Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though he knew it was probably futile, Gandr still felt compelled to remind Jung of their previous agreement, smiling wryly as he asked, "Didn't we agree that you would stop challenging me if I beat you one-hundred times in a row?"

Without even trying to refute it, Jung nodded her head in affirmation, smiling radiantly as she said, "Yeah, but that's boring! Come on, let's fight~! I'll even let you take a bite out of my lollipop if you win~."

Seemingly with the intent to entice him, Jung pulled out a half-eaten lollipop from her Inventory before adopting a 'victorious' expression on her face. This earned her a judgmental deadpan from Serra, but, finding her antics rather charming, Gandr issued a light chuckle before saying, "Maybe next time. I'm covering for Khun right now. And, no, you can't wake him up just so we can go play."

Having seen the 'decisive' glimmer in Jung's eyes, Gandr made sure to spare his friend the indignity of being strangled awake by the spirited young lady. This caused Jung to pout slightly before taking a large chunk out of her lollipop, chewing loudly as she remarked, "Boring. You're super strong so you should let the eggheads deal with things like that. I don't get why you're always working so hard."

Rather than get offended by Jung's words, Gandr just offered a carefree smile as he said, "I don't consider helping my friends to be hard work. Besides, being strong doesn't mean you can just stop thinking. The most powerful people are those who combine their power with advanced intellect and comprehension. Instincts and effort can take you a long way but you're bound to hit a bottleneck if you lack direction and focus..."

Noticing Jung's eyes literally losing focus the longer he spoke, Gandr couldn't help but shake his head slightly before saying, "Tell you what. If you are able to defeat me in a game of chess, even once, I will fight you as many times as you like."

Hearing the words 'game' and 'fight', a fierce glow erupted from within Jung's crimson eyes as she replied, "Deal! Teach me how to play~!"

Just as Gandr was about to nod his head in agreement, a gloved hand gingerly came to rest on his shoulder, drawing his attention to the monochromatic beauty behind him as she said, "I would also like to learn..." with a determined light in her eyes...

---

After ditching Shibisu and Aleksai the moment they reached a relatively safe area, Endorsi ran back to the House of Miracles at her fastest speed. Her 'instincts' were telling her that a certain duo was making a play at her man; so, before either could dig their grubby little hands into Gandr's soft fur, she was determined to intervene. With this in mind, she passed through the crowd like a bulldozer, ignoring Nare's exclamation as she burst through the front door and bolted up the stairs.

Like a woman who suspected their partner was cheating on them, Endorsi opened the door to the third floor with enough force to crack the frame as she said, "You hussies better...not...be...?"

Though she wasn't sure what she was expecting, Endorsi never even considered that Gandr would be playing some kind of board game against Serra while Jung lay sprawled out on the ground with steam rising from her head. This left her at a complete loss for words, her mouth hanging open as a prominent red hue slowly spread through the upper half of her face...

Further increasing her embarrassment, Gandr looked at Endorsi with a wry smile on his face before casually remarking, "Welcome back, Endorsi. I'm teaching Serra and Jung how to play Chess. Would you like to join us...?"

Rather than answer Gandr's question, Endorsi promptly closed the broken door before squatting down in the corridor and burying her scarlet face into her hands. Even her ears had turned a vibrant shade of red; so, for the better part of five minutes, she focused on regulating her breathing before smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt and fixing her hair. Then, as if she had only just arrived, she opened the door with a practiced smile on her face, emulating shock as she asked, "Oh? What kind of game are you playing? Can I join in...?"

Though he felt an overwhelming urge to tease the ghostly-eyed woman, Gandr managed a natural smile as he repeated, "Welcome back, Endorsi. I'm teaching Serra and Jung how to play Chess. This round will end pretty soon so I'll explain the rules once the board is reset."

Appreciating how 'understanding' Gandr could be, Endorsi's practiced smile softened into a more natural expression as she made her way over and sat down immediately to his left. Then, earning an icy look from Serra, she leaned against his left shoulder, eyes squinting slightly as she stared back at the silver-eyed 'vixen'. This caused Gandr to shake his head, but, rather than force her to give him some space, he just picked up his next piece and said, "Check..." in a subdued tone...

---

After enjoying a rather pleasant two-hour nap, Khun half-opened his eyes before lazily staring at the 'little girl' hugging his body. There was a damp spot on his chest due to the thin trail of drool leaking from her mouth; but, rather than concern himself with this, Khun just lightly poked the girl's cheek as he said, "You can let me go now, Yun-Yun..."

Opening her eyes to reveal pupilless pink irises, Yun-Yun stared back at Khun silently for several seconds before remarking, "Your dreams still taste like crap..."

With his brow twitching slightly, Khun peeled Yun-Yun from his body before throwing a pillow at her and saying, "Yeah, yeah, you've said it before. Forgive me for not having 'tasty' dreams."

