"Would you love to dine with me?"

Shocked gasps spread through the room.

It was no news, Tianzun barely spoke to anyone at all. To the point that most assumed he was mute.

True, he was a monk, but even that didn’t explain why he was practically mute. Even the other group of heroes from China had also admitted that he didn’t speak or interact with them in any way.

Even in his battles, he barely said a thing, but for the first time, he’d actually approached someone, and not only that, he asked them to dine with him?

"Kto eto?"

"Ne znayu, ya vizhu yego vpervyye."

"Ya slyshal, chto eto byl geroy Fantom."

"Ooo... tot, o kotorom nam rasskazyvali?"

"Ya, ya."

Nicholas looked at Tianzun with a blank face. He had absolutely no idea why he’d approached him, but he already had his response.

"N—"

Before he could finish, a hand latched onto his mouth, closing it shut.

"Yes, we would love to join you for dinner. We were just heading there now," Selena blurted out with a wide smile on her face.

’Didn’t she just say she had no issues with my decision?’ Nicholas was genuinely stunned by Selena’s shamelessness.

Even Julie, still holding Nicholas’ arm, couldn’t help but look at her in surprise, ’So now she doesn’t want him to go anymore!? That’s cheating’

"That would be wonderful..." Tianzun said with a smile.

"Alright. Please just give us a second." Selena quickly dragged Nicholas outside the gathering room.

Before stopping by the door, Nicholas stared her dead in the eyes, his eyes already telling her what he wanted to say.

"I know, I know, but I didn’t explain this to you earlier. The bonding period isn’t so casual. While we’re actually meant to have fun and all, it’s also a great time to study opponents for the combat tournament"

"Tianzun has never approached anyone before and has always kept a good distance. And for years now, he’s been taking the Emblem home. But that’s mostly because no one knows exactly how his abilities work. He seems interested in you, so if we could get him to talk about it, it would help us in the main combat!" Selena explained, her eyes bright as she looked at Nicholas.

"No," Nicholas replied bluntly as he turned away to go to the elevator.

"I’ll pay you," Selena shot back.

Nicholas paused, turning his gaze back to look at Selena. ’Why is she so eager to get information about him?’ Nicholas was surprised. This was the first time he’d seen her act that way.

Her resolve genuinely caught him by surprise, making him let out a soft breath.

"I’ll pay ten thousand," Selena said, her eyes bright with resolve.

"No need," Nicholas replied.

Selena felt a flush of embarrassment on her face. ’Who am I kidding? I can’t pay that greedy brat. He already makes ten times my income.’ She felt stupid for even bringing up the idea.

’Then again, he is clearly the shameless type. He’d take almost any money he was offered, so why didn’t he accept mine?’ Selena thought, her embarrassment shifting to annoyance.

But soon she noticed Nicholas’ figure walking towards the door again and pulling it open.

"Huh? Thought you said you weren’t coming?" Selena asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

"I said no need to pay me."

Selena felt a flush on her cheeks as she turned her gaze away. "You know, I never thought you’d ever decline a payment."

"I would’ve taken it, but that would only make you poorer."

She almost choked from his words, her eyes flashing back at him in rage, but he’d already entered the gathering room.

’That brat! I’ll kill him myself,’ Selena thought angrily before taking a deep breath.

’Tsk.’ She hissed before entering the room.

Nicholas walked up to Tianzun, who still stood calmly with a smile.

"We’ll be going to the dining," Nicholas said.

Julie nearly vibrated with excitement. ’Awesome! Now I can get the two top heroes from two countries on screen!’

"GroR should be here to lead us to the dining room soon, so we only have to wait a bit," Selena said as she walked back to the group, but following right behind her was GroR.

(⁠✷⁠‿⁠✷⁠) Sorry for keeping you all waiting! The dining hall has been arranged. Please join me to the hall.

GroR said, taking the lead as it moved to the door first.

The crowd immediately followed, voices and whispers still filling the air as they moved.

"Supervisor Selena, since we’ve got visitors from other countries, do you think they’ll have different dishes as well?" Light asked as the group walked out the door.

"Of course, the Association arranged for that so the visitors could feel at home," Selena replied calmly.

"Awesome," Light replied, almost drooling from the thought of the amazing dishes that would be there.

"Supervisor Selena, I can take pictures and videos, right?!" Julie asked, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Selena.

"You can, but you’ll have to be mindful. After all, most of the heroes here would love to keep their information personal."

Julie pumped her fist excitedly, her camera flashing as she brought it out, taking several shots at once.

Selena sighed. She glanced from the side of her eyes at Tianzun and Nicholas, who fell just a few steps behind them. She’d been keeping her ears open for any information she could get, but both had yet to say a thing. She felt rather annoyed seeing the two.

’Did he just meet him so they’ll communicate in their dumb language? Why the heck are the two so quiet?’ she thought, feeling frustrated.

Tianzun made no attempt to start a conversation whatsoever, despite being the one who had approached them, and Nicholas didn’t seem interested in doing so on his side.

Nicholas quickly caught Selena’s constant glances. She looked as though she wanted to shoot him with her eyes.

’Why is she so eager to get information on him?’ He thought with a sigh as he turned to Tianzun. "So you speak English? I thought you’d only speak Mandarin," he asked calmly.

"Oh, I actually went to a school here in America, and graduated a few years back before moving back to China," Tianzun replied calmly.

Selena listened keenly to their discussion, hoping to gain any useful information from it.

"So tell me, why did you decide to speak to me? You’re quite infamous for keeping to yourself..." Nicholas asked. He’d had the thought on his mind.

He didn’t particularly care why Tianzun had approached him. But since Selena had dragged him into this, he figured the reason couldn’t be a simple one.

Tianzun opened his eyes, an unsettling smile on his face as he turned to Nicholas, his sharp golden eyes locking with Nicholas’.

"Because I’m curious how the soul of an otherworlder made it here."

Nicholas’ expression twisted.