System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]-Chapter 54: What a weirdo

"Oh my, I apologize for my carelessness."

The guy smiled as he said it, casually patting Anthony’s shoulder like nothing had happened.

Blake raised an eyebrow, almost impressed.

He looked charming.

That was the first word that came to mind, annoyingly enough.

Platinum hair, almost shining under the lights. Pale blue eyes. Quite tall. Well-built, but not in an obvious way.

Just... naturally put together.

’...wasn’t this supposed to be a sci-fi?’

Blake stared at him for a second longer before instinctively glancing at Anthony.

Then, he froze. Not out of shock, more like out of relief, since Anthony didn’t look impressed at all.

Sure, he still had that usual awkwardness, that slight stiffness in his posture, but there was no wide-eyed admiration, no flustered reaction, nothing.

Blake exhaled quietly.

’...thank goodness.’

He didn’t even know why that mattered.

It just did, because there was something about the guy felt off, just way too familiar.

It was just a feeling but, considering the circumstances, it was better to listen to it.

"No, it’s alright..." Anthony muttered softly, stepping back a little.

The guy tilted his head slightly.

"Aren’t you the one who was eating with Myles?"

???

Blake’s eyebrow twitched upward.

’Wait, he knows Myles? Who is he? Actually, did he just completely ignore Anthony?’

Then what was that apology for? Just for show?

’Why even bother then...?’

But then, the question clicked.

That day, when he was eating out with Myles, there was a waiter.

Blake’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’...oh. Right.’

There was someone staring at him.

Pretty openly, too.

’I was too busy dealing with Myles to care...’

Yeah, that checks out.

Blake scratched the back of his head lightly, then nodded.

"Yup. That’s me. My name’s Blake."

The guy smiled a little wider.

"I’m Zlatan."

...

Blake stared at him for half a second.

That name meant absolutely nothing.

"Cool, I see. Bye bye."

Blake gently grabbed Anthony by the sleeve and immediately started walking away with him.

There was no point in lingering.

Even if that guy knew Myles, actually, especially if he knew Myles, it meant Blake couldn’t risk it.

Not even a little. Asking any questions about their relationship would definitely cause something, because if that guy decided to say something, or worse, report it, then suddenly Myles would start getting wary again.

And Blake was not dealing with that yet another time.

Not today.

Not ever, if possible.

"Mmh... Blake..."

Anthony leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice.

"...is he Myles’ friend?"

Blake didn’t even slow down.

"Ah... I don’t think so."

A small pause.

"But he works at a place he usually goes to."

"...oh. So you don’t know him?"

Blake glanced at him.

"...me?"

Anthony nodded.

Blake shook his head immediately.

"Nope. He was behaving pretty weirdly though."

Anthony nodded slowly.

"...yeah..."

—?

"...wait."

Blake stopped.

Anthony bumped slightly into him.

"Hm?"

Blake didn’t answer immediately.

Because there was a presence right behind them.

’...you’ve got to be kidding me.’

Anthony stiffened.

"...Blake..."

Slowly, very slowly, they both turned around, and there he was.

That guy again, standing right behind them, still smiling like he had been there the entire time.

’What the hell?’

Anthony actually jumped back a little.

Blake’s expression twitched.

’What the hell does he even want?’

He hadn’t even heard him walk up, not a single step.

"Is there something you need or?"

Blake asked flatly, already annoyed.

Zlatan looked down at them, tilting his head slightly again.

"You two were wandering around so cutely."

He tilted his head.

"...so I got curious."

Blake’s face went blank.

’...excuse me?’

"And since I’m all alone..." Zlatan continued smoothly, his smile never faltering, "I thought I’d get to know you better."

Blake stared at him.

Then, a very specific feeling crawled up his spine.

’He is the classic two-faced green tea bitch, no way I’m dealing with him.’

He also gave a strong creepy vibe, no doubt about it, since it was not even subtle.

Beside him, Anthony looked horrified, genuinely.

His face had gone pale, his posture stiff, eyes slightly wide.

Blake blinked, trying to hold back a chuckle.

’Okay, I get it. He is a little weird but, you can’t make that face, Anthony. That would offend anyone.’

Thing was that Anthony wasn’t even the type to react like that. He was a little awkward, shy... but this was straight up discomfort.

Blake’s expression flattened slightly.

"No."

Zlatan didn’t react immediately, he just... looked at them, still smiling.

But something definitely shifted in his expression, although very subtle.

The kind of thing you wouldn’t notice unless you were used to it, and Blake was, because dealing with Myles meant constantly guessing moods from almost nothing.

Blake held eye contact with him.

Then, Zlatan’s attention shifted to Anthony.

And, that same look stayed. More than anything, he looked at him with double the intensity.

"...?"

Blake frowned slightly.

’...why him?’

If Zlatan knew Myles, then focusing on Blake made sense.

But Anthony? That didn’t add up at all.

’Unless he is actually some kind of creep—’

No.

Blake cut that thought immediately.

No assumptions, not yet.

Zlatan blinked once.

Then, just like that, the tension disappeared.

He smiled again, casually shrugging.

"Well."

A small pause.

"I suppose that’s fine."

Blake didn’t respond.

"See you around."

And just like that, he turned, walking away with no hesitation, not looking back.

Blake stared at where he had been for a second longer.

Then sighed out of relief.

"What the hell was that?"

Beside him, Anthony looked like he had just survived something.

"I don’t know..."

His voice was quieter than usual.

Blake glanced at him.

"You good?"

Anthony nodded quickly.

"Yeah... yeah, I’m fine, but he was a little creepy."

"Ah?"

That was unexpected.

For Anthony to say that? Out loud?

That said a lot.

"Teah," Blake muttered, rubbing the back of his neck lightly.

"That guy’s unusual, for sure."

He wasn’t going to jump to conclusions, still, something about him didn’t sit right at all.

"...but it’s probably nothing."

He added it casually, like it didn’t matter.

Anthony didn’t answer immediately, but he nodded after a second.

"...yeah."

A short silence followed.

The mood had shifted noticeably.

Blake clicked his tongue softly.

"...alright."

He looked at Anthony again.

"Wanna get ice cream?"

"Ice cream?"

"Yeah."

Blake shrugged.

"Thought it might help."

"I don’t really like ice cream."

Blake stared at him.

"You can’t be for real, man."

Anthony looked slightly embarrassed.

"...I don’t like cold sweets."

Blake blinked again.

"That’s a thing?"

Anthony nodded, laughing out loud.

"We can go to a café instead?"

Blake stared at him for another second, also laughing.

"Yeah, sure."

Why not.

"Lead the way."