Chapter 74: The Pinnacle of Side Quests in the Novel World, Part 3

Merchant Marnid was a scholarly, honest businessman, while Warden Borcha was full of bizarre and somewhat shady tricks. Normally, they wouldn’t get along, but when combined, they created a subtle chemistry, solving each other’s problems seamlessly.

Despite Borcha’s scruffy, seedy appearance, and off-putting demeanor, he was kind-hearted, respectful, and took care of his companions. He was one of the few genuinely good guys.

As they worked together, they became close friends, calling each other brothers. This camaraderie greatly facilitated the construction of the high-level soldiers’ training camp and the high-level town prison.

The only thing that still bothered Draxel was the slap he had received. It felt too heavy to have come from Safiya, so he decided to ask her about it later.

“Hey, Safiya, my lovely princess, I need to ask you something. Who gave me that big slap the other day?”

Safiya laughed heartily, “Hahaha, why are you so hung up on that? Does it matter?”

“It matters a lot, but it’s not important. That slap was way too strong. I can’t let it go.”

“Alright, alright, let me see if your face is hurt. Come closer,” Safiya gestured for him to come closer, her motion resembling someone calling a dog.

At this moment, the system quietly prompted.

[Let’s start the side quest, baby~]

Draxel calmly walked over and leaned his face closer.

Safiya was entranced by his handsome profile, her gaze dreamy. Unintentionally, her lips lightly brushed against Draxel’s cheek.

Draxel felt a wonderful, cool softness caressing his face. It was incredibly soothing.

Seeing that Draxel wasn’t pulling away or resisting, Safiya grew bolder, wrapping her arms around Draxel’s neck and gradually…

‘So, this is today’s side quest, huh? Well, this is… great,’ Draxel felt a surge of heat through his body, slowly taking off his shirt.

Finally, it was about time for some romance in this 100,000-word saga. Draxel gently held Safiya’s slender waist, their lips almost touching.

‘Let me show you what a passionate 21st-century kiss is like, hahahaha!’

Just as their lips were about to touch, mere millimeters apart, Draxel’s heart raced uncontrollably.

“Bang bang bang!” A series of urgent knocks on the door suddenly interrupted.

It was Rehn’s call.

“Roar! Safiya, Draxel, are you in there? Come out for dinner. We have steak tonight.” 

Moments later, a disheveled Draxel angrily flung open the door, his face flushed, glaring at Lein.

“Roar? Did a monkey sit on your face? Why is it so red?”

“Lein, I truly love you. I f*cking love you so much. Let’s go… let’s go eat dragon meat, no, no, let’s go eat steak.”

Suppressing his burning desire and forcing himself to calm down, Draxel downed several glasses of cold water at dinner, trying to cool off.

[System Prompt: Your friendliness with Safiya has increased by +2. Current friendliness: 42.]

At this moment, Draxel received the system’s prompt, guessing what Safiya might be thinking.

But his own mind was filled with all sorts of shameless thoughts, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. Finally, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and said, “You guys continue eating, I’m full. I’m going back to my room to rest.”

Back in his room, Draxel took a bath much longer than usual, using up all the water and scrubbing himself almost raw with soap.

Afterward, he fell into a deep sleep, ending this chaotic day.

The next day, he woke up early as usual. However, he noticed that Safiya was up even earlier than him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The door was being knocked on urgently, indicating the person was in a hurry.

“Old Aubrey? Why are you losing it so early in the morning? You’re going to break the door. What’s the rush? Are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?” Draxel was annoyed by the knocking.

To his surprise, the answer came from Safiya, and she was yelling angrily: “It’s me! Open the door!”

“Oh, it’s you. I thought Old Aubrey was losing it over breakfast. I’m coming… Ah! That hurts!”

As soon as Draxel opened the door, Safiya grabbed his ear and twisted it.

“You barbaric woman, what are you doing… Ah, it hurts! Let go!”

Yesterday, she was gentle and sweet in his arms. Today, she was yanking his ear like a crazy woman. Draxel began to suspect she had a split personality.

“Where is Noyan Tulug? Have you forgotten how Owens died?!”

“This… this…”

Draxel was taken aback. ‘Damn, he had forgotten about that.’

When Valkyrie Tianyan came, Safiya and Lein weren’t present. When he handed over Noyan Tulug, he hadn’t given it much thought. Now, being reminded of it, Draxel realized he had indeed let the enemy go, leaving the grudge unresolved.

“I can’t believe I trusted you, Draxel. I thought… I thought…” Safiya’s anger turned to sadness, mixed with a hint of betrayal. She had trusted him and refrained from killing that damned bearded man.

But, while she wasn’t paying attention, Draxel had released their enemy without a word.

“Safiya… I…”

Smack!

Crash!

Before Draxel could explain, and without any words of explanation ready, a loud slap echoed through the lord’s hall as Safiya’s hand struck his face.

Passing by, Old Aubrey was so startled that he dropped his tray. Already missing a few fingers due to an injury, he let a bowl of vegetable soup and its spoon fall to the floor with a clatter.

Old Aubrey didn’t dare bend down to clean it up immediately. Witnessing Safiya scolding Draxel was not something a servant should see.

“Oh dear, I just remembered the kitchen fire is still burning. I’d better go put it out before coming back to clean this up.”