Chereads / The Whale and The Waifu Boy / Chapter 9 - The Whale Accept the Challenge (2)

Chapter 9 - The Whale Accept the Challenge (2)

 Since the incident at the arena event led to the suspension of the Intermediate Wisher League competition, which was rescheduled for next week, it became major news in the Wisher community and among sponsors.

 'Shan Chonthara, a new sponsor with no reputation points, announced his love for the UR Wisher 'Vinzent Lefolyn' in the middle of the field, causing the Intermediate Wisher League competition to be postponed for a week because the new sponsor also wants to participate.'

 News agencies ran headlines along these lines, and some even featured interview clips with Shan.

 "Of course, I will prove to everyone that my Waifu Vinzent is the best."

 'Waifu,' a term Shan often used, was a new word that Azlians had never heard before. They assumed it was a dialect from Shan's place of origin, as he came from a distant rural area.

 Since Shan called Vinzent his waifu and even went so far as to shout a marriage proposal in the middle of the field, despite receiving no response from Vinzent, the Azlians speculated that 'waifu' must mean something like 'beloved' or 'sweetheart.' Consequently, it became a new romantic term for people in the capital.

 he popularity of Shan as the whale sponsor skyrocketed overnight, just like the term.

'Waifu,' which has become a trendy slang word among couples today. They call each other "Waifu" (darling), regardless of whether they are heterosexual or homosexual couples, without knowing its true meaning. In the future, male couples who learn the real meaning may find it a bit embarrassing.

 Shan had no idea how famous he had become online, or he simply didn't care. He was lost in the flavors of his first meal in the game world.

 "What is this taste? Hmm... the meat is tender and juicy; the sauce is so fragrant. I never thought food in a game could be so delicious."

 After causing a commotion in the arena without realizing it, the officials took Shan back to the sponsor's accommodation.

 Each sponsor received their own affiliated building, as the Witchers under their sponsorship needed to reside there. Despite Shan's fame spreading widely, he was still officially a sponsor with zero reputation. Shan's accommodation was a small five-story building, reflecting the sponsor's rank and reputation. It featured numerous amenities, including living quarters, a dining room, training rooms, a gym, and had robot maids, chefs, butlers, and staff available at all times.

 The residential building was merely a cylindrical white tower, decorated inside with modern furniture in alternating black and white tones. Shan wasn't particularly impressed by the luxury of the accommodation, as it didn't differ much from a five-star hotel to him, and he was already familiar with this type of graphic design from games.

 What excited Shan more than anything else was the food.

 Shan sat alone in the dining room, eating his meal, surrounded by attentive staff, with the chef standing by to serve his food. While Shan had experienced plenty of luxurious meals before, he had never eaten food from a game. Moreover, he had only seen many of the dishes through the screen. No matter how delicious they looked, he could only drool. No matter how much he wanted to taste them, he couldn't.

 The food menu in Miracle Azlia wasn't that different from the real world, but the game made the food more colorful and fantastical, perhaps it was an Azlia preference, or the game company just wanted to make the food look beautiful and photogenic. For example, Shan ordered a steak with rainbow sauce. It was just a regular steak, but it was baked with various vegetables until it was beautifully colored. The rainbow sauce was made from various colored fruits. Shan didn't expect the flavors to blend so well and taste so delicious.

 Shan was very impressed. He wonder what kind of technology the gaming company uses to make the taste and satisfaction of eating so realistic

 Shan thought it was a pity that he had only one stomach, so he could only eat one plate and be full. But when he thought about he would be in this game world for many more days, he felt relieved. He would definitely try all the dishes on the menu next time.

 After finishing his meal, the staff escorted Shan to his room on the top floor. Daily life here was not much different from that in the normal world, suggesting the game creators hadn't gone too wild with the concept. Shan's private room was spacious and comparable to his apartment back home. It had a separate bedroom, a living room, a reading room, a study, and a bathroom. It was fully equipped with all the amenities, allowing an otaku to stay all day without having to go outside. But Shan was here to take a vacation in the game world. Why would he just stay in his room? He had to go out and meet his real-life Waifu.

 When Shan arrived, he took a shower and changed clothes. In the wardrobe, there were prepared outfits available, ranging from work suits to aristocratic attire, and comfortable pajamas. Shan just realized that the outfit he wore all day in the game world wasn't much different from the pajamas worn by people here.

