Chapter 33: A Five-Star Trap

"Eris?"

"One minute."

After eating a third bite, she finally placed her fork on the edge of her plate.

"This is actually delicious."

I leaned back in my chair with a smug smile.

"You didn’t need to sound so surprised."

"I’m not supposed to be surprised? The last time I visited, you forgot to add the seasoning packet to your instant ramen and couldn’t understand why it had no flavor."

"That was a bad day."

"Once, you even burned the cheese inside a toasted sandwich."

"I still don’t know how I managed that."

Eris narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Since when have you been able to cook this well?"

I opened my mouth to answer but stopped before the right words could emerge.

My parents had died in a car accident when I was young. The grandfather who took me in had spent most of his time in the hospital, so I had lived almost entirely alone for years in my previous life. That was why I had been forced to learn how to cook.

Of course, I couldn’t tell Eris any of that. If I used another suspicious phrase like "my previous life," she might start taking her joke about an ancient spirit possessing my body seriously.

I stirred the pasta on my plate with my fork and shrugged.

"I’ve watched a few recipes recently."

"You learned to cook like this by watching a few videos?"

"Cooking isn’t that complicated. If you follow the recipe properly, you’ll get results."

Eris still looked suspicious, but the smell of the food in front of her was stronger than her desire to continue questioning me. She picked up her fork and resumed eating.

"I might allow this change to continue," she said. "At least you can cook for me whenever I visit."

"How often are you planning to come here?"

"I have a spare key, so whenever I feel like it."

"One day, I’m changing the lock."

"Then I’ll burn down the door and come inside."

There was no way to win against this girl.

After I ate the first few bites of my meal, the phone on the table vibrated. The moment I saw the name on the screen, I placed my fork on the plate and picked up the device.

[Angel: How are your arms? Are they hurting badly?]

A smile appeared on my lips as I quickly typed a reply.

[Noctis: They hurt a little, but I’ll recover by tomorrow.]

I sent the message and was about to take another bite when the phone vibrated again.

[Angel: Don’t be so sure. If you can’t lift your arms tomorrow, I might make fun of you.]

[Noctis: You could give me a massage instead.]

Only after sending it did I realize how direct the message sounded.

I tapped the screen to delete it, but it had already been read.

When no answer came for several seconds, I began to think I had said something wrong. Just as I was preparing to send an explanation, three dots appeared.

[Angel: Maybe. I’ll need to see how well you perform tomorrow first.]

The small victory celebration inside my heart spread across my face. I continued eating with one hand while holding my phone in the other.

Across from me, Eris’s fork had stopped above her plate.

Her red and blue eyes had been watching me closely for several seconds.

"Don’t play with your phone while you’re eating."

"One second."

[Noctis: Then I’ll do my best to impress you tomorrow.]

I was so focused on writing the message that I didn’t notice Eris leaving her chair. By the time she reached me, she only had to extend her hand to take the phone.

The device suddenly vanished from between my fingers.

"OIII! Give it back!"

She held the phone above her head and moved to the other side of the table.

"No."

"I was in the middle of a message."

"I saw."

"Then why did you take it?"

Eris hid the phone behind her back and faintly pursed her lips.

"You’re completely mine today. You’re being punished for ignoring me for two days, so you can’t give all your attention to some girl you met yesterday."

After the words left her mouth, she must have realized how possessive they sounded because a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

When I raised my eyebrows, she quickly continued.

"Don’t misunderstand. I’m only saying that you owe me two days."

"Saying I’m yours all day sounds a little different."

"If you keep saying stupid things, I won’t give your phone back until tonight."

I rose to retrieve it, but Eris took a step backward around the table.

"What are you going to do with a locked phone?"

"I know your password."

The screen was still unlocked, so she didn’t even need it. After tapping through my phone several times, her expression brightened as though she had remembered something.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to show you."

"Let me answer my message first."

"Your angel can wait a few minutes."

It was obvious she was speaking with deliberate calmness to hide the faint jealousy in her voice.

Her fingers moved quickly across the screen. After finding the page she wanted, she turned the phone toward her chest and began reading.

"Do you remember the major cosplay contest coming up soon?"

I shrugged while picking up another bite with my fork.

"No."

"The NovaCon Grand Cosplay Contest. Every year, you said you wanted to enter, only to give up at the last moment."

Colorful posters, crowded halls, and costumed people posing onstage passed through Noctis’s fragmented memories.

A bad feeling began to form inside me.

"Why are you bringing this up?"

A proud smile appeared on Eris’s face.

"To make sure you didn’t give up again this year, I entered you into the contest."

The piece of chicken I had been about to eat fell to the floor along with my fork.

I heard the metal strike the floor, but I couldn’t react.

My entire body had frozen in place.

"What did you do?"

My voice was barely audible.

Eris must have mistaken my reaction for excitement because she turned the phone toward me.

"The application deadline was only a few days away. I filled out the form using your old cosplay photos and the information from your streaming account. Your application was approved this morning."

A large, colorful contest poster filled the screen.

[NOVACON GRAND COSPLAY CONTEST]

[Contestant: Noctis Evernight]

[Category: Solo Stage Performance]

[Application Status: Approved]

Below the poster were photographs of contestants who had appeared onstage in previous years. Some of the costumes were detailed enough to have been used in professional film productions. There were suits of armor, moving wings, glowing weapons, and spells created with special effects.

Eris continued scrolling down the screen as she explained excitedly.

"It’s one of the largest cosplay competitions in the country. Thousands of people apply for the preliminary round, and only the selected contestants are allowed onto the main stage. Famous cosplayers, professional costume designers, and major streamers will all be there."

"Thousands?"

"Yes! The main competition is broadcast live, and hundreds of thousands of people watched it last year. The prizes are substantial too, but the most important part is that contestants who place in the top three can receive offers from major agencies."

Every new detail she gave me made the nausea in my stomach worse.

Appearing in front of people while wearing cosplay...

I would have to stand in the middle of a stage before hundreds of strangers, pose in costume, and imitate a character. Worse, all of it would be recorded, broadcast live, and watched online by thousands of people.

When I remembered the short skirts, thigh-high socks, priestess dresses, and bunny-eared outfits in my wardrobe, my stomach genuinely clenched.

The mere thought of doing something like that made me feel sick.

Noctis might have loved cosplay, but I had no intention of standing onstage in another person’s body, dressed in women’s clothing and posing before a panel of judges.

Even so, I didn’t let Eris see my horror.

In her eyes, this contest was an opportunity the real Noctis had wanted for a long time but had never been brave enough to pursue. She had entered me because she thought it would make me happy, and she was proud of what she had done.

I forced my expression to remain as neutral as possible.

"Why did you do this without asking me?"

"Because you would have given up again if I asked. Besides, there was no guarantee your application would be accepted, so I wanted it to be a surprise."

Eris moved the phone a little closer, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Now you have no excuse to run away."

I actually had an excellent excuse.

I didn’t want to do it.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to tell her to cancel my registration.

At that exact moment, blue light flashed in front of my eyes.

[New Mission Created]

The words I had been about to say became trapped in my throat.

[Mission: Place in the top three at the NovaCon Grand Cosplay Contest.]

My eyes slowly widened.

[Reward: 5★ Card]

A second wave of shock erased every thought in my mind.

Once again, I froze completely.