Reiji casually strode back toward the bed.
Something felt a little off.
The room was quiet, almost unnaturally so, until a faint muffled sound broke the silence.
*Sobs.*
He stopped in his tracks.
His eyes slowly shifted toward the bed.
Through the pale amber glow of the bedside lamp, he could clearly see tears quietly rolling down Hina's cheeks.
'Ehh... why is she crying?'
Reiji frowned and quickly walked over before sitting on the edge of the bed.
The same girl who had stabbed him without hesitation was now crying in her sleep like she was the one carrying all the pain.
"Reiji... please don't leave me... I'm sorry... please don't hate me... please..."
Reiji's expression softened.
'She must be dreaming about what happened.'
Without thinking too much about it, he slowly reached out and gently wiped away the tear sliding down her cheek.
Her skin was unbelievably soft.
For someone capable of murdering the person she loved, she looked heartbreakingly fragile.
'Has she always looked this beautiful?'
His gaze lingered on her face.
Her pale skin looked flawless beneath the warm light. Her delicate nose seemed sculpted by an artist, while her slightly parted rosy lips looked far softer than they had any right to.
Before he realized it, he had unconsciously leaned closer.
Hina's eyelashes fluttered.
Her eyes slowly opened.
For a brief second, the two simply stared at each other.
Then Hina suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him forward.
Their lips met.
Reiji's eyes widened.
His brain instantly froze.
Warm.
Soft.
For several long seconds, his thoughts completely disappeared. All he could feel was the warmth against his lips and Hina's trembling fingers gripping his shirt tighter and tighter.
His heartbeat pounded wildly inside his chest.
Only when his instincts finally returned did his body react.
Reiji hurriedly tried to pull away.
But Hina's arms wrapped tightly around him, refusing to let him escape.
When their lips finally separated, she still didn't release him.
Instead, she looked up at him with eyes filled with guilt, fear and longing.
"...Reiji."
Her gentle voice carried enough sadness to make even Reiji feel a little guilty.
"Are you... still angry with me?"
"No... I'm not."
His reply came out more awkwardly than he intended.
Trying his best not to look suspicious, Reiji forced himself to meet her eyes.
Hina quietly searched his face.
"Then why didn't you kiss me back?"
Reiji's smile immediately stiffened.
'Shit. There's no way I can tell her the truth. If she finds out I'm not the Reiji she knows, she'll probably stab me again.'
He scratched the back of his head and forced out an awkward smile.
"You just caught me off guard, that's all."
Silence.
Hina continued staring at him.
"So..."
A tiny smile slowly appeared on her lips.
"...that means you liked it?"
Reiji froze.
'Who wouldn't like getting kissed by someone this beautiful? The problem is... you're Hina. The Hina I knew would've punched me before ever kissing me. You both have the same face and the same voice, yet somehow you feel like two completely different people.'
–Ah! What a dumbass!
'Why am I comparing them? The important thing right now is surviving.'
"Rei-kun?"
Hina's gentle voice pulled him back to reality.
Looking into those beautiful black eyes shimmering with affection, dependence and something dangerously close to obsession, Reiji knew that if he hesitated any longer she'd definitely begin overthinking again.
He silently took a deep breath.
Then he slowly leaned forward.
His face steadily moved closer to hers.
Seeing this, Hina's breathing hitched.
Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear nothing else.
This was the first time...
The first time Reiji had ever initiated something this intimate.
Joy surged through every part of her body.
All she wanted was to pull him into her arms and kiss him until morning.
Ding!
[Bond Points +5]
Reiji's eyes twitched.
'Seriously... now?'
The glowing notification floated at the edge of his vision, but Reiji ignored it.
Right now, surviving came first.
He gently pressed his lips against hers.
Unlike before, there was no surprise.
No panic.
Just warmth.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
Then, seeing that Hina wasn't pulling away, Reiji slowly responded.
The kiss felt clumsy.
Awkward.
Neither of them really knew what they were doing.
Yet somehow, with every passing second, it became a little more natural.
Before Reiji even realized it, he had unconsciously leaned closer.
Hina's fingers tightened around his shirt as she rested her forehead lightly against his chest after they finally parted.
"...Don't leave me."
Her quiet whisper entered his ears.
Reiji's body stiffened as he looked down at the girl clinging tightly to him. Just a few minutes ago he had been terrified of her, but now he wasn't even sure who was comforting who anymore.
'This is bad. If I keep letting my guard down around her, I'll end up forgetting this girl actually stabbed me.'
Before he could gather his thoughts again, Hina gently leaned forward once more.
Their lips met again.
Reiji slowly closed his eyes.
'At this rate... I might actually get used to this.'
***
"One... Two... Three..."
Reiji was on the bedroom floor, completely drenched in sweat.
His arms trembled violently as he pushed himself up once more before collapsing face-first onto the floor.
Thud!
He turned his head toward the floating green screen.
