Infinity Is My Affinity?!?-Chapter 126: The Yin to My Yang

"Young Master, Nom-Nom is not a normal woman," Peko stressed as her eyes locked directly onto mine through the screen. "She is, first and foremost, a Chimera... a mix of a Greater Dragon and arguably the worst accursed entity to have ever been put into this world, a Wendigo. The sheer destruction she is capable of is... inconceivable. So I implore you, she must not be allowed to-"

I cut her off right there, sharply raising my hand as I leaned closer to the projection. "What Nom is first and foremost is not a Chimera, but a woman who had spent five flippin’ hundred years ravaged by eternal hunger, trapped on that island, and experimented on by Pantheon... She is a woman who never deserved any of this... She is a woman who just wants to live a life worth living... a life of freedom, full of friends and family, tasty food... and most importantly, fun. And the world be damned, Peko, I will not take that from her. Not even a little."

Peko stared at me through the holographic feed with her violet eyes slightly wide in genuine shock.

For a long moment, the only sound was the cold night breeze sweeping across my cliffside platform before she slowly raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, letting out a long sigh.

"I didn’t think of it this way..." Peko finally admitted, dropping her hand back to her side. "You are correct..."

"And so are you," I replied with a light chuckle, feeling the heavy tension finally bleed out of the air between us. "Too much of anything... no matter what it may be, is bad."

I watched her tilt her head slightly in quiet contemplation before I offered another soft chuckle. "That’s where you come in... you’re the yin to my yang."

Peko let out a sudden sound that was caught perfectly somewhere between a dismissive scoff and a genuine laugh.

Leaning back in my wooden chair, I let a soft smile cross my face as I said. "And Peko... what I said about Nom goes for you too. I can’t bring myself to say no to you either..."

A faint, highly uncharacteristic flush of pink suddenly crept up Peko’s cheeks, causing her to quickly avert her gaze as her composure completely fractured for a fraction of a second while she fiercely tried to suppress the reaction.

[Gotcha~] I thought with a hidden smirk before immediately extending a conversational saving grace.

"And I sorta expect the same..." I chuckled, casually shifting my weight in the chair. "I mean, things are probably getting pretty heated up back at Shinkotsu, and here I am out on my own little adventure."

Peko instantly seized the lifeline, looking straight back at the camera while securely locking her perfectly stoic mask back in place. "You need not worry. I will handle any and all developments... and should anything happen that would require your attention, I will inform you that very moment."

"Right," I nodded in complete agreement. "While we’re on that topic... did anything interesting happen today?"

Peko gave her head a swift, dismissive shake. "Nothing of note."

"Well, I have a little update I think I should share," I announced, reaching across the desk to scoop up both the gold coin and the newly manifested nugget.

"I managed to make this tonight..." I said, holding both pieces of metal directly up to the camera feed. "Once I get the hang of it, we should have a decent new avenue of income. I can even go for other precious metals like high-grade Adamantite and Mythril."

Peko leaned closer to her end of the projection, absolute shock breaking through her stoic mask for the second time as she gasped. "Manifestation is one of the hardest forms of Magecraft... To think you mastered it to such an extent... in such a short amount of time..."

"Thee-hee..." I let out an awkwardly embarrassed laugh while rubbing the back of my neck. "Well, that’s all from me. Hit me up anytime you need, alright?"

Peko offered a deep, respectful nod. "Good night, Young Master."

"Night~" I grinned, watching the video feed instantly snap to black.

And the second it did, I let out a long sigh along with a chuckle as the memory of Peko’s panicked, blushing face, and how hard she had tried to suppress it, crossed my mind.

Shaking my head, I leaned back against the sturdy wooden chair and stared up at the glowing moon. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Just like Nom-Nom, I, too, had been handed a miraculous second chance.

After a miserable past life spent slowly dying from cancer, I had actually lucked out and caught the golden isekai ticket.

Back then, on that island, I honestly thought I was just going to do whatever I wanted with my new lease on life, basically living like a free bird with zero headaches and responsibilities.

But instead, here I was... actively on the run from Pantheon, lying to and somehow fooling an entire nation, and deeply feeling the responsibility for the two chimeras. And now, Entropy was somehow in the mix too.

[And somewhere between it all... I began living that classic isekai via Nom-Nom... And frankly, I don’t mind, for now.]

Did I regret getting mixed up with Nom-Nom and Peko?

Not one bit. I would’ve done it all over again if given the chance.

[So until things stabilize... Guess I’ll keep living that classic isekai fantasy via Nom... See her do the things I had wanted to... while I steal some moments for myself too.]

Pushing the thoughts aside, I reached across the desk to finally pick the book on Reinforcement Magic back up.

[Alright, let’s see if I find some cheat tricks,] I thought as I flipped the book open.

And just as I did...

-Ding!

{Incoming Party Audio/Video Transmission: Nom-Nom.}

I sighed, mentally accepting the connection before I could even read the first sentence.

The interface rippled to life, instantly filling my vision with a teary-eyed, completely miserable Nom-Nom.

"Waaah! Master!" Nom-Nom wailed as she rubbed her swelling cheek and leaned into the projection. "Peko broke my tooth with a punch and sold it to the System for fifty thousand credits!"

"Wai-What! Fifty Grand?!"

"MASTER!"

"Right..."