Rain stretched his hand lazily as he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression.
"Looks like I'm gonna die…" he muttered, glancing at the time he had left to complete the task.
[Time — 2 Hours Remaining]
He rolled to the side. "Whatever… no point thinking about it now… now it all depends on—"
Before he could finish, his phone rang.
Rain frowned slightly and picked it up, checking the screen.
'Who's bothering a dying man…?'
"Hm… unknown number?"
He answered anyway. "Who is it?"
From the other side, a soft, elegant voice responded—pleasant to hear, yet the words themselves were anything but.
"Hey, you brat… did you forget to give me my liquor?"
Rain said with a grin, "Oh, it's you… masochist." clearly expecting the call.
'You should've called a day earlier… what took you so long… don't tell me she was hesitating that much… heh,' he thought, a teasing smile forming.
"How dare you call me that!" Sarah snapped instantly, her voice bursting with anger.
Rain tilted his head slightly. "Hmm… what else do you call a masochist if not a masochist?" he said with a mock thinking expression.
"Why you—!" she snapped again, but after a brief pause, she clicked her tongue and forced herself to calm down.
"Tch… whatever. I called to let you know I can't do anything about your admission."
Rain said, "What!?" his voice sharp with disbelief as the words hit him.
"What? What, just what you heard—I can't do anything about it," she replied casually.
Rain froze completely, his body locking up mid-motion as if all signals had been cut off at once, breath halting, eyes fixed and unblinking, the shock hitting so hard that even his thoughts lagged behind, leaving him standing there like a lifeless statue unable to react, process, or even move a single inch.
'…how…?'
'How is that even possible… I planned everything perfectly…'
'Just how… am I really going to die…?'
'What about my future plans… who's going to increase the population of this damn planet…?'
His thoughts spiraled out of control, crashing into each other as panic crept in, his entire plan collapsing at the worst possible point.
Then—
She continued.
"…since you've already got the admission, how am I supposed to help you? You never failed."
"Hm… what did you just say?" Rain asked slowly, still trying to process her words.
"Exactly what you heard. Did you even check the result of the duel? It was a draw—so you already passed."
Rain blinked.
"…a draw?"
"But a deal is a deal," she continued casually, "so I'm taking the liquor. Don't you dare go back on your word. Bye."
Click.
The call ended.
A bright smile spread across Rain's face, completely out of place with the chaos in his head as he thought, '…what's even happening here?'
A second passed.
Then it hit.
His expression cracked.
"What the fuck!?" he burst out, grabbing his head in disbelief. "How did it end in a draw—and why didn't I even bother to check it!?"
He paced once, frustration spilling out before forcing himself to stop.
Rain let out a deep breath, his eyes twitching slightly as he tried to calm down.
"…so I fucked that bitch for nothing…" he muttered, pausing for a moment.
Then he shrugged lightly.
"…whatever. It worked out in the end, and after all, that wasn't bad," he said with a devious grin as he licked his lips.
[ Task Completed ]
Rain stared at the screen for a long moment, unmoving, his eyes fixed as the seconds ticked by in silence, the faint glow reflecting on his face while nothing else happened, his patience slowly thinning as he waited for something—anything—to appear.
"Where is my reward?" he muttered under his breath, expecting at least something worthy of everything he had just gone through.
A few seconds passed, then finally a notification flickered into existence.
[ Reward — Love Chocolate from the Empress of Domination ]
Rain blinked once, then again, his face slowly going blank as he read it. '…are you seriously joking with me right now?' he thought, unable to process whether this was real or some kind of twisted joke.
Before he could question it further—
THUD!
Something dropped right in front of him.
His gaze lowered, landing on a heart-shaped chocolate box fell out of nowhere.
He stared at it in silence before slowly picking it up, turning it around in his hand, examining every side like it might reveal something hidden, but no matter how much he looked, it was just a perfectly normal—almost annoyingly romantic—chocolate box.