The progress bar hadn't moved.
Not even a little.
"What the hell?" Reiji muttered between heavy breaths. "I watched the tutorial. How am I still doing it wrong?"
Earlier that morning, Reiji had woken up in an unusually good mood.
Well, for obvious reasons.
That mood lasted exactly five minutes before the system decided his peaceful morning was over.
Ding!
[Daily Quest: Training For Dominion Unlocked!]
[Living a healthy lifestyle is important, especially for someone like you, Host. Over the next few months, you will train daily to earn points, rewards and perks from the system. Show great progress and you may receive a once-in-a-lifetime gift ^_^]
Compared to the Main Quest, this one looked far more reasonable.
"How do I start?" he asked.
Ding!
_____
[Daily Quest: Training For Dominion]
[TARGET]
[PUSH-UPS] – [0/20]
[SQUATS] – [0/20]
[SIT-UPS] – [0/20]
[RUNNING] – [0/5KM]
___
REWARDS: 5 Free Stat Points, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +4 Stamina, Mystery Item.
___
TIME LEFT: 14hrs left
___
WARNING: Failure to complete the quest before the given time will result in the Host spending thirty minutes in The Devil's Island Dreamscape.
_____
Reiji completely ignored the warning.
Instead, his eyes remained glued to the rewards.
"Five free stat points..." he muttered with a grin. "Not bad."
Without wasting another second, he dropped onto the floor and began doing push-ups.
Thankfully, Hina had already gone out for her morning jog.
At least nobody would witness whatever this embarrassing display turned into.
The soft morning sunlight poured through the windows, slowly filling the room.
It also highlighted the sweat already forming across Reiji's forehead after only two miserable push-ups.
Still, he forced himself onward.
"Ten..."
Thud!
His arms finally gave out.
He lay there breathing like someone who had barely escaped death before forcing himself to glance at the system.
The progress remained exactly the same.
Zero.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
His eyebrow twitched.
"Is the system bugged or something?"
No reply came.
Reiji frowned.
'Did I seriously mess up something as simple as a push-up? No... if the system counted everything else correctly, then the problem has to be me.'
After resting for a minute, Reiji picked up his phone and searched for proper push-up tutorials.
He watched one video.
Tried again.
Nothing.
He watched another.
This time more carefully.
"Oh..."
His body wasn't straight.
His hands were too wide apart.
He wasn't tightening his core.
"So that's why."
After correcting everything, Reiji lowered himself onto the floor once again.
"One..." Reiji grunted as he pushed himself upward.
The moment he completed the movement, every muscle in his body screamed in protest. His chest burned, his shoulders felt like they were on fire, and even his stomach tightened painfully.
'So this is what a proper push-up actually feels like. No wonder those earlier ones didn't count.'
He glanced toward the system.
The counter finally changed.
[PUSH-UPS] – [1/20]
"...Finally."
Nineteen more.
He gritted his teeth and continued.
"Two..."
"Three..."
By the time he reached ten, sweat was dripping steadily from his forehead onto the wooden floor.
His arms shook so violently they looked ready to snap off.
Every push-up became slower than the last.
"Seventeen..."
His breathing had become completely ragged.
"Eighteen..."
His elbows almost gave out halfway.
"Nineteen..."
His vision blurred.
"Twenty!"
Thud!
The moment he completed the final repetition, his entire body collapsed onto the floor.
He didn't even have the strength to move a finger.
Several exhausting minutes later...
Ding!
_____
[Daily Quest: Training For Dominion]
[PUSH-UPS] – [20/20] {Completed}
[SQUATS] – [0/20] {Incomplete}
[SIT-UPS] – [0/20] {Incomplete}
[RUNNING] – [0/5KM] {Incomplete}
_____
Seeing the completed notification instantly lifted Reiji's mood.
"Worth it."
After resting for a few minutes, he searched up the proper forms for squats and sit-ups before attempting them.
Unlike before, he didn't rush into it.
If there was one thing today's suffering had taught him, it was that the system didn't reward effort.
It rewarded doing things properly.
Half an hour later, Reiji was completely drenched in sweat.
Every muscle in his body ached.
Even lifting an arm felt exhausting.
But eventually...
Ding!
_____
[Daily Quest: Training For Dominion]
[PUSH-UPS] – [20/20] {Completed}
[SQUATS] – [20/20] {Completed}
[SIT-UPS] – [20/20] {Completed}
[RUNNING] – [0/5KM] {Incomplete}
_____
"Only running left..."
Reiji muttered out of breath as he stared at the screen hovering in front of him.
After catching his breath, he slowly got to his feet and headed for the bathroom.
A quick shower later, he changed into a plain black T-shirt and a pair of dark pants.
As he made his way downstairs, his heartbeat gradually sped up.
Not because of the exercises.
But because he had a feeling that the moment he stepped outside...
His peaceful life would officially come to an end.