Chapter 59: Liking Is the Self-Pull of Worrying About Gains and Losses

Alan was still walking quickly, but after the battle, he felt tired. After maintaining his fighting spirit for four hours, he collapsed into a grassy patch beside the road at noon, ready to sleep for a while.

Too sleepy.

Sunlight filtered through the grass and cast scattered shadows across his face. The blades of grass danced in the breeze, brushing against him and making his eyelids heavy.

At that moment, he thought of Luo Qixi's hand.

".System?"

[Here.]

This time, the system responded immediately.

Alan blinked his dry eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed. After a brief hesitation, he asked his question.

"Um… I have a question. In the past, even small things would increase my favorability. This time, I got along with Luo Qixi pretty well, at least I think it went well. So why didn't I get a prompt that said her favor increased?"

".I'm worried you secretly took back my points, you know?"

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but it seemed like the smoke and dust that always appeared when the system responded… wavered a bit, as if it were smiling.

[The moonlight was nice last night.]

Alan, still groggy, nodded subconsciously.

"Yeah, it was."

[You held someone's hand and chatted for a long time. The atmosphere was obviously a bit ambiguous. But you're asking why there was no favorability increase prompt, right?]

Alan's face froze.

"Unfair! I'm innocent! I only care about the points!!"

[Oh? Really?]

"Absolutely! So, tell me why I didn't get any points!"

[Host, in terms of human emotion, there are very clear boundaries between levels of intimacy.]

[Strangers, acquaintances, friends, lovers, spouses, family—each of these stages has a threshold. Once you reach a certain level, you can't move forward just through casual chatting, a bit of physical contact, or a dramatic farewell.]

[Do you understand?]

Alan stared at the "Friend" label fluttering on the system panel for a long time, then finally admitted:

"I see. We just held hands last night. No, not even that—it was a coincidence at best. What's wrong with me? I suddenly feel so innocent, like my IQ dropped. Damn, I'm like a grade schooler. I thought Luo Qixi was into me. This must be one of the top three illusions in life… I'm such a fool."

"Calm down. Luo Qixi's affection is probably stuck at the 'friend' level. It's a long way from something like 'lover.'"

Relieved, Alan silently exhaled. But Luo Qixi's smiling face from their parting flashed in his mind again.

'If something really did happen between us, that'd be the end of it. I mean, I'm not even supposed to exist in the original story. If I replaced Rudy and fell for Luo Qixi, wouldn't that completely derail everything? How would I even face future major events? I'd panic every time I drew my sword. And Lala wouldn't even be born. The gods would never allow that—wait, why did I even think of birth?! Stop it!'

Alan stared at the grass ahead and fell silent again. He closed his eyes, feeling exhaustion take over.

'Luo Qixi gave me lots of points. Just our first meeting gave me 23 points. I shouldn't expect more. This is good enough. This is fine. Really.'

'Luo Qixi… is great.'

Surrounded by the scent of grass, the exhausted Allen finally drifted into sleep.

But the system's dust still floated in the air.

[Time and the future are such interesting things. What's happening now is often decided by a past choice. And what will happen has already been planted in countless moments.]

[Hehe.]

[Your points… were already prepaid the moment you met Luo Qixi.]

[Alan.]

By the time Alan returned, it was already mid-July.

The rice fields outside the village rippled like golden waves in the wind.

As he reached the village entrance, he spotted the two kids practicing magic. Sylphy saw Alan from afar, froze for a moment, and then beamed with joy, running toward him and throwing herself into his arms.

Alan watched her trembling elf ears and instinctively hugged her, spinning in place.

Then he noticed Rudy, who had smiled briefly before turning sour.

Alan's face froze—Rudy had clearly noticed his missing underwear. Coughing awkwardly, he put Sylphy down and tried to avoid Rudy's resentful glare.

Sylphy stood straight, smoothed her messy hair, and said softly, "Alan, Rudy and I were really worried about you this past month."

Alan's eyebrows twitched. Rudy's face didn't look worried at all. He thought of his time with Luo Qixi during the journey and smiled awkwardly.

"About that, Rudy… I can explain the underwear situation…"

"Alan!"

A strong figure burst out from the nearby clinic. Alan was startled.

It was Paul.

"Oh! Brother Paul."

He hadn't even greeted him when Paul suddenly lunged and locked him in a chokehold, dragging him home. Alan didn't resist at first—he felt guilty for disappearing. But when Paul's arms began tightening, pressing Alan's face into his firm chest, the overpowering scent of masculine sweat filled his nose.

He panicked.

Alan thrashed wildly and looked to Rudy, blinking desperately for help.

'Save me! Rudy, help! I can't breathe in here!'

Rudy saw the plea in Alan's eyes… and casually turned away.

He had already pieced things together: that night, he'd fallen asleep in Luo Qixi's room and woken up back in his own. Likely, Luo Qixi and Alan brought him back.

He vaguely remembered Alan speaking to him before someone hurriedly left.

