3:27am.

Kanin was in the living room, on top of the center table, playing a farming simulator on the big TV.

Asahi and Thea were sitting on the tall stools at the kitchen counter. They were having ice cream, while they watched Kanin. Asahi wore shorts and a tank top, while Thea wore booty shorts and a Royal Decree t-shirt.

Fumiko and Mayumi were asleep in their rooms, while Trish was asleep in the guest room.

Thea looked at Kanin with a big smile. “He looked so adorable eating ice cream for the first time.”

Asahi smiled. “You’re welcome to come play with him any time you want.”

Thea chortled. “That’s the same as inviting me to move in and quit Uni, so I’ll play with him when I can instead.” She then looked at him. “Are you alright?”

He displayed a faint smile. “I am. It’s just that meeting Trish’s parents, and then Kanin coming into my life, it got me thinking about my past. Don’t get me wrong, I know that I have a great life right now, and I’m very grateful for it. But as great as my life is right now, it doesn’t simply erase all the bad things that happened to me. I still have a lot of anger and resentment inside me, so it bothers me from time to time.”

She caressed his back. “Is the therapy helping?”

He chortled. “It is, but it’s also making me realize how bad it really was. During the sessions, we’ve been going through my past with a fine comb, so there was a lot that I simply ignored, because things were supposed to be fucked either way.”

She turned the gyrating seat to face him, and opened her arms. “Come here, you need a hug.”

He smiled, standing up, and hugged her tightly.

Feeling her warmth, he let himself indulge in it for a while.

As he started to let go, he kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

She smiled as she heard Kanin’s little paws running towards them. “I don’t think I’m the only one who wants to give you a hug.”

With that, Kanin jumped onto the stool where Asahi was sitting, raising his front paws.

Asahi smiled. “Wanna give me a hug too?”

Kanin nodded. < Yeah! >

Asahi picked Kanin up and embraced him, as Kanin rubbed his head against Asahi’s cheek.

He gave Kanin a few kisses before looking at him. “Wanna give Thea a hug too, before going back to your game?”

< Yeah! >

Asahi chortled, handing Kanin over to Thea, who proceeded to cover him with kisses. Throughout both hugs, Kanin wagged his tail, clearly happy with all the affection.

Letting him go, Thea watched Kanin run back to the center table, smiling. “He’s such a cutie pie”

Asahi smiled. “He really is.”

Thea looked at Asahi. “And how is your training going?”

“I’m getting stronger, but I have no real combat experience. As much as I’d like to not fight at all, I’ll probably need that experience in the future.”

She furrowed her brow. “With everything you can do and have access to, I’m surprised that you don’t have a shortcut for that. I wouldn’t be surprised if you started taking combat experience pills or something.”

He blinked a few times, looking at her, then started laughing.

She chortled. “What, were the pills too much?”

He hugged her and gave her cheek a big kiss. “No, they weren’t, I was laughing at myself. You just showed me how scattered my brain has been with so many things for me to worry about, thank you.”

She smiled. “I’m glad I could help.”

He sat back on the stool, facing her. “How was it hanging out with Trish throughout the week?”

Her smile brightened. “It was great, we’re actually very similar in many aspects. You introduced me to three great friends, and I have the feeling that the next three will also be great. Honestly, I have no idea how I could properly thank you.”

He smiled. “Just be happy, that’s more than enough.”

She chuckled with a slight blush as she lightly slapped his chest. “You can’t say shit like that with a straight face. You’ll end up with a trail of broken hearts behind you.”

He chortled. “But it’s the truth though. If you don’t want that as an answer, how about you cook me a meal one of these days?”

She nodded. “Deal. I like to cook for other people, and that’s a hundred times better than you trying to use your silver tongue on me.”

He laughed. “You should work on your phrasing.”

Laughing, she lightly slapped his shoulder. “You know what I mean.” She then yawned. “I’m getting sleepy now, can I sleep in your bed? I rather not risk waking Trish up.”

