Wise looked at Piper. Even if she wasn't being honest with herself, the relief on her face as she rested in his arms was obvious.
He didn't bother saying much. Instead, he answered with action.
"Wait—wait a minute, what are you doing? I can't take any more, at least not today. If you keep going, I-I'm gonna break!" she pleaded, but it didn't really change anything.
After another intense round, Piper finally gave in.
"Alright, alright, I understand. I'll take responsibility. Please, let me rest early. I still have work tomorrow, and if I don't sleep well, it'll be tough dealing with everything while I'm sleepy."
Even when Wise stopped, it wasn't hard to tell that Piper's resistance hadn't been entirely genuine. It felt less like she was trying to push him away and more like she was genuinely trying to negotiate.
She never really used her full strength either. It was obvious that if Wise had insisted, she would've just gritted her teeth and gone along with it.
Honestly, that kind of situation wasn't unusual.
Wise glanced at the system prompt in front of him.
[Ding! Target Piper: has been conquered. Her current favorability is now 88. Additionally, 3000 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 21300]
[Fully Captured Target: Piper]
[Reward Generated ⭢ Vehicle Mastery (A): The host can easily operate any vehicle, machinery, aircraft, or similar with expert-level skill.]
Piper's affection had increased far more than he expected, and he even gained a pretty useful ability from it.
Still, that wasn't what he cared about the most.
"It's good that you agreed, Piper. And this isn't just on you. I'm an adult too," Wise said, gently stroking her head.
The small girl leaned quietly against him. She didn't resist, but inside, she couldn't help grumbling.
Even though he said that, it was pretty clear he was the one who had pushed her into taking responsibility.
[Ding! Target Piper: has increased her favorability toward the host by 1. Her current favorability is now 89. Additionally, 200 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 21500]
She hadn't noticed it in the heat of the moment, but now that things had calmed down, a dull soreness in her lower body was making her feel weak.
'Is Wise really that responsible? Then I definitely can't hold him back!' she thought.
She could already tell that Caesar had some feelings for him. Someone like her—a useless, lazy adult—really shouldn't get in the way.
Thinking that, she spoke again.
"Although I said that, even someone like me would feel shy about this kind of thing. And to be honest, I don't really feel anything for you... Ah! Wait! Wait! I do have feelings for you! Very strong feelings! Please, stop!"
After making him stop again, Piper let out a tired sigh, her thoughts getting even messier.
'Are all young people like this now? I only said I didn't feel anything emotionally, not physically!'
She was exhausted, but she still tried to persuade him. As for Wise, he obviously understood what she meant. He just didn't feel like ending things that way.
He was greedy.
She was already his, and she had fallen into his grasp. There was no way he'd just let her walk away feeling hurt.
After taking a moment to organize her thoughts, Piper carefully tried to explain things again.
Basically, they hadn't known each other for that long, and everything that happened was mostly because she acted on impulse.
So, she wanted to slow things down—take time to actually build something between them, then decide later if they wanted to go further.
She also made it clear that if either of them met someone they truly liked during that time, they could just say it outright. No need to force responsibility or anything like that.
And she even hinted, pretty subtly, that Wise wasn't really her type.
Hearing all that, Wise glanced at her favorability, then at her inner thoughts, and couldn't help but smile.
He just listened quietly. However, Wise nodded. Piper was clearly exhausted, forcing herself to stay awake despite how sleepy she was, and that honestly made him feel a bit sorry for her.
They had already gone far enough. At this point, she just needed proper rest.
Seeing him agree, Piper let out a soft sigh of relief. Her pink-and-white knees, which had been pressed tightly together from nervousness, finally loosened a bit.
"In that case, you should head back soon, Wise. It's already pretty late, and your sister's going to worry."
Of course, he knew what she meant. Earlier, he had already sent Belle a message, telling her he'd be back late and that she didn't need to wait up.
"Hmm, but this place probably needs some cleaning."
His eyes drifted to the messy seat cushion, along with the small puddle of liquid mixed with a faint trace of red.
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll clean it later. It's fine," Piper said quickly, waving her hand like it wasn't a big deal.
Even though she liked the warm, safe feeling of being in his arms, there was still that lingering fear that he might go wild again.
"Is just cleaning it really enough? That part doesn't look like it'll come out so easily."
He was obviously talking about the bloodstain. The bright red color made it clear it wouldn't be easy to deal with.
"Hmm... yeah, it's a bit troublesome. If someone notices later, I'll just say I got hurt and it ended up there."
She said it so casually that Wise didn't bother arguing anymore. Instead, he quietly used his ability to help her recover some strength and ease the pain.
As for why he hadn't done that earlier... well, if he had, things probably wouldn't have gone this smoothly.
A bit scummy on his part, sure, but effective.
Before leaving, Wise carefully carried Piper over to the cleaner passenger seat. Then he took off his jacket and draped it over her.
The nights in the Outer Ring weren't exactly cold, but Piper, who was still undressed, probably didn't have the energy to deal with clothes right now.
Watching her fall into a deep sleep, Wise quietly stepped out. Before closing the car door, he made sure to leave the window slightly open for some air.
By the time he got back to his room, Belle was already asleep, just as he expected. He didn't wake her. He just took a quick shower, then lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms before drifting off.
Not long after he left, Piper slowly opened her eyes.
She looked at the jacket covering her, then pulled it closer and buried her face in it, taking a slow, deep breath.
'Mmm... that smells nice... kind of comforting...'
After a moment, she shifted slightly. Sleeping in the passenger seat clearly wasn't that comfortable for her.
With a bit of effort, she pushed herself up, moved back over to the driver's seat, and curled up there.
This time, she settled in properly and soon drifted into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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