Takeshi opened the apartment door, stepped inside, and was greeted by a deathly silence.

The living room was empty, and the hallway light was on, which meant Akari had gone out. He closed the door, dropped his backpack on the floor, and stood motionless in the middle of the room for a moment, doing absolutely nothing.

’Am I alone?’

He pulled out his phone to check the time and saw Akari’s message.

"I’m staying over at Hana’s place tonight. There’s rice made and stuff in the fridge. Cook for yourself and don’t call me at 2 a.m. saying you can’t find the frying pan."

Takeshi read the message twice before putting the phone away without replying.

He went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, checked what was inside, and started throwing together something edible without putting much thought into it.

As he cooked, something about the silence in the apartment reminded him of the fight at the mansion.

He finished cooking, served himself a plate, and ate standing in the kitchen because he didn’t feel like walking all the way to the table. Once he was done, he washed the plate, left it on the drying rack, and headed straight to the bathroom for a shower.

Twenty minutes later, he came out, changed clothes, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, I want to ask you something."

There was no response.

"I know you’re listening."

The voice appeared with the same attitude as always, as if it had been waiting for Takeshi to finally say something interesting.

"What do you want, my stab-able servant?"

"Like I said, I have a question."

"I’m all ears."

"During the fight with Sylion, my sanity dropped and my magic increased like crazy. What exactly happened?"

There was a brief pause.

"There are conditions under which sanity can be converted into usable magical energy. It’s uncommon and depends on several factors."

"What factors?"

"I’d tell you, but I don’t want to bore you to death."

Takeshi clenched his jaw.

’Always dodging the answers.’

"So you decide when that exchange happens?"

"Unfortunately, no."

The answer was direct and unembellished.

"Then can I decide whether I make the exchange or not?"

The deity didn’t answer immediately.

"One of the factors was your state of mind at the time."

It finally said.

"You made a decision while your life was in danger, and that triggered something. I won’t deny that."

"And did the donations have anything to do with it?"

"The donations only help me understand what the audience wants."

Takeshi processed that. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’So this deity needs audience attention?’

"Can I intentionally repeat it?"

"Technically, yes, but constantly lowering your sanity can cause some pretty serious problems."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean there’s a limit, and if you go past that limit, you’ll end up with something else."

"What thing?"

"That’s definitely not something I’m telling you."

Takeshi stayed silent for a moment.

"WHY NOT!?"

"Because if I tell you, this stops being entertaining and starts becoming predictable, which means fewer donations."

Before Takeshi could respond, the first confetti cannon went off.

The noise made him jump backward on the bed before another one sounded, and another after that.

Messages floated in the air in front of him.

[You have received a donation from Roberto_Botello: THIS IS WHAT I CAME HERE FOR]

[You have received a donation from Senpai2: this guy survived a mansion with nothing but attitude, subscription renewed]

[You have received a donation from Crestfallen77: BALLS-OUT MAGIC CONFIRMED]

[You have received a donation from Thatperson: I have no idea what’s happening but I’m coming back next week]

[You have received a donation from Suuvo_Dass: this stream is pretty entertaining]

[You have received a donation from Eric_Crawford_4755: I hope the next yandere gives Takeshi even more trouble]

Takeshi waited almost a full minute for them to stop.

When the final cannon finally went off and silence returned, the deity spoke in a tone Takeshi had never heard before. It wasn’t exactly satisfaction, but it was pretty close.

"Keep doing that."

"Doing WHAT exactly!?"

"What you did this week. Donations went up forty percent compared to last week, which means the audience is hooked."

"You’re the only one benefiting from this!"

"You benefit too, since more donations mean more events, and more events mean more opportunities to accumulate points. Are you starting to get it now?"

Takeshi didn’t answer, so the deity disappeared without saying anything else.

He remained seated on the bed in silence for a moment. Then he lay down and opened the stats panel.

[Health: 98%]

[Sanity: 70%]

[Points: 19]

’Nineteen points. I spent six points recovering the sanity I lost during that fight, and then I received three points for clearing the Solynmar family event, plus the standard bonus for surviving a full week without dying.’

He closed that screen and opened the combat one.

[Strength: 1]

[Speed: 2]

[Magic: 49]

[Endurance: 4]

[Accuracy: 9]

He stared at the numbers for quite a while.

’I can’t rely on repeating the exchange trick, at least not for now.’

He looked at strength and speed.

’If I ever run out of magical energy in the middle of a fight, I’m dead before I can do anything.’

Endurance at four and accuracy at nine were numbers he had thanks to his bond with Nyx.

’I wonder if I’ll be able to combine Aoi’s and Nyx’s stats.’

Takeshi closed the panel and stared at the ceiling.

’But first I need to focus on strength and speed. No excuses.’

He didn’t know exactly how. He didn’t have access to a gym or a trainer, but there was a combat class every day, and there was a backyard behind the school that was always empty after five.

That was enough to start.

He closed his eyes, and just as he was about to fall asleep, the confetti cannon sounded again to announce another donation. Takeshi jumped out of bed from the scare.

[You have received a donation from Eric_Crawford_4755: Sweet dreams, Takeshi]

Takeshi clenched his fist in fury.

’ I swear I’ll find a way to defeat that god!’

Once he made that promise, he closed his eyes and fell fast asleep.