Splash splash—
The sound of flowing water came from the bathroom.
Even with the frosted glass and misty vapor acting as a mosaic, Haru could still imagine the scene taking place in the bathroom based on the vaguely visible graceful silhouette.
The fairy taking a bath should be covered in foam as dense as cream.
The hot water spraying from the showerhead mixed with the bubbles, turning into a milky white turbid liquid that, pulled by gravity, slid over the fairy's delicate collarbone, passed through the round and deep valley of her chest, crossed her smooth and white abdomen, and finally flowed down her long, slender legs to the tiles.
A beautiful girl's bath was just so alluring.
However...
Haru had no intention of peeping at Elysia's bath.
Even though the girl had deliberately left the bathroom door ajar, and Haru could sneak in for a surprise attack at any time, he remained completely unmoved, sitting on the sofa like a monk in meditation.
It wasn't that Haru had transcended worldly desires and had no such earthly wants.
It was just that after their mutual proposal, Elysia seemed to have shed another layer of restraint and become even bolder.
All kinds of intimate cuddling continued non-stop. Just the simplest kisses had occurred dozens of times tonight, and Haru felt like his lips were about to swell.
This troublesome little fairy always found ways to tease him...
However, when he was truly aroused and pinned the girl beneath him, her tearful, panicked expression made it impossible to continue.
She loved to play but was inexperienced, and couldn't handle it when things got serious.
That's why Haru was too lazy to watch Elysia bathe. If he just wanted to feast his eyes, he had already enjoyed plenty during their daily life.
Besides that...
There was another trivial reason: the fairy had tormented him for several hours tonight.
Although they hadn't crossed the final line, the two lovers in the heat of passion had still tried some other activities.
This made the current Haru ponder the meaning of life. What exactly was love? Was it a product of hormones or a collision of souls? Did consciousness determine matter, or did matter determine consciousness?
After a while.
Haru finally emerged from his philosophical state and smiled bitterly while rubbing his aching waist.
"Sigh, an ordinary person's body is still too weak..."
If it were in previous loops, he could have lasted an entire day against Kevin with his artificial Honkai eruption activated.
With that robust physical condition, let alone one little Ellie, even if all the Valkyries came together, Haru could handle them.
Unfortunately, in this daily timeline where Honkai had disappeared...
Haru was just an ordinary person without even well-defined abs, and Kevin had transformed from the leader of World Serpent into an overworked IT wage slave.
Ha, the former powerhouses who could determine the fate of civilization now had to obediently go to work and live lives of having their surplus value exploited.
Such is the mighty hand of capitalism!
Haru sighed with feeling and took out his phone as if remembering something.
Unlocking the screen with his fingerprint, the top notification was from the pink fairy's video account.
The content was simple: a photo of holding hands without showing faces, with the engagement rings on the man's and girl's ring fingers particularly prominent.
Right after proposing, Elysia had chosen to announce it online?
Haru clicked his tongue, feeling a warm sensation in his heart.
Although Elysia streamed and made videos purely to share the joy of daily life and didn't intend to pursue a career as an online streamer.
But her willingness to completely ignore potential follower loss and immediately post their engagement news on her account was enough to prove how much Elysia valued him!
A faint smile appeared on Haru's face. He clicked into the post and glanced through it. Most comments were normal congratulations or expressions of envy, while the few attacks on Elysia were reported by him one by one.
After finishing this, he opened an app called "Howl Chat," where the group chat labeled "Golden Courtyard" already had over a hundred new messages.
As expected...
In this group, Elysia had posted their entire proposal process early on, causing a large number of lurkers to surface.
[Elysia: Ta-da~? Big news! The pink fairy got engaged tonight and ate sweet cake together!]
[Mobius: Elysia, eating so much cake, be careful you get too fat to fit in a wedding dress.]
[Eden: @Elysia, you two have finally reached this step. Have you thought of what to name your future children?]
[Pardofelis: Eh eh eh?! Have Ellie-sis and Haru-bro already made a baby?!!]
[Su: They just got engaged, it shouldn't be that fast... Eden, you're being too hasty.]
[Griseo: Kosma, what does "made a baby" mean?]
[Kosma: This... this...]
[Aponia: Good children shouldn't ask so many questions. It's very late now, time to sleep.]
[Kevin: ...]
[Vill-V: Oh my, do you need magic performances for your future wedding? The greatest magician of this century is at your service!]
[Kalpas: Hmph, then leave the wedding banquet to me!]
Wait, why was everyone starting to discuss planning the wedding?
Haru broke into a cold sweat. He and Elysia had only gotten engaged; they had no plans to officially marry in the near future.
But a certain landlord of the Golden Courtyard obviously didn't think so, even skipping marriage pressure and starting to pressure them for grandchildren!
No, he needed to change the subject.
There wasn't just one couple in the group—he and Elysia weren't the only ones. He couldn't be the only one getting grilled.
Haru had an idea and sent a message in the group.
[Haru: @Kevin, how's your situation? Did Mei agree?]
As the only other man in the group with a girlfriend...
Haru and Kevin had communicated privately long ago, helping each other strategize and agreeing to propose to their girlfriends together on May 20th.
Now he had succeeded, but there hadn't been any news from Kevin's side.
[Kevin: Sigh, don't mention it. I'm still working overtime.]
[Kevin: Mei also had something urgent come up at the lab today and couldn't make it back... so we had to postpone it.]
[Haru: Ah this...]
The chat group suddenly fell silent, and Haru also fell into silence due to Kevin's reply.
No way, dude.
In previous loops, you were at least the leader of World Serpent, the strongest fusion warrior of the Previous Era. Show me some of that domineering aura of someone who bears the inscription of salvation!
Why are you still working overtime at a time like this? If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain!
If your girlfriend is stuck in the lab and can't leave, why don't you take a flight overnight to rush over there and give her a hasty but even more romantic proposal?!
Haru felt anxious about Kevin's emotional intelligence, but after thinking it over carefully, he sighed with understanding.
A spontaneous proposal was indeed romantic, but the cost of doing so in reality was also high.
From dating to marriage required bearing great financial pressure, and Kevin's work was in the extremely competitive IT industry. If he went to find Mei overnight to propose, he probably wouldn't be able to work the next day.
Not only would he miss voluntary overtime, but he'd also have to take a day off...
If the capitalists were displeased, they might directly optimize Kevin out of his job!
Haru smiled bitterly, thinking of his own situation.
He didn't have to work overtime like Kevin now, nor did he need to care about his boss's mood. He was extremely free.
But this wasn't because his job benefits were so good, but because he had already lost—
Haru's expression froze as sudden softness interrupted his thoughts.
The girl, carrying a wet fragrance, wrapped her jade-white arms around Haru's neck from behind, then poked his cheek with her finger.
"Ehya, why do you look so worried..."
"Did something happen while the fairy was taking a bath?"