 "Hmm... it's really comfortable in the game."

 After changing into the pajamas provided, Shan laid down onto the soft bed.

 Shan couldn't help but think that this game world was really created to please the players. If all players had private accommodations of this level and could experience five-star hotel service like this, they would be so hooked that they wouldn't want to stop playing the game.

 "The marketing is not bad at all. If the beta test is over, I should contact them to buy shares and invest in it," Shan thought like an investor. If the game was released with this system, it would definitely make a lot of money.

 When he realized he hadn't yet explored his own room, he got up and walked to his study. The large glass windows surrounded the room, offering a panoramic view of the Dayland capital at night. The city's colors were different from the real world because the people here didn't just live on buildings or streets. Even the sky was congested with traffic. He saw lights flickering all over the sky. It was a chaotic scene, but it was also beautiful in its own strange way.

 Shan averted his gaze from the window and turned to the white desk with a glass-screened computer on it. The computers here were thin and transparent, like crystal. Shan tried turning it on, but he wasn't very familiar with the user interface and didn't understand who designed a computer like this. After all, anyone sitting opposite him could see exactly what he was doing. But after playing for a while, Shan turned his chair to face the window and saw the beautiful view through the computer screen. He began to understand that the designer must have intended for users to focus on something other than the screen, which was a very interesting concept.

 Shan was thinking about checking out the reading room for a while. He was curious to see what interesting books there were in the game world. But before he could get up from his chair, he felt the cold metal of a gun pressed against his head. Shan froze instantly.

 His survival instincts kicked in. Shan had a bad feeling about this. He was alone in his room right now, but there was a mysterious intruder pointing a gun at him.

 "Your name is Shan, a sponsor from another city, right?"

 As soon as Shan heard the intruder's voice, his heart skipped a beat.

The soft, deep voice was sweet and pleasant to listen to, captivating Shan each time he heard it. Listening to it over and over again left him delighted every time.

 Shan glanced at the speaker with excitement.

 A face as beautiful as a masterpiece, golden hair like the morning sunlight, a unique braid adorning his left ear, and autumn-colored eyes gleaming with intensity and suspicion. Shan had no idea how Vinzent had gotten in here, let alone why he was pointing a gun at him and staring with distrust.

 "Oh my god!" Shan tried hard to maintain his composure and avoid accidentally raising his voice.

 Seeing him up close like this, his Waifu was even more adorable and attractive than in-game avatar, a hundred times better!

 Shan's heart felt like it was melting into the floor.

 He was not himself when he was in front of his beloved waifu.

 "My lovely Waifu, you came to see me late at night like this. What can I do to help you, my dear?"

 Shan asked with a sweet smile in his voice. Shan must have been blinded by love and forgotten that there was a gun pointed at his temple.

 "Vinzent…" Vincent said in a displeased tone.

 "Yes, my Waifu?" Shan asked, blinking his eyes innocently.

 "Don't call me Waifu. My name is Vincent," Vincent replied, his hand still not lowering the gun that was pointed at Shan's head.

 It is likely that the word 'Waifu,' which has become quite popular recently, made Vinzent feel embarrassed to be called by that.

 "Alright, my dear." Shan nodded in agreement, like someone intoxicated by love. He probably didn't even understand what Vinzent was talking about because he was fixated on the figure of his Waifu, who seemed to be taller than he had imagined.

 "Vinzent honey, why does the real you... look taller than the model in the game?"

 "…" Vinzent didn't respond, simply staring at this person with bewilderment.

 After witnessing Shan's behavior today, Vinzent concluded that he was an eccentric sponsor who did unpredictable things and liked to speak with strange, unfamiliar terms mixed in.

 Ordinarily, Vincent paid no attention to the affairs of the Wisher Association and never involved himself with sponsors or other Wishers. That is, until today's competition incident. When this sponsor appeared on the field and caused such a sensational event that his fame spread far and wide.

 Perhaps it was because this sponsor showed a particular interest in Vinzent, along with exhibiting several strange behaviors that he couldn't comprehend. Even though Vinzent wanted to forget and ignore him, he couldn't. He was unable to shake off the doubts and curiosity he had about this sponsor. He genuinely wondered what this person's motives were.

 Vinzent searched for information until he discovered that the new sponsor was named Shan Chonthara, who had traveled from a rural town. However, there wasn't much information available. So, he sought out the new sponsor's address and stealthily entered the building, intending to get clear answers once and for all.

