Chapter 20: Ponsel
Mateo was still frozen while Alice continued holding his hand, her expression remaining unchanged.
What exactly was she trying to say?
Mateo wondered.
"What about things in the real world? Is there anything you want? I’ll buy you anything."
Mateo, "..."
He had not expected her to say that.
Part of him still wished she would ask something from him instead.
The problem was not that he wanted nothing. He simply felt uncomfortable asking others for things, especially a woman.
"No, Alice..." Mateo tried to shake his head, but the woman suddenly tightened her grip on his hand.
"A phone. Don’t you want a new one?" Alice said while looking at Mateo’s outdated phone.
"Don’t hesitate. Our relationship is obviously different because I’m a wealthy woman who can practically buy anything in this world, so it’s natural for me to support you financially."
Mateo, "..."
"This one or this one?" Alice asked as she showed him her phone screen, which displayed the latest iPhone and Samsung models on an online marketplace.
Mateo scratched his hair awkwardly.
He could see Alice waiting for him to choose.
Accepting something from her felt uncomfortable, but rejecting her after she was already prepared to order it also seemed wrong.
Someone’s sincerity should not be rejected endlessly.
"Samsung," he replied quietly.
Maybe after this, Alice would become more passive and simply wait for him to ask for things himself.
Alice smiled faintly after hearing his choice and immediately placed the order, requesting direct delivery.
Since the university was located in the city center, the store could deliver it quickly.
It would probably only take twenty to thirty minutes.
Mateo continued eating, taking slow and careful bites.
What he did not expect was that only fifteen minutes later, a delivery courier arrived.
"Who here is named Alice Habsburg?" the courier announced loudly because the cafeteria was crowded with students.
The moment they heard that name, everyone immediately looked toward Alice.
Alice casually signaled to the courier with a wave of her hand.
The courier was carrying the box of the newest Samsung model, which he placed in front of Alice.
"Miss, you can test it first. If the phone doesn’t work, we’ll replace it immediately," the courier said.
Alice nodded before handing the box to Mateo for him to open.
The students exchanged glances after seeing that.
They realized Alice had bought the phone for Mateo.
Mateo could only pretend to stay calm as he opened the box, which already felt incredibly premium just from touching it.
When it opened, the phone was revealed.
The moment he touched it, he realized it looked even more luxurious than it did in videos online.
He pressed the power button, and only two seconds later, the screen lit up.
The courier took a photo of the activated phone before leaving immediately.
Mateo then became busy logging into his accounts and transferring his SIM card.
Compared to his old phone, the difference was overwhelming.
"Thank you," he said.
"Now I feel more comfortable calling you my boyfriend," Alice replied.
Mateo rolled his eyes.
Wasn’t that supposed to be the guy’s line?
But the problem here was that the guy was the one being financially supported by the girl.
"My class is about to start again," Mateo said after glancing at the time on his new phone.
"Yeah..." Alice nodded.
Mateo then stood up and left.
As soon as he stepped out of the cafeteria, he finally saw Jack walking toward him.
"Where were you?" Mateo asked.
"Emma stopped me. She said I’d only be a disturbance," Jack replied.
"I think it was Alice’s order. She didn’t want anyone else around," he added.
Mateo could not say anything after hearing that.
He remained silent until he entered his classroom.
Instead of feeling relieved, he became even more uncomfortable because Lucas was already sitting there, staring at him unpleasantly.
"Mateo, it seems you don’t understand your own position," Lucas said.
The fact that he spoke at all made Mateo frown.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Alice. Do you really think you’re worthy of her? Do you even know how many men are interested in her?"
Mateo, "..."
Of course he knew he was not worthy of her, but what was he supposed to say?
Alice herself was the one who wanted this relationship.
He had accepted it because she offered him a free Magic Awakening Test.
Even without that, he probably still would have accepted just to try his luck.
Who would not want luck like this?
And somehow, their relationship actually seemed to be progressing well. Alice herself kept trying to deepen it while Mateo remained shy and awkward.
He did not bother responding again.
Whatever happened, it was not Lucas’s business.
After class ended, Mateo headed straight back to his dormitory.
There was nothing else he wanted to do besides returning to the Magic World.
Perhaps because he was growing stronger so quickly there, he was gradually becoming biased toward the belief that it was truly a real world and that one day the power from there would carry over to Earth.
His expression turned strange the moment he appeared in the Magic World.
Right in front of him lay a giant rat.
Even while lying down, it stood around five meters tall.
(Level 16 Monster!)
Mateo immediately received the notification.
Shua!
In just an instant, the rat stood up, becoming twice as tall.
Then it opened its mouth and tried to swallow him whole.