His eye twitched. 'Yeah… I got scammed. I actually got scammed. I worked my ass off for this… nearly died, made plans, executed everything perfectly… and this is what I get?' irritation built up as his grip tightened slightly, barely holding himself back from throwing it away.
Then he paused. His expression shifted subtly, the irritation giving way to suspicion. '…wait,' he thought, eyes narrowing slightly as a different possibility surfaced.
'There's no way it's just chocolate… right?'
A faint spark of hope ignited as anticipation replaced frustration. Rain looked at the box again, this time more carefully, more seriously.
'There has to be something… a hidden effect, a buff…,' he thought, the earlier anger fading into curiosity.
'…don't tell me this is actually something insane.'
Rain said with a hint of excitement, "Show me its description."
His excitement wasn't anything unusual—it was almost instinctive. A gacha player always searched for hidden meaning in everything they saw or obtained, even the smallest detail, something that meant nothing to others, could carry depth, lore, or a hidden story in their eyes. It was a trait common among them, but not just any gacha player—these were the ones known as lore hunters, the kind who existed long before flashy rewards and mechanics, tracing back to the very foundation of games themselves, always chasing mysteries, always digging deeper.
And Rain… had a piece of that nature inside him.
But his excitement didn't last long as his eyes fell on its description.
[Love Chocolate from the Empress of Domination, personally made by the empress from her heart for someone truly loved. The chocolates are ordinary—nothing special—but what makes them special is the love poured into them.]
Rain blinked, disbelief slowly spreading across his face.
'…me and my overthinking,' he thought, his earlier anticipation collapsing instantly as he lifted the box slightly, already about to throw it away—only to stop midway.
[Hubby, do you like them?] with a shy, embarrassed expression.
Rain's face twitched, veins faintly showing as he forced out a response, "Yes… very much, haha…" his voice stiff, his smile even more awkward as he tried to keep it together.
'…can't do anything about it,' Rain thought, already understanding there was no point in cursing her or anyone else at this point—it was just his bad luck.
[Hubby, eat them!] she urged with a blushing expression.
'…what's with that face?' Rain thought, staring with a deadpan look, completely not getting it.
'Whatever… it's only the second time in my life someone made something for me… I'll just eat it. How bad could it be?'
He opened the box.
Inside were neatly arranged chocolates—round, smooth, a mix of white and dark, some shaped differently, all looking surprisingly appetizing.
Rain's mouth watered slightly as he looked at them. "Not bad…"
But—
That was a big mistake.
As the saying goes—never judge a book by its cover.
[…] too shy to say anything.
Rain took one chocolate and tossed it into his mouth.
"Hmm… it's actually good!" he said, savoring the sweet, creamy taste for a brief moment.
But the very next second—
The shell broke.
A thick red, gooey liquid burst out from inside, flooding his mouth instantly, coating his tongue and throat with an overwhelming taste—spicy, bitter, and downright disgusting, like something raw and completely wrong.
Rain's expression twisted in an instant.
He spat it out immediately.
"What the hell—this is disgusting!"
[Hubby… don't you like it?] with an almost teary expression.
Rain snapped instantly, his face twisting in outrage. "How the hell am I supposed to like this disgusting thing!? This isn't even edible—forget humans, even animals wouldn't touch this!" he lashed out, no longer holding back.
[Sob… sob… hubby…] her eyes filled completely, tears forming as her expression crumbled.
Rain froze.
'…shit.'
He realized it a moment too late.
"Stop… stop crying," Rain said quickly, his voice losing all its edge as he looked at her with a hesitant, almost panicked expression.
'Why did I react like that… if she keeps going like this, then I'm—'
His thoughts didn't even get the chance to finish.
A red screen flashed before his eyes.
[You dared to make the Empress of Domination sad]
[Executing penalty]
Rain's pupils shrank.
'…I'm done for.'
His eyes turned teary as the realization hit.
'Why the hell does this hellhound always have to show up...!' he thought, panic rising as his expression twisted.