Reiji casually strode towards the bed. Something felt a little off. The room was quiet, too quiet, but it was suddenly broken by a faint, muffled noise.
He stopped and perked up his ears.
*Sobs*
He traced the sound towards Hina, who was sleeping on the bed. Through the pale amber light, he could clearly see tears rolling down her cheek.
'Ehh... why is she crying?' Reiji thought as he darted towards the bed and sat down. The same girl who had killed him was crying like she was the one who had been hurt.
"Reiji... please don't leave me... I'm sorry... please don't hate me... please..."
'...she must be dreaming about what happened.'
Reiji reached over and gently used his hand to wipe away the tear rolling down her soft cheek. For someone who had stabbed him without hesitation, she looked painfully fragile.
'Has she always looked this good?' Reiji thought as his face got increasingly close to hers.
Staring at her pale, gorgeous face, her slim nose as if carefully sculpted, and her slightly parted soft, rosy lips, he couldn't help but swallow.
Hina's eyes softly fluttered open.
Before Reiji could pull his hands away, Hina pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.
His eyes widened in surprise, and his brain short-circuited. Despite being a seasoned master prepared for unconventional situations, Reiji was dumbstruck.
His mind went completely blank.
For a few seconds, he couldn't think, he couldn't react. All he could feel was the warmth pressed against his lips and the soft grip tightening around his shirt.
Then his instincts kicked in. Reiji's body stiffened. He quickly tried to pull back, but Hina's arms tightened around him, as if afraid he would disappear the moment she let go.
After their lips parted, Hina didn't let go of him, but the hurt in her eyes stung Reiji's heart.
"Reiji... are you still angry with me?" Hina asked softly. Her voice was so gentle that it felt like an arm was gripping his chest, making him feel a little guilty.
"No... I'm not," Reiji replied, a little shakily, trying to look Hina straight in the eyes so it wouldn't seem as if he was lying.
"Then why didn't you return my kiss?"
Reiji's mind went blank again. 'Shit... What do I say?' He couldn't tell her the truth, not now, not ever.
He forced out what he assumed was a smile while he scratched the back of his neck.
"Um... You just caught me off guard that's all." Reiji said still maintaining his awkward smile.
Hina didn't respond immediately, she just stared at him. "So, that means you like it?"
Reiji froze for a second, 'Who wouldn't love to get kissed by a beauty, but it just feels awkward, you're Hina. The Hina I knew didn't have any romantic feelings for me.'
—Ah, What a Dumbass.
"Rei-kun?" Hina's voice cut through his thoughts.
Looking at those big black eyes that seemed to shimmer with something close to obsession, he knew if he hesitated any longer, he might kiss this new life goodbye.
Reiji gritted his teeth in his head, took in a deep breath and leaned forward. Staring at her rosy lips, and remembering the warmth of it, his throat went dry.
He closed his eyes and pursed his lips, his face growing hot.
Seeing this Hina felt her whole being tremble with excitement. This was the first time her Reiji had made a first intimate move. All she wanted to do now was to kiss him all night, draining every bit of air from his lungs.
Ding!
[+3 Bond Points]
Reiji's eyes snapped open.
'What the hell?! Now?!'
The glowing text flickered at the edge of his vision, but he couldn't focus onit. Not when Hina was still holding onto him like this.
When their lips met, a warm sensation spread through Reiji. For a moment, he froze, unsure of what to do. But seeing her not pull away, Reiji slowly responded.
She had caught him off guard before, but now Reiji forgot everything, the danger, the fear, even the fact that this girl could kill him.
The kiss was awkward at first, clumsy and uncertain, but gradually it became smoother over the next few seconds.
A strange heat built up inside him, making his thoughts hazy. Without realizing it, he leaned in a little closer.
Hina tightened her grip on his shirt, resting her head lightly against his chest.
"...Don't leave me," she whispered.
Reiji froze for a moment, then slowly let out a breath.
'This is bad...' Because right now, he wasn't sure if he was the one holding her or the one being held.
Then Hina leaned a gain forward another kiss.
***
"One, two, three..."
Reiji was on the bedroom floor, drenched in sweat. He glared at the green glowing screen in front of him, but the progress bar for the push-ups hadn't budged even a bit.
His arms trembled violently, threatening to give out at any second.
"How am I not doing it right? I watched the tutorial!" Reiji muttered in frustration.
Earlier that morning, Reiji had woken up in an unusually good mood – and for obvious reasons.
That was, until the system decided it was time for him to get in shape.
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 ^_^ ]
Reiji ignored the system's taunts.
Honestly, he preferred this over the Main Quest. At least this one gave clear rewards.
"How do I start?" Reiji asked eagerly.
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
___
WARNING: Failure to complete the quest before the given time will result in the Host spending five minutes in The Devil's Island Dreamscape.
_____
Reiji didn't take the warning seriously. Instead, his eyes lit up at the rewards. "Not bad..." he muttered.
Without wasting another second, he dropped to the floor and began his first push-up.
Hina was already out for her morning jog, leaving him alone in the house. Thankfully nobody was there to witness his pathetic display.
The morning light streamed through the window, filling the room with a soft glow.
It also highlighted the beads of sweat forming on Reiji's forehead after just two weak measley push-ups. But despite his low stamina, he pushed himself further.
"Ten..."
Thud!
He collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. After a few seconds, he forced his head up and looked at the system screen.
The progress bar was still at zero!
"What...?!" Reiji muttered, his breathing was still heavy. "Are you kidding me? Where's my progress? Is there a bug or something?"
The system didn't respond leaving Reiji even more confused.
Reiji frowned. '...Was I doing it wrong?'
The thought hit him immediately. After a short rest, he stood up, grabbed his phone from the bedside table, and searched: "How to do a proper push-up?"
Reiji scrolled through several videos before picking the one that seemed to connect with him. After carefully watching it, he got down and tried again, but still, there wasn't any progress.
Reiji got up, picked up his phone again, and looked more carefully through the video. After a closer look, he noticed some mistakes he had made, his body wasn't straight, his hand placement was wrong, and he wasn't tightening his core properly.
After correcting his mistakes, he got down again and began the push-up.
"1..." Reiji grunted as he pushed himself up.
He could feel the burn in his core and every part of his body threatening to give out. He immediately knew this was completely different from the push-ups he had done before. 'So this is what doing it properly feels like...'
And this time, the progress bar for the push-ups actually increased.
Nineteen more to go.
After several minutes, Reiji was hit with a system notification that seemed to wipe away some of the stress he felt.
Ding!
_____
[Daily Quest: Training For Dominion]
[PUSH-UPS] – [20/20] {Completed}
[SQUATS] – [0/20] {Incomplete}
[SIT-UPS] – [0/20] {Incomplete}
[RUNNING] – [0/5KM] {Incomplete}
_____
After a few minutes of rest, Reiji quickly checked how to properly perform the remaining exercises on the glowing screen before attempting them.
Half an hour later, Reiji was completely drenched in sweat, lying on the floor and breathing heavily as if he had just run 500km.
"Now... how do I complete the last quest?" he muttered.
From the corner of his eye, he stared at the glowing screen. Only the running task remained.
He had tried running in place earlier, but he didn't have the strength to continue. It was somehow even tougher than actual running.
After resting for a bit, Reiji slowly got to his feet and went to wash up. When he came out, he grab a simple black T-shirt and pants putting it on.
As he walked down the stairs, his heart began to race slightly. Not from the exercise, but from the thought of who he might run into.