The Fate Of The World Is In My Hands, But All I Want To Do Is Eat! - Chapter 331

Chapter 331: But that only applies to everyone else besides Leo
“Then, what made you rage?” Alice asked.

Mark stayed silent for a moment, recollecting his thoughts. He was jealous, but he could not admit that fact for fear that Alice would take a hint and figure out he had feelings for her.

So, he decided to ask something else. Something that had been troubling him since earlier.

“Alice,” he called softly. “Do you not feel awkward when you walk around naked in front of the other gender?” He asked her. “Like earlier… You were naked in his presence, right? Do you… Honestly not mind him seeing you without clothes? I just can’t…” He gritted his teeth. “Imagine you feeling okay about it.”

“But I don’t feel anything about it though.” She said, startling him. “Maybe in a normal sense, for those who lived normal lives, it would be a big deal but… I understand your concern.”

Mark’s heart thumped. He watched her as her eyes slowly fell in dismissal. He wasn’t trying to berate her or anything. He just… Didn’t like the fact that Leo so nonchalantly stayed in the same room with her when she was naked.

He even followed her into the bathroom and she still felt nothing about it. Just… How much did they condemn her natural thinking for her to feel nothing about it?

It made him tremble in anger.

“Mark, did you know, I used to despise it when the men back at the den would look at me when I was bare?” Alice said and he lifted his head.

Her expression wasn’t as serious as it used to and she actually looked quite pained, though she wasn’t keeping eye contact with him.

“It made my skin crawl, and I gritted my teeth in disgust, but they made us believe it was normal to not feel shame when standing naked in front of the opposite sex, and I grew up with that mentality. Yet, even when I knew it was ‘normal’ I could not stand to feel disgusted when they laid eyes on me. Even when I was clothed, the feeling of disgust was still there, so I never really attributed that disgust to being seen naked.”

She paused, stared at his face to note his reaction, and then continued,

“In any case,” she sighed. “I now know that it’s not actually normal to go around naked in the presence of the opposite sex.” She said. “But I don’t actually care about it. I don’t mind and could strip in front of you without shame.” She flicked her finger. “I guess they managed to successfully delete the word dignity and shame from my blood.”

“But it’s not right.” Mark claimed, his expression looking desperate.

“Yeah, to you it’s not.” She said and he blinked, stunned. “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t feel anything about it right now?”

“What… Does that mean?”

“I don’t feel disgusted; maybe it’s because I don’t have those pair of borrowing eyes filled with awful intentions on me. And I don’t feel shame in the slightest. It’s like my body doesn’t even belong to me so why do I need to hide it?”

“But still–”

“But I do know now that though it doesn’t inconvenience me,” She added, interrupting him before he had a chance to say what was on his mind. “…it inconveniences the people around me, so I’m trying to be careful,” she lifted her gaze, “…for your sake.”

Mark gulped. Her eyes… They were so sharply fixed on him. It was as if she was warning him.

“But that only applies to everyone else besides Leo. I especially feel comfortable when he’s around.” At the mention of that, Mark felt his heart thump painfully.

That was the very reason he brought this up, and yet she was saying it was okay to be like that in front of him because it was ‘Leo’. Just what the hell had he done to her?

“Since Leo takes good care of me, even though he reminds me that I’m out of my head when I act so unaware and tries to correct me. And I wonder, maybe the reason why I feel especially comfortable even when he’s in the bathroom with me naked is because his intentions towards me are as pure as a white slate. He knows my ins and outs and still doesn’t batt an eye.” She lightly scoffed, looking amused. “That side of him is like a thick wall that I can’t crack, and I don’t even try to crack it. That’s what makes him… Unique.”

Sweat rolled down Mark’s jaw. She thought so highly of him.

“The eyes he uses to look at me hold no intention whatsoever. No desire, no longing… He’s just…” Her lips curled up softly and her gaze equally softened, having that soft glow that could very much be mistaken for a girl in love. “My guardian angel.”

Mark was out of his head if he thought he could talk Alice against anything that Leo couldn’t succeed in.

He dropped his head, defeated. He was definitely way over his head.

“Alice, I’m glad you have someone taking good care of you,” he said, squeezing his fist. “But… Can you…?” He paused, having no courage to complete his words when Alice spoke up.

“What’s with the long face?” She asked and he raised his head to find her resting on her palm.

She crossed her legs and dropped her elbow on her knee, resting her chin on her palm as she smiled brightly.

“You take care of me just as much and I equally think highly of you.” She said. “You’re my second guardian angel, so don’t think I’m not letting you get away from me, understand?”

Mark looked at that smile and his heart warmed up.

Yes, this was enough. So long he was still of great help to Alice, he wouldn’t ask for more.

He wouldn’t be greedy anymore and even if he couldn’t help his jealousy, he would make sure never to do anything that would push Alice to compromise.

“Alright, I’m done.” Leo announced as he approached. “I assume you guys are done with your talk?” He asked, glancing at Mark, who kept his head down, and Alice nodded.

“Yup! Ready for bed.” She said and uncrossed her legs, getting up from the chair.

While Mark’s head was down, he thought about what he could do to help Alice more than he was already doing. He wasn’t as strong as he was. He was even considered weak since he couldn’t even fight monsters properly for an A-class awakened.

He was basically useless if not for his cooking skills. He…

Alice suddenly planted a kiss on his forehead and his eyes widened. His eyes rolled towards her in shock, and he found her smiling.

“Don’t beat yourself up for no reason, you got it?” She said. “You’re already very helpful to me, Mark. I’m grateful for your help.”

Mark was bewildered and frozen. He watched Alice grab Leo’s hand and head up the stairs but he was still frozen in place.

Alice had always recognized his skills and made it clear how grateful she was that he cooked such great food. But for some reason, her words this time sounded especially special.

His face flushed and he covered his face with his palms, leaving little room for his eyes.

His heart was beating so loud that it could be compared to an MP3 player. (Sarcasm)

‘I… I just might have a problem on my hands.’

He was falling for Alice more than he thought he would.