Close Combat Mage

Chapter 412 - Fair Competition Pt. 1

The large dining hall was completely silent. Suo Jia, Xiang Yun, Roger, Nicole, and Miya were all sitting around the circular table. At the moment…Xiang Yun, Roger, and Nicole were staring thoughtfully at Miya, seemingly inspecting her.

Miya remained calm under everyone’s gazes and sighed faintly before stating in a low voice, “As Suo Jia just introduced, my name is Miya. Starting from today, I have formally joined Suo Jia’s merchant group, and will be under your care.”

“Wait!” Xiang Yun suddenly exclaimed as soon as Miya finished speaking. “Miya, right? Before joining, I hope that you can answer a question of mine. Have we met before somewhere?”

Miya’s hands that were gripping the eating utensils involuntarily trembled briefly at these words. But she quickly regained her calm and nodded with a smile on her face. “Met before? Perhaps. After all…we’re all on the Greater Trade Routes. It wouldn’t be strange if we had!”

Xiang Yun responded with a noncommittal nod as he took a sip of wine. His eyebrows remained tightly furrowed. It was clear that he was not satisfied with Miya’s answer.

Just then, Roger smoothly followed-up. “Hehe…beautiful young miss, how old are you this year? Are you married?”

Miya warmly grinned at Roger’s words, shooting a sideways glance towards Suo Jia. At this, Suo Jia happily stood up and declared, “Let me re-introduce. Miya is already taken, hehe…I now formally announce her to be my girlfriend!”

“Ah! What?! You!” Xiang Yun, Roger, and Nicole all jumped up in shock to stare at Suo Jia in disbelief. None of them could have ever predicted Suo Jia to say these words.

The first to recover from the long, stunned silence was Nicole. Her rosy face abruptly turned deathly white, and a fierce shudder coursed through her body as she shouted, “I…I’m suddenly not feeling very well, so I’ll take my leave first.” She then turned and fled, staggering out the door. Miya’s expression automatically tensed as her sharp instincts sensed something.

Suo Jia was astonished as he watched Nicole run out, and he asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with Nicole? Why would she suddenly feel unwell? Could it be that she’s ill?”

“Ah…” Xiang Yun saw Suo Jia’s blank expression and painfully shut his eyes. The situation he had been most afraid of had finally occurred. Who knew how Nicole would resolve this weight in her heart?

Xiang Yun shot a glance at Miya before plainly stating, “Suo Jia, I think…we should have a private discussion.”

There was a puzzled expression on Suo Jia’s face as he nodded in response to Xiang Yun. Although he did not know what Xiang Yun wanted to talk about, Suo Jia would never reject his brothers’ opinions. After turning to say a few words to Miya, Suo Jia followed Xiang Yun out to the bow of the boat.

Xiang Yun stood on the deck, standing in the wind for a long time. Suo Jia caught up from behind, stopping next to Xiang Yun to similarly gaze out the vast sea that stretched into the distance.

Xiang Yun did not turn to look at Suo Jia. After a long period of silence, he finally said in a heavy voice, “Nicole likes you.”

“What?!” Suo Jia trembled at Xiang Yun’s words, shaking his head in disbelief. “That’s impossible. We’re comrades, friends that have gone through life and death together. How could she like me? When did this happen? How come I didn’t sense anything?”

“Sigh…” Xiang Yun helplessly responded in a bitter tone, “Of course you wouldn’t sense it. Your mind was completely focused on that woman. What mental capacity could you have had to receive Nicole’s feelings?”

Xiang Yun turned his head to face Suo Jia this time as he said, “I had Roger go check on Nicole. I’m sure you also know how sensitive feelings can be. If this isn’t handled properly, our group might collapse and fall apart!”

“How can this be? How did this happen?!” Suo Jia stared at Xiang Yun in blank panic, unable to calm down.

Xiang Yun powerlessly shook his head and wryly stated, “I’ve already contemplated this for a long time, but I couldn’t come up with a solution. The one you like is not Nicole, while Nicole just had to like you. You know best what will happen as a result if this isn’t resolved.”

Xiang Yun paused slightly here, and after a period of hesitation, finally couldn’t resist adding, “Actually, there’s still a way. Although it won’t completely solve things, it can temporarily help the group’s internal crisis!”

“What way? Tell me!” Suo Jia urged Xiang Yun.

