With our lust finally sated, we cuddled for a while before going to take a bath. While I wasn't bothered either by mine or her sweat, the basic social courtesy required us to clean our bodies from all the fluids produces during our eventful night and morning.
While usually bathing together is considered a good opportunity to go at it once more, with my balls completly empty I pretended to not notice Eve longing looks. Just as someone said, those men that think they are horny just didn't meet a lascivious girl in their life yet!
Since my cooking skills cannot compare to Eve's, while she proceeds to make breakfast, as usual, I grab the sheets that cover our bed and go to the bath to wash them clean. If we want to keep our love nest clean, we can't neglect those mundane duties even for a single day! Only by keeping our discipline at all times, can we enjoy a clean einvoirment!
After I take care of the cleaning, I can already smell an arousing aroma seeping from the kitchen. With nothing better to do, I go there to help Eve prepare the meals. While that was my initial intention, when I see more than a seven unknown machines working in full swing I can't help but spread my arms and just move the prepared dishes to the table.
Just a moment later, we sit at the table and enjoy our meal. To be honest, I'm at the stage when instead of focusing on the dishes, my attention is fully drawn to Eve's happy face. This kind of calm, household atmosphere is what I was always longing for! If the system given to me by God can be used to protect such a thing, I won't stop at anything to achieve this small dream of mine!
"Since you have your tournament participation token now, what are your plans for the time before it starts? Even if you were able to overwhelm Baxhar with ease, that doesn't mean the opponents you will meet there will be even on the comparable level!"
As we enjoy our food, Eve suddenly asks. Is it my dreamy expression that made her feel compelled to remind me of the looming task? It doesn't matter. The point that she raised is valid and I need to finally pay some attention to it.
"While I didn't think about it so far, I think that going for an expedition into the forest is the best possible idea. Even if training allows me to get a better grip over my strength, this kind of progress is incomparable to what I learn while fighting. It's like putting my health and life on the line allows me to recall the skills that were wiped out of my memory when I left my previous family."
While I would love to let her know about the Bonger, I don't know how would she react. To be honest, I'm not even sure about its purpose as well. While it allowed me to raise my stats and crafting abilities, it doesn't help me all that much while cultivating! Does that mean that the god that I met when moving to this world wants me to achieve something with my own effort? If that were to be the case, why does this system gives me such an overwhelming advantage over everyone else? Well, no point breaking my brain on it now. I guess only by reaching the required level to breakthrough my current bottleneck will let me see this whole matter from a different perspective.
"Are you really sure that you want to go back to that place? Considering the ordeals that you went through there, I was sure you would despise this forest!"
As I see her munch on a small piece of bread covered with some kind of honey, I can't help but realise that going into the forest might be a good thing for me, but not as much for her! While I can gain levels by killing the demonic beast in there, the only profit that she can get from accompanying me is loot from the corpses, some rare herbs and honing her skill in a real fight. While those things are valuable, there is a lot of better ways for her to grow!
"I know what you mean, but I love the thrill of challenging my limits. Compared to that, I'm more traumatised by the memory of hurting you when I made a mistake in my cultivation! While I would love to go to the forest in the end, I won't force you to tag along. After all, there is no need for you to rush for improvement!"
While I understand that she might feel forced to accompany me because of our budding relationship, I don't want to force her into doing things she doesn't really want.
"What are you saying? Cultivating means to force your way against heaven's will! How could you even propose leaving me alone in the sect when you go to challenge yourself?"
Hearing my proposition, Eve instantly flares up while standing up in a sudden move. While I can read anger and disappointment from her face, there is something else entirely that bothers me!
"What do you mean about going against heaven's will? If God didn't want his creation to cultivate, he wouldn't give us this option in the first place, wouldn't he?"
I can still remember the tempting when I heard the same sentence, but isn't there something wrong with its logic? While I might just accept it if I were in someone else shoes solely because people appear to treat it as a common-sense rule, but with the visions that I went through while raising my wisdom stat and the inner intuition about the world's rules that I gained at that time, I can't help but doubt this strange logic.
"What do you mean by that? I'm not trying to disapprove with you, but forcing my way through the realms have worked for me so far!"
Oh, so that's what made her believe in this lie! But even if something works in the short term, it doesn't mean that its right! If you were to choose between a spoon and a bucket to empty up the barrel with water, using the spoon is still viable, even if only someone stupid would ignore the bucket!
With that realisation, I stand up, circumvent the table and grab her hands. Leading her away to the courtyard, I ignore her attempts to stop me. Sitting her down on the grass as soon as we step outside, I sit beside her and look her in the eyes.
"You are in the soul hazard level, am I right? That would mean that you are attempting to force your soul on the outside as you cultivate?"
Recalling the ordeal that I went through back in Stella's place, I can't help but shrug. If I were to attempt to oppose this overwhelming wave of sensitivity at that time, I'm sure I would lose my mind! While the reason why everyone is struggling to reach for a higher realm in this world starts to form up in my head, I place my right hand on Eve's forehead while moving her robes aside a bit with a left one, to place it as near her heart as possible. While having my palm right on her breast would surely make me aroused on a different occasion, I'm too focused right now to pay it any mind.
"Listen to me. I want you to close your eyes and let yourself bare as you push your soul outside. I don't want you to force it, but attempt to merge it with the outside instead! I'm here for you if anything happens, so ditch your defences away. Can you trust me with that?"