Once they arrived and got comfortable on the sofa, Ashen wasted no time. He mentally called up his status window and made it visible for Seraphine to see.
"Oh! So this is what you wanted to show me?" Seraphine exclaimed, her tone light, but her eyes told a different story.
They darted between the words on display, scanning them with an intensity that contradicted her nonchalance.
A few minutes later, she lifted her head. The worry in her gaze bore into him.
Ashen, a little uncomfortable under her scrutiny, forced a light smile and quipped, "Surprising, isn't it? The man you like isn't as great as he seems. In fact, it's quite the opposite."
Leaning back, he added dryly, "It's not too late to change your mind and find someone actually worthy of you, you know?"
Her expression immediately darkened.
"What do you
mean
by that?!" she snapped. "I'm not that shallow, you know!"
Taking a deep breath, she continued, her voice quieter but firm.
"Even if your traits were a hundred times worse than this, I'd still stay by your side and do my best to help you. You're the man
I
chose, after all…"
The last part was nearly mumbled, too soft for Ashen to catch, but before he could ask her to repeat it, she spoke up again, this time with renewed conviction.
"Anyway! Even if your traits look bad on paper, I've
seen
how hard you work, Ashen. So believe in yourself… because I'll keep believing in you."
She smiled softly, finishing with quiet certainty.
"A couple of words won't ever change my opinion of you, you understand?"
Ashen sat there, momentarily dazed, absorbing her words.
He had expected her to brush it off, sure. With Seraphine's personality, making a big deal out of something like this wasn't her style. But
expecting
it and
hearing
it directly were two entirely different things.
A smile bloomed on his face.
Not his usual sarcastic or mocking grin, but something different… something
genuine.
Innocent, even.
And in that moment, he felt it.
A warmth spread in his chest, like a small flame igniting within him. A symbol of his will to
truly
change, not because circumstances forced him to, but because
he
wanted to.
If she believed in him
that
much… shouldn't he at least meet her sincerity halfway?
More importantly… how could he ever face Alice again without first fixing what had driven them apart?
"What's with that smile…?"
A bewildered mutter echoed through the room.
While Ashen was busy making silent resolutions, Seraphine found herself completely
captivated
by his sudden, pure smile.
It was almost childlike, but what truly stole her breath was how
free
and happy he looked in that moment.
"…Not fair," she whispered bitterly.
"Hmm? What's not fair?"
This time, Ashen caught it. Leaning forward, he flashed her a teasing grin.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Tell me, my little angel. I'll blow away any unfairness that comes your way."
Seeing him slip back into his usual joking self, Seraphine quickly reined in her wild emotions. But then, something else from his status window resurfaced in her mind, something far
more
concerning.
"Ash…
You!
How could you hide something like this from me?!"
Without hesitation, she invaded his personal space, patting him here and there as if trying to make sure he was still in one piece.
"Oh God, your magic circuits are damaged… and
permanently
at that!" Her face morphed back into one of pure distress, her earlier panic coming back in full force.
"What do we do? What do we
do?!
I have no idea, oh my god—"
Watching her spiral into a mental breakdown over mere circuit damage, Ashen secretly let out a sigh of relief.
'Good call on omitting the stuff about the Weaver's Eyes, Loved by Time, and the Recall skill…'
It wasn't that he
didn't
trust her with the knowledge, but she was already freaking out over something as minor as
this.
If he dropped the heavier details on her now? She'd probably combust on the spot.
So yeah… for the
foreseeable future,
the busty angel remained on a need-to-know basis.
"Sera, calm down," he tried, his voice soothing. "Fussing over it won't heal me."
But it did little to help.
"How can I
stay
calm?! It must have hurt a
lot
, right?! And now that I think about it… Weren't you circulating mana constantly every single day?! How could you be so reckless—wait,
heck!
You're doing it
right now,
aren't you?!"
Ashen gave her a sheepish look.
She was right. His circulation method was still in full swing
even as they spoke.
"Uhh, it's fine, really… I've gotten used to it. And the pain doesn't bother me much anymore."
Seraphine exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples.
"…You're
unbelievable.
"
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. It was a skill she had
way
too much practice in these past two days.
"But still," she added, her voice a little softer. "You
can't
keep things like this to yourself, Ashen. I thought we were closer than that…"
Leaning back against the sofa, she crossed her arms under her chest, her tone carrying a trace of hurt.
Ashen sighed.
"I'm sorry… I wasn't trying to shut you out." His voice was low but earnest. "I just didn't want to burden you with something you couldn't fix. We already had enough to deal with, and I didn't want to add more to your plate."
Seraphine stared at him for a moment before puffing her cheeks in a huff.
"Apology accepted.
But!
No more secrets when it comes to your health, got it?"
Relieved that he dodged a bullet, Ashen hurriedly nodded.
"Yes, yes. As long as it concerns my health, I'll tell you.
Promise.
"
"Good." She nodded, satisfied.
"Well? I guess this is what you wanted to show me. What's your request?" Seraphine asked, her tone exaggerated. "I
hope
it's not as outrageous as everything else."
"No… nothing like that," Ashen shook his head. But then, he recalled last night's lucid dream and hesitated.
"Uhh… actually… now that I think about it, it
might
be a little unpleasant." He pinched his fingers together. "Just a
tiny
bit."
Seraphine raised an eyebrow.
Then, tipping her chin up, she smirked, trying to act high and mighty.
"Just
spill it
already. After all the surprises you've thrown at me, there's nothing that can faze
this
lady. So don't worry your little head over it—
hmph
."
Ashen had to physically restrain his hands from reaching out to pat this
adorable
creature.
Shaking off his amusement, he decided to stop stalling.
"As you saw, I'm a
Dreamer
now," he explained. "Which means I have to dream, and make
others
dream, for my embodiment to work."
Pausing, he let her absorb his words before continuing.
"I already make myself dream every night through lucid dreaming. But for others… that's where you come in." He met her gaze. "I want to use the skill on you. Maybe before you go to bed or something…"
Seraphine blinked.
"…That's it?"
"Yeah."
"So… I just have to let you put me to sleep?" She tilted her head. "Is it really that hard? I don't understand why you were hesitating earlier."
Ashen sighed.
"Well, the thing is… I don't have much control over the dreams I conjure. So if you're
unlucky,
your dream could turn into a
nightmare
really quickly."
Seraphine squinted. "How bad are we talking?"
Ashen deadpanned.
"Last night, I dreamt of my arm getting chewed on by beasts before I ended up getting devoured by a swarm of tarantulas."
"…That bad, huh."
Silence stretched between them.
Ashen didn't interrupt her thoughts, giving her time to process it.
But less than a minute later, Seraphine just
shrugged.
"Welp, I'm in. You can count on me."
"…What? Really?"
Ashen was genuinely surprised. He had
expected
her to refuse—
wanted
her to, even. That's why he laid out all the cons, completely transparent about how horrifying the experience
could
be.
So… why?
'I guess I underestimated her resilience after all…'
"Yeah, really," Seraphine confirmed, grinning. "I bet those kinds of nightmares
rarely
happen."
Then, giving him a confident thumbs-up, she added, "
Most importantly
—I have faith that
you
won't let me have bad dreams, Ash."
Ashen blinked.
Then he sighed.
'Or maybe… I underestimated her
blind faith
in me.'