"…"
The sudden and unexpected question caused a deathly silence in the room. Most did not understand what Cassian was referring to, while others thought they had misheard him.
The woman seemed particularly confused, as of all the things she thought Cassian might say, she hadn't expected that, and she hadn't yet finished processing what it meant when Cassian continued with more...
"Any particular taste in men?"
"Huh...? Strong and intelligent, I suppose?"
"Hmm, I see. Do you mind if your partner is younger? Oh, but one thing first: could you say 'ara-ara' to check something?"
"Eh? 'Ara-ara'?"
"Yes, but now in a more seductive tone."
"Ara~ara."
The woman was so bewildered that she reflexively answered Cassian's nonsensical questions, but that only confused her even more.
Cassian seemed so serious with those questions that she didn't know if there was really anything important in all this.
"Good, perfect. Yes, as I thought, this is better than I imagined. Oh, but you didn't answer my questions from before: how willing are you to date someone younger than you? Hmm... You're older, right? No, wait, that's rude... isn't it?"
"..."
Focus, Cassian. Don't ask her strange questions, you've been preparing for this your whole life. Okay, come on, don't skip any steps. I was too impulsive before.
Besides feeling no danger, the real reason Cassian had gone ahead was because the woman was a seductive MILF, an embodiment of his preferences and just what he was looking for.
Well, as long as she was a very sensual mature woman, she was within Cassian's strike zone.
Not to mention that she was wearing something resembling a latex suit—something Cassian was very receptive to—he could easily overlook the extra legs and eyes.
He was very interested. Someone with such a mature aura couldn't be an enemy. That's why it was better to talk first. He was giving it his all on this opportunity that had presented itself, and he wanted to do it right.
"Your name... what is your name? Yes, we have to start from the beginning. Mine is Cassian."
"My name... well, it's—! No, wait, you brat... what's going on? I thought you would ask me things like 'why are you here?' or make some useless speech about 'why we shouldn't fight.' What the hell are you asking me? Also, in case it wasn't clear: I'm the enemy. You have to defeat me to pass the test!"
But unfortunately for Cassian, the woman finally recovered from her confusion and set the record straight.
"Huh!?"
"Don't give me that 'huh?!' as if you don't understand! Wasn't it obvious? I'm sure I said it a moment ago!"
"Oh, that's right... /_ \"
"Boy, you're strange. Well, let's get this started. I'll be the test before you guys—"
"Wait."
"Now what? I have a test to do... especially to you... Wait, I shouldn't have said that. Guy, forget what I said."
"It's okay, it doesn't matter. But just to confirm: you're not open to a relationship or anything like that?"
"Well... I wouldn't say that exactly. I've been single lately since my last boyfriend's stuff didn't work out and.... No!!!What the hell!!!Why do I keep letting myself get sucked into your pointless conversation, what's the point of all this, do you want to go out with me or something?"
"Well, if possible... yes."
"..."
Cassian thought that honesty was important in relationships, so he didn't hesitate to make his intentions clear. Courting was a new experience for him, but he wouldn't hesitate to do what he had to do to achieve it.
"Is that wrong?"
"...I don't know how the hell you want me to answer that... Let's stop talking nonsense. We're enemies here. Either you eliminate me, or I'll eliminate you from the test. No more, no less. Now, come at me with everything you've got. I'll be the—
"So there's no chance? /_ \"
"Damn it, boy!! No!!! I already said that either you eliminate me or I eliminate you! That's it!"
"There's no..."
"No!"
"Not even a little chance!?"
"No!"
"/_ \I understand. Mature women aren't easy... But honestly, I don't want to fight... What will happen if we defeat you? Will you die?"
"Why the hell are you worried about me? ... Damn it, what did I come here to do? Why did I have to run into this strange guy?..."
The woman seemed frustrated to the point that she scratched her head roughly, not understanding what the hell was going on.
Cassian was confusing her and distracting her from her goal in coming here, to the point that she seemed unsure of how to proceed.
"/_ \"
"I was supposed to be the one with no motivation! What the hell happened here!? Haah~…okay, I'll tell you: nothing will happen if you kill me. Do you understand if I tell you that right now I'm something like an avatar or a clone?"
"Oh! Even so, I don't feel like it...!"
"Damn it, enough! Be serious, boy!"
"/_ \"
"... Okay, I understand! You said you want something with me, right? Let's do this. If you want something to happen and for me to be interested in you, give it your best shot and defeat me! Then, if you succeed, what you want wouldn't be impossible—"
"Good! That's what I wanted to hear!!"
The moment Cassian heard that there was a chance, his sadness at the beautiful MILF's rejection vanished and he was filled with vigor.
He already knew what he had to do to have a chance: he had to give it his all, so he didn't hesitate for a second. His mind worked quickly, and he acted just as quickly.
"Go for it, Celes; I choose you! Use 'Dragon Roar'!!"
He grabbed Celestine, who was on top of him—no longer biting him, as she was also paying attention to the disconcerting and unexpected conversation—which Cassian took advantage of and threw her forcefully toward the woman.
"AAAHH!!!! Again! Damn you!!!"