He nodded. “Sure, I don’t need to sleep anyways. You can go, I’ll tidy everything up here. Oh, I wanna give you something.”

He made a personal cleaning device appear on his hand.

She looked at it with curiosity. “Okay, who are we blowing up?”

He chuckled. “It’s not the trigger for a bomb, it’s for self-cleaning. I gave one to each of the girls and have one for myself as well.”

She picked it up and used it, feeling the refreshing sensation from it, then quickly putting her hand on her butt. “Even there?”

“Yup even there. There are ten charges on it, and the recharge time for each charge is 24h.”

She spread her arms, asking for another hug, to which he promptly complied.

She spoke with a slightly sleepy voice. “Thank you, it’s incredible.”

He caressed her back. “You’re welcome.”

She kissed his cheek. “I’m going to bed now, good night.”

He kissed her cheek. “Good night.”

Looking at her go into the hallway to the bedrooms, he sighed. ‘I’m so fucking dumb, holy shit.’

[ At the very least you are self-aware. ]

‘Alright, is there something that can give me combat experience without me having to actually fight?’

[ Yes. It costs 2,000,000P with the property discount included. The device’s effectiveness is based on mana density, so you should only use it inside a Refinement Chamber. ]

Asahi nodded. ‘Are there any cons?’

[ Yes, your personality will change slightly, but nothing that would heavily affect your daily life. You would be prone to be a bit more tactical, and to pay more attention to people’s body language and mannerisms. As for the process itself, it is quite painful, both physically and mentally, but far less painful than the ritual for obtaining Kanin. ]

‘That’s acceptable. Is there a minimum amount of time for using the device?’

[ In general, no. ]

‘For how long should I use it daily?’

[ A minimum of two hours on average, for what you want at least. Do that for a month. ]

‘And would Kanin feel anything bad while I’m doing that?’

[ No, since I will be blocking those sensations. ]

‘Alright, let’s go give it a shot then.’

He then looked at Kanin playing.

‘You know what, never mind. It can wait, I don’t wanna leave Kanin alone, nor do I want for him to be there to see it. I can’t help but see him as a kid, no matter how smart he is.’

After tidying up the kitchen counter, he went to the living room, and sat on the couch.

He happily watched Kanin play.

 

When Trish woke up, she joined Asahi on the couch, with the same happening to Thea a while later. They ate a couple of snacks while they watched Kanin, only having actual breakfast after Fumiko and Mayumi woke up, around 8am.

After a hearty breakfast, they sat on the living room to play with Kanin.

A little before 9am, Ryota and Setsuko arrived. Setsuko was wearing baggy shorts and a tank top, while Ryota wore a track suit. After introducing them to Thea and Trish, they both held Kanin, and instantly fell for the little guy.

While they were doing so, Amaya also arrived, following the same pattern of introductions. She wore baggy shorts and a t-shirt, with her hair braided in a single braid as per usual.

Although the three of them were a little startled by how intelligent Kanin was, and the fact that he could converse telepathically, it was quickly internalized due to how cute and adorable he was.

Before leaving to work on their new office, Asahi picked Kanin up and stroked his fur. “Kanin, I need to go do some stuff. Will you be okay here with the girls? If you need me for anything, you can just ask Aurora to call me over.”

Kanin nodded. < Okay. Do you need my help? >

Asahi smiled and kissed Kanin’s forehead. “We’ll be fine, you can just stay here and have fun if you want.”

Kanin rubbed his head against Asahi’s cheek and gave it a lick. < I’ll stay and have fun then. Good luck. >

Asahi gave his forehead another kiss, before putting him on the back of the couch. “Thank you.”

Thea stroked Kanin’s fur. “Are you sure you don’t want our help? I’m happy to do so.”

Asahi shook his head. “We’ll be fine. Besides, would you rather build furniture or play with Kanin?”

