Divine Celebrity 136 (Patreon)

A frown popped to my face as I watched Miriam’s swaying hips, my mind lost in thoughts. Of course, no matter how amazing Miriam’s hips were, they weren’t beautiful enough to hypnotize me like this. No, I was lost in trying to understand the feedback I had received from her. 

Which had the potential to be the first key to resolving what the Domain was. I watched as they disappeared. Lost in thought, I didn’t pay much attention to the footsteps that approached.  

“Wow, just got dumped, and already swinging empty,” Kim said with a chuckle. “I didn’t expect the new king of campus to suddenly feel the pain of lost love like this.” 

I chuckled as turned and looked at Kim, her redheaded beauty spectacular as always, wrapped in leather pants and a simple t-shirt. “You’re late,” I said. 

“Does it matter?” she answered. “Without the approvals from the school, we can’t really start—“  she started, only to stop and examine the permits I had just received from the department about image rights. 

While she carefully read the document, I put my hand on her waist and pulled her closer. 

“Be professional,” she said, but didn’t bother pulling off my arm. While she stayed there, I focused on the feeling she gave out, to understand if there was feedback from the Lust Domain. 

Interestingly, just like when Coach Juana was concerned, there was none. 

Curious.  

I chuckled even as I let my hand dip a bit lower, ignoring Kim’s angry glare. After all, the reason I was teasing her wasn’t just to test the mechanics of the system. “You’re quite capable,” Kim said after finishing reading the document. “It allows us to use our photos commercially almost without any restriction.” 

“Benefits of giving the city a taste of victory,” I said with a chuckle, not mentioning the other reason. 

No need to act crass. 

“So, what’s the plan,” she said as she passed me the bag. I checked, and saw it contained a bright t-shirt, and some kind of shorts. “That’s the outfit,” I said with distaste. It was far too bright for my taste. 

“Yes, Megan decided to make a splash with the first line,” Kim said. “It doesn’t have to sell too much. It just has to be memorable to establish a strong brand presence.” 

“I don’t care much,” I said with a shrug as I quickly changed, ignoring the fact that we were still in the parking lot. No one was around us, so it was not a big problem. I didn’t ask more questions about branding as well for two reasons. 

First, it was not my area of expertise, and I didn’t want to deal with it. 

Second, and more importantly, I didn’t really care. As long as it added to my fame and gave me an excuse to have money, I was okay with it. I was aware that the benefits of money — especially the amounts I could get legally in the short term — wouldn’t compare in any way when compared to the benefits of the System. 

And, to unlock more, I needed fame. 

Pity becoming a professional athlete was not a viable path. Even under the best of circumstances, I could play in the next season due to the bureaucratic structure of the league … and once I became a professional athlete, my time would be even more tightly controlled. 

“Win some, lose some,” I murmured as I walked toward the stadium, Kim next to me, carrying her equipment. 

“Did you say something?” Kim asked. 

“I was wondering what’s the plan for the show?” I said. 

“What plan,” Kim said. “I’m just going to stay in a corner, and you’re going to make a commotion while I record it. Do we need to call it a plan?” 

I chuckled, admitting that she was right. That was all we needed. “You’re right,” I said. “Any preference?” 

“For what?” I asked. 

“The source of the chaos, of course,” I answered. “Do you me to deal with the coaches first, or the players.” Then, I chuckled. “Maybe I should start with the cheerleaders.” 

“Leave the cheerleaders to the last,” Kim answered, but pinched me as she said that. “Now, go.” 

I wanted to tease her a bit more, but we had already arrived at the court, where both the players and coaches were there, waiting for me. The players’ anger was understandable, but the anger of the coaches surprised me. 

“So, you’re the little kid that’s supposed to help us,” the head coach said. 

Coach Juana pushed them more than I expected, it seemed. 

And, since the situation already looked bad enough, there was no harm in stroking the first a bit more. A glance at Kim showed that she was recording. Even better, at the stands, there were several visitors recording it, including Miriam, knowing enough of my reputation to know that a scene was about to follow. 

Good, I wouldn’t want a commotion to go to waste. “Hey, old man!” I called cheerfully. “I heard that you guys need some help from the football team to solve that horrible losing streak you guys are suffering.” 

The face of the coach immediately started changing, turning into a deep purple. “Oh, I heard that your reputation is not exaggerated,” the coach answered. 

Then, the boy that I had been dealing with earlier stepped forward. “Coach, maybe we should see if he’s good enough to teach us,” he said. “After all, it’s only fair to see how good he is.” Then, without waiting for an answer, he threw the ball toward me hard. 

It was a bad pass, but catching it was trivial. 

The coach didn’t look surprised at his sudden intrusion, meaning they had already talked about it. “Not a bad idea. After all, you’re supposed to teach us about basketball,” the coach said. 

I chuckled. “Oh, you want to turn our private bet into public, how fun,” I answered. As I said that, he flinched, and in a corner, I noticed Miriam giving out a smug smile. 

Yet, it wasn’t the thing that I noticed at the stands. While Miriam gave that smug smile, I felt a sudden echo of Lust. It was weaker than the earlier sensation, and more importantly, the source was not Miriam, but some of the other cheerleaders that were looking at her in surprise. 

I had a feeling that Miriam had already blabbed about the bet, which wouldn’t have been a problem in the slightest even without the unexpected benefit of finally giving me a clue about the source. 

I could see who was interested in my presence and who was not … yet I could still see Lust didn’t perfectly correlate with it. What correlated more was a sense of wistfulness in their expression…

Like they were looking for a prize they couldn’t attain. 

How fascinating. 

I couldn’t help but think about what my guide had said. She was very determined to define what would empower me as worship … which was, ultimately, something that required a sense of unattainable devotion. 

Miriam’s echo of Lust didn’t disappear because her arousal suddenly disappear, but she lost the impression that I was unattainable. 

After all, we were going to fight for her. 

I looked at her, winking, and she started to blush. I chuckled. Initially, I wasn’t particularly invested in her, and just wanted a reason to start fighting … but since, intentionally or not, she helped me to solve some of the mystery of Domains, she deserved a reward. 

A spectacular one. 

However, my plans to flirt with her a bit were aborted by the coach. “We shouldn’t waste much time,” the coach said. “I still have a lot of work to do, and I can’t waste the whole day dealing with the flights of fancy from our new sports director.”

A deliberate shot, as not only he had made sure to speak loudly, but also looked to the side to check if people were actually recording. 

Not that I needed to confirm … the stirrings in the Intent flow told me that people were already watching us. 

With greater numbers than I expected. Probably due to my reputation, everyone anticipated a scene. 

Well, it would be rude to disappoint them. 

I shook my head as I looked at the coach,, dribbling the ball calmly in the process. “Well, coach, if you think it’ll help to humiliate the nepotistic bunch you like to call players before we start the game, who am I to argue.” 

And just like that, the whole team was my enemy. How fun. 

“Let’s start with you, the little boy who volunteered his girlfriend to help me get over my most recent heartbreak,” I said as I turned to the power forward that challenged me earlier, though I didn’t even bother learning with his name. 

I wouldn’t say that his anger was undeserved, but it was the wrong choice, because it made him unable to see the danger of the pass as I threw the ball at him. 

It looked like it was going to bounce low, so he leaned down reflexively, only for the ball to bounce much higher due to the spin I added … ending up on his face. 

“Careful, little boy,” I chucked as he looked ready to rush forward, but a gesture from the coach stopped him. 

He said nothing as he moved toward the hoop, and I followed. I had some games to win…