Jennifer mentally ran through her checklist, like a teacher taking attendance.
It seemed like representatives from almost all her webnovels were gathered at this hotel today.
Adrian and the Alive boys from the showbiz drama MY TURN TO SHINE.
Duke Chevon and his magicians from the romcom HELP! THE PRINCE WON'T STOP CHASING ME!
Her favourite male lead Bastien and his grandfather from REINCARNATED CEO GRANDSON.
Even the Alpha King, Drake Darkfall, and his warriors from THE CURSE OF DARKFALL.
Then Jennifer suddenly realised something.
Her fifth webnovel PANDORA BOX UNLEASHED hadn't shown up yet.
…Or had it?
Was it already represented by Rolly being here?
Wait.
No.
Jennifer had never written Rolly.
But she had written—
Suddenly one of the men in the room leapt to his feet with a shout.
"Danger!"
It was Hank, the Awakener with early danger-sensing abilities.
Flynn, the other Awakener, sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything off."
Because, you know, just like Earth cockroaches, alien ones also had that smell…
But just then, the air in the middle of the lounge twisted and warped, spiraling inward like water down a drain until a portal tore open.
Jennifer felt the hairs on her arms stand on end.
Something like invisible spiderwebs wrapped around her body, tightening just enough that she couldn't move.
Her breath caught.
She opened her mouth to scream.
Nothing came out.
All she could do was watch helplessly as a tall humanoid insect stepped out of the portal into the small open space.
Its mandibles clicked.
Its feelers twitched.
Jennifer noticed the segmented legs, the thorny joints, the roach-brown shell, and the faint gelatinous sheen coating its body.
And that smell.
Urgh.
It was the Shilem Roach.
Its voice came out as a skittering hiss, like claws scraping across glass. Yet the words were still perfectly understandable. "Do not resist. I come with an invitation to the Goddess."
"Our great lord, the Cosmic Devourer—Micah, the Neverending Hunger—has searched the eons for you. If you see her, please kindly pass her this message."
And just like that, the Shilem Roach stepped backward into the portal. The invisible spider-threads binding Jennifer vanished like dew under sunlight. And the portal snapped shut.
Silence fell across the lounge.
For several long seconds, nobody moved.
"What the fuck…" someone finally muttered.
Jennifer slowly turned her head toward Rolly.
Except Rolly was no longer Rolly.
Sitting exactly where he had been—still holding Jennifer's hand—
was Ronan the Dragon.
For a moment the entire room froze.
Then chaos exploded.
"WAIT—"
"WHAT—"
"RONAN THE DRAGON?!"
Because who didn't know Ronan the Dragon?
Ronan blinked.
Jennifer blinked.
And then it suddenly clicked in everyone's mind.
"ROLLY IS RONAN THE DRAGON?!"
The BFFs squealed like their class had just won Sports Day.
Someone shoved a phone into Ronan's hand.
"Selfie please!"
Another voice shouted, "My kid is your biggest fan!"
"Mine too!"
"Why didn't you say so?!"
Jennifer stared at the chaos.
Her BFFs crowded closer.
"No wonder you're with Rolly now."
"Jenny always gets the best catch."
"What?" Jennifer's brain was still trying to process what was happening.
Thirty seconds ago an alien insectoid had opened a portal into their lounge and delivered a message from Micah the Neverending Hunger, Lord of the roaches, who had apparently been searching the universe for a Goddess.
Jennifer gulped.
Wasn't she the goddess? Adrian's Identify ability had said so.
Yes, the wolves also called her goddess, but wolves were crazy. Let's just not think about that.
"The hot duke and the conglomerate king…" one of her BFFs tried to list them, counting on her fingers. "The first guy with Alive was their band manager Adrian Silver, right? Oh man, he's even sexier in real life."
"Since you already have Ronan the Dragon, shouldn't you introduce us to those other guys?"
Jennifer opened her mouth.
"Um—"
Was no one worried about the alien portal that had just opened?
Also, weren't at least two of them already married?
Jennifer knew they were probably joking, but what if their husbands heard them?
The lounge door burst open.
Half a dozen wolf warriors stormed inside, causing even more screaming. Tea cups were dropped, and food items were tossed into the air amid shocked gasps.
"I'll settle for one of those guys," a BFF elbowed Jennifer.
