Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across Levi’s face as he lay on his stomach in bed.
His eyelids twitched before slowly opening.
The stinging pain in his back made him frown slightly.
A faint green glow spread across his entire body, and the pain vanished in an instant.
The wounds that had already mostly healed overnight closed completely.
“Heal really is useful. Too bad I can only use it once a day.”
Levi exhaled, climbed out of bed, and stretched his limbs.
Although his encounter with Evelynn yesterday had left him badly injured, he had also gained something significant from it.
He had actually acquired Evelynn, Agony’s Embrace’s passive ability, Demon Shade.
The ability allowed him to recover health after leaving combat while also granting him camouflage.
What Levi still couldn’t understand was that Evelynn had clearly been able to disappear into stealth almost instantly even while fighting him yesterday.
After thinking about it for a while, though, he stopped worrying about it.
This wasn’t a game, after all.
He couldn’t judge these champions entirely by how their abilities worked in-game.
The injuries Levi had suffered yesterday had been quite serious, but Demon Shade had helped him recover remarkably quickly.
Combined with Heal, he was now as good as new.
A crisp tapping sound came from outside the door, the unmistakable click of high heels against the floor.
Levi knew that sound all too well.
A mischievous grin spread across his face as his figure gradually faded from sight.
“Levi, you’re awake, right? I made you some porridge.”
A pleasant voice came from outside, but there was no answer.
Miss Fortune, Sarah, knocked on the door and called his name several more times.
When she still received no response, worry gradually crept into her expression.
No longer caring about manners, Sarah pushed the door open and hurried inside.
Her gaze swept across the room, but Levi was nowhere to be seen.
She yanked the blanket off the bed.
Empty.
Sarah touched the sheets and immediately noticed that they were still warm.
Just then, a noise came from the wardrobe.
Sarah drew her pistol and slowly approached it.
“Levi, is that you?”
Still no answer.
Sarah suddenly threw open the wardrobe and aimed her pistol inside.
Nothing.
She breathed a sigh of relief, but the instant she turned around, a pair of arms reached out from the wardrobe and wrapped around her waist.
“Aah!”
Sarah let out a startled scream, her whole body jolting as if she’d been struck by lightning.
She spun around again and aimed directly at the wardrobe.
“Don’t shoot! It’s me.”
Levi stepped out with a shameless grin and gently pushed the barrel of her pistol aside with one finger.
“You… where the hell were you just now? I thought…” Sarah slapped his hand away, glaring at him.
“Heh. Scared you, didn’t I?” Levi continued grinning without the slightest hint of remorse.
Seeing that expression only made Sarah angrier.
Gritting her teeth, she punched him hard in the chest.
For a moment, she had genuinely thought Evelynn had followed them back and done something to Levi.
She had nearly been scared to death, only to discover that the bastard had been hiding there playing a prank on her.
Sarah was no delicate little girl, and there was plenty of force behind that punch.
The moment she hit him, she realized she might have gone a little too far.
Levi’s body was far tougher than an ordinary person’s, so the punch barely bothered him.
Even so, he immediately hunched over and put on an expression of terrible pain.
He’s the one who messed with me first.
That’s what he gets for provoking me.
Right, I don’t need to worry about him.
Sarah told herself that as she deliberately turned her head away and pretended not to notice.
Her eyes, however, kept drifting back toward Levi.
When she noticed a glimpse of red-stained bandages still showing across his back, something tightened in her chest.
In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore him.
“Levi, are you okay?”
Sarah bent down and supported him, asking anxiously.
Seeing his tightly furrowed brow filled her with guilt.
“Heh, what could possibly happen to me?”
Levi’s frown suddenly vanished, replaced once again by that infuriating grin.
“Levi!”
Sarah shouted his name, practically grinding her teeth to pieces.
She brought one high heel down directly on top of his foot and ground it in for good measure.
“Hiss!”
A sharp, piercing pain shot through him.
Levi’s face, which had been full of smug delight only moments before, instantly twisted into a mask of agony.
“Hmph.”
Sarah gave a satisfied little snort and sat down on a chair, watching as Levi clutched his foot and grimaced.
“Sarah, wasn’t that a little brutal?” Levi complained from the floor while rubbing his aching foot.
“That’s what you get for tricking me.”
Sarah was still fuming, her full breasts rising and falling with every angry breath.
Levi couldn’t help staring.
It was ridiculous, he thought, how could something as simple as the way she breathed look so damn sexy?
Sarah immediately noticed where he was looking and glared at him.
Levi hurriedly lowered his head and pretended nothing had happened.
“So, seriously, how are your injuries?” Sarah asked.
She was clearly still annoyed, but she couldn’t stop herself from worrying about him.
“I’m naturally gifted. I’m almost completely healed already. See? I knew you cared about me.”
Levi grinned.
“Hmph. Who cares about you? I just don’t want you dying inside my house. That would be terrible luck.”
Sarah shot back irritably.
Seeing his grin only made her want to hit him again.
“Oh, right, Sarah. Didn’t you say you made porridge for me? Where is it?”
Levi looked around, but couldn’t find anything.
Sarah glanced at him without answering and walked straight out of the room.
Before long, she returned carrying a large pot of porridge.
“Here. Consider it feeding the dog.”
She took out a small bowl and spoon, filled the bowl, and handed it to Levi.
Levi accepted it and looked inside.
There seemed to be fish and shellfish mixed into the porridge.
It looked pretty good.
He took a bite.
His expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Then he proceeded to finish the entire bowl.
“Well? Does it taste okay?”
Sarah watched him nervously.
She certainly wasn’t some experienced homemaker, and it was rare for her to cook at all, so even she had no idea how it had turned out.
“Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Another bowl.”
Levi nodded and handed her the empty bowl.
Sarah’s face immediately brightened.
Apparently, she hadn’t done too badly.
Looking delighted, she filled another bowl for him.
Levi quickly finished that one too and handed it back.
After four bowls in a row, Levi rubbed his now-round stomach and couldn’t suppress a loud burp.
“Is it really that good?”
Sarah stared at him curiously.
Could she actually be some kind of natural-born culinary genius?
She served herself a little, put a spoonful into her mouth, and immediately spat it back out.
“Ugh! Why is it so fishy?”
Sarah turned toward Levi in confusion.
He had been eating it like there was nothing wrong with it.
“Levi, how did you manage to eat all that?”
She looked at him with obvious embarrassment.
Levi rubbed his stomach and looked back at her.
“Anything you cook tastes delicious to me. I love it.”
Their eyes met.
Sarah’s face visibly reddened at his sudden words, the blush rapidly deepening until she looked as though her cheeks might start bleeding.
“Y-You… what are you suddenly saying things like that for? You think saying something like that is going to make me happy?”
Sarah abruptly turned away and rushed out of the room, though there was no hiding the intense blush still covering her face.
Levi chuckled softly as he watched her leave.
Sarah quickly headed downstairs, but he could still faintly hear the crisp click-clack of her high heels against the floor.
For some reason, they sounded much more hurried than usual.