Martin was acting nothing like himself.

Instead of holding the line, he kept forcing plays that drew attention, and the ants punished every opening. One shoved too far around his shield while another slipped through an angle he should have covered. Angel caught the first mistake, then the next, but even she couldn’t smooth over everything when Martin kept chasing attention instead of controlling the battlefield.

The harder he tried to stand out, the messier the fight became. NukEncore watched from behind the others with her smile slowly fading. Martin was usually loud in a simple, familiar way. He charged, joked, complained, and somehow made even stupid things sound normal. Today, his energy had a strange edge, and he kept reacting to pressure no one else could see.

Before NukEncore could figure out what was wrong, she flipped, landed, and made Rias laugh harder than NukEncore had ever heard.

The sound caught her off guard.

Martin slipped out of her thoughts as she turned toward Rias, a small warmth gathering under her ribs. Rias had laughed before, of course. Usually, it was the polite kind she gave when she wanted others to feel comfortable. This laugh came out free and light, and NukEncore wanted to protect it.

This one was real.

Rias, you are enjoying this game! Mhm!

Nothing mattered to NukEncore as much as Rias enjoying the game. Rias had helped her during the worst time in her life and stayed with her through all of NukEncore’s tantrums and whims. Their friendship had survived plenty of good moments and plenty of ugly ones, but somehow, Rias was always the one who didn’t get appreciated enough.

NukEncore always stole the spotlight.

Seeing Rias smile like that eased the tension from NukEncore’s shoulders. Her fingers curled near her chest, and she almost bounced in place before stopping herself. She wanted to point at Rias and brag to everyone that this was her best friend, because it felt so good to see Rias having fun.

She was even competing with Martin.

Martin’s rivalry with Alexandra was loud and obvious. He compared their progress, asked about her experience, and treated every small difference as a challenge worth taking seriously. He sounded interested, competitive, and alive whenever Alexandra pushed him.

Around Rias, his attitude changed completely.

He didn’t tease her or ask what she had done. He didn’t even complain that she had caught up too fast. Whenever Rias moved too close, his attention slipped away, and whenever she laughed, his jaw tightened just enough for NukEncore to notice. Her smile weakened again as the same question came back.

Why was he distancing himself from Rias?

By the time they stopped for a short break to clear their heads and rest, NukEncore was even more convinced that Martin was off today. As everyone settled down, Rias showed them the drop she had picked up.

It was a dagger with a water skill.

Usually, Martin would have perked up his ears and leaned forward to check the description himself. It was his element, too, so he had every reason to care. He would have asked about the cooldown, the damage type, and whether it scaled with agility, magic, or some weird hidden stat only this game cared about.

Instead, he stayed quiet again.

Martin’s silence bothered NukEncore, but the way he carried it bothered her more. He kept his face turned away from Rias, but not fully, and his ears twitched once before flattening enough to make NukEncore’s chest tighten. He looked ready for someone to notice that he was pretending not to care.

NukEncore knew that kind of expression because she had worn it more times than she wanted to admit.

She almost called him out directly. Her mouth opened, then closed again. If she pushed too hard, Martin might laugh it off or say something stupid, and if she ignored it, the strange pressure around him would only keep building. Either way, the mood around their little party had already started tilting in a direction she didn’t like.

Martin sat with his head slightly lowered, his shoulders stiff beneath his gear. His fingers rested near his knees, but they weren’t relaxed. They pressed down, eased up, then pressed again, pinning his own words in place. The others were close enough to speak normally, yet the space around him felt separate, crowded by all the things he refused to say. NukEncore felt the pressure of it across the break.

When the silence stretched too long, NukEncore forced herself to break it. "Um, why don’t you like it?"

Rias turned the dagger in her hand. A watery shimmer ran along the blade and flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t look tempted by it. If anything, she looked thoughtful.

"I’ve been thinking about what kind of class I want to play. Since this game rewards our every move, I decided to play like an assassin from the start. Shadow Step is proof that my gameplay works."

"Assassin!?" NukEncore’s eyes shone golden. "Catto Assassin!"

"Haha! You think I should try to become a cat assassin?" Rias asked.

"Yes, it’d suit you!" NukEncore chuckled and clapped her hands in pure support. "Why assassin tho?"

"It’s a good solo PvP class, and it can finish off almost anything. I imagine your mage class doing a lot of AoE damage, but not always finishing enemies off. That’s where I come in," Rias explained.

Her voice stayed calm, but her attention lingered on NukEncore a little longer than necessary, and NukEncore felt that look more than she expected. Her cheeks warmed as her grin softened. Rias wasn’t just picking a class because it sounded cool. She had actually thought about how they would play together. NukEncore would blast everything apart, and Rias would clean up whatever survived.

It sounded simple and natural, somehow sweeter because Rias said it so casually.

"Ah, you really thought that far ahead!" NukEncore beamed.

Martin lowered his head, his expression tightening in a way NukEncore didn’t like.

Rias’ words kept looping in his mind.

That’s where I come in.

It was just gameplay talk. He knew that. People made parties. People picked roles that worked together. Rias had known Encore for a long time, so of course she would think about supporting her. There was nothing strange about it, but his stomach still twisted.

His fingers curled against his palms.

I... I am about to do something stupid, right? Only because I’m jealous. These two know each other. It’s normal for them to play together. Maybe I should just give up? Encore will be Encore, just an online friend.

His throat tightened, and he hated how ugly the thought was. Worse, he hated that he could recognize it and still not stop it. Part of him wanted to laugh it off, ask about the dagger, and act like nothing was wrong, but another part of him wanted to push back hard enough that everyone would have to notice.

Then he clenched his hands.

Nah... why the hell do I have to step down? My life’s better than ever before. I got promoted at work. I’m working under Cassandra Selfmore. I’ve got a lot of money for items. My videos are getting millions of views. I even ordered an expensive mattress and pillows. I’m not losing to this fucker.

His face twitched, and the anger faltered just enough for shame to slip in.

Goddamnit. Why am I calling him fucker? Just because he’s close to Encore? Fuck me, man.

His shoulders sank for a beat. The anger didn’t vanish, but shame mixed into it and made everything worse. He rubbed his thumb against his palm and tried to breathe through his nose. He was being ridiculous, and he knew he was being ridiculous, but that didn’t make the feeling go away.

"Martinnnnnnnnn!" Encore called. "You alright? You’re making stupid faces."

Her voice pulled him back.

Martin blinked and raised his face. Rias, Cassandra, and even Angel were looking at him worriedly, which made sense. He really had spaced out.

No one said anything at first. The air around the party had changed, and the break no longer felt restful. Even Rias watched him with quiet caution, the dagger lowered in her hand.

Martin dragged his thoughts back into order and looked at Rias.

The question had already pushed too close to the surface for him to bury it. He tried to swallow it back at the last moment, but his mouth moved before he could stop himself.

"Want to hang out in real life?"

The whole party seemed to notice the question at once.

NukEncore froze with her mouth slightly open, while Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. Even Angel went still, her massive Dragon Turtle body settling into a careful, heavy silence as she looked between Martin and Rias. She didn’t need words to understand that this wasn’t only about hanging out, not with NukEncore sitting there and Cassandra suddenly paying attention.

No one moved first, not even Angel.