Chapter 30 - Matchmaker (1)

James had left his meeting with Volt quite satisfied. The conversation had ended much more smoothly than the somewhat combative one he remembered. At least he hadn't been too hard on him. Now he was on his way back to the restaurant.

Fox's curious voice was heard:

[What if he hadn't been convinced by these pictures, what would you have done?]

That's what they had gambled on from the beginning. That's why she wondered if there was a Plan B.

James took on a very serious expression. He looked left and right and then he spoke:

"You know... It's pretty easy. I was just gonna say: THE MAIN CHARACTER IS COMING! HELLOOO! WHO ELSE CAN I TELL BUT YOU!?"

Then he paused for a moment. His rising tone changed tragically and he squealed like he was being killed:

"If that didn't work, I was going to say: I'LL EAT YOUR SHIT! I BEG YOU TO INCREASE SECURITY!"

His sudden outburst no doubt caused many to look at him with surprise, fear and curiosity. But then those who recognized his identity began to approach softly.

Fox's chuckle could be heard. James, meanwhile, quickened his pace. The fans... they were like a celebrity's nightmare.

Normal vestals who loved him were fine, but he knew how much fans could offend someone.

He didn't want to put up with such a thing without getting paid if possible. So he did the best thing he could and ran away!

He was undoubtedly extremely fast. With the help of the mini-map, he quickly dodged the fans and the curious through the side streets.

And just as he was about to reach the restaurant, he got a notification.

<Quest completed. Reward is being given...>

<Successfully 4133 completed. Available SP Amount:>

<Level up! All stats upgraded.>

<Bronze Module received.>

He grinned. It showed how close he was. He just needed a little more... a little more time.

Once he had it, he would be in a position to fight in peace, and even help the plot by having fun.

James arrived at the restaurant, happy with this. Not surprisingly, it was packed and Lucy was having trouble keeping up. Even with a couple of service robots to help, it wasn't enough.

When James walked in, everyone looked at him and he naturally wandered around saying hello to everyone. Then finally he started to help Lucy.

No doubt these next few days were going to be extremely busy.

…

Two days passed in this way.

Security had increased beyond James' expectations. This was undoubtedly good news for him, even though he had no idea who his pictures went to or what happened to them. They would not be able to enter the tournament as they had in Canon.

Entry to the tournament was undoubtedly much tighter. But he knew that this was not the solution. The opposite of what he had said, security, which was already tight, would go to an extreme when the Vexos arrived, and James knew that even then the Resistance would come and cut the energy transmission.

James knew he had to stop it. He couldn't remember everything about the Plot with complete clarity, but he had a Fox to back him up if he needed to, and a map showing the routes.

That's why he had spent about a hundred SP on those pictures. It was not even possible for him to go there and take them himself. Yes, he had been close to it and had memorized most of it. But he was caught before he could get inside.

That's why he had asked Fox to get the photos and had to pay 100 SP to get them here.

Still, James was pleased.

When he thought about what else he had to do, he realized that there was nothing left. It was as if the system was deliberately avoiding assigning tasks. There was no task, no activity. He didn't need to fight right now.

If he fought again, he might lose. Not that he was afraid of that, but they had to make the most of this winning streak so that the restaurant's profits wouldn't drop.

Speaking of the restaurant, these two days, with Fox's help, he recorded the recipes in detail at his leisure.

James knew that anything could happen to him in life. As someone for whom even his reincarnation had turned into a problem, he felt he had to consider every possibility. At least that was true in the current situation.

If he did turn into a monster, he could use the information here to ensure Lucy's restaurant remained popular.

He was sure she didn't need him to be motivated anymore. It's just... James thought Lucy was quite lonely. Sometimes she looked pensive with a melancholy expression.

It wasn't James's job to play matchmaker, but in this case he felt he had to lend a hand. After negotiations with Fox, he made his way to the most suitable target.

Lucy had given him a forced leave of absence. No matter how much he wanted to work, she wanted him to take a day's rest out of concern for him. Well... that worked in his favor.

On the road he was undoubtedly the target of many looks of admiration, fear, curiosit, and much more. Yes, fear entered the equation. James realized that some of the vestals were pointlessly tense and frightened when talking to him, although he didn't know what the problem was.

"Why are they looking at me like that?"

Naturally, that was James's question. The answer he received left him speechless.

[I would describe it as a side effect. Your eyes glow too much at times. You look extremely intimidating because of it].

James found this weird because Siren wasn't scared. Then why were the others? After a brief thought process, though, he couldn't help but agreed. His situation was undoubtedly extremely strange. James didn't dwell on it too much, thinking it was a side effect of the transformation process, as Fox had said, and kept walking.

Just as he was crossing the street, he noticed someone running. It was a girl with short black hair. He realized that if he did not react quickly, he would run into her. So he quickly moved a few steps to the left.

And fortunately this black-haired girl was able to continue running without hitting him. She didn't seem to notice his presence in her panic. James was naturally surprised. He remembered seeing this girl again before.

"I think I saw this girl walking towards the arena."

Meanwhile, he crossed the street. He couldn't help wondering. Where could this girl have been so late that she had to proceed blindly?

He stopped his steps and asked with sudden curiosity:

"Should I follow her?"

Fox responded with a mock reproach mixed with sarcasm:

[Are you a pervert?]

James responded in a confused voice:

"What's that got to do with it? I've seen her before and I was just curious."

Fox spoke with mock skepticism:

[Are you sure? That's the way perverts usually look at young girls.]

James grumbled at this and started walking his way:

"What the fuck? What's that got to do with anything? And what's old about me? I'm sixteen! I mean, I guess. I hope so."

And in the meantime, at the end of his walk, he arrived at the Eclipse Restaurant again. Of course, this time someone else unexpectedly came to the same place as him. It was none other than the girl he had just wondered about!