Chapter Forty

On a sun-drenched beach, within a stall serving fried foods and stir-fried noodles, a golden-haired, blue-skirted knight maiden ate with an elegance that contrasted starkly with her astonishing speed.

“This octopus tentacle is quite good.” “Fried fish… hmm, a completely different flavor…”

Zhao Tianhe sat across from Artoria, watching her eat, and suggested, “By the way, should we go buy some swimsuits?”

“Swimsuits?” Artoria glanced at the crowd around them, swallowed her food, and her gaze became a little unfocused. “Is it the outfit you gave Eresh yesterday? Honestly… hmm… it looked quite nice, but I can’t wear it.”

“You can’t?! Why not?!” Zhao Tianhe asked with utmost seriousness.

“In my battle mode, I can’t change clothes,” Artoria replied calmly. “I’m not like Eresh, who has a normal form and can appear on the real beach. So, there’s really no need…”

“I see… Eresh mentioned that too…” Zhao Tianhe nodded, falling into deep thought.

‘If she can’t change clothes in battle mode, that’s the same as not being able to take anything off—which means nothing can happen at all! So…’ Zhao Tianhe suddenly realized a problem: from the start, he never had the chance to try being with both girls!

‘In truth, Eresh is my only real option! After all, with Artoria, each daily task only lets me see her for ten minutes, which is barely enough for anything!’ Zhao Tianhe mused in a daze. ‘Even though both meetings are thirty minutes each, Eresh’s thirty minutes are all at once, and I can also see her during daily tasks, so the total is an hour…’

‘There’s no need to think it over! I’ll choose Eresh!’ Zhao Tianhe looked at Artoria across from him, his mind firmly made up. ‘But… since I can’t do anything she dislikes in those thirty minutes, it’s better to carefully raise her affection level to ten before confessing.’

“If we had swimsuits, we could swim, couldn’t we?” Artoria suddenly paused, chopsticks in hand, her eyes longing as she gazed toward the sea.

‘Ugh!’ Seeing the look and expression in Artoria’s eyes, Zhao Tianhe felt a pang in his heart!

Such a lovely girl, yet she could only stay home every day playing games and watching variety shows, and when she did go out, it was just to fight as a hired hand. Her only special enjoyment was eating delicious food… This was simply too cruel!

“Don’t worry.” Zhao Tianhe said resolutely. “I will make sure you get to wear a swimsuit and swim!”

“Hmm? Oh, actually, it’s not that important…” Artoria’s cheeks flushed at his words; she took a sip of juice and glanced shyly at her plate. “It’s fine if I can’t swim. I haven’t mentioned it before, but one of my hidden innate skills is walking on water. Compared to swimming, walking on water is faster and more efficient, isn’t it?”

“It’s not about speed or efficiency, but…” Zhao Tianhe shook his head, wanting to say more but not knowing how to express it. “Anyway, playing in the water is a lot of fun! Trust me!”

“I trust you.” Artoria nodded, tilting her head slightly and revealing a gentle, soft smile.

‘I… Eresh… I…’ Zhao Tianhe’s heart ached even more!

Because the resolve he’d just found to confess to Eresh was wavering again!

He couldn’t help it—Artoria was just too adorable!

Looking at the smile of this pure and beautiful girl, Zhao Tianhe felt as if his heart might melt…

Who says that cuteness is worthless before sexiness?!

Come out and say it to my face!

No matter what, I must protect the maidenly side of my king!

Zhao Tianhe waved to Artoria, watching as she gradually faded away, and made plans for her to prepare a set of grilled and fried snacks for him that evening.

“Phew, this can’t go on…” Zhao Tianhe trudged along the beach, dejected. “Eresh is noble, sexy, and a little clumsy, with a raw allure and beauty. But Artoria’s extreme purity and nobility strike right at my adolescent heart, evoking that bittersweet feeling of first love and the urge to hold her close and protect her… How could I possibly choose?!”

“Oh heavens! Why must you torment me like this?!” “Is being popular really this painful?!” “Why can’t I just have both?!”

Clutching his chest, tears welling in his eyes, Zhao Tianhe looked up at the sky and lamented…

“How pitiful, seems there’s no cure?” “It’s quite serious, I doubt insurance covers this level.” “Probably needs magic to fix…”

Passersby watched Zhao Tianhe muttering to himself with a look of excited agitation, exchanging sympathetic glances and whispering as though observing someone not quite right in the head.

Completely immersed in his own world, Zhao Tianhe didn’t notice their stares. It was only after he’d walked some distance and regained his composure that he realized there was no one else around.

“This must be the place? Looks pretty big, but I wonder how many rooms there are…” Zhao Tianhe gazed at the three-story luxurious seaside villa before him, his spirits lifting.

Pushing open the door and stepping inside, he was greeted by the sight of a tall, elven beauty in high heels, a black suit-skirt, and white stockings, directing workers and magical constructs as they arranged the furniture.

“You must be Mr. Zhao Tianhe, the C-rank Heroic Spirit?” Before Zhao Tianhe could speak, the elf woman turned and addressed him.

“Yes, that’s me.” Zhao Tianhe nodded. “And you are?”

“I am the manager and service staff for the C-rank Hero’s Apartment. You may call me Kaschi.” Kaschi smiled; she was a striking elf with long, jet-black hair and an impressive figure.

But to Zhao Tianhe, she was little more than an NPC—easy on the eyes, perhaps, but nothing more. So he asked directly, “If I need to buy something, can you help with that too?”

“Of course.” Kaschi nodded, a bit intrigued by this Heroic Spirit. She was confident in her looks and figure, yet this man had looked her straight in the eye from the start, never once glancing elsewhere.

“Good. Let me think—the first thing is kitchen appliances, for grilling and frying…” Zhao Tianhe stroked his chin, listing his requests, and gave a special instruction. “Make sure the iron skewers come in all sizes.”

“Don’t worry, that’s all simple,” Kaschi assured him, thinking this Heroic Spirit must be a food-loving cook.

“Oh, and one more thing…” Zhao Tianhe frowned. “I need to design a new kitchen tool. Do you have paper and pen?”

Kaschi chuckled, held out her hand, and a three-dimensional projection sprang from her bracelet: “This is the latest in multifunctional magical office supplies. Very handy—only one gold coin. Tell me what you need.”

‘Damn, isn’t this supposed to be a magical world? Why does it feel so sci-fi?!’ Zhao Tianhe couldn’t help but think of a certain famous man in an iron suit.

“Well, this makes things easier.” Zhao Tianhe stepped forward to begin sketching his kitchen tool.

Over the past few days, he’d explored the beach and found many new snacks, but none of his favorites from before he crossed over—most of all, takoyaki. Tonight, he planned to make some for Artoria to try.