"Hey, don't be mad, okay?" Chen Luo pulled out the ice cream.
"Hmph!"
"It was my fault this time." He produced a pack of spicy strips.
"Hmph!"
"I won't do it again." This time, he held out a Primogem.
"Wait, what's this? Why isn't it food?" The Herrscher of Sentience, already clutching the ice cream and spicy strips, eyed the glittering stone with confusion.
"So, not angry anymore? And technically, I'm the victim here. Seriously, you are worthy of being the Grandmaster of Melee Combat." Chen Luo still didn't understand why he had to apologize after getting ragdolled.
"Fine. I'll graciously forgive you," the Herrscher magnanimously declared, her wrath soothed by snacks.
An immortal ought to be broad-minded.
"That said, your ability is kinda broken. If you weren't so weak, you actually could've controlled me. Want me to tweak your consciousness again? Remove myself from your [Furniture Mastery] list?" The Herrscher of Sentience mumbled between bites.
"No way! Who knows what other clauses you'd sneak in? Admit it—what did you add last time?"
"Wh-what is there to add! Stop slandering me for no reason!" She abruptly turned her head away.
"Whatever. Thanks to you, I've mastered swordsmanship now." A plain longsword materialized in Chen Luo's grip, feeling like an old friend the moment he held it.
With a casual flick, a blade of wind sliced through a fly midair.
"[Swordsmanship Proficiency] plus [Anemo Vision Mastery]—I could pass as a swordsman now. The kind who emits sword qi." Chen Luo suddenly felt handsome.
Devastatingly handsome.
"Pfft, you? I could beat you with one hand." The Herrscher of Sentience gave Chen Luo a disdainful glance.
"..." Chen Luo had no retort, because she was telling the truth.
Previously, Chen Luo thought that after proficient came grandmaster, since the only different level he'd seen was grandmaster.
Thus he believed there was only one level difference between him and the Herrscher of Sentience in combat ability.
Only after seeing Yun Lian'er's skill list did he realize there was also a master level.
[Mastery of Book Reading] (Skill)
This skill was equivalent to remembering 80% after one reading, but not quite photographic memory, so it was only master level.
True photographic memory would be grandmaster level.
In other words, Chen Luo's current cold weapons proficiency, transformed from furniture mastery, needed one more upgrade to become cold weapons master, and another to become cold weapons grandmaster.
And to a grandmaster of melee combat, whether you're master or proficient, you're still a rookie.
"Alright, since you've helped me, as repayment I'll share some of my secrets with you." Only after being thoroughly beaten did Chen Luo understand there's always someone better, then put away his edgless sword.
"Secrets? What secrets?" The Herrscher of Sentience immediately became interested.
"The secret... of why I like doing good deeds." Chen Luo paused before speaking.
It was time for complete honesty.
Because of this world's special nature, Chen Luo no longer dared let the Herrscher of Sentience go around doing justice, which meant she would definitely be home at night. Trying to operate the bar while hiding it from her would obviously be impossible.
Moreover, this wasn't something that absolutely had to be kept secret from others.
After all, the Herrscher of Sentience's secrets were much more tempting than his own.
In Chen Luo's view, the Herrscher of Sentience was like the "old grandpa" mentor before he grew strong. Simply excluding and hiding things from her would only drive them apart, especially since this wasn't something that could be completely hidden anyway.
The Herrscher of Sentience, even in Chen Luo's world, could at least be considered first-rate if not top-tier.
So Chen Luo has decided to hold on to this thigh.[1]
...
"So you saved me because of a commission?" The Herrscher of Sentience looked expressionlessly at Chen Luo, her thoughts unreadable.
"Not entirely."
"By your logic, once rewards are issued the commission is complete. So will you kick me out now? After all, your commission is finished, isn't it?"
"How could I? If I wanted to kick you out, why would I share my biggest secret with you? Although the commission is indeed complete, I still hope you'll stay." Chen Luo said sincerely.
"Why? Because I'll train you? If that's the reason, don't worry. Even if you only saved me to complete a commission, the fact remains you did save me. Even if I didn't live here, I'd still help train you." The Herrscher of Sentience shook her head.
"No, not for that reason. It's because... we're already family." Chen Luo said.
"Hah? Are you trying to imitate those hot-blooded shounen protagonists with their talk-no-jutsu?" The Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help but scoff.
"No no, look, our relationship really is family." Chen Luo showed the Herrscher of Sentience the friends list in his talent panel.
Chen Luo discovered his talent panel could be shown to others - if he was willing.
The friends list could also be grouped.
Chen Luo's friends group only had two lonely names: Venti and Yun Lian'er.
The family group had just one even lonelier name.
Family Group:
Herrscher of Sentience
"Hah? Wait, we've only known each other for how long and we're family?" Seeing this panel, the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't maintain her composure, her cold expression instantly breaking.
"Since the commission I accepted was to 'give you a home,' even if the rewards have been issued, I won't go back on that. And what's most important in a home, if not family?" Chen Luo looked sincerely at the Herrscher of Sentience, making her somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing her like this, Chen Luo still didn't dare show the relationship icon behind [Herrscher of Sentience].
Family Group.
Herrscher of Sentience [Father-Daughter]
He'd be killed. He'd definitely be killed.
This relationship must never be revealed!
"So, Senti, let's try getting along as family for a while, okay? If you're not satisfied, you can ditch me later." Chen Luo extended his hand to the Herrscher of Sentience.
"This... fine, fine, I'll reluctantly accept you as my little brother." Under Chen Luo's expectant gaze, the Herrscher of Sentience hesitantly shook his hand.
"Wait, why little brother?" Chen Luo suddenly objected.
"Hah? You want to be the older one?"
"Yeah, by age, you're not even one month old yet, right? I'm seventeen."
"...A'Luo, today I'll use force to teach you what 'elder sister is like a mother' means." The Herrscher of Sentience sighed and clenched her fist.
"Wait, what are you doing? We're family! Family!"
"Yes, it is because we are a family that it is easier to beat you up. What they say on the Internet is right, you should beat your younger brother as early as possible."
"Stay away from me!!!"
TL Note:
[1]: grabbing on to a thigh, to explain in gaming terms, means having someone carrying you