Chapter 157: The Blackmail Trade and Bitter Melon Dumplings
Thick hemp ropes bound Rovel tightly to the wooden chair in the corner of the living room. His latest bout of reckless, death-seeking behavior had earned him this familiar predicament. Kiana, having performed a meritorious service by reporting his antics to the household authorities, found herself officially pardoned from her own disciplinary sentence. She now stood before him, hands planted firmly on her hips, proudly bearing the title of his designated supervisor.
If Rovel managed to slip his bonds and escape again, the consequences waiting for him would not be so simple.
"Hehe, you finally fell into my hands!" A wicked, triumphant smile curled at the corner of Kiana's mouth as she leaned in close.
Rovel merely tilted his head, glancing at her with half-lidded eyes filled with nothing but dry disdain.
Could a mere Paramecium really do anything to him?
The reality of the situation was glaringly obvious. Kiana had absolutely no idea what his actual weaknesses were, nor did she possess the tactical patience to figure them out.
To prove this point, Kiana marched into the kitchen and returned holding a small ceramic plate. Resting on it was a freshly cooked, glistening meatball coated in a rich, savory brown sauce. The aroma of seasoned pork and sweet soy drifted through the air. She picked it up with her chopsticks and waved it slowly in front of Rovel's face, expecting him to break down and beg.
His expression remained perfectly flat. A small, amused huff escaped his nose.
Did she honestly believe everyone in the world was driven by their stomach the way she was?
The grand interrogation tactic backfired spectacularly. Kiana, who had fully intended to break Rovel's spirit with gourmet food, ended up entirely hypnotized by the scent herself. Unable to resist, she popped the meatball into her own mouth, chewing happily. She proceeded to polish off the entire plate right in front of her prisoner, humming a satisfied little tune.
A shadow fell over her.
Thwack!
A wooden soup spoon bounced off the top of Kiana's head. She yelped, clutching her skull as she spun around to see Mei standing there, wearing a floral apron and a deeply unamused smile.
"Dammit..." Kiana rubbed her head, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She spun toward the couch. "Bronya, hurry up and use your super intelligence to tell me what Rovel's weakness is!"
Bronya paused her game, her gray eyes shifting slowly toward the white-haired girl. "Why should Bronya help Idiot Kiana?"
"Because, when I was shopping and entered a lucky draw yesterday, I accidentally won the Shenzhou Special Edition of Homu's New Year Adventure!" Kiana reached into her pocket and pulled out a pristine, brightly colored manga volume, holding it up like a holy relic.
Bronya's attention was instantly captured. Her gaze locked onto the exquisitely packaged manga in Kiana's hand, a faint glimmer of genuine temptation breaking through her usual stoic facade.
Watching from his chair, Rovel let out a long sigh. Seriously, why did people like Kiana, who did not possess a single ounce of collector's spirit, always manage to stumble into the most precious, limited-edition Homu merchandise?
"Bronya, you have to act with a conscience! Have a conscience!" Rovel shouted from his corner, rattling his ropes.
"...You can offer a higher price, right?" Bronya ignored Kiana entirely, turning her calculating stare directly toward Rovel.
She had been eyeing the Houtarou and Haxxor Bunny Heavenly King collectibles in Rovel's private stash for a very long time, but he had guarded them like a dragon hoarding gold, never giving her the slightest opening to acquire them.
"Have you forgotten our deep camaraderie?" Rovel clutched at his chest as best he could with bound wrists, acting as though an invisible arrow had pierced his heart. "When you needed to clear high-level dungeons, I took your place and suffered through tutoring Kiana! When you wanted to keep your identity hidden, it was I who helped shut Sin Mal's mouth!"
He shook his head tragically. "How can you treat me like this now?"
"But you stole Bronya's limited-edition snacks," Bronya countered, her voice flat and merciless. "You opened Bronya's newly bought game cartridges to play them before she could. You put pink floral stickers all over Project Bunny 19C's left arm, and..."
Bronya proceeded to list his daily sins, counting them off on her small fingers one by one.
While Rovel was undeniably reliable when the world was ending, he was an absolute menace in everyday life. Take the game cartridges, for instance. Bronya had not even broken the plastic seal on her new releases before Rovel swiped them to play first. To put it in terms any true gamer would understand, what was the difference between that and outright NTR?!
"...I still refuse to believe you have any actual use over me, Bronya," Rovel said, lifting his chin stubbornly.
"Is that so?"
The air distorted behind the small girl. Project Bunny 19C materialized in a flash of blue data streams. The massive mechanical construct raised one of its armored hands, projecting a crisp holographic photograph directly into the middle of the living room.
Before Rovel could even process the image, the room shattered with sound.
"Aaah!!!" Kiana let out a bloodcurdling scream, her face instantly flushing the color of a ripe tomato.
"Why? Why do you have this photo?!" Kiana lunged forward, grabbing Bronya by the collar of her jacket and shaking her back and forth frantically.
