Chapter 98| A sight to withhold

Chapter 98: Chapter 98| A sight to withhold

Zane moved toward the fitting room to change back.

Then stopped.

"One more thing," he said.

Mori looked up from her tablet.

"Can I change the colour," he said. "To green."

She looked at him.

Then at her tablet. Then back at him with the specific expression of someone who had spent twenty years designing hero suits and had heard stranger requests.

"Green," she said.

"Dark green," he said specifically. "Keep everything else the same. Just the base colour."

She looked at him for a long moment.

Then made a note on her tablet.

"It’ll delay delivery by one day," she said. "Monday instead of Friday."

Zane thought about it for exactly two seconds.

"That works," he said.

Mori looked at him over the rim of her tablet. The specific look of someone reassessing something they thought they’d already assessed.

"Green," she said again. Like she was testing whether he meant it.

"Dark green," Zane confirmed. "Like.. deep. Not bright."

She held his gaze for one more moment.

Then something pulled at the corner of her mouth. Not a smile exactly. Just the specific acknowledgment of someone who had seen a lot of hero identities being built and had just watched one take an unexpected turn.

"Noted," she said. Made the change on her tablet. "Dark green. Same contrast lines. Same structure. Everything else unchanged."

"Perfect," Zane said.

"Monday," she said. Final.

"Monday," he confirmed.

She went back to her tablet like the conversation had already ended.

"So Dark green," she said. Confirming it without looking up.

"Dark green," Zane confirmed.

He went to change.

"Calloway," she said.

He stopped.

She didn’t look up from her tablet.

"You stand differently in it," she said quietly. "Than you do out of it."

He stood in the doorway for a moment thinking about a suitable response."Thanks". He replied.

Then went to change.

He came out of the fitting room in his regular clothes. Suit bag in hand.

Mori was still at her desk. Didn’t look up.

He gave her a brief wave anyway.

"Bye," he said.

"Monday," she said. Without looking up. Meaning the suit pickup.

He walked out of the office and into the corridor. Pulled out his communicator and checked the time.

3:45 PM.

He left the academic block and was walking back toward the dormitory building when the system flagged.

『 B-rank Sigil detected — proximity confirmed 』

『 Emperor’s Touch — Nil Valkyrie — deciphering complete 』

『 Familiarity reading: 2% — Stranger tier 』

He looked up.

Nil Valkyrie was coming from the opposite direction down the corridor.

Up close for the first time. Not the cafeteria distance, not the dormitory gate evening light. Proper corridor lighting. Proper proximity.

She was in casual wear. A loose fitted top that somehow managed to be both relaxed and doing considerably more work than relaxed clothing usually did. Dark shorts. Hair down. Crop top. The specific energy of someone who had finished whatever she’d been doing and was heading somewhere without urgency.

Up close she read differently from the cafeteria distance. The figure that had registered from across the room was. If anything, more of a problem at corridor range. The loose top doing its negotiation holding her small but perky boobs in place while her ass occupied her shorts in a way that had clearly not been factored into the design brief. The dark shorts doing their absolute best and losing the argument completely.

Zane kept his eyes at face level.

Managed it.

For approximately two seconds.

’She for sure loves short wear,’ he thought. ’Dormitory gate — short skirt. Cafeteria — short skirt. Corridor — dark shorts.’ He paused internally. ’Consistent wardrobe philosophy.’

The system surfaced.

『 The system observes the host’s eye trajectory. The system notes face level lasted exactly 1.8 seconds before the inevitable survey. The system is not judging. The system is simply logging with considerable interest. 』

’I was assessing a potential bond candidate,’ Zane thought.

『 Thoroughly. 』

She was, I’ll say, notable.

Not in the same way as Maren. Different build entirely. Where Maren was slim and compact with a chest that the training gear consistently underestimated. Nil was....thick. There was no other word for it. The kind of figure that occupied space with its own authority and didn’t apologise for any of it. Small up top, everything redistributed elsewhere with considerable generosity.

The system surfaced.

『 The system notes the host has now conducted a thorough comparative analysis of both candidates. The system finds the data compelling. 』

’I wasn’t comparing,’ Zane thought.

『 The host used the word compact and then the word thick in consecutive thoughts. That is a comparison. 』

’Shush,’ Zane thought.

’Maren’s friend,’ he thought. ’The one from the dormitory gate. B-rank Emperor’s Touch. Walking toward me in a corridor in dark shorts.’

He kept his eyes forward.

She hadn’t seen him yet.

Then she looked up.

Their eyes met.

She stopped.

Looked at him for a second. Then at the suit bag he was carrying from the fitting.

"Oh," she said. "You’re Zane right? Maren talks about you."

Zane looked at her.

’Maren talks about me,’ he thought.

’Maren talks about me,’ he thought again.

The system surfaced.

『 Nil Valkyrie — Familiarity: 2% → 5% 』

『 First direct interaction registered. 』

『 System Note: She said Maren talks about you. The system notes this is significant information delivered extremely casually. File accordingly. 』

"Yeah," Zane said. "I’m Zane."

She smiled. Easy. The specific warmth of someone who was comfortable with people without needing to work at it.

"Nil," she said. "I’ve heard things."

"Good things," Zane said.

"Mostly," she said.

He looked at her.

’Mostly,’ he thought.

She tilted her head slightly. The loose top shifting with the movement. The neckline sliding just enough to reveal the upper curve of her chest. Small but shaped in a way that complemented everything else she was working with. The kind of detail that rewarded attention without announcing itself.

Zane peeked a bit then kept his eyes on her face.

He was proud of that.

The system surfaced.

『 The system notes the host maintained eye contact. The system also notes it took considerable effort. The system respects the discipline. 』

’Thank you,’ Zane thought.

『 The system notes the host lasted 0.9 seconds before the peripheral assessment began. 』

’That still counts,’ Zane thought.

『 Debatable. But the system is generous today. 』

Zane kept his eyes on her face.

Managed it.

Mostly.

"Tell Maren she has good taste," Nil said. Then added with a grin that made the statement considerably less innocent than the words themselves... "In everything."

She kept walking.

He turned and watched her go.

The dark shorts. The figure. The specific way she walked like she owned every corridor she passed through.

’In everything,’ he thought.

The system surfaced.

『 System Note: The system is not sure if she was referring to Maren’s taste in training partners or something else entirely. The system finds this ambiguous in a very interesting way. 』

’I know,’ Zane thought.

『 The system notes the host’s expression has not returned to neutral. 』

’Give me a second,’ Zane thought.

『 Take your time. 』

He turned back toward the dormitory building and kept walking.

’Maren’s friend,’ he thought. ’In everything she said. In everything.’

He kept walking toward the dormitory building.

The system surfaced.

『 System Note: The system recommends finding out more about this one. Emperor’s Touch at B-rank. That smile. That comment. The system is very interested. 』

’Working on it,’ Zane thought.

『 For once the system believes you immediately. 』