A few minutes later...
After giving Lala a tour of the entire house, Kaito led her upstairs.
The hallway was quiet and simple.
Several doors lined both sides, while a small window at the end allowed the moonlight to softly illuminate the corridor.
Kaito stopped in front of one of the doors.
"This will be your room for now."
It was the guest room.
It wasn't particularly large, but it was clean, cozy, and had everything someone would need for a comfortable night's sleep.
A soft bed.
A wardrobe.
A desk.
And a small window overlooking the star-filled sky.
Lala quietly looked around the room.
Then, just before stepping inside...
She turned toward Kaito.
"Kaito..."
she called softly, keeping both hands behind her back.
"Yeah?"
Kaito answered naturally.
Only then did he notice what she was still wearing.
One of his oversized T-shirts and a pair of his shorts.
They looked almost like improvised pajamas on her.
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Ah... sorry."
"I don't have any women's clothes at home."
"You must feel uncomfortable wearing my clothes."
Lala immediately shook her head.
"No."
She smiled.
"That's not it."
"Hm?"
Kaito tilted his head in confusion.
Lala glanced away for a brief moment.
Then she pointed toward another door farther down the hallway.
"That's your room, right?"
"Yeah."
Kaito answered casually.
Then Lala pointed her thumb toward the door behind her.
"And this is the room where you said I'll be sleeping."
"That's right."
She stared at him for several quiet seconds.
Then, with the most innocent expression imaginable...
She asked,
"Kaito..."
"...why don't we sleep in the same room?"
"...Huh?"
Kaito's eyes widened.
That question had completely caught him off guard.
Lala continued looking at him with nothing but pure innocence in her eyes.
"Would I be a bother to you?"
"..."
For some reason...
At that exact moment...
Kaito felt an overwhelming urge to hug her.
'Calm down.'
'Pull yourself together.'
'Use every ounce of self-control you have.'
After a fierce internal battle...
He finally managed to answer.
"I thought you'd want some privacy."
Lala tilted her head slightly.
"I don't mind."
She answered honestly.
"After all..."
"We're engaged."
"..."
Kaito forced an awkward smile.
'You really say that so casually...'
She genuinely believed it.
Or rather...
To her, it was already an established fact.
'Honestly...'
'That would be way too dangerous.'
No matter how composed Kaito tried to be...
He was still a perfectly healthy fifteen-year-old boy.
Sleeping beside such a beautiful girl...
Would put his self-control through an impossible test.
'It's not that I have any bad intentions...'
'It's just that doing something like that on the very first day we met wouldn't feel right.'
After organizing his thoughts...
He quickly came up with an excuse.
"The truth is..."
"My bed is really small."
"If both of us slept there, you'd probably fall off in the middle of the night."
Lala blinked several times.
"I see."
She accepted the explanation without questioning it in the slightest.
Then she placed her hand on the doorknob.
But just before entering...
She looked back at Kaito one last time.
A gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you again for helping me, Kaito."
Kaito smiled warmly.
"You don't have to thank me."
"It's only natural to want to help a beautiful girl."
"..."
A faint blush spread across Lala's cheeks.
She quickly looked away.
"G-Good night."
She hurried into the room.
Click.
The door quietly closed.
Kaito remained standing there for a few moments.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
"Good night, Lala."
The hallway became silent once again.
After waiting for another second...
Kaito slowly walked toward his own room.
...
A few moments later...
As soon as Kaito entered his room, he quietly closed the door behind him.
Click.
Silence filled the room.
"..."
He let out a long sigh.
"...Finally."
For the first time since all the chaos had begun...
He could finally relax.
Without wasting any time, he walked over to his wardrobe.
Opening it, he grabbed a change of clothes.
Just a simple pair of pajamas.
A few minutes later, after changing, he returned to his bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
Resting his elbows on his knees, he stared quietly at the floor.
The room was completely silent.
Only the moonlight streaming through the window softly illuminated the space.
After a few moments...
Kaoru broke the silence.
{Looks like you've had quite a day.}
A tired smile appeared on Kaito's face.
'Yeah...'
'But I really hope the next few days are a little more peaceful.'
He paused.
'...Although I have a feeling they won't be.'
{Considering your track record...}
{...I doubt it.}
Kaito let out a quiet laugh.
"Thanks for the encouragement."
{I'm just being realistic.}
"You could've lied just this once."
{I don't know how to.}
Without another word, Kaito threw himself backward.
Bof.
The mattress sank beneath his weight.
His legs still dangled off the side of the bed as he stared up at the ceiling.
'Those protagonists who get reincarnated into anime worlds...'
'...always make everything look so easy.'
He folded his arms behind his head.
'But in reality...'
'It's nothing like that.'
He slowly turned onto his side.
'Too many things are happening all at once.'
'Missions.'
'Characters.'
'And now... an alien fiancée.'
A dry laugh escaped his lips.
'Sometimes...'
'I honestly feel lost trying to deal with all of this.'
Kaoru remained quiet for a few seconds.
Then, in an unusually gentle voice, she spoke.
