Chapter 91: New A-Rank Skill!
David’s smile remained exactly where it was.
"Holly..." His voice was quieter this time, carrying none of the playful teasing from earlier. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
The words settled gently between them.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Holly simply stared at him.
Her lips parted slightly, yet no sound came out.
David felt his smile falter just a little.
He hadn’t expected an answer immediately. Holly had always been the type to become flustered whenever her emotions overwhelmed her. Even so...
The silence stretched a second longer than he had anticipated.
Without meaning to, he found himself searching her expression.
Had he moved too fast?
The thought surfaced before he could stop it.
Maybe he should have waited a little longer. Maybe after everything that had happened today, asking her now had been too much. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel pressured into giving him an answer she wasn’t ready for.
He had only just opened his mouth, intending to tell her she didn’t have to answer right away...
When Holly suddenly moved.
She threw herself forward without the slightest warning.
David’s eyes widened.
The next thing he knew, her arms had wrapped tightly around him, pulling herself against his chest with surprising strength.
"...Holly?"
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she buried her burning face into the crook of his neck so completely that he could barely see her anymore.
David froze.
For several long seconds, his mind simply stopped working.
His arms remained awkwardly suspended at his sides as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
Then, almost hesitantly, he let them settle around her waist.
"...Is..."
A helpless smile tugged at his lips.
"...Is this a yes?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt Holly’s shoulders tremble.
Not because she was crying.
She was laughing.
Just barely.
The tiny, embarrassed sound was so muffled against his shoulder that he almost missed it.
"...Mm."
The response was so quiet it could have been mistaken for nothing more than a breath.
David blinked.
"Hm?"
Holly remained exactly where she was.
If anything, she somehow managed to hide herself even more.
Another few seconds passed before she gathered enough courage to speak again.
"...I said yes."
Her voice was barely louder than before.
David couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face.
"I... still didn’t hear you."
Almost immediately, he felt a light thump against his chest.
Holly had weakly hit him with a fist that carried absolutely no force behind it.
"...Idiot."
The word came out accompanied by an embarrassed little huff.
"I said yes."
This time, despite how soft her voice remained, every syllable was perfectly clear.
Something inside David relaxed all at once.
He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath until now.
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it—not loud or teasing, but warm.
"...You did."
He tightened his arms around her almost unconsciously.
"So..."
He looked down at the girl refusing to lift her head.
"We’re... actually together now."
Holly gave the tiniest nod against his shoulder.
The simple movement somehow made everything feel real.
David stared ahead for a moment, still trying to process it himself.
She was...
His girlfriend.
The thought should have felt strange.
Instead, it felt oddly natural.
Almost like things had quietly been moving toward this for a long time.
He let out another small laugh.
"I was expecting this part to be easier."
That finally earned him a reaction.
Holly slowly turned her head just enough to peek up at him with questioning eyes.
"...Which part?"
David scratched his cheek with one finger, suddenly looking far less confident than he had a minute ago.
"This part."
He gestured vaguely between the two of them.
"I kind of just realized..."
He laughed at himself.
"I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to do now."
For a second, Holly simply stared at him.
Then, despite the lingering blush coloring her cheeks, she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.
"...Really?"
David nodded without the slightest embarrassment.
"I’ve never had a girlfriend before."
The confession came so naturally that even he didn’t think much of it until after the words had already left his mouth.
"I was sort of hoping I’d figure it out as I went."
A soft giggle escaped Holly.
It wasn’t the restrained laugh she’d been trying to hide earlier.
This one came freely.
Bright.
Genuine.
"So..." David continued with an amused smile. "Any advice?"
She pretended to think about it.
"Hmm..."
After a moment, she shook her head.
"...No."
"No?"
"No."
She smiled shyly before resting her head against him again.
"I’ve never had a boyfriend before either."
David blinked.
Then the two of them looked at one another.
For exactly one second.
Before both of them burst into quiet laughter.
The awkwardness that had threatened to creep in disappeared almost instantly.
Neither of them knew what they were doing.
And somehow...
That made everything feel easier.
When their laughter finally faded, Holly didn’t move away.
If anything, she snuggled even closer against him, her fingers gently curling around the fabric of his shirt as though she was afraid that letting go would somehow make this moment disappear.
"...David?"
"Hm?"
She hesitated for only a moment.
"...Can we stay like this?"
He looked down at her.
There was no embarrassment in her eyes this time.
Only quiet hope.
"...Of course."
A tiny smile curved her lips.
She closed her eyes again, letting herself melt comfortably against him.
"...I don’t really want anything else right now."
David felt his chest warm at the simple honesty behind those words.
Neither did he.
So he stopped wondering whether he was doing the right thing.
Stopped thinking about what boyfriends were supposed to do.
Instead, he simply held her.
And somehow...
That felt exactly right.
Minutes slipped quietly by.
Neither of them spoke again.
The silence wasn’t awkward.
It wrapped around them as naturally as the arms holding each other.
David eventually noticed Holly’s breathing beginning to change.
The slow rise and fall against his chest became steadier.
Her grip on his shirt loosened little by little.
The weight of her body gradually settled more completely against him.
He lowered his eyes.
A small smile rested peacefully on her sleeping face.
"...You actually fell asleep."
He couldn’t help smiling to himself.
Carefully, making sure not to wake her, he adjusted the blanket over her shoulder before brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face.
Only after he was certain she was comfortable did his thoughts drift back to the translucent notification he had dismissed earlier.
Almost as though it had been waiting patiently for this exact moment, the familiar blue window quietly appeared before his eyes once more.
[Mission Complete!]
Mission: Satisfy Holly Houston
Reward Available
A-Rank Skill
Would you like to view your reward?
David glanced down at the sleeping girl curled comfortably against him.
His smile softened.
She came first.
She always would.
After another quiet moment, he shifted his gaze back to the floating screen.
"...Yes."
The instant the thought crossed his mind, the notification dissolved into countless streaks of blue light.
A new window slowly materialized before him...