Of course, after some rest, he stretched his arms and rose from the bed, dressing himself with quick, efficient movements.
He needed to check on Arisu.
She had probably been woken up by the sounds of his vigorous fucking with his female self, Eto had been extremely loud when she was moaning and riding him in the living room, her cries of pleasure echoing through the thin walls of the apartment.
When he found her, she was already properly dressed.
The ragged, filthy clothes she had been wearing were nowhere to be seen, probably thrown away in the trash. Instead, she wore a clean set of pajamas that belonged to Eto Yoshimura, and she had been properly cleaned.
Her lilac hair was brushed and free of dust, her face and body washed until there was no trace of grime left on her pale skin.
She looked almost like the aristocratic girl he remembered from the classroom, though the setting was vastly different.
And instead of the anger he had expected, instead of a tantrum, or tears, or accusations, she sat gracefully in the chair he had occupied during his earlier session with Eto.
She was sipping green tea with practiced grace, her posture perfect, her expression playfully composed.
But beneath the playful mask, her violet eyes couldn't quite hide the exhaustion, the tiredness that came from being violently woken in the middle of the night by the sounds of someone else's intense pleasure.
"Good for you, isn't it, Chad Yagami?" she said, her voice light and teasing, though the undercurrent of something sharper lurked beneath the surface. "Every other player is still struggling in the dark. They're sleeping soundly out there, homeless people with nothing, no shelter, no food, no safety. Yet here we are, properly fed, washed, with a roof over our heads. And you seem to know the natives of this world 'very well'."
Of course, he understood the subtext behind her words. The "very well" was pointed, deliberate.
She had heard everything, every moan, every cry, every wet slap of flesh against flesh.
She knew exactly what he had been doing with Eto, and she was letting him know it without saying it outright.
It was a miracle she hadn't thrown a tantrum or shown any unwanted emotion in front of him.
But then again, Arisu was too smart for that.
Too calculating.
Too aware of her position.
"You fear me, don't you, Arisu Sakayanagi?" Chad said, his voice carrying a note of genuine regret. "Someone as beautiful and intelligent as you should never lack for praise. You never minced a single word when you rejected me in class. You were confident, dismissive, completely sure of your own worth. But here you are, learning to flatter and stay humble. Survival at its fittest."
He shook his head slowly. "It's sad, in a way. You ask for my protection, but you fear me."
She huffed, looking at him with an expression that clearly said, Are you kidding me?
"I doubt trampling your pride or showing anger would have earned me any favor, Chad Yagami." Her voice was dry, almost sardonic. "Remember how I rejected you? Just because of that, your reaction was very visceral. You took me by force at the first opportunity you had. Being your enemy is the last thing I want in my life. And Samsara Tower..."
She paused, her violet eyes meeting his with unflinching directness. "Samsara Tower is more fitting for madmen like you. I don't think I could ever be crueler or more ruthless than you when handling someone. So forgive me if I choose to be smart about this rather than proud."
She took another sip of her tea, her composure unshakeable despite everything.
"Since you know it, you should be aware how smart decision for you to choose me instead of incompetent and cuckold guy you expected to and interest with previously." Chad chuckled.
She said nothing, show nothing in her expression of his degradation toward Ayanokouji, instead she sipped her tea elegantly and replied. "It is... I just need to stay here for 7 days and being your little pet for mission to be completed and leaving from this hellhole of the world... It's smart decision of mine, indeed."
"Oh, don't be heartbreaker, Arisu-chan. There are nothing wrong being my pet and my sweetheart, you got protection, you earned point for free and power from me…" Chad replied nonachantly.
"Of course if you went outside, you free to go, but well, the danger of road can be perilous, believe me, you don't want to see how cruel and disgusting those cannibals were, some of our classmates in those homeless shelter ruthlessly torn by those monsters." His expression changed into regretful sigh as if he was telling some great tragedy of Greece.
Arisu clenched her fist silently at her teacup and said nothing.
Because she knew he telling truth.
In here was safer than outside.
But she's still unwilling to be bound forever to this sexist man who saw women as nothing more someone who should be submissive and serve their men.
She figured out this was the kind of man Chad Yagami was, just because she liked Ayanokouji and didn't like him, he restlessly target Ayanokouji, maybe inside his mind, he also planned his downfall too.
"Since you know it, you should be aware of how smart a decision it was for you to choose me instead of that incompetent cuckold you expected to save you. The one you were interested in before." Chad chuckled, his voice dripping with casual arrogance.
She said nothing.
Her expression didn't flicker.
She didn't react to his degradation of Ayanokouji, not a twitch, not a glare, not a single sign that his words had landed.
Instead, she sipped her tea with perfect elegance and replied in a measured tone.
"It is. I just need to stay here for seven days. Being your little pet until the mission is completed and I can leave this hellhole of a world. It's a smart decision on my part, indeed."
"Oh, don't be such a heartbreaker, Arisu-chan." Chad waved a dismissive hand. "There's nothing wrong with being my pet and my sweetheart. You get protection. You earn points for free. You gain power from me. Most players out there would kill for that kind of arrangement."
