Chapter 206: This Is the Mutual Recognition Between Handsome Men
Chapter 206: This Is the Mutual Recognition Between Handsome Men
"An interesting guy? You don't mean..."
Following Logos' previous line of sight, Ace looked over—and, sure enough, immediately spotted the black-haired youth who was unknowingly surrounded by a group of pretty girls.
"Figures. I didn't even need you to describe him—just from the way you said it, I already knew it had to be him."
Ace chuckled, took a final swig of his drink, and then—without hesitation—called out to the boy in question.
"Hey! Our dear 'Duke Steve,' come over and have a chat~!"
The other elite operators nearby also burst into laughter, which only left Logos feeling slightly puzzled.
Judging by their reactions, it seemed like they were pretty familiar with this young man.
And when Steven nonchalantly walked over and took a seat among them, Logos was certain of it—
During his time away from Rhodes Island, a lot of interesting things must have happened.
"What's this about?"
"We're all competitors now—are you trying to gather intel on me or something?"
Without hesitation, Steven plopped himself down right in the middle of the elite operators' circle, then casually grabbed one of the drinks on the table and took a big gulp.
Most of the people at this table were old acquaintances, so there was no need for formalities.
"Hahaha! You got that right!"
Ace raised his glass toward Steven with a grin, looking very much like he was plotting to get him drunk.
After clinking glasses, Ace took a big satisfying gulp, then narrowed his eyes as he looked at Steven.
"I heard from Blaze and the others—you're the one who provided all this food and alcohol?"
"Must've cost a fortune. Was it really worth it just for a fun little event like this?"
As he spoke, Ace nudged Steven's arm, finally voicing the question that had been on everyone's mind.
After all, everything here was free.
And Steven hadn't asked for anything in return—he had just spent a ridiculous amount of money purely for the sake of enjoyment.
It was hard not to wonder if he had some ulterior motive.
"Worth it or not—who cares?"
"You can't put a price on having a good time. That's all there is to it."
Steven shrugged nonchalantly, completely unbothered by the idea.
To others, this might seem like an insane amount of effort, but to him?
It was nothing.
After all, wasn't the whole point of playing games to have fun?
All he did was provide some food and drinks—it wasn't like he had gone full Minecraft madman and built an entire city just to blow it up with TNT for fun.
Now that would have been overkill.
The elite operators stared at him, digesting his words in serious silence.
Then, the moment one of them snorted, the entire table erupted into laughter.
"You know what? That really does sound like something only you would say, and something only you would actually do."
Ace patted Steven's shoulder, flashing him a bright, hearty grin.
Meanwhile, the most smug-looking person at the table was Blaze.
"Told you he was being serious!"
Having long since figured out that Steven did things just for fun, she had already made a bet with the others.
Now, watching them realize she had been right all along—
She looked prouder than ever.
"Regardless, we all owe this fantastic day to our dear Duke Steve. Shouldn't we at least raise a glass to him?"
Ace refilled his glass once again, his demeanor making it painfully clear that he was just looking for an excuse to drink more.
But that didn't stop him from voicing the sentiments of most of the elite operators present.
"To our Mr. Steve!"
"No, no, I can't accept that. Let's toast to the fine food and drink instead."
With a smile, Steven clinked glasses with them.
Even though they hadn't known each other for very long, their dynamic already had the comfortable familiarity of old friends.
"By the way—since we're all getting along so well now, aren't you gonna introduce me to this, uh… 'big handsome guy' over here?"
After downing his drink in one go, Steven tilted his head and glanced at the young man sitting beside him, who had just returned the toast with a gracious smile.
"You can call me Logos."
"I'm just a humble, unremarkable archivist mage."
Logos' friendly expression didn't waver in the slightest.
Even though he didn't know Steven personally, he trusted the judgment of the other elite operators.
And, from what he could tell, Steven's personality clicked well with his own.
He didn't seem like the type to harbor ulterior motives.
"Steve. A traveler in search of fun."
Steven extended his hand, shaking Logos' in a light but firm grip.
At the same time, his half-lidded gaze flickered toward the title hovering above Logos' head.
There was one thing he was curious about—but he didn't ask.
After all, it was a personal matter, and it wouldn't be polite to question someone about their race in front of so many people.
That said, Steven couldn't help but wonder.
Logos looked like an undeniably handsome young man—so why the hell was his title labeled "Banshee"?
A banshee?
That sounded weird no matter how he thought about it.
Or wait—was Logos some kind of Terra-version of Mulan?
—Could he actually be a woman in disguise?
Before he realized it, Steven's eyes had subtly drifted downward toward Logos' chest.
His expression turned thoughtful.
