Infinity Is My Affinity?!?-Chapter 114: Wanna Join My Party?

The night air over Old Shinkotsu carried the crisp scent of pine and old incense, remaining completely untouched by the jubilant chaos further south.

Soft amber light spilled from the mana lamps lining the pristine gravel paths of the trio’s temporary estate, reflecting off the dark, still water of the koi pond and washing over the wooden gazebo sitting at its center.

Inside the pavilion, a comfortable silence had settled over the round table.

Nom-Nom sat hunched over a small leather-bound notebook while she chewed thoughtfully on a piece of dried fruit, her violet slit pupils narrowing in absolute concentration before she carefully dragged the quill across the parchment to wage war against a block of arithmetic problems.

Sitting directly across from her, Peko remained a picture of perfect composure.

Her long chestnut hair swept elegantly over her right shoulder, draping down the front of her pristine white robes, which were traced with delicate gold embroidery.

She held a thick, open book in her hands, while a porcelain teacup sat untouched near her elbow.

[He should be done with the dungeon dive by now,] Peko thought, suppressing a heavy sigh at the mere prospect of having to endure another one of Nom-Nom’s impersonations of the Young Master. [There is simply too much to report. If only I too had a direct line...]

Her gaze drifted from the pages of her book to her own hand, her thumb lightly tracing her pinkie finger before a sudden, unbidden warmth crept up the back of her neck as the memory of his absurd little promise surfaced.

[Maybe he has already found a solution...]

She caught herself, a quiet, self-deprecating chuckle escaping her lips as she shook her head.

[Don’t be absurd. Between the General, Pantheon, and now this Entropy cult... I cannot expect him to place me above our collective needs.]

[But still...]

"Done!"

Nom-Nom’s bright, booming voice shattered the quiet of the gazebo, snapping Peko out of her thoughts and onto the towering Dragon holding out the small leather notebook with a wide, expectant grin.

Setting her book aside, Peko took the notebook and scanned the four-digit addition, complex division, and the set of multi-layered multiplication she had given Nom-Nom to solve.

She checked the final sums, her violet eyes tracking down the page as a faint glimmer of genuine respect softened her gaze.

Every single answer was flawless.

[She learns just as fast as I do...] Peko mused, handing the notebook back. [At least there is that silver lining...]

"These are all correct," Peko stated evenly.

Nom-Nom’s grin widened until it practically reached ear-to-ear. "Then let’s call Master!"

"Not yet," Peko replied smoothly, reaching into the folds of her white robes to pull out a fresh sheet of parchment packed with another dense block of equations before sliding it across the wooden table. "Solve these first." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Nom-Nom froze, her grin instantly evaporating while her nostrils flared. "Why?!"

"Because the entire Entropy fiasco completely derailed your studies last night," Peko answered flatly, picking her book back up and dismissing the Dragon from her view entirely. "Once you have made up for yesterday’s lost hours, we will call him. I have much to report as well."

Nom-Nom stared, turned into a glare as she snatched the fresh worksheet off the table, her chest heaving with deep, dramatic breaths.

Dropping the paper in front of her, she aggressively grabbed a massive fistful of dried fruits and shoved the entirety of them into her mouth before chewing them in violent, exaggerated crunches, locking her slit violet eyes onto Peko in a silent, glaring threat that very clearly conveyed: I will eat you.

Peko didn’t even flinch.

She simply lowered her book a fraction of an inch, meeting the Dragon’s glare with a deadpan, chillingly calm stare of her own that effortlessly replied: Try me.

A long, tense second passed before Nom-Nom let out a loud, petulant "Hmph!", turning her nose up at the ceiling before aggressively dipping her quill back into the inkwell and getting back to her math.

Peko let out a quiet, dignified "Hmph" of her own before dismissing the Dragon once again.

She went back to her book, her right hand elegantly reaching for her porcelain teacup, which she then brought to her lips, tilting her head back for a calm, refined sip before-

-Ding!

{Nico has invited you to join his party "Party-1".

Would you like to accept?}

"Aaaha!"

The glowing blue text popping into existence less than an inch from her nose gave the apex predator the absolute worst jump-scare of her entire life, jerking her violently back as her hands spasmed on reflex, launching the heavy book and the teacup straight into the air as she frantically swatted at the prompt in sheer panic and -

-CRASH!

The flinch flipped her chair, sending Peko slamming flat on her back onto the wooden floorboards with her legs kicking straight up into the air, drenching her pristine white robes in hot tea, while her heart leapt into her throat as she violently hacked the liquid out of her windpipe.

But even while coughing her lungs out, her survival instincts didn’t miss a single beat.

She whipped a trembling hand straight up at the hovering blue screen while a roaring sphere of golden Phoenix flames erupted out of her palm, casting a blinding glare across the gazebo as she took lethal aim at the sudden attacker with wide, tear-filled eyes.

Only for it all to be instantly shattered by a booming unconstrained roar of laughter.

Nom-Nom doubled over in her chair, clutching her stomach as she practically howled at the ceiling, tears of sheer mirth welling up in her violet eyes at the sight of the dignified Phoenix reduced to a flailing, choking mess.

Lying amidst the shattered porcelain and spilled tea, Peko slowly lowered her trembling, flame-wreathed hand, extinguishing the Phoenix fire with a sharp, furious hiss as her embarrassment rapidly boiled over into pure rage.

And as she slowly pushed herself up from the damp floorboards, she shot the hysterically laughing Dragon a glare cold enough to freeze hell over.

But as she stood up, aggressively brushing the damp tea leaves from her ruined white robes, her violet eyes caught a familiar glow.

Floating right in front of Nom-Nom’s face was an identical blue translucent screen.

Peko’s mind instantly connected the dots. The "Party-1" invite. The exact timing. The signature blue light of the Chronos Protocol.

And the boiling fury evaporated in a single heartbeat. Replaced by a sudden, overwhelming warmth deep inside her chest, while her heart, which had just taken back its correct place, leapt right back into her throat for an entirely different reason.

[He did it...] she realized, her breath hitching slightly as she stared at the floating text.

With a hand that was now trembling from a completely different kind of overwhelming emotion, Peko slowly reached out toward the hovering blue prompt, extending a delicate finger and gently pressing the glowing ’Accept’ text.

Only for her fingertip to simply phase right through the ethereal prompt.

That simple, confused gesture sent Nom-Nom into an entirely new fit of hysterics.

The Dragon slapped her knee, letting out a series of smug, breathless giggles as she pointed at the bewildered Phoenix.

"It works via thoughts!" Nom-Nom giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. "You just have to think about accepting it!"

Peko didn’t even grant the hysterical Dragon a second glance, silently vowing to get back at her later, one way or another.

But beneath the lingering sting of wounded pride, the warmth in her chest only grew as she brought her focus back to the glowing blue text hovering in the air, toward the only thing that actually mattered in that moment.

Taking a slow, trembling breath to steady her racing heart, she focused her intent on the interface.

And with a single thought-

-Ding!

{Invitation accepted.

Congratulations, you are now a member of Party-1!}