“Splash–”
Sirius returned from his thoughts and discovered that the kitten in his view had disappeared. A huge splash appeared on the surface of the water. He got up swiftly to investigate: “Nalun?”
With another splash, a furry, wet kitty popped out of the surface of the water, holding a round shiny ball in his mouth. He looked towards Sirius with bright shiny eyes.
Sirius was just about to crouch down to pick him up, but the cat had already darted swiftly onto the shore.
Sirius: “……”
The black cat shook his fur. Waterdrops splattered in all directions. Thanks to the system’s assistance, the fur very quickly became smooth and soft again.
“Come look quick. What’s this?”
The shiny ball-like item was placed inside some kind of net. Previously, Nalun had dragged the item up by biting onto the rope of the net. After pulling and tugging on it with his cat claws, he patted the shiny ball: “It doesn’t seem like a normal rock.”
Sirius bent down and held the thing in front of him. Looking at it for quite a while, he then placed it within his hands and rotated it slightly. The shiny ball split in half, revealing an exquisite, shiny multicolored gem inside. At the same time, a familiar system voice sounded.
“Honorable guests, this year’s Heart of Eternal Love was found first by Team Fruit Wine! They will become this year’s most loving sweethearts and receive a luxurious congratulations gift from the amusement park before the eyes of thousands!”
Nalun: “……” Miao miao miao?
Sirius also fell silent.
So, the blue colored liquid…… was hinting that the treasure was hidden in the blue waters of the lake?
Nalun: “Is this not just a shiny stone?”
Reality proved that the location where the game designers hid the ‘precious treasure’ was just this simple.
“Ding dong– Hello, Mister Monte. The award ceremony of the couple’s competition and the other competitions will commence at the same time in the gathering stadium at 21:00. Is it convenient for you and your partner to attend and accept the award in person?”
This kind of message appeared inside Sirius’s head. Sirius picked up the black cat, squeezed the back of his neck, stroked his fur, and said: “The competition organizer says there’s a big prize. Do you want to get it?”
The black cat narrowed his eyes and silently looked at Sirius.
Sirius sighed: “The nature of the competition isn’t important. What’s important is the process.”
Sure enough, the recommendation from the Intergalactic Net was reliable. This was indeed a good event to improve the relationship between two people– The essence of the couple’s competition didn’t depend on winning or losing. Instead, it was to cultivate feelings. Sirius had ample experience to understand this.
Even though the nature of this competition was for couples, a certain picky Honored Prince couldn’t deny that he actually did enjoy it very much.
Nalun, the involved party, scoffed.
These words really sounded quite familiar.
What’s important and what’s not important, it seemed like Sirius knew this very well, huh.
“Getting it.” Adhering to the personality of refusing to lose out on anything, Nalun naturally wanted to retrieve the prize.
Sirius asked: “There’s still time. Do you want to wander around some more?”
Nalun shook his head and decided to exit the game immediately.
The sober-up soup should have taken effect already. After picking up the prize, it was the perfect time to head home.
When the two people left the virtual cabins, Nalun narrowed his eyes, somewhat drowsy. His normally shrewd eyes were wet with tears. The intoxicated feeling had dissipated pretty much. Turning his head, he discovered that Sirius had also come out of the virtual cabin.
Nalun tidied up for a moment, readjusted his physical state, and expressed aloofly that he wanted to go to the washroom very quickly first.
Sirius: “Then I’ll wait for you inside this private room.”
Nalun: “En.”
He was just about to go out the door when Sirius stopped him: “Wait, your mask.”
The possessed-looking dog face entered his view without any warning: “I’ll help you put it on.”
Nalun: “……” Here it comes again?
The Admiral, who was enjoying the same trick extremely delightfully, didn’t take advantage of the situation this time. With a well-placed mask, Nalun pushed the door open and exited. Instantly, a ground-shaking noise once again sounded next to his ears. Outside the room, a robot guide was already waiting, clearly ready to bring the customers ahead to retrieve their prize.
Nalun didn’t stop for too long and followed the signs to his destination.
The washroom was very quiet and empty. Nalun originally planned to take the opportunity while no one else was around to take his mask off and wash his face. However, a big and tall man rushed inside. He was probably half a head taller than Nalun, and physically tall and sturdy. He wore a brown bear mask on his face; his aura was intimidating.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Vqfjg?