Xiang Yun resolutely ground out through clenched teeth, “The method is very simple. You just have to chase Miya out and not sever Nicole’s hopes for the time being. Afterwards, you can slowly direct and steer her away. This might give [the group] a chance of survival.” As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Yun quickly bent his legs and launched his body up into the air, descending towards another ship in the distance. He had already said everything that needed to be said, as well as what shouldn’t be said. Everything from this point onwards was up to how Suo Jia dealt with the situation.

Suo Jia despondently stood there. He had never imagined such a thing to happen. It was impossible for him to turn a blind eye to Nicole’s feelings. She was Suo Jia’s most important life-long comrade.

However, while he was admittedly unable to neglect Nicole’s feelings, it was even more impossible for him to ignore Miya’s feelings. After all, Miya was the woman he truly loved…

“Ah…” A serene sigh rang out as Miya’s figure silently appeared next to Suo Jia. Miya’s gaze was vacant as she faced the ocean and asked in a pained voice, “You”re going to chase me away, aren’t you?”

“I…!” Suo Jia was speechless when faced with Miya’s question.

Miya’s sight turned fuzzy as her eyes filled with tears. “I know, that Nicole girl also likes you. If I join, she’ll definitely feel horrible, and might end up leaving the group.”

Miya then turned her head to face Suo Jia. “Nicole is a team member that you and your other companions have accepted, while I’m not. That’s why…you have to make the decision to keep me or keep her, right?”

Suo Jia closed his eyes in agony as his fists tightly clenched together. He couldn’t abandon his brothers because of a woman, but…did that mean abandoning a woman because of his brothers was the correct answer?

Just as Miya had said, if she stayed, Nicole would leave; if Nicole stayed, Miya had to leave. This was an unresolvable conflict. Having to lose anyone was something that Suo Jia refused to accept.

“Haha…” Miya smiled faintly as she gently stretched her hands out to rub Suo Jia’s face. “Forget it, for now, there’s no need to think about anything difficult. Everything will be fine tomorrow morning. For now…could you help bring me back to the cabin? I’m tired.”

Suo Jia shook his head to clear his thoughts and gently supported Miya’s tender arms and led them towards the cabin. It was silent for a while before Suo Jia resolutely declared, “Miya, I truly love you. No matter what, I definitely won’t drive you away. If you really leave, I…”

Miya quickly covered Suo Jia’s mouth and softly said, “Stop, there’s no need to say anymore. Miya knows. But Miya is really tired right now, so just stay by my side for now.” Miya pushed the door open to the room and the two of them entered inside.

Suo Jia carefully lowered Miya onto the bed. Just as he was about to leave, Miya suddenly grabbed Suo Jia’s arm and shyly asked, “Don’t leave. Can you stay here for tonight?”

“I…!” Suo Jia was hesitant. He did not feel gentle or charming at the moment, but rather vexed and melancholic.

Miya sighed at Suo Jia’s expression. “I understand how you feel right now, but still…just think of this as Miya begging you to stay.” Miya tugged, dragging the hesitant Suo Jia onto the bed…

Gently snuggling into Suo Jia’s embrace, Miya murmured, “Alright, now…since you’re together with Miya, you can just…forget all your unhappy worries. If you can’t let go of all your troubles when you’re with Miya, then Miya will be very disappointed!”

Under Miya’s consolation, Suo Jia fell into a deep sleep. Ever since coming out of his closed cultivation, Suo Jia had barely slept. However, that wasn’t because he did not need sleep. This slumber now was incomparably blissful, and he only woke up in a daze at three the next day.

The moment Suo Jia woke up, he subconsciously stretched his hand to pat the bed. As unlikely as it was, the two had actually nested in the blankets together in one cabin, one bed, for the entire night without anything actually happening. Under Miya’s soft comforting words, Suo Jia had fallen into a perfect sleep. Now, he abruptly awoke to the sense that his mind was clearer than it had ever been, and it was as if he could conquer any difficulty.

But Suo Jia scanned the room for a long time without finding any sign of Miya. Amidst his confusion, a rustling sound suddenly came from a table. He turned his head with a stunned look to see a piece of white paper stuck under a teacup, the sea breeze blowing it and causing it to sound out periodically.

Puzzled, Suo Jia sat up from the bed and reached out to grab the paper. After reading it closely, he immediately jumped up.