"Ellen, you're awake!"
Ruby joyfully supported Ellen as she sat up.
Monna and Lynn stood by the bedside, watching her with hopeful eyes.
"Monna, Ruby, Lynn—you're here too." Only now did Ellen notice her three close friends, and she felt a little more at ease. "Where am I?"
Though they hadn't caught her before she fell into Sol Mercer's arms, with these three around she knew nothing bad would happen to her.
"Ellen, you fainted at the arcade, and Mr. Mercer's friend, Sister Belle, who happens to be the owner of this video store, kindly let you rest in her room," Monna explained quickly. "Mr. Mercer and Sister Belle are both good people, really kind."
"Oh, I see."
Ellen nodded in realization, her heart-warming a little toward Sol and his group.
Letting strangers who played games crash at their place—indeed, they must be kind people.
Maybe when she reported to Boss Von Lycaon, she could mention Sol as not only a skilled gamer but also a kind person.
Gurgle~
Suddenly, a strange noise echoed in the small room.
Ellen covered her stomach awkwardly. She hadn't noticed it while asleep, but now awake, she realized just how hungry she was.
"Ellen, quick, eat this. We asked Mr. Mercer to bring these burgers for you," Lynn said hurriedly, handing her four full paper bags, before adding sheepishly, "But I think Mr. Mercer bought sets. Four burger sets might be a bit much."
She had thought Sol was only counting burgers when asking what Anby and Belle wanted, but it turned out he meant meal sets.
Each set came with two sides, one burger, and a soda. They had asked for six sets.
Two had already left the three of them stuffed, and now four remained—Ellen might eat herself sick.
"Four sets? I'll handle it."
Ellen took the four big bags, unpacked them, and began eating in small, quick bites.
Though the food had sat for half an hour, it was still warm, the taste not diminished much.
In fact, Ellen thought these might be the best burgers she had ever eaten—though maybe that was just her hunger speaking.
The energy drained during overclocking was immense, especially after that long match against Sol Mercer.
Was Sol Mercer a monster?
Even while overclocked, she could only fight him to a draw—and that had been his normal state.
Just in terms of raw ability, Sol Mercer had somehow surpassed her, a Thiren shark girl, by so much.
She had collapsed from hunger, yet Sol Mercer was perfectly fine. How did he store and sustain his energy?
As Ellen ate happily, Ruby grinned and leaned in. "Ellen, you'll never guess how much all these burger sets cost."
"Mm, how much?"
Ellen mumbled with her mouth full of burger.
She wasn't really interested, but she didn't want to ruin her friends' fun.
"Your four plus our two—Mr. Mercer only charged us twenty thousand Dennies!"
Monna held up two fingers dramatically.
"Three thousand three hundred a set… that really is much cheaper than usual."
Ellen nodded, a bit surprised.
In New Eridu, that amount barely bought a single burger at most places.
"Not just that—didn't you notice how generous the portions were, how good they tasted?" Lynn adjusted her glasses, speaking seriously.
"That means there's only one truth!"
"He was worried we're students and couldn't afford much, so he gave us a discount but still handed over the premium stuff they eat themselves!"
In truth, the burgers had simply come from Sol's system lottery, and he hadn't given it much thought.
"Yeah, a normal shrimp burger wouldn't have this much shrimp."
Ellen bit into the shrimp burger, deeply agreeing.
It seemed Sol really was a very kind-hearted person. Favorability: +1.
Next time, she'd have to ask Sol which burger joint was so honest.
As a maid of Victoria Housekeeping Co, she wasn't short on money—what she lacked were places worth spending on.
"Ellen, add Mr. Mercer's Knock-Knock ID for us! Let us take a look!"
Ruby hugged Ellen's arm, shaking it gently.
When it came to idols, she was desperate to get closer. If she could get the ID of the Dragon of Destruction, she'd be happy for days.
Even just seeing Sol's chats on Ellen's phone would be enough.
"No." Ellen shook her head, refusing without hesitation. "If you want it, you ask for it yourselves."
"We want to, but we have no excuse!" Monna groaned in frustration. "You're the one resting in his friend's room, eating his burgers. Adding him to thank him is totally natural!"
"Please, Ellen," Lynn clasped Ellen's right hand, pleading. "This is our lifelong request!"
"That's right, this is our lifelong request!"
Ruby and Monna bowed deeply, their sincerity almost painful.
Gulp. Ellen swallowed her last bite of burger and sighed. "Fine, I really can't say no to you three. I'll go ask, alright?"
Truthfully, after eating Sol's food, she should thank him anyway.
And since Victoria Housekeeping Co. was gathering intel on Sol Mercer, adding his Knock-Knock ID would also serve work purposes.
Plus, she could never turn down her best friends.
Still, up until now, her Knock-Knock list only had Monna, Ruby, Lynn, and a few classmates.
If she added Sol Mercer—would that make him her new friend?
With a nervous, uneasy heart, Ellen descended from the second floor of the video store, where she found Sol watching a movie with Belle, Anby, and the others.
"Mr. Mercer, thank you for the burgers. Can I add your Knock-Knock ID?"
The Thiren shark girl tried her best to sound calm, as if it were as simple as saying good morning.
But the awkward way she stood revealed the turmoil inside her.
It wasn't romance—just the discomfort of asking a strange man for his contact for the first time.
"Hm?"
Just as Belle was about to congratulate Ellen on waking, a question mark popped up in her mind.
What was this? The icy school beauty wakes up and suddenly falls for the wild blond outsider?
No, wait—considering Sol's strength and his identity as an ACE investigator…
Was this a case of domineering CEO forces love, school beauty showered with nightly affection?
Oh no… now she wanted to see it.