There were naturally girls' nights for brides-to-be, and, of course, there were bachelor nights for men as well.
Felix received an invitation from ACE and the others. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to go. He handed the signed documents to Irene and casually asked, "Where's Ines?"
"She took the afternoon off. She said she had some personal matters to attend to."
Felix simply nodded. With the wedding date drawing near, taking leave was only natural. He had always urged those employees who worked so hard they practically wanted to die at their desks to take proper breaks, treating everyone equally, whether they were natives of Terra or players. That attitude had touched many players deeply. Quite a few of them even joked that they wished they could work for Tomorrow's Development in real life.
Meanwhile, Wiš'adel, Ulšulah, and the other girls had gathered in Theresa's room for a heart-to-heart talk. In the future, they would all be close companions, and each of them loved Felix with the purest feelings. Naturally, their conversation drifted toward how they first met him, how their stories with him began, and when their hearts first started to flutter.
Qalaiša, Nymph, and Mudrock made snacks themselves, while the others brought drinks, pillows, and blankets, clearly intending to spend the whole night in Theresa's room.
When Theresa saw this, a bright smile appeared on her face, though there was still a trace of shyness in it. Even though she was much older than the girls around her, whenever she was with them, and whenever she was with Felix, she always felt like a young girl just beginning to understand love.
That was the change Felix had brought.
Without Felix, there might have been only estrangement between her and Theresis. He would have died alone beneath that throne, and Theresa herself would never have had the chance to be resurrected. She would already have merged with the countless past Sarkaz Kings and become one more voice in the collective soul of their race.
"When did Miss Theresa fall in love with His Highness?"
The moment Wiš'adel asked the question, Theresa's eyes darted away. Her cheeks flushed red, and she looked so shy and gentle that she resembled the girl next door.
The other girls immediately leaned in.
They had only ever seen Theresa this bashful in private, intimate moments, and now that she looked this way in front of all of them, they found it both novel and adorable.
"…Actually, from the first time I met Felix and had a long conversation with him, I found myself thinking how wonderful it would be if Felix were a Sarkaz."
Theresa lowered her eyes slightly.
"If he had existed back then, Kazdel would never have split apart. There would have been no war. The Sarkaz would not have wandered this land for so long without a home."
She paused.
"Until the moment I was about to die…"
Wiš'adel's face stiffened slightly, and she bit her lip.
Theresa smiled faintly.
"I thought then that all the words I could not say in this life, all the feelings I could not bring myself to confess to Felix... if there were an afterlife, if I were only an ordinary Sarkaz, then I would absolutely walk bravely to his side and never leave him again."
"Because I was dying, I could make no promises. I only wanted Felix to forget me and live a happy life."
"At that time, I thought that if there truly were another life, and if I could meet Felix again, I would definitely confess to him, no matter our age, our status, or our positions."
Theresa smiled softly.
"And then… I woke up."
"The first person I saw was him."
"How romantic…" Nymph said, clearly moved, clasping her hands together. "It's wonderful that Miss Theresa woke up!"
Theresa smiled gently, then turned her gaze toward Wiš'adel with a playful expression.
"Wiš'adel, when did you fall in love with Felix?"
At that, Ines immediately started smiling like an auntie watching a child being teased. Wiš'adel's sharp eyes instantly turned toward her, and Ines quickly coughed twice.
Ah. Her child really was far too cute.
Wiš'adel hesitated for a moment, then muttered, "At first, I didn't like him much."
"Because he wanted to take Miss Theresa's place, I thought… hmph, anyway, at the time I felt he wasn't qualified. He was just a Sankta. Why would he help the Sarkaz?"
"But I was wrong. He could tell I was upset, so he deliberately used reverse psychology to comfort me."
Wiš'adel's two soft reddish ahoge drooped slightly over her forehead. She hugged her knees, pursed her lips, and continued.
"My feelings for him… are kind of complicated. Sometimes I want to rip off his fake, pretentious mask, but other times I feel like he's incredibly reliable, and just being near him makes me feel safe…"
"Oh~"
Everyone let out a long, knowing ohhh, and Wiš'adel immediately bristled.
