With Cassius's Charisma stat now at 25 and still on the rise, it was inevitable that those of the opposite sex would begin putting more focus on him. The system even went so far as to say (Could become an amateur model) right next to his Charisma stat. As such, Cassius had to be more mindful around family, though he had a bad omen about the direction Aya was heading in, especially when considering how she was definitely the one following him all day. He wasn't dense enough to not see what was going on here.
Ultimately, Cassius heaved a tired sigh before deciding to let his future self deal with everything. For now, he would let himself get some rest, prepared to get up early the next morning for work. After that would be Gate searching with the 4D map he obtained from the Hunter Association receptionist.
The very next morning, Cassius rose his upper half from slumber, only to feel something lumpy and soft beside him. 'It can't possibly be…'
Yep, it was that cliché. Sprawled out on the bed, pressing up against his arm, was the scantily dressed Aya. Through the almost see-through red blouse she was wearing, one could see her fair and tender skin. It shimmered invitingly under the rays of morning sunlight shining their glow down upon her, further accentuating her alluring mountains of milky pudding, as well as her slim stomach and plump thighs.
Though, even with such a country-toppling sight before him, the only thing to pass through Cassius's mind was, 'How was she able to not set off my Perception…? Maybe the intent needs to be malicious for it to come into effect?'
Bingo!
'Well, no matter… I guess I should just slip away—' Was what he wanted to do, but Aya cutely rubbing her drowsy eyes quickly made him rethink his next move. For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other, but when she looked at where his eyes kept falling, her cheeks turned crimson red from the bottom up.
"Eek!" Aya yelped as she covered her melon-sized breasts and scooted over to the end of the bed. "Y-You didn't see anything, did you…?" she asked, appearing more like a defenseless puppy than the vixen who slipped into her stepbrother's bed in the middle of the night.
"Did I see anything?" Cassius stared straight ahead, then lied without blinking, "Of course not."
Aya breathed a sigh of relief, though she still looked quite aggrieved. "You promise…?"
"I promise."
Silence.
The room seemed to get consumed by an air of solemnity as Cassius and Aya didn't know where next to take this conversation. Clearing up the confusion itching away at her heart, Aya said, "D-Don't misunderstand…! It's just that I had a nightmare about that day… and I… slept next to you because it felt safe…"
'...It seems like she isn't as over that incident as I originally assumed,' thought Cassius. Though, if he were being honest, he didn't believe it to be possible for something as traumatic as that to be whisked under the rug in a single night.
He sighed before extending his hands as if asking for a hug. Although embarrassed, Aya accepted the invitation and wrapped her arms around his muscular waist.
Speaking softly next to her reddened ears, Cassius said, "I was just surprised when I found you laying here. But if you ever have trouble sleeping, you can feel free to welcome yourself into my bed. Though you might want to wear something a little less prone to slipping off." He chortled, faintly recalling the snowy white mountain tops that appeared through the loose collar part of her blouse.
Instinctively knowing what he was thinking about, Aya pounded her cotton fists on his chest before murmuring, "Dummy…."
"Yes, yes," agreed Cassius. "Even in school, I was not the brightest around. Who would've thought my ineptitude extended beyond just the books, though?" he joked, receiving a melodic laugh in return.
Aya's peach blossom eyes scanned the defined chest muscles she was sticking to, her blush deepening in response. She quickly burrowed her head away from sight, finding it difficult to even so much as endure his unintentionally burning gaze. However, though her cuteness was just begging to be teased, Cassius let her be.
After a couple minutes of staying at a distance where they could hear the rhythm of each other's heartbeats, Aya finally let go. She averted her eyes from the face that only seemed to have become more striking. "...You have work to get to, don't you? I don't want you to be late…"
"Oh?" Cassius debated another round of teasing, yet held back at the last second. "You are right, I have to earn my keep here. Don't want to be deemed an irredeemable bum and get kicked out of here, because then I won't be able to see something."
"See what…?" asked Aya, curiosity brimming in her moistened eyes.
Cassius smiled warmly as he leaned off his bed and let the resplendent morning rays hit his smooth skin. While momentarily stunned, Aya failed to notice when he replied, "If I get kicked out, I won't be able to see you anymore. Wouldn't that be unfortunate? My eyesight would be deprived at that point."
When Aya finally got around to his words, her eyes glimmered gold as her heartbeat quickened. No longer able to take that smoldering gaze of his, she covered her face in her long luscious locks of gold before fumbling off the bed and scurrying away like a deer caught in headlights. Yet, before Aya fully vanished into the outside corridor, she murmured, "H-Have a good day at work…!" Then left for good, with a door at the end of the hallway closing shut immediately after.
Once again left alone, Cassius wondered if he had said something unusual. He shrugged dismissively. "I don't recall saying anything unusual." While also completely forgetting about all the 'Be careful what I say around family' stuff from earlier.