100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 712 - Unspoken

Lucien did not intend to let Seraphine lose out.

If anything, that thought had been bothering him since Eirene’s date ended.

Lilith had received a day that belonged only to her.

Eirene had received an evening beneath the moon.

Meanwhile, Seraphine was the woman Lucien already shared the deepest and most intimate bond with, yet somehow the two of them had never stopped long enough to call anything between them a proper date.

Lucien felt guilty when he thought about it.

What bothered him even more was how easily Seraphine seemed to accept everything that had happened.

She had given Lilith permission.

She had watched Eirene ask for the same thing and eventually allowed that too.

There had been teasing, irritation, and moments when Lucien could clearly tell she was not completely unaffected, but she had never truly tried to stop either woman.

That was strange.

Seraphine was not indifferent.

Lucien knew that better than anyone.

So when the two of them finally had time alone, he asked.

Lucien held Seraphine’s hand as they walked.

"Sera, why did you let all of that happen?"

Seraphine did not answer immediately.

Her fingers tightened slightly around his.

Lucien looked toward her, but she kept her eyes ahead.

For a long time, only the sound of their footsteps followed them through the garden.

When Seraphine finally spoke, her voice had lost its usual teasing edge.

"I’ll tell you someday."

Lucien waited.

She gave him a small smile.

"It’s just that there are lifetimes of unresolved feelings."

Lucien slowed.

He understood the words individually.

Together, they only confused him more.

"Lifetimes?"

Seraphine did not explain.

Her gaze moved toward the moon above them instead.

Lucien could tell that pushing would not give him an answer she was ready to share.

So he sighed and kept walking beside her.

A few steps later, Seraphine stopped.

Lucien turned.

This time, her expression had become serious.

There was something unusually fragile beneath it.

"Luc."

He immediately gave her his full attention.

"Whatever happens, don’t forget about me."

Lucien frowned.

Seraphine continued before he could interrupt.

"But if I die someday, you have to move on. You keep living, even if I’m no longer there. You live for yourself, and you live for everyone who still needs you."

Something struck Lucien deep inside his chest.

His heartbeat stumbled.

For reasons he could not explain, those words felt wrong in a way that had nothing to do with the possibility of Seraphine dying.

Something inside him recoiled from them.

An old ache seemed to move somewhere beyond memory, close enough to feel but too distant to understand.

Lucien’s hand tightened around hers.

"Nothing is going to happen to you."

Seraphine looked at him.

"I’ll make sure of it."

Her expression softened immediately.

"I believe you."

Lucien relaxed slightly.

Then Seraphine added quietly, "But I wasn’t talking about the future."

Lucien stared at her.

The strange feeling in his chest deepened.

He wanted to ask what she meant.

He wanted to ask why so many of her words lately seemed to carry a second meaning that disappeared whenever he tried to grasp it.

Instead, he stepped closer and pulled her into his arms.

Seraphine did not resist.

She rested her head against him as naturally as though that was where she had always belonged.

Lucien held her for a long time.

He still did not understand what she meant.

But he understood the feeling beneath it.

Seraphine was afraid of being forgotten.

That much he could answer.

Lucien lowered his head slightly.

"I won’t forget you."

Her arms tightened around him.

For several moments, neither said anything more.

The silence between Lucien and Seraphine had never required filling.

That was one of the differences between them and almost everyone else in his life.

With Lilith, the day had been filled with laughter and unfamiliar excitement.

With Eirene, silence had been peaceful.

With Seraphine, even silence felt intimate.

They already knew one another too well.

There was no need to discover whether they were comfortable together.

There was no need to wonder whether they could trust one another.

Their relationship had crossed those thresholds long ago.

This was not really a first date.

It was simply the first time they had deliberately stopped everything else and allowed themselves to treat it like one.

They wandered aimlessly through Lootwell’s vast farm.

Seraphine pointed out several medicinal herbs.

Lucien pretended not to recognize some of them just to make her explain.

She noticed almost immediately.

"You know what that is."

Lucien looked innocent.

"I might have forgotten."

"You have Photographic Memory."

Lucien considered that.

"That does weaken my argument."

Seraphine laughed and leaned against his arm.

Lucien smiled.

Seraphine looked toward him once.

Lucien noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You’re staring."

"I’m allowed."

