It started, as most things in the "Linked Hearts" guild tended to, with chaos disguised as normalcy. The fire had been lit, the stew was bubbling, and the party had settled around the campsite in relative peace—if one ignored the residual tension in the air from the previous day's emotional explosion. The love hexagon had not cooled down; if anything, the edges had gotten sharper.
Jax, their self-proclaimed bard and alcohol-powered philosopher, leaned lazily against a barrel that may or may not have been stolen from a passing merchant caravan. He was three sips past coherent and one drink away from prophetic. His lute was slung over his shoulder, half of the strings broken from his latest attempt to duel someone musically. It had gone poorly. For him and the instrument.
MC, in his usual clueless optimism, was trying to stir the stew and talk strategy at the same time, something that already stretched his multitasking ability beyond its safe limit. He was rambling about quest efficiency ratios and possibly a training schedule, oblivious to the four distinct stares burning holes into his soul from various angles—Lina's fiery glare, Iris's quiet intensity, Luna's soft, anxious peeks, and Kira's dagger-laced side-eyes.
Jax took another swig from his never-empty flask and shook his head. "You really have no idea, do you?"
MC blinked. "About what?"
Jax pointed a very wobbly finger at him. "You. This entire… romantic civil war happening right under your nose. You've got fireballs of affection flying around, time-stopping flirtation, tsundere assassins, priestess crushes, and you're just standing in the middle like, 'Hmm, I wonder if I should upgrade my sword today.'"
"I mean," MC said, defensive, "I do need a new sword."
"That's not the point!" Jax half-shouted, slamming the empty flask on the ground with a dramatic thud. "You're the emotional equivalent of a brick wall, my dude. A charming, well-meaning, chaos-attracting brick, but a wall nonetheless."
Lina raised an eyebrow. "He's not that clueless," she said, though her tone carried the weight of someone trying to convince herself.
"He once asked me if 'affection percentage' was a bug," Iris muttered, arms crossed.
"He thanked me for my healing spell by patting my head," Luna whispered. "It triggered a five-minute mental shutdown."
"I only stabbed him a little when he said my outfit looked 'comfortable,'" Kira muttered from the shadows.
"Okay, okay!" MC stood, flustered, hands in the air. "I get it! I'm... maybe slightly emotionally unaware sometimes, but that doesn't mean—"
"You proposed to me once," Kira interrupted.
MC froze. "Wait. What?!"
Everyone turned. The air dropped a few degrees. Even the stew stopped bubbling as if it, too, was intrigued.
"I mean, not on purpose," Kira added, looking away. "You were trying to ask if I wanted to join the guild full-time. But your exact words were: 'You're important to me. Will you be mine?'"
"I—I—THAT WASN'T—!" He waved his arms so hard he nearly knocked over the pot. "I didn't mean it like that!"
Lina's hands ignited in a puff of harmless but very dramatic flame. Iris's pupils did that spooky hourglass thing. Luna turned beet red and nearly fainted.
Kira stood up, arms crossed, leaning forward slightly with that dangerous smirk she wore whenever someone walked into their own verbal trap. "Well? Are you saying I'm not important now?"
MC flailed. "No! I mean yes! I mean you are! Just not like that! I mean—not that I wouldn't—but—!"
Jax collapsed backwards, laughing so hard he choked on air. "Oh gods. This is better than the time I watched a love spell backfire and turn a wyvern into a hopeless romantic."
Lina stormed off in a burst of smoke. Iris stayed seated, but her eyes flashed once — and suddenly Jax's hair turned blue for exactly three seconds. Luna ducked behind her prayer scrolls and whispered, "This is how holy wars start."
Kira, surprisingly, didn't escalate. She just rolled her eyes, muttered, "Idiot," and sat down again, grabbing a bowl of stew as if nothing had happened. But the small flicker of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth — unnoticed by everyone except Iris, who narrowed her eyes.
Later that night, after most had retreated to their tents or corners of sulking, MC sat by the dying fire, head in his hands.
The System pinged quietly in his vision.
[Affection Alert!]Kira: 60% — Conflicted but amusedLina: 100% — Currently fire-punching a treeIris: 100% — Considering temporal sabotageLuna: 35% — Praying for clarityKaela: 20% — Observing from the shadowsJax: 5% — Best bros forever
He groaned. "I'm going to die before I reach level 50. And it's not going to be from monsters. It's going to be from romance."
Somewhere in the distance, Jax's drunken voice echoed, "Better die loved than lonely!"
MC curled into his cloak, unsure if that was comforting or terrifying. Probably both. Definitely both.
END OF CHAPTER 44