Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 78: Hooked

"I’ve received the invitation, Martin. It is Night Espresso, yes?" Crimson Halo asked.

"Yeah. Join, and we’ll head in together," Martin replied.

"Very well. Give me a moment," Crimson Halo said.

It is Cassandra’s guild. She always appears cold and in control, but I have noticed a softness in her whenever our paths crossed. Could I somehow push Martin toward her and then use Cassandra to reveal his real identity? She is thorough enough to have already checked his real name, job, and status, but she is not the type to reveal her cards before she must.

[You have joined Night Espresso.]

"There. I have joined," Crimson Halo said, setting aside her thoughts and plans.

"Great, let’s go," Martin said with a smile.

Without wasting time, Martin led his new companion to the dungeon he already knew well. The spawn point looked almost too peaceful, with quiet grass, scattered trees, and pale light filtering through the branches. Only the bark gave it away. Every now and then, one trunk seemed to tense ever so slightly, like muscle gathering under skin.

It was calm and serene, but Martin knew Wooden Wolves were waiting for the perfect moment to peel themselves away from the trees and attack.

He raised his hand to stop Crimson Halo from wandering too far from him.

"Not there," he said. He stepped closer, then pointed past her shoulder toward a thicker cluster of trees. "Stand where you can still see me, but do not give the wolves a straight path to you. If you panic and hide too deep, you lose sight of my HP bar. If you stand too wide, they peel off and get to you too fast."

Crimson Halo followed the line of his hand, then moved a little to the side anyway, choosing a spot with a cleaner view of him and slightly less cover.

Martin’s eyes shifted to her at once.

"That one is worse," he said.

Crimson Halo turned her head back toward him, mild surprise written across her face with almost suspicious smoothness. "Is it?"

"You can see me better from there," Martin said, "but they can reach you faster too. You picked comfort over safety."

For the first time, a more openly pleased look touched her eyes.

"How observant."

Martin only pointed back to the earlier position. "Stand there." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Very gently, Crimson Halo obeyed.

He reacted without hesitation and corrected me without the slightest awkwardness. He noticed immediately and did not sound offended at all. How interesting.

"Exactly."

"How demanding," she murmured, though there was quiet approval in her voice.

Martin ignored that. "The moment you heal me, some of their attention will swing toward you. That is normal. What matters is whether you are already in a spot that lets you react before they do."

"I understand," Crimson Halo said with a mild nod. "Then I will leave myself in your hands for the moment, so do guide me properly."

Martin nodded with a content smile. He liked that she didn’t waste time complaining. There was also a bright edge in her orange eyes, the same one Chaosgraphy had. It was a spark of competition, a need to prove herself, and he liked it more than he should have.

Crimson Halo stood behind him and waited for her turn. People reveal their true selves under pressure. Those monsters are nothing to him, so I should see whether I will enjoy this game the way Alex does. If I do, becoming her permanent teammate may not be a bad arrangement at all.

After Martin moved ahead and drew the wooden monsters out of the trees toward his side, Crimson Halo ran over and hid behind a tree. This spot should be safe. No wolf peeled off this one. But the graphics are remarkable. It feels as though I am standing in the middle of something real. Everything is too vivid. No wonder directors are already thinking about contacting guilds for land to shoot movies on.

She pushed those thoughts aside and looked at the icon in front of her.

It was Martin’s status bar, along with his buffs and everything else.

The hovering display still felt intrusive to her, as though she were staring too closely at someone who had not invited it. But Martin had insisted that an Oracle needed to watch those details without hesitation. Right now, his bar glowed green in front of her, steady and unmistakable. He was within range.

This feels almost indecent. Is this truly how healers watch over people?

Just then, Martin’s health dropped below seventy percent.

Crimson Halo looked at the icon for her Heal skill and extended her hand toward him. A warm light wrapped around him and restored his health to full.

At the same time, Crimson Halo felt the wild monsters’ attention snap toward her so suddenly that her breath caught.

She spun behind the trunk as fast as she could, her heart jumping once, hard and sharp, in a way no rehearsed stage fright had managed in years.

My. That was startling, but I can see the thrill in it already.

Then something clamped onto her calf.

The shock of it went straight through her.

It was warm, throbbing, and invasive. Not true pain, not exactly, but far too convincing for comfort.

Crimson Halo looked down and saw the Wooden Wolf biting into her leg, and for one dangerous instant all her poise nearly cracked.

Both hands flew to her mouth before any sound could escape.

Do not scream. Keep your dignity. If you lose yourself this quickly in front of him, he will remember it forever. Hold steady. This is only a monster made of code. This is not real life. I am perfectly fine.

BANG!

Martin came in from the side so fast that she only caught the final step. One moment the wolf was latched onto her leg, and the next his sword had already driven through its body. He twisted the blade with efficient force, calm and exact, and the monster burst apart into drifting particles before she had even fully processed that he was there.

For a brief moment, he remained close, close enough that she could see how steady his eyes were when he looked up at her.

He smiled as though saving her had been the simplest thing in the world.

How troublesome. A careless fraud would have panicked, shown off, or lectured. He did none of those things. He moved too quickly, judged the situation too cleanly, and looked far too steady afterward. That does not help his case at all.

Martin said, "Good job. You didn’t scream, so the other wolves didn’t rush you. It’s your first time, but you held it in. That’s Chaos’ older sister for you. Next time, move sooner, though. Anyway, want to keep going?"

This time, Crimson Halo was utterly speechless. I see. There is no prepared script here, and there is no arrangement to rely on. I have to find my footing inside the flow of it and shape my own rhythm as it comes. Is that why you like this game so much, Alex? I can see the appeal.

Crimson Halo said nothing. She only steadied herself and looked past Martin into the forest ahead, where danger waited in silence between the trees.

Then her gaze shifted back to him.

He had seen her lose composure for a moment.

He had stepped in without hesitation, corrected her without cruelty, and gone right back to business as though nothing about her was enough to shake his balance.

That, more than anything, intrigued her.

"I would like another try," she said at last, her voice smooth and composed again.