For a second I lay there, listening to Saki breathe, counting the tiny rhythms of her chest as if memorizing a map I couldn't afford to lose.
Then movement happened. Not in the way it usually does after a night of worry, slow, leaden, guilty, but sharp, clear, like someone had flipped a switch inside my body.
My muscles answered before my thoughts did. When I pushed myself up, the motion was smooth and impossibly light. The blanket slid from my shoulders, and I sat up, and the simple act of sitting felt different: my spine aligned itself with a precision that used to be the province of athletes and trained soldiers. I flexed my fingers and felt strength bloom under the skin like a warm current.
The menu chimed, polite and inevitable.
[Rewards Applied.]
[Skill Unlocked: Mana Perception (Dormant -> Ready).]
Numbers spun across my vision for a heartbeat. The additions were banal on paper, maths anyone could do , but the way they translated into my body was anything but.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and reached, almost reflexively, for the small dumbbell on the floor. I hadn't trained in months; I meant to check that the surge wasn't a fluke. One curl, two. My arm moved like a machine, quick and effortless. The burn that would normally creep in later came and left like a polite visitor. It didn't feel like power you could show off. It felt like being fitted into a suit that finally matched every measurement.
More unsettling than muscle was how the world resolved itself. Sound had depth now, not louder, but layered. The kettle upstairs had three distinct notes instead of one; Saki's quiet inhale in sleep held the faint cadence of someone who had been crying two months ago and learned, slowly, to breathe again. Color had edges. The chipped mug on my dresser was no longer a blur of white and blue: I could count the hairline crazes in the glaze. The scent of detergent and cedar sharpened like a memory with contrast turned up.
I opened my eyes and, for the first time, I saw a faint shimmer at the windowsill: not light in the ordinary sense, but motes that moved with a pattern, like pollen dancing to a rhythm only they knew. They traced the lines of the curtains and pooled where the morning sun struck dust. When I blinked, they thinned; when I breathed, they swirled in my periphery. It took a second for my brain to match the image with the phrase the system had unlocked.
Mana Perception.
It was small. Indistinct. Not full-blown magic like in textbooks where wizards summon storms. More like a whisper behind the world that had always been there but I'd been blind to. A faint hum around the potted plant on the sill. A delicate halo around Saki's sleeping form that felt like warmth and worry and the stubborn, stubborn human pulse that had dragged us both into this mess.
The menu flared again, less clinical than the first time, as if the system wanted me to savor this, no, that wasn't right, it wanted me to know the price along with the gift.
[System Note: Stat changes may alter host baseline. Monitor.]
[New Skill: Mana Perception - Grants the ability to detect low-level auras and ambient mana flows. Range: ~5m. Sensitivity: Low → Adjustable.]
[Targets: Yoshida Saki - Bound. Hayato (Flagged: Rival).]
Hayato's name stabbed colder than I expected. Flagged. Rival. The system liked parentheses and capital letters, the way slaughterhouses like labels. I looked at Saki again. Her hair fell across her face. Her lashes lay soft and perfect. She slept like someone who trusted the world would be the same when she woke.
My first instinct was to move. To sit up fully, haul her into a proper hug, and reassure myself with warm flesh and breath. But the sharp press of caution, the one that had kept me alive when the menu first appeared, stayed my hand. The system had given me a gift and also shown me a ledger. That binding stamp beside her name nagged like a splinter.
I pushed myself out of bed and padded to the window.
[Tutorial Rewards - Inventory Updated.]
[Consumable: "Anchor Token" x1]
[Passive: "Resolve" +1]
Anchor Token. Resolve. The names were almost cute, which made them more terrifying. The system continued to dress its claws in velvet.
I glanced back at Saki. Morning light painted her skin the color of the inside of a seashell. Her hand twitched in her sleep, and the faint aura around her dimmed like something embarrassed. For a dizzy second, I let myself imagine what it would be like to live a day without the menu's chime or its ledgered heart. To have her without percentages. To be a man who could earn the right to another's love without the world accounting for it like taxes.
Then the cold fact settled in: the system had already learned how precious she was. It would not let her be mine quietly.
I took a breath and felt the new strength in my lungs. It didn't make the choice any easier, but it made the cost clearer. If the curse wanted to eat what I loved, then whatever came next, I would not give it away without a fight.
I sat on the edge of the bed and murmured, almost to myself, "Alright." The word was small. It was the start of something.
Status - Host: Lucien Cross
Strength: 20 (+5) - "How hard you can swing a punch, or accidentally bruise your girlfriend while 'hugging' her. Think Tony Soprano slamming a guy's head into a meat counter, but with more 'oops, my bad' energy. You hit like a Breaking Bad drug dealer who's really committed to the bit, but your follow-through is more 'I'll just apologize later' than 'I'll bury you in the desert.'"
