...Speaking of propositions...

^Going once...going twice...sold! To the man from Radiant Feather! The [Rainbow Forge Manual] is his for a whooping 2.3 million gold pieces!^

^Absurd!^

Ludicrous.

"Fuck."

"Well, that honestly stings," Jinju Ren grumbled for both herself and for Zhen Liu. "I'm sorry, honey, I was really hoping to secure that manual as an engagement gift between us."

"It's fine, that just means we have an excuse to go to Radiant Feather and kick his ass in later," Zhen Liu assured Jinju Ren. "That is, unless we decide to just jump his ass immediately after this auction wraps up."

"Oooh! It's a date!"

"I don't think that's necessarily healthy for a relationship, but sure."

"..."

"..."

In the face of this fatal flirting, both Zhong Wei and Lythero simply exchanged silent glances of mildly perturbed reactions.

"If you guys wants, I think I can nail his ass with a poisoned arrow at least halfway across the city," Rianna offered as she took out one of her arrows and examined the tip. "I did just retrofit some of them with titanic hornet stingers."

"Appreciated, but—"

Knock, knock.

"Huh?"

At this point in time, the auction was still going on in the background. However, now that the most relevant and interesting piece was sold, nobody else in the room was interested in any of the goods being put up for auction.

As such, hearing someone randomly knock on the door of the private suite was a little surprising.

Nepherage and Frosttusk were situated by the door in their mortal disguises and they both indicated that the person knocking wasn't a threat in the slightest.

Since the danger was basically nill, Jinju Ren made the executive decision to face it head on.

^Feel free to enter.^

The door opened to reveal an attendant dressed in a black and white uniform that clearly didn't belong to the auction house.

A quick peek at the emblem on the lapel confirmed that this attendant was a personal servant to Alain, or at the very least, a servant to the man's household.

The servant made sure to bow low towards Jinju Ren's direction once she confirmed that she was present in the room, but dared not to enter.

Whether that was due to social etiquette or nerves about the "bodyguards" in the room was unknown.

^Princess Jia Ren,^ the attendant began with a servile tone. ^Master Alain would first like to humbly apologize about having outbid you on the [Rainbow Forge Manual]. A dear friend of his had mentioned the manual before in passing, and when he saw the opportunity to do him a favor, well...^

^No no, I understand,^ Jinju Ren interjected in a manner befitting a princess. ^I merely made a bid on it because the manual sounded useful to my own progress.^

Well, a princess that didn't regularly dive headfirst into battle that is.

On a side note, Jinju Ren's statement about how this manual could help with her cultivation wasn't entirely wrong.

As someone with innate dragon force, she could absorb and use the power of dragon flames if she so desired. This was especially the case since her treasured [Dragon Taming Saber] had the power of two different Ignarii-aligned dragon-blooded beasts sealed inside it.

^Well, I am glad to hear that you had a practical reason for bidding on the manual, because the Prince would like to invite you to join him this evening over dinner and a group study of the manual.^

^I...what?^

At this invitation, practically everyone in the room had raised their eyebrows in surprise and suspicion.

This was especially the case for Zhen Liu.

...Uh oh...

'Did...did this motherfucker just ask my fiancee on a date?'

[Sounds...like...it...] Frosttusk rumbled.

[Indeed,] Nepherage concurred before asking, [want me to strangle him?]

'Maybe.'

I'm going to be that guy, Pathos interjected as he tapped into their conversations.Milord, didn't you mention hoping that the girls you're currently engaged with to find partners more suitable than yourself.

'I have, but I think I finally gotten into the mindset of accepting that I live in a world where having a harem is considered normal. Especially after learning that the pendulum swung both ways.'

=Love is love, there isn't a scientific way to explain it.=

'Also, and this is the bigger gripe, I definitely don't want anyone I know hooking up with someone who is essentially a bootleg version of biblical Lucifer. Especially one that has dealing with a freaky rogue hornet Kaijin. Fly Kaijin? ...wait a minute, why am I having trouble remembering how he looked?'

=That's...a question that should probably be addressed later. Right now, you have a date to deal with.=

'Right! Wait...question, would I actually need the manual physically this time around or is it possible to make a copy? Like with the other books.'

=Technically yes, but... you're not gonna like the method...=

... Distraction achieved...

^That...sounds lovely,^ Jinju Ren eventually decided after hearing this invitation. ^Does the prince have a place in mind, or is he inviting me to some inn he's staying at like a common maiden being called by the dashing hero?^

This choice of words caused everyone in the room to redirect their gazes in her direction with a strange look in their eyes.

"Heh. Reminds me of those moments when Sister Goldshire would come to visit and Sister Jin Fang would make a passing joke that made her blush brighter than a swarm of lantern flies."

Evidently, this back-to-back commentary caused even the attendant to pause in confusion, but she was able to get back on track soon enough to provide a more elaborate detail on the invitation.

^The Prince has arranged a table at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city, the Seven-Colored Star.^

After making this claim, the attendant presented a token that appeared to be made of Seven-Colored marble.

It should probably go without saying, but the token was shaped like a star.

At this painfully obvious advertisement and symbolism, Zhen Liu rolled his eyes in disbelief.

^The reservations will be at six,^ the attendant added before bowing again. ^And now, I must take my leave.^

^Of course.^

Once the attendant had left, the door had closed, and the kaijin had confirmed that the attendant was no longer in possible earshot, everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief.

Which was immediately followed by...nothing.

"..."

"Xiao Liu? Are you okay?"

Jinju Ren was expecting Zhen Liu to lose his shit and yell something about how insane, stupid, and/or how dangerous it was for her to agree to go on a date with someone who was essentially his natural born enemy.

However, Zhen Liu was unusually quiet...for a solid minute.

"Well...to be completely honest, I am torn on how to respond," Zhen Liu admitted.

"Oh? How so?"

"On the one hand, I want to say you're crazy for agreeing to go on a date with the guy and that my innate desire to make sure others can't touch you is driving me a little batty" Zhen Liu stated while holding up a finger. "But I also know that is an unhealthy mindset to have."

"Awwww, I wanted you to showcase some jealousy over me," Jinju Ren pouted with a flirtatious voice, prompting everyone but Rianna to roll their eyes.

"I prefer it when he dances and sings," Rianna added on, unprompted.

Ignoring the comment, Zhen Liu continued to share his thoughts.

"Another part of me wants to praise you for creating an opening in which I can have the Kaijin possibly tail this man and set up an ambush. In his bedroom or in the alleyway, or in the bathroom of the restaurant if my emotions get the better of me and he tries to make a move. But that isn't the most absurd reaction my brain has cooked up."

"Well, that's...downright logical," Jinju Ren observed while making sure to not mention how oddly emotional Zhen Liu's answer truly was. "Wait, if that's not your most absurd though, then what is it?"

Zhen Liu didn't even give anyone time to mentally prepare for his next answer, not that it would've helped in the slightest.

"To be as blunt as possible, I was going to praise you for the idea, convince you to hang back and watch as I have Logos and Pathos use whatever weird shit we have in the Library of Nowhere to have them make me look and sound like you so you don't have to interact with him any further. That or at least have them temporarily turn me into a woman so I can seduce the book off of him, but I just realized it would probably make use of a lot of [Chaos] and this guy looks like he's able to sniff that shit out now, so...there goes that plan."

"..."

"What the fuck..."

It took a few moments for everyone to digest Zhen Liu's words, but when they saw the seriousness of his expression, they realized that he wasn't joking in the slightest.

"Huh..."