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

Seraphine smiled.

"You’re my lover."

Lucien had no counterargument.

He decided that was probably the most dangerous kind of conversation.

•••

Lucien wrapped one arm around Seraphine.

He had spent the previous days wondering whether he was somehow betraying her.

Now, standing beside her, he realized that Seraphine understood far more than she was willing to tell him.

That did not remove his confusion.

It simply made him trust her enough to wait.

"You’re still thinking about it," Seraphine murmured.

Lucien sighed.

"You say things that make it difficult not to."

"I know."

Lucien looked at her.

Seraphine smiled.

He laughed softly and pulled her closer.

Eventually, she turned toward him.

There was no awkward closing of eyes this time.

Seraphine simply looked at him.

Lucien understood.

He kissed her.

There was nothing hesitant about it.

The intimacy between them was already familiar, but the moment felt different because neither of them was rushing toward another responsibility afterward.

When they separated, Seraphine remained close enough that her forehead rested against his.

Lucien smiled.

"This is probably what we should have done before everyone else started asking for dates."

Seraphine laughed quietly.

"That would have been sensible."

"We’re apparently bad at sensible things."

"That has been obvious for years."

Lucien accepted the criticism.

They remained there until late into the night.

For once, neither of them tried to solve anything.

•••

The following days, Lucien discovered that romance became considerably more awkward when everyone involved returned to work immediately afterward.

He encountered Lilith first.

She looked at him.

Lucien remembered the kiss.

Lilith smiled.

Lucien looked away.

Then he encountered Eirene.

Her gaze rested on him for a moment.

Lucien remembered the quiet terrace and the kiss on his cheek.

Eirene smiled softly.

Lucien suddenly found a nearby report extremely interesting.

Seraphine noticed both exchanges.

She said nothing.

That was somehow worse.

Thankfully, work soon rescued him.

The Grand Intercontinental Competition was only one month away.

The training grounds were complete.

Now they had to turn a finished region into an event capable of receiving people from across the five continents.

The preparations began immediately.

•••

The first major task was transportation.

Lootwell expected an enormous influx of people, and Lucien had no intention of allowing every major teleportation hub to collapse beneath the traffic.

The administrative teams reorganized the intercontinental routes.

Dedicated competition schedules were created.

Several teleportation arrays were temporarily assigned almost entirely to event traffic.

Major Lootwell branches became regional gathering points where participants could register, verify identities, form travel groups, and receive instructions before moving toward the Middle Continent.

The preserved region itself had multiple arrival hubs.

Participants would not all appear in one place.

Competitors, spectators, merchants, support personnel, researchers, and official faction delegations were routed separately.

Emergency routes remained untouched.

Lucien refused to compromise the World Fortification Network just because millions of people might decide they wanted to watch strangers hit one another.

Lilith approved of that decision immediately.

Kael approved after calculating how much damage a transportation collapse would do to trade.

For once, everyone agreed without argument.

•••

Accommodation came next.

The preserved region was enormous, but Lucien did not want people resting inside dangerous training sectors simply because they arrived early.

Temporary residential districts expanded around the safe zones.

Merchants were given designated commercial areas.

Faction delegations received larger compounds according to registered numbers.

Independent participants could use shared residences.

Medical districts stocked supplies.

Food warehouses filled.

Even waste disposal received an entire planning document.

Lucien stared at that report longer than he expected.

World-scale competitions apparently involved significantly more sewage calculations than epic stories usually mentioned.

He approved the plan anyway.

Someone had to.

•••

Security was handled differently.

Lootwell already possessed enough raw strength to discourage most stupidity, but Lucien did not want the competition to feel like a military occupation.

So the security presence remained visible without becoming oppressive.

Lootwell guards monitored the main districts.

The Silent Monastery helped oversee areas involving mental pressure and foreign intent.

The Obsidian Collegium stationed scholars near sensitive formation zones.

Celestials rotated through higher-risk sectors.

The elemental spirits continued watching the land itself.

And above all of them was Lucien’s authority layer.

If a dangerous fight broke out, he could isolate the sector.

If someone deliberately damaged a formation, the network would tell him.

If a battlefield impression became unstable, the surrounding systems could close before people wandered into it.

The entire region had become extremely difficult to surprise.

Lucien liked that.