The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 1366: The Affection Game

Emily remained quiet for a few moments before she started to speak...

"I personally like the way you smile. It is calming and pleasant to look at." Emily blushed in the end, but she said what she liked about Klaus.

Of course, when it comes to what she truly likes about him, it would be everything about him. Klaus had developed the habit of always smiling, regardless of how daunting something was.

He is always smiling, which lightens the mood.

Maybe it was something he got from his father.

The mad hunter, to the rest of the universe, was one of the most dangerous demigods to walk the face of the universe. Some say he is even more dangerous than most of the paragons when they were demigods.

However, Klaus saw him as a loving father and a best friend. They had so much fun when he was a kid, so maybe, subconsciously, he developed this habit of showing a happy expression when he talks.

That, in a way, became a part of him, and while the four ladies currently staring at him can say they like other things about him, they all love his smile, and so, aside from Emily, they all gave him the same answer.

He wasn’t displeased with their answer. They said the truth, and so he was drawn much closer to them. But they have to do more than that if the Affection Board is to have an effect on him.

"I have to admit that was on me. I lowered the bar and let you take advantage of my question. But from here onwards, you must put on the big girl hat and answer the questions that follow."

They nodded, but he could see they were already flustered. It is a silly game, a bit wasteful. However, he needed to know them, so he chose this shortcut.

"Next question... If you had the chance to change something about yourself, what would it be..."

They all expected Klaus to go in-depth and ask shameless questions. However, the question he asked now had nothing to do with him.

If they were a bit flustered by what he asked the last time, they were now a bit taken aback by his question. It sounded like Klaus wanted to know more about them, and so he lowered their guard only for him to reveal his hand.

But they had to answer because it was within the parameters of the affection game. They also could not lie. But even if they wanted to lie, what would even be the point? They had already decided to become his wives, so revealing their regrets wasn’t much of an ask.

Miko was the first to react.

She inhaled slowly, her fingers curling at her sides. "I would change my hesitation," she said after a moment. "I think too much before acting. Sometimes, by the time I decide, the moment has already passed.

I had the chance to make these corrections about myself many times in the past, but as I said, I always hesitate.

I know it can sometimes be good to hesitate. Making an impulsive decision isn’t always the best thing to do. It is not always the right track to take.

But in a life-or-death situation, a slight moment of hesitation can cause so much damage that I know I cannot bear to carry.

So if I can correct that about me, I would be more than happy."

Klaus nodded thoughtfully and then turned to Mio. Seeing the look on her face, he knew the two sisters had perhaps talked about this in the past.

From what Aoi told him, his sisters had been together from the day they awakened as warriors. Mio waited a year to take the awakening serum because she wanted to wait for Miko to turn sixteen.

They awakened as warriors the same day and began walking the warrior’s path. So perhaps her hesitation had put them in danger before, many times even.

The look on their faces said it all.

"It is indeed good to hesitate sometimes. Believe me, I had, in the past, made so many impulsive decisions that left me in dangers so harrowing that I nearly died quite a couple of times.

And as you said, it is also bad to hesitate because, in a situation where one is required to make the quickest and most logical decision, hesitating, even if for a fraction of a second, can cost you dearly.

However, can you really afford to hesitate? Can you even afford not to hesitate?

These two questions are just something that has no fix. If you stop hesitating, what then would happen to you? And if you hesitate a lot, too, what then would happen?"

Without Klaus knowing it, his thousands of years of experience took over, making him appear like a deity.

In that moment, Lady Danika, who could be said to have more experience than the three ladies, saw his maturity and, well, became attracted to him.

"A very long time ago, a kid who ran away because his life was in danger met two immortal beasts. He had no idea why they met or what they would do to him.

However, at that very moment, when he realised he was at a point where life and death depended on what he said or did, he chose not to hesitate.

He chose to embrace the will to live, and so he made a move that forever changed his life.

Was he afraid? Yes. He was damn scared. However, he knew hesitating was the last thing he could afford to do. Even if he hesitated for a fraction of a second, he would have died."

Klaus looked Miko in the eye and smiled. "What this revealed had nothing to do with us not hesitating. It teaches us that, in any situation we find ourselves in, prioritising our lives is paramount.

The will to live is what should drive our decision-making. If you have the will to live but still refuse to make a decision, if you hesitate, whatever happens to you will be your own fault.

Trust me, the need to live, the will to make a decision that trumps all in times of crisis, has nothing to do with hesitation.

If you were to ask me whether hesitation in times of crisis can also have its advantages, I would say you are wrong. In times of crisis, there is only one thing: the will to live.

So, you may ask, when does one have to hesitate? When is the right time to hesitate? The answer to that is to hesitate when you are in control. When you have control over who lives and who dies, that is when you can afford to hesitate.

When you are at the point where a single decision from you can decide the course of someone’s or many lives, that is when you hesitate and make sure your decision is the right one.

Because believe me, making the wrong decision impulsively can cost you dearly. By the time you realise your mistake, everything would be too late. So, hesitate or not, it always has to do with whether your life is threatened or not."

"Wow, you are like an ancient monk right now," Mio said.

Klaus smiled as usual and replied. "Funny, you say that. I was actually a monk once. A very long time ago."