Chapter 44: Level up
Ding!
[Congratulations!]
You have successfully battled on equal footing with Ryouta Ashikaga for a full 5 minutes!
Reward Claimed:
- +625 EXP
➤ [Check Status]
The front door clicked shut behind Haruto as he finally made it home, his shoulders sagging with exhaustion. Between the mock exams and dealing with all that system stuff, he felt like he’d been run over by a truck. All he wanted was to collapse on his bed and forget the world existed for a while.
But before he could even kick off his shoes properly,
"Welcome home, Haruto," Satsuki’s voice was soft and melodic as always, but there was something in her tone that made him look up. She was standing right there in the hallway, like she’d been waiting for him. Which, knowing Satsuki, she probably had been.
"Onee-chan," he mumbled, trying to force a smile. "Sorry I’m late, the exams ran longer than—"
She was already moving toward him, her eyes scanning his face with that intense way she had of looking at him. It was like she could see right through him sometimes, and honestly, it made him nervous as hell.
"You look tired," she said simply, reaching up to touch his cheek. Her fingers were cool against his skin. "The exams were hard, weren’t they?"