Meeting Amy & the Sword King

"Delicious."

Amy remained silent, absolutely frozen in time.

"Are you alright?" Tristan asked after staring for a moment.

[Your Skill "Prince Charming's Charisma[C-Rank]" is Activating.]

'I don't think that's necessary...' He sighed internally.

Tristan slowly reached forward.

"Can I have that?" He gently took the plate out of her hands and resumed collecting the pastries as she had started. 

The dazed Amy remained on the ground, seated on her knees, while Tristan stood back up and placed the plate on one of the kitchen's counters.

Tristan stood for a bit before walking back over to her and crouching, his face inches away from her. 

He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Did you have a bad fall or something?"

Only then did Amy react, her eyes opening wide with surprise as if she had been woken up suddenly.

"Y-Yes, my Lord." Amy answered as Tristan straightened up."Thank you for your concern."

Just as Amy was about to stand up, he offered her a hand, which she took after a second's hesitation, blushing slightly.

"T-Thank you, my Lord."

Tristan let go of her hand a moment after she was standing. She held her hands together, her gaze practically stuck to the ground.

"What happened?"

"I-I'm sorry, my Lord?"

He gestured towards the plate of squished pastries.

"They're too good to be wasted."

"Well, my Lord. I, um, I'm a bit... Clumsy is all." She answered, trying her best not to let her voice shake as she remembered the events just before the Lord's entrance.

"Are you hurt?" Tristan asked as he, with the back of his fingers, gently pushed away a lock of hair which hid her right teary-eye.

"N-No, my Lord." Amy answered, her gaze avoiding his.

Tristan slowly pulled his hand away and stepped back until his back was against the kitchen counter.

"You cooked this." He said as he took one of the pastries between his fingers.

"I did, my Lord. B-But you shouldn't." Amy muttered as Tristan was about to eat another one.

"Why not?"

'Why not...?'

"W-Well, they've been on the ground..."

"So? Aren't we inside the Emperor's castle? Don't tell me the kitchen floor is dirty."

"Of course not! My Lord..." Amy pressed her lips, notcing her sudden outburst. "I clean the kitchen before cooking anything, including the counters and the ground..."

"Then?"

"Well, it's just...They have been on the ground still."

"I don't care."

"Hm...?"

"I've never had anything as delicious, so it having been on the ground or not, I don't care. It could be served on the ground and I would still sit to taste it." Tristan explained jokingly as he took a bit.

"W-Well..." Amy scratched her wrist shyly after chuckling. "If you like it, I could make some for you, my Lord."

"I would love that."

"I-I could write down the recipe for your Servants as well! Um... Please don't take this as an insult towards your Servants, my Lord. It's just that it's an original recipe so..."

"An original recipe?"

"Yes... Well, original recipe makes it sound like it's more than it is, I suppose. I enjoy cooking a lot, so I come up with my own ideas and..." Amy explained, her hands squirming together. "Well..." Amy shook her head. "It's stupid, really. I'm sorry for boring you, my Lord."

"I'm not bored." Tristan answered. "The Court Officials get to eat this every day, huh? They sure are lucky."

Amy stared with wide eyes for a moment.

"T-Thank you, my Lord!"

Tristan's gaze moved back towards the plate.

"I hope I'm not creating problems for you by bothering you."

"My Lord?" Amy almost chuckled, confused by his words. "How do you mean?"

"I assume this plate was destined for someone, no? You might want to get the second batch started."

"Oh... Um... No, it's fine, my Lord. Thank you for your concern."

"No?"

"The um... The person to whom it was destined didn't accept it. Though they didn't know it was destined for them... Which actually makes it worse now that I think about it."

"I see. Sounds complicated."

"I-I could start working on a batch for you though, my Lord!"

"I would appreciate that."

"It's my honor, my Lord. Um... Should I make the same kind? Something else? Any preference?"

"Hm, let's see... What's your best recipe?"

"My best one? I suppose it would be the Empress' strawberry..." Amy's words trailed off realizing what she had said.

"The Empress?"

"Um..." Amy immediately felt an immense amount of pressure. "Well, apparently the Empress does enjoy... Although, obviously... That might not be true since there are other cooks who are... Yes, it was probably not... Please forget I said anything, my Lord-"

"So the Empress enjoys your cooking. That's not surprising."

"I-It's not?!" Amy was shocked enough by the statement that all formality exited her mind.

Tristan stared with a raised eyebrow.

"It is so surprising that the Empress and I would share the same tastes?"

"Ah... No, my Lord! It's not what I meant. I just-"

"Anyways," Tristan interrupted as he knocked on the kitchen counter. "It would be an honor to taste the same food that the Empress enjoys, made by the same hand."

