Lina then slowly approached Gen, and when she got in front of him, she asked, "Are you ready?"
And Gen said with his eyes still closed, "Any time you want?", and then a black mist began to concentrate in front of his belly, and he thought, 'I know you're Lina, and I know you're going to try to hit me in the belly, but I'm ready now. I'm using the endless essence to protect my belly, so even if you try to hit me, you'll never succeed.'
Lina then put her hands around Gen's neck, and as Gen felt this, he thought, 'What is Lina doing? Is she trying to get me to let my guard down? That won't work for me, Lina. I know you too well.'
Lina then began to pull Gen closer to her, and then Gen thought, 'You're not going to give up, are you? That's okay. I'm not in a hurry.'
She then moved closer and closer, and Gen began to feel her breath on his face.
He then thought, 'I-It's going really far, but you're not going to fool me. I know you don't plan to kiss me.'
Her breathing got closer and closer, and Gen could imagine how close Lina's face was to his.
He then thought, 'Maybe ... no ... but it could be that ... no, I know it can't.'
Gen then heard very softly the sound of Lina's mouth opening, and then he thought, 'It seems that Lina really is sorry. I'll accept this kiss as an apology.'
Gen then opened his mouth to receive the kiss, but then nothing happened for a few seconds, and then he thought, 'That's strange. She was supposed to have-', and then said, "Ouch! My head!"
Lina then said, smiling, "There, Gen, that's what you wanted. My head kissed yours."
Gen then put his hands on his head and said, "Damn, I knew something like that was going to happen."
And Lina said, "Hahaha, I could tell you were apprehensive, and you held on much longer than I expected. It looks like you're not so silly anymore."
"Damn, I had to have stood my ground until the end. I knew you were going to do something like that."
"Well, you better believe your judgment more next time, hahaha."
Raja then came forward and said, "Don't feel bad, Gen. If it were me in your shoes, I would be ready to kiss her from the moment she touched my neck."
And Gen said, rubbing his head with one hand, "I don't think so, Raja. If Lina offered you a kiss, I think that from the moment you closed your eyes, you would be ready to kiss her."
"Hey. Don't I deserve a little trust? I could resist a little bit."
"Do you really believe that?"
Raja then thought for a while and said, "No. You're right, hahaha. But let me ask you something, Gen."
And Gen said, "What is it?"
"Why didn't you protect your whole body with your essence instead of just your belly?"
"Well ... there was always a chance I'd get a kiss, and if I had my whole body protected, Lina wouldn't even be able to get close to me, so I decided to take the risk."
"Hm, that's what I thought."
Lina then said, "Enough talk, you two. Help me put these coins away. I'm tired, and I want to go to sleep."
They then said, "OK.", and started helping Lina put the coins away.
Gen then said, "That's right, I forgot. Where did you get this money from?"
And Raja said, "I told you it was from Gen missions."
And Gen said, "Raja. I'm pretty tired myself, so please tell me where it was."
"Ah, okay. You're so dull, Gen. Well, I better explain to you what we did after you left."
"Okay."
"Well, after you left, we started to think of a way to make you calmer, and then I thought of getting more money. That way, you wouldn't have any reason to be angry."
Lina then said, "You forgot the part where you wanted me to do things with Gen that I won't say out loud, and the part where after I refused, you thought about taking him to a place where someone else would do those things in my place."
Gen then looked at Raja, and he said, "Oh, that's just unimportant details, hahaha ... but anyway, after thinking about getting money, we went back to the adventurer's guild to look at quests. We then looked at all the high-level quests they had, but none of them would give us enough money. Lina and I then started thinking of another way to get money, and then a person nearby overheard our conversation and pointed us to the casino."
Gen then said, "Casino? I didn't know there was a casino in town."
And Raja said, "Neither did we. You have to see Gen. They have everything there, hahaha. Me and Lina really-", and Lina said, "Raja, that's enough. You're losing your focus on the story."
And Raja said, "That's right. Well, after we got to the casino, we went from table to table, testing the games to see which one we had the best chance of winning."
Gen then asked, "Which one did you choose?"
And Raja said, "We chose poker."
"Poker? Hold on! Raja, you didn't use your essence, did you?"
"Of course not, Gen. I played without my essence to make the game as fair as possible, and as if the gods were rewarding me, when I was about to lose everything, I got a royal straight flush and made all that money."
"Really? You really did it without using your essence?"
"Of course ... not, Gen. Are you joking? There's a better chance of Lina kissing you than there is of that happening."
"Gee Raja. Don't you feel ashamed that you did that?"
"No, but if you want, I'll give the money back."
"Hey, I was just kidding. You don't need to get mad."
"That's what I thought."
"But how nice to know that there's a casino in town. Maybe we can go there if there's time left."
"Well, if you want, I can show you where it is, but unfortunately, Lina and I can't go there anymore."
"... I can imagine why, but that's too bad. Never mind then."
Lina then asked, "What about you, Gen? What did you do after we split up?"
And Gen said, "Well, it's a long story. I'd better tell you tomorrow."
Lina then said, "No, Gen, I want to know now. Even if it is a long one."
"All right then. Right after I finished registering for the event with you, I went towards the house of the guide that the guild had recommended."
Gen then went on to tell how Briny was the guide that he hired, how when he talked to the guild leader, he found out that she was her sister, how when he left, he met Pria, who took him to the observatory, and that when he entered the observatory, he met the queen of the city. She then told him several stories, and soon after that, they saw the beach where the event would take place being chosen.
He then said, "And after that, I started coming here, and from the moment I arrived until now, you already know what happened."
Raja then said, "Really, Gen? Is that what happened in your day?"
And Gen said, "Yes, why?"
"For someone who was bothered by the fact that I was lying, you lie like you don't even feel it."
"I'm not lying. It really happened."
"That's okay, Gen. I believe you, hahaha."
"I'll prove to you that it happened."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"It's simple. I know the beach where the event will take place."
Lina then said, "On the first beach, isn't it?"
And Gen said, "Yes ... but how do you know that?"
"Are you kidding? Have you seen the commotion in the town after the news broke? Raja and I could hear them talking while we were on the balcony."
"Well, it's true. On the way here, I also heard many people talking about it. Well, how can I prove to you that I am telling the truth?"
Raja then said, "Well, you can always introduce us to the Queen."
And Gen said, "Ok. If we see her tomorrow, I'll introduce you guys."
"Great."
Lina then said, "You don't really need to. We can confirm your history with Briny tomorrow."
And Gen said, "Ah, that's true."
And Raja said, "... Yeah."