Ms. Herta Presses Her Advantage
"Thanks, brother."
Boothill stopped walking. Now that he knew the situation, he was in no hurry to take revenge. The Galaxy Rangers followed the Hunt; if he couldn't restrain himself, how could he call himself a Galaxy Ranger?
Besides, he knew that if he went now and failed to kill his target in one blow, he would only alert his prey. He was still the hunter, and a hunter only bared his fangs when his prey was least on guard.
Busitu patted Boothill on the shoulder.
"Trust him. He keeps his word."
"I know, boss. He's already done so much for us. I'll keep myself in check and won't cause you any trouble."
Wojian silently retreated to Himeko's side.
Sera put the Holy Grail away and removed the psychological suggestion at the same time.
"All done."
Sera gestured to Sparkle again.
"Ta-da, we're back~"
Sparkle grinned and leaned in front of the camera.
"But~ fun times are always short. There's nothing interesting coming up next.
"So, Director Sparkle declares the first night of the Holy Grail War over!"
Sparkle shook her head, looking a little regretful.
"It's just a shame no monsters jumped out for us to fight.
"All right, see you next time~"
Sparkle took a bow.
"Did you viewers get anything out of this livestream?
"All right, all right, Sparkle knows tonight was boring!"
The livestream then ended.
"Let's go. I've removed the suggestion, so people will be coming soon."
Sera teleported back to the Tavern, and the others went back with him.
Most of them returned to their own worlds, including Busitu and Boothill. Wojian went to Himeko's workshop to renovate the train, while Weidi went to visit the new Tavern.
None of the remaining people mentioned leaving. They all pretended to be busy with their own affairs while watching Sera out of the corners of their eyes.
Himeko was making coffee and nearly spilled it. Suzi smiled knowingly and mouthed, "Go for it." Himeko blushed and shot her a fierce glare.
A young maiden's heart was always like this. The hero saving the beauty was a trite trope, but an effective one.
Sera paid no attention to everyone's reactions. He smiled as he listened to Feiying, Sparkle, and Kiana playing games together.
He looked at his phone. There were more than a dozen unread messages on the screen.
[Yaoguang's Supreme Fortune]: ?
[Yaoguang's Supreme Fortune]: You're having a group outing without me?
[Yaoguang's Supreme Fortune]: (Video call) Missed.
[Yaoguang's Supreme Fortune]: Why did you not invite me to such an interesting event?
[Yaoguang's Supreme Fortune]: (Yaoguang looking aggrieved.jpg)
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: ?
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: Apart from the people who were here at the time, I only invited the participants.
[Yaoguang's Supreme Fortune]: Include me tomorrow.
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: All right.
Sera put down his phone.
Cyrene, who was drinking tea with Herta, Ruan Mei, and the others, noticed him put his phone down. Without hesitation, she got up and sat in his lap.
Herta stared blankly at the scene, while Black Tomb shook her head in exasperation. Although, for some unknown reason, her counterpart in this timeline had only just joined the race, she still needed to be more proactive.
Black Tomb leaned close to Herta's ear and whispered something. Herta wore a thoughtful expression.
Sera naturally gathered Cyrene into his arms, then swiped his hand, making a virtual screen appear in front of the sofa.
It drew everyone's attention.
"Let's watch a movie. Are there any genres you want to see?"
"Romance." Cyrene raised her hand from Sera's lap.
"I want to watch romance too." Herta sat down beside Sera with perfect ease, and Black Tomb sat next to Herta.
Ruan Mei, still sitting where she was: ?
She then got up and sat on Sera's other side.
Feiying and the other two put down their game and exchanged glances.
"Us too!"
Kiana's eyes were full of eagerness for the gossip.
"Us too." Himeko and Suzi exchanged a glance.
"I don't mind." Sakura sat down in the corner.
"Hmm..."
Sera thought for a moment.
"Then let's watch a romance anime."
"Yay!" Feiying, who also liked anime, cheered and sat down with Kiana, snacks in her arms.
Kiana felt that this was exactly how she should be living: watching anime, eating snacks, and having a live romance to watch too.
Himeko was still hesitating when Suzi pushed her down next to Ruan Mei.
"Ms. R-Ruan Mei!" Himeko's face turned crimson, and she glared at Suzi.
"There's no need to be nervous."
Ruan Mei's gentle voice soothed Himeko's unease.
"Okay."
Sera paid no attention to these little interludes. He browsed the catalog and eventually picked a highly rated show.
Of course, everyone noticed the tag too.
[Harem anime]
Some breathed a sigh of relief, because it meant they still had a chance. But others weren't even there.
Yaoguang: ?
As the show began, Ms. Herta chose to make the first move. She gently rested her head on Sera's shoulder, her expression natural.
Sera turned his head to look at Herta. He said nothing, only tilting his head toward hers.
A smile curled Herta's lips. She knew she had made the right move.
If there were an affection meter, surely Sera's affection for her would have gone up again!
Herta would say it here and now: she had never been one to hesitate. She always went straight for the goal!
Just as her character dictated, when hitting someone, she hit them in the face; when someone fell down a well, she dropped a rock on them. Having gained the upper hand, of course the great Ms. Herta would press her advantage!
Herta's right hand quietly crept toward Sera's left. He relaxed his hand and let her interlace her fingers with his.
Cyrene noticed Herta's little move beside her, but only smiled and paid it no mind. After all, she had already reached the finish line!
Herta naturally knew that Cyrene was a mountain she could never surpass, but so what?
At least she was already in second place!
Herta knew she could never outweigh Cyrene in Sera's heart, and she had never considered it. She was a genius! Would she still be Herta if she ran off to compete for his affection?
So all she had to do was be herself and secure an official place.
Herta had never expected Sera to pursue her like the male and female leads in the show they were watching. She had long since noticed that his emotional intelligence fluctuated, though she didn't know if he was pretending on purpose.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that Ms. Herta would take the initiative and win Sera over.
If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain!
Kiana had been watching them out of the corner of her eye. Though her expression remained unchanged, she was beside herself with excitement.
She's actually going straight for it! Yes! Go, Ms. Herta!
When the anime reached the confession scene, everyone watched the screen, but glanced at Sera out of the corners of their eyes.
Some, like Sakura and Suzi, were curious. Others, like Kiana and Sparkle, were eager to watch the drama unfold.
There was also one who wasn't watching the screen, but looking at Sera and imagining things. That fox was Feiying.
"Hehehe~" Feiying giggled foolishly.
Herta gave Feiying a dispassionate glance and rated her as a fool in her mind.
What a fool. No need to pay her any attention.