A vengeful Celestine had been thrown again.
"Ugh!! I have no choice."
As she approached the woman Celestine, she felt that it was really dangerous: her instincts told her so.
So, even though she was angry, she did what Cassian had said: she opened her mouth and prepared to give it her best shot.
"Roar of the Ancestral Dragon!"
"Eh!?"
The spider woman didn't understand: she was there for a purpose that had been sidetracked by Cassian's strange questions.
Still, she was going to do her part. After motivating Cassian—and if that didn't work, she would do something more forceful—but she didn't expect Cassian to suddenly grab his partner and throw her.
Boommm!
This baffled her so much that she only reacted when the blue flames engulfed her. Although she wanted to act, it was too late: the explosion hit her full force, burning her and throwing her backward with great momentum.
Bang!!
She slammed hard against the wall.
"Oh, Yefeng! She seems to have given her all. Go fix her up.
"Huh!? Yes, I'm coming!"
"Ria, give me my strength potion and can you make me a spear? If it's very hard, even better."
"Yes... yes, a spear. Here you go."
The woman wasn't the only one confused: the rest of the group didn't understand anything about the exchange between Cassian and the woman, and they understood even less when, suddenly, there was a huge explosion.
Valeriane and Yefeng finally woke up when Cassian called them. Even so, they still didn't fully understand, but they complied with Cassian's requests anyway.
Yefeng went to help Celestine, who wasn't spreading her wings this time, and Veleriane gave her the potion that was stored in her artifact and then created a spear for Cassian.
"Ugh, this tastes awful....Well, she said it wouldn't matter if she died. So... okay, here I go."
Cassian took the spear Valeriane had created, spun around to gain momentum, and with all his strength—to the point that his veins bulged intensely—he threw it at the spot where the woman had fallen.
Swoosh! Bang!
"Good, right on the forehead."
With his excellent eyesight, Cassian observed the result of his throw: indeed, he had hit her forehead.
He had really made another discovery about himself today: he was very good at throwing things.
"Hmm, maybe I can still... Hey, Ria, can you make me a couple more? I think..."
RUMBLE! ... RUMBLE! ...
"Oh, forget it. Looks like we did defeat her... Do you think this impresses her? That I demonstrated my strength and intelligence? Well, she already said there was a possibility; now we just have to find her again."
She was a beautiful MILF and perfectly suited his tastes. It was like love at first sight, and with what she said, there was no need to worry: it wasn't her real body.
So he did what she wanted and finished her off quickly. Cassian thought that the faster he defeated her, the better impression she would have of him.
He didn't hold back and, in fact, defeated her in less than five seconds. The woman didn't even have time to defend herself or show what she was capable of, let alone put them to the test.
It wasn't a test at all.
"But what just happened? Oh wait, I know what you did, Cazzy: it was all part of your plan to confuse her, catch her off guard and defeat her quickly! You didn't even tell us anything to make the confusion more real. It's that thing about fooling your allies to fool the enemy. You're great, Cazzy.
"huh?, what nonsense are you talking about? I was being serious there. She fit my tastes perfectly. It was a shame that she was some kind of boss, but she herself said it would be okay, so it's fine."
"…"
Naelune, who had assumed that everything was a carefully crafted plan by Cassian, was once again taken aback by the harsh truth—things were as they seemed, and Cassian hadn't planned anything.
"Hmm, but it's true that I was wrong to act on my own. I got a little excited when I saw a beautiful MILF… I'm sorry, Ria."
"No, that was... um... Sir Cassian, I really don't know what to say... I guess you did a good job?"
"C-Cass... is that your type of woman? Did you like her?"
"Oh yes, she's exactly my type, as I said before."
"... I understand."
"No, don't just understand, little angel..Why don't him do a mental cleansing? Let's see if that woman didn't enchant him or something. He's always so stoic... it's the first time I've seen him excited about a woman, and she wasn't even that beautiful: she had those ugly legs and everything."
"Y-yes, purificatio mentis!"
"Hey, she was beautiful, even with extra legs and eyes! And I don't think I'm enchanted, so that won't work... Well, it's all over now anyway, it looks like we have to go upstairs.".
Cassian decided it was best not to pursue the subject and climb the stairs that appeared along with the hole in the ceiling they led to.
Besides, it's not like he only wanted a harem of MILFs. In fact, he had quite broad tastes.
But there definitely had to be one or two MILFs when he made his harem later.
He knew MILFs weren't easy to find, and this opportunity was so good that he temporarily put his current priorities aside.
In the end, according to him, he had a good result, which put him in a good mood. He hoped to see that MILF—whose name he never managed to get—very soon.
Now that he had calmed down a bit, he put his priorities back in order.
With the fall of Truck-Kun he had already accepted - albeit reluctantly - that 2D was no longer an option, but luckily even if it wasn't 2D there was a chance to go to another world.
For now, it was better to refocus: finish these tests, make the most of them, go back to helping Nora... and then go to another world to build his harem, without forgetting to find that MILF again.
yes, everything is fine.
With everything back in order, he began to climb the stairs.
.