someone like that as a friend and master. You know, if she really is Grin Grid, then I'd have even more respect for her. She has never used any of her high-level skills there and has tailored my training regime to match what I've learned. She's the best teacher I could ever have.
I even told her I wanted to find high-level archer videos to take a few tricks from them for the incoming tournament, but she only smiled and told me that I'd changed."
It was true that Jake didn't want to get inspired by Grin Grid before climbing to a much higher level. He believed his archery was still at an early level. He was, however, ready to ignore that selfish part for his team's sake.
"She knows you well," Damien smiled. "That's the charm of a mature woman, my dark horse! It's the two of us, so I invite you for a talk between men! Never thought of taking your master's hand?"
"No," Jake replied.
Damien sighed. "It hasn't even crossed your mind?"
"I mean, the gap is ten years," Jake said.
Damien whistled. He didn't expect it to be this big. There was a time when he suggested Jake to his sister, but she mentioned the five-year gap and didn't speak much about it.
His dark horse was so poor! All the older women around him were concerned about the age gap! This damn gap didn't allow for either to develop any feelings.
"You lack confidence!" Damien said.
Jake twisted his face. "I'm confident enough."
"My dark horse! I feel like I'm your older brother by now, so I shall help you," Damien said.
Jake narrowed his eyes, 'My real sister is a weirdo, and so is a friend who wants to be my brother. Will anyone close to me be of that kind?'
Clueless about Jake's thoughts, Damien continued, "I know you've opened your head, but it's not enough! You're not making enough moves! I even dare to say that your drunk self did more! He gathered the crowd's attention and made people enjoy the whistles of your archery! You're the Joker of our team. Was it fun?"
"It was fun… until you reminded me of Joker," Jake straightforwardly said.
"Oh, you are mad at yourself! Haha!" Damien hollered.
"You forgot to say that this is an art," Jake bit at him, making the older man laugh louder.
"Most of the crowd will only enjoy your victories. The most successful teams are popular for this reason. There will be a group of loyal fans that will follow you despite defeats and victories, but only a few will know the particulars! And only one will be by your side to support and encourage you! Your girlfriend!" Damien said.
"Is this another attempt to have fun with my romance life? Then introduce me to a wealthy woman already!" Jake said. He thought he'd surprise Damien.
Alas, Damien asked. "You don't have an eye on anyone?"
'When he is speaking so normal and seriously, it feels odd…' Jake thought. "I don't."
"Really?" Damien asked.
"Yeah… you think I do?" Jake asked.
"Ye, I thought you were interested in Lil Queen," Damien said now that he calmed down and cleared his doubts!
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.