Chapter 24: My Whole First Life Was a Nightmare, If This Is a Dream Let Me Stay

[Chain Mission: Care for Dante (3/3)]

[Task 3: Dante wants to rest and take a nap, but the nightmares from last night are making it difficult for him to sleep. Let him sleep in your lap and give him some comfort. Stay by his side until he falls asleep.]

[Time Limit: 3 hours]

The third task was way easier than the second, but that wasn’t what caught Natasha’s attention first.

She couldn’t help but sigh helplessly after learning Dante was having a hard time sleeping. It was only after that she felt relieved about the nature of the task itself.

"It must have been horrible for him to learn we hid so much from him despite being like family." She said, feeling a mix of emotions.

"If words can’t assure him, I will prove it with actions!" She said with a determined look in her eyes.

She turned around to open the door.

Just as she took a step outside, she felt something cool between her legs, making her pause awkwardly.

The next moment she disappeared back into her room and reappeared a few minutes later. The jeans she had been wearing were gone, replaced by a floral skirt.

’I washed it off with soap, so he won’t be able to tell, right?’ Natasha thought nervously, the corners of her ears turning red.

As for what exactly she had washed off so Dante wouldn’t find out, the answer could only be heard from Dante himself.

****

Inside the room, Dante had an exhausted expression on his face, staring up at the ceiling while waiting for Natasha.

He really was in need of sleep, and the part about him not being able to sleep had some truth in it.

’What if I go to sleep, and when I wake up, I’m back on earth? What if... all of this is just one really long dream?’ He thought, feeling a bit anxious.

Even though the system had assured him this was his new reality, the thought still lingered in the back of his head, quietly bothering him from time to time.

’If that really happens...’

Before he could finish that thought, a knock came from the door, and Natasha’s voice followed right after.

"Dante, can I come in?"

"Ah, yes master." Dante responded as he sat up against the headrest, pulled out of his thoughts.

Natasha walked into the room and saw her student forcing a smile.

She smiled internally after noticing it and made her way to his side.

"What’s wrong? You look like you have something on your mind?" She asked in a concerned tone as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well, it’s just..." Dante pretended to hesitate before answering.

"I had a nightmare last night." He said in a depressed tone.

"Oh, about what?" Natasha asked with a curious face, moving closer to sit beside him.

"I saw you and the big sisters going somewhere far away, to a place I don’t know, leaving me behind in this ordinary world, haha." Dante laughed as this fake nightmare paralleled his real worry about all of this being a dream.

"Whenever I close my eyes, I just get reminded of it. So I can’t sleep." He added with a weak smile.

"Is that place the hidden awakener world, master?" He turned his head to look at her.

"Maybe yeah." Natasha seemed to think for a moment with a finger on her chin and nodded at him.

"So you really will leave me behind?" Dante asked, his voice breaking at the end.

"Haha, who said anything about leaving you behind?" She laughed with a silly look on her face, making him tilt his head in confusion.

Right as he did that, her hand reached for his head and smoothly brought him down to her lap.

Natasha looked down at him with a gentle smile, her eyes filled with a bit of amusement. "We were probably going to prepare for your succession ceremony."

"Huh?" Dante was expecting some comforting words, but these took him by surprise.

He connected the dots and asked with a puzzled face.

"Are you talking about Eden’s Gate succession ceremony, master?"

"Oh, who told you that?" Natasha asked with an amused smile.

"Haha, that..." Dante had a hesitant smile and avoided her eyes. ’Shit! I was too eager and slipped up. Now what do I say?’

"You don’t have to tell me." Natasha spoke as if she could read his thoughts. "I won’t force you."

"But you will assign people to watch me, right?" Dante asked with a joking smile.

"That’s right. I won’t compromise on your safety." Natasha said with a smile on her face, not denying his words at all.

"...."

"Anyways, you’re right about that. I really am talking about Eden’s Gate." She added in an amused tone.

"But master, I’m just a cripple. What kind of organisation picks a cripple as their successor?" Dante asked with a puzzled face, since he couldn’t figure out what was going on in her head.

"Me. A fellow cripple." Natasha replied with a naughty smile.

"You’re joking, right?" He looked into her eyes, trying to read something off her.

"No." She shook her head strongly, making it clear she wasn’t joking.

’This didn’t happen in the novel, so is this a change caused by me?’ He asked himself internally while staring at her.

’But what kind of butterfly effect is this? I became the successor of the oldest awakener organisation within 48 hours of transmigrating?!’

Setting aside the fact that the successor position of Eden’s Gate was more of a disadvantage, and that even Ryan rejected it when Natasha offered it to him, it was still mind boggling.

"I already checked with your big sisters. None of them are interested in it. More importantly, you’re the only one who didn’t leave me behind like those girls did after they grew up." Natasha explained after seeing his confusion.

"You eat every meal I cook for you. Even though you were angry with me yesterday, you still ate all of it." She said with a grateful smile.

"...Is that all it takes to be a successor?" He asked, not knowing what to say.

When he saw her say she would prove it with actions, this wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

’She’s really going this far just to tell me she won’t leave me behind?’ Dante thought, feeling completely overwhelmed.

He could guess she was probably also betting on her system’s words.

Stil.... he was once again left speechless by this woman who called herself his master.

’Sigh, if only there was a person like this waiting for me back on earth...’ He thought, looking into her amber eyes that radiated warmth.

His eyes were starting to close on their own, and he fought the urge to let them, but the toll of running his brain and acting non-stop had finally caught up to him.

"Of course, you’re the next successor of Eden’s Gate. That’s set in stone." Natasha noticed his struggle and answered his question.

She held his face with her hand and added with a smile, "Now go to sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake up."

With those words, Dante finally stopped fighting and let his eyes close.

’Maybe if this really is a dream, it’s not so bad after all.’