The moment her azure eyes registered the image, she wanted nothing more than to strangle the Russian girl. She had spent weeks trying to bury this specific memory in the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind, yet Bronya had just dragged it out into the harsh light of day.
"I took it while I was browsing the Schicksal Database last time," Bronya replied, entirely unfazed by the violent shaking.
Hovering in the air was a high-definition image of Rovel and Kiana locked in a kiss. To make matters infinitely worse, one of Rovel's hands was planted squarely against Kiana's chest.
"Bronya, I will give you the Haxxor Bunny Heavenly King. Give me that photo." Rovel surrendered instantly, his previous stubbornness vanishing like smoke.
"Deal." Bronya agreed without a microsecond of hesitation.
"Wait, you are going to give the photo to him?!" Kiana stopped shaking Bronya, her eyes widening in absolute horror as she looked between the two of them.
"Yes. The encrypted file has already been sent to Rovel's phone. A fair trade. Bronya will now purge the backup data from Project Bunny 19C's memory banks." Bronya gave a curt nod.
"Then... what about me?" Kiana dropped her hands, looking at Bronya with utter helplessness.
"Go ask Rovel for it." The corner of Bronya's mouth curled upward into an almost microscopic arc of amusement.
Asking Rovel for it sounded simple enough in theory, but Kiana had just spent the last ten minutes gloating and trying to use his weaknesses to torment him. There was no universe in which he would simply hand over such prime blackmail material.
"I am going to appreciate it quietly in the dead of the silent night," Rovel added, twisting the metaphorical knife with a smug grin.
"Shut up, you bastard! Delete that photo for this Lady right now!" Kiana closed the distance in a blur, raising her fist with murderous intent.
"What price can you offer? I paid a very high price to acquire it, after all," Rovel asked, not panicking in the slightest as the fist hurtled toward his face.
"Offer my foot!" Kiana roared, throwing all her weight into the punch.
Rovel activated Quantumization. His physical form dissolved into a haze of blue-violet particles, allowing Kiana's fist to sail harmlessly through empty air. He reappeared a few feet away, entirely out of reach.
"Kiana, is something wrong?"
Hearing the loud commotion, Mei stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. She glanced around the living room, her eyes landing on the corner.
In the blink of an eye, Rovel had deactivated his skill and returned to his chair. He sat perfectly still, eyes focused, breathing steady, bound by the ropes and motionless as a stone statue. A model prisoner.
"No... it is nothing, Mei. I am just so hungry. When will dinner be ready?"
Kiana's chest heaved, her heart overflowing with burning grievances, but she had absolutely no way to explain the situation to Mei without exposing the photo. Why was her life so incredibly difficult?
"Soon. Kiana can go take a shower first. The food will be just about ready when you are done," Mei said, her tone soothing and gentle.
"Oh..." Kiana shot one last, venomous glare at the statue-like Rovel before turning on her heel and stomping off toward the bathroom.
Due to his excellent performance and lack of further property damage, Rovel was finally untied and officially released by Mei. He immediately retrieved the Haxxor Bunny Heavenly King collectible from his room and handed it over to Bronya, sealing their dark transaction.
Not long after, the front door clicked open. Theresa shuffled inside, groaning slightly under the weight of several large plastic shopping bags overflowing with New Year's goods.
"The Headmaster's hair buns are very cute today!" Rovel offered a bright compliment, stepping forward to take a few of the heavy bags from her hands.
"Do not tease the Headmaster!" Theresa puffed out her cheeks, though a pleased flush touched her face. "Considering today is a special day, I will let your disrespect slide for now."
She set the remaining bags on the table, clapping her hands together. "I have prepared a massive surprise for everyone today!"
"...It would not happen to be bitter melon stuffed dumplings, would it?" Rovel's mouth twitched slightly. He stared at the bags, a sense of impending doom washing over him.
"How... how did you know?!" Theresa froze, her blue eyes widening to the size of saucers.
"It is the Headmaster, after all..." Bronya muttered from the couch, rubbing her temples as a deep sense of powerlessness settled over her.
"Bitter melon is incredibly delicious and highly nutritious! You are all still growing, so you need to eat more bitter melon to become strong!" Theresa crossed her arms, defending her culinary choices with desperate volume.
The verdict was set in stone. Today's festive dumpling filling would be an absolute nightmare of bitter melon.
Before the argument could escalate, the bathroom door clicked open. Kiana stepped out into the hallway, the scent of floral shampoo following her. She had changed out of her casual wear and into a beautifully tailored set of traditional New Year clothes, the red fabric contrasting sharply with her bright white hair.
"Kiana... wait!"
Seeing Kiana raise her hands, preparing to tie her damp hair into her usual, messy twin braids, Rovel stepped forward and caught her wrists.
"What?" Kiana gave him a highly suspicious, unfriendly glare, her guard instantly rising. She had no idea what kind of mischief he was plotting now, especially after the photo incident.
"Let me do your hairstyle today," Rovel said, his tone dropping its usual teasing edge, replaced by something much softer. "I guarantee you will like it."
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