I, holding a long sword in my hand, only know one move

"Ahhh!"

After completing the final steps in the bathroom and rinsing his body with cold water to clean himself, Cheng Rang suddenly sneezed.

Rubbing his body that didn't feel the cold, the person who started all this was muttering to himself in confusion.

"It's strange. With my body type, can I still catch a cold?"

——Said this without any consciousness.

Chapter 36 Fragile and tiny happiness

"Let me ask you...approximately how many species of gods are there?"

In the last game of chess, Rick lost miserably again due to his mental fluctuations, and this time he entered the second game.

He put his hands on his cheeks unhappily as he dropped the chess pieces.

Hubie stared at the chessboard and replied: "...Theoretically it is infinite...proportional to the number of concepts...but most...the 'activity condition' does not hold."

This incomprehensible answer and Hubi's moves made Rick frown.

Once again, just one key move made Rick's carefully conceived situation collapse. He sighed, then thought about the next strategy, and continued the chess game.

"The so-called gods basically include the [God of War] or the [God of the Forest], right?"

But they do the same thing, it's just war.

Rick added this in his mind, while Hubie nodded slightly: "...The former is Artosh...the creator of the Flügel...the latter is Kainas...Sen Creator of the Seed."

But Rick interrupted Hubie.

The conversation and the chess move were dealt with, and the chess move that was thought out again was immediately broken, and then Rick suddenly remembered.

No matter how many times you challenge yourself, no matter how perfect your chess moves are, you will always have the feeling that your opponent is superior to you.

When I was a child, I saw in the depths of darkness the boy with a proud smile on his face who he could never defeat -

"Let me ask you - is there a god of games?"

Rick just remembered it. Even if it exists, it doesn't matter, but Hubby still answered seriously: "Yes...but, the divine marrow has not been confirmed...it is speculated that the activation conditions are not established..."

Although the details are unclear, that’s probably what happened.

The species of gods is a concept. Since the concept of games exists, then the god of games must also exist.

It's just that the presence or absence of the activation condition - the divine marrow - will determine whether it actually exists.

"To put it simply...at least it doesn't mean anything right now——"

".....CheckMate...."

Checkmate, for another defeat in a short period of time, Rick couldn't help but sigh, and he stood up from the ground.

"I've wanted to tell you for a long time that you don't have to speak in that tone even when it's just the two of us."

"...Well, it seems...the thinking and vocal center can no longer change...the way it looks."

"Um~ Can you say it in words that humans can understand?"

"....It cannot be restored to its original state...."

It's so ambiguous. After saying this fixed line and giving a wry smile, Rick and Hubie walked out of the room together.

While walking and looking at the settlement, the atmosphere here has been greatly improved from before.

The black-haired man in the robe in the distance who had just come out of the shower was smiling and waving to him.

"Oh~ Rick, are you busy today too?"

"No, because of the previous relationship with Black Rain, some follow-up matters have been completed. There has been nothing much recently, but I will be busy in the future."

"So are you playing chess with Hubie again? I think she will pester you to play whenever she has free time." Cheng Rang came to the two of them, "Hubby, you also beat Rick well today.

Defeated? "

"...When Cheng was away, until just now...we had a total of 6 wins and 0 losses."

Rick felt a little embarrassed and covered his cheek, while Cheng Rang smiled and rubbed Hubi's hair.

"It's amazing, Hubby can beat Rick every time~"

"I will definitely win next time! Stop saying such sarcastic words!" Rick immediately retorted.

But looking at the two people interacting around him, he admitted that since meeting Cheng Rang and Hubi, the methods he could take have increased significantly.

Obviously she didn't ask Hubie to do anything, but she took the initiative to help with calculations and designs. Thanks to her help, surveying and reconnaissance increased in accuracy. The performance of Croon's telescope has improved even more, and the previously inefficient dairy farmers have also made slight improvements.

Therefore, the need to go out for investigation was greatly reduced, and there was enough food for storage - so we could survive this black rain without any danger.

Thanks to Cheng Rang's help to the people in the settlement and his cheerful personality, his popularity has almost surpassed his own, and he can quickly complete many construction tasks that consume a lot of manpower.

Not to mention the current water shortage crisis. If Cheng Rang hadn't taken this self-sacrificial action this time, there might have been problems if it continued.

And then it was obvious - the smiles in the colony increased.

"Hi Rick! Are you going to leisurely cook rice with your wife in your room today?" A passing resident teased Rick with a smile, and also said hello to Cheng Rang: "Cheng, welcome back! You're recovering how?"

This time Cheng Rang secretly went out, Rick and Ke Long informed everyone on the excuse that he was temporarily unwell and resting in the room.

"Oh, I'm very strong. It only took one day, but I was resurrected with full blood!" Cheng Rang raised his arm towards the man and patted his bulging biceps.

"I told you she is not my wife anymore, bald man. Give me your telescope to watch for the rest of my life."

Compared to this conversation, Rick's reaction seemed to be a little more positive than when Cheng Rang first came to the settlement.

Before, he would just remain silent, and then he would accept all the pointing fingers behind his back.

