Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 149 - Delivery

Lumi extended his hand to her cheek, lightly petting it. "I’ve been here for a while, silly."

"Hi." Lena repeated a greeting, then blushed. "Hi. Hello~. I mean, hello~! Hi!" She shook her head rapidly, a smile on her face. "Sorry, sorry. I just get excited! I can’t help but greet you. It’s like. Hi! Hello!"

"Hi!" Lumi went along with her, dropping his hand to instead hold hers. "Ready to go?"

"Um." Lena took another look back at the academy. She mentally went over her entire journey. Was there anything she missed?

After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head. "No, I suppose." She looked back at the man who had captured her life’s attention. "What will we do now?"

"First, we leave Teth." Lumi waved Lena over, having her follow him. He led her towards where he had left his airship.

"Woah..." Lena’s eyes shone as her gaze looked over the ship.

Its pure white frame was untainted by the elements, not the slightest stain of green on it. It held a golden rim all around, making her closely inspect the ship. "It’s so... regal! How expensive is it?"

Lumi responded as he got in. "I’m unsure on the specifics, but at least ten million Ems. It’s not mine, it was temporarily given to me by Herene." He gestured for her to get in.

The airship had space for exactly one person. Lena stared awkwardly. "Um... can I sit on your lap?"

Lumi grinned. "That’s exactly what I meant."

Lena jumped up. "Yay!"

...

"Woah~" Lena stuck her head off to the side as the ship flew, the wind breezing by. Her blonde hair flew back, dancing in the wind. "This feels nice, hehe~"

"I like it too." Lumi responded with a small smile as he navigated back to Elenora. In his past life, there had been millions of players. Even if the game was only a "game" for a mere two years, that was more than enough time for them to have accumulated countless information. There was absolutely no lack of activities in Masteria for Lumi to do.

Every inch of the realm, he had something he could do to tip the odds in his favor.

At first, he had been overwhelmed by the pressure. As he progressed more and more, Lumi had come to look at the problems as opportunities.

If everything looked perfect and yet they lost, that would have been the truly terrifying bad timeline. The fact that there had been so many visible issues now breaths relief into Lumi. There were issues he could fix.

"Say!" Lena’s voice cut through Lumi’s contemplation. "Do you want my stuff?"

"Huh?" It was so abrupt that Lumi was caught off guard.

She nodded earnestly. "The bracelet and the wings! They are pretty good items. Do you want them?"

Lumi shook his head. "No need, keep them, love."

Lena lightly frowned. "Why?" She tilted her head, entirely not understanding. "They would be better off with you, no? Your work is important. I’m like, more of your pawn, right?"

"Lena-!" Lumi lightly gasped. He held his arm around the girl on him. "What are you saying? Though it’s only been a few weeks, I really like you."

"I REALLY LIKE YOU TOO!" Lena shouted out at the top of her lungs. She gave him an exaggerated grin. "But you know that’s not what I mean. You have an important mission!"

"True." Lumi didn’t deny it, but still didn’t accept her items. "However, they will still be more effective on you. That bracelet was made with the love and care of children for what you did for them."

He raised his hand to her cheek and made her stare at him. "Their love and appreciation was for you, their savior. You’ve earned it in more ways than one. That bracelet will only keep its full power on you."

"Moo~" Lena lightly squeaked out as her cheeks were pinched. Lumi let go.

Lena immediately opened her mouth. "Okie~! It’s like it makes sense. It’s like it all makes sense, chat! I get it!"

She raised her arm and stared at the bracelet. "For me... for me..." She looked back at him. "I’m useful."

Lumi nodded. "Of course you are."

"Okay." Lena nodded.

They rode in silence for a couple more moments. Lena lightly opened her mouth, a thought clearly on her mind, but she closed it when she saw they were approaching the town. "Okay..."

"Hm?" Lumi looked at her.

"Ah." Lena shook her head. "Nevermind."

...

Lumi entered the Grand Library once more. Looking around, he did not see Merath. "Merath!"

Though it was rude to simply call out someone’s name after entering their home, as if they were that familiar with each other, Merath was a man who appreciated directness. He despised excessive time being wasted on mere politeness.

Of course, some minimum respect was required, but given the importance Lumi now carried, it was no longer necessary to stand on ceremony.

After a moment, there was no response.

"Merath!"

Lena lightly poked Lumi. "Um... dear, ar-"

"What." A stern, aged voice suddenly rang out throughout the room. Though, Merath himself did not make an appearance.

Lumi was straight and to the point. "I brought some gifts." From his inventory, he took out several tomes. Without his input, the tomes began to float into the air, grasped by Merath’s invisible power.

Lumi casually added. "Also, Lena needs her rank advancement."

Merath didn’t speak for a moment as the pages of the tomes flipped open. They then shut tight, and Merath’s figure appeared mid-air. Despite everything, his tone was cordial. "Lumi. I must ask, where did you get these?"

"Teth." Lumi explained. "We acquired them from an intelligent monster known as the Deer King. It had been kidnapping fairies. We found them in its den. Though, to say we acquired them is an overstatement. It was primarily Lena. I only jumped in at the last second."

Lena took a breath in. She would have never raided its den if it wasn’t for Lumi, and thus instinctively wanted to reject any credit.

However, Lumi was telling it to Merath. Who knows if he had somewhere he was going with it. And even if he wasn’t, there was no way she would interject and contradict him, making him look bad. Therefore, she stayed silent with a smile.