Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"Wait, wait a minute." Lilith suddenly spoke, her hand pressing down on the bottom of her ample thigh, a hint of nervousness on her fair face.

"Well, what happened?"

She adjusted the tension in her expression, quietly inhaled, and then spoke with a slightly stiff expression:

"What I make... will be better than what you buy outside, so remember to eat this for you and Ivina."

It's really putting her in a difficult position.

Making her talk about such a trivial thing in front of everyone felt like countless ants were crawling all over her, making her desperately want to get up and leave.

After all, it's only natural that she, as a deity, would do a good job with something as mundane as a cake.

The fact that they're emphasizing this now is essentially the same as an adult going into a group of children and saying that she's taller than them.

Can--

I can't keep quiet about it; even if it's hard to say, I have to say it even if my face is stiff.

She wasn't truly kind to Ivina; it was merely a side effect of her actions.

Although she now claims to be willing to get along well with them, her ultimate goal is still to get Roddore's attention on her—just like before.

Rhodes paused slightly as he reached out to cut the cake, then looked up at Lilith.

"Will it taste good?"

"It's alright... I guess."

People who are tongue-tied are like this: they clearly want to be praised and want to show their own unique value, but they still hold back.

Generally speaking, people who remain calm and collected are often the ones who ultimately lose.

Because being unwilling to express one's true feelings is too painful for the person in the relationship, and makes it too difficult to feel the other person's emotions.

And that's exactly what happened. Clearly, Lilith managed to avoid the possibility of becoming a loser, but in the end, she still became one.

"Okay, but I never said I wouldn't eat here, nor did I say we couldn't eat separately."

"Ok?"

"Why not just divide it equally? Since it's delicious, everyone should have a taste."

Rhodes never intended for the cake to be distributed unfairly from the beginning.

His initial idea was to simply cut each cake into six pieces.

Because this way, anyone can eat Lilith's cake.

Regardless of his true feelings or his initial thoughts, he ultimately believed that this was the best way.

Rhodes, facing the cake made by Lilith, cut it into six pieces.

"Everyone, eat this part first, and then we'll divide the cake into the next portion after we've finished eating."

He spoke calmly, handing the first piece to Ivina.

"Oh, thank you." Ivina took the cake and thanked her a little awkwardly, because most people's eyes were on her now.

The second piece, he took it himself.

"The rest, each of us can take our own."

After saying that, Rhodes returned to his original seat and calmly gazed at the [Star Tower] cake.

He understood, of course, that Lilith made the cake partly to make amends, and partly to make him happy.

Lilith was holding a small piece of cake in her hand, but her eyes secretly and cautiously glanced at Rhodes, still displaying that girlish naiveté.

Then, when she felt Rhodes' gaze, she quickly looked away, but when Rhodes went back to look at the cake, she quickly turned her gaze back again.

A bit slow... At least for Rhodes, who has been promoted four times, he should obviously be able to know about any of her actions, right?

However, Rod didn't point it out. Since she wanted to see him eat it, then of course he would try it.

Give it a try... The so-called authentic Star Tower cake, or rather, probably no one makes it more authentic than Lilith.

Rod carefully scooped out a small spoonful of cake, topped with a thin layer of cream and blueberry sauce, and tasted it with great care.

"not bad."

"I'll give it a try." Ivina casually scooped up a piece of cake and put it in her mouth.

It melts in your mouth; the delicate cream isn't greasy at all, not to mention the cake is baked to perfection.

Since it's winter, there's no need for freezing; the cool sensation is natural.

"not bad!"

She imitated Rod's behavior, calling out the two words in a very convincing manner.

“If it’s not bad, then eat more.” Rod pointed to another cake. “There are plenty more.”

Ivina's face immediately fell, and she shook her head like a rattle-drum. "I said Lilith did a good job, it has nothing to do with this stuff, you know."

"Hmm, what are your thoughts?" After figuring out what Ivina had to say, Rhodes turned to look at Lilith.

The moment Lilith sensed the gaze, a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.

She looked away and did not respond, remaining silent.

But she remained silent, and because no one else spoke, she realized she had to respond to the compliment.

But the same question remains: it is only natural for mortals to praise God, so why would God humbly say something like "no, no, it's just average"?

It's already quite good that they don't say 'Humans, be grateful'.

"Mmm." She tried her best, but could only nod slightly. After a half-second of silence, she added, "Okay."

“Lilith.” Felicity raised her slightly dazed eyes. “Right now, in our eyes, you’re actually quite silly, or rather, you’re quite funny.”

"Because everyone knows what you're going to say, but you still hold back, which is just blatantly whipping your own reclusiveness."

"If you ask me, you might as well just be casual. You already know what you're going to say, don't you?"

"I, Felicity..." After Felicity exposed her, Lilith bit her lip tightly, too embarrassed to utter a single word.

"Don't put on that act. I don't like people hiding things." Felicity shook her head. "Just say what you want. Just say what's in your heart."

"Only by fully expressing one's own wishes can one..."

Before Felicity could finish speaking, Natalie interrupted:

"Ah, if we're talking about that, then Hiti, you're being too direct. Sometimes you should restrain yourself a bit before speaking."

"You can't just barge in when others are being affectionate! And you can't just casually enter other people's private spaces! You need to have a sense of boundaries!"

"Hmm? I know, I've been emperor for a few years now, but when I say I don't like Lilith's behavior... I already hate her terrible attitude, and then she keeps stammering like this, it's even worse..."

“I know.” Natalie reached out and pinched Felicity’s cheek, smiling like the morning sun. “I was just saying, you silly girl, sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.”

The girl lifted the glass filled with juice:

"Anyway! Today is member Ivina's birthday, so let's have a happy day! Put aside all those complaints and stuff for now! Let's drink!"

"Yes, that's right."

Rod also raised his glass:

Anyway... Happy birthday, Ivina.

"Happy birthday!"

"You must be happy!"

"No matter what it is, you have to say it."

"Hmm~ How about that? My dear sister, have fun."

The noise rang out on both sides of Ivina.

Everyone was absolutely gentle.

Although Natalie had only known her for two or three days, she still greeted her birthday with a smile.

warmth?

do not know.

She had never been enveloped by this strange feeling.

But she understood one thing...

We all genuinely want to be together happily for the rest of our lives.

and so--

That's why I'll try my best to make everyone happy.

……

...

To cut or separate.

In essence, this event, much like the birthday party years ago, was yet another exposure of the girl present at the party.

It's a slap in the face to Lilith.

Because everyone, regardless of who they are, put aside personal feelings and the so-called struggle for Rhodes, they all at least believe that they are teammates working together to kill the Dragon God and destroy the enemy, and are comrades-in-arms worthy of being treated kindly.

"Any particular thoughts?"

Rod took Lilith and Cecilia's hands and escorted them back to their apartment.

"Hmm." Lilith's voice was light, but it concealed a hint of amusement and a touch of apology. "It's really nice to celebrate my birthday with everyone."

“But actually we’ve celebrated birthdays like this many times before, and everyone has even thrown one for you.”

“I…” Lilith paused for half a second, “I know.”

Rhodes said softly:

"You've already learned how to honestly express your feelings to me, so the next step is to learn to understand their thoughts and to take these friends seriously."

"It can't be said that I only spoke because it was my order; otherwise, it would still be a violation of their attitude."

Lilith remained silent.