Chapter 37: An Invitation to Heaven

I opened my eyes after roughly five hours of sleep.

The room was still dark. The faint morning light slipping through the edge of the curtains was only enough for me to make out the vague shapes of the furniture.

Eris was still asleep beside me.

She had moved a little closer during the night and stolen most of the blanket. Her crimson hair was spread across the pillow, partially covering her face. One hand rested beneath her cheek while the other stretched toward the middle of the bed.

I silently listened to her steady breathing for a while.

The words I had whispered after making sure she was asleep came back to me.

I love you, Eris.

I had meant it as a friend.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

For several seconds, I studied her face, afraid that she might open her eyes and reveal that she had actually heard me. However, her breathing didn’t change, and she showed no sign of waking.

I slowly pulled the blanket away from myself, careful not to disturb her. When the bed creaked as I placed one foot on the floor, I immediately stopped moving.

Eris frowned slightly, then buried her face a little deeper into the pillow and continued sleeping.

I breathed a sigh of relief and got out of bed.

After stopping by the bathroom to wash my face, I did my best to straighten my blue hair. Five hours of sleep wasn’t nearly enough, and faint shadows had formed beneath my eyes, but I didn’t feel as bad as I had expected.

The White Serpent must have been accelerating more than just the recovery of my wounds and muscles. It couldn’t completely replace sleep, but it was enough to keep me from missing my morning workout.

Once I left the bathroom, I headed into the kitchen.

I was certain Eris would be hungry when she woke up. Yesterday, she had finished the meal I prepared without saying much, then somehow left her plate completely clean while insisting she hadn’t used bread to wipe up the remaining sauce.

I took some eggs, cheese, smoked turkey, and greens from the refrigerator. While the eggs cooked in the pan, I lightly toasted the bread, then divided everything between two sandwiches.

I set one aside for myself. After placing the other on a clean plate and covering it, I wrote a note on a small piece of paper.

[I’m out for my morning run. The sandwich is for you ^_^. Pick up your own socks from around the apartment. —The Great Noctis]

A satisfied smile appeared on my face when I read the note again.

The title at the end was completely necessary.

After quickly eating my own sandwich, I put on my tracksuit. I transformed Umbrella into a simple black bracelet around my left wrist, slipped my phone into my pocket, and was ready for my morning run.

Before leaving, I looked into the bedroom one last time.

Eris was still asleep.

I pulled the blanket up over her exposed shoulder, then quietly left the room. As I closed the apartment door behind me and headed toward the stairs, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

For a moment, I thought I might have accidentally woken Eris while leaving, but the name on the screen immediately brightened my face.

[Angel: Good morning. Are you awake?]

I stared at the message in surprise for several seconds.

I hadn’t expected her to be awake this early. In fact, I had assumed I would reach the park first and run a few laps while waiting for her.

I quickly typed a response.

[Noctis: Good morning. I’m awake and already on my way.]

The message was read almost immediately.

[Angel: I’m waiting beside the small fountain near the park’s north entrance.]

So she had arrived before me.

I put my phone away and started running the moment I left the apartment building. I knew I shouldn’t exhaust myself before the real workout had even begun, but the thought of making her wait pushed me to move faster.

The cool morning air struck my face as I hurried through the streets. When I approached the park’s north entrance, I could already see the blonde girl standing beside the fountain.

Her hair was tied in a high ponytail. She wore dark athletic leggings that fit closely around her body and a light blue top. She held her phone in one hand while using the other to adjust a loose strand of hair beside her ear.

A warm smile appeared on her face when she noticed me.

"Good morning, Noctis."

Hearing my name in her voice still felt far better than I had expected.

"Good morning, my angel."

This time, I used the nickname without the slightest embarrassment.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but she didn’t object. As she placed her phone inside her running belt, she looked me over from head to toe.

"When I sent that message, I thought you would still be asleep."

"And I thought I’d be the first one here."

"I woke up a little early and couldn’t fall asleep again."

"Could it be that you were excited to see me?"

She stared at me with an innocent expression for several seconds.

"No."

Her answer came far too quickly for her to have given it any thought.

Ignoring the small crack that formed in my heart, I cleared my throat.

"Should we start running?"

"Sure."

We began moving side by side along the track.

Instead of talking during the first few minutes, we focused on finding a comfortable pace. Our shoes struck the ground in a steady rhythm while the cool morning air filled my lungs.