So it was clear—the holy relic must've been retrieved by the gods.

Still…

"Why was my underwear in the shrine?!"

Gritting his teeth, Rudy glared at Alan, who had just managed to escape Paul's grip and reached toward him in relief—only to be shoved right back into Paul's chest and gently patted in comfort.

The way Rudy gently soothed Alan's arm was suspiciously similar to how Alan comforted Rudy the night he put him to bed.

"Father was really worried. He waited at the village entrance every day. Just go along with it."

"Huh? What?"

Alan struggled again, but Paul's grip was iron-tight. Looking pitifully at Rudy, Alan gave a despairing groan as he was dragged away to the study.

Why didn't he fight back with swordsmanship?

Emotionally, he didn't want to duel Paul.

Rationally, he figured Paul wasn't planning anything that serious—maybe just angry that he left without a word.

That's what Alan thought.

But when they reached home, reality didn't match his expectations.

Senis wasn't at the clinic—she was at home. The moment she saw Alan, her expression shifted from surprised joy to stern coldness. Ignoring Alan's pleading eyes, she followed Paul to the study upstairs. Lilia came too.

Click. The door shut.

Paul sat down with his arms crossed, face full of restrained anger.

No one spoke.

The study was eerily quiet. Alan, catching his breath from escaping Paul's grip, looked around and sensed something was off.

He glanced at Rudy and Sylphy seated obediently nearby, then at Senis and Lilia.

He swallowed hard.

'This isn't a simple 1v1 scolding. This… feels more like an interrogation.'

Paul opened his mouth several times but only sighed in the end.

"Alan, do you really think it's okay to leave without saying goodbye?"

Alan froze.

'What is this? Is this the "Paul lectures Rudy" arc transferred to me because I changed the story?'

He looked at Rudy—no trace of complaint. Then at Senis—same. Sylphy's expression was worried.

"Alan," she said softly, "we were really worried. Uncle Paul got really angry."

That's when Alan finally realized:

He had left in a hurry, leaving only a letter. He thought it was fine. Paul knew his identity. Senis probably did too.

In his view, it wasn't a big deal to leave briefly. But to others, it looked… irresponsible.

Like telling your boss, "Hey, I'll be gone for a month. Don't pay me, I'll be back."

And just vanishing.

Not appropriate.

Paul might've explained Alan's identity to everyone—but even so, their expressions now…

Senis took over, serious.

"Alan, I explained everything to them. Paul was furious that day. I don't think we need to keep anything hidden anymore. We treat you as family. Rudy sees you as more than just a teacher."

"But… acting like this—do you really see us as family?"

Alan was stunned.

'Family? After just three months? Is it because I'm Philip's son? If we're family, shouldn't it be easier to understand me?'

Luo Qixi's words echoed again:

"If it's an emergency, ask Master Paul. Everyone will worry about you. You have to apologize when you return."

Senis's tone softened, but her eyes didn't.

"We truly see you as one of us. Maybe you don't feel like you belong yet, and that's okay. But we do worry about you, Alan."

"Can't you talk to us before deciding things? Leaving a letter like that… it's like…"

She hesitated.

"…like you see us as monsters in the forest. Or do you really think you're just a hired outsider?"

She gave him a long look and left the room.

Paul sighed, walking over to pat Alan's shoulder.

"I found the wanted notice in your drawer. Looks like you went to handle that. Your clothes were stained with blood, even after washing."

"You're strong. But can't you trust us to support you? That's what family does."

"…Forget it. Maybe this is hard for you to understand. Let's drop it."

Alan couldn't argue. He hadn't expected any of this. He felt lost.

Lilia left quietly for the kitchen.

Rudy gave Alan a light punch and joked, "So you're my distant relative now, huh?" Then shrugged and left too.

Only Sylphy remained.

She glanced at the floor, then up at Alan.

She hugged him gently and whispered, "Sylphy was worried too. But I'm glad you're back."

Then she left.

The setting sun cast golden light through the window, stretching Alan's shadow long across the floor.

His expression was dazed.

That night, dinner was silent.

Even lying on the bed Senis had prepared for him, Allen still felt like the day was a dream.

The characters had reacted in ways he never expected.

In the dark, he opened his eyes and spread his hands in front of him.

"Time travel isn't a game… So this is how Paul and the others really feel?"

"I've been treating this world like a simulation. Not as reality."

"But even so…"

"…Worried? We've only known each other three months. Even if I'm Philip's son, that's not…"

Silence.

"…Treated as… part of the family."

"…Tomorrow, I'll apologize."

The darkness answered only with more silence.

"…Family."

But in the end, Alan didn't apologize.

Because the next morning, everything was back to normal.

They laughed, practiced swordsmanship and magic, played by the big tree, heard soft whispers through the walls at night, and Alan still received two silver coins each month—on time, no delays.

And yet, Alan felt something wasn't quite right.

And so, time passed.

Winter came.

Senis was pregnant.