Daisy immediately ordered her recruits to clear the media away, pulling Haruto out of the overwhelming mob of reporters and whisking him straight back to her private flat.
Once they were safely inside, she changed out of her tactical gear into comfortable casual clothes and quietly took a seat on the sofa. Night had completely fallen outside, casting a calm, dim light across the room. Feeling a rare pang of guilt, Daisy looked over at him. "Sorry about all that... because of my mistake, you got dragged into the spotlight and ended up with all that unwanted attention."
Haruto offered a casual shrug, flashing a reassuring grin. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal."
Daisy blinked, taken aback by his easygoing attitude. What does he mean, no big deal after all that?
Leaning back, Haruto looked at her thoughtfully. "You did what you thought was best at the time. By the way... is this the real reason you live in a secret private flat instead of the main base?"
"Yeah," Daisy admitted softly.
Haruto's expression turned a bit more serious as he calculated the timeline. "Anyway, there aren't many days left now. Only 20 days more, and then you're supposed to send me back to my place, right?"
Daisy hesitated, looking away for a second. "About that... things have gotten a bit too chaotic here now—"
Before she could finish, Haruto open his HUD
As they moved, Daisy's eyes widened in sheer astonishment. His combat style had evolved drastically over the past weeks; his reflexes, strike precision, and fighting instincts were light-years ahead of where they used to be. How can someone level up so fast?
Deep down, Haruto checked his status interface and grinned ear-to-ear. Thanks to the brutal training and relentless grind, his Creation Level had hit 15, and his Nothingness Level had hit 15 as well.
He felt lighter, sharper, and overwhelmingly powerful—leagues ahead of the version of himself that had first arrived here.
As Haruto caught Daisy staring at him, he noticed the lingering guilt in her eyes and realized she was probably still beating herself up over the media chaos. Wanting to reassure her, he offered a warm, genuine smile.
The moment their eyes met, a sudden, unfamiliar wave of heat flushed across Daisy's skin. Flustered and completely caught off guard, she huffed defensively, turning her head away to quickly avoid his gaze.
Thinking she was just feeling embarrassed, Haruto stepped closer and spoke softly. "Hey... you didn't do anything wrong. Honestly, I'm always going to be grateful to you for giving me this training."
Hearing those sincere words, Daisy's face turned an even deeper shade of bright red, completely lost for words as her tough exterior melted away.
Daisy huffed lightly, crossing her arms as she muttered under her breath, "You absolute idiot... what does he even think he is?" Though she tried to brush it off, her mind was racing, her internal defenses completely scrambled by his unexpected sincerity.
Just then, Retro materialized with a soft digital hum, floating right beside her with an innocent tilt of its optical sensor. "Master... why are your face and ears so red?"
Daisy's eyes went wide. Panicking, she spun around and slapped a hand over Retro's sensor. "Shut up! Don't look at me!"
Without another word, she bolted straight toward her bedroom, slammed the door shut, and dove headfirst onto her bed. Burying her face completely under a thick pillow, she began thrashing back and forth in a fit of absolute embarrassment, groaning into the mattress. "What is wrong with me?! Why is my face burning like this?!"
Out in the living room, Retro hovered near the door, its internal processors spinning in utter confusion. What on earth is happening to Master? In the last hundred years, I have never once seen her act like this.
A short while later, the bedroom door clicked open, and Daisy stepped back out into the living area, trying her absolute best to look composed. She cleared her throat and looked at Haruto. "Go make dinner."
"Yes, ma'am!" Haruto replied cheerfully, heading straight for the kitchen.
Within minutes, the delicious aroma of his cooking filled the air, and the two of them sat down to eat together in a much more relaxed atmosphere. Once dinner was wrapped up, they settled in for the night—Daisy taking her usual bed, while Haruto unrolled his mat on the floor below.
Hours passed quietly until the digital clock flipped to 2:00 AM.
Clack.
Before the standard 3:00 AM alarm could even trigger, Daisy walked over and nudged Haruto awake.
Haruto blinked sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He looked down and noticed he was still fully dressed in his indoor shorts and t-shirt. He yawned, looking up at her with a confused expression. "What's wrong? Is something up?"
Instead of answering right away, Daisy hesitated, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something important.
Haruto, completely exhausted and lacking any desire to overthink it, just flopped back down onto his mat and mumbled, "Whatever it is, let's talk about it tomorrow," before immediately drifting back to sleep.
Daisy stood there in the quiet room, her lips parted in slight disbelief. She looked down at his sleeping face, and a fresh wave of pink rushed across her cheeks. She turned on her heel and walked back toward her desk, trying to clear her head. I wish I could just refresh my mind and forget all this nonsense...
Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to shut down the stray thoughts looping in her brain. After a moment, she dropped her head into her hands, feeling the heat radiate across her face as she scolded herself out loud in a quiet whisper.