Trish nodded. “Good point, I rescind my offer.”

They laughed as they said goodbye to Kanin and the girls, then the five of them went to their new office space.

But Asahi didn’t leave without noticing Thea’s expression, one that displayed how incredibly pleased she was by meeting Amaya, Ryota and Setsuko.

 

Inside their office space, there were many, many boxes with equipment and furniture to be assembled. There were also couches and couch chairs for the lounging area. Dozens of boxes of computer parts, fifteen 30” monitors, and a giant 100” TV.

Fortunately, the kitchen and bedrooms were mostly done, and Asahi had already filled the fridge with groceries and beverages. There were also a lot of snacks in the pantry.

Setsuko looked at the sea of boxes. “Yeah, there is no way for us to finish this today. I’ll need to hold Kanin and Ryota for at least half an hour to recover after all this work.”

They laughed as they started to work.

Although all of them had experience setting up furniture, Ryota and Setsuko were by far the handiest when it came to that.

That day, instead of having lunch, they ate snacks throughout the day, so they wouldn’t feel the lethargy of a big meal.

Thea and Trish went home around 5pm, but not before stopping by to say goodbye to them.

Fumiko also went to the office space with Kanin, so she could help a bit.

Being healed by Kanin’s presence and also having an extra pair of hands to help, they worked for a couple more hours. Kanin made himself useful by fetching tools and small parts, carrying them with his tail, which he actually quite liked doing.

By the time they stopped, they had set up all of the furniture and most of the cables, which was the heaviest part of the work. The next day would be for building all the computers, setting up the recording room, and doing some finishing touches.

After they were finished for the day, Asahi looked at Amaya, Ryota and Setsuko, and spoke. “There is something that I want the three of you to have.”

He extended his hand, and three personal cleaning devices appeared, floating in the air, right above the palm of his hand.

Ryota’s eyes sparkled. “Se-chan, that’s the cleaning device that I told you about.”

The devices floated towards them. They grabbed it, but Ryota was the only one to use it right away.

His face clearly displayed how relaxed he felt afterwards, which prompted Amaya and Setsuko to also use theirs.

As soon as Amaya used hers, her face reddened.

Setsuko laughed after a couple seconds of bewilderment. “Damn, Ryota told me about it, but feeling it is something else.  These things are pretty thorough.”

Mayumi chortled, while stroking Kanin’s fur. “They really are. Now, let’s go change so we can have dinner. Asahi is doing the cooking today.”

To everyone’s surprise, Amaya slowly walked to Asahi and hugged him. “Thank you.”

Asahi caressed her back. “You’re welcome.”

Right after letting go, she walked to her room at a brisk pace.

Setsuko chortled as she gave Asahi hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Ryota followed suit, minus the kiss on the cheek.

With that, Asahi, Fumiko and Mayumi left to their apartment in order to change their clothes, with Mayumi carrying Kanin.

When they came back to the office, Asahi cooked while the other five were sitting at the kitchen table, talking and playing with Kanin.

Asahi cleaned everything he used to make the food, as he finished using it, in order to not make a mess.

They had a pleasant dinner, while discussing how they would proceed the next day.

 

Later that night, after Fumiko and Mayumi went to sleep, Asahi texted Trish.

(A)- Hey, you’re at the mansion, right?
(T)­- I am, are you coming? I thought you wouldn’t train this weekend.
(A)- There is something that I wanna do in the chamber, but I don’t like the idea of leaving Kanin alone. If
        you’re not too tired, would you mind keeping him company for a couple hours?
(T)- I’d love to. Can’t wait to hug that little fluffy bundle of cuteness again. 🥰
(A)- Great, I’ll be there in a few minutes.

Less than five minutes later, he appeared in the mansion’s living room, where Trish was. She was sitting on a couch chair, with a tablet device on her hand.

Asahi approached, and gave her a light kiss, handing Kanin to her. “Thank you.”

