The Reticent Blade - Chapter 23 - Quid Pro Quo

Melanie Collins was the perfect wife—caring, strong, and dependable. For the last few years, she had managed her husband’s messy family, and business alone while waiting for her husband to return from studying abroad. But when he finally came back, Melanie’s world fell apart—he wasn’t alone. Along with him was his 'best' friend.Broken and confused about the change in her husband, Melanie didn’t know where to turn. And then she stumbled into another cold reality. Everything she had believed was a lie.Seething with anger and humiliation, as she tried to come to terms with the betrayal, an unexpected person steps into the picture, intent on seducing her and conquering her.The only problem? The man was her ex brother in law...And against her better judgment, she is attracted to this bad boy...But as Melanie tried to make sense of the changes, she discovered there was more going on than she ever imagined. Had both brothers loved really fallen in love with her? Or was she just a pawn in a bigger game?excerptSince he had already been leaning against the table, he simply slid onto it, and with one swift motion, he hooked his boot around the leg of her chair and pulled it—pulled her—closer.The sudden movement made her jolt slightly, and when she looked up or rather when she looked ahead, she found herself staring directly at the zipper of his jeans... She looked up then and met his gaze.He caught her chin,“ Would you like to check if I am only pretending, sweet melon?”Melanie stiffened. And then pushed back her chair suddenly, so that Adam almost lost his balance, as she stood up.Before he could balance himself, she placed her hand on his shoulder, her fingers brushing against his neck. Adam stiffened, his eyes glittering as he waited to see what she would do next. And she, of course surprised him as her other hand, slowly settled on the inside of his thigh. And then, the hand on his shoulder started to move. Her fingers tracing the side of his neck before lifting as she shot a glance to the corner of his mouth. The little piece of metal glinting there. She flicked at it lightly, barely a touch, but Adam could feel the heat all over his body, as she leaned in close, her lips barely a few centimetres away...so that they could both feel each other's breaths…She smiled slowly then. “Careful, Adam,” she murmured, her voice playful, but carrying the unmistakable edge of a challenge. “Keep pushing, and I just might call your bluff.”

He was on his way to buy some beer to celebrate his acceptance as a civil servant when he was suddenly isekai’d by truck-kun.

Years ago when she was only a young girl, Rose ran away with her two friends Alexander and Mathias, just when they were about to be branded as slaves and sold to work in a brothel. Misfortunate fell on the group as Mathias became stuck and to save them, Rose sacrificed herself to distract the brothel owner’s son Graham who hunted them.Rose made her friends promise that in exchange for her sacrifice, they would return to free her. As the years passed and Rose reunited with her friends, she learned that all promises would not be kept.Stuck in a brothel with a man who wishes to turn her into his woman, Rose starts an unexpected relationship with Zayne Hamilton, a general of another kingdom. Zayne offers to buy her from Graham and opens the way for her sacrifice to not be forgotten.

Naoki traveled to the Pokémon world to inherit a ranch, and gained the ability to use cooking to bring magical powers to Pokémon.

As a result, some strange changes occurred in the Pokémon in the ranch.

The big milk jug that can use [Super Roll] at 360 degrees without any blind angle, the motorcycle lizard that leaves afterimages everywhere it passes as fast as lightning, the twin-tailed super that can knock Kirby beasts away with one hammer Hercules the Forge…

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The wild trainer who learned the news came specially to challenge the practice.

Naoki: Has the challenger arrived?

Steward Rotom: Report to Lotto, he got into a fight with our milk cow Lotto.

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