Published at 23rd of September 2026 7:09 am

Chapter Vol 9. CH.23: A Crucial Straight Ball!

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Isha and Kaizer’s team answered a total of twenty-two questions in the end.

It couldn’t compare to Leon and Rosvisser’s team, but it was still a very good result.

Next up was Constantine and Orion.

Honestly, compared to Isha, Leon was actually paying more attention to Old Can.

Because even though they were both in the ambiguous stage, the difference was obvious.

Isha had Kaizer completely in the palm of her hand—able to advance, able to retreat, roaming freely like a fish in water; but Constantine was different.

Leon had brought him to this couple challenge in the first place specifically to heat up his relationship with Orion.

So results and points weren’t important.

What mattered was whether these two could make any progress during the games—that was what Leon cared about most.

And judging from the minigame just now, the effect wasn’t bad.

Ambiguity was ambiguity, sure—but physical contact was still physical contact.

Now all that was missing was a chance for Old Can to throw a straight ball.

Leon really hoped that in this round, he’d run into such a chance.

Of course, even if he ran into it, he still had to seize it.

Soon, Constantine and Orion took their positions.

This question would have Constantine give the hint first, with Orion answering.

The first word was:

[Battle]

The instant Leon saw that word, his expression became a little complicated.

He didn’t know whether he should be glad the first word was so simple, or whether he should brace himself for Old Can saying something Orion wouldn’t be able to look straight at.

After a brief struggle, Leon quietly sucked in a breath, stopped overthinking it, and turned his eyes to Constantine, watching how he would hint.

Constantine thought for a moment, then said:

“It’s a verb—an action. Personally, I like this activity very much.”

It made Leon’s face twitch a little, but it was still within his tolerance.

Because based on what Leon knew about Old Can, he’d already expected him to say something like that.

But for Orion, it wasn’t that easy to guess.

“Something Mr. Constantine... likes very much...”

She propped her face, rested one hand on her chin, and frowned in thought. After a long while, Orion tried tentatively,

“Is it... cultivation?”

Constantine shook his head.

“No.”

Orion scratched her forehead, troubled, and asked again:

“Can this be done by one person?”

“One person can’t.”

Orion: “Then, two people?”

“Two people can.”

Orion thought again, then said:

“Then... Mr. Constantine, do you want to do this with me?”

The moment she said that, joy immediately appeared on Leon’s face.

What a straight ball girl!

This is how couple games are supposed to be played!

Unfortunately, this round’s prompt didn’t really deserve Orion’s straight ball.

But overall, it was still very good that this wife-type girl could be so proactive.

Leon looked at Constantine, wanting to hear what he would answer.

“Do I want to do this with you...”

Constantine didn’t really hesitate. He spoke directly.

“Yes. I do want to do this with you.”

Leon: ...

The shock that answer gave Leon was no less than yesterday’s “Do you intend to be my enemy?”

This damn dragon idiot! Straight balls everywhere!

You’re flirting with someone, alright?! Take out a little flirting posture, damn it!

But the development immediately veered off in a strange direction.

The moment Constantine said he wanted to do it with her, Orion’s gaze dimmed slightly, and that face that rarely showed any expression softened with a shy smile.

Leon: “Oh no, oh no! You misunderstood something! You absolutely cannot apply a normal person’s thought process to Old Can!!”

“Is that so... then—is it holding hands?” Orion asked.

Constantine shook his head. “No.”

Orion’s smile froze.

“Not...? Okay.”

Then she guessed a few more things that only people in the ambiguous stage, or long-time couples, would do—but Constantine denied them one by one.

Leon could only curse the weird shop owner in his heart. It wasn’t Orion’s fault, and it wasn’t even really the prompt’s fault.

This subtle awkwardness was the result of all kinds of coincidences piling up—a perfect situation formed by sheer bad timing.

In the end, Orion really couldn’t guess. She could only skip the question.

When she turned back to look at the answer board and saw the two characters [Battle] written there, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She shook her head helplessly.

“So it was that...”

Even though Orion didn’t answer it correctly, at least Leon had seen her initiative.

