Sinner System-Chapter 399: Ready as I’ll Ever Be

Hm...? So...comfy...

Oh, that’s right, I’m not in the forest anymore!

I let out a yawn as my eyelids fluttered open, stretching my arms out drowsily as I savored the sensation of the mattress and the pleasantly cool air from the A/C, feeling nice and relaxed.

And most importantly...

"Hey, good morning, handsome," Aria greeted me with a smile, laying down beside me on her side.

"Good morning, beautiful...been watching me sleep long?" I responded with a grin, as she rolled on top of me and gave me a peck on the lips.

"Not too long, I woke up about half an hour ago," She replied, as I wrapped my arms around her.

"I see...woah, it’s 3 PM, we were out for a while," I remarked in bemusement, as I checked the time.

"Mhm, we sure were. Also, your post kinda broke the internet, good thing you muted your notifications," She informed me.

"Yeah, guess I should’ve figured that’d happen. I didn’t really put any thought into it. Well, whatever, I’ll deal with everyone else later. For right now, I just want to spend a good amount of time alone with you. Oh, wait, what about the Guild?" I asked her.

"It’s fine, I let them know I’ll be taking a few days off. Tracy can handle things in the meantime," She shrugged in response.

"Cool, sounds good. After living in the middle of a forest for all this time, I could use a few days of lazing about in here with you," I grinned, as I stroked her head.

"I’m definitely on board with that. So, what should we do? Got anything specific in mind?" She inquired, as she latched onto my arm.

"Nah, let’s just go with the flow and do whatever we feel like doing. For starters, we should probably have something to eat," I suggested, as she planted a barrage of kisses on my cheek.

"Yeah, I could definitely eat. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, think I’ve lost a bit of weight," She replied sheepishly.

"Oh, you definitely have. It isn’t all that noticeable visibly, but when I hold you, you feel a bit smaller," I nodded, before she giggled as I squeezed her hips.

"On the other hand, it looks like you’ve bulked up a bit. It’s a pretty subtle change, but your body definitely feels more toned," She responded, as she traced my biceps with her fingertips.

"Well, I was fighting pretty regularly in that world, and I maxed out my stats, so that probably played a part too."

"I’m glad it didn’t take too much longer for you to get back...your birthday is in a couple of weeks, and after you went all out for my last birthday, I was pretty determined to come up with something special for your birthday."

"Honestly, just getting to spend the day with you would be plenty special, so you don’t need to-...," I began.

"No, I disagree. I’m going to spoil and pamper the hell out of you, so best prepare yourself," She declared with a smirk.

"Alright, then...I’ll be looking forward to it," I replied with a smile.

I love her so damn much...

"Hm...maybe I should’ve kept quiet and made it a surprise. Oh, well, guess that ship has sailed," She remarked with a wry smile, before adding, "Anyway, what do you wanna eat? I can cook up something for you."

"No, that’s okay, let’s just be lazy and pick something out from Treasury. If you take the time to cook, that’d take away a bit of our time together, and I want to savor every single second," I grinned, before adding as I slipped my arm around her and pulled her towards me, "Hm, maybe I’ll eat you, you’re looking pretty tasty."

"H-Hey, cut it out, Kai," She giggled, as I playfully nommed on her cheek.

"You know, it’s honestly insane how adorable you are."

"Heh, I really missed your over the top compliments. I love the way you make me feel, this overwhelming warmth and happiness, it feels so good to experience it again, after what felt like forever," She whispered with a tender smile.

"I know what you mean. The instant I saw you again, I felt so giddy and overjoyed. In that world, I was pretty much constantly on edge, to at least some extent.

But now, after all this time, I’ve finally let my guard down again. I never feel as safe and relaxed as I am when I’m with you, Aria. I love you."

"I love you too, Kai. So, so much. If anyone ever tries to take you away from me again, I’ll tear them apart," She declared with a determined look on her face.

"Yeah, I won’t let that happen again. These eight and half months without you were torture, I don’t want to ever go through that again. Being apart from you was the absolute worst," I sighed in response.

"It really was, I was absolutely miserable without you. Well, to look it at more optimistically, at least some good came of it...you got a powerful new Apostle, you dealt some heavy blows to the Demon Lord’s forces and wrecked his castle, you maxed out your stats, you got to see your mother again, you got an upgrade to your Gluttony Skills, and you can summon Ai in a physical form now.

Huh, when I list it all out like that...it’s a lot," She laughed in bemusement, before adding, "Oh, and speaking of Ai...I really wanna see what she looks like. I don’t wanna pressure her or anything, but still..."

Well, Ai?

<Hm...>

<Fine>

<I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be>

<Go on, summon me and get it over with>

"Well, alright then."

"Sweet! This is so exciting, we’ll finally get to talk to her in person!" Grinned Aria excitedly, as I sat up.

Here goes...

"Now, <Emerge: Ai>," I chanted, a burst of energy erupting in front of me, before starting to take shape, as Aria and I stared in anticipation...