"Get a grip, Daisy," she muttered, shaking her head. "Since when do you stare at a guy like this? Besides, he's a total idiot—he has zero situational awareness, no sense of seriousness, and always manages to poke his nose into other people's business. Just ignore him and go back to normal."
A few hours later, the first rays of morning broke through the horizon, marking the start of a brand-new daily routine.
Haruto now breezed through the 10-kilometer run with absolute ease. His regimen had scaled up drastically: 1,500 push-ups, 700 sit-ups, intense martial arts sparring, and three solid hours of advanced energy meditation.
After finishing their grueling physical conditioning, they headed straight down into the layers. Sticking to the boss-spawn zones, Haruto meticulously hunted down lower-tier monsters while abusing the massive XP multiplication, watching his levels skyrocket at an absurd pace.
By the time evening rolled around, painting the sky in vibrant shades of orange and purple, Haruto turned to Daisy with a hopeful grin. "Hey... since we're done with training for today, can we go wander around the city for a bit?"
Daisy immediately shook her head. "No."
"Aw, come on, please?" Haruto pleaded, flashing a bright, persistent smile. "Just a quick walk around the district?"
Hearing his tone and catching his expression up close, Daisy felt that familiar, traitorous heat rush straight to her face. She turned her head away with a flustered huff, her cheeks glowing bright red. "...Fine. Whatever."
As they climbed onto Daisy's custom pink bike and soared back through the glowing transit grid toward the apartment, Daisy broke the silence. "So... you wiped out almost a horde of monsters today. How's your magic control and combat flow holding up?"
Haruto grinned brightly from behind her, gripping the edges of her jacket. "Pretty good! I officially hit Level 18, and I've mastered dual-wielding swords along with spear techniques."
Daisy raised an eyebrow, a hint of genuine pride in her voice. "Oh? Not bad at all. That means tomorrow, we're stepping it up and heading straight into Layer 17."
"You know," Haruto said sincerely, leaning in slightly, "thanks to your training methods, my level-ups have been insanely fast. I really appreciate it. You are my hero."
Hearing those words out of nowhere, Daisy instantly froze. A fierce wave of heat flushed across her face, turning her cheeks bright red in the dark night air. Why does he keep saying things like that out of nowhere?! she panicked internally, desperately trying to keep her grip steady on the handlebars.
Moments later, they pulled up to the private apartment and stepped inside. Without missing a beat, Daisy tossed a neatly wrapped package straight into Haruto's arms.
Haruto caught it, blinking in surprise as he tore open the wrapping. Inside sat a brand-new set of clothing—a matching jacket and jeans combo that perfectly mirrored the style of her own tactical streetwear.
His eyes went wide behind his mask as he looked up at her. "Wait... matching outfits?"
Daisy crossed her arms, looking away with a slightly defensive, flustered shrug. "Don't read too much into it. Matching outfits always come with a massive bulk discount at the supply store."
Haruto chuckled, shaking his head. "Come on, don't play dumb. It's your entire city anyway, you can buy whatever you want."
Daisy immediately cut him off, her tone sharp as she defended herself. "The whole city isn't mine! I'm just a citizen here, and I just help run and manage things. It's not like I own the place, even if the city's budget passes through my hands. I still have to manage all my funds myself."
Before Daisy could finish, Retro cheerfully popped up right beside them. "Master donates 90% of her salary to the impoverished every single month—"
"Retro, shut your mouth right now," Daisy snapped, her face flushing crimson as she glared at the hovering robot.
Before she could stop him, Haruto reached out and gently grabbed her hand, squeezing it with a warm, genuine smile. "Wow... I really appreciate that about you."
The gesture caught Daisy completely off guard. Haruto remember his own past life in a harsh reality where he had grown up in poverty with zero help from anyone, Haruto's expression softened.
Feeling the warm contact of his hand wrapped around hers, Daisy's face flared up brighter than a fire alarm, her whole body freezing. Panicking, she yanked her hand back and stammered, "—idiot! Who just grabs someone's hand like that?!"
Haruto blinked, looking completely unfazed. "Hah? What's wrong with holding hands?"
Standing there with her heart hammering against her ribs, Daisy's mind raced in a chaotic panic. Why am I overreacting this much?! What is even wrong with holding hands?!
For a moment, an awkward silence hung in the room. Haruto kept his hand outstretched, while Daisy just stood there staring daggers at it, her face still burning.
Realizing he was still waiting, Haruto blinked. "Uhh... are you going to let go of my hand, or..."
"A-Ah! Oh, right, okay!" Daisy stammered, quickly swatting his hand away. She cleared her throat and hastily pivoted to change the subject. "C-Change your clothes! We're going out for a walk around the city, okay?"
Haruto grinned, grabbing his new matching outfit. "Alright, sounds good!"
A few minutes later, both of them emerged from their rooms dressed and ready. After a quick discussion, they decided against taking the bike tonight. Instead, they slid their signature tactical masks back into place over their faces and stepped out onto the street, deciding to explore the city on foot.