"Anyway, I just fell in love without even realizing it! What am I supposed to do about that? I dream about Felix every night when I'm out on missions, when I'm working for Tomorrow's Development, but so what!"
"…"
The girls looked at Wiš'adel with strange expressions, which immediately made her cheeks flush red. She buried her face in the pillow and refused to speak. Her toes curled slightly, and her little tiger teeth itched with the urge to bite down, as if she wanted to sink them into Felix's shoulder.
Your Highness… what are you doing right now?
___
As the name suggested, Bachelor' Night was an event for a man shortly before his wedding and friends who were still unmarried. For example, Hoederer, who was already married, naturally could not attend, well, he could but it depends on the activities planned. His eldest child was already in elementary school, and rumor had it that he had recently welcomed a second child, a little girl.
When Felix arrived at the bar, he found that it had already been booked out by a large group of male operators. Among them were people he knew well, such as Rhodes Island elite operators ACE, Logos, and Scout. Stormeye and Sharp were also there, along with high-ranking members and operators from Tomorrow's Development, including Anthony, Feist, and Thorns. There were even guests who had come from afar, such as Enciodes and Federico.
By the time Felix arrived, everyone had already started drinking. Glasses were raised in greeting, and ACE waved him over. The two sat down side by side at the bar, surrounded by Rhodes Island's elite operators.
…It felt a little strange somehow, but Felix did not dwell on it. After all, he was still technically a hidden shareholder of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals.
"That's enough…"
ACE downed a mouthful of strong whiskey, and two lines of tears streamed down his face.
"I never thought you'd get married before me. I still haven't even met a decent woman."
He could not help recalling the time he and Felix had traveled to Columbia together. Back then, Felix had already had a girlfriend named Muelsyse by his side, while he himself had still been single.
Several years had passed since then, and yet he was still single.
"ACE, what exactly are your requirements?" Felix leaned back in his chair and waved a hand. "Tell me what you want, and I'll help you think of something. There are plenty of excellent girls in Tomorrow's Development. There's bound to be one that suits you."
ACE's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"What, do you think I'm lying?" Felix snorted lightly. "I'm telling you, you're not getting any younger. Look at Hoederer. He was already married, had kids, and was receiving family subsidies back in the early days of Kazdel's reform. You might not be a citizen of Kazdel, but right now Terra is peaceful, isn't it? There's no world-ending war anymore. Isn't this the perfect time to find yourself a wife?"
Then Felix turned to Logos, Scout, and the others.
"I mean what I say. Tell me all your requirements tonight, and I'll help solve them."
ACE's face flushed slightly.
"Hmm… I'd like someone family-oriented, and preferably someone who can accompany me on missions."
"Oh my God, ACE, are you planning to drag your future wife onto the battlefield to do missions with you?"
"That still sounds pretty romantic," Scout said, giving him a thumbs-up.
Felix pointed at the Clever.
"Search according to ACE's requirements and select suitable candidates."
"Yes… Searching within Kazdel… search complete. Matching female candidates: 75,205."
ACE froze.
"That many?"
"ACE, did you forget this is Kazdel?" Logos looked like he was about to laugh. "You haven't forgotten the combat ability of Kazdel's mercenaries, have you?"
"Uh…"
ACE wiped away cold sweat, laughed awkwardly, and muttered, "The point is, I thought my requirements were pretty simple…"
Felix waved a hand, then transferred several files to ACE's device before turning toward Logos and Scout.
Logos nodded slightly.
"I want someone young, beautiful, preferably someone who can communicate with me through incantations, someone who enjoys listening to my bad jokes, and someone who can race office chairs with me…"
Felix's lips twitched.
"Why don't you just look within the banshee clan?"
Logos's expression twitched as well.
