Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 59: Feels like home
"And that’s why I’m wet right now," Martin explained when his teammates asked why he was late to their meeting.
Kill Clause hated lateness and had demanded an explanation. Once Martin explained everything properly, though, and they saw the Dragon Turtle perched on his head with a smug little expression, she softened and let the matter go.
"You have a valid reason to be late," she whispered.
NukEncore winked at Ao Tenshin. "Good job, Angel!"
Ao Tenshin squealed in agreement. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Martin let out a breath and glanced between the three girls. The wet clothes and the detour to the river had delayed him, but they were not the real reason his chest still felt tight. "Actually... there’s something bigger."
That alone changed the mood around them. Kill Clause’s eyes sharpened. Chaosgraphy tilted her head. NukEncore brightened at once, as if she could already tell he was trying and failing to hide good news.
Martin pulled up the system window and showed them the quest.
"I got a Class Upgrade Quest," he said. "If I clear it, my Guardian class evolves into Warden."
NukEncore reacted first. Her eyes flew wide, and then a bright smile spread across her face. "Wait, really? Martin, that’s huge! Show me!"
She leaned in without hesitation to read every word for herself, and the eager movement made her ample chest sway softly right in front of him. Martin’s eyes dropped there for the briefest second on instinct, but they lifted almost at once to her lips instead. The memory of her finger resting there and her whisper, "That’s a lady’s privilege," flashed through his mind so clearly that the quest text blurred for a heartbeat.
"A Warden..." NukEncore breathed. "That sounds amazing on you."
Kill Clause stepped closer next and read in silence, her gaze moving line by line with cool concentration. "Three weapon masteries while maintaining shield integration," she said. "This is not a casual upgrade quest."
Her tone was as sharp and controlled as ever, almost severe, but it still warmed Martin from the inside. She did not need to soften for him to hear the care in it. The way she took his growth seriously, already weighing what it meant for him and for their team, only made him smile.
Chaosgraphy did not crowd in right away. She watched him first, catching the excitement he still could not quite hide, and then a slow grin curved across her face.
"Warden, huh?" she said. One hand settled at her hip as she stood there with that same lazy confidence that always made her look untouchable. "So that’s why you look like you want to pick a fight with the whole academy."
That familiar spark passed between them at once. Their friendship had started with challenge, friction, and the urge to outdo each other, and the old rivalry stirred again so naturally that Martin felt his blood start to run faster.
Then Chaosgraphy cut straight to the point. "So you need a sparring partner again, right? Face me this time. Let’s go all out. I want to see your playstyle from the other side, and you need someone worth proving it to. It’s worth learning how to handle other classes before we branch out and start leveling up."
Martin clenched his hands.
He had seen enough stories on social media to know how ugly that side of the game could get. Students from rival academies fought over territory, routes, and resources, and every week there seemed to be another clip of players tearing into one another with the same hunger they used against monsters. Martin had not stepped into that world yet, but it no longer felt far away.
The Goblin Boss’s face still lingered in his mind: the anger, the humiliation, the helplessness when the fight had slipped out of his control. That sight had stirred the delinquent side of Martin that still lived somewhere under his skin, the part of him that did not just want to survive a fight, but to dominate it. It only made him hungrier to improve and come out on top against every enemy in front of him.
"Yeah," Martin said, smiling wide as he met Chaosgraphy’s eyes. "Let’s do it. Right now."
Her grin sharpened in answer. For a brief moment, neither of them looked away, and the space between them felt less like the start of a spar and more like a dare.
Kill Clause watched the exchange and smiled, small but genuine. To her, the spark between them did not look reckless. It looked useful.
Martin and Chaosgraphy were the same kind of people in moments like this, competitive to the core and always hungry to prove something. If they kept pushing each other like that, they would only drive one another toward greater results.
NukEncore saw it too, but what she felt was different. A strange pang slipped into her chest as she watched the way Martin and Chaosgraphy locked onto each other so naturally, as if they were already standing inside their own little world of challenge and excitement.
She had shared a moment with Martin too, something real enough that the memory still made her lips tingle, yet the sight still stirred a quiet jealousy in her. It was soft, almost embarrassing, and impossible to ignore.
He wanted to learn more about me... and I gave him nothing but a smile. Alexandra has that rivalry with him, that sharp little pull that keeps drawing his eyes back to her. If this keeps up, they’ll only grow closer. She’ll steal more and more of his attention... NukEncore’s lips pressed together. From me? Really? From me?
Her eyes narrowed just a little. No. I won’t let her outshine me that easily.
In that single moment, NukEncore’s desire to improve in the game surged to a new peak, and it went far beyond wanting to hear the encore of critical strike effects. What rose inside her was the Diva’s pride, bright and fierce, refusing to be pushed aside.
But this time, she did not want empty vanity. She wanted to build the natural arrogance of someone who knew she was the best, the kind of arrogance a top mage should carry without forcing it. She lacked that right now, and the thought stung.
So she would earn it. She would improve, grow stronger, and climb high enough to stand as Martin’s rival too.
Kill Clause saw the two of them, then glanced at NukEncore as well. For a brief moment, the scene made her think of her siblings.
They are celebrities, and Martin is only an ordinary coworker in comparison. Even so, this feels strangely close to home. It makes me want to protect it... to protect them... and keep this dynamic intact, despite all of us being outsiders here in one way or another.
