Complete silence filled the air. Even the garden seemed quieter.

Silver instantly regretted existing. His brain began producing increasingly terrible thoughts.

’Was I too direct, or maybe too sudden, was it too weird. Why did I say it like that? Why did I not prepare first? Why did I not think? Why...’

Ravenna was staring at him, her expression frozen. For several seconds she genuinely forgot how to respond, she hadn’t expected it at all.

Mallory recovered first. Unfortunately, the woman physically turned away and covered her mouth to stop laughing.

Silver prepared himself for rejection.

Then Ravenna finally spoke.

"...A date?"

Silver carefully nodded, as if approaching a dangerous beast.

"A date."

For some reason that made her cheeks warm slightly. She immediately blamed the weather.

The problem was... she didn’t actually want to say no, which was surprising. A week ago she wouldn’t have considered it.

A few days ago she barely knew him. Now? The answer wasn’t obvious anymore.

Silver waited nervously as though it was the final judgement. Ravenna noticed this, and somehow, that nervousness made the decision easier. If this were manipulation or some elaborate scheme... he was terrible at it. The man looked frightened.

The thought almost made her laugh.

"...Tomorrow?"

Silver nodded again.

"Tomorrow."

There was a small pause then Ravenna found herself answering.

"...Okay."

Silver blinked twice.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

The moment the words left her mouth, a familiar mechanical voice echoed inside Silver’s mind.

[Target Affection Increased.]

Ravenna Arkland

Affection: 1 → 10

Current Status: Interested

Silver nearly choked.

The system continued giving him more mini heart attacks.

[Milestone Reached.]

First Voluntary Romantic Initiative Detected.

Assessment: Host acted without system prompting.

Reward Granted.

[Reward Acquired]

• +100 Affection Points

• +Basic Dating Guide (Passive Information Package)

• +Charm +1

Silver almost laughed. He couldn’t believe it, the system had a dating guide.

’Of course it did, why wouldn’t it?’

Meanwhile, Ravenna was watching him suspiciously.

"...Why do you suddenly look happy?"

Silver immediately controlled his expression.

"No reason."

"There it is again."

"What?"

"That smile."

Silver looked away.

Mallory pointed dramatically.

"He definitely likes you."

"Please stop helping," Silver said.

"I’m helping a lot."

"You’re really not."

Ravenna sighed. Yet, despite herself, a small smile appeared one Silver noticed immediately. And for some reason... that smile felt like a far greater reward than anything the system could give him.

Tomorrow would be their first date. Neither of them had any idea what they were doing, which, honestly, explained a lot.

Silver discovered immediately. The goodbye was somehow more awkward than the conversation itself.

After Ravenna agreed to the date, neither of them seemed to know what came next. The logical answer should have been simple. Say goodbye then leave.

Instead, they stood there looking at each other, for far longer than necessary.

"So..." Silver said.

"So..." Ravenna replied.

Another silence followed. Mallory looked ready to die from holding back laughter.

Silver cleared his throat.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

"In the evening?"

"That works."

"Good."

Neither moved. Mallory finally lost the battle and covered her face.

"Oh, this is painful."

Both of them ignored her, mostly because she was right. Eventually, Ravenna looked away first.

"I should leave."

Silver nodded.

"Right."

"You should probably rest."

"I probably should."

"You look exhausted."

"Yeah, I feel exhausted."

A small smile appeared on her face.

"Try not to get hurt by tomorrow."

Silver laughed, a genuine short laugh. The sound surprised both of them.

Ravenna blinked. For a moment she simply stared then quickly looked away. Silver wasn’t the only one suddenly feeling awkward.

"Goodnight, Silver."

"Goodnight, Ravenna."

This time they actually left walking in opposite directions. Though Silver caught himself looking back once then twice. Only to find Ravenna doing the same thing. Both immediately looked away.

Mallory’s laughter echoed through the street.

.

.

.

By the time he reached the Ruddington residence, midnight had already passed and the winds had grown stronger.

Having stayed there for only a day since his reincarnation, it still felt foreign. The guards at the entrance immediately recognized him.

Several servants bowed as he entered, yet the atmosphere remained strangely formal and distant. As it always had. Right now, he felt like he was entering some building.

Silver climbed the stairs toward his room. Every step reminded him that his body remained in terrible condition.

The pills from the rookie checkpoint had done their job, they kept him functional but they certainly hadn’t erased the damage.

The system medicine still waited in the shop which he intended to buy it the moment he had privacy. As he reached his door, however, someone was already waiting.

Silver stopped.

The servant, Sander, immediately straightened.

"Young Master."

Silver felt like rolling his eyes. The happy mood Ravenna had left him with suddenly vanished. It seems his arrival had been greatly anticipated.

’So who sent him this time?’

The man was a talented survivor. Sander smiled politely.

"Welcome back, young master."

Silver unlocked the door.

"Thanks."

As expected he lingered. Silver wasn’t even surprised. This was to be expected, he wasn’t here to only welcome him. The vultures were already circling.

"What happened during the training?"

There it was. Silver entered his room. Sander followed a few steps behind. The room remained exactly as he left it, neatly organized.

A strange contrast to everything he’d experienced outside the walls.

Silver shrugged.

"Got attacked."

Sander blinked, irritation flashing through his features.

"By what?"

"Several things."

He waited for Silver to further explain, clearly expecting more.

Silver sat down heavily on a chair.

"My team hunted beasts, which we integrated. Then there was an accident and I fell. Then I came back."

Sander stared.

"...That’s all?"

"Pretty much."

His expression became complicated. Everyone knew it wasn’t all, yet Silver clearly had no intention of elaborating.

Eventually, Sander sighed internally and shifted topics.

"The family has already received the preliminary reports."

Silver wasn’t surprised. Large families always had ways of obtaining information especially influential ones.

"The Patriarch has ordered a gathering tomorrow in the morning."

Silver looked up.

"Oh?"

Sander nodded.

"All qualified descendants will attend."

That caught Silver’s attention. He knew exactly where all this was going.

Academy season.

The timing matched. Every year the major Sanctuaries selected promising young contractors and sent them toward an Alpha Sanctuary. Alpha Sanctuaries managed several Delta Sanctuaries and each had a top-tier academy.

Alpha Sanctuaries were the heart of human civilization. They were the strongest and safest Sanctuaries. The political center of the remaining world and more importantly, the home of the academy.

The place where future elites were trained into powerful contractors, military officers, governors, and legends.

Sander continued.

"Admission letters have arrived."

Silver leaned back. That explained the meeting, the Ruddington Family would naturally gather everyone who qualified. An opportunity to celebrate achievements and mostly compare descendants. Large families enjoyed that sort of thing.

"You’re expected to attend."

Silver nodded.

"Understood."

Sander hesitated then spoke again.

"The family is particularly interested in the abilities everyone obtained."

Silver’s eyes narrowed slightly. Sander failed to notice or pretended not to.

"The younger generation has performed well this year."

Silver politely smiled back.

"Then I’ll answer them."

Sander seemed satisfied. After another few minutes of meaningless conversation, he finally left.