MIGHT AS WELL BE OP-Chapter 542: Vega

Anthony watched her as she sat in front of him. Her very presence seemed to carve into his mind as he simply stared at her, captivated. Her purple eyes seemed to devour him whole, consuming his attention entirely.

Anthony could feel his heartbeat begin to quicken as he continued to watch her, then he heard her voice.

"Hello."

Every sound around him seemed to die out instantly at the sound of her voice, as though the world had chosen to go silent in reverence. It was like her voice carried the power to hush the universe.

Anthony sat there, his heartbeat pounding in his chest. He wanted to speak, wanted to respond, but he didn’t know how. Every piece of writing he had ever read in books on how to approach or talk to a girl seemed to abandon him in this crucial moment. His mind went utterly blank.

It was as though a wave of nervousness had suddenly washed over him.

Which leads to the question; had Anthony ever been nervous since his reincarnation?

The answer was a resounding no.

He had always done everything with absolute certainty, unwavering confidence, and unshakable calm. There had never been a moment of hesitation, never a flicker of doubt in his mind. But now... now, words seemed to fail him, now of all fucking time.

Still, he knew he had to say something.

"Hey," he replied calmly, forcing the word out of his throat. At the same time, his hand moved towards the slice of cake placed in front of him, trying to compose himself.

Silence settled over the table as she mirrored Anthony’s action. Her hand moved elegantly as she took a small bite of her own cake.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to speak again immediately, Anthony decided it was time to get his act together. He had to take initiative if he didn’t want the awkward silence to stretch further.

"You seem to come here often," he said in a steady tone, attempting to initiate a conversation.

"And you seem to be waiting for me," she replied with a slight smile, her eyes still fixed on the glass window as she stared outside.

Yet her voice echoed in Anthony’s mind with a graceful, angelic tone that seemed to linger far longer than it should have.

Anthony was caught off guard by her words. The same Anthony who had once boasted to his enemies that he could never be caught off guard, thanks to Infinity, All Seeing Eyes, and Sense Dome.

’She knew,’ Anthony thought in silent astonishment.

But instead of frowning or reacting in alarm, he simply smiled and replied smoothly, "Well, it’s not every day one gets to meet someone as beautiful as you."

Her gaze shifted from the glass wall to Anthony. Her eyes sparkled as they locked with his.

"Same," she said softly. "I never thought I’d meet someone who could match me in terms of charm."

"I’ll take that as a compliment then," Anthony replied gently, his heartbeat finally returning to its normal rhythm.

"So," she said playfully, "are you eating cake just because you saw me buying them last time? The last time I saw you, you were eating ice cream."

"Not at all," Anthony responded with a light chuckle. "I just love sugary things as there’s no need to worry about diabetes and the like."

"That’s true. It seems we have that in common,"

She said with another small smile.

"It seems I may have forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Anthony, by the way," he said, gesturing slightly as he spoke.

"Vega," she replied simply, placing another spoonful of cake into her mouth.

"A nice name," Anthony commented, smiling softly.

"Thanks. My father gave it to me," Vega replied, her smile lingering.

"I don’t mean to overstep," Anthony began carefully, "but why is someone as powerful as you still at the Corporal military rank?"

Although he could easily use Authority Of Information to find out everything about Vega, he didn’t want to rely on that.

He wanted to know her through conversation. He wanted to see her expressions, hear her voice, and experience her reactions. He wanted something real.

Vega wasn’t surprised that Anthony could sense her perfectly restrained power. After all, she too could sense his.

"Well, I’ve only been in the military for just over a year. It seems military ranks aren’t always given based on mana rank alone," she replied with a slight sigh.

"I understand your frustration perfectly,"

Anthony said, nodding in agreement.

"You don’t have to lie," Vega responded with a playful smile.

Anthony simply shook his head and replied, "I’m not lying. I have two friends at the Corporal military rank. You might know them, they’re in the same condition as you."

He had already guessed that Spectre and Clement might know Vega after the first time he had met her. She wore the Corporal military uniform, and both Spectre and Clement were also Corporal ranked soldiers.

"I’ll take your word for it then," Vega said, her purple eyes meeting Anthony’s deep blue ones.

Then she spoke again, curiosity dancing in her voice. "But what I’m more curious about is how you jumped from a Lieutenant ranked soldier to a Major in just a few days. Are you backed by multiple Supreme Monarchs?"

Anthony was stunned. Her guess had landed squarely on the truth, like she had been present during his meeting with the League of Supremes.

"Well," he began carefully, "I was stationed at the fallen military base Alpha-6. The rank was simply a reward for certain achievements."

"Hoo... I wonder what kind of achievements?"

Vega asked, mildly intrigued.

"Maybe a story for another time," Anthony replied with a calm smile.

Vega didn’t reply immediately. She smirked, then spoke. "I didn’t know you were a stalker."

Anthony froze at her words, slightly bewildered, but before he could say anything, Vega continued with a teasing tone. "You’re already planning our next meeting, aren’t you? Isn’t that what stalkers do?"

Anthony could clearly hear the playful teasing in her voice, but he could only put on a helpless expression as he replied, "It seems I’ve misspoken."

"I’m just teasing you. Don’t take it seriously,"

Vega said with a soft chuckle.

The atmosphere between them was light and harmonious as they continued to speak. Smiles and laughter passed between them every now and then.

The outside world faded from view, as if it no longer existed. All that remained was the presence of each other, and their devouring eyes.

Within the café, people stared at Anthony and Vega from a distance. The lighting, the mood, the aura around them, it all seemed perfect, as though crafted by fate itself.

Onlookers were entranced. They had never seen someone so charming before, let alone two people at once radiating such aura and allure. No one approached them. It was as though an invisible force surrounded them, keeping everyone else at bay.

"It seems I’ve run out of time," Vega said as she rose gracefully from her seat.

"Let me walk you out," Anthony offered like a perfect gentleman, rising from his own seat. Together, they turned and made their way toward the door, side by side.

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