100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 711 - Silent Date

Eirene’s request left the three of them in an awkward silence.

Lucien had been prepared for Seraphine to tease him.

He had even been prepared for Lilith to return and make the situation worse.

He had not been prepared for Eirene.

She stood beneath the soft moonlight of the Stillness Palace, her Stillbloom Moonbody making her already ethereal appearance seem almost unreal. Yet the faint hesitation in her expression was very ordinary.

Lucien looked at her for several breaths.

Then he glanced at Seraphine.

Seraphine was still looking at Eirene.

The amusement she had worn earlier had disappeared, although Lucien did not sense anger from her. She simply seemed caught completely off guard.

Eirene lowered her gaze slightly.

"If that is inappropriate, you can forget I asked."

Lucien’s expression immediately softened.

There was something almost strange about hearing those words from her.

Eirene had stood beside him through things far more dangerous than this. She had commanded Lunarians, faced enemies that could destroy worlds, and carried responsibilities most people could never understand.

Yet asking him for one ordinary date had made her hesitant.

Seraphine finally exhaled.

"You really chose your timing well."

Eirene looked at her apologetically.

Seraphine shook her head before the apology could even come.

"I’m not saying no."

Lucien slowly looked toward her.

Seraphine caught his stare.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m still thinking."

That was reasonable.

Lucien decided not to make the situation more dangerous by speaking.

Eirene smiled faintly.

Then Seraphine looked between the two of them before sighing.

"Lilith already opened the door anyway."

Lucien felt that statement was somehow blaming him despite Lilith being the one who had kissed him and escaped.

He wisely kept that thought to himself.

Seraphine eventually turned toward Eirene.

"If you really want one, then ask him properly."

Eirene’s eyes shifted toward Lucien.

The moonlight around her seemed to gather slightly as she stepped closer.

"I would like one day with you too."

There was no teasing in her voice.

Just a simple request.

Lucien rubbed the back of his neck.

Apparently, promising Lilith anything she wanted had created consequences far beyond what he had expected.

Still, he could hardly treat Eirene differently simply because the situation had become inconvenient.

He smiled helplessly.

"Alright."

Eirene’s expression brightened immediately.

Lucien noticed.

So did Seraphine.

For some reason, Seraphine’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Lucien suddenly felt as though he had entered another battlefield.

•••

Unlike Lilith, Eirene did not want to leave immediately.

She asked for the following night instead.

That gave Lucien enough time to recover from the previous day and enough time to wonder exactly what Eirene considered a date.

He learned the answer the next evening.

There were no disguises.

Eirene simply waited for him near one of the quieter entrances of the Stillness Palace.

She had returned to her Lunarian form.

Pale silver hair fell behind her shoulders, and the faint lunar markings along her skin glimmered whenever moonlight touched them.

Lucien approached.

"You look prepared."

Eirene smiled.

"I am."

That was the only explanation he received.

She turned and began walking deeper into the palace.

Lucien followed.

The Stillness Palace was already familiar to him, but Eirene took routes he rarely used.

They passed the gardens where newly planted pale flowers opened only beneath moonlight.

Small streams crossed polished stone paths, reflecting the enormous moon above them.

There were no attendants waiting for them.

No Lunarians following at a distance.

Eirene had apparently arranged for privacy beforehand.

Lucien noticed that too.

"Sister Eirene. You planned this carefully."

"A little."

He looked at her.

Eirene’s smile became slightly more obvious.

Lucien decided she had learned more from Lilith and Seraphine than he originally realized.

•••

They eventually reached a secluded area near the upper portion of the palace.

A shallow lake occupied most of it.

The surface was perfectly still.

Moonlight reflected from the water so clearly that the lake looked like another sky beneath their feet.

Eirene stepped onto the water.

Ripples spread beneath her.

Lucien followed.

They walked toward the center until even the palace seemed distant.

There, Eirene stopped.

"This is one of my favorite places."

Lucien looked around.

He understood why.

The Stillness Palace was already quiet, but this place carried a different kind of silence.

It was not empty. It felt peaceful.

Eirene sat on the surface of the lake as naturally as though it were solid ground.

Lucien sat beside her.

For some time, neither of them spoke.

That did not feel awkward.

Lilith’s date had been filled with movement, laughter, teasing, and unfamiliar places.

This was almost the opposite.

Lucien realized that suited Eirene far better.

She did not need constant entertainment.

She seemed perfectly content simply having him beside her.

Eventually, Eirene leaned back slightly and looked toward the moon.

"I used to spend a lot of time alone."

Lucien turned toward her.

She did not sound sad.

It was simply something she remembered.

"Even before the Lunarians?"

Eirene nodded.

"There were many things I did not understand then."

Her fingers lightly touched the water.

Small rings of silver spread outward.