After all, it was the timid ones who had the “closet pervert” attribute; the bold ones who spoke directly were the ones who truly liked someone.

Those golden eyes of hers were still darting around—sure enough, the proactive ones were the good ones.

And because Orion hadn’t answered correctly, she still had to keep guessing until she got one right before she could switch positions with Constantine.

Fortunately, the next few prompts were relatively simple, and the two of them rotated through several turns.

As time reached the last thirty seconds, at their pace, they should still be able to answer one more.

And this final prompt was:

[I like you]

Most importantly, for this one, Orion would give the hint, and Constantine would answer.

“Ooooooh~~~~ Now there’s a show~~~~~”

Leon was shaking with excitement so badly his shoulders were bouncing.

Constantine instantly turned his head toward the peanut gallery.

And he realized it wasn’t just Leon— even Kaizer, who hadn’t shown much expression the whole time, couldn’t help the corner of his mouth lifting.

“Could it be something really weird...” Constantine thought.

And the moment Orion saw the prompt, her pretty face flushed red all at once.

Her gaze dodged, but in the end she still gathered her courage and looked at Constantine.

Because she also hoped that her relationship with Constantine could make progress, so even though she felt embarrassed, she would still work hard to overcome it and keep this round going.

After adjusting her mindset, Orion let out a long breath, then said:

“Three words.”

Constantine nodded. “Mm...”

Then Orion pointed at her own chest, and pointed at Old Can.

The flamethrower’s gaze shifted.

“Me... and you?”

“Mhm. The second word and the last word are ‘I’ and ‘you.’”

Once a character had been guessed, it could appear in later hints without violating the rules.

And just as Orion was about to continue hinting, she abruptly stopped.

She opened her mouth, originally intending to lead Constantine step by step in the simplest way so he could say the answer.

It was easy—“I like you” only lacked “like.” Any hint would reveal it.

And Constantine wasn’t actually an idiot. He would definitely answer immediately.

But if she did it that way...

wouldn’t that be missing a good chance?

After thinking for a moment, Orion closed her eyes, a small curve rising at the corners of her mouth.

Then she opened her eyes, lifted her gaze to Constantine, and said:

“Mr. Constantine... maybe I’m overthinking it. Of course, you can also believe I simply hope it’s so... The answer to this prompt... is something you want to say to me.”

Hearing that, not only Leon—even Rosvisser beside him couldn’t help softly sighing.

“She’s really a smart girl.”

Leon smiled.

“I thought she’d say it was something she wanted to say to Constantine.”

Orion’s hint was smart precisely because she handed the initiative to Constantine.

She knew this Red Flame Dragon King wasn’t good at expressing his feelings, so she kicked the ball back in such a clever way.

The two of them had missed many good chances before because of that.

But right now was the best opportunity the best opportunity for Constantine to face this feeling himself.

Orion’s eyes, filled with expectation, fixed on Constantine.

Leon also looked at the flamethrower, praying nonstop in his heart:

“Don’t act up! Don’t act up! Go in! Go in! Go in!”

And at this moment, Constantine’s thoughts also began to whirl.

“Something I want to say to you?”

“Mhm. Yes.”

Actually, guessing the correct answer wasn’t difficult anymore. Constantine already knew the first and last words were “I” and “you.”

And besides, he wasn’t the kind of dead-brain who didn’t understand men and women at all, who didn’t understand people’s hearts.

So... that answer was already on Constantine’s lips.

Looking at Orion’s expectant gaze, he became even more certain that the answer he’d guessed was the correct answer.

But... should he say it?

Constantine rarely hesitated like this.

He wasn’t hesitating because his feelings for Orion were in doubt.

He was indeed drawn to Orion. He wanted their relationship to go further.

It was just... should he say that sentence out loud right now?

Would it be... impolite? Or strange?

And seeing Constantine stay silent for so long, the light of expectation in Orion’s eyes gradually faded.

She lowered her gaze, a faint disappointment surfacing in her blue eyes.

“So Mr. Constantine doesn’t...”

“Orion.”

“What?”

“I like you.”

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