Cordia mommy put down the cracker she had been nibbling on, no longer having any appetite. "Haha, son-in-law, don't bully your little wife too much, or he'll run away!" She teased with a hard-to-define undertone that had a bit of a subtle sharpness to it.
In response to this outrageous title of a little wife that had just been placed on his head, Noah's eyes widened in indignant shock. 'Mother! Aren't your jokes today a bit too much?!? First you ask me such a tricky question with no right answer, and now that I've answered it, you… you… you! What little wife?! I would clearly be a little husband, ok?!?'
Blackie felt metaphorical blood rise up his non-existent throat, 'Host, you are focusing on the wrong thing again!!!'
Unfortunately for Blackie's sanity, his host's other half focused on the wrong thing too!
"Mother is right," when faced with his future mother-in-law, Levi was once again very agreeable, "You can rest assured – I definitely won't let him run away."
Cordia mommy nearly choked on her spit, "Son-in-law, you've gone off script!" – she gently kicked Levi under the table – "This is where you are supposed to say you won't bully him!"
"Right, right. My bad." The very obedient son-in-law nodded earnestly, but Cordia mommy didn't miss how he still. Did. Not. Agree. To. Not. Bully! Her teeth ached again but for totally different reasons!
Noah, the center figure of it all, yet, somehow, also the only one out of the loop, narrowed his eyes and, with exaggerated outrage, pointed his fork towards the other two, "You two! Ganging up to bully me like this! Who is the real mother and son pair here?"
Seeing her little son's charming pout and pink cheeks, Cordia mommy finally couldn't resist letting out a genuine laugh. Levi didn't join her laugh, but both corners of his lips were upturned as much as they could possibly be without turning into a toothy grin. That expression, on anyone other than Levi, would be a gleeful smirk, but when placed on a face that usually wore either a fierce or cold expression, the meaning carried was no less than that of an ecstatic grin.
Blackie, the very-much-unwilling spectator, stared at the trio speechlessly. 'Just look at them laughing harmoniously!' Yet all three were on totally different pages!
His stupid host thought his mother was just making small talk regarding her favorite drama. Which, in truth, was not only NOT his mother's favorite drama but was actually not even a drama his mother watched! Cordia mommy had only heard of this specific series from her daughter and decided to use it as a conversation starter!
And then there was his host's less-stupid-but-still-stupid brother-in-law who thought his mother-in-law was probing their attitude about changing the marriage partners because she found out about him and his fiancée breaking off their marriage and didn't wish for the union of the two families to fall through.
And the mother… well… she was actually indeed probing, but for totally different reasons than Levi thought! Fuck! If you were a mother about to marry off your only daughter to a man who seems to be obsessed with her little brother instead, wouldn't you probe for truth too?!?
'Heh, and now that the truth is out,' Blackie snickered to himself, 'Oh, this ought to be good!'
Blackie looked at the very satisfied Astar Levi. Ah, how domineering! When the crafty merchant flashed bait in front of him, asking whether he wanted it or not, this retard was so very subtle with his response: 'Shut up and take my money!'.
Heh, Blackie was dying to know what Cordia mommy would do with this great yet, at the same time, very unfortunate discovery. (¬‿¬)
One merchant, one buyer, each lost in their own schemes. And then there was his clueless host (otherwise known as the merchandise being sold) still blissfully unaware that what just happened would most definitely be quoted in the future as him. Agreeing. To. Marry. His. Brother-in-law!!!
ಥ‿ಥ
…Nowadays, Blackie felt more and more conflicted inside. On the one hand, the mission assigned to him was proceeding smoothly, and having his host "eaten up" by his brother-in-law would be a positive outcome in regards to that mission… but on the other hand… this was only the first world, and thinking how he, Blackie, would have to go through a similar blindingly idiotic display for many worlds to come…
Blackie felt energy sizzling through his chip (an AI system equivalent of skyrocketing blood pressure) 'Heh. Heh. Hello, Soul Resources department? I want to exchange my host for someone with a higher IQ!!!'
(ﾉಥAಥ)ﾉ ┻━┻
***
After Cordia mommy's "joke", Levi became even less restrained in displaying his affection. By the end of the breakfast, Cordia mommy dearly wished she could become deaf and blind because watching her clueless son getting pampered by another big man was too piercing to the eyes.
She just wanted to peacefully escort the duo out of the house asap, and then frantically dial her missing daughter.
To that end, she followed the two boys upstairs to help her son pack for his trip. However, when they reached Noah's bedroom, what greeted them was the sight of Cordia daddy, directing the manor staff.
"Dad…" Noah speechlessly looked between his father and his room, "…why are you moving another bed into my room?"