{The only advice I can give you...}
{...is to always keep your mind calm.}
{If you start worrying about every little detail...}
{...you'll end up trapped inside your own thoughts.}
{And that won't solve anything.}
Kaito continued staring at the ceiling.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
'Yeah...'
'I guess you're right.'
{Of course I am.}
{I'm the System, after all.}
Kaito chuckled.
Then he rested one arm over his eyes.
"You know..."
"Sometimes I feel like suing every single isekai protagonist."
{...}
"They made living in an anime world look easy."
"False advertising."
{You don't sound nearly as worried as you did a minute ago.}
Kaito slowly lowered his arm.
A small smile remained on his face.
"Maybe I'm just trying to keep my sense of humor."
"Because if I seriously think about everything that happened today..."
"...I probably won't be able to sleep."
{Now that sounds believable.}
Silence filled the room once again.
A gentle night breeze drifted through the open window.
Outside...
The full moon continued shining brightly.
And little by little...
The weight of that incredibly long day finally began to leave Kaito's shoulders.
...
Kaito was now lying beneath his blanket, quietly staring at the ceiling.
For the first time that night...
Everything was finally peaceful.
No explosions.
No alien knights.
No desperate chases.
No unexpected marriage proposals.
Just silence.
"..."
He let out a long sigh.
'Kaoru... I think there are a few things I need to ask you before I go to sleep.'
Her voice immediately echoed inside his mind.
{What is it?}
Kaito closed his eyes for a moment.
'I think it's better if we go one question at a time.'
"Status."
A familiar blue screen appeared before him, softly illuminating the dark room.
Without hesitation, he immediately opened the Missions tab.
His eyes stopped on a particular quest.
[THE PINK-HAIRED GIRL — PART 3]
Objective: Defeat Zastin within one week.
Reward: Martial Arts Lv. 1
Failure: ???
After reading it once more, Kaito remained silent for several seconds.
Then he asked,
'Is there any way to know if this is the last mission related to Lala?'
Kaoru answered almost immediately.
{No. There's no way to know... not even I know.}
"..."
Kaito sighed.
'I figured.'
He closed the mission screen.
'Then let's move on to the next question.'
The System returned to the main menu.
His eyes immediately focused on the new section that had appeared earlier that night.
Broken Destinies
Lala — 80%
He pointed at the screen.
'What exactly does this mean?'
'Is it related to the missions involving Lala?'
Kaoru answered calmly.
{Yes. But not in the way you're imagining.}
Kaito waited silently.
She continued.
{The most obvious assumption would be that this percentage represents how many missions involving Lala remain.}
{But that's not what it means.}
{Even after it reaches 100%, new missions involving her may still appear.}
Kaito blinked.
'Then... what does it represent?'
Kaoru answered.
{It represents how much you've changed Lala's original destiny.}
She paused briefly.
{In other words... how much you've prevented her from developing the same relationships she originally had with the protagonist.}
Kaito frowned thoughtfully.
'So... it's about romance?'
{That too.}
{But not only romance.}
{It includes every meaningful relationship—friendships, trust, companionship... any important bond between people.}
Kaito crossed his arms.
'So you're saying Lala is going to treat Rito like a complete stranger now?'
Kaoru immediately denied it.
{No.}
{She simply won't follow the exact same path as in the original story.}
{She can still meet him, talk to him, and even become friends with him. The difference is that destiny has already begun to change.}
"...I see."
Kaito slowly nodded.
That explanation made much more sense than he had expected.
After a few moments of silence, Kaoru spoke again.
{I think I already know what your next question is.}
Kaito smiled.
'You're surprisingly smart when you want to be, Kaoru.'
{If you're making fun of me, I'm not explaining anything else.}
He laughed softly.
'I was just joking.'
He raised both hands in surrender.
'Sorry.'
{Hmph...}
After pretending to be annoyed for a few seconds, she finally continued.
{About your skills...}
{They have four stages of progression.}
A small window appeared before Kaito.
Skill Levels
• Basic
• Advanced
• Complete
• Perfect
Kaito read it carefully.
'So that's how it works...'
'How do they level up?'
Kaoru answered without hesitation.
{By using them.}
{The more you use a skill, the more proficient you become with it.}
{Once your mastery reaches the required threshold, it automatically evolves into the next stage.}
Kaito smiled.
'So... it's basically experience points.'
{You could think of it that way.}
'I understand.'
He nodded, satisfied.
'Thanks for explaining.'
Kaoru sighed quietly.
{Alright... I think I've answered everything you wanted to know.}
{Now leave me alone. I've talked more than enough for one day.}
As soon as she finished speaking...
She became completely silent.
"..."
Kaito smiled faintly.
He turned onto his side, pulled the blanket a little higher, and slowly closed his eyes.
Sleep was finally beginning to overtake him.
Just before drifting off, he whispered,
"Good night, Kaoru."
There was no answer.
At least...
Not immediately.
Several moments later...
When Kaito's breathing had already become slow and peaceful...
A gentle voice quietly echoed inside his mind.
{Good night, Kaito.}
And with that...
The long night finally came to an end.