The others laughed and made eyes at the growling men.
Alpha Drake stormed in, growling too.
"The portal was here."
The entire room immediately gravitated toward his side of the lounge due to the sheer weight of his charisma.
"Roach scent confirmed," one warrior reported.
Flynn—Jennifer's classmate with the super sense of smell—kindly double-confirmed it by pointing to where the portal had been. "Yes. A single Double-A threat. Came and left."
"Are you hurt, Goddess?" Alpha Drake asked. Then he saw Ronan the Dragon still holding Jennifer's hand. "It was a good thing you were here."
Ronan looked somewhat regretful. "I didn't do anything."
But Alpha Drake was certain. "Your presence alone must have kept the enemy wary and prevented any loss of civilian lives."
"Reporting to Alpha—just some minor damages," a warrior said.
No one pointed out that the minor damages had happened only after the wolves stormed in.
Or perhaps they couldn't.
Because the door was once again thrown open.
The tall figure of the Duke stepped through the doorway, face grim. Behind him came several suited officials with Pandora Corps badges clipped to their jackets.
"What is going on here?" Duke Chevon demanded.
And the clouds outside parted to pour sunlight over his golden hair, forming a perfect halo.
"Double-A threat. Single entity. Came and left, Your Excellency," Flynn reported dutifully.
"You are an Awakener?" Duke Chevon asked, voice clipped.
"Yes, Your Excellency. From the local SAD."
"Good man." Duke Chevon nodded.
Another suited official stepped forward.
"With your permission, Your Excellency."
Duke Chevon nodded. "Go ahead."
Once he confirmed that the official was properly carrying out procedures, Duke Chevon walked over to Jennifer. "I'm glad you are safe, my lady."
Even as he spoke, there was a hot frisson in the air. But it cooled the moment it appeared.
To Ronan, he said gravely, "Hero, thank you for your service."
"I didn't do anything," Ronan the Dragon said honestly.
"It was wise of you to prioritize the safety of the hostages," Duke Chevon waved it off.
Meanwhile, the suited official was giving everyone instructions.
The mood in the room was no longer a class reunion. It was more like a national emergency with uniformed Pandora Corps officials walking in and out with lanyards and tablets.
Then two more familiar figures entered the room.
Frank.
And Bastien.
Alpha Drake growled. "Why are you here?"
Frank smiled genially. "Why can't I be in my own hotel? As the business owner, of course I would be concerned for the welfare of my guests."
Bastien just smirked.
"My dear, I'm sorry your party was ruined," Frank told Jennifer.
Jennifer shook her head. This was not her party.
Frank took the hand Ronan wasn't holding and clasped it warmly.
"Let me make it up to you, my dear."
Jennifer shook her head again.
"Today is on the house. I hope you bring your friends here again with our compliments."
Someone in her class whooped.
"Bastien, see to it," Frank said.
"Yes, Grandfather." Bastien stopped smirking and bowed.
Frank released Jennifer's hand and turned to shake Ronan's.
"Well, that this incident isn't a bloody mess—I owe you one."
"I didn't do anything," Ronan answered but they shook hands.
Frank chuckled. "A lesser man would have claimed credit to strengthen his reputation. But I know that such monsters have never left a scene without bloodshed before."
Then he noticed the Pandora Corps officers standing nearby and shook his head.
"Not that I have any idea what happened, of course. I'm just a civilian who doesn't know anything."
Duke Chevon huffed slightly.
The air crackled as water molecules crystallized around him. The sunlight grew just a little brighter, so that the snowflakes looked like glitter in a golden aura around his person.
Alpha Drake showed his annoyance far more loudly.
He snarled. "I find your lies insulting to our intelligence, old man."
But Frank only beamed like a proud grandfather. "I know."
Meanwhile, outside the high-power circle of dramatic men, the Pandora Officer on Duty (POOD) was conducting the Post-Incident Situation Session (PISS).
"This incident is now classified," he said calmly. "For your safety and for the safety of the public, none of you are to discuss what occurred here today."
Someone weakly raised a hand.
"Does that include the fact that Rolly is Ronan the Dragon?"
The POOD looked confused because he had no idea who Rolly was, but quickly recovered.
"Everything related to this incident is classified."
That was unfortunately all Jennifer heard from the PISS—no thanks to several extremely powerful men bickering like her mother's petty friends.