Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

Chapter 46  Claim (kekeke)

Opening my eyes instantly sent a surge of nearly unbearable pain to my brain. But once I opened them, I could not close them back to cut the influx of the torture. Not when Fay's teary face was merely a few inches away from my pained eyes. "Y-you are shining…" I whispered while my pained eyes played strange tricks on me, allowing me to see sparks of static electricity frolicking from one strand of Fay's hair to the other. And as if it wasn't enough, I could clearly see the sharp tips of her fox-like ears peeking through the storm of her white hair!

"P-peter…" Fay whispered back, the tears that welled up in her eyes before now deciding it was the right time to start their journey down her slightly blushed cheeks. "Don't cry," I whispered a small request, ignoring the pain and raising my hand up to wipe the tears off Fay's cheeks before they could fall down. Only when doing so I realized that Fay's face… was in the wrong orientation. 'Wait, what?'

With the torture thankfully fading away, proving it was merely an echo of what I went through rather than an ongoing problem, my brain slowly but surely started to work again. As it allowed more and more sensory experiences to feed into its circuits, I finally realized that I was actually lying down on the ground, with just the part of my body above my shoulders enjoying the comfortable softness of Fay's lap. 'Wait, if it's this kind of position…' Before I could rein my thoughts, I moved my eyes up a little bit further, and as surely as the sun rising in the east, Fay's breasts were there, reaching out for my face due to the girl leaning slightly forward. 'Shit,' I cursed my own lewdness, instantly escaping with my eyes… by closing them down. "Peter!" Fay instantly jerked up, only to force her lower body to remain still as if not to cause me any discomfort. "It's okay, it's okay…" I muttered while my hand finally reached Fay's cheek, allowing my thumb to wipe the moisture trickling down her face. "My eyes still hurt a bit, sorry for that."

Using my pain as an excuse was a low blow… Something that once thought upon, I couldn't actually bear to accept. So, I sighed… "Actually, I'm sorry. I looked at your chest before I could control myself…" Hearing my heartfelt confession, Fay didn't react much. Or so I thought before something suddenly pressed on my face, and I found the entirety of my head entering some soft warm, fluffy heaven. "P-peter…" Fay sobbed, only for the ever-present softness to tighten around my head, while I could feel moisture appear on my face. 'This is so nice…' I thought, closing my eyes for but a second as I wallowed in this extremely comfortable and relaxing feeling. For once, I felt safe. Fay's warmth kept me shielded from the harm and evil of the world, not letting me feel or perceive anything but the softness of her skin. 'As I thought, this doesn't really sit well with me,' I thought after a single moment passed, only to move my hand slightly lower, grabbing at Fay's shoulder before gently forcing her up and away. The girl offered no resistance, passively accepting whatever I was doing to her without a single word or action of protest or rejection. Yet, as I reopened my eyes… I would have to be blind not to see the sea of grief that this little movement of mine caused to erupt in the eyes of my woman.

'Wait, she's not mine… yet,' I passively realized as I pulled myself together and used all my momentary strength to force my body up. Yet, rather than removing myself from Fay's immediate surroundings, I simply left her lap and turned around, finally capable of looking her in the face properly. "Having you hug me like that was the best feeling I've ever experienced," I spoke honestly, once again reaching out with my hand. This time, however, with my eyes correcting my aim, I managed to properly wipe the tears off Fay's face, only to slide my fingers across her cheek and end up resting my palm on it. Without even thinking, Fay squinted her eyes a little before leaning her head into my hand and slowly rubbing her cheek against my inner palm. "But how could I enjoy it when the woman I like from the bottom of my heart is crying?" A part of the weight of Fay's head now rested in my hand while I was trying not to lose my mind over how nice it felt to hold her face like that. "Peter…" Fay finally managed to speak my name without stuttering. But as she did so, a new wave of tears started to form in her eyes. "You are injured. I saw cuts all over your body," she spoke softly, struggling not to start sobbing right in my hands. It looked as if just speaking out loud about the things she saw was enough to upset the barrier that she put her emotions, grief, and worry behind. "Ugh, that I cannot deny," I allowed myself a small laugh, causing Fay's eyes to twitch in surprise… And then twitch again when I suddenly used my free, left hand to heavily strike my chest with a fist. "But I'm really tough. So while it might've looked bad, it wasn't anything I couldn't endure!" I put on a proud expression for a second… Only for it to melt down into a heartfelt one. "Fay, listen. When I talked with your mom… No, when I saw you back then, about to be struck down…" This time, it was my turn for my throat to clench, making it a challenge for me to get my words out. A challenge that I overcame with the force of my sheer fucking will, given the importance of this intimate moment between the two of us. "Back then, I was scared. Scared more than I was ever before in my life, including the times when I dealt with people that could kill me at will with little to no consequences, just because they fancied to do so."

I momentarily recalled the moments when I dealt with Makary and later Mark. And when claiming they could kill me at will wasn't all that much of an exaggeration. In fact, I could say I was quite sure my dear aunt would be happy to cover for them if that were to happen! Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"But back then, when I saw that blade about to pierce you…" My body tensed up at the mere memory of that moment. "The fear from back then helped me to sort out the priorities in my life, the priorities that I was made aware of after talking with your mom."

This was the moment. The single instant in time that required the strongest will make the choice… that wasn't necessarily hard, but certainly was challenging to make. And not even because of the consequences as I had no doubt about Fay's response. It was challenging because of my deeply rooted belief that, even after all I've heard and seen, Fay would still end up rejecting me. "Fay, right now, I'm not exactly in a state to claim you. Nor do I want our first time to be in some random bushes," I spoke out, spitting out my words faster and faster as I progressed along the list of points I made in preparation for this moment. And as one could expect, upon hearing those words… Fay's expression grew conflicted. "So, let me ask you this. Will you be mine, forever mine and only mine?" I finally managed to get those challenging words out of my throat and didn't stutter while doing so even once!

Fay's face twitched, proving she wasn't prepared for this sort of development. "And if so, could we temporarily seal the deal in a way people do in my world?"

Now, the time for me to shut the fuck up and wait for the answer has come. And surprisingly, just waiting in silence while hoping for the best proved to be far harder than actually speaking all those words. "Pete…" Fay opened her mouth, only to cut my name short and shyly lower her eyes. "Yes," she whispered, glancing up, having her eyes meet mine, and then instantly escape with them back down. I gulped my saliva, taken aback by just how insanely adorable she was at the moment. Yet, before I could even clutch at my heart as usual, Fay actually brought her chin up and looked me straight in the eyes. "Yes," she repeated, this time with a voice full of conviction and determination. "Claim me." A fire erupted in Fay's eyes yet again… but this time it was warm, cozy, inviting. And with this fire in my eyes, I brought up my other hand to lock Fay's head in place, before leaning in and reaching out for her lips with mine, in the gentle, elegant union.