The next day, Keira woke up early in the morning just in time to hear the birds chirping outside. This is the time Keira Adage would wake her to eat breakfast. Already forming a routine, her body automatically woke up. However, this day was different from the usual days.
"Ugh…" Keira groaned the moment she opened her eyes.
Her body felt extremely uncomfortable when she regained consciousness. Her body was sore, her lower back was aching, her lower abdomen felt a stabbing pain, and the dull pain even went up to her thighs.
'Why is my body so uncomfortable, and why does my lower abdomen hurt a lot? Like a lot.'
Keira curled her body, trying to relieve some discomfort. Her thoughts were still somewhat hazy from just waking up. She rolled back to her stomach but it still didn't relieve any of the pain. She turned to her side but it still was extremely painful. Her dry hair was getting drenched from all her cold sweat. Despite her fuzzy mind, Keira took the initiative to ask her system.
Keira: [Elly, why do I feel so fucking terrible? Did I get poisoned?]
System 999: [Wait, I'll run a scan of your body condition Host.]
Keira: [Why does this agonizing pain feel so familiar?]
Keira wrapped herself in the large quilt and once more curled her body, trying to ease some of the pain.
System 999: [I'm done analyzing Host.]
Keira: [So why do I feel so shit?]
System 999: [From my analysis Host, turns out you are experiencing period cramps.]
Keira: [Say what now?]
System 999: [You are on your period Host.]
Keira exclaimed, "What?! I can still have my fucking period?! Ouch!"
Keira immediately clutched her throbbing head from suddenly shouting out loud and curled back into a ball.
System 999: [There is nothing stopping your healthy body from experiencing what most women have to go through Host.]
Keira: [Even though I experienced menstrual cycles during my missions, it wasn't packaged with this terrible pain!]
System 999: [But didn't you mention before Host that your monthly period in the real world was extremely bad that you always had to ask for half-day sick leave because you could not even get up from bed?]
Keira: [Yes! That's why am asking why am I experiencing the same pain I have in the real world?!]
System 999: [Maybe your body is just unlucky Host.]
Keira: [**********]
Keira angrily rolled on the bed.
System 999: [Do you want me to enable the pain shield Host?]
Keira halted her movements and contemplated for a while before giving out an answer.
Keira: [No… It would be too much of a waste since period cramps usually last a whole day and get bearable the next day without any pain relievers. Thus, it would be too much of a waste. Oh! Does the system shop sell any pain reliever tabs or pills?]
System 999: [I'm afraid the system shop does not sell those things due to it having the same effects as the pain shield offered by the main system.]
Keira: [*****—! How could the main system go to that point of stinginess?! This is corruption! Monopoly!]
System 999: [Don't get mad Host. QAQ]
"Mmp… ughh…" Keira continued to groan in pain, unable to suppress it any longer.
'How could I survive through this torturous cycle?! I don't even have a pad on!' Keira could feel the dampness of the mattress, but she was afraid to look below and inspect, not having the courage to witness bleeding that is akin to a crime scene.
'Why does my aunt(1) have to visit this specific world?! Can't it wait in the other worlds where pads are more accessible?!' Keira continued to curse in her mind as she hugged her stomach from the unbearable discomfort her body was experiencing.
While Keira was silently crying on the bed from the pain, the door opened revealing Adage holding breakfast like usual. When we were just about to greet Keira with good morning, he stopped in his tracks.
He smelled blood. He was keenly familiar with this scent for he had been on the battlefield countless times before he became emperor and had killed a lot of assassins after he did ascend to the throne. So there was no mistaking that this was indeed the smell of blood.
Adage quickly moved his gaze to the only person where the blood could come from. His eyes grew wide when he saw Keira lying on his bed, drenched in her own sweat, completely pale, and whimpering in pain.
His hand shook dropping the tray he was holding in his hands. The ceramic plates and bowls crashed to the floor. The scene of Keira in this state instantly reminded him of a certain part of his past, specifically where his mother was lying in bed, completely colorless, like all the blood in her body left, leaving only a corpse with a bloodied bedsheet. That was the last he saw his mother. He could not even have a proper funeral for her because the previous emperor just told the palace slaves to quickly bury her body. He did not even see his mother's face one last time as her body was simply rolled up with her bloodied sheets and buried just like that.
Now seeing Keira who looked to be in the same situation as her mother, his heart dropped.