It wasn't unreasonable to suspect something was off.
After all, Logos' delicate and refined facial features leaned toward androgynous beauty, and considering his race, it wasn't entirely out of the question that he might be cross-dressing.
But if he was actually a girl…
Then, well—that chest was criminally flat.
—Wait, no—his health bar had a male symbol next to it.
Steven wasn't blind.
Did Logos have some kind of special ability that let him change his gender or something?
"I get the feeling… you're thinking about something pretty rude."
Logos' sharp intuition immediately picked up on the strange look in Steven's eyes.
His brow furrowed slightly as he spoke, snapping Steven out of his wandering thoughts.
"No, no! Nothing like that."
"Just, uh… pre-match analysis, you know? Since everyone's saying you're the reigning two-time champion, I figured I should study my opponent a little."
Steven chuckled sheepishly, smoothly steering the conversation away from his questionable train of thought.
Honestly—did it even matter whether Logos was a banshee, a male banshee, or whatever else?
At the end of the day, Logos seemed like an interesting guy, and that was all that really mattered.
It wasn't like Steven was some starry-eyed girl who'd freeze in place at the sight of a handsome man.
And besides, Logos was clearly not his enemy, so there was no need to overanalyze things that didn't concern him.
"It's just a casual game to unwind."
"There's no real glory in a title like 'champion.'"
Logos smiled faintly, then tilted his head slightly.
"But… I am curious—why are you interested in it?"
Logos shook his head helplessly.
He obviously didn't believe Steven's excuse—but he also didn't bother digging deeper.
After all, even though Steven's gaze had been a bit odd, it hadn't carried any hostility.
"Sigh, you're looking at it all wrong."
"The reason you keep participating and winning every time is the same reason I'm sponsoring the event."
Steven grinned, then clinked glasses with the Sarkaz youth in perfect sync.
"You two…"
"I was actually worried you wouldn't get along—but clearly, I was overthinking it."
Standing off to the side, Outcast sighed in relief.
She had been concerned about how these two would interact.
After all, Steven and Kal'tsit had a natural incompatibility, and in some ways, Logos was quite similar to Kal'tsit.
It was hard not to worry about a potential personality clash.
But, looking at them now…
People really were different from one another, huh?
Steven and Logos were getting along far better than expected.
"Oh? Is that what you were worried about?"
"Clearly, you're underestimating the unspoken bond between handsome men."
Without hesitation, Steven threw an arm around Logos' shoulder, mimicking Ace's usual stance, and grinned cheekily as he answered Outcast's question.
"…"
For a brief moment, Logos seemed a little taken aback by Steven's sudden display of enthusiasm.
But after a beat, he simply let out a carefree chuckle, then returned the gesture, slinging an arm over Steven's shoulder as well.
"You know what? I suppose that's fair."
"Oh, come on—so you two get to call yourselves 'handsome guys' and just leave the rest of us out?"
Ace and Scout exchanged a glance, then grinned before shoving their way in, placing their arms over Steven and Logos as well.
Just like that, the two-man shoulder-link evolved into a four-man clique.
That was the last straw for the rest of the male elite operators.
Not a single one of them would ever doubt their own good looks, so, naturally, it wasn't long before everyone started joining in.
Before they knew it, the whole scene descended into chaos—
A crowd of men all bunched together, arms slung over each other's shoulders, laughing and causing a commotion.
It was almost uncannily similar to the way a group of dormitory roommates might link arms and head out together, a chaotic yet undeniably harmonious sight.
"You guys, seriously…"
"You're all crammed together like this—how is this even remotely comfortable?"
Outcast let out a helpless sigh, shaking her head as she made her way back to her seat.
But despite her words, a faint, amused smile lingered on her lips.
The remaining female elite operators didn't waste the opportunity either, they gathered together and started playfully roasting the enthusiastic group of men.
As for Steven, who is being squished right in the middle of the rowdy crowd, he didn't bother hiding the genuine grin on his face.
He simply laughed along, joining in on the fun with a bunch of middle-aged men whose average age was at least forty or fifty.
Men's friendships were really just that simple.
And the happiness he sought was exactly this kind of carefree joy.
Just as the entire group was about to descend into even greater chaos, a sudden broadcast from Rhodes Island's PA system finally brought everything to a halt.
"Ahem, ahem—attention, Rhodes Island patients and operators!"
"Please put down your food and drinks—because the third annual Rhodes Island Swivel Chair Championship is about to begin!"
"Anyone who wishes to participate, please head to the Engineering Department to register and receive your designated chair!"
"Get ready for an intense and exhilarating competition—it's about to start!"
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my
Latest Chapter in Patreon:
Link to the latest chapter: