Reborn Regress Return: I Am the Heir of Shadows!-Chapter 90: Bonding with the Adult Bunny

Julian landed on the dirt path just outside the northern woods. His boots kicked up dust as the teleport shimmer faded.

A perk of them rebuilding the village square, he could now return to once an hour.

Two hours. That's how long Julian spent grinding since Fran needed some time to get ready. She told him to wait for her, but he couldn't wait. Long enough to kill his back. Long enough to realise he hated solo grinding.

But not long enough to forget her.

He glanced around the forest edge, squinting through the afternoon sun.

Then, a twig snapped behind him.

"Miss me already~?"

Julian turned.

And there she was.

Fran leaned against a tree, one hip cocked, longbow slung casually over one shoulder. Her outfit was definitely not standard issue.

Tight black leggings tucked into worn combat boots, a short sleeveless tunic that rode up when the wind hit it wrong, and a reinforced leather corset that definitely wasn't standard issue for archers. Her ears twitched with amusement.

Her tone dripped with feigned innocence. "You looked so lonely heading off to grind. I figured I'd supervise."

Julian blinked. "Why follow me when you could join me?"

Fran pushed off the tree and strolled toward him, casually popping a slice of dried meat into her mouth. "Not quite. I just sensed a lonely boy was sulking for some affection, and I know where the best monsters to hunt are around here."

He narrowed his eyes. "You always this cocky now?"

She leaned in close. "Only when I'm feeling generous and interested." Her sweet breath blew across his cheeks as her adult figure garnered his attention.

'Her breasts...' Julian's ears turned a little red.

Fran gave a low laugh and walked past him, swaying just enough to make it feel intentional. "Come on. We've got things to kill, levels to grind, and I haven't enjoyed your company in four long months."

***

The grind began in the upper glade—dense with twisted trees and open enough to see monsters approaching. The beasts here were mid-tier: fast, aggressive, and good EXP.

Julian was in a groove—summoning umbra and letting her tear apart the enemy.

He no longer feared getting close and thus used his Shadow Bolt and Shadow's Grasp spells aggressively. His shadow, blinking between branches, striking from behind.

But Fran?

Fran was poetry.

Too different from her shy and quiet previous self.

She moved like a dancer, low and close to the ground. Her longbow snapped with precision, each arrow aimed for tendon, eye, throat. She whistled when she shot, soft and melodic. At one point, she even started humming.

But that's when he noticed the noises were how she summoned her arcane arrows, no longer needing to call out the moves or skills.

'She's grown too much!' He thought in amazement.

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Julian ducked under a claw swipe. "Are you seriously singing?"

Fran twirled a dagger in her off-hand and planted it into a beast's skull. "A good rhythm helps~."

Another beast lunged at her. Using her long rabbit legs, she flipped backward, shot it mid-air and winked at Julian.

"Don't get distracted by the view~"

Julian muttered under his breath, "Impossible not to."

"What was that?" she called sweetly.

"Nothing."

***

Hours passed as they hunted and chased each other.

Julian's back felt damp as he leaned against a tree trunk. His gauntlets were soaked in blood from using his shadow claws. Now reaching Level 4. Beside him, Fran's sweat dripped down her cheek as she tied her hair in a messy bun, loose strands clinging to her damp cheek.

The pair collapsed beside a shallow stream, about deep enough to reach their waists.

Fran tossed a water skin at him. He drank, wiped his mouth, then stared at the sky.

"Hey~ do you remember when we bathed together last time?" Fran huffed, while unfastening the string of her corset tunic, with a smile on her lips.

"This is the weirdest second date I've ever been on," he muttered.

Fran raised an eyebrow. "Second?"

Julian paused. "Well, the first time we met felt like a date, right?."

Fran chuckled. "That wasn't a date."

She leaned toward him, her voice softer now. "But this? This might count."

Julian blinked.

She reached out, thumb grazing his jaw. "You've got blood on your face."

He swallowed. "Is that... a problem?"

Fran's lips curled into a grin. "Only if it's not mine."

She wiped it with the edge of her glove. Her touch lingered just long enough to make Julian forget how to blink.

Then she stood. "Break's over. Let's find an elite, or something."

He couldn't help but watch her back and swallow his breath, the beating of his heart unable to compete with this new Fran. Nothing like the cute rabbit he met... this woman was a racy hare.

***

The pair fought non-stop side by side through until dusk, almost ten hours passing.

Julian didn't need to use Nocta often, only in the dangerous fights, as Umbra's shadow fluttered happily beside him. He felt their movements were more synchronised, and each time he used Shadow Claws, she would use her most powerful attack and buy him time to kill the smaller enemies.

"Umbra!" Julian ordered Umbra to skewer a rhino-type beast that charged at Fran while he wrapped its feel in shadows.

Fran climbed a rock outcrop and rained arrows from above, shouting for him to duck just before a tail swipe hit.

They didn't speak much now.

They didn't need to, as their actions became words.

By the time the last beast fell, both of them were panting, drenched, bleeding—but alive.

Julian dropped to his knees and gasped, "I'm gonna die, this is the worse cardio I've ever done!"

Fran's hunting speed was too fast because of her flowing style. Julian could see the movements of Umbra and even Maria in each step or flick.

Fran slid down beside him and gave a wolfish grin. "Speak for yourself. I'm thriving."

She tossed him a spicy jerky strip. "Eat. You get whiny when you're low on protein."

Julian bit it. Chewed. Grimaced. "What the hell is this?"

"Elite beast thigh."

Thanks to meeting Julian and Maria, it seemed that Fran learned a lot of meta terms and about the game itself. He didn't think she would remember it being an AI in the game, but it seemed that the nightmare world truly was more a real world than a game.

He spat it out.

Fran laughed and leaned back against his shoulder, head tilted up to watch the stars come out.

For a moment, they were quiet.

Then she whispered, "It's strange. I missed you... even when I hated you a little."

Julian glanced at her. "Why'd you hate me?"

"You left," she said. "Even if you didn't mean to."

The time difference in the game felt mysterious to Julian, too.

Did it move faster because he didn't enter the game at all? He couldn't answer that, but he normally only missed a day when logging into the game for most of the day...

Was there some kind of time dilation?

Did Solaria control it?

"I didn't know—"

"I know. But it still hurt." Fran's voice was quiet but honest as she looked at his face. "I wanted to see you. Told myself you would come and find me each time I went to sleep."

"I didn't think I'd get attached to someone from another world," she said. "And I definitely didn't think they'd come back."

Julian looked down at their hands. Hers was close to his. Not touching. Just near enough.

He slid his pinky against hers.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Fran smiled without looking at him. "Then I'm not holding back anymore, next time you vanish I will come find you... and complain directly."

"..."

She then showed a vicious smile, "you're the one that made me feel this way, that naked bath together... did you not think it would make me expect something?"

Julian opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Fran leaned in, eyes playful but half-lidded, her voice a sultry purr. "Did you think I'd just wag my tail and forget it? You saw me naked, Julian~. And I saw you staring."

"I wasn't—! That was—!" His voice cracked halfway through.

She laughed, deep and warm, and leaned her head against his shoulder again. "Relax. I liked it, but... I realise you have two women you've already given your heart and body too."

"H-How?!"

Her eyes flickered before she smiled. "You smell of two women, that's why I made you sweat so much, to replace the scent."

Then Fran's ears twitched. Subtle but sharp.

She sat up straighter.

Her voice dropped low. "Did you hear that?"

Julian blinked, still recovering from emotional whiplash. "Hear what—?"

Another snap. Not a twig. Something wet. Heavy. Too slow for a beast. Too soft for armour.

Fran was already crouching, hand on her bow, pulling Julian down beside her.

"That wasn't fauna."

She glanced at him, all flirt gone from her face now. Just a cold and fierce glare. "Get ready."

From the shadows beyond the stream, a shape emerged.

Hunched. Masked. Human-shaped. But with dozens of arms growing from its back, hands spread through the air, with eyes and mouths in the centre of their palms.

An abomination... and then it spoke.

"You shouldn't be here."