Still, Shido couldn't help but feel pleased with the progress in his stats. Most of his attributes were steadily rising toward B-rank, and it was a good thing for him. It was a step forward, though he knew it still wasn't enough to dominate an entire world effortlessly, especially if that world had unique individuals capable of one punching enemies or bending reality itself.
Fortunately, Shido didn't have to worry about that kind of threat right now. This world, while dangerous in its own right, wasn't filled with beings on that absurd level of power. Even if he did encounter someone overwhelmingly strong, he believed he had the strength and tactics to survive, and, if necessary, escape.
As he continued browsing his status screen, his gaze shifted downward, until he noticed something new. A previously unseen feature had appeared in his system after maintenance for a while now.
The Sephira Crystal.
Just like in the anime, it was a mystical crystal capable of turning an ordinary girl into a Spirit. In truth, it was practically a cheat-level artifact, granting the user power that was at least a thousand times greater than before, along with extraordinary abilities.
With this thing, he could give strength to those who are close to him. He briefly considered who among his companions might be the right person to receive such a gift. But before he could dwell on it further, the sound of approaching footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Ugh… Good morning, Acheval-san." Rumia muttered as she entered the kitchen, holding her head with a pained expression. Tuare followed closely behind, clearly in the same state. Both of them were suffering from heavy hangovers after drinking too much the night before.
"G-Good morning, Acheval-san…" Tuare whispered sheepishly, clearly embarrassed by the aftermath of her actions last night.
Rumia was the same and her cheeks were slightly red. She really regretted drinking alcohol and she swear that she would never drink it again in the future since it made her head ache.
"Haaa… I told you both not to drink last night, didn't I?" Shido let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Now look at you."
Hearing his gentle scolding, both girls averted their eyes and lowered their heads even further, too ashamed to meet his gaze. The scene was almost comical in how clumsy and pitiful they looked.
The two girls fidgeted nervously, their eyes downcast as they braced themselves for Shido's scolding, or worse, some form of punishment. But to their surprise, they instead felt his hand gently caress their heads.
A soft, warm sensation spread from the top of their heads down through their bodies, soothing every ache and chasing away the dull pounding of their hangovers. The discomfort vanished, replaced by a wave of comfort and relaxation. It was as if their headaches had never existed. Shido casted a healing magic silently to make their headache vanish.
"This experience should teach you something, right?" Shido said softly, his hands still resting on their heads.
"Un!" the two girls replied in unison, nodding without even thinking.
Rumia and Tuare silently swore to never touch alcohol again. But even so, they couldn't deny one thing, the feeling of Shido's hands was incredibly comforting. Almost addictively so.
"Good. Since that's the case, let's eat. I cooked breakfast today." Shido said, giving their heads one last gentle pat before walking over to the dining table.
"I'm excited! It's been a while since I've had your cooking." Rumia said cheerfully, the earlier discomfort already forgotten.
Tuare, however, looked down in shame. "I'm sorry, Acheval-san… I was supposed to cook today, but I overslept… and got a hangover on top of that…"
Shido turned to her, immediately noticing the guilt in her expression, she looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"You don't need to worry about that, Tuare." he said gently. His voice was calm and reassuring. "It's okay to take a break sometimes. Cooking once in a while doesn't mean you've let anyone down, so don't put so much pressure on yourself, alright?"
"U-Un." Tuare bit her lips lightly and nodded, her cheeks tinged with pink. Shido's words had brought her back to her usual self, and though she felt a bit embarrassed, there was also a warm happiness blooming inside her.
"By the way, I haven't seen, Clementine-san. Do you know were she was, Acheval-san?" They took their seats and began eating breakfast but Rumia suddenly remembered Clementine. She looked at Shido and asked since usually, Clementine would be the first one to show up in the morning, yet she wasn't here which was quite weird for her.
Tuare, also curious, turned to look at Shido. But as his eyes met hers, the timid girl quickly lowered her head like a startled rabbit.
Shido held back a smile.
"She's also dealing with a hangover," Shido replied smoothly, not missing a beat. "Worse than the one you two had earlier, so she decided to sleep in."
His expression didn't change as if what he said was the actual truth.
"I see…" both Rumia and Tuare nodded in unison.
Tuare accepted the explanation without question.
She thought that it was the case since Clementine was really a heavy drinker, but Rumia felt something a miss. She looked back at Shido again but she couldn't tell what it really was. After a moment, she decided to stop thinking about it and decided to eat breakfast instead since it looked so appetizing.
'They didn't notice anything... right?' Shido thought to himself with a relief. Although he didn't really plan to hide it. It was better to not mention anything about his current relationship with Clementine for now since there might be some awkwardness between them if he did. And he couldn't actually say that Clementine was too tired to stand up so she planned to rest, right?
After breakfast, Tuare stood up quickly, eager to make up for her earlier slip-up. Since she hadn't cooked, she took it upon herself to clean the dishes. Rumia followed her lead and joined her in the kitchen without a word, helping with the cleanup.
Shido watched them quietly for a moment, grateful for the peaceful morning