"I knew what I was. I knew what I could do. But knowing those things does not necessarily tell you where you belong."

Lucien remained quiet.

He understood that feeling more than he wanted to admit.

Eirene glanced at him.

"That changed after meeting you."

Lucien paused.

For a brief moment, he was confused by the way she said it.

Then he assumed she meant when he first arrived in the Big World and met her.

His expression softened.

She had said it without embarrassment.

That was very different from Lilith.

Eirene was hesitant when asking for the date, but once she decided to speak, she did not hide behind jokes.

Lucien smiled.

"I didn’t do that much."

Eirene looked at him for a moment.

"You do that often."

"What?"

"Pretend the things you do for people are smaller than they really are."

Lucien had no immediate answer.

Eirene smiled faintly and returned her attention to the moon.

Lucien felt slightly attacked.

Unfortunately, she was probably correct.

•••

They remained there for a long time.

Eirene showed him several small things she liked about the Stillness Palace.

How the lunar flowers changed their fragrance depending on the phase of the moon.

How some of the palace formations produced faint music when lunar energy became dense enough.

How the lake beneath them was connected to several deeper chambers and subtly changed with the emotions of the Lunarians cultivating nearby.

Lucien listened.

It was strange how much of Eirene’s world he had never really stopped to notice.

He had visited the Stillness Palace many times.

He had studied its formations, used its restrictions, and discussed important matters inside it.

But he had rarely experienced it simply as Eirene’s home.

Tonight, she was showing him that side.

Lucien found himself appreciating the difference.

At some point, Eirene shifted closer.

Their shoulders touched.

Lucien noticed immediately.

She did not move away.

Neither did he.

For several minutes, they simply watched the moon reflected across the lake.

Then Eirene spoke again.

"Was Lilith’s date fun?"

Lucien nearly coughed.

He turned toward her.

Eirene was looking at him calmly.

There was no accusation in her expression.

Only curiosity.

Lucien considered lying.

That would have been stupid.

"It was."

Eirene nodded.

"I thought so."

Lucien stared.

"How?"

"You looked happy."

That answer caught him off guard.

Eirene looked back toward the water.

"I wanted to know what that felt like too."

Lucien’s chest tightened slightly.

There was no competition in her voice.

She did not want to steal something from Lilith.

She simply wanted one memory of her own.

That made the request feel much heavier than Lucien had expected.

He looked at Eirene.

"I’m happy now too."

Her eyes widened slightly.

Then she smiled.

The moonlight around them seemed brighter for reasons that probably had nothing to do with the moon.

•••

Later, Eirene brought him toward one of the highest terraces of the Stillness Palace.

The entire Lootwell territory spread below them.

Lights filled the distant cities.

Teleportation formations flashed from time to time.

Beyond everything, the horizon disappeared beneath the night sky.

Eirene stood near the edge.

Lucien stopped beside her.

She remained quiet for several breaths.

Then she extended her hand.

Lucien looked at it.

A small smile appeared on his face.

He took her hand.

Eirene’s fingers closed around his.

Her hand was cooler than Lilith’s had been.

The difference somehow made the moment feel more real.

They stood together without speaking.

Lucien had expected another complicated day.

Instead, Eirene had asked very little from him.

She wanted his presence.

Nothing more complicated than that.

Lucien realized that might have been more difficult to give than any treasure.

After spending so long thinking about worlds, wars, authorities, and disasters, simply standing beside someone without needing to solve anything had become strangely rare.

Eirene looked at him.

"Luc."

He turned.

There was hesitation in her eyes again.

Lucien’s heartbeat immediately became suspicious.

He had learned from yesterday.

Probably.

Eirene raised herself slightly on her toes.

Lucien froze for half a breath.

Then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

The touch was brief.

So brief that Lucien almost wondered if it had happened.

Eirene stepped back.

"That is enough."

Lucien stared at her.

Then he laughed softly.

Eirene looked embarrassed.

"I was not prepared for more."

"That’s fine."

Lucien squeezed her hand gently.

Her expression softened.

They remained on the terrace until the moon climbed much higher.

When they finally returned, Lucien realized he had enjoyed the evening in a completely different way from the day with Lilith.

Lilith had reminded him how to laugh without responsibility weighing on him.

Eirene had reminded him that silence could be comfortable when shared with the right person.

Both had given him something he had not realized he needed.

That realization was dangerous enough on its own.

Unfortunately, Seraphine was waiting for them when they returned.

She looked at their joined hands.

Then at Lucien.

Lucien slowly released Eirene.

Seraphine’s smile appeared.

It was far too calm.

Lucien suddenly remembered that he still had not taken Seraphine on a proper date.

That realization struck considerably harder than any authority suppression field.

Perhaps his romantic problems had only just begun.