Translation:"You could probably bench-press your regrets, but you'd rather just lean on them while sighing dramatically."
Speed: 19 (+5) - "Determines if you can dodge a thrown slipper from Saki when you act dumb. You move like Jesse Pinkman trying to outrun the DEA, fast enough to almost get away with it, but not fast enough to avoid the 'WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, LUCIEN?!' scream that follows. In a John Wick movie, you'd be the guy who almost makes it to the safe house… if you didn't stop to flirt with the receptionist first."
Translation:"You're quick on your feet, but your mouth is always three steps ahead of your brain."
Endurance: 18 (+5) - "How long you can run, fight, or suffer through karaoke duets of songs you don't know. You've got the stamina of Walter White in a meth lab marathon, but your actual limit is how long you can pretend to enjoy 'My Heart Will Go On' before faking a coughing fit to escape. In The Sopranos, you'd be the guy who could sit through another boring mob meeting… if you weren't busy texting your side piece under the table."
Translation:"You can outlast a Netflix binge, but one wrong note in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and you're tapping out like a Cowardly Lion."
Resolve: 2 (+1) - "The magical ability to say 'no' to bad ideas… at least for 3 seconds. You've got the willpower of Jesse Pinkman when someone offers him free meth. You know it's a bad idea. You know you'll regret it. But then you see the sparkly bad idea, and suddenly you're in a 'hold my beer' situation. In Breaking Bad, you'd be the guy who could walk away from the drug trade… if Heisenberg didn't just look at you with that 'We're in this together' face."
Translation:"Your resolve is like a New Year's resolution, strong at midnight, gone by brunch."
Mana Perception: Active (Low Range) - "Basically 'magic Wi-Fi.' Lets you see vibes, auras, and who's lying with their heartbeat. You're like Dr. House, but instead of diagnosing illnesses, you're diagnosing who's about to stab you in the back. In The Sopranos, you'd be the guy who knows Carmela's hiding something, but you choose not to ask because 'what you don't know won't piss you off', until it does. In Breaking Bad, you'd be the guy who can tell when someone's lying… but you let them anyway because drama is your favorite seasoning."
Translation:"You've got a sixth sense for bullshit, but you enjoy the smell too much to leave the room."
Affinity:
Yoshida Saki (100%) - Bound (Love stat maxed)"Translation: She'd forgive him if he accidentally blew up the kitchen. Or the house. Or her entire family's inheritance. She's got the loyalty of Carmela Soprano if Carmela was really into knives and 'I'll stab a bitch for you' energy. Think Skyler White, but if she actually enjoyed the chaos instead of just tolerating it. Her love is like a Sopranos family dinner—loud, messy, and someone's gonna end up in the trunk by dessert."
Status:"I'd jump off a cliff for you."
Lucien:"Babe, I live on a cliff. Metaphorically. And sometimes literally."
Flagged Rival (Hayato — Active) - "Means 'the System thinks you need to crush this guy or he'll keep showing up like a bad DLC.' Hayato's the Ralph Cifaretto of your story, annoying, persistent, and just dumb enough to think he's got a shot. He's the Todd from Breaking Bad, you could ignore him, but he's gonna keep popping up like a glitchy NPC until you permanently delete his save file. The System says 'Active.' Your patience says 'I swear to God, if this guy doesn't shut up."
Status:"I can still win!"
System:"No, you can't. But keep trying, buddy. We live for this."
Inventory (Cannot store snacks. Lucien tested this):
[Anchor Token x1]"The 'I Could Fix This But Drama Is My Middle Name' card. It's like Walter White's 'I am the one who knocks' speech, but if he actually knocked and then apologized for disturbing you. Use it to escape consequences (you won't).
Effect: 'I could fix this… but where's the fun in that?' Also, why did you test if it could store snacks? Did you want to be disappointed?"T
ranslation:"It's the 'Get Out of Jail Free' card you refuse to use because suffering builds character (and also because you like the attention)."
The "Bound" mark beside Saki's name burned like ink on skin. Permanent. The menu wanted me to see her as an asset, not a girl. I hated how much the word stole from the softness of her still-sleeping face.
The sheets rustled.
Saki stirred beside me, a faint sound catching in her throat as she blinked awake. She shifted, then winced, a small, involuntary hiss slipping out.
I turned immediately, "Saki? Hey..."
She gave me a shaky smile, though her cheeks colored faintly. "I'm fine. Just… sore." She tried to sit up, only to let out another quiet noise and flop back down with a laugh that was half-embarrassment, half-exasperation. "Guess you don't know your own strength, Lucien."
The words were teasing, but I saw the way her hand brushed her thigh like she was checking a bruise.
I swallowed, throat dry. Last night I hadn't realized how much sharper my body already was, how little I'd needed to push for it to become too much. My newfound Strength stat wasn't just numbers; it had carved itself into her, left reminders in muscle and bone.
