Hearing that clearly made Sherly happy. At first, she had been afraid to tell Ethan, but seeing that Ethan did not take issue with it, she felt much more at ease.

Hanss had actually expressed his desire to propose to and marry Sherly several times. However, it was always hindered by Sherly's unfounded fears.

Now, after Ethan made things clear, Sherly no longer had anything to be afraid of.

She smiled happily and thanked him, occasionally nodding in agreement with the messages Ethan conveyed.

One thing was certain. They were allowed to marry and have sex, but Sherly had to understand that pregnancy would never occur in the game.

"I understand that, Sir Ethan."

"I'll get back to work," Sherly replied, returning to her seat at her desk.

The two of them continued working together that day. Every document Ethan finished was immediately handed over to Sherly.

Even though he did not complete all of his work, it was more than enough for Ethan. Doing more would only exhaust his mind.

The sun set, and moonlight illuminated the night. Sherly excused herself to rest, and it was Ashley's turn to come to Ethan's office.

"How's your work?" Ashley asked.

"I postponed a few things, but my work for today is done," Ethan replied.

"How about having dinner outside?"

Ethan smiled. It had been a long time since he had gone out to eat at a restaurant with Ashley, and his stomach was already growling, craving something good.

"The usual restaurant?" Ethan asked. Ashley nodded.

The man stood up and walked together with Ashley, still wearing their LionArk uniforms and cloaks.

The two of them left the headquarters, and along the way, Ethan told Ashley about what Sherly had asked earlier.

Ashley looked surprised, her expression mirroring Ethan's. Neither of them had ever expected that Hanss and Sherly shared the same feelings.

They knew the two were close, but feelings were complicated. Being close did not necessarily mean certain feelings would grow.

"If getting married can improve their work effectiveness, I don't mind," Ashley said.

"I can't forbid it. Besides, I'm no one to stop them, and I'm also married to you."

"It would feel rather hypocritical if I forbade Sherly and Hanss from marrying," Ethan said.

Ashley nodded, agreeing with Ethan's words. The two of them continued walking along the city's main road, located in the center of Ring 1.

Rows of shop houses lined both sides of the street, filled with stores that had developed rapidly. Administratively, the Ring 1 city center was already full, with no vacant land remaining.

In Ring 2, there were still some plots available, although their number decreased every week. As for Ring 3, there was still plenty of empty land.

Most nighttime activities of the city's residents took place in Ring 1's city center.

Aside from the entertainment district, restaurants and taverns serving luxurious food and drinks were also located there.

They stopped once they arrived in front of their favorite restaurant. One of the waiters recognized Ashley and Ethan and invited them inside.

He already knew that their restaurant was a favorite spot for Ashley and Ethan. That was why they felt honored every time the two of them visited.

"Will you be ordering the usual menu?" the waiter asked.

"Of course. We'll take the VIP room upstairs," Ashley said, and the waiter happily served them.

Several guests glanced toward Ashley and Ethan, then began whispering softly. Many of them admired the two, and quite a few held them in high regard.

"What about Jill?" Ethan asked.

"Huft."

"I don't know. Jill actually wants to get married, but Leon still hasn't shown his intentions," Ashley replied.

"That Leon. He's not used to socializing because so much of his life was spent undergoing treatment in hospitals," Ethan complained.

"Jill understands that. So she doesn't want to pressure Leon either."

They arrived inside the restaurant's VIP room, waiting while enjoying wine from Ethan. However, something surprising happened.

A blue notification panel suddenly appeared in front of Ashley's face. Ethan stopped drinking his wine and focused his gaze forward.

"What is that?" Ethan asked curiously.

Ashley set down her wine glass and narrowed her eyes to read the contents of the notification panel.

Ashley's eyes widened in shock when she saw that the panel in front of her was a Pre-Event Guild War notification.

"This is a pre-event for the Guild War," Ashley said.

"Pre-event? Guild War?" Ethan asked, equally shocked.

Ashley stood up and sat beside Ethan, allowing him to read the notification panel as well.

The meaning of a pre-event was a preparation period. It meant that every guild around the world could see the rules of the guild war and prepare accordingly.

According to the notification panel, the Guild War titled Guild of Champions would begin in one month.

However, the administrators allowed every guild to view the rules of the guild war and make preparations in advance.

"The registration date is next month," Ethan said.

Ethan focused his gaze even more, carefully reading the rules written on the notification panel.

[Guild of Champions:]

[Rules:]

[1. The guild must be registered as an existing guild for more than 3 months]

[2. Participants can be in the form of a single guild or a guild alliance]

[3. Each team consists of 25 members]

[4. The limit for alliance participants is 3 guilds]

[5. Each guild may only have one team, either as a single guild or as part of a guild alliance]

[6. Rewards for guild alliances are divided according to the number of participating guilds in the team]

[7. Rewards for single guilds are absolute]

[8. Teams will guard cities, form armies, gather resources, and seize enemy cities. The team that captures the most cities wins]

Unlike the guild war Ethan had participated in before, this time the system was city guard based. This meant that in the city guarded by a team, they had to defend it from enemy invasions.

However, Ethan did not know whether alliances between cities were allowed in the event or not. If they were allowed, it would be quite advantageous for him.

"This event feels like an RTS game," Ashley complained.

"Maybe the administrators got bored with the RPG concept like the previous events. This is new and unpredictable."

"What are we going to do? One team can consist of 25 people, either from our own guild or combined with other alliance guilds," Ashley said.

Ethan could not be sure for now. However, he would definitely discuss this pre-event with the core members of the Eastern Alliance.

"Let's set this aside for now. We'll talk about it again tomorrow."

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