Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 71: Chaos’ Request

"Yes," Martin nodded.

Cassandra nodded too and seemed to draw herself up even more so she could look directly into his eyes. Sadly, she still was not as tall as him, though she was definitely taller than a certain diva. Inside, she wondered what Martin would ask for.

Money? Status? Or maybe even a job in the real world?

"Let my party participate in the expansion conquest!" Martin asked, sounding serious and a little stiff.

For a second, Cassandra’s mind went blank. Then it hit her, and she burst out laughing harder than he had ever heard, bright and unguarded, the sound spilling out of her so freely that it felt almost unreal coming from her.

Even one of the elders heard it and leaned out the window, only to go still when he saw Cassandra Selfmore laughing without restraint.

"It must be an illusion," he muttered, then turned away.

Martin, meanwhile, went completely rigid. Her laughter had caught him so off guard that his mind instantly went to the worst possible conclusion. Did I say something wrong or stupid?

Heat rushed into his face. His palms turned damp. For one horrible second, he was sure he had just ruined everything.

He quickly added, "Yes, we are underleveled, but we will level up next week, maybe even this week! We will definitely be able to help the guild, and honestly, this is too big an event to miss. We will all enjoy it, for sure!"

Ah, shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said we would enjoy it. It’s just a game, but Cassandra sees it as a business first and foremost. Fuck. I fumbled the bag.

Cassandra slowly reined in her genuine amusement and looked up at Martin again.

"Your party’s spear has become a symbol of hope for this academy, and a weapon for us. You all already have a place in this expansion, and I will not be stingy with the headcount when it comes to that. Anyone can be useful, even level one guild members honed in the Hidden Level One Dungeons. I doubt any of them would be reduced to mere meat shields, though."

"Ah," Martin said, sounding almost absurdly earnest.

"Think more carefully next time about what you want, because I do enjoy saving costs."

Cassandra smiled again, her full lips curling as she turned away and left the prestigious district, luring Martin after her with the sway of her plump ass. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He followed a step behind her, past polished stone paths, trimmed hedges, and elegant buildings that still carried the academy’s weight even outside the chamber. The whole district felt expensive, controlled, and untouchable.

Only once they crossed back toward the more common area did the pressure ease. The streets grew noisier, the buildings less refined, and the air felt more like something ordinary people were allowed to breathe.

Martin did not miss the difference, and he suspected Cassandra hadn’t either.

Once they reached a more common area, she said goodbye to Martin.

He saluted. "Thank you for today!"

"It was my pleasure. I look forward to your development, Martin Ross," Cassandra said with a smile, then logged out.

The moment she disappeared, the space in front of him felt strangely empty.

Martin stayed where he was for a few seconds, staring at the spot she had left behind. Her laughter still did not fit cleanly in his head. Neither did the way she had looked at him after it, without the polished distance she usually wore in front of others.

He exhaled slowly.

Somehow, being useful to her had felt better than it probably should have.

There was no way he had the energy for anything demanding after that.

Instead, he went to pick up Ao Tenshin, gathered what he needed, and cooked some food for future runs. The simple routine helped settle him.

After that, he took Ao Tenshin to her favorite river. She immediately seemed more at ease there, lingering near the water with the kind of quiet contentment that made even the area feel calmer.

The river moved gently under the fading light, carrying soft reflections across its surface. Martin stood there longer than he had planned, listening to the water and letting the noise in his head slowly thin out.

For once, he did not try to sort everything immediately. The academy, Cassandra, the expansion, the spear, all of it could wait a little longer. Right then, quiet was enough.

Only after that small stretch of peace did he finally log out for the day.

That evening, he ate the food his mother had made, then leaned back and scrolled through social media on his phone. The news had already spread.

Post after post talked about guild expansion routes, territory claims, and which guilds were most likely to move first. Some people were already acting like the next era of the game had begun. Others argued over who actually deserved to be there.

Night Espresso was already in those conversations.

Martin stared at the screen a little longer. The spear had stopped feeling like rare loot the moment the academy recognized it. Now it felt more like a promise someone intended to collect.

Naturally, Cassandra had not wasted the chance to turn the moment into publicity. Her name and image kept resurfacing between clips, reposts, speculation threads, and bold predictions about what her guild would do next.

Mixed in with all that noise, ads kept sliding between the updates. One of them was for the upcoming movie.

Martin paused on it.

It caught his eye for two reasons. Cassandra had talked about how much pressure actors and directors were under now. The other reason was simpler. It was based on Chaos’s favorite novel.

He could already imagine how intense she would be about that.

Just then, he got a new friend request.

[ChaosgraphyMHAO has sent you a friend request.]

Speaking of the devil...

[You have accepted ChaosgraphyMHAO’s friend request.]

[ChaosgraphyMHAO: Hi, I never found a chance to add you on social media. Did you have fun with Cassandra?]

[MartinR: Not as much as you did... You are crazy.]

[ChaosgraphyMHAO: :laughingemoticon: Really? You haven’t seen me at my craziest. I’m ten minutes into this meeting and I’m already done. I hate how they keep intruding on my work and telling me to change this and that like they know it better than I do.]

[MartinR: Yeah, that sucks. Well, we might have a very exciting event coming up in the game soon. Get through this work stuff and come play tomorrow.]

[ChaosgraphyMHAO: Oh? Don’t tell me what it is yet. And speaking of the game, I have a request for you.]

[MartinR: Sure.]

[ChaosgraphyMHAO: My older sister wants to start playing Monster Hunter Academy Online too. Could you teach her the ropes tomorrow? I told her we need a healer, and she agreed.]

Martin narrowed his eyes. Another party member, and another woman?

He had expected that thought to annoy him, or at least make him wary. Instead, some tightness in his chest eased. A healer would help, obviously, but it was more than that.

The party growing felt right. Stable, somehow. Like Night Espresso was turning into something real enough to lean on.

He smiled.

[MartinR: Yeah, I don’t mind. Tell me her nickname.]