Chapter 50: Never Cry Out for a Pantomime
Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Never Cry Out for a Pantomime
"Stupid dog! Useless dog!"
Sofia’s anger flared. She planted her hands on her hips and berated him.
But she wasn’t angry about Igor losing the game. It was his pathetic, dejected state that she found so humiliating.
The words on the tip of her tongue—’We Demon Wolves are indomitable! A little setback like this is nothing!’—suddenly changed to:
"That guy’s weaker than a goblin, and you lost to him?! You’re a gigantic, useless mutt!"
"I’m sorry, Lady Sofia."
Igor’s voice was low and hoarse as he groveled on the floor.
The girl with the twin-tails took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and gave her housekeeper a light kick.
"Hey! Get back on your feet!"
Sofia flicked her twin-tails, crossed her arms, and looked away.
"So you lost. Big deal. Bev and Lillian lost too. If you’d won, you’d just look presumptuous."
"But..." Igor said, remaining on the floor with his head bowed. "If Mr. Jai truly meant you harm, he would’ve spotted me before I could even get close. It would’ve been too late..."
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Sofia grabbed the Wolf Housekeeper’s ear, so furious she began to laugh.
"Do you really think that guy has it in him? Or are you saying you look down on *me*? Huh?!"
"That’s not what I meant, Lady Sofia."
Igor was forced to his feet. He didn’t resist as the girl tugged on his ear, and instead spoke in a low voice like a child who had done something wrong.
The twin-tailed girl let out a cold snort and let go.
Just then, Pinocchio spoke up, his voice full of anticipation:
"Gai, Gai, it’s my turn now, isn’t it?"
Wang Xi pulled his gaze away from Sofia and turned to the curly-haired boy who resembled a porcelain doll. He smiled and said:
"What do you want to play?"
"Hmm..." Pinocchio thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don’t know. How about you decide, Gai?"
Wang Xi looked at Pinocchio’s hands.
"You’re skilled at shooting?"
"Ah, you’re so smart, Gai."
Pinocchio raised his arm and splayed his fingers, smiling as he said:
"That’s right. The body Father designed for me relies mostly on shooting for its attacks."
"Since that’s your specialty, let’s compete at that,"
Wang Xi said with a nod.
Pinocchio’s eyes lit up. He was secretly touched by Gai’s thoughtfulness.
’Of course!’
’Looking back on the other games, Gai always picked his opponents’ weaknesses. But this time, he’s making an exception just for me, his friend...’
’He really cares about me!’
Pinocchio beamed, thinking, ’I have to return the favor. I’ll go easy on him later and aim for a tie!’
"Miss Bev, could I trouble you to create some moving targets with your Magic? The smaller and faster, the better."
Wang Xi turned to the Witch in the pink dress and gave a slight bow.
Bev swirled the wine in her glass and agreed with a faint smile:
"Of course."
With that, she gave a sweep of her hand.
With a soft SHUSH, a cloud of brilliant, rainbow-colored sugar dust filled the air. From it emerged two pink dragonflies made entirely of syrup. They zipped across the room, their translucent wings glittering.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Pinocchio’s gaze sharpened.
In his glistening dark eyes, a faint blue grid seemed to materialize. He instantly captured and predicted the flight paths of the two pink sugar-dragonflies.
WHOOSH—
The boy raised his hand and extended his index finger.
A hole spiraled open at the tip, and a moment later, a muzzle flash erupted from it.
BANG!!
A crisp gunshot rang out.
A tracer round shot out, striking one of the pink dragonflies from the air. Pinocchio turned his head in triumph, only to see Gai holding a Crossbow, his focus entirely on aiming.
TWANG—
He pulled the trigger, and the Crossbow Arrow shot forth.
The arrow flew true, piercing the other pink dragonfly and pinning it to the cookie wall.
"My apologies, Miss Bev. I’ve damaged your wall."
Wang Xi said apologetically to the Sugar Witch behind him.
"It’s nothing," Bev said, waving a dismissive hand. She giggled. "Seeing Mr. Jai’s excellent Crossbow Skill in action was well worth it."
Beside her, Sofia grumbled under her breath.
She seemed displeased by the special treatment.
’When I stepped on the carpet and broke it, I got smacked. But when *that guy* damages the wall, Bev doesn’t get mad at all—she even praises him.’
Sofia pulled her red hood lower and muttered resentfully:
"Stupid Bev. Sooner or later she’ll be tricked by some man. First he’ll..."
BONK!
Sofia cried out in pain again.
"Miss Bev, it appears to be a draw. Could I trouble you to create one more target? This time, please make it even smaller and faster. Otherwise, it will be difficult to determine a winner."
Wang Xi requested, placing a hand on his chest in a gesture of respect.
Hearing this, Pinocchio started making frantic faces at him, his expression anxious.
’Gai...’
’What are you doing?’
’If you keep this up, you’re going to be seriously embarrassed!’
’Pinocchio didn’t understand the Magic Domain, but when it came to shooting, he knew he was incredibly strong.’
’It wasn’t just that Gai couldn’t win—not a single master marksman in the entire Stag Kingdom could beat him!’
Wang Xi acted as if he hadn’t seen Pinocchio’s signals and frantic gestures, continuing to stare at the Witch in the pink dress.
"Since Mr. Jai has made a request, I am, of course, happy to oblige."
A smile played on Bev’s lips.
Everyone’s interest was piqued.