She smiled brightly. “It’s my pleasure.” She then kissed Kanin, stroking his fur. “Kanin, do you want to read a novel with me?”

Kanin rubbed his head against her cheek. < Yeah! >

She chuckled, patting Kanin’s head, then looked at Asahi. “May I know what you are doing in there today?”

He smiled. “It’s a surprise, something that’ll hopefully help out with my anxiety.”

She smiled. “Good luck then.”

“Thank you.”

He teleported to the underground level, then directly inside the refining chamber.

‘Okay, please buy the device and any boost that’ll help me.’

Suddenly, a 3m long silvery rectangular pod supported on a 45° angle appeared. As he approached it, the pod opened, revealing an extremely comfortable black interior.

‘How does this work?’

[ Through Psionics and Magic, the device will imprint muscle memory and instincts into your body and mind. Due to its forceful nature, it will generate a large amount of pain, as I stated before. ]

‘So, I just lie there?’

[ Correct. The lid will close and the pod will become parallel to the floor, but do not be startled, it is completely safe. Going in naked is the best option, so nothing will give even the most insignificant interference. ]

Asahi nodded as he made his clothes disappear.

After lying in the cabin, the lid closed, and the support started to move it to be parallel to the floor.

He was in complete darkness and silence.

Suddenly, a jolt of electricity ran through his body, giving him a sensation of intense pain.

It was strange to him. He was experiencing combat situations, but not through any of his usual senses. It was more like a feeling deep inside him.

However, it was like the System had said, the pain was nowhere near what he felt during the Kanin ritual.

Although not as painful, the process was incredibly tiresome, even for him.

Exactly two hours after it started, the sensation ended, and the pod went back to its original position as the lid opened.

Asahi took a deep breath, and got out of the cabin.

As he put his clothes back on, he concentrated on his body and mind, trying to feel the difference.

‘Yeah, out of all the cheats so far, this one takes the cake. I owe Thea at least ten hugs and five kisses.’

He felt, for the lack of a better word, sharper.

‘Can Trish use it too?’

[ I would not recommend for anyone else to use it, besides you and Kanin. The device usually depends on the user to regulate a lot of things during the process, but you and Kanin have me for that. The others do not. However, when it comes to Maruyama Patricia, she does not need the device. All she needs is to spar with you. ]

‘Of course, it’s Trish. And how many hours of combat that session equated to?’

[ 178h28min35sec. ]

With a smile, he teleported back to the living room.

 

Kanin was sitting on Trish’s lap, reading a novel from her tablet.

Noticing that he appeared, Trish looked at him. When their eyes met, she felt a strange sensation, a familiar one. Aside from his really tired demeanor, it was like she was looking at a seasoned soldier.

Her eyes widened. “You crazy man, what did you do?”

Kanin’s little head perked up from behind the tablet.

Asahi smiled. “What if I told you that I bought a machine that implants combat experience into me? At a 1:89 time-ratio nonetheless.”

Her mouth went agape. “Really? Can anyone use it? Because that would be great for Fumiko and Mayumi.”

He sighed. “Unfortunately, no. Anyone besides me or Kanin would be at risk, and I don’t want him using it anytime soon, because it’s too painful. But hey, it’s a one hell of an anti-anxiety pill for me.”

She put her tablet down and got up, carrying Kanin. “That’s too bad, but at least you don’t have to actually fight.”

He gave her a light kiss, and patted Kanin’s head. “Yeah.”

Kanin liked the palm of Asahi’s hand. < Are you hurt? >

Asahi chuckled, and kissed Kanin’s forehead. “I’m not, just really tired. I think I need a nap.” He then looked at Trish. “Are you tired too?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. You can go take a nap while I stay here with Kanin.”

He gave her a light kiss. “Thank you.”

After giving Kanin a hug and a couple kisses, he passed out on one of the bedrooms.