Ktf mtjwqlbc bo atf 7-vjsr mbwqfalalbc, ktb tjv fcafgfv atf mbcafra wlvkjs yea fcvfv eq regqjrrlcu jii bo atf batfg ragbcu mbcafrajcar. Pc qfgrbc, tf jirb ibbxfv qgfaas lwqgfrrlnf.
Rjiec tjv j qgfaas ubbv olgra lwqgfrrlbc abkjgvr Vqfjg. Coafg jii, atlr kjr atf mbcafrajca ktb tfiqfv tlw klc j yfa. Fcali……
The bear man moved forward to a corner of the wall and rubbed up against it with his back.
Nalun: “……”
Spear started to reach and scratch his back with his hands. As he scratched, he continued to rub. Discovering someone was looking at him, he said: “I don’t know what’s been going on lately. It feels like there’s a bug crawling on me.”
Nalun took half a step back, an expressionless look on his face. However, internally there were countless exclamation marks in his head.
This voice……
Wasn’t this Alida?
Nalun took a closer look. Body height, physical shape, hair color, they actually all matched up coincidentally?
“I felt pretty normal during the competition. How come it started up again immediately after the competition finished?” The contestant, suspected to be Alida, mumbled to himself. Nalun didn’t think too much to decide to feign ignorance and leave.
First, let’s ignore the fact that the other might not be Alida. If it were Alida, and he rushed forth hastily to identify the other man, everyone would end up knowing that he was wearing such a ridiculous mask and had come here to hang around with Sirius.
“Your back view looks very much like one of my friends.” With the brown bear mask, the suspicious man, with the alias of Spear, used Alida’s tone of voice to call out to Nalun.
Nalun turned his head; the possessed-looking dog head mask seemed to be sneering.
“Oh, what a coincidence.” After saying this, he left the washroom.
After returning, he mentioned this little incident to Sirius. In addition, he tactfully hinted for the Admiral to be careful and not get discovered. After all, the reward that they were about to retrieve was for a rather dubious competition. Meanwhile, as the champion of the 7-days competition, Spear would definitely head to the stand as well. If they were to have any close encounters, it might be dangerous.
Sirius: “…….” This felt extremely like they were having an affair.
Nalun emphasized again: “He’s a blabbermouth. If he really ends up finding out about this thing between the two of us, the entire Imperial Capital will know.”
Sirius: “…… Okay. I won’t expose ‘this thing between the two of us’ outside.”
Following the robot guide through a special path that directly reached the first row in front of the award stage, Nalun didn’t even sit down properly when he saw Spear appear also. The other looked around and then sat diagonally behind Nalun.
“Really does seem like him.” Sirius leaned next to Nalun’s ear and whispered.
Nalun replied: “Alida has loved this kind of game since youth……” Appearing in the amusement park wasn’t very surprising.
Sirius: “No wonder you guys get along so happily.”
Nalun: “???”
Sirius smiled. Unknowingly, the two people’s distance gradually shrunk. If Nalun moved forward a little bit more, the clown would be kissing the dog.
“Hello, you guys.”
Nalun’s shoulder was patted lightly. He turned around and saw a brown bear.
“You are really very much like my friend. He also has curly hair, hahaha!” Spear had unknowingly moved behind the two people. With a scrutinizing gaze, he carefully looked at Nalun and said quietly: “Heh. Tell me quietly. Are you……”
“Am I what?” Nalun interrupted him: “Do you need something, mister? I don’t recognize you at all.”
The brown bear froze: “No, of course, of course you don’t recognize my mask. I’ll just tell you the truth. I’m actually, actually…… Dada.”
Nalun swiftly said: “Oh, I don’t know you.”
The brown bear, who exposed his identity but didn’t receive a reply, was very disappointed: “No? Originally I got a bit excited…… but it’s true. That friend of mine is very picky and uptight. He shouldn’t wear this kind of mask, nor would he come to this kind of place.”
Picky? Uptight?
Nalun sneered: “Can you sit back now?”
Sirius promptly said correspondingly: “En, we still have things to discuss.”
As if unaware that he was unwelcomed, the brown bear said curiously: “You guys are also sitting in the award stand. Did you compete together? What event?”
How come he never noticed previously that his little buddy Alida loved to communicate so much?
Sirius replied: “A two-person competition, but small-scale.”