Even smaller and faster...
Could they still hit it?
Bev opened her palm and blew gently.
WHOOSH—
A flurry of dazzling sugar dust flew from her hand.
A golden candy, only about the size of a fingertip, materialized. The ruffled Sugar Coating on its sides resembled wings, which began to buzz and flap, leaving only a blurry afterimage as it moved.
WHOOSH—
The moment the candy moved, it traced dozens of golden streaks across the room. Even Sofia was having trouble tracking it.
"Hey, Igor, can you catch it?"
The twin-tailed girl turned her head and whispered.
The Wolf Housekeeper stared intently at the trajectory streaking through the air like golden lightning. He said in a heavy tone:
"If I were in my Demon Wolf form..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I’d have a twenty percent chance."
"Only twenty percent..."
Sofia sighed in disappointment.
Then she looked at the two black-haired men with schadenfreude, as if waiting for them to make fools of themselves.
’I’ll have to humiliate them mercilessly in a bit!’
"Wow! So fast!"
Pinocchio exclaimed as he watched the golden light zipping all over the room.
The light-blue grid in his dark eyes constantly analyzed and tracked the light, but he was still struggling to get a lock.
He’d originally planned to go easy on Gai to help him save face, but the current situation was far beyond what he’d expected.
Forget going easy—even if Pinocchio gave it his all, he probably couldn’t guarantee he’d hit that golden candy!
"Pinocchio, don’t hold back just because I’m your friend... Since it’s a game, we should enjoy it to the fullest. Please, give it everything you’ve got!"
Wang Xi’s earnest words reached him.
Pinocchio was taken aback.
’Gai...’
’He’s so kind.’
Instantly, the boy’s fighting spirit surged, and his expression turned serious.
Since Gai had insisted he get serious, he cast aside his worries and focused his full attention on the air before him.
His glistening dark eyes darted left and right at a speed no ordinary person could match, focusing with all his might to get a lock.
BANG!!
The gunshot came without warning.
A flash of fire blossomed at the tip of Pinocchio’s index finger.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
All eyes were fixed on the scene—
The tracer flashed, intersecting with the golden line in mid-air with a faint scraping sound.
SCRAPE!
"He hit it?!"
Sofia glanced in surprise at the handsome puppet, not expecting him to have that kind of skill.
But Bev shook her head and said softly,
"It wasn’t a direct hit. It only grazed the edge."
As the creator of the golden candy, she knew far more about what had happened than Sofia could see.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
The golden light in mid-air only faltered for an instant before it began zipping around again, seemingly unaffected.
"I didn’t shoot it down..."
Pinocchio’s finger returned to normal, and he hung his head in dejection.
’He thought for a moment. ’Since this is how it turned out, I might as well concede. That way, I can help Gai save face.’’
At this thought, Pinocchio’s expression brightened into a smile. It seemed that Gai’s victory was more important to him.
"Gai, I con—"
SMACK!
Wang Xi clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Ahem." Wang Xi took a deep breath and said with feeling, "Pinocchio, you’re always like this, trying to give the glory to your friends... But please, allow me, as just an ordinary human, to see this game through to the end with you."
"’True friendship isn’t about one person handing a victory to the other out of pity, right?’"
Wang Xi’s tone was soft.
A light flickered in Pinocchio’s glistening dark eyes.
’Gai...’
’He’d rather lose to me than fail to finish this game, a symbol of our friendship.’
’I’m so lucky to have met him.’
’Oh, Father! You must be so proud of me!’
’I’ve made such a noble friend!’
"You’re right, Gai!"
Wang Xi let go, and Pinocchio began nodding furiously, his delicate features filled with emotion.
"I was out of line. I almost ruined our friendship. Please, make your final shot. No matter the outcome, I’ll still be your best friend."
"Thank you."
Wang Xi breathed a secret sigh of relief.
’He had saved Pinocchio for last precisely to make him go all out. According to the rules Kaos had given him, the method and difficulty of a defeat directly affected the Card he could capture.’
’Wang Xi felt a pang of guilt for manipulating him, but this was the only way to increase his own power without actually hurting his new friend.’
’This was the best possible outcome.’
"Hmph. Such an act."
Sofia spoke bluntly, clearly disdainful of what she saw as someone with no real skill just putting on a show.
Bev, however, just rolled her eyes at her.
Lillian’s expression was calm as she silently watched the two of them. Beneath the table, her small hand clenched tightly. Deep within her sapphire-like eyes, a trace of envy flashed.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
The golden candy continued to dart about tirelessly.
Wang Xi took a deep breath and looked up, his eyes fixed.
’In truth, he was nowhere near skilled enough to even see the golden trajectory, let alone shoot it with a Crossbow.’
’But he had a trump card.’
—Chekhov’s Gun.
A one-of-a-kind Black Card!
This was a gun that could not miss, enough to settle this contest once and for all!
Wang Xi raised his hand, and a revolver materialized in his palm. It was a deep, matte black all over.
"Dr. Anton, I’m counting on you."
He murmured politely.
To Wang Xi’s surprise, a refined, elegant male voice seemed to sound in his ear almost instantly.
The voice was elegant and deep:
"In the third act, with the gun loaded, the bullet will find its poetic eye... Chekhov’s Gun never fires for a pantomime."
Wang Xi felt as if he had received a revelation.
He lowered his eyelids, raised the gun, and pulled the trigger.
BANG—