The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 97: Peculiar

"This is...?" Neraxis couldn’t help but voice his thoughts, a small frown on his face.

"A strawberry smoothie," the head waiter affirmed.

Yet that did not exactly ease his confusion.

"Yes, I can see that," Neraxis said, grabbing a straw. "But why are there two straws and only a single smoothie?"

"Oh!" the waiter said with an understanding look. "This is called a milkshake for two, one of Madam Sophia’s ideas as well."

I don’t even know what to say.

[Just drink it with her, it’s no big deal,] Evangeline commented with a chuckle, making his brow rise.

This is a dinner that has turned into somewhat of a date, but do you think a two-straw smoothie as the first thing on the table isn’t a red flag? Neraxis replied and placed his attention back on the waiter.

"Can we get—"

However, before he could finish speaking, Celina interjected. "Thank you. Please let us drink in peace now."

It was a surprising amount of authority he did not expect to hear from someone like her.

"Yes, miss. We will reveal the next dish after you finish," the head waiter said with a curt bow and soon departed, the remaining waiters following swiftly behind him.

"Celina?" Neraxis couldn’t help but question.

But it did not seem like she was bothered that much. She still had the same beautiful smile on her face that hadn’t dimmed in the slightest.

"It’s okay, I don’t mind it," she stated with a giggle, making his eyes widen.

And soon, she placed her lips onto one of the straws before beginning to drink the smoothie.

But not even a moment later, he could see her expression softening as she stared back into his eyes.

"It’s delicious. You should try it."

"I will..." Neraxis replied with an equally soft smile and soon took a sip of the smoothie.

Its taste was surprisingly rich—not something he would expect from a mere smoothie.

Yet while he was lost in those thoughts, Celina brought her face closer, taking a sip at the same time as him.

He was flustered, but he didn’t let it show on his face, so he continued sipping until the two had finished half of the smoothie before leaning back into their chairs.

"Hey, Neraxis?" Celina said, curiosity in her tone.

Noticing this, he nodded back at her. "What’s up?"

Despite his affirmation, she remained quiet for a moment, making his heartbeat slightly increase.

"Why do you avoid me at the academy?"

Her tone held a certain sadness, which he couldn’t quite understand.

After all, Neraxis hadn’t thought he was avoiding her.

However, as his thoughts swirled around, his eyes narrowed by the second, and soon, he could make out some moments where he might have avoided her.

But in all honesty, there was not much to it.

"Your grandpa, the headmaster, is a scary individual in my opinion. Plus, each time I talk with you, he mentions it back to me," Neraxis explained with an apologetic sigh. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come off as me hating you."

"Don’t worry," she assured with a faint giggle. "You don’t come off as a person who would hate just anyone—though I could be wrong?"

"You aren’t. There are only a few people I truly hate in this world," Neraxis answered matter-of-factly.

"And that guy from before was one of them?" she probed with curiosity.

He was hesitant to tell her at first, but seeing the genuine interest, as well as her warm smile, put him at ease—even if only a little.

"You are right. He is someone I hold a deep grudge against."

"I see," Celina said with a slightly longing smile before looking off to the side. "Have you heard about the individual called Monster Warper?"

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Tilting his head to the side, he replied, "I believe I have heard of him. He is someone with some sort of warping skill that makes him act as a rift exit for monsters or something along those lines. Why?"

"He’s my father," Celina stated, making his eyes go wide again.

But then, he was unsure how to console her. Even if he did not exactly bring up such a topic, it was likely not something they should talk about during a date.

Before he could say anything, she continued. "He was just an ordinary man at first. He hung out a lot with both me and Mom, but one day, it all just went to... hell."

At her words, he could see her eyes slightly growing redder.

"I just can’t understand... Why? Why did he do what he did? Was there some grand reason where he had to kill everyone—even his family?"

"Celina," Neraxis interjected. "You sound like you are blaming yourself. Why?"

It was something he had taken note of the last time they talked, but even now, it was this unshakable feeling that he could not quite understand.

His question seemed to startle her, as she stared back at him with a puzzled look.

"Huh? Well... I’m not sure, but maybe if I were a better daughter—"

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"Stop..." Neraxis immediately cut her off. "You are great as you are, and a situation like that couldn’t have been avoided, even if you had gotten good grades during elementary school or something."

He tried lightening up the mood a bit, which seemed to work, as a faint smile tugged at her face.

"People like that... while some are fueled by hatred of the world, others are driven by sheer ambition for power..." He stopped himself, letting out a sigh. "Sorry, I rambled a bit."

"No, it’s fine," Celina assured him with a giggle. "I like it, and I understand what you mean as well... I just don’t really know much, I think?"

"You’ll find out eventually," Neraxis added, earning a lighthearted nod from her.

But her next words—he was not exactly expecting.

"Will you help me? If I am ever in trouble?" she asked with curiosity.

And since it already coincided with his interest, it did not take long for Neraxis to reply.

"I’m someone who tends to repay my debts, and I still haven’t repaid the debt for you taking care of me before the academy started. Thank you for that, by the way."

"That sounds stupid," Celina said with a low chuckle. "I didn’t help you because I wanted something in return, so you shouldn’t, either."

"It sounds to me like you don’t want me to help you?" Neraxis pointed out with a raised brow.

"I guess not... I don’t know if I want to involve people in my stupid revenge plan..." she trailed off. "You know what? Just forget about it. It doesn’t matter."

A faint smile tugged at his lips. So she’s trying to put it behind her, exactly like I did.

Nonetheless, if she went down this path alone—facing the Eternal Night organization alone—she would die without a doubt.

That was why... "Celina, I’ll help you with your so-called stupid plans—if you’ll let me."

"You don’t have to repay your debts, silly," she murmured, looking down.

However, his next words made her eyes shoot directly toward his.

"I’m not helping you because of that. I don’t want you dying because you were too careless, so let me carry the burden with you," Neraxis stated seriously, watching as her eyes progressively widened more and more.

"...Promise?" Celina muttered in a low voice.

Stretching out his pinky finger and wrapping it around hers, which was holding the straw, he replied, "I promise."