"Miss Misteln!"
Misteln smiled and nodded at Susannah and Jun An, then looked towards Susannah's father. "Sir, regarding what just happened, I assure you, the Captain absolutely did not obtain this money through improper means." Misteln said, "Perhaps because he's too playful, he probably never revealed his position to you."
Susannah's father looked at Jun An with even more confusion. What position could a brat who looks eleven or twelve but is actually in his early twenties hold to earn three hundred million?
"You should just tell me directly, Miss Hare. My knowledge is limited, I probably can't guess." Susannah's father said seriously, "You were once Mr. Chen Tianwu's colleague. I trust your judgment." Out of respect and trust for Chen Tianwu's extraordinary nature, Susannah's father was willing to trust the woman before him.
"You should remember the former hero of Schicksal, right? The only male among the few S-ranks." Misteln directly exposed Jun An's identity, saying, "The sole Captain of the Hyperion, Jun An. Although he perished in that battle, it was actually just a cover for carrying out secret operations."
"And this salary of his is all bounty earned through his own efforts fighting against Herrschers. I assure you, the source of these funds is absolutely clean." Anyway, with Jun An's strength, even if the source were dubious, he could easily launder it.
After hearing this, Susannah's father couldn't help but be stunned, but then suddenly felt everything made sense.
Jun An also added, "After all, the matter of my return is considered classified. Please understand."
Susannah's father nodded. "Alright, since I was already planning to sell her off if you had fifty cents, then I wish you two have fun."
"Mmph! Dad, believe it or not, I'll go protest to Mom!"
"Th-That won't do!" Susannah's father instantly softened. "Alright, my little Susannah, didn't I know you liked him, which is why I didn't make any demands on him?"
"See, Dad values your happiness so much. Shouldn't you also fulfill Dad's happiness? Let's benefit each other, okay?" Susannah's father coaxed Susannah for quite a while before finally going off to drink and talk business with others.
After shooing her father away, Susannah looked at Jun An apologetically. "Sorry, my dad is just that kind of person. Senpai, please don't mind."
"No, I actually think this is very good." Jun An couldn't help saying, "Your father truly loves you very much." Jun An could see that the real meaning behind his earning money was indeed to make his family happy, especially Susannah. Even knowing Jun An had no money, he was willing to let them be together, only worrying about Jun An's character when he seemed to "have too much." He wasn't afraid of his daughter finding someone foolish, just afraid of her meeting someone bad. And after confirming Jun An's character, he tactfully didn't ask further questions and immediately let go.
"I kind of knew that too." Susannah naturally knew her family loved her, but sometimes this love and expectation also felt a bit heavy, like her mom often urging her to inherit the family business.
Susannah looked towards her father and happened to see the Chen Tianwu couple toasting him. As a girl, her gaze quickly shifted to the bride. Chen Tianwu's...
"So beautiful... If only I could wear a wedding dress like that too!" While Susannah looked envious, she couldn't help but glance at Jun An, only to find Jun An staring straight at her. The thin-skinned Susannah immediately became fidgety. "Senpai, what are you looking at me for?"
"You just mentioned wearing a wedding dress. Do you simply want to wear a wedding dress, or do you hope someone will let you wear a wedding dress?"
"Eh?!" Susannah instantly became flustered. "Senpai, why are you asking this? Me... Of course, of course it's..."
"Captain, teasing Susannah like this isn't very nice, you know." Suddenly, a voice interrupted Jun An's teasing of Susannah. Looking over, it was indeed the long-unseen Misteln.
"It's fun." Jun An stated his scumbag remark without hesitation. After all, such pure and lively girls were rare.
"Senpai!" Susannah immediately looked at Jun An reproachfully. "You were just playing with me for fun!"
Misteln came to the rescue, "Psychology suggests that boys express affection by teasing girls. It seems the operation was very successful, Susannah."
Jun An: "Operation?"
"Eh!! Of- Of course it was very successful!!" Susannah immediately bristled upon hearing the word "operation" and explained, "W-We were talking about the operation to save Salt Snow Holy City!"
"Hmm? But I was talking about the operation on how to capture the Captain." Misteln ruthlessly exposed Susannah's lie. "Susannah, you don't need to be shy. After all, the Captain made similar preparations. Just like how our side chose the 'pure' tactic for the experienced Captain, the Captain chose the 'mature' tactic for the kind and naive Susannah."
"...Am I right, Captain?"
"Eh! Senpai also..." Susannah instantly understood. "No wonder Senpai was so serious today!"
"That's because Susannah is worth the Captain making such an effort." Misteln sat down next to Jun An without hesitation, getting very close. Due to the height difference, her huge spheres were almost touching Jun An's face.
