Chapter 675: Chapter 52 The Scumbag’s Grand Ambition
After Thira had left, Aske was still pondering her suggestion.
To marry them all… of course, it was just an impractical thought.
Not to mention, the reason he hadn’t made a decision was because he didn’t know who to choose, right?
Sigh.
It felt like being an exchange student at a distant school, then being surrounded by beautiful female classmates, and every time he thought about eventually having to return home, he felt deeply disheartened.
“What are you thinking about?” Nora’s voice sounded beside him.
“Why do all of you appear out of nowhere?” Aske said helplessly, “It’s like you’re refreshing right beside me every time.”
“Sorry, the sand is too soft, so it doesn’t make much noise when I walk on it.” Nora placed the tray she was holding onto the small table beside him, “Want to try the baked pasta and ice cream I made?”
Aske glanced over. The curled pasta was mixed with a slightly charred eggplant meat sauce, both color and aroma were superb; the ice cream was matcha’s forest green, sprinkled with passion fruit and raisins on top, it also looked very tempting.
Taking a spoon and trying a bite, the aromatic softness of the baked pasta, the savory meat sauce, and the instant melting satisfaction of the ice cream frosting, were simply better than any worldly delicacies.
Terrifying. Aske couldn’t help but size up Nora, too terrifying this girl was, to be able to cultivate from a kitchen novice to this extent, she must be wanting to enslave my taste buds and stomach.
“Don’t be silly, eat up quickly,” Nora laughed, “Otherwise, if someone else sees, they’ll accuse me of playing favorites.”
“Did you make only my portion?” Aske asked.
“It’s a test batch, let me know what you think first,” Nora replied gently, “If you like it, I’ll make it for them too.”
“So I’m your guinea pig,” Aske joked.
“Yes, and one day I’ll fatten you up for my cage,” Nora joked back.
…
Aske suddenly felt a chill rise from the base of his spine. Though looking at Nora’s expression and listening to her tone, it should be just a pure joke… why was there still a creepy feeling?
“Ah, don’t overthink it, I was just joking,” Nora said, squatting beside him, kneading her knees, and picking up the small bottle on the table, “Sunscreen?”
“Uh…”
“They must have already asked you to help them with it, right?” Nora asked with a smile in her eyes.
Then that odd chill came again. Aske’s intuition suddenly realized that it wasn’t a guilty conscience causing the chill, but because whenever Nora felt anger in secret, the spiritual bodies floating around sensed the change in her emotions and began to converge towards her.
Having plundered Nora’s “Spiritual Body” ability, Aske then saw six or seven spiritual bodies hovering about one or two meters around her, slowly absorbing the negative emotions emanating from her. Because these emotions naturally dissipated, subtly contaminating the surrounding Mind Bodies, it created the illusion of a drop in the surrounding temperature.
“They’re pretty kind, aren’t they?” Nora said, hugging her knees and sitting on the sand, “Spiritual bodies lack Mind Bodies and physical forms, so they crave to possess a body and own emotions. I occasionally feed them my negative emotions as sustenance.”
“It won’t cause a mutant, will it?” Aske asked.
“The wanderings of spiritual bodies are random; each time I summon, they are different spiritual bodies,” Nora explained, brushing away her hanging hair, then asked, “So? Did you help them with the sunscreen?”
“I only applied it to their backs,” Aske admitted.
“But even so, they could help each other with it, right?” Nora said in a sighing tone, a hint of reproach in her eyes, “Aske, are you interested in any of them?”
“Are you worried about me, Nora?”
“Worried? Of course,” Nora said calmly, looking at him, “We have been maintaining such a relationship… for a year and a half now, haven’t we?”
“Aske, I told you I would wait for you… until the day you can give me a clear answer. But that doesn’t mean I can remain indifferent as I watch the number of my rivals increase.”
“Nora…”
“Waiting is torturous, especially when there’s never any response. I don’t want to make a bold move like Medea and demand more intimate gestures from you, because what I get by demanding is ultimately not what I truly desire.” Nora said softly, her smile tinged with sadness, “But…”
“At least give me some consolation to hold onto…” The rest of her sentence was never spoken aloud but whispered silently to herself.
Aske watched her dejected expression silently before suddenly picking up a bottle and asking,
“Do you want to apply sunscreen?”
“I’m not changing into a swimsuit.” Nora shook her head slightly, hugged her knees, and fell silent.
“Then at least put some on the skin that’s exposed, the ultraviolet rays at the beach are still pretty strong.” Aske took her hand without waiting for a reply, causing Nora a fluttering sensation of surprise and a gentle thrill.
His left hand caressed her palm tenderly, the cool and smooth touch of the sunscreen against her skin. Nora instinctively curled her fingers, trying to interlock tightly with his, but Aske simply patted the back of her hand:
“Let go.”
“Oh.”
She released her hand dumbly as Aske carefully spread the sunscreen on her palm, then her wrist, and up her arm.
As his fingertips traced upward, a strong feeling of embarrassment washed over her mind. Nora hardly spoke, stiffly extending her right arm for him to continue, while her left hand unconsciously straightened her flaxen hair that hung by her cheek over and over again, struggling to keep herself from wild thoughts.
“Switch arms,” Aske nudged her right arm.
“Mhm~” Her tone this time was a bit indulgent and coquettish.
Nora handed over her left arm without daring to meet Aske’s gaze, but soon she couldn’t help but turn her head to sneak a peek at his focused expression, and gradually her gaze seemed to sink into it.
“All done.” Aske clapped his hands, “Massage service is over, would you like to extend the session, miss?”
“How much?” Nora asked, almost reflexively.
“Let’s tentatively set it at a daily pound for a 10-minute session, with an additional pound for every extra minute,” Aske replied.
“Then I’ll take the thirty-year package,” Nora said with a smile, coming back to her senses.
She was naturally gentle and smiling in disposition, but the gloom just now made her smile unavoidably shadowed and dull.
Now, the clouds had cleared like the blossoming of a night-blooming cereus, revealing a beautiful smile. Her innate purity was so striking that Aske could hardly refrain from being moved.
“Let’s not,” he used his willpower to restrain his fond thoughts, continuing in jest, “For now, I only sell my skills, not my body.”
“Then when you do sell yourself, I’d like to reserve a VIP auction seat,” she said, getting up lively, patting the sand off the back of her dress, “Do I need to pay a deposit?”
“No need for a deposit…” Aske hadn’t finished speaking when Nora gently cupped his cheeks and kissed his forehead.
“This is my deposit.” She smiled faintly, the tenderness in her eyes almost overflowing.
Aske had forgotten when Nora left until the sea breeze woke him from his reverie, and he saw on the bustling beach ahead, Sigrdrifa blindfolded, swinging a balloon stick wildly, Peggy and Miel laughing and dodging everywhere, with Thira constantly directing her left and right.
Eleanor swam smoothly in the water, while Mia was even faster, the two of them racing side by side with the grace of dolphins.
Nora and Medea squatted at the edge of the field, chatting amiably. The passing tourists seemed oblivious to them, as if these playful beauties didn’t exist at all.
How nice…
As long as this peace continues, what does it matter if I am a scoundrel?