"Vee?"

Neville blinked. Vee?

"—Neville?"

Grayson’s voice pulled him back to reality. The man had moved closer, his brow furrowed with concern.

"You zoned out." He said Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, I’m—" What did he just call me?

"Hm?" Grayson tilted his head in confusion.

Neville swallowed hard.

There was no way Grayson would call him like that again after those days.

"—I’m fine. I’m just... a little dizzy."

Grayson nodded in understanding since they had been looking around for about an hour right now.

"Should we sit there?" he offered, pointing at the nearby bench.

Neville hurriedly shook his head.

"I’m just worried about the time," Neville lied. "I’m really looking forward to visiting the Mecha Research Institute, you see."

Grayson’s expression softened, and he nodded, "Then let’s stop here for now since we already changed our clothes."

He reached out, and Neville unconsciously held out his breath as Grayson adjusted the collar of his new brown sweater.

"There," Grayson murmured. "Perfect."

Neville had no idea how he managed to hold out his breath for that long.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

Neville sat in the passenger seat, his ocean-blue eyes fixed on the rapidly changing scenery outside the window. His mind was obviously elsewhere.

"What are you thinking about?" Grayson asked out of nowhere.

Neville turned to look at him and saw his lips curled up.

"I’m not thinking about anything in particular," he replied dryly.

"Is that so? Either way, don’t think too much." Grayson lifted one hand to gesture vaguely at his own forehead. "It’s very distracting."

Neville touched his forehead instinctively, then caught himself and dropped his hand.

He slightly pouted his lips and said, "Maybe focus on looking where we are right now instead of my facial expressions."

Grayson held back a chuckle and explained, "This hovercar drives itself. I’m merely supervising."

"Supervising also requires attention."

"I’m used to multitasking." Grayson finally glanced his way, and that half-smile deepened just enough to crinkle the corners of his eyes. "Besides, watching you is far more interesting than watching traffic."

Neville felt warmth creep up the back of his neck and turned deliberately toward the window again.

When would he stop flirting with me?

[Host, is this the part where the male lead is full-on attack mode?!] Shelly’s voice chimed in his consciousness, her tone dripping with excitement. Her animated eyes were practically sparkling with mischief. [(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) let him do as he please host, I can handle it.]

’But I can’t!’ Neville could feel the veins on his head popping out.

[Host, don’t be too stingy! You know I can’t see something when it’s in the quest zone! There’s no way to feed my daily dose of romance!]

’Your job doesn’t include snooping on your host’s love life.’

[It does when you’re my host! Obviously, when it’s collected directly from the source, the data will be even more reliable!]

Neville resolutely ignored her, though a small part of him had to admit she wasn’t completely wrong.

Depending on the perspective, he could tell that as the day went on, Grayson’s flirtiness was only getting worse.

As if Grayson was getting the hang of this new kind of interaction.

The hover car began its descent as the Mecha Research Institute came into view.

The facility sprawled across a massive compound at the edge of the city, its architecture a stark contrast to the sleek corporate towers downtown.

Here, practicality reigned supreme.

There were enormous hangars that dotted the landscape like metal mushrooms. Their reinforced walls seemed to be built to withstand the kind of accidents that came with testing experimental military equipment.

What looked like testing towers rose at intervals, their scaffolding bristling with sensors and monitoring equipment. The whole place hummed with barely contained energy.

The hovercar touched down on a designated landing pad, and Grayson cut the engine with a precise tap of his finger against the control panel. He stepped out first, his tall figure casting a long shadow in the afternoon light.

Neville followed, adjusting his glasses as he surveyed their surroundings.

"Is it really okay for me to come?" he asked.

"I’ve been here several times, so don’t worry about it." Grayson began to walk toward the main building. "The Institute handles maintenance for specialized military equipment. They’re the only facility on Xylos certified to work on SSS-class mechas."

Neville’s steps faltered for just a moment. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

SSS-class.

So his mecha was actually SSS-class.

Well, if the liquid became solid, that surely would be classified as the highest class.

Neville had known that any mecha that Grayson would own was surely something extraordinary, but hearing it confirmed so casually still caught him off guard.

They entered through the main doors, passing through a security checkpoint that scanned their light brains.

Neville was surprised by how easily he was allowed to go inside.

The interior of the building was surprisingly austere: clean white walls, polished floors, and the occasional holographic display showing technical schematics that made Neville’s head spin just from a passing glance.

If he let Shelly run here, she would have a field day draining his reward points and even his savings.

A man approached them from the far end of the corridor.

He was middle-aged, with graying hair cropped close to his skull and the kind of weathered face that had too many late nights and not enough rest.

His white lab coat hung open over a rumpled shirt. His eyes were still sharp and assessing despite the dark circles beneath them.

He quickly spotted Grayson.

"General Maxwell." The man extended his hand. "Or should I say CEO Maxwell now? I never know which title you prefer."

"Just Grayson is fine, Dr. Shortle." Grayson shook the offered hand firmly. "This is Neville Hope, my boyfriend—Uck!"

Neville did not hesitate to hit Grayson on the stomach as he blushed hard.

Dr. Shortle was too stunned to say anything.

Neville coughed a little and introduced himself.

"Hello, I’m Neville Hope, personal secretary to CEO Maxwell." And then stuttered a little to continue, "A-and G-grayson’s partner."

"O-oh..." Dr. Shortle could only utter as they shook their hands.