For Haruto, this was the very first time he was getting to wander around and truly experience the sprawling sights of the sector outside of a military base or training ground.
As they walked down the sprawling commercial avenue, the shopping district dazzled them with neon lights and hyper-advanced displays. Every storefront hummed with futuristic energy and cutting-edge tech.
As they passed a high-end weapon boutique, Haruto's eyes locked onto a section displaying a stunning, sleek mechanical sword with glowing kinetic edges. He lingered, admiring its craftsmanship, silently thinking he could use an upgrade like that.
Daisy noticed him stopping and gently pulled him along, whispering, "Keep moving, mister. That model costs a fortune—you don't have nearly enough credits for that."
Haruto chuckled internally, knowing full well he was sitting on millions in digital credits from his system rewards and bounties, but he just smiled and let it go.
Instead, they headed into a massive clothing megastore to pick up some casual wear. They spent a fun hour trying on various fits, mixing and matching styles. Even Daisy found herself genuinely enjoying the outing, letting her guard down as she laughed and admitted she hadn't taken a proper break to just unwind and shop like this in ages.
After finishing up at the store, they decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby food district.
As they walked, Daisy glanced over and muttered, "Where should we even go? I hope you brought enough money for this."
Haruto grinned, flashing a teasing smirk. "Relax, aren't you supposed to be treating me?"
Hearing that, Daisy's cheeks flushed a bright red as she shot him a flustered look. "W-Who said anything about treating you?!"
They both laughed it off and found a nice spot to sit down, enjoying a great meal together. As they walked back out into the bustling, neon-lit streets afterward, the crowds started getting thicker. To make sure they didn't get separated in the sea of people, Haruto naturally reached out and grabbed her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers.
Daisy froze, her entire face turning bright red up to her ears. She opened her mouth to snap at him, but seeing how completely natural and unbothered he was about it, she swallowed her words. Biting her lower lip, she let out a soft huff and let him hold her hand, her heart hammering against her ribs as they walked side by side through the glowing avenue. Is this a date? she thought.
Later that night, they headed back to the safety of the private apartment. After a quiet, comfortable wind-down, they turned off the lights and went to sleep, completely exhausted from the long day.
Everything was peaceful—until a sharp, sudden doorbell echoed through the apartment.
The sharp ring of the doorbell echoed through the silent apartment again.
Both Haruto and Daisy bolted awake in an instant, their combat instincts kicking in. Daisy sat up quickly, grabbing Haruto by the arm. "Haruto... you go open it."
Haruto blinked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Hah? Why me? This is your apartment!"
"Because this place is a secret," Daisy hissed in a low, urgent whisper, her eyes wide. "And we're on Floor 312—nobody should be standing outside randomly unless they're specifically looking for me. If it's someone dangerous or someone asking questions, just pretend you live here alone and I'm not around!"
Haruto let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples. "What a headache..."
Grudgingly, he rolled out of bed, walked over to the front entrance, and twisted the security lock.
The moment the heavy door swung open, Haruto froze in absolute shock.
Standing in the hallway was an entire army. Right at the front was Lilith, cradling Eterna—safely in her arms. Right beside them stood Ivory, followed by Belloan, Lustra, Toya, and Rutherford. And squeezed awkwardly at the very back was Philo, literally leaning flat against the corridor wall just to keep out of sight.
As soon as Eterna and the rest of the gang caught sight of Haruto standing there in the doorway, their faces lit up with beaming, excited smiles.
Lilith gently set Eterna down on the floor, and before Haruto could even process what was happening, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
Standing in the doorway, Haruto's brain completely short-circuited. "Found you, man," Toya grinned from behind her.
Before Haruto could recover, Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra all surged forward at once, burying him in a massive, overwhelming group hug as they clung to him tightly.
Inside the apartment, Daisy heard the muffled commotion echoing through the hallway. Annoyed that anyone dared make this much noise outside her secret hideout, she quickly tied her hair back, threw on a light jacket, and stormed out of the bedroom into the living room, ready to chew out whoever had the nerve to show up uninvited. "Hey, what is all this racket—?!"
The moment Daisy stepped into the entryway, the words died instantly in her throat.
Four girls were clinging desperately to Haruto, refusing to let go. But the moment their eyes landed on Daisy standing right there in the apartment—dressed casually in her indoor wear, with shorts and a slightly loose, revealing sleep top—their expressions twisted into a terrifying, murderous glare.
A heavy, ice-cold silence fell over the hallway.
The girls' imaginations instantly ran wild, jumping to the most extreme, chaotic conclusions about what the two of them had been doing alone in a secret apartment late at night.
Haruto glanced over at Daisy's freezing, murderous expression, felt the intense, suffocating aura radiating from the four girls gripping his clothes, and felt his entire soul leave his body. His face drained of all color, and he let out a silent, internal scream.
I am so dead.