The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the library, painting the shelves in hues of gold and amber. Luna sat behind the counter, her fingers tracing the edges of a well-worn romance novel—How to Win Over Your Fiancé's Heart.
She wasn't really reading, though, not now at least.
Her eyes flickered upward every few seconds, scanning the room like a nervous bird.
It's going to happen soon.
She swallowed hard, gripping the book tighter. She had rehearsed this moment in her head a hundred times, but now that it was approaching, her courage wavered. What if she messed up? What if—
Her thoughts scattered as the library doors creaked open.
Two figures stepped inside.
Amaniel, with his jet-black hair and ever-calm demeanor, led the way. Behind him loomed Zephyr, his sharp features and icy aura making the air around him feel several degrees colder.
Luna's breath hitched.
For a fleeting moment, Zephyr's gaze met hers. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she immediately looked down, pretending to be engrossed in her book.
Her cheeks burned.
Then, Aman's eyes found her.
He just winked at her.
It was just a quick, subtle gesture, but it was enough.
A silent reassurance: You've got this.
Luna inhaled deeply.
Right. I can't back out now.
The two approached the counter. Aman leaned against it casually, while Zephyr lingered a step behind, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
"Man, I heard there's going to be a ball this week," Aman sighed dramatically, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I have no one to go with. I'm just a transfer student—I don't know anyone aside from you guys. What a pain. Honestly, I wouldn't even go if it wasn't mandatory."
Luna blinked.
Was this part of the plan? Weren't lines a bit different?
Aman's eyes suddenly lit up, as if struck by inspiration. He leaned forward slightly. "Right, Miss Luna? You're free, aren't you?"
"Eh?!"
"Be my partner for the ball," he said, grinning. "You're pretty much the only girl I'm acquainted with here."
Luna's mouth opened, then closed.
Her fingers twisted in the fabric of her skirt. She could feel Zephyr's stare drilling into the side of her head.
"I—um—" she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Aman's eyes flickered toward her again, urging her on, but her courage crumbled. She clutched her book like a lifeline, her face heating up.
Just then—
"She's coming with me."
A cold, firm voice cut through the tension.
Luna's head snapped up. Zephyr stood there, his usual icy glare directed at Aman—but there was something else. A faint pink tinge on his cheeks.
Then, he turned to Luna.
"R-Right?"
His attempt at a smile was awkward, more like a grimace, but his eyes held an uncharacteristic softness.
Luna's lips parted in surprise.
And then—she smiled.
A bright, blissful smile, as if her deepest wish had just been granted.
"Um... yes," she whispered, nodding eagerly.
Aman watched the exchange with a knowing smirk before feigning shock. "O-Oh, sorry! I didn't know about that." He scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, I should've figured it out given how close you are. Not to mention the fact You two really resemble a couple."
"!" Luna's face turned scarlet.
"Cough-! Cough-!" "Zephyr cleared his throat loudly, shooting Aman a glare that could freeze lava.
Aman just winked at him.
"Then, I'll take my leave, then. See you guys tomorrow—ah, wait." He paused at the door, glancing back with a teasing grin. "If I get a partner, we'll go together to the ball. See you!"
And with that, he disappeared, leaving Luna and Zephyr standing in stunned silence.
Luna's heart raced. She dared a glance at Zephyr, only to find him already looking at her.
Their eyes met.
"..."
They stared at each other for a while, and as if realizing it, both turned away, Luna's face blushing like a red tomato while a hint of red could be seen at Zephyr's ears.
Unknown to the flustered pair at the counter, two figures lurked between the towering bookshelves, observing through the narrow gaps in the aged tomes.
Emerald-green eyes glowed faintly in the dim library light as Virion's forked tongue flickered in amusement. "I didn't think this simple trick would work out just fine," the primordial serpent chuckled, his voice barely a whisper in the quiet library.
Beside him, slate-gray eyes crinkled in satisfaction.
"People always reveal their true feelings when they think they might lose something and sometimes, the simplest tricks are the most effective," Aman murmured, recalling countless romance tropes from his memories. "All it takes is a little push—and the right timing."
Virion's wings rustled quietly as he opened a small portal in midair. "Your insight continues to surprise me, boy. And consider the favor repaid."
Aman shrugged, stepping toward the shimmering gateway he just used to enter the library. "Don't mention it. I would've done it even if you hadn't asked me."
Virion's emerald eyes gleamed knowingly. "Oh, I'm sure."
"Well then, I'll take my leave, thank you for the ride."
As Aman vanished through the portal—returning directly to his dorm room—Virion remained hovering in the library shadows. His emerald eyes lingered on the still-flustered librarian and her scowling scholar, his voice dropping to a whisper only the books might hear:
"You don't know how hard I've tried to make them notice..."
The primordial beast dissolved into the air like mist, leaving only a faint scent of ozone behind—and two oblivious lovebirds who had no idea they'd just been orchestrated by a background character and a mythical serpent.
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The familiar walls of his dorm room materialized around Aman as he stepped through the portal. He barely had time to take a breath when—
Ding!
A familiar chime echoed in his mind, followed by the appearance of a glowing blue window:
━━━━━━━━◆━━━━━━━━
[Scenario Completed: "The Winged Serpent's Matchmaking Scheme"]
▸ Achievements:
- Successfully triggered Zephyr's possessive instincts
- Created perfect conditions for them
- Earned Primordial Beast's favor (hidden)
Reward Granted: Shade-Tinted Glasses
━━━━━━━━◆━━━━━━━━
Aman blinked at the message, then snorted. "Aren't you a bit late? Or..." He paused, considering. "Ah. You didn't want to pop up while Virion was around, did you?"
The system, as usual, remained silent.
Shaking his head, Aman flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Well, whatever. Mission accomplished."
━━━◇◆◇━━━
[Title Earned: The Invisible Matchmaker]
You work in the spaces between glances, the moments when no one's watching. While others chase dramatic confessions, you engineer the perfect conditions for love to bloom naturally. Your greatest skill is making coincidence look like fate.
- The best puppeteer makes the strings invisible
━━━◇◆◇━━━
Oh, another title already?
But why do I need them if they give me no benefit?
Ding-!
━━━━━━━━◆━━━━━━━━
[Shade-Tinted Glasses]
Effect:
- Enables clear vision in darkness
Limitations:
- Cannot see in light
- Cannot be worn with other eyewear
━━━━━━━━◆━━━━━━━━
...
Another glasses?
Aman stared at the new glasses materializing in his hands, then glanced at the monocle sitting on his desk from a previous reward.
"Great," he muttered, holding up both items. "Now I can be blind in one eye and both eyes, depending on the lighting. What's next? A telescope that only works underwater?"
...
"Wait... That does sound useful..."
"As long as it's not a telescope...."