CHAPTER 42: RELAX TIME 2

(Orlax’s POV)

After we finished, we left the café and stood by the road.

"Okay, where to now?"

Riana asked Alice after standing beside her, inquiring about our next destination.

"Umm, how about an arcade? I’ve never been there before."

"Alright, let’s go."

After getting into the car, we mapped out a nearby arcade and headed toward it.

We arrived at a well-known arcade in the city and stepped inside.

There were many people playing different games.

"Wow, let’s try basketball."

Alice quickly ran toward the basketball shooting game, inserted a coin, and the balls dropped down.

She picked one up and threw it toward the basket.

"Ah, this is hard. Let me try again."

But even after her second attempt, the ball didn’t go in, and the third try had the same result.

"There must be a trick to this. Why isn’t even a single ball going in?"

"Maybe because you’re bad at it. Let me try."

I inserted a coin, the balls dropped again, and I picked one up and threw it.

"Haha, even you can’t do it! It’s refreshing to see you fail at something."

Feeling provoked by Riana’s laughter, I grabbed another ball and threw it.

Tang!

This time, the ball successfully made it into the hoop, scoring me a point.

"What were you saying again?"

"What?! How did you get so good after just one attempt?"

"Maybe because I’m a genius."

"Tsk, arrogant."

I felt a bit proud seeing Alice and Riana’s annoyed expressions.

I threw the third ball and scored another point.

"Let me try. I’m sure I’ll score more points than you."

Riana stepped forward and began her three attempts.

"Haha, you only scored one point and you say you’ll surpass him."

"At least I’m better than someone who didn’t score at all."

Riana and Alice started bickering, so I quickly stepped in and suggested we move on to another game.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough. Let’s go try something else."

This time, we stood in front of an arcade machine and decided that Riana and Alice would play first, and the winner would face me.

The game started, each choosing a character before engaging in battle.

As usual, Riana won all rounds, leaving Alice frustrated.

"Why am I the one who always loses?"

"Don’t be sad, you’ll get better with practice."

It was my turn now, and I fought against Riana after handing sera to Alice.

At first, Riana won one round, but I took the next two, winning the match.

Feeling proud of my victory, two girls suddenly approached us.

"Sorry for interrupting, but we saw you playing this game and wanted to suggest a 2v2 match. What do you think?"

I turned to Riana to get her opinion, but I saw her eyes gleaming with determination.

"No problem, let’s play."

We sat at two machines facing opposite directions, chose our characters, and started the fight.

The first round was intense, and after a long battle, Riana and I lost.

"What, are you only good at beating me? Why didn’t you play well?"

"What did you expect from me? It’s my first time playing this game, and our opponents are really skilled."

I ignored Riana’s complaints about losing and started the second round.

This time, I recognized their playstyle and we won the round.

"Yes!"

Alice cheered excitedly from behind when she saw our victory, lifting sera in her arms and spinning her around.

I didn’t notice that, too engrossed in the game, but a crowd had gathered around us, watching our match.

The third round started, but despite giving my best effort, we couldn’t win, losing the game.

"That was a great match."

"Yeah, do you guys play often? Your level is really good."

I saw the two girls who defeated us chatting enthusiastically about the game.

"This was my first time playing this type of game."

"Me too."

After saying goodbye to them and moving away from the gathered crowd, we headed to a shooting game next.

The game required hitting multiple targets at different distances using a bow.

This time, I went first, picked up the bow, and shot at the closest target.

My first shot missed, but I didn’t mind and continued until all my arrows were gone.

My final score was 4 out of 6—I missed the first shot because I had never used a bow before, and the last one because the target was far away.

"This is my specialty! Let me show you my skills."

Riana grabbed the bow and started shooting at the targets.

To our surprise, she hit every single one, achieving a perfect score and winning the grand prize.

"You’re really good at this! Have you used a bow before?"

"Yes, I used to go hunting with my father a lot in the past."

Riana’s face carried a hint of sadness as she recalled her father, but Alice quickly grabbed her hand.

"Really? Can you teach me later?"

"Huh? If you want, I don’t mind."

Alice cheered excitedly after hearing Riana agree to her request.

"Since when have you two been this close?"

"I don’t know. She suddenly started acting comfortably around me."