 "My dear Vinzent, why are you using a cheap Grade D gun? Oh no, that's so pitiful. If you were with me, I would never let you use such low-quality stuff like this. You would be using the most expensive Grade SSS gun. Speaking of which, why don't you become my wife? I'm very well-prepared for a dowry. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. My money and my heart are all yours, Vinzent~."

 Vinzent frowned upon hearing Shan's nonsensical and elusive remarks. Not only did this sponsor enjoy speaking oddly, but also remained unfazed when threatened with a gun. It was something Vinzent had never encountered before.

 Vincent interrupted, "Stop talking nonsense."

 "I'm here because I have questions, and you need to answer them."

 Vincent tightened his grip on the gun that was pointed at Shan's head, but Shan continued to smile brightly, unafraid. In fact, he seemed even happier to be talking to his Waifu.

 Shan wasn't afraid of Vincent pointing a gun at him. Having spent so much time with Vinzent in the game, Shan knew all of his moves and animations. He could even tell that the way Vinzent was holding the gun right now meant that he couldn't actually shoot him. Vinzent was just trying to scare him into answering his questions.

 "What's the question?" Shan asked with a wide grin.

 "Oh, it's about the dowry, right? How much do you want, baby?"

 "…" Vinzent sighed.

 Vinzent couldn't understand why this sponsor was so fixated on marrying him. They had only just met, yet he kept bringing up marriage every chance he got. Vinzent thought it was completely unreasonable.

 "Why are you interested in me? What's your purpose?" Vinzent returned to the topic.

 Shan smiled slightly, as he had millions of answers in his mind, and every single one was similar, as if copied and pasted.

 'Because I want Vinz to be my wife,' Shan fantasized in his mind.

 Luckily, Shan managed to hold back that answer. From his frequent attempts at sweet-talking, Vinzent remained unresponsive, indicating that this approach was ineffective. Shan therefore needed to change his tactics to capture the Waifu's attention.

 "How about this?" Shan switched into his serious investor mode.

 A wise squirrel would rather forgo a delicious treat today to wait for it to ripen perfectly tomorrow. Similarly, Shan was willing to withhold his sweet-talking tactics until Waifu fell for him first.

 "I will tell you everything about myself, my origins, and the reasons I approached you, but only if you agree to my conditions."

 "What conditions?"

 Vinzent raised an eyebrow, his orange eyes fixed intently on Shan, causing Shan's heart to race irregularly.

 The waifu's eyes sparkled beautifully. The closer he looked, the more captivating they were. Shan found himself staring blankly for a moment before regaining his senses.

 "I'm not a Platinum sponsor yet…" Shan suppressed his desire to hug his Waifu, then adopted his investor persona to negotiate seriously.

 "I can't sign you yet, but I'll put you on a team for the Wisher League next week. I'll also provide you with all the weapons and equipment you need. Just do as I say, and I'll answer all your questions after the match."

 Shan was an investor; he knew how to persuade others to get what he wanted at the right time. At this moment, Vinzent still didn't understand him, so Shan took the opportunity to use this curiosity as a bargaining chip to get Vinzent to comply with his wishes.

 Shan just wanted to prove to Vinzent how sincere and genuine his love was. Vinzent would see his virtues and ultimately choose to be his.

 "Mr. Shan…"

 Suddenly, butler's voice came through the speaker installed in the room, likely a communication device.

 "...I wonder if you would like to receive a late-night snack, sir."

 The association's staff provided service at all hours, without regard for his crucial time.

 "No, thank you," Shan replied immediately, annoyed. How could they interrupt his sweet moment with his Waifu?

 However, when Shan finished his reply and turned back, he found that Vinzent was no longer here.

 "Vinz!" Shan quickly stood up and looked around the room. It seemed Vinzent had already left.

 "Left quietly without rejecting, so that means he agrees, right?"

 Shan laughed to himself, convinced. His waifu was so shy and bashful, always avoiding him like this.

 "Well then... it's time to get serious about this game."

 It was time for Shan to prepare to showcase his 'whale' status.

 Yes, Shan didn't just want to join the Witcher League with Vinzent, nor did he just want to defeat all the opponents.

 He wanted to win decisively, leaving everyone stunned.

 It's time for the great whale Poseidon to make his debut!