Reborn Regress Return: I Am the Heir of Shadows!-Chapter 27: The Early Morning Sunlight

Julian flicked back his damp hair and sighed, before pulling himself out of the black unit, standing naked in the cold early morning air. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath when he grabbed his phone to reply to Sena.

"She's still up at this time?"

He checked the clock on his display screen and swiped open the message.

[Julian, are you awake?]

• Hey Julian ♡ (4:32 am)

• It feels like I was too forceful earlier. Please don't feel the need to respond to me. (4:56 am)

The first message she sent sounded entirely different from the last message. Her messages that followed revealed her inner insecurity, especially the last message sent later on.

"Hmm... she's still online."

Because he would rather not speak slowly, he opened up the chatting app and responded immediately to her.

[Hey, what's wrong?]

Sena is typing

...

Sena is typing

...

Julian sat on the unit's seat while waiting for her response, but she kept typing and stopping for several seconds, likely deleting her message over and over.

He waited for over five minutes until her message finally appeared, but it confused him.

[I'm fine]

"Haa... women."

Because she took so long, his hair and body became dry.

He walked to the wardrobe and changed into a light training outfit. Because Julian got his full sleep while playing the game, his energy levels were filled to the brim.

"I cannot be bothered with her acting annoying, let's call her."

With a single message, he closed the chat app and put on his training shoes.

[Answer my call]

Julian quickly stepped on his treadmill setting, placing his phone in the holder before tapping the call button. He refused to speak over messages because emotions and meanings could easily be misunderstood or completely missed.

Beep!

Once the marathon track started up, the smooth rumble of the engine filled the room as he started a brisk jog, while the phone's display showed an image of Sena smiling as it called her number.

"Haa...hah...haa..."

While running, an incoming call suddenly connected and the video image of Sena in her nightwear, a black baby-doll, and a face that looked almost too perfect. Julian smirked to himself, knowing she rushed to put on makeup after he called.

"J-Julian?" Sena stuttered as she called out, likely the video on the other side of him jogging shirtless might have been too stimulating, from the high pitch of her voice as he flicked his gaze to the phone.

"Oh? Hello beautiful, hah..."

"Why are you not wearing anything?!"

"I'm running, getting my shirt sweaty is stupid."

Step, Step, Step!

Julian's pace increased, his breathing much easier after he levelled up so many times and trained at the park after meeting Sena.

"Hmm, so why did you call me?" She asked, her eyes fixated on his body as she leaned closer to her phone. Of course, this also caused her baby-doll nightgown to slip down. Her position revealed more of her smooth cleavage and the pointed tips of her cherries.

"Because I missed you, and we separated strangely."

He would rather not drift apart like this.

The memories about Sena no longer mattered because he'd started making memories in this world and life. Julian no longer wanted to deny his attraction and feelings for her.

Sena's eyes widened as she looked away, her cheeks reddening before she looked back with a slight pout, pushing her lips out. "Do you mean it, I tried to contact you in the game, but it wouldn't go through!"

'Damn it! Nightmare mode must block communication with her.'

Julian didn't have a solution, but his face remained focused on the marathon jog, stopping Sena from noticing. He looked at the image, to see her lovely cheeks and eyes pressed close to the camera.

"Don't be silly, of course I do. That kiss was wonderful."

"Ah? Y-You!"

While he ran faster, she pointed at him with a pink face, visibly shaking at his teasing response.

"... did you like it that much?"

He couldn't help but chuckle while almost losing his pace, causing her to make a noise on the other side. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!" But he couldn't stop and looked at her with a wide grin. He found it baffling how they never kissed or crossed the line.

"How about you come over, and I'll tell you."

"Julian! Where is my cute and innocent Julian?"

"Well, he was seduced by a wicked witch that awakened the devil in him."

"Ack... you, don't tease me!"

Like this, Julian found peace, speaking about little things, teasing Sena and learning that she just felt lonely because she couldn't message him and that their kiss lingered in her mind.

[Please Cool Down! Duration: 15 Minutes]

The treadmill gave the warning after he completed the hour-long marathon, while the goddess followed with another series of congratulations, making him realise how important constant training was.

[◇ Thanks to your strict training and time in the nightmare realm, you have evolved! ◇]

• Attack: 3 → 4

• Speed: 5 → 6

Julian's heartbeat reached 92bpm at the peak of the training, but while he listened to Sena something about her voice and tone calmed him, and before he knew it, the sun was rising.

Then she mentioned something to him that made him curious.

"About Maria... today, she was strange and kept acting weird."

"What about her?"

Maria Sinclair, from his memories, was a woman with brown hair and eyes and joined Sena at the start of the game but eventually ended up dying because of the guild she joined.

'Not only that, her previous evolution was a priestess, not the strange dancing support that Sena mentioned.'

"Um, well, because Maria is like me because of her protective dad."

"Wait, didn't you say she was dating her boyfriend the other day?"

"Ah... sorry, I lied! It's a joke she asked me to use when guys ask about her, and It slipped out."

"She was with her father because he bought her a special VR pod just like mine."

'Would she need a couple's VR unit, or is it another special one?'

Julian didn't know or care much, but now it explained why the Maria he remembered differed from the image Sena created in his mind.

Maria stayed with Sena until the end and didn't have a relationship due to them both sharing strict parents who didn't like them dating, so whenever she was invited out by a man, her father would observe them.

"Well, her father calls it social studies, to see how dirty men are, but my dad called him stupid and that he was begging for an accident."

"So why did she act strange?"

"Ah? Sorry, I started rambling... because Maria said she met a man! A handsome guy that she wanted to know better."

"What's wrong with that?"

He couldn't help but wonder while leaning against the cold wall, drinking his nutrient juice.

'Is this a girl thing, I don't get it.'

Sena, on the call, looked quite alluring as she rolled on her bed, the phone sitting on her desk as she kicked her legs and leaned on her stomach with both hands on her cheeks.

"Hey~ it's because Maria hates most men, and she has a similar taste to me, so I wondered what he looked like! But she wouldn't tell me! Isn't she horrible?"

"Yes, of course... really horrible."

"Hmph! You don't believe me, I am going to come there and fight you!"

She looked cute on the camera, biting at the camera and narrowing her eyes as if looking 'mean' but Julian could not help but focus on her chest. Because of her tossing and turning, her soft cushions were now exposed to the world.

"Big and soft... like marshmallows."

"What?"

Sena asked, before taking a moment to notice, as her face gradually became redder and redder until she squealed and started throwing things at the camera and shouting curse words.

Bang!

However, the pillows slammed into the phone and cut the call.

'Wow, she doesn't wear underwear to bed...'

This intrusive thought caused Julian to smile bitterly, now wide awake and brimming with more energy than before, running a mini-marathon.

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