After checking my speed, my angel increased her pace slightly. Thanks to my Endurance and the White Serpent, I didn’t struggle too much to keep up with her.

As the minutes passed, the park gradually became busier. Elderly people out for their morning walks, young runners wearing headphones, and several people walking their dogs passed us along the path.

We continued running without slowing down.

By the end of the first half hour, my breathing had grown noticeably faster, but my legs could still carry me. My angel’s breathing, on the other hand, remained as steady as ever.

After watching her perform forty perfect pull-ups, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised anymore.

She occasionally turned her head to make sure I was all right. Each time, I put a relaxed expression on my face and kept running.

We didn’t stop once until the stopwatch on my phone reached a full hour.

Just as we slowed down and began walking, a blue light flashed before my eyes.

[Natural growth threshold exceeded.]

I forgot my exhaustion and focused on the text.

[Endurance: 13 → 14]

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

I had gained another point.

My Endurance had increased once again. Since my body was still in the early stages of development, I could continue improving quickly without spending Eclipsie Points as long as I trained regularly.

"What’s making you so happy?" my angel asked.

Since she couldn’t see the System window, she had no idea why I was smiling to myself.

"We just ran for an entire hour without stopping."

"I thought you’d done that before."

"I’m less tired today."

That explanation wasn’t exactly a lie.

My angel looked at my face and my rapidly rising and falling chest before nodding.

"You really do look better than yesterday. But you also seem a little tired."

"A friend stayed over last night, so I went to bed a little late."

Her eyebrows rose slightly.

"Your boyfriend?"

All my happiness vanished.

Boyfriend...

My shoulders drooped as I let out a long sigh.

"I don’t have a boyfriend."

"Oh..."

"She’s my childhood friend. And she’s a girl."

Brief surprise appeared in her blue eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes. She suddenly showed up at my apartment yesterday and decided to spend the night."

"I see." She tilted her head innocently. "Did you have a good time together?"

I thought about everything that had happened yesterday.

Eris had pinned me down, planted her foot against my face, confiscated my phone, registered me for a cosplay contest, and trapped my face between her breasts during our fight over the laptop.

Then we had watched anime and fallen asleep in the same bed.

"It was pretty eventful," I eventually said.

My angel calmly nodded, unaware of the disasters hidden behind that explanation.

We had started walking toward the outdoor workout area when I remembered yesterday’s phone call.

"By the way, what did your father do when you got home?"

Her shoulders sank slightly.

"He was waiting for me at the door."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I returned only three minutes later than I said I would, but he looked at his watch and asked why I was late."

"Three minutes doesn’t count as being late."

"It does to my father."

Although she sounded tired of it, she didn’t seem genuinely angry with him. This had clearly happened many times before.

"Then he started asking questions about you," she continued. "Your name, how old you are, where you live, which university you’re going to attend, and whether I knew your family."

"What did you tell him when he asked whether you knew my family?"

"I said I had only just met you."

"He probably didn’t like that."

"He hated it. He gave me a long lecture about why I shouldn’t go to pastry shops with strangers I meet in the park."

So my angel’s father was one of those men who were absurdly protective of their daughters...

I wished I didn’t have to think about how he would react after discovering that I was actually a boy.

"Is he still allowing you to see me?"

"He relaxed after I told him you were a girl."

An invisible arrow struck the center of my chest.

Once again, this misunderstanding had worked in my favor, but for some reason, I felt the blow to my masculinity more than the advantage I had gained.

My angel continued speaking as naturally as ever.

"My mother overheard our conversation too. She was happy because I haven’t willingly spent time with anyone new in a long while, so she told me to invite you over someday."

My steps slowed as my heart began beating faster.

"To your home?"

"Yes."

"Your father agreed?"

"He didn’t object because he thinks you’re a girl."

I could feel another arrow piercing my heart...

Being invited to my angel’s home was a huge development—something I couldn’t even have imagined a few days ago. Unfortunately, the entire opportunity depended on them not knowing that I was actually male.

There was a very high chance her father would throw me out of a window on the day I revealed the truth.

"Maybe I’ll come over someday," I said.

My angel’s face brightened.

"My mother will like you."

"You can’t say the same about your father, can you?"

After thinking for a few seconds, she smiled innocently.

"He may need a little time to get used to you."

A little?

He would probably need several centuries.