Chapter 66: I Choose Perfect Sleep!

A soft snore answered her.

"..."

Lilly stared at him in disbelief.

’Already?!’

"Are you pretending? You can answer me if you’re awake, you know."

She poked his cheek.

There was still no response.

’What kind of person falls asleep this quickly?!’

Lilly was tempted to pinch him, but seeing how peacefully he slept, she decided against it.

Instead, she moved closer until their faces were only a short distance apart.

"You made me like this, you know," she whispered.

The excuse she had given Nero wasn’t entirely a lie.

Before their night together, her Destruction Talent had often left her restless, forcing her to find ways to calm herself down by watching naughty videos and reliving herself.

However, ever since that night, her Talent had become much easier to control. Although she had struggled with her increased strength during the match against Richard, she no longer felt the same constant restlessness.

But that wasn’t the real reason she had come tonight.

She simply wanted to be close to him again and feel the same feeling she felt last day and it was even better than before now that they got used to it.

She will really get addicted to this at this rate.

Lilly carefully slipped an arm around Nero and rested against his chest.

His body was pleasantly warm, and the familiar comfort she had been missing returned almost immediately.

It was like she couldn’t live without Nero.

"Hmph. How can that be? I can live without him." Lily mumbled to herself as she huffed.

"How did you change this much in just one week? Is that even possible?"

Lilly studied his sleeping face.

He had become so handsome that she sometimes struggled to believe he was the same Nero who used to hide in his room all day.

’He’s probably only a little less handsome than Richard now.’

Then again, Richard had inherited his appearance from two beautiful parents.

Nero’s family had been rather different.

His mother was a beautiful woman, but his father had looked like a frightening brute who spent his entire life fighting wars.

Lilly still remembered how surprised she had been when that intimidating man brought her candy.

Despite his appearance, he had always been gentle with her.

Remembering him alongside Nero’s cheerful mother made Lilly feel a little sad.

"Do you miss your parents, Nero?"

She already knew the answer. He did and he has been hiding that fact deep inside him.

Lilly still remembered how much Nero had cried after his parents disappeared inside that Gate. As time passed, he gradually lost interest in almost everything and became increasingly withdrawn and anxious.

Back then, she hadn’t known how to comfort him.

After all, her own father had disappeared alongside Nero’s parents, and she had been waiting for someone who never came home too.

Lilly gently brushed a strand of hair away from his face.

"You really had a hard time growing up."

She sometimes wondered how much of Nero’s timid personality had developed after losing his parents.

He had once been such a cheerful boy, but after that incident, everything changed.

Lilly moved closer and draped one leg over his, resting her cheek against his chest.

"Your Talent might be weak, but that doesn’t mean you can’t become strong. I’ll help you train, so you don’t have to worry about everything yourself."

She knew how hard Nero worked whenever he became interested in something.

And now that he had finally awakened, Lilly wanted to help him become strong enough to accomplish his goals.

"We’ll find our parents together. They have to be somewhere inside those Gates, right?"

Her voice became quieter as she continued her next words.

"I don’t want to believe they’re dead. Not after waiting this long."

Her father was among the group that went missing with Nero’s parents. Essentially they shared the same goal.

For the first time in years, however, the thought of searching for them didn’t feel like something she would have to face alone.

Lilly tightened her embrace.

"I can’t believe I fell for an idiot like you."

Her cheeks warmed as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Nero shifted slightly in his sleep, causing her to flinch, but he merely moved his arm before settling again.

Lilly sighed in relief.

’Don’t scare me like that!’

She carefully tucked herself against his side, resting her head in the bend of his arm.

His steady breathing and familiar warmth made her increasingly sleepy.

"Good night, Nero."

Soon, she fell asleep in his arms.

When Nero woke the following morning, he found himself with barely any room left on his side of the bed.

Lilly had practically taken over his sleeping space.

Her strawberry-blonde hair was spread across his arm and pillow, while one of her legs rested over his. She was hugging him so tightly that he wondered whether she had mistaken him for a body pillow.

’Just how did we end up like this?’

Still, seeing her sleeping peacefully against him brought a smile to his face.

"You’re pretty cute when you’re asleep."

Nero gently tightened his arm around her.

He still didn’t know exactly what to call their relationship, but pretending he didn’t understand his feelings was becoming increasingly ridiculous.

He liked Lilly.

That much was obvious.

The only reason he hadn’t admitted it properly was because he wasn’t sure what would happen afterward.

Before he could think further, Lilly began stirring in his arms.

Her violet eyes slowly opened, and when she realized how closely he was holding her, her cheeks immediately turned pink.

"W-Why are you hugging me?"

"Because you were hugging me first."

Lilly glanced down at the arm she still had wrapped around him.

"See?"

"...."

Despite her complaints, Lilly remained against him for another moment before finally sitting up.

However, just as she was about to leave, she leaned closer and sniffed his body.

"Hmm... Nero, what perfume do you use?"

"What do you mean?"

"You smell nice. Is it some kind of perfume?"

"It’s nothing special." He replied awkwardly.

His High-Human body naturally carried a pleasant scent, although Nero wasn’t about to explain that to her.

Lilly seemed satisfied with the answer.

"Well, whatever it is, I like it."

Nero smiled at her words.

"Thanks, I guess."

After getting ready, Nero and Lilly headed toward Pride University.

He was looking forward to continuing the exercises Enis had taught him, especially since he had begun making progress with controlling Cellular Reservoir.

However, the training area felt unusually quiet today.

’Oh, right. Lucas and Jasmine left with Professor Victoria.’

Nero had already grown accustomed to seeing the twins arguing whenever they met, so their absence made the place feel strangely empty.

’Guess I’ll have to get used to training without those two for a while.’

He booked a room and began thinking about his upcoming plans.

The System had offered him a secret training location instead of encouraging him to attend Victoria’s training, and Nero was still curious about why.

More importantly, his first Mythical reward was waiting for him there.

Although he didn’t know what the reward would be, something of that rank had to be extraordinary.

’I’ll follow Enis’s training plan for the rest of the week. After that, I’ll check out the location.’

He also needed to arrange Mira’s first lesson, since he had promised to begin teaching her today.

For now, however, Nero wanted to continue improving Cellular Reservoir.

He had only recently awakened, and there was still plenty he needed to learn.