CHAPTER 462: CONGRATULATIONS

Coco found herself navigating her day in a state of bewildered detachment, her mind was preoccupied with the memory of the unexpected kiss, her thoughts spinning in dizzying circles.

She went about her tasks with a dazed expression on her face, her movements mechanical and lacking her usual enthusiasm.

Everywhere she went, she felt as if she were walking on eggshells, constantly on edge, but not really aware of her surroundings.

Even Neo found her behavior odd, his gaze sliding over to Coco, his eyes taking in her stiff movements and absentminded expression as she took down another flying pig, but something about her demeanor struck him as off.

Again, she was usually more lively, more confident in her actions, but today, she seemed almost robotic, her movements lacking their usual skip and excitement.

He couldn’t help, but wonder what had happened this time to cause the shift in her.

However, despite the whirlwind of emotions churning within her, Coco found that the day had passed swiftly.

The hours seemed to slip by like sand through her fingers, a blur of mundane tasks and monotonous kills before finally, clutching a heavy bag filled with glistening coins as Coco trudged toward the house.

The weight of the coins in the bag felt burdensome, perfectly mirroring the weight of her troubled thoughts.

She was so into her headspace that Coco was caught off guard when she felt herself suddenly wrenched to the side, causing her body to react on instinct.

In a swift, almost reflexive motion, she lashed out, delivering a swift blow to the person who had grabbed her from behind.

The impact was firm and there was a resounding smack as her fist connected with the assailant’s body— she stumbled a bit from the unexpected force of her own strike, her eyes widening in surprise at her own reaction.

As Coco watched the person she had inadvertently struck stagger a few feet away, a hush fell over the surrounding area.

Passersby stopped in their tracks, their gazes drawn to the unexpected disturbance before murmurs of surprise and curiosity floated through the air, the spectators intrigued by the fight.

Coco stood there, still holding the bag of coins in her hand, but her gaze was now fixed on the figure sprawled on the ground in front of her.

"Goodness gracious, Coco." The person said, his tone tinged with pain and annoyance. "That really hurts."

Coco’s eyes widened as the realization began to filter through her daze because the person on the ground that groaned in pain, slowly registered the identity of the person she had accidentally struck.

The fog that had clouded her senses began to lift and she gazed down at Lukas.

"L.. Lukas..?" She stuttered, her voice trembling with disbelief and shame. "I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.. I just reacted.. You suddenly grabbed me and I—"

"It’s fine." Lukas grunted and pushed himself up, wincing slightly as he rubbed his shoulder, which had taken the brunt of Coco’s blow.

He gave her a rueful grin, a mix of mild annoyance and slight admiration in his eyes.

"Seriously." He said, amusement and exasperation dripping from his voice. "You pack quite a punch. I didn’t realize you had that much strength. I feel like you could knock down a tree with a single hit."

However, as soon as he said that, Lukas paused, his face falling and tempered by a flicker of caution.

He took a step back, remembering the sheer strength Coco had shown in her attack. "Well, alright, I’ll retract that comment."

"Huh?"

"Given your ability to take down flying pigs with a single hit, I suppose taking down a tree wouldn’t be much of a challenge for you, would it..?" Lukas conceded, rubbing the back of his neck.

Cocoo shrugged, her expression softening as she dismissed the comment with a gesture.

Her mind was still caught in a chaos of thoughts due to the recent unexpected kiss from Rey that was still fresh in her memory so the mention of her physical strength barely registered.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, a hint of concern crossing his features as he observed Coco’s detached expression.

It was unusual for her to be so unfocused so his curiosity was piqued by her distant expression.

"Hey, partner?" Lukas called curiously, his voice tinged with a touch of concern. "You seem a bit out of it. Is everything okay?"

Coco shook her head and tried shrugging off Lukas’ concern.

"It’s nothing." She replied, trying to sound casual, "It doesn’t matter.. But I’m curious, what prompted you to yank me aside like that? It kinda startled me, you know."

He didn’t believe her, but upon hearing the question— Lukas’ expression shifted into a slow, widening grin as he proudly announced his news, the excitement in his voice was obvious as he shared his news with Coco.

"Guess what? I’m heading off to Archensheen!" He declared, his hands planted confidently on his hips. "I’ve finally completed enough missions to be assigned to the local branch of the guild there!"

"Congratulations, Lukas." Coco said, her voice dripping with feign enthusiasm. "I’m genuinely happy for you. It sounds like a great opportunity."

Coco mustered a small smile, trying to mask the lack of enthusiasm in her voice because deep down, even though she didn’t really feel overjoyed for Lukas, she thought it was a great opportunity, but she can’t find it in herself to care in the moment so she forced herself to offer a polite congratulations.

Lukas nodded smugly, his laughter loud and cocky, pride and confidence oozed from his every word.

"That’s me for you!" He proclaimed, his boastful tone bordering on obnoxious. "I’m the only one who can accomplish something like this in such a short time! I’m truly exceptional!"

"That’s nice, but I have to go now." Coco hummed noncommittally, an obvious nonchalance in her tone and with a casual wave, she turned away from Lukas and slowly take her leave.

"Wait— that’s all?!" Lukas whined, watching Coco walk away.