Ethan spent the afternoon tinkering with things around the house, but nothing gave him a new Aspect.

So they depend on strong emotions? Let's think of it like that until proven otherwise.

He returned to his room and stood before a shelf beside the bed. The top half held his favorite novels, comics, as well as manga. He might as well call it 'Andrew's Weeb Collection' since everything here belonged to him. The bottom layer of the shelf accommodated all the classic games of the last twenty years. He and Mio loved every one of them to death.

Might as well play some games.

He booted his newest console (Courtesy of Celia) and logged onto 'The Heaven's Chalice', the most popular game of this year. The title might not last long with the new VRMMO debuting soon. A terrific affair since Mio's father owned most of the stocks of this game company.

Hope the bastard cries for real.

Bang! The door was flung open and Celia appeared, arms crossed on her chest. The 'Touch Me' written on her pale green sleeveless top left no room for Ethan's wild imaginations.

"Welcome, Mistress. What brings you to this humble one's abode?"

Celia ran off without answering, then returned with a handheld.

"Lemme join!"

Celia sprawled on the couch and lounged her head on Ethan's lap. The charming smile on her face reminded Ethan of her unreal beauty. But one thing he mastered while living with Mio was keeping a poker face.

"Where is Mio?"

"No idea. Probably singing songs of her Onii-sama, like she always does."

"Can't you two get along?"

"Ethan." Celia narrowed her gaze. A sharp gleam hidden inside her violet eyes. "You are getting a bit too chummy with Mio after the incident."

Ethan focused on moving his character around the boss, rather than her talk. Dash. Attack. Retreat. After slaying the boss, he put down his controller.

"Do you want the answer?"

Celia slumped on his lap and forced a smile, stabbing his consciousness with guilt. "Depends. Will this hurt me?"

Ethan maintained eye contact with her. Running was never an option when it came to Mio. She will always come first, no matter what the circumstances.

"Considering your rivalry with her, yes."

Celia let out a sigh at his straightforward answer. "Then forget it. I don't care either way."

You do. He restrained the retort and invited Celia to a party.

"LastDragonEthan," Celia shoved her elbow in his ribs. "Your in-game name is freaking hilarious. You know that?"

"Still thousands of times better than 'Thepreciousbeauty111'," he muttered. "Dragons are fascinating, don't you think?"

"Well, they are. I am sure the world you visited has dragons."

"I hope I don't encounter them. A mob like me will be obliterated within seconds."

"Ethan," Celia called out and touched his face. Her solemn expression caused him to adopt a thoughtful expression of his own. "If you ever get the ability to bring someone to that world. Please choose me."

Denying will protect her but hurt her feelings, so he only had one choice.

"I will."

He just had to work harder to protect Celia as well.

"Ethan, thank you."

A warm smile blossomed on her face, her dimples crinkled and magnified her loveliness by miles. Ethan failed to resist his impulse. Raising her body in his arms, he brushed her hair aside and drew closer. As his lips touched hers, a pink spark doused his sight.

What?

His first kiss almost ended prematurely. Nothing of the same sort happened again, so the kiss continued.

Celia's hand tangled around his neck. Her soft, warm lips pressed against him. A gentle light surged in her eyes, drawing him deeper.

Ethan sloppily delved inside her mouth. Her tongue tasted a strawberry-like flavor, almost like her favorite brand strawberry juice. The spark occurred once again and he ended the kiss.

"Did you see something?"

"...What?"

Celia's breathing quickened. Ethan's kiss nearly knocked all the wind out of her lungs.

"It's nothing."

Celia swiftly turned and settled in his lap. Her arms slipped around him and she looked into his eyes. Their foreheads touched and a dazzling smile rose on her face.

"Darling, you are… making me curious. Tell me what you saw."

"Pink sparks. Almost like the rose color."

Celia thought for a second then nodded her head. "I saw something purplish. My mind was too lost to notice anything."

"I see."

Was the affection Aspect acting weirdly before it was activated?

"I want to continue." Celia brushed his face with a grin. "I want to go all the way."

As he opened his mouth to answer, hurried footsteps reached Ethan from the corridor. He shifted Celia to the side and picked up the controller.

"Onii-sama!" Mio sang and rapped at the door. "A guy delivered a box with your name."

He ignored Celia's prickly glare and shut down the console. "Let's unpack it together."

"There goes my time with darling," Celia sighed. "Count me in."

—x—x—x—

Living room.

Ethan examined the giant box sitting on the table.

Celia sat on the couch with a kitchen knife and placed a basket of vegetables on the table.

Ethan grinned at her clumsy way of handling the knife. "Mistress, be careful or you might hurt yourself."

Celia faced him with a pout. "Way to kill my confidence before I even started."

"You wanna cook now?"

He snatched the knife from her and sliced open the box.

Celia peeked at the contents of the container. "Oh my god, they are so cool!" Celia shrieked and reached out to the box.

Ethan curled his lips. "A dagger used by the Military is cool. You have a taste befitting your Mistress status."

"Stop with the Mistress. Call me sweetheart or honey."

"Not happening."

She clicked her tongue at his blatant rejection.

Ethan rechecked the contents of the box. Three tactical knives that would remain sharp even after a long time of use, a black axe with a silver cutting edge, a self-cocking crossbow pistol with a quiver of arrow bolts, and a pistol with a silencer equipped. A note also lay beneath everything.

[Dear friend, this crossbow pistol is in its experimental stage but each bolt fired at 400-426 fps. In simple words, it's strong as fuck, enough to pierce through a bear's hide if used from 5m. Do not use them to kill in broad daylight. I cannot save you if you go that far. Try to be a bit sneaky if you want to splatter some watermelons.]

Andrew really thought Ethan wanted to kill someone.

Ethan shook his head. The crossbow pistol was just for experimenting. If Mini could tinker with the air resistance again, a simple arrow should suffice in killing or at least harming the scary wolves.

"Onii-sama!" Mio caught up and plopped beside him. "The knives are so cool!"

A yandere loving knives… that's a flag!

He placed the things back in the box. "I will be training with them in my room."

Celia tugged at his sleeve, reluctance clouding her eyes. "Be careful, okay."

The thought of comforting her with a hug flashed, but Mio's pinch on his waist eliminated it.

"Are your injuries better?"

Ethan effortlessly lifted the box weighing over two hundred pounds. "Couldn't be any better."

Back in his room, Ethan powered on his pc and watched some tutorials related to handling a crossbow. He tore a piece of paper and drew five circles on it. He pasted it on a box sitting above a table.

He nocked a bolt on the crossbow and tugged the handle to pull back the string. He straightened his posture and gripped the crossbow as shown in the tutorial.

Concentrate.

He narrowed his eyes on the dot and pressed the trigger.

Shiiing! The bolt flung the box into a corner, hitting nowhere near the center.

He replaced the paper and kept shooting until he got the hang of the recoil.

Moving on to the dagger and axe practice, he researched stances for a beginner and practiced them.

Four hours later, he slumped in the chair with sweat oozing out of every pore of his body. Swinging the axe for nearly three hours opened his eyes to the truth. Handling weapons was hard in real life. The axe made it even harder, though it could chop flesh and bones alike when paired with extreme force.

A hammer could crack skulls. The extra weight would still be hard for a newbie.

Every monster possessed different characteristics like the swift squirrel, the flying raven, the scary spider, or the hungry wolves. A single weapon won't be able to kill them all.

I am getting weirder thinking of stuff like this.

"Onii-sama, dinner time, or would you like to shower with me?"

"Hell no."

Showering with Mio. His remaining control will slip and things will happen.