"Take a break~Cheng! Thank you very much for last time. Thank you for playing with the children! You must come here as a guest when you have time!"

"Well, definitely!"

"....You're welcome...."

Now as long as they stay in the settlement, they can live in peace without the threat of fear of death.

But this scene made Rick unhappy.

——Because he knew very well that this was just a temporary peace, the calm before the storm.

As long as those guys who claim to be gods make one unconscious move, the peace of the moment will disappear like dust.

Forgetting that is a fact and immersing yourself in the temporary stability may also be happiness.

But that happiness will disappear. It could be tomorrow, it could be today—it could be now.

Did he give them too much hope? A painful expression appeared on Rick's face. But how else to do it?

Pretending not to see despair, believing that this place is safe, and living until the end of the war that will come one day?

Rick thought to himself, at least he couldn't do it.

"Hey, boss! Don't just hug your wife all the time. I'm fixing a leak. Come over and help me!"

"——Hmph, if you want to ask for a beating, just say so. If you need the power of a 'fist', I can help you no matter how much!"

With a stiff smile, Rick rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the direction of the sound.

Hubie was left standing there, as if there were roots growing on the soles of his feet, waiting motionless for Rick to come back.

Cheng Rang, who was accompanying them, glanced at the two of them, and the painful expression on Rick's face at the current scene was clearly seen.

Even though the current settlement has gradually improved, Rick still has a very thorough understanding of the current situation.

That doesn't want to....no.

It is the figure who cannot take steps towards hope.

I always feel too lonely.

Chapter 37 Miss Kelon, please respect yourself

"Hugh~~bi~~chan~~~!"

Suddenly being hugged by someone, Hubi looked back silently and saw Ke Long standing there with a smile on his face.

"What interesting things are you two talking about?"

"Everyone can tell, I just came here to say hello. If you want to find Rick, he was just called away to help - over there." Cheng Rang pulled the towel around his neck and asked Ke Long pointed in the direction where Rick had been called.

"Didn't Hubie go with Rick?"

"...Rick didn't say...that he wanted me to follow..."

"Uh-huh! Hubby-chan, forget about that useless husband and marry me!? Leave such a pitiful wife aside and forget about that stupid husband, right?" Kelong screamed With a sound, he hugged Hubi's petite body and rubbed her face back and forth.

"Hey, there are still many single men in the settlement, don't seize resources!" Cheng Rang complained at the right time.

"...Rick, not an idiot..."

"So it's right to deny the issue of couples and marriage first!"

Seeing Hubi pouting slightly, Ke Long narrowed his eyes and ignored Cheng Rang's complaints, and asked: "Hubi-chan, as a sister, I feel a little embarrassed to ask this.

..."

"....Rick said, 'She is the sister she claims to be, so don't pay attention to her'...."

"Ahaha~ I'm going to give him a good reward later - but let's put this aside for now!"

Kelon coughed dryly as if trying to get away with it, and then asked directly: "What part of Rick is Hubie-chan attracted to?"

"....attract?"

"Really, I'm just asking you what you 'like' about him~ Don't ask knowingly~!"

This situation made Hubi silent for a moment, her expression became dull, and she didn't know how to answer. She subconsciously turned her eyes to Cheng Rang, who had a tense expression on her side.

Come on, here we go again...

Of course Cheng Rang saw what Hubi was looking at and wanted to ask - what does liking mean?

There was no way she could explain this kind of thing to Hubi in front of Ke Long, not to mention that although several months had passed, she obviously still had not been able to formulate an analysis of the most complex emotions among humans.

So Cheng Rang could only shake his head slightly, indicating that he was helpless.

After getting no help from anyone who might be able to answer the question, suddenly - Hubie realized he was getting nervous.

She didn't know why this happened, but she thought she was used to pretending to be human.

But at this time, behind Ke Long's cheerful attitude, it felt like he was testing something.

Hubby thought about it carefully and realized that he could hardly analyze the "heart".

Therefore, the emotion of "like" has not yet been analyzed and cannot be defined, so——

"I have no idea....."

Hubie decided to answer honestly: "I'm interested in Rick's...heart...feelings..."

Hubie's memory center flashed back to the day he first met Rick.

Seeing the emotion deep in Rick's eyes - the thoughts that happened at that time should not have occurred to the Ex-Machina.

The reason why she was disconnected was because of a "connection damage crisis level logical error".

"....Hmm~hmm! That's it!"

As if he understood something, Ke Long easily defined it.

"To put it simply, it's love at first sight, right?!"

Cheng Rang silently pressed his forehead behind Ke Long. He couldn't understand what he was saying to her now... It would be better to say that he couldn't understand it at all.

Just as Cheng Rang expected, Hubi widened his eyes and froze.

But Kelong was still thinking to himself: "Hmm~ Rick is not particularly handsome, and at first glance he has such a personality. If you see through Rick's 'sincerity' and fall in love with him. ..."

".....like?"

"Well, then I can leave my brother to you with confidence!"

"..."

After falling in love at first sight, the number of concepts that had to be analyzed increased, and Hubie suddenly felt tired.