Divine-Class Awakening: I Can Steal From Gods! Chapter 83: Red-Haired Girl, White-Haired Boy [II]

He picked up the fork at last and cut into the food with more suspicion than hunger. It tasted better than he wanted it to. Naturally.

Vivienne watched him take the first bite and rested her chin lightly on two fingers. "See? Progress. A few more dinners and you may even start acting civilized."

Neo lowered the fork. "A few more comnts like that and I’ll start charging by the minute."

"Good. I’d hate for you to undervalue yourself."

That answer ca out so smoothly it almost annoyed him more than the original jab.

He ate another bite anyway, more to avoid giving her the satisfaction of interrupting him than because he cared about the food. Across from him, Vivienne remained exactly as she had been since he sat down, perfectly at ease in a room built to make everyone else feel smaller.

Neo let the fork rest against the plate and t her stare again.

"I ca because you offered money and because I wanted to know what you wanted. That’s all."

"Not curiosity about ?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Not enough to co for free."

A quiet laugh slipped from her. "That’s honest."

"You keep sounding surprised."

"I am." She folded one hand over the other and studied him with open interest. "Most people don’t speak to like this."

"That sounds like your problem."

"It usually is."

The answer arrived clean enough to stop him for a beat.

She was irritating. More than that, she was difficult in a way he still hadn’t managed to pin down properly. Not because she hid everything. Because she chose what to show with too much care. A smile when she wanted rhythm. A softer tone when she wanted to lean the conversation sowhere else. A sharper line when she wanted to see whether he’d flinch.

’I really don’t understand this woman. I can’t stand her.’

Neo set the fork down.

"You didn’t clear out a restaurant floor and send a giant to drag up here because you enjoy my company," he said. "So say it."

Vivienne did not answer imdiately. She let the silence stretch just enough to show she had noticed the shift and did not mind it.

"I wanted to see you outside the Breach."

Neo’s expression didn’t move. "That’s not enough."

"No," she said. "It isn’t."

He waited.

Vivienne rested one elbow against the chair and turned the glass a fraction with her fingertips. "Do you know what most people looked like when they ca out of that place?"

Neo said nothing.

"Broken," she answered for herself. "Terrified. Empty. So of them were crying without realizing it. So barely understood they were out." Her attention fixed on him again. "You looked tired. Dirty. Irritated. That was unusual."

Neo’s face stayed flat. "Glad I made an impression."

"You did."

Vivienne let that sit between them for a breath before the edge in her smile softened into sothing lighter. She leaned back in her chair, crossed one leg over the other, and turned the stem of the glass slowly between her fingers.

"Well," she said, one shoulder lifting with easy grace. "I think I’ve enjoyed myself a little." Her mouth curved again, less sharp this ti. "You struck as curious. You saved from that lich in the Breach. And I want you to answer a few questions."

Neo watched her without touching the food again.

Vivienne tilted her head just slightly, red hair slipping over one shoulder. "Also," she added, almost lazily, "I’d like us to be good friends."

Neo stared at her for a long beat.

"I don’t think that sentence ans the sa thing to you as it does to normal people."

A quiet laugh escaped her. "Maybe not."

"Definitely not."

Vivienne’s smile widened by a fraction. "See? This is exactly why I invited you."

Neo clicked his tongue and leaned back a little farther in the chair. The city burned below them, reflected in the glass behind her, all that gold and white light making the red of her dress stand out even more. She looked perfectly at ease saying insane things over a table that probably cost more than his apartnt.

’This woman is unbelievable.’

He folded one arm across his stomach and tapped once against the table with the other hand. "You paid a hundred thousand Origin Points to ask questions and declare friendship at ."

"When you say it like that, it sounds charming."

"It sounds untrustworthy."

Vivienne gave a small nod, as though conceding a point she had never intended to defend. "Fair."

She lifted the glass, took a small sip, and lowered it again. "Still, the offer stands."

Neo’s expression stayed flat. "You don’t know ."

"You don’t know either."

"I know enough."

That got sothing more genuine out of her, not laughter exactly, but amusent with a little weight to it. She rested her chin against two fingers and studied him again, as if he were becoming more interesting the longer he refused to make anything easy.

"And what is it you know?" she asked.

"That you enjoy cornering people. That you like hearing yourself talk. That you’re used to getting what you want." Neo paused, eyes on her face. "And that when you say sothing simple, there’s usually another reason underneath it."

Vivienne did not answer imdiately.

The smile remained, though quieter now, less playful, more asured.

"That’s not bad," she said at last. "Especially for soone who claims not to care."

Neo let out a dry breath through his nose. "I care about not walking blind into things."

"A good habit."

"So ask."

Her brows lifted. "Just like that?"

"You dragged here, changed my clothes, fed expensive food, and spoke in circles for half the evening." He gave the smallest motion with his hand, impatient rather than rude. "Ask."

Vivienne held his gaze another mont, as if deciding whether to keep playing or reward him for the directness.

This ti, she chose the second.

"Fine," she said softly. "Then let start with an easy one."

She leaned forward slightly, silver pendant catching the light at her throat.

"Tell what Leo did inside the breach."