"I'm sorry," I said, low. "I didn't… I didn't mean..."
Her fingers caught mine before the apology could finish. "Don't. It's not like that. I wanted this." Her eyes softened, still hazy from sleep, still shining with that terrifying, precious sincerity. "I just… might need a day to recover before we go for a round two."
The joke landed with a blush on her own cheeks, and she hid her face half under the blanket. But her hand never let go of mine.
Her hand was small in mine, warm and trembling, but it carried a steadiness I didn't feel. She held me like she was the anchor, not the other way around.
"Don't move yet," I said gently. "Just… stay. I'll get something together for breakfast."
She gave a soft, breathy laugh. "You cook now, too? Careful, Lucien, you'll end up setting standards too high for yourself."
But she didn't fight me when I eased her back against the pillow. She let her head sink into the cotton with a small sigh, lashes lowering. "...I'll stay. Just don't poison me, okay?"
Eggs cracked cleanly, butter hissed low in the pan, and even the faint sizzle registered in layers, fat, moisture, heat. Mana Perception bled in quietly, too: a shimmer off the food, a faint halo where life had once been. Not much, just enough to remind me the system's gift wouldn't let me look at a stove the same way again.
When I returned with two plates, Saki had propped herself up against the headboard. The blanket draped loose over her shoulders, her hair spilling like ink across the pillow. She tried to look casual, but her cheeks still flushed when she met my eyes.
"You're full of surprises," she murmured, taking the plate.
"Occupational hazard," I said, sitting beside her.
We ate in silence at first. The kind of silence that wasn't empty, but full of things neither of us wanted to break too soon. Eventually, she set her fork down and spoke.
"I meant what I said last night."
I looked at her. She wasn't blushing now. Her gaze was steady, almost too steady. "That I love you. That I don't… regret it."
Her aura flickered when she said it, a soft glow that curled close to her chest, faint but stubborn. The shimmer of sincerity. My breath caught because for all my life in this second world, I hadn't thought I'd get to see love without a filter, without some ulterior tag attached.
The system, of course, couldn't leave it untouched.
[Affinity — 100% Locked. - Bound.]
"I believe you," I said quietly, and she smiled, tired, sore, but brilliant.
After we ate, I coaxed her to lie back down, brushing the hair from her forehead. "Rest here today," I told her. "Don't push yourself."
"Lucien, I'm not made of glass," she protested, but the stiffness in her shoulders betrayed her.
"You're not," I agreed. "But I… I was too strong. Let me make it up to you by letting you take it easy, at least for today."
Her lips pressed into a small pout, then softened into a grin. "Fine. But only because you asked nicely."
I hesitated, then added, "And Saki… be careful around your father."
That earned a flicker in her aura, sharp, jagged, gone in an instant. Her face didn't change much, but her fingers clenched the blanket tighter.
"...You noticed, huh."
I didn't answer. I didn't have to.
She exhaled slowly, like letting out a weight she didn't want me to see. "I'll be careful. Just… don't worry too much, okay?"
But I did. Because the glow around her dimmed when she said it, as if even her own body didn't believe the words.
I reached for her hand, squeezing gently. "Then promise me you'll rest today. For me."
Her smile returned, faint but genuine. "Alright, Lucien. For you."
For now, she was still here. And for now, that was enough.
...
The city after school had the slow, tired pulse of people moving from one obligation to another: students drifting home, merchants folding up stalls, a few late apprentices still leaning in over their benches.
I walked the same route as always, the one that cut past the river and led up through the low, plastered houses toward the row of shops by the Academy. My shoes found the familiar stones without thought, like muscle memory. My head was full of smaller problems, exams to study for, whether I could hide the faint evidence of last night's closeness from prying classmates, until the menu decided it was time to speak.
The chime came without preamble, an insult that made me want to drop my phone. The text splashed across my vision in that callous, ledgered type:
The system didn't care about my protests. Its next message carved itself across my vision with the same merciless typeface as always:
[New Quest Assigned.
Target: Tsukimi Chifuyu - Innocence Index: High.
Objective 1: Acquire leverage (Evidence: photo, message, secret).
Objective 2: Apply pressure to isolate the target.
Objective 3: Invite the target to a hotel. Reward Multiplier: Active.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Failure Condition: Host Termination.]
The system wanted me to shove her off.
Blackmail. Just like the manga scenes of a crueler world, except this wasn't fiction. This was Tsukimi's real life, and the system was forcing me into this role whether I wanted it or not.
The corner of my vision pulsed with a fresh red counter:
[23:59:59]
Her innocence was quantified into a stat. Her trust, her loyalty, her private world, all numbers, waiting for me to drag through the mud.
I clenched my jaw. Saki had called me her safe place only yesterday. Now I was ordered to become someone else's nightmare.