When he was little, his mother had dressed him up as a girl because he had been too pretty. His childhood friends had teased him endlessly about it, and that memory had become a dark stain he could never erase. Now he just wanted to stay as far away from Banshees as possible. Whenever he saw one, his first instinct was to turn around and disappear underground.
Scout raised an eyebrow.
"My requirements are… someone who can go on missions with me, shoot with me, and drink with me."
"That request is practically useless. Which Sarkaz mercenary can't fight or drink?" Felix said. "But for the shooting part, I can screen some sniper operators for you. Are you sure?"
Scout nodded happily.
Felix silently sent the Clever search away, then picked up his wine glass and walked over to Anthony, Feist, Thorns, and Elysium. The four of them grinned as soon as they saw him. Anthony stood up and offered Felix a seat, but Felix simply smiled and waved him off.
Tonight, he had no intention of putting on the airs of a king.
Being close to his subordinates was, in its own way, another kind of charm.
"I was just talking with ACE and the others. Those bachelors are still looking through the eligible women that Clever selected for them." Felix took a sip of wine. "You're all getting older. It's time to find wives and settle down. Anthony, let's start with you. Tell me, what's your ideal type?"
Anthony shook his head decisively. "My ideal is simply to follow Your Highness. Nothing more."
Holy crap, that answer is amazing! Elysium's eyes widened. It sounded like he was desperately trying to score points.
"If your parents heard that answer, they'd probably beat you to death." Felix clicked his tongue. "Alright then. What do you actually want?"
"Feline."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Felix slumped back in his seat and waved a hand, signaling Clever to begin the search. Then he turned to his student, Feist.
"Tell me. What's your ideal type?"
"Teacher, what I truly love is science and machinery!"
Felix immediately flicked him on the forehead. Feist winced and gave an awkward laugh.
Felix sneered. "You know, Clever has a recording function. In a moment, I'll send that voice clip to your grandmother. What do you think is going to happen then?"
Feist instantly fell silent.
Anthony added from the side, "She'll definitely take the sea route to Kazdel, come over in person, and settle accounts with you."
"Teacher, I'm done being abstract."
Feist looked troubled. "There was someone… just a classmate from college in Columbia. Nothing ever happened, but she helped me solve a research problem, and I developed a bit of a crush on her."
"Name, race, age. I'll have Clever look her up, then recruit her into Tomorrow's Development."
Feist let out an embarrassed grunt and gave the name, after which Clever began searching again.
When Felix turned toward Thorns, he was silent for a moment.
After thinking it over, he said, "An Aegir who has achieved something in scientific research."
"Hey, hey, hey~ As for me, I want an outgoing, cheerful girl who can chat with me all the time. Ah, and it'd be even better if she could cook and go on reconnaissance missions with me too~" Elysium immediately raised his hand as soon as Thorns finished. "And of course, her race should preferably be Liberi. As for age, I like the older-sister type. I wonder if there are any like that?"
Felix handed all of it over to Clever and let it handle the rest. Before long, a list of candidates was delivered to the four of them and they were told to review it themselves.
The table where Enciodes sat was not quiet either. Although he was the chairman of Karlan Trade and the true ruler of Kjerag, he was very approachable and carried himself like a friendly older brother.
Felix sat down beside him, and Enciodes smiled.
"You're not here to pressure me into marriage too, are you?"
"I don't think I'm in any position to pressure you. You're the ruler of Kjerag, so naturally you already understand your own situation. What you should really be thinking about is which noble family's daughter would bring you the greatest benefit through marriage, right?"
Enciodes sighed.
"Several nobles from Victoria sent me letters before. Openly and secretly, they all hoped I would marry their daughters. Hah. What a beautiful dream they're living in. Terra has only just ended its war, and seeing the faces of those nobles suddenly reminded me of the old days."
"There's not much Victoria can do right now, at least not when it comes to annexing territory. If Horn found out, she'd probably just bombard their lands."
Enciodes waved a hand. "I'm tired anyway, so I'm not thinking about any of that for the moment."
Felix then looked toward Federico.
Federico slowly nodded.
"What I love is Laterano."