"Y-Yes, my Lord! Thank you!" Amy said enthusiastically with a bow as Tristan walked away.

Amy straightened back up. She was alone in the room. The Lord had left just as he had entered.

She scratched her cheek, asking herself if that really had happened.

Amy remembered the fight she had with her boyfriend, shook her head, took a deep breath in, and started collecting the necessary ingredients. 

Despite the horrible fight she had had with her boyfriend, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. 

'Gotta wash my hands first...'

Standing in front of the faucet and mirror, she found out that she was blushing. Her hand pushed against her cheek, and she remembered that it was the hand that the Lord had taken, helping her to stand back up after her boyfriend had knocked her down.

She shook her head, and got to work.

****

While Special Event Class Quests were a rare occurrence, the amount of which one could receive depending greatly on the Class and the Rank associated with that Class, Class Quests were much more common. 

Upon approaching the kitchen room earlier, Tristan had received a Class Quest. His very first.

[Class Quest: "Introduction".]

[Objective: Further damage the already broken link between a man and a woman.]

[Rewards: Largely depend on the NTR Rank.]

Even after leaving the kitchen and Amy, the floating System messages remained.

'Fuck your Quest, I just did what I wanted.' Tristan thought to himself with a sigh as he walked down the castle's corridors.

"Is that right?" A voice resonated from behind.

Tristan turned around, but there wasn't anyone.

"You just did what you wanted, huh?"

Because it had been mentioned by the High Priestess, Tristan quickly understood.

'Oh, great. The phantom spirit of the King-Type Quest whatever.'

"Precisely."

Tristan frowned slightly as he continued walking. The voice felt like it was coming from behind him. But in truth, the Spirit was talking telepathically to him.

"So doing what you wanted was the same as acting to complete the Class Quest."

'No, since it wasn't completed.'

"Wasn't it?"

System messages suddenly appeared.

[Class Quest "Introduction" has reached a possible conclusion.]

[The broken link has been further damaged.

[Current NTR Rank: Feeble.]

'Feeble...?'

"In other words, an [F] NTR Rank!" The Spirit's voice explained with a chuckle.

Tristan stared at the floating words.

[Accept your Rewards and end the Class Quest or Resume the Class Quest?]

"Will you damage their broken link further, or leave?" The Spirit's voice whispered. "Are picking up the Empress' strawberry whatevers? Or will you leave her waiting for you, with a batch of freshly made strawberry watevers that will slowly and inevitably grow colder and colder the more she waits for you?"

'I thought the Spirit was supposed to guide me, not tempt me.'

"Isn't it the same thing?" The Spirit chuckled. 

Tristan let out a sigh.

It was annoying since he had been tempted, but it was what he had planned on doing from the start.

'I'll continue with the Quest.'

"Attaboy♪"

Tristan walked for a bit longer, and came upon a group of people.

'This is getting annoying.' She thought to herself. 'I can't find an opportunity to break out.'

Tristan was just about to turn back around when he noticed a familiar face.

"Hm."

"Yes, thank you."

"Hm."

"Yes, I'll try my best."

She was surrounded by a dozen Servants, and answered in such a manner to each while nodding.

"Yes, I hope to."

"Yes, the High Priestess made a compelling argument."

"No, I don't like coffee."

Tristan stared for a moment, and the Spirit let out a chuckle.

"Hey, it's you." He said as he approached. "What are you doing here?"

The Servants immediately turned around. 

"A-Are you an Otherworlder too, sir?"

"Yes."

"Oh, do you-"

"Hey." Tristan didn't bother listening to the question they were about to ask. "Come with me for a second."

She took a step towards him, but didn't follow him just yet.

'It would be rude to leave like this, I think.' 

Reading her facial expression perfectly, Tristan took hold of her wrist, and pulled her away.

"Good luck, dear Otherworlders!"

"We're counting on you!?

"If you need anything!"

The two continued walking for a bit, with him pulling her by the wrist. 

Finally, he stopped and let go.

"So that's what happens when they know we're Otherworlders."

"Yes, I don't blame them." The dark-haired beauty scratched her nose. "We are their Saviors and all."

"I guess."

"Were you not swarmed this way?" She asked.

"No, not really."

"How?"

"Don't know." Tristan shrugged. "I don't have much of a presence maybe? A charisma problem? Who knows?"

"A charisma problem...?"

[Your Skill "Prince Charming's Charisma[C-Rank]" is Activating.]

"I find that hard to believe." She added and looked away.

"Anyways, my name's Tristan. It's nice to meet you, Sword King?"

"You remember my Class." She muttered before taking a brief pause. "My name is Nakamura Mai. It's nice to meet you as well."

"Japanese?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

"What about you?"

"I don't answer personal questions."

Mai frowned for a moment.

"Okay...?"