Even Riana seemed surprised by Alice’s casual and affectionate behavior toward her.

"We should go back now—sera is getting tired and sleepy."

"Alright, I think we’ve had enough fun for today."

As we started leaving, Alice suddenly stopped in front of a claw machine filled with plush toys.

"Wow, Lax, it’s so cute! Get me one, please."

Seeing Alice’s pleading eyes, I couldn’t resist and inserted a coin into the machine to start.

At first, the claw moved and grabbed a plushie, but as soon as it lifted, the toy dropped, ending my attempt.

"Let me try."

This time, Riana attempted to grab a plushie, but just like before, the toy fell as soon as it was lifted.

"Damn it! This is a scam—it’s impossible to grab one."

Alice looked disappointed at Riana’s words and lowered her head.

I sighed when I saw her expression and walked back to the machine, inserting another coin for a second attempt.

This time, the plushie didn’t fall after being grabbed, and I finally won one.

I took it from the slot below and handed it to Alice, who looked at it excitedly.

"Hmm, how did you do that? Wait, did you use your magic to win?"

"Maybe."

I gave a slight smile when I saw that Riana had realized I used magic to control the claw and win.

I played again and won another plushie, this time handing it to Riana.

"Here, this is for you."

"It’s for me? Thank you."

I saw Riana looking a little flustered at receiving my gift, but she accepted it in the end.

For the final round, I won another plushie and gave it to sera, who was in Alice’s arms.

"Alright, let’s go back."

We all headed to Riana’s car, got in, and drove toward the palace.

"That was fun—to act normal and forget our identities."

"Yeah, even I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this."

"Right? Even Lax smiled a lot during this."

Riana and Alice talked excitedly, feeling happy about today’s events.

"Alright, we had fun today and all, but you both should come back to reality. A normal life like this isn’t meant for us."

After pulling Riana and Alice back to reality with my words, both of them turned to me, anger in their eyes.

"Did you really have to ruin the mood with that?"

"Yeah, it’s not like we forgot who we are, but let’s enjoy today at least."

"Alright, alright, no need to be so mad."

After calming their anger, we finally arrived at the palace, where Riana parked her car at the entrance before a servant took it to the garage.

We entered the palace, each going to a different room, while I took sera with me to mine.

I placed her on the bed, covered her, and let her sleep since she was exhausted from the day’s events.

I went to the bathroom to relax a little, changed my clothes, and sat on the bed, watching sera.

Closing my eyes, I focused on my magical flow—specifically, in my right eye.

I could feel the magic flowing smoothly and estimated that my eye would recover in a few days.

’The nerves have almost healed. All that’s left is for my body to adjust, and I’ll be able to see with both eyes again.’

Suddenly, I sensed a strange magic surrounding sera, as if enveloping her entire body.

But as soon as I focused on it, it completely disappeared without a trace.

’That strange magic again... I can’t focus on it because my magical level isn’t high enough. I need to find someone who can.’

I started thinking about the strongest mages in the world who could read magic flows.

’Armanthor isn’t good at reading magic flows, so I ruled him out immediately.’

I took out my phone and checked the news about the Magic Tower’s leader falling into a coma.

’The Magic Tower leader is the strongest mage in the world. Maybe he could determine what magic is surrounding Cera, but he’s in a coma now, and no one knows how to wake him up.’

Knock!

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of knocking at my door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a girl with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a beautiful face with a few freckles entered the room.

"Lira, have you returned from visiting your mother?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. She is fine now and will regain her health after a few days of rest."

"Alright, that’s good."

"Your Majesty, I came here to thank you for helping me. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to treat my mother, and she might have lost her life."

Lira bowed deeply to the ground, showing her gratitude.

"Lira, stand up."

Lira rose from the ground, and I noticed her beautiful face was stained with tears.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to cry in front of me? It’s disgusting. Get out now and close the door."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

Lira ignored my words, a big smile still on her face as she left the room.

I lay down on the bed, watching the transparent blue screen floating in front of me.

[Lira: 99 → 100]

[Congratulations! Someone’s loyalty to you has reached its maximum level.]

[The first mission will now be revealed.]

[Main Mission]

[Eliminate the organization threatening the empire’s safety.]

[Targets eliminated: 7/1]

[Reward: "The Great One" Treasure]