Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 860: Trouble Over Defeat

Not noticing Silvanaʼs embarrassment, Adam walked over to the bed and collapsed in the middle, his stomach down.

He buried his head into the soft pillow, only realizing after a while that Silvana continued to stand in the distance.

Half pulling his face out of the pillow, Adam slowly turned around meeting her gaze.

”Hmm? Whatʼs wrong? You donʼt want to sleep?”

Silvana flinched as she lowered her eyes.

”No, itʼs not that. Adam, doesnʼt it bother you that thereʼs only one bed? There must be some mistake.”

A mocking smirk slowly appeared on Adamʼs calm face.

”Hah, after everything thatʼs happened between us, are you embarrassed to sleep in the same bed? Straight up, Iʼm staying here, so either sleep on the floor or stop being shy like a child.”

Silvanaʼs eyes went wide in outrage as she clenched her fists tightly.

”You! How can you be so cruel to your Operator!?”

No response followed.

After a few moments, Silvana took a deep breath, knowing that there was no other choice.

”Fine, but...” she looked away, her face turning red, ”Donʼt even expect me to undress...”

Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion.

”Hmm? Why?”

Then, his eyes glazed over, he finally realized what was bothering Silvana.

”Well, this is unexpected. I didnʼt know you preferred to sleep naked.”

”Thatʼs not the point!”

”Hahaha, take your right side. You donʼt have to worry, I wonʼt disturb your sleep. Iʼm sure Iʼll fall asleep a lot faster than you will.”

With a short laugh, Adam rolled over to the left side of the bed, he was so full that he was too lazy to take off anything but his shoes.

Silvana snorted.

”Tsk, there should be pajamas here.”

Oddly enough, she wasnʼt wrong. Five minutes later, in her white pajamas, she carefully climbed under the spacious blanket.

Silvanaʼs heart was beating a little faster than usual, but she controlled her emotions.

ʼCalm down... Adamʼs right, thereʼs nothing wrong with this. After all, itʼs much better than sleeping on the floor.ʼ

With a slight shudder, Silvana turned around, deep inside afraid to see that all this time Adam had been staring at her.

But... Adam had his back turned to her. He didnʼt say anything, only his breathing, which was getting slower and slower.

After about ten minutes, when Adam was almost asleep and Silvana realized it, she bit her lip.

Full of uncertainty, Silvana slowly reached out her hand, a little more and her fingers would have touched Adamʼs shoulder.

At the last moment, Silvanaʼs eyes darkened as she shook her head.

Then, she pulled most of the blanket down over herself wanting to wrap herself up like a cocoon, and turned her back to him.

”Itʼs...” Silvana whispered inaudibly to the already snoring Adam, ”Thatʼs not what an Operator is supposed to do...”

Staring into the void for almost an hour, immersed in a chaos of thoughts and worries, Silvana gradually fell asleep.

...

For nobles, the morning at the Twilight Palace did not begin with breakfast, but with thinking about their actions.

Who will be my next opponent?

How can I best prove myself and earn five coins?

What do I do if I donʼt have the right to lose anymore?

Everyoneʼs situation was different. After all, if a nobleman went to the Twilight Palace and came out with zero coins, it meant that among his peers, he was the worst of the worst.

No nobleman, especially from a great family, wanted this disaster to happen. But... for someone to win, there must always be someone to lose.

On this side, Adam and Silvana were different.

Not twenty minutes after their awakening they were at the café, two cups of freshly brewed coffee and sweets brightening their morning.

With a slight crunch, Adam took a bite of a cookie.

”Damn, not that I ever chased luxury but these beds... Iʼve never slept so well! That mattress, itʼs just a miracle. I wonder how much they cost.”

Adam took a large sip, draining a third of his cup.

Silvana in turn nodded. The jets from the hot coffee passed in front of her serene face, hiding her slightly grim look.

”Yes, I felt it too. After all, although not all expensive things justify their price, itʼs not always a deception. Sometimes, the price matches the quality and in that case, if the price is high, youʼre getting something truly worthy in exchange.”

After a few seconds, without raising her eyes, she added:

”What are you going to do next? Iʼm sure youʼre not going to stay here for comfy beds and free coffee.”

A gleam passed across Adamʼs eyes as a satisfied smirk appeared on his face.

”Hah.”

He crossed his arms over his chest leaning back in his chair.

”Well, my plan is pretty simple - wait.”

”Hmm? Just wait?”

Doubt could be felt in Silvanaʼs voice.

”Donʼt you think thatʼs a bit of an unreliable plan? I understand that you want to lose two more times, but wouldnʼt it be better to just offer to fight someone in that case?”

”Meh.” Adam waved his hand carelessly, ”Those arrogant nobles think they can easily defeat me, that Iʼm a quick way for them to get coins. And, theyʼre not wrong. Youʼll see, before lunchtime comes, theyʼll offer me a fight. Weʼll be out of here by evening!”

...

Thus passed two days.

On the morning of the third day, Adam and Silvana were in the same cafe. They were silent, both had frowns.

In all this time, not a single nobleman had approached Adam and challenged him to a fight, though he had expected that there would be plenty of willing combatants like Spiro.

Moreover, several times Adam tried to challenge the nobles to fight himself, but they just walked away as if not noticing him. It was a complete ignore.

”Hmm...” Adam hummed, ”Maybe Andreas didnʼt tell us something? This whole thing is kind of weird. Donʼt they want coins? I have two more!”

With a heavy sigh, Silvana looked at him.

”Adam, I think this is all about your defeat.”

He gave her a baffled expression.

”Hmm? How is that related?”

Drumming on the table, she nodded.

”Directly. I should clarify, though. Itʼs not that you lost, itʼs that you gave up without a fight... Iʼm afraid weʼre in big trouble now.”