Rather than respond to Khun's words, Yun-Yun hugged the pillow she had been given, eyes closing as she promptly returned to sleep. This left the former feeling even more exasperated, but, as this wasn't his first time dealing with the pink-haired 'Mare', he elected to ignore her. There were more important things for him to worry about than some dream-eating brat.

Using the [REquip] system to quickly change his shirt and tie, Khun emerged from the perpetually dark room to find Gandr playing three games of chess at the same time. This wasn't too surprising, as Khun had played against the boy numerous times in the past. What caught him off guard was the fact that Endorsi and Jung, neither of which were known for their mental faculties, both had intense expressions on their faces as they focused on the game...

Having noticed Khun's entrance, Gandr briefly shifted his attention to the blue-haired youth, smiling as he said, "Welcome back. You no longer look like a walking corpse."

Taking advantage of the moment when Gandr was looking away, Endorsi attempted to move a few of her pieces using Shinsu. Unfortunately, just as she was able to get one of the Pawns to twitch, Gandr used the very tip of his fingernail to lock it into place before giving her an accusatory look out of the corner of his eye...

Responding to Gandr's statement, Khun just shrugged his shoulders dismissively before asking, "Anything happen while I was out?"

Nodding his head, Gandr quickly moved pieces on all three boards before answering, "Hakua tried to bite off more than he could chew and ended up choking on a Ghost Pepper. I imagine he will be visiting the House of Miracles before the day's end."

Though Khun found Gandr's remark rather amusing, a certain ghost-eyed Princess couldn't help but glower at him as she said, "I told you to stop calling me that..." in a threatening tone.

Since there was no way he was going to stop calling her Ghost Pepper, Gandr stared intensely back at Endorsi, surprising her slightly as he asserted, "I like Ghost Peppers though...besides, it really does suit you..."

With a fluttery feeling in her chest, Endorsi was seriously considering allowing Gandr to start calling her Ghost Pepper from that point onward. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite done with his statement, adding, "It's a lot better than Horny Princess..." in an amused tone.

Hearing Anak's familiar insult, Endorsi's expression darkened as the horn at her right temple began to pulse with the beating of her heart. At the same time, however, a rosy glow spread through her cheeks as she balled her right hand into a fist and stated, "Let me hit you..." in a threatening tone.

Shaking his head, Gandr gestured for Endorsi to calm down as he said, "Relax. It was just a joke. You call me Fluffy-Eared Brat and Fuzzy-Butt at least ten times a day. Don't take everything so seriously. Besides, even if you did hit me, you wouldn't be able to win this game...checkmate..."

Though she was about to tell him not to tell her to relax, Endorsi's mind blanked the moment she heard Gandr's final word. Her eyes immediately shifted to the board below, confirming it was her loss before puffing out her cheeks and saying, "You cheated..." in a pouty tone.

Seemingly looking for an excuse of her own, Jung keyed in on Endorsi's statement, eyes widening as she exclaimed, "What!? Did you really cheat, Gan-chan!? No fair! No fair~!" before 'accidentally' kicking the chessboard with her foot.

Feeling slightly taken aback by Jung's shamelessness, Gandr just stared blankly at the two pouting girls before turning his attention to Serra and noticing that the board state had changed. The girl in question had also averted her eyes, an extremely subtle shade of pink visible in her otherwise pale complexion as she pretended to be interested in a vase near the corner of the room...

---

Hearing the sound of movement from above, Anak ignored the customer who was trying to ask her a question, an annoyed look on her face as she wondered what was going on above. Unfortunately, there were still more than two hours left before her shift came to an end. Thus, with a rather fierce expression on her face, she turned to the rabbit-eared woman who was trying to get her attention, asking, "What do you want?" in an abrasive tone.

Feeling a shiver run through her body, the rabbit-eared girl waved her hands in a fretful manner as she stammered, "I-I-I didn't mean to bother you! I just wanted to ask about the effects of this glove. Does it really allow you to convert Shinsu into shockwaves with your fist?"

Shifting her attention to the display case the woman was pointing at, Anak read the small placard at the side of the item before looking up at her and asking, "Are you an idiot? If the placard says it can shoot out shockwaves, that's what it does. Are you trying to accuse Phae of lying? I'll end you..."

Before Anak could beat another customer, Chunhwa, attired in an outfit that made him resemble a very high-end clerk, quickly ran over to stand between them as he asked, "Is something the matter? Please explain the situation so I can help resolve things peacefully..."

With a venomous look in her eyes, Anak continued to glare at the paling woman as she explained, "This rabbit called Phae a liar...I think she might be trying to ruin the reputation of our business..."

Based on the woman's reaction, Chunhwa seriously doubted the veracity of Anak's claim, so, before she could scare away another customer, he asked her to manage the counter while he talked with the rabbit-eared woman. This left Anak feeling slightly annoyed, but, as Chunhwa had been placed in charge, she ultimately scampered over to the counter before pulling out a step-stool so that she could view the situation from afar...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Endorsi can also be cute','Yun-Yun go nom-nom','Anak doesn't like it when people 'insult' the people she cares about xD...')

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