The evening had settled into a quiet lull. City lights glimred faintly in the distance, but here, in a secluded clearing beyond the roads, there was only the hush of wind through the trees. The last remnants of their long day clung to the air—laughter from crowded streets, the faint echo of music from the amusent park, the warmth of a al shared in disguise.
Freya leaned back in the passenger seat of the borrowed car, her silver hair tad beneath the holographic veil that made her appear strikingly normal rather than otherworldly. Her gaze flicked toward Luthar, who drove with the sa calm precision he had displayed throughout the day, his tailored crimson garnt absorbing the dim glow of the setting sun. The subtle shimr of his holographic mask softened the chanical harshness beneath, hiding the scars that might have unsettled anyone else.
"I still can't believe it," she said at last, her tone caught sowhere between amusent and disbelief. "You actually accepted my request. The man who spent weeks inside a room modifying people's brains… now going on a date like any other person."
Luthar's hands remained on the wheel, but his posture was relaxed, shoulders squared.
"I have already achieved my earlier goals—securing the ans to travel between worlds, surrounding myself with beautiful companions and having ti to make discoveries without restrictions. With achieving all this, I can afford occasionally to take breaks."
Freya's brow arched. "Taking occasional breaks… that sounds like a miracle for you."
The car ca to a smooth stop in a quiet clearing, shielded from any prying eyes. Luthar killed the engine, and at last, his hands were free. The silence stretched between them, the air filled with only the gentle rustle of leaves. Freya pushed open the door and stepped out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she took in the secluded scene.
For a mont, neither moved. Then Freya reached out for the faint shimr around Luthar's face. The holographic veil flickered and dissolved, revealing the truth beneath: ruined flesh, one burning organic eye paired with a cold chanical twin. It was not a face ant to charm, but it was unmistakably him. Yet she did not flinch.
"Well," she murmured, studying him openly, "it doesn't look good, but at least it's better than the tal face ." She leaned in, closing the last inches between them. "But it's you. It's good enough."
Luthar's hand shot up, swift and certain, catching her wrist before she could move closer. The other hand seized the discarded device from her grip, the hologram flickering back into place as if he were rearming a shield.
"Not yet," he said firmly, the edge more restraint than anger. "Wait until I've… made myself presentable."
Freya watched him, expression unreadable for a heartbeat. Then she laughed lightly, the sound neither cruel nor mocking—simply knowing. She stepped back, folding her arms.
"That's new," she said, tilting her head, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. "I didn't expect you to care so much about what you look like."
Luthar adjusted the holographic mask, his movents precise, though a flicker of tension betrayed him. "Appearance matters more than I usually admit." He glanced at the mask, considering briefly that going out without armor was a good move, then returned his focus. "I could cover myself with synthetic skin, but what I really want is my own. I don't want a kiss under circumstances where I don't even look good."
Freya smirked, stepping closer again but keeping just enough distance to respect his boundaries. "Fair enough, Machine Priest. But for not getting my kiss, I expect this date to go a little longer."
Luthar inclined his head slightly, a silent acknowledgnt, before motioning toward the car. "Then we can go shopping and have a late-night dinner."
She slid back into the passenger seat, adjusting the holographic veil over her own face, and a few monts later Luthar also settled into the driver's seat, his posture precise even in the casual setting. With a subtle movent, he retrieved the small notepad from the inner pocket. The evening light caught the edge of the paper as he flipped to the current page.
His gaze scanned the list quickly—lakes, urban landmarks, lunch, amusent park, shopping, hotel. With a careful pen stroke, he circled "shopping" and crossed out "going to the hotel," since the plan was created by the female agents. It had so extra things which he didn't plan to follow for now.
Freya watched him, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Crossing out the most fun part… are you really that shy?" she asked, her voice teasing, a playful lilt in every word.
Luthar's head tilted slightly, his eyes flicking up from the notepad. "Just adjusting to the situation," he replied evenly. "After all, we still need to know about each other before taking the next step."
Freya smiled, leaning back in her seat. "So no hotel till we have more feelings for each other?"
"Not expecting so heart-touching love, but at least we need to like each other before the next step," Luthar said, the corner of his mask hinting at a subtle smirk beneath the holographic shimr. He slid the notepad back into his pocket, secured his seatbelt, and started the engine. The car humd softly as they rged onto the road, heading toward the shops.
While they continued their date, back at the base Natasha was sending out her final report to Fury. The screen glowed with ticulous details—an assessnt of Luthar's recent takeover of the forr Red Room. She had pointed out all the personnel and the new chain of command.
Fury leaned back, rubbing his temples, a faint headache pressing at his skull. "Is there anything special about the Red Room? Last ti I checked, they were just a bunch of agents." His voice trailed off as he scanned the details Natasha had compiled.
Natasha's tone was calm but firm. "Nothing special has been noted, Director. Luthar now controls the facility while the agents are just decent enough. But there seems to be a plan for new training."
Fury exhaled sharply. "New training? More like a crash course in how to run the world. I don't see why anyone would bother retraining elite agents unless they're trying to reinvent the whole damn system. Every ti I think things are finally settling down, soone decides to change the rules again."
Before Fury could respond further, Coulson stepped forward, a slim dossier in hand. His expression was calm, but there was weight in his eyes. "Sir. You'll want to see this."
Fury took the file without a word, flipping it open. Lines of terse intel stared back at him—unusual internal movents, unexplained shifts in resources, missing scientists.
He let out a low growl, snapping the folder shut. "Great. Exactly what I needed—another headache dressed up as intelligence."
Coulson didn't flinch. "It may just be noise. But if it isn't…" he let the sentence trail off deliberately, giving Fury the space to finish the thought.
Fury leaned back in his chair, irritation simring in every line of his posture. "If it isn't, then it's one more fire waiting to burn down the world." He dropped the file on the table with a flat smack. "Tell , Coulson, are we running an agency or a house
Of disasters?"
Coulson kept his voice steady, professional. "Whichever it is, Director, you're still the one keeping the lights on."
Fury exhaled sharply, a humorless huff. "Yeah. Lucky ."
I'm writing Blessed by goddess of love even with weak skills even so i have been loved by too many won in whatever extra ti
It's original, sothing I've been working on alongside the other two stories. Honestly, I wasn't planning to release it this early, but since the fanfiction links got removed, I needed sothing else out there. So this is more of a draft than a finished product.
If it gets enough support, I'll turn it into a proper novel like (Volu 1, Volu 2, etc.). The goal isn't a web novel format, but sothing closer to a light novel style.
If you want to support it, you can check out for early access. It's free for now, and I only have two chapters up, but they're longer—about equal to five web novel chapters.
I'll only be uploading one chapter on public platforms like Wapnovel and . Updates there will be slow.
Part of the reason is simple—I'm not happy with how so platforms have been handling things lately, especially with links getting removed. Because of that, I'm not planning to fully commit or upload a large number of chapters.
If you want to read more for free, you can check out my . Even without donating, I'll be posting chapters there ahead of the public release.
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