He paused, his expression shifting into something that looked almost like genuine regret. "Of course, if you want to go outside, you're free to do so. But well... the dangers of the road can be perilous. Believe me when I say you don't want to see how cruel and disgusting those cannibals truly are. Some of our classmates... they were ruthlessly torn apart by those monsters in the homeless shelters. It was a tragedy. A real tragedy."
He sighed heavily, as if he were recounting the fall of Troy rather than the deaths of people he had knowingly sacrificed.
Arisu clenched her fist silently around her teacup but said nothing.
Because she knew he was telling the truth.
As much as she hated to admit it, staying here with him was safer than being outside.
The streets were a slaughterhouse. The ghouls were merciless. She wasn't naive. She knew what awaited her beyond those walls.
But she was still unwilling to be bound forever to this sexist man who saw women as nothing more than objects to be dominated and controlled.
She had figured him out.
This was the kind of man Chad Yagami was.
Just because she had liked Ayanokouji and rejected him, he had relentlessly targeted Ayanokouji.
Maybe, deep inside his twisted mind, he was already planning Ayanokouji's downfall too.
He was the type who couldn't stand rejection, who couldn't tolerate a woman choosing someone else.
He was petty, vindictive and dangerous.
"Since I can move around freely," Arisu said, setting her teacup down with a soft click, "I will leave and scout the area tomorrow. I want to plan, gather intelligence, earn more points from whatever information I can find."
She met his eyes directly, her violet gaze unwavering. "You don't want anything to happen to me, do you, Chad Yagami? So do something. Protect me. In exchange, you can have me all to yourself. I'll even give you the name of the person I liked. I'll help you kill him."
Her voice was steady, resolute. "This is my allegiance. This is my determination. I mean every word of it."
Chad didn't answer.
Instead, he stood from his seat and approached her step by step, his footsteps slow and deliberate on the wooden floor.
Each step seemed to echo in the quiet room, and Arisu's body stiffened instinctively.
Her fingers tightened around the teacup. Her violet eyes flickered with nervous tension, her mind racing through the possibilities of what he might do.
Would he punish her for her defiance?
Would he take her by force again, right here, right now, because she had dared to speak her mind and set conditions?
But contrary to her expectations and to everything she had braced herself for, his hand was impossibly gentle as he reached out and caressed her lilac hair.
His fingers traced through the soft strands with a tenderness that seemed almost foreign to the man who had ravaged her hours ago.
He leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead, his lips warm against her skin.
"Sorry for disturbing your sleep, sweetheart," he whispered, his voice low and rough but carrying a surprising gentleness beneath it. "I may be a jerk sometimes. I know that. But I truly do like you. More than you probably believe."
He paused, his thumb brushing against her cheek for just a moment before he pulled back. "Sleep well. You can do whatever you want tomorrow. Just ask Eto to go with you when you leave. She's more than enough to tear apart anyone who dares lay a hand on you. Nothing in this world will touch you while she's watching over you."
Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading as he disappeared into another room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Watching him go, Arisu's eyes flickered with doubt and confusion.
Her chest felt tight with emotions she couldn't quite name.
Is this truly the cruel man who ravaged me in the night?
The same man who took me by force and left me spent and trembling?
She wasn't sure anymore.
The lines were blurring. The monster and the protector seemed to occupy the same body, and she couldn't tell which one was real or if both were.
But at least she knew one thing with certainty: this man would be very good to her. Generous, protective and kind, even. As long as she always stood on his good side.
The drawback, however, was equally perilous.
This man had very poor self-control when it came to sex. He was impatient, aggressive and dominant.
The moment she slipped from his favor, or the moment his desire outweighed his restraint, she would find herself beneath him again, whether she wanted it or not.
No matter what, she had already decided to throw her lot in with this man. She had made her choice. She had vowed to help him kill Ayanokouji.
She had pledged her loyalty in exchange for protection and power.
And she was a very traditional woman.
She would never betray her first man, even though that first man had taken her by force. She had grown up in a patriarchal family, in a patriarchal country, in the aristocratic and wealthy class no less.
In that world, women were expected to devote their entire lives to their husbands or their first men. Loyalty was everything. Betrayal was unthinkable.
She may have wanted to break free from his control. She may have dreamed of becoming powerful in her own right, standing on her own two feet and carving her own path.
But that desire for independence did not equate to betrayal. She had already vowed to help him kill Ayanokouji. She had already proven her loyalty. That should be more than enough for him.
He may have her loyalty, but he would never have her ownership.
Never.
Of course, that guy didn't need to know that little detail.
She snorted softly to herself and rose from the chair, returning to her bedroom. This time, the night was peaceful.
Chad Yagami had proven to be a man of his word, at least for now.
He didn't bother her despite his poor self-control and his aggressive sexual nature. He stayed in his own room, and she stayed in hers, and the walls between them held their secrets.
She closed her eyes, pulling the blanket up to her chin and preparing herself to welcome the new day tomorrow.
The die was cast. There was no turning back now.