How come he never knew his rival, the Admiral, could pretend so well?
The brown bear scratched his head: “There are two-people competitions in the amusement park? You guys have such a good relationship. I also would like a good friend to come compete with me together. That should be much more interesting than playing alone.”
Sirius looked towards him with a darkened gaze: “Good friend?” He smiled. The words came and went randomly.
The big brown bear, however, strangely felt the atmosphere turn cold. Intuition told him that there seemed to be some thought-provoking implication hidden here. However, these were only two strangers.
As they spoke, the seats filled up with people. Then after a while, ‘Spear’ got up, said goodbye, and finally sat back into his own seat.
Nalun secretly let out a breath of relief.
During this seven day period, plenty of other events were also held simultaneously. Because there were many prizes, there were many people sitting in the award stand.
Nalun looked around and furrowed his brow: “How come the images on the other people’s masks are all very normal.”
Sirius comforted: “It’s okay. I’m with you.”
Nalun: “……”
Thank you, seemed like I was comforted, just a little.
The award ceremony finally started.
Wearing a suit, the host also wore an animal-style mask on their face. They stood on the stage and announced that this award ceremony involved several events.
When he heard the ‘only couple’s competition’, the Honored Prince’s deep heavy gaze landed on a certain person, who was sitting upright and properly by his side.
Haha. Although when registering, the name of the competition didn’t have the word ‘couple’, the host of the award ceremony said it outloud extremely smoothly and directly.
Sirius’s intention towards him has already been exposed yesterday night without a doubt……Nalun already knew too much. Now, not only did he not feel surprised, he felt a bit like his guess had been verified– a feeling of ‘sure enough’.
Originally he had thought the ‘couple’s competition’ was only because ‘most of the duos participating were couples, therefore other people called it that’. Yet this name was actually authenticated by the official game organizers.
–Sirius was pursuing him.
Nalun has already recognized this fact extremely clearly.
Even though this person had been getting close to him while chatting up Duo Ni, a scum suspected of pedaling two boats; not to mention, also had been overly heartless towards people wholeheartedly in love with him, such as the Princess and others…… including his 9 year old niece, which made him seem very much like a scoundrel, seducing people all over the place, but refusing to take responsibility, Nalun still felt like this kind of jumping to conclusions was too hasty……
After all, there was a difference between having an idol aura and being a womanizer?
Yet, how could he explain Duo Ni?
Nalun’s expression turned profound– With the current situation, he seemed to have turned into a pitiful person, who was currently ‘being cheated on’. However, in reality, this circumstance wasn’t actually unfavorable for him. On the contrary…… he could seize the opportunity to cause more trouble for Sirius.
He purposely acted puzzled: “Could it be that you had chosen a couple’s event for us?”
Sirius’s eyes flashed briefly. However, his tone was very calm: “This was the only two-person event remaining……”
But the registration for the most popular event wasn’t even filled by the start of the competition? Nalun chuckled: “Oh, sounds about right. We’re just friends after all. Of course I trust that you wouldn’t have any…… inappropriate thoughts towards me.”
Sirius: “…..” The Admiral, who not only thought about it, but thought about it very much, continued to maintain his composure.
Nalun gave a glance at Spear who was behind him and said in a suppressed voice: “Speaking of which, for a long time in the past, I never even imagined I’d develop a friendship with you. Here I thought…… such a celebrity like the Imperial Admiral wouldn’t lower himself to deal with people like me.”
Sirius said earnestly: “You’re very good.”
Nalun: “……”
Sirius: “I’m very regretful that I didn’t get more familiar with you sooner.”
Facing the sudden birth of emotions, Nalun shifted his gaze, looked towards the host on stage, and said: “Right now is…is not too late either.”
Sirius chuckled softly and said: “En, I think this as well.”
The man’s breath brushed past Nalun’s ear. Unknowingly, the two people had moved very close.
“……” Patting Sirius on the chest, Nalun said calmly: “It’s time for the awards.”
Sure enough, after the host on stage said a bunch of arousing words, he finally reached the main topic.
An earth-shaking clamor came from the observation stands: “Spear, Spear, Spear!”
As the most popular event for the observers, the champion of the 7-days competition also received a lot of attention. Even Nalun, who only saw a few matches of the game, also felt Spear fought pretty well…… However, whenever he recalled that this person was actually Alida, that idiot, Nalun’s mood instantly… became…… very complicated.
