Published at 3rd of August 2026 7:21 am

Chapter 958: Dense

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And with that, a time was set. All that was needed now was a car to get to Arianna’s location and the location of the best racing track in the entire Empire. But that wasn’t going to be an issue.

"So, Mr. Lover Boy and the greatest sharpshooter of all time, what are you planning to wear for your date?" Ryaen asked as she remained seated on the table while the others stood beside her, all staring at Asher.

But Asher ignored her for the moment as he walked over to the hotel’s communication line and placed a call to the reception desk.

"Gentle Hotel reception. How may we be of service this fine afternoon, Tenth Sun?" the staff member on the other end of the line answered politely.

"Good afternoon. Please put the Hotel Manager on the line," Asher stated calmly as he returned the greeting.

"One moment, please," the staff member replied before placing the call on hold.

If an ordinary guest had asked to speak with the Hotel Manager, the receptionist would have most likely come up with an excuse. But this was Asher after all, the winner of the Inter-Empire Competition. His mere presence within their hotel had been sending the company’s stock price soaring higher every single day ever since the competition began.

The line connected once again as the manager answered in a respectful tone, a broad smile on his face. The man was simply too happy. His salary had already been doubled, and he had been instructed to honor every request Asher made, even if it meant breaking a few hotel rules. After all, what were rules in the face of skyrocketing stock prices and an ever-increasing company valuation?

"Good afternoon, Mr. Asher. I’m at your service," the Hotel Manager said.

"Good afternoon. I’ll be needing a car and the location of the best racing track in the Empire," Asher stated.

"What time?" the manager asked.

"I’ll be downstairs in ten minutes," Asher replied.

"Consider it done," the Hotel Manager answered without hesitation.

"Thank you," Asher replied before ending the call.

With the conversation with the Hotel Manager finished, Asher turned toward Ryaen and finally answered her earlier question.

"Anything. I don’t plan to overdress. We’re only going racing," he replied while remaining seated on his bed.

William couldn’t help but sigh before speaking. "Seriously, how dense can one person be? Arianna might actually like you. She’s beautiful, and Ryaen, no offense, but she’s even more beautiful than you, which is honestly shocking," he stated.

"No offense taken," Ryaen replied, as she herself knew just how outrageously beautiful Arianna was.

"She’s tall, powerful, and probably comes from an incredibly influential family," William continued. "And what? You think the two of you are just going racing?" He sighed as though he couldn’t believe Asher was being so casual with the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. "Nobody takes a girl out and only goes to one place. The race track is just the first destination the two of you are going to."

Asher remained silent for a moment before shaking his head as he answered in a tired tone.

"William, do you honestly think I’m some dense idiot who doesn’t understand how relationships work just because I don’t go around flirting with every woman who walks past me?" he asked, the question clearly rhetorical. "So don’t bother giving me your sagely advice because I already know all of this. If anything, I should be the one giving you relationship advice since you’ve never actually been with a woman and have only ever visited brothels."

How could Asher possibly be dense when it came to understanding whether a woman liked him? He wasn’t one of those oblivious anime or novel protagonists that authors loved creating. He had dated Jennifer for quite a while, and he even knew that several girls back on Earth had openly flirted with him and even attempted to sleep with him. But as a loyal man, cheating was something he could never bring himself to do.

So no, being dense definitely wasn’t Asher.

William remained silent for a moment because he knew Asher was speaking the truth. He, William, had never actually been in a real relationship.

"Wait... does that mean you’ve actually been in a relationship?" Vaelric asked.

Asher’s eyes shifted toward the prince. He paused briefly before replying, "Yeah. I once had a woman I truly loved, but it was difficult getting over her." He rose to his feet as he continued. "In fact, I was still in the process of moving on when these two idiots came to the conclusion that I was swinging the other way." He glanced at William and Finch for a moment before walking over to his wardrobe to pick out the clothes he intended to wear.

"But as far as I know, you were locked away within the Wargrave Estate. How could you possibly have been in a relationship with anyone? On top of that, there were even rumors that you were going to be banished because of your consecutive failed awakening attempts," Ryaen chimed in. "How could you have been in a relationship under those circumstances?" She genuinely found it difficult to believe.

Asher remained silent for a brief moment before answering, "I won’t be going into that."

Vaelric’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he spoke. "It was a maid who served the Wargrave Family, wasn’t it? And maybe the Duke found out about the relationship and forced the two of you to end it," he suggested, his tone becoming quieter.

At his words, the others slowly nodded as the theory seemed to make sense. To them, Asher certainly wouldn’t have been the first noble to fall in love with a maid. Plenty of nobles slept with their maids, producing unofficial heirs, but very few ever entered genuine relationships with them. Likewise, Duke Azaron certainly wouldn’t have been the first noble to put an end to such a relationship involving his own child and a maid.

Asher, who was still facing the wardrobe, merely replied, "You can all believe whatever you want," his tone completely flat.

He didn’t mind letting people know that he had once been in a relationship and had genuinely loved someone. If anyone tried digging into his past, they would find absolutely nothing. And if some random enemy ever attempted to kidnap the so-called maid he was supposedly in love with, they would simply be wasting their time.

Seeing that Asher clearly had no intention of discussing the topic any further, Ryaen assumed he was still carrying some lingering heartbreak and wisely decided to change the subject.

"So, you don’t want to overdress. But what if Arianna does overdress? What then?" she asked while remaining seated on the table.

Asher continued sorting through several outfits before replying with a question of his own.

"And if I overdress while she doesn’t, what then?"

Ryaen fell silent as Asher effortlessly countered her argument with her own logic. A small smile appeared on her lips before she replied, "I guess it goes both ways."

With that, the group fell into silence as they watched Asher continue sorting through several sets of clothes before eventually pulling out a purple long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black trousers. He put them on, neatly tucking the shirt into his trousers before fastening a black belt around his waist.

He then slipped on a pair of black Oxford dress shoes and fastened a purple watch around his left wrist. Leaving the top three buttons of his shirt undone, he casually rolled both sleeves up to his forearms, stopping just below his elbows.

Hanging from his left ear was a purple hanafuda earring, while on the right side of his neck rested the tattoo that had remained there until this very day. All Asher had to do was channel Astra Energy into it, and it would disappear since it was merely a temporary tattoo. But for today, he decided to leave it as it was. Once he departed from the Thalvorn Empire, he would remove the tattoo entirely.

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