"Misteln?" Although Jun An wasn't averse, he still felt it was a bit sudden.
Misteln then leaned close to Jun An's ear, her warm breath tickling his skin. "(Whispering) But even so, seeing the Captain try so hard for another girl, I get jealous too, you know~"
However, before Jun An could react, Susannah forcefully pulled him into her embrace, this time giving him an authentic face full of cleavage.
"Mmph~ Miss Misteln! It's my turn now, please don't interfere, okay!" Susannah hugged the boy in her arms tightly, annoyed. "Today, Senpai is my boyfriend! You're not allowed to be so intimate with other girls!" It seemed after receiving the "betrothal gift," Susannah had become somewhat assertive.
Clang!
The sound of a plate falling instantly attracted the attention of Jun An, Susannah, and Misteln. Looking over, they saw a woman with long chestnut hair, pink eyes, and a blue-purple hairpin on the left side of her hair.
"Y-You are!!!" Anna Schariac covered her mouth in disbelief. "No, how could you..."
Jun An looked at the girl who seemed about to cry and waved directly at her. "Long time no see, Anna."
Anna Schariac, Chen Tianwu's original CP. In the original story, she met Chen Tianwu due to the Great Eruption in Manila, and then due to a series of cliché plots, the two enacted an even more cliché drama. Jun An really couldn't stand watching it, so he directly went to Manila under the pretext of support, rescued Chen Tianwu's sister Chen Tianwen, and afterwards helped the Snow Lotus squad deal with the Honkai spread.
Of course, the main reason Jun An did this was actually fear that Chen Tianwu would follow the original plot, find Anna, and create the Herrscher of Rimestar Ice. Although the Herrscher of Rimestar Ice still appeared in the end due to unavoidable reasons, the storyline had changed because of this. Chen Tianwu sparked something with a member of the Snow Lotus squad during the evacuation, perfectly missing the plotline with Anna and directly replacing her role. And Anna, although she lost her CP, her life was saved, and she had a decent relationship with Jun An.
After quite a while of comforting, Anna finally regained her composure, and Jun An roughly explained the matter of his death and resurrection.
"So that's how it is," Anna visibly sighed in relief. "I originally just came to attend the wedding with my squad member Nana, I didn't expect to meet you again... Really, that's wonderful."
"No need to be so dramatic, right?" Although Jun An had a decent relationship with Anna, it was limited to just that.
"Of course, it's necessary! I still have so many things I didn't get to say to you, I didn't even get to thank you properly!" Anna approached Jun An emotionally. "To this day, I still remember the warmth of your hand back then... If it wasn't for you, I would have..."
"Wow, sounds so romantic!" Susannah instantly imagined a hero-saves-beauty scene where the Captain pulled Anna out of an ice cave.
Meanwhile, Jun An's memory involved directly inserting his hand into her chest cavity and then bloodily ripping out the Herrscher of Ice core...
"Everyone, please be seated!" Suddenly, the emcee announced, "Next, please enjoy the photo album of the groom and bride's acquaintance..."
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Misteln vacated the seat next to Jun An. "Miss Anna, since you have so much to say to the Captain, why don't you sit here?"
"Eh? Is it okay?" Anna looked at her somewhat gratefully, while Susannah was surprised by Misteln playing matchmaker, even though she also had feelings for the Captain.
"Of course, it's fine." Misteln practically pushed Anna into the seat next to Jun An. "As for me, I'll just sit opposite the Captain."
"Mm, then thank you." Anna didn't expect this person she just met to be so friendly.
Jun An, however, didn't understand what scheme she was hatching, but remembering that Misteln's favorite pastime was indeed playing matchmaker, he didn't think much of it. For now, it was better to watch the journey of this couple he had unintentionally brought together.
The lights dimmed, and photos of Chen Tianwu and the girl named Nana were projected onto the screen one by one. Just as Anna and Susannah both wanted to take advantage of this warm atmosphere to touch Jun An's hand and satisfy their own little thoughts, Misteln also began to touch Jun An.
However, not with her hands, but with her feet. Her long, slender legs reached across the rectangular table towards Jun An. She had slipped off her sandals, and her toes were as nimble as human fingers. Under the rendering of the moving music and touching images and videos, everyone's attention was captivated, no one noticing the zzzzla sound of metal rubbing against fabric.
Jun An, trapped with beauties on both sides and no way to retreat, broke into a cold sweat looking at Misteln. Misteln, however, simply smiled at Jun An, bringing a finger close to her lips in a "shush" gesture. Her lips parted, as if mouthing, "I told you, I get jealous too~"