The next morning, Natasha was sitting across from Dante at the dining table with her chin resting on her hand.
Her plate was untouched.
Instead of eating, she was just watching him with a small smile on her face.
Dante was busy stuffing his face to notice at first, but after a while, her gaze became harder to ignore.
He looked up with a mouthful of food. "Master, is there something on my face?"
"No." Natasha said, not looking away.
"Then why are you staring at me like that?" He asked after swallowing. "If you have something to say, just say it."
Natasha was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke, her eyes softening but still fully focused on him. "I didn’t know you had that kind of side in you."
"Huh?" Dante pretended to tilt his head in confusion even though he could already guess the reason. ’This is about last night, right?’
Before he could even ask, Natasha confirmed it for him.
"The way you handled things last night. The way you talked, the way you carried yourself." She paused. "Felix and Freya told me everything."
’Of course they did.’ Dante thought, keeping his face neutral. ’Those two really can’t keep their mouths shut.’
"You walked into a den full of criminals, dominated their captain, and walked out with exactly what you wanted." She continued. "That’s not something a normal person can pull off."
"Master, you’re making me embarrassed." Dante said with a laugh, scratching the back of his head.
She laughed after seeing his reaction.
"I’m being serious." Natasha said, her smile lingering. "You’ve always had that in you. I’m just finally seeing it again."
It reminded her of the first time she saw him in the slums. A scrawny little kid standing in front of a ice blue-haired girl with his arms spread out, trying to protect her from guys twice his size.
He was shaking the whole time, but he didn’t move an inch.
For a second, the air between them felt lighter than it had in days.
Then Natasha’s eyes drifted down to his hands holding the fork, and the smile slowly faded from her face.
She was thinking about his condition again.
Someone with that much courage and that much nerve, trapped in a body that couldn’t cultivate. She could hear the respect in Felix and Freya’s voices when they reported to her. Even those two were starting to follow him willingly.
And that only made it worse.
It felt like thorns poking at her heart every time she thought about it. She had used him to fix her circuits while still acting like she was a cripple just like him.
More importantly, Dante’s condition wasn’t just terrible, it was getting worse. She had tested him over the past week, trying to see if he knew about the deterioration.
But he didn’t seem to be aware of it.
It made her feel like she was repeating the same mistake all over again.
The mood at the table shifted without Dante saying a word.
He noticed it immediately.
’There she goes again.’ Dante thought, watching her expression dull. ’She’s worrying about my condition.’
He didn’t say anything. He just kept eating.
Natasha’s appetite was completely gone.
She pushed her plate aside and stared at the table.
’It’s been days since the last real mission.’ She thought, her frustration building quietly. ’The daily ones are fine, but at this rate, how long will it take for something like the tutorial to show up again?’
’System, are you there?’
[Always.]
’When are you going to give me a real mission? The daily ones are barely doing anything.’ She asked, not bothering to hide her irritation.
[Patience. Good things come to those who wait.]
’I’ve been patient enough.’ She shot back immediately. ’You talked big a few days ago. What happened to all of that?’
[Well, that’s because you kept distancing yourself from Dante.]
’Whose fault is that?’
[Fine. Let’s just say it was my fault. But do you remember the name of the system?]
Natasha wanted to say yes, but then she realized something.
[Did you get it now? I am the Master-Student Bond System!]
[Master-Student BOND System!]
[How am I supposed to assign missions if you keep putting a wall between the two of you? Is that what you call bonding?]
[I’ve been considerate enough to not force missions on you!]
’Okay, okay, I was wrong. Stop! You’re the greatest system ever.’ Natasha was already getting a headache and she had zero interest in getting lectured by a bot on top of it.
’Can you just give me the missions now? I won’t do that anymore. I promise.’
[Well, since you asked so nicely...]
[Triggering a mission...]
[New Mission: Let Him Cook]
[Description: Dante wanted to do something for you for supporting his revenge. He has been watching cooking videos on UrTube and wants to make you a dish. Prepare lunch together with him!]
[Time Limit: 5 hours]
[Reward: Path of Recultivation (Super Rare)]
Natasha struggled to control a smile after reading the description. ’He’s really my best student!’
’Path of Recultivation?’ She looked at the manual in the reward box and raised an eyebrow.
Just the name alone told her what kind of manual it was. The question was how useful it would actually be for her.
’I wish there was a preview or something.’ She thought, feeling a bit curious, but she wasn’t too worried.
She was sure the system wouldn’t be sadistic enough to hand her a useless manual that she could only use to fan herself.
"Master, is something on your mind?" Dante asked in a hesitant tone after noticing her push the plate aside, continuing his act as usual.
"Well, it’s nothing." Natasha came out of her thoughts and put on a sad face. "It’s just that Freya told me you’ve been watching cooking videos."
"Didn’t you say you like my cooking? Were you just lying to your master?" She wiped her non-existent tears as she spoke.
Dante felt like laughing after seeing her act.
She probably thought she had him all figured out, but who was going to tell her he watched those videos in front of Felix and Freya on purpose?
But when it came to acting, he wasn’t about to lose out.
"Ah, that’s not it!" He put on a nervous look, waving his hands. "I just... I just..."
"You just got tired of my cooking, right?" She said with a dull face.
"No, I just wanted to cook something for you for supporting my actions!" Dante seemed to finally give up and admit it, raising his voice.
’How cute~’ Natasha covered her mouth and giggled.
It made her want to tease him even more.