Chapter 146: [146] Girlfriend?

"Cracker! I told you, no fireballs in the house!" That was what Ark expected Bronya to say, but he could only shake his head in disappointment when she sprang to her feet and held Soo-jin’s hands, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"G-girlfriend?! Are you serious?" She turned to glare-smile at Ark.

...That was the only way he could describe the expression on her face.

"You had a girlfriend and you didn’t tell me about it?!"

Cracker, on the other hand, looked on the verge of crying. She was staring up at him with bubbly eyes while sniffling.

"Tell me it’s not true..."

Ark folded his hands across his chest and sighed. His eldest sister acted as though she would sell him off to the very first girl that showed interest, while his youngest sister wanted him to be celibate for life.

Worst of all, Soo-jin did not look interested in clearing up the misunderstanding...

"She’s not lying..."

Bronya was already on her feet, fist-bumping the air.

"We are not regular friends..."

At this point, Ark was afraid the smile on Bronya’s face would split her face in half.

"But we are not dating either." Ark stroked his jaw. "It is more like... a business relationship."

As far as Ark knew, Soo-jin saw him as nothing more than a lab rat for her amusement. Maybe that had changed after the tutorial, but Ark couldn’t care less.

She wanted to see what would happen if she were to invest in turning iron ore into steel...

Ark sure as hell didn’t need her help, but as long as her games didn’t interrupt his life, he could accommodate her. Who would say no to getting stronger?

Besides, while she saw him as a test subject, Ark also found her very much amusing.

When Bronya heard this, Ark expected her excitement to die down, and it did, but not entirely.

"Business partners, eh..." She smiled. "It’s only a matter of time then..." she muttered underneath her voice.

Ark frowned. "This isn’t one of your eastern dramas."

Beside him, Cracker let out a huge breath of relief and leaned back on the chair, sweat already dripping down her face.

"Thank goodness..."

Ark pinched her cheek and tugged on it. "Why do you care so much if I have a girlfriend or not?"

"Wellsh." She frowned. "Because youww will have to shplish your money between me and her, which is less money for me!"

"..."

"Are you serious?" Ark had actually thought she was concerned about him.

He smooshed her cheeks between his fingers. "You’re as greedy as a goblin."

Ark could only wonder what she would do if she found out just how rich the Fable family actually was.

’She will likely turn against me like Bronya...

"Alright, Soo-jin, why don’t you tell us about your adventures in Eden?" Bronya asked as she retook her seat.

"Ahh, where do I start? There is so much to say~" Soo-jin began her story, starting from the tutorial, down to her personal experiences in Eden.

She had a way with her words, and within seconds, her retelling of her adventures had more than captivated everyone in the room.

Even Cracker found herself immersed in the story.

It was through her stories that Ark was able to find out that she had taken on multiple dungeon raids already, and had hit level twenty two weeks before he did...

After some time, Soo-jin finally finished her story, leaving everyone staring at her.

"Wow..." Bronya muttered. "Have you ever considered taking a job as a storyteller?"

Isabella nodded by the side, clearly agreeing with her.

Soo-jin smiled. "I’m afraid my duties as a player will not permit me." Her gaze moved to Ark.

"But for this story, I am willing to take a fee."

"Oh?" Bronya had not expected a fee, so she was a little confused. "What do you want?"

Soo-jin pointed her crimson fan at Ark. "Him."

Ark frowned. "I am not a commodity that can be traded—"

"Go and get dressed, Ark, can’t you see your girlfriend wants to have some time alone with you?"

"I told you we are not dati—" Before he could even finish speaking, Bronya grabbed him by the arms and hoisted him to his feet.

"Go get dressed." Her eyes flickered dangerously.

Ark swallowed.

"C-Cracker! Your lovely brother is about to be sold off, do something!"

Ark glanced at the chair, only to see his dear sister gone. His eyes hurriedly surveyed the room, and when he saw her, his blood ran cold.

"This is premium-made crackers from the eastern continent. You can’t buy them anywhere else on this planet," Soo-jin cooed with a malicious glint in her eyes.

She pulled out another one from her purse, then another one, then another one, while Isabella neatly stacked them up.

That was when Ark realised it was coming from her inventory...

Five minutes later, there were enough crackers to form a tower, and by then, Cracker’s free stand of hair was swaying left and right.

But she maintained her composure.

"Is this supposed to impress me? If you think I will sell out my precious brother because of..."

"I heard you loved crackers, so I had my private jet fly them in this morning."

"Private jet?"

"I’ll have more for you by the end of the month." Soo-jin smiled.

"Oh, and..." She slipped an envelope into her hand and then whispered something into her ear.

Ark’s eyes went wide.

"C-Cracker?!"

His little sister turned around and smiled warmly.

"Go get dressed."

And just like that, Ark was kicked out of his own house.

<••>

Ark grumbled all the way from his front door to the parking lot, where he saw Soo-jin’s car.

It was a clean, black sedan with a plate number that simply said Fable. The very air around the car stunk of affluence, and Ark was sure it was worth enough to buy their entire apartment complex and more.

While Isabella slipped into the front seat, Soo-jin held the door to the back open for him, and Ark stepped inside, followed closely by her.

"Welcome back, Lady Soo-jin." A voice came from the driver’s seat. It was the same woman that had helped him out in his fight with Tristan.

"It’s you..." Ark clicked his seat belt in place.

"You left before I woke up, so I wasn’t able to properly thank you for helping me out. Thank you."

"I deserve no thanks." Satella closed her eyes and sighed. "You were the one who ultimately saved me at the end of the day."

"Hmm? Well, technically, but you did help me out. Why do you sound like you did a bad thing..."

Ark glanced at Soo-jin. Her face looked expressionless, but there was a slight tick in it that made him realize she was hiding something.

"Wait..."

"Don’t tell me Soo-jin punished you for being unable to beat Tristan??"

Another tick. He was right, or at least close!

Ark grabbed Soo-jin’s hand, and before she could react, pinched the delicate skin on her forearm and dragged it.

"Eeck—!"

"Stop bullying people." Ark tugged it a bit more, causing her spotless skin to turn red.

At the sight of it, the faces of both Isabella and Satella went pale. Because instead of wincing in pain, Soo-jin had a wide smile on her face.

She was enjoying it...

Her cheeks blushed a deep shade of red, as her crimson lips parted. "Harde~"

"AHALALALALALA—!!"

Olivia yelled, as she stretched from the front seat to place her hand over her mouth, cutting her off...