Cordia daddy had a visible spring in his step as he strode towards them. He smiled merrily and was just about to seriously present his made-up excuse. However, upon seeing his wife's facial expression of one looking at a retard, his smile stiffened, and he forgot what he had intended to say.
The city lord of Concordia shot his darling wife an inquiring look, only for the other to turn her head away with an expression of a mother who just disowned her idiot of a son.
The very much confused city lord, who was not only abandoned by his wife but also assigned a glorious title of a retarded son, turned to his youngest for help. In the process of which he couldn't help but notice his son-in-law, who was standing next to him, quickly put away his disdainful sneer.
"Brother-in-law and I won't be staying in the manor," Noah took pity on his so-called father, whose eyebrow was currently twitching uncontrollably. "We are leaving today for brother-in-law's mountain resort. Brother-in-law will be having a bachelor's party tomorrow, so we probably won't be back for a couple of days."
With the things laid out in front of him so clearly, the dignified city lord finally understood what his wife's earlier look meant: 'Look, look, you only know how to look at me for help! Don't you check your own son's and son-in-law's social media?!? Do you still want your old face or not?!'
💠 Author Note 💠
(Due to length I was forced to put it at the end of the chapter instead in the author notes)
I want to thank– scrolls down the long list of names– uh… everyone! That is, everyone who has supported me through ko-fi and Tapas over the last 2 days, and those of you who are lying in wait for Inksgiving to smash me with Ink. You guys are so fucking awesome!! Thank you so, so much!
On another note, let me answer a few of the questions you guys have been pondering over ever since the author note in the last chapter:
❓ Q: So, not everything will be posted on Webnovel for free?!
This author has to make a living, and I don't think it would be fair for people buying the book on Amazon to pay for something that is fully available for free. That said, the entire main plotline of this arc will be available on Webnovel, and I am not cruel enough to deny you guys of smut. 😅 Webnovel will have at least the main two smuts posted in their full explicit detail.
Though, there might be a couple of smutty parts that happened during the main plotline that might fade into black on Webnovel. And everything that happened after the plotline and isn't relevant for the future plot will be written into extras that will be available in the published version only.
The list of currently planned extras (S tag means it will definitely include smut):
* [S] Noah's and Levi's honeymoon
* [S] Levi and Noah going dolphin riding again
* [S] a day in Levi's and Noah's married life, several years later.
* Several extras about the side couples and their daily lives. (will probably include smut between the said characters too) This is mainly to give closure to the other characters we've met during arc 1, such as Trey, Shaw, Fynn, Case, Peyton, etc.
* A scene 20+ years later, so we can see how Levi and Noah's relationship developed and to meet that successor that will be inheriting the two cities.
I also have several more delights in mind for the published version that I'll tell you guys about later, depending on whether I manage to get it done. Don't want to wag my tongue too early and cause you guys disappointment if it doesn't make it into the book.
❓ Q: You mentioned that ko-fi supporters will be getting the published version?
Let me elaborate on this. The regular price of my ebooks on Amazon (that have around the same amount of words as the first volume of SSC will have) is at least 7.99$
However, you guys can get it for cheaper in three different ways:
1. The cheapest way to get ahold of it is by gathering 7k Ink on Tapas for free. But this is under the assumption that the Ink is gathered for free. If you buy the Ink in its entirety, it will probably cost you more than the full price of the book.
2. The second cheapest way to get it is to buy me two cups of ko-fi in total. I track how many cups of ko-fi everyone bought me so I can send them the appropriate published versions of this volume and future volumes when they are released.
If I ever manage to set up a P@treon account, this same price will apply to patrons as well. Everyone who pledged 6$ in total, whether it is 1$ for 6 months, or 6$ for one month, will be getting the published version of the ebook.
3. The third cheapest way to get your hand on the published version is to preorder it on Amazon. One or two weeks before the book goes live on Amazon, I'll enable preorder for a discounted price (around 15% off full price). This is to reward my loyal email subscribers by letting them grab this "early-bird" price. When the book goes live, the price will switch to its regular price.
❓ Q: A totally unrelated question – is Blackie bipolar?
This is actually a pretty accurate way to put it! On the one hand, he enjoys pitting his host; on the other, he is outraged at how easily his host is pitted. He thinks that having such a host reflects poorly on him, and watching his host do "stupid" things is sometimes amusing and sometimes tortuous. So at times, Blackie will laugh at his host with dark humor, and sometimes he will feel like crying a river for himself and his own future as an AI system with such a "stupid" host. Whether Blackie will react positively or negatively to a new development is often as predictable as throwing a dice. In short, yes, one can consider him bipolar. He is like that by design, not by mistake.