Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream

Chapter 222: Awkward compliments

For several moments, no one spoke.

Well, not exactly.

Inside his head, Kyle could hear Aquilla’s cheerful voice endlessly repeating,

{Mama! Mama! Mama!}

She sounded way too happy. It was almost the same as the first time they interacted.

Naturally, with only one woman present in the room, Kyle’s gaze drifted toward the girl standing beside his cousin.

And when he looked at her, their eyes met.

For a brief instant, he caught a flicker of panic in her otherwise calm eyes.

That was when Kyle realized how the situation must have looked from her perspective.

Just when they met, Kyle summoned a weapon in his hand, as if he was waiting for them to hunt them down.

"Kyle?" Adam finally broke the silence. "What’s the meaning of this?"

Kyle hurriedly recalled Aquilla, causing the golden weapon to vanish from his hand.

"Sorry. I’m still new to all this, so sometimes I lose control over my pow..."

His voice trailed off.

Wait.

Adam’s girlfriend...

She could be an ordinary person.

Then that meant she had just witnessed the manifestation of a Nightwalker’s weapon.

Kyle’s eyes widened.

Before panic could set in, the woman spoke as if she read his mind.

"Don’t worry about it. I’m a Nightwalker too."

Relief washed over him instantly.

Kyle let out a long breath and visibly relaxed.

Thank God.

He had no idea how he would have explained the situation if she had been a normal civilian.

’Still...’

His eyes briefly drifted toward the girl.

’Aquilla never appears without me summoning her.’

A frown tugged at his lips.

’So why did she react like that?’

Adam cleared his throat.

"Well, how about I introduce you two properly?"

Stepping forward, he gestured between them.

"Kyle, this is my beloved girlfriend, Maya. Maya, this is my cousin, Kyle."

Kyle nodded politely.

"I apologize for the rather strange greeting earlier. It’s nice to meet you."

"It’s alright. I understand."

Maya’s response was calm, as she nodded in response.

Just like her expression, her voice carried almost no discernible emotion.

Kyle invited them to take a seat on the sofa while he dragged over a stool for himself.

"Are you sure you should be moving around, bud?" Adam asked. "You don’t have to be polite. You can lie down if you want."

"He’s right."

Maya’s sudden agreement caught both men off guard.

Kyle let out a faint smile.

"I’m doing fine now. The doctors said I’ll be discharged this evening."

"That’s good to hear."

Adam nodded before gesturing for Maya to sit.

As the two settled onto the sofa, Kyle found himself noticing something odd.

Or perhaps unusual was a better word.

Even from the way they sat, there seemed to be a deliberate distance between them.

When Adam had introduced Maya earlier, he had kept his hand several inches away from her shoulder instead of placing it on her. And now, despite being a couple, they sat with nearly two feet separating them on the sofa.

It wasn’t awkward.

Nor did it seem like they were uncomfortable around each other.

If anything, it felt intentional.

As though both of them had silently agreed to respect a certain amount of personal space.

Kyle didn’t dwell on the matter for long before Adam spoke again.

"So, what did the doctor say? I heard you got into an altercation with a criminal."

"You’ve only heard that much?" Kyle asked back.

Adam shrugged.

"The PSC always keeps information regarding terrorist incidents under wraps. The only reason I found out it was human assailants rather than monsters that put you in the hospital was because of my network."

Kyle almost laughed.

He knew exactly what kind of "network" Adam was referring to.

More likely than not, he had simply heard it from Kyle’s mother after his parents were informed about the incident.

Still, Kyle chose not to expose him.

"Nothing serious happened," he replied. "I just needed some time to recover."

"Is that so..."

Adam hummed thoughtfully before abruptly shifting the conversation elsewhere.

"Well, Maya, you wanted to ask him something, right?"

The attention immediately turned to the young woman, who had been sitting quietly and elegantly the entire time.

Truthfully, Kyle had never seen someone carry themselves with such natural poise.

She wasn’t making any effort to appear graceful.

Yet every movement, every posture, and every glance seemed refined and composed without the slightest hint of pretension.

"I heard from Adam about your performance in the Silver Eye Contest."

Maya’s calm voice filled the room.

"It’s one of the highest honors an archer can achieve in this nation. And you attended it when you were only twelve years old."

Adam chuckled.

"He would’ve participated even earlier if the rules had allowed it."

Kyle let out a helpless sigh.

"He’s exaggerating. I only won by a thin margin. Besides, I had an advantage since I qualified directly for the finals and didn’t have to go through the elimination rounds."

Maya gave a slight hum.

"That was only because you secured a spot through the first qualifier."

Her dark green eyes remained fixed on him.

"That doesn’t diminish the achievement. If anything, it only shows how exceptional an archer you were..."

She paused for a moment.

"...or are."

Kyle shifted slightly in his seat.

Being praised by someone he had just met felt strange enough.

The fact that she was also his cousin’s girlfriend only made it more awkward.

Instinctively, he glanced at Adam, hoping for some sort of rescue.

Unfortunately, Adam was far too busy admiring his own girlfriend to notice the look being sent his way.

Kyle could practically see the admiration shining in his cousin’s eyes.

’Useless.’

He silently withdrew his gaze.

Just then, Maya spoke.

"I’m taking the Crown Marksman Trials tomorrow."

Kyle nodded.

"Oh, isn’t that affiliated with the military as well? That’s nice."

"It is."

After a brief pause, Maya looked at him and said, "How about helping me train this evening?"

Kyle blinked.

Before he could respond, Adam suddenly interjected.

"But didn’t you say you were going out with your school friends today?"

Maya shrugged.

"If Kyle agrees to help me, then I’ll cancel those plans."

Adam’s eyes widened.

For a moment, he simply stared at her.

Then he immediately turned toward Kyle.

"Perfect. Then it’s settled. Kyle will help you."

Kyle nearly choked.

"Wait, what?"

Ignoring his protest entirely, Adam pivoted toward him and put on the most shameless pair of puppy eyes Kyle had ever seen.

Kyle’s brow twitched. What was wrong with this man? He had plans for this evening, and above everything else, he wanted to test the new feature of the system.

But now..

He already had a bad feeling about where this was heading.

Before he could refuse, Adam abruptly rose to his feet.

"Mind if we talk outside for a minute, Maya?"

Maya looked at him for a moment before giving a small nod in agreement.

"I don’t mind."

Leaning back against the sofa, she calmly watched as Adam beckoned Kyle toward the door.

°°°°°

A/N:- Thank you for reading. If you have been enjoying the story so far, please leave a comment or maybe a review to help the future readers.