Spear himself was very big and tall. So the disparity between the real world and virtual world didn’t show much. The instant that he got onto the stage, the audience became even more excited.
The 2nd place was the Stanell University hotshot. This person was the original #1, who had led the points by a wide margin from the start. However, at the last critical juncture, he was surpassed by 3 points and missed the champion spot by a narrow margin.
What surprised people was that Osway, who had lost to Spear at the start of the matches today, actually squeezed himself into 3rd place. The top three people all had prizes. However, the Host had called his name 7-8 times, yet no one came up to accept the prize.
“Don’t tell me, in reality he’s actually a short, skinny weak guy?”
“What’s so shameful about that?”
“Even someone like him could enter top three? If I didn’t witness his matches one by one, I’d even suspect something fishy to be going on in the backstage of this amusement park!”
This brief episode passed. The 7-day competition’s winners, the #1 Spear and #2 Stanell University hotshot, carried their trophy cups, award money, and prizes and happily returned to their seats.
After that were awards for some other athletic events. The rewards were either money or money and prizes. Receiving money made people happy; the audience hooted and cheered loudly. The background music also maintained an exciting upbeat style. The stadium was extremely lively and energetic.
When it was time to award the leisure type competitions, the stadium became calmer. The music also slowed down and relaxed.
If the 7-day competition could be considered the highlight of the athletic category, then the couple’s competition was equally important amongst the leisure category. Therefore, this was the only other event with a trophy cup…… of course, the prize was also very generous.
So generous that everything came in pairs.
“……Team Fruit Wine was put through the tests and ultimately became champions for this year’s couple’s competition! Not only are they eligible for a free pass to participate in the amusement park’s most popular event next season, we also meticulously prepared a generous cohabitation gift, which contains 8 essential items for daily living, all coming in pairs!”
Nalun: “……” How come when it was their turn, the reward style changed.
He poked Sirius and was just about to say ‘you go up and get it’. But the Host said with a smile: “Okay, Right now. Please have the two newbies enter the stage together to obtain the reward!”
New...newbiesNalun’s green eyes darkened. This host might have been a master of ceremonies before this.
Sirius persuaded him quietly: “We’re wearing masks anyways. No one will find out.”
Nalun gave him a sideways glance and said to himself: If it weren’t for the mask, he wouldn’t even be sitting here.
The big screen already turned a closeup on the two people sitting next to each other in the front row. Their huge masks appeared in a flash. The people in the audience seats fell silent for a moment and then instantly bursted into laughter.
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
“Clown and Doghead. Isn’t that too ugly?!”
“Really, no matter how I look, I can’t escape the terror of being followed by that doghead’s gaze.”
“360 degrees, no escape.”
“I believe they have a very good relationship 233”
“They can’t see.” Sirius did his best to comfort.
Nalun: “Of course I know. These people are only envious of our trophy cup, that’s all. And our generous award money.” Jealousy turned people ugly.
Sirius: “……”
Therefore, the two got on stage rather peacefully and obtained the rewards. During this time, they even suffered the Host’s teasing: “Do you like the amusement park’s masks?
“It’s pretty protective.” Nalun gave an objective review: “But it’s not aesthetic enough.”
The Host couldn’t hold back: “Hahahahaha.”
Nalun raised a brow: “Is it very funny?”
The Host was stunned: “Uh, I don’t mean it maliciously.”
Nalun: “I know. However… what they’re laughing at is the mask, a product of your amusement park. Other people’s jeers I can understand, but how could you laugh as well?”
The Host: “……”
Nalun held the trophy cup, the reward money, and prizes and said coldly: “If the staff even ridicules their own company’s products, then that’s really quite a tragedy.”
The audience instantly roared in laughter. The Host froze for a few seconds and then forced a bitter smile to change the topic.
Under the clown mask, Sirius’s dark eyes were filled with amusement. His Honored Prince…… was truly very amazing at insulting people.
Thank You for the new chapter ʚ♡⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁)
what a talent, so good at insulting people 🙂
don’t tell me that mist bug did those opening and paeting remarks because he’s trying to copy nalun?????? he actually has feelings for alida?????? how complicated is the life of that big, dumb bear.
😂
nalun sugoi!
thanks for the chapter!