Chapter 62: 62 | A Poison He Had to Swallow
[Mission: Sleep With Dante]
[Description: Your student has been suffering from nightmares and trauma ever since he found out about his condition. Sleeping with someone he trusts will help him more than any medicine.]
[Reward: Dante will be permanently freed from his nightmares.]
[Failure: His condition will worsen.]
"System, did you go crazy? How can you ask a MASTER and STUDENT to sleep together?" Natasha’s eyes were burning with fury after reading the description.
Even though both of them had feelings for each other, they were nowhere near that stage and she still wasn’t sure about any of this.
At the same time, something clicked in her head.
"You... your name is the Master-Student Bond System. Is this the type of bond you want us to cultivate?" She was growing more and more certain of it. Her relationship with Dante had been perfectly normal before this system showed up.
[Stop slandering me! And it’s not my fault if you and your student are fucking weird!]
"Go on." She said with a smile barely hanging on her face. She wanted to hear what kind of excuse it would come up with this time.
[Why did you think of having SEX with your student when the mission just says to sleep with him? You just have to sleep beside him!]
"What... that’s what you meant?" Natasha’s face turned red instantly after being called out.
"B-but even that isn’t okay! Things will go beyond repair if a mistake happens like it did with the body wiping mission!" She tried to stay firm but her voice was trembling. "Besides, why can’t you phrase it properly?!"
[Who knew you were such a pervert]
"Shut up!" She snapped immediately.
[Okay, I won’t talk about that. But are you really not going to do it? If you don’t, Dante’s condition will get worse.]
"I said no. I can ask Diana to give him a treatment. She’s one of the best healers and I’m sure she can help him!" Natasha shook her head, refusing to give in.
[Imagine being Dante, who did his best to cheer you up after you locked yourself in your room for three days. Now he’s suffering from nightmares and you want to ignore it? Even though you have the chance to free him from his trauma?]
"You... you guilt-tripping bot!" She cursed in anger but she didn’t have anything to say back to that.
Additionally, she had been using him for rewards this whole time.
’But what if something happens?’ She thought, feeling torn. If the mission had been anything else, she would have rushed to complete it without a second thought.
’No, wait. Why am I even worried about this? I’m an awakener. I can easily stop him if anything happens.’ The moment she realized this, her mind cleared up instantly.
She stood up from the bed and walked to the door.
If she couldn’t stop him with her strength, then that was on her.
***
Inside the bedroom, Dante saw her coming through the feed. He immediately got into position and picked up a bottle of sleeping tablets he had prepared for the act along with a water bottle.
Thinking of what he was about to do, a flash of guilt crossed his eyes. But it was quickly replaced by determination.
’I know what I’m about to do is really shitty. That’s why I don’t want any rewards for this.’ He clenched the bottle in his hand. ’If I succeed, Master will finally let go of that selfless personality those Eden’s Gate bastards drilled into her head and start putting herself first. Atleast when it comes to me."
’If I fail, then the results will be my punishment.’
If he couldn’t swallow the bitterness of his own plan, he was never fit to be a villain in the first place.
Dante shook off his thoughts and closed the feed. He opened the tablet bottle.
When Natasha reached the room, the door was left slightly open. She was about to call out to him but she froze after seeing what he was doing through the crack.
’Wait. What is he doing?’ She watched Dante pour a handful of tablets into his palm and she recognized them instantly.
Sleeping pills.
’Is he taking that many just to sleep?’ Her eyes widened in shock.
A normal person would take one, maybe two at most. He was holding at least six or seven in his hand like it was nothing.
’How long has he been doing this?’ A painful feeling spread through her chest. He had been sleeping under the same roof as her this entire time, and she didn’t notice a thing.
Dante raised his hand to put all the tablets in his mouth.
Natasha didn’t wait another second. She moved instantly and the next moment, she was standing right in front of him, gripping his wrist.
"What do you think you’re doing?" She looked at him with a mix of anger and disappointment.
"Master, I..." Dante couldn’t finish his sentence. He stared at her with an ashamed look on his face, like a child caught doing something he knew was wrong.
"If you’re having trouble sleeping, why didn’t you tell me?" She asked in a demanding tone.
"I... didn’t want to worry you, Master." Dante kept his head down. "You have the same condition as me. I’m sure you’re having it hard too."
She controlled the urge to give him a beating.
Even if she hadn’t fixed her circuits, she would have still beaten him for this. Because one of the reasons she was able to endure everything all these years was because she had the mental state of an awakener.
The mental strength of a normal human was nothing compared to an awakener’s. But she stopped herself from saying that.
’Sigh...’ She looked at Dante who still had his head down.
A flash of guilt and remorse crossed her eyes before she reached out and placed her hand on his head.
"Didn’t you sleep well on my lap that day?" She said, her eyes softening as she gently stroked his hair.
"Come on. I’ll sleep with you tonight."
