Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

"Pete! Pete! Pete!"

There was no sense or reason to Fay's voice as she desperately hugged me all over, her hands dancing all over my back and arms as if she was trying to ensure I wasn't physically hurt.

"…" I opened my mouth, only to realize with terror that I was simply too weak to speak right now.

But strangely enough, I had just enough energy to move my hand around a bit.

Gritting my teeth, I used all of my willpower to raise an arm… Only to then drop it on Fay's shoulder and give her a short few pats.

Sadly, that was the limit of what I could do. The limit imposed upon my physical state by the severe mental exhaustion.

"Peter!"

Sensing the movement and then the touch, Fay grabbed my shoulders and rapidly pulled out, only to give me a long, penetrating stare… And then fall forward right into my chest again.

"Peter!"

Rubbing her forehead against my chest, Fay failed to produce a single word beyond my name.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

The regenerative ability of my supreme body was nothing to scoff at, especially when my exhaustion was merely an illusion of my mental exhaustion projecting upon my flesh.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, but I think I will be alright now," I added, raising the precision of my words to make sure Fay understood what I meant.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

And sure, I could use our bond to pass all of those meanings through… But in her current state of great distress, I had little to no doubt Fay would simply miss it.

As much as our bond connected our souls and allowed them to mix during the act, on an everyday basis we tended to limit it to just its most basic and restricted form so that we wouldn't lose touch with the physical side of our relationship.

After all, how was I to enjoy Fay's voice if she would only ever use our bond to talk with me? How was I to amuse myself with all the small changes coming up on her face as she spoke, as she smiled, as she pouted… if we moved beyond that level of communication?

And so, with this precaution for the health of our relationship in place, I had no other choice but to wait for my body to regenerate a bit of its ire before I could finally speak out and calm Fay down.

Still, even with my assurances, Fay continued to just silently sob away within my embrace, her soul filled with the terror of a world where I wasn't there for her.

And that, once again, reminded me of just how much this cute puppy adored me.

'Her feelings for me are intense enough to rival the feelings I have for her,' I thought while my hand fell on Fay's back as I started to gently caress her spine.

By now, I had no real idea what was it that made Fay interested in me. I had no idea what kind of weird stuff I did without even realizing that made her actually fall for me. And I was far beyond the point of worrying about that.

'There's no need for some grand moment for two to fall for each other,' I thought, refusing to let the negative emotions stem from the bottom of my soul and all the unresolved traumas I had to bear the weight of.

Still, I wasn't going to refuse those feelings.

The sorrow, the melancholy, the desire to go back to the simpler past when my mom was still by my side, the lethargy of living under the control of people who were dead-set on bullying me and removing any avenues for me to grow as a person…

All of those feelings were true. All of those experiences were true. But, as bad as it felt for me to acknowledge it…

It was those feelings, those grievances, and those memories that made me into who I am today, even if the reason for many of those lay in the core of darkness that Irene forced on me and my system allowed me to make great use of.

I stopped denying those feelings, I stopped trying to climb over them. Upon unlocking the next, sixth, level of consciousness I finally managed to realize that as much as all of those were a part of me…

They weren't what defined who I was. That role belonged to the fire of Fay's aura burning at the very center of my darkness core and mixing the perfect darkness of my element with the qualities of her enthusiastic, cleansing fire.

'To be a man worthy of her,' I thought, unable to resist the urge to push Fay off my chest… all for the sake of looking up at her lovely, teary face. 'That's what I am today. And it is as true as are all the negative feelings, emotions, and experiences that shaped me thus far.'

Fay looked up through her tears, unable to understand for what reason I pushed her out of the hug… Only for her face to twist in an even deeper confusion when I quickly pulled her right back, more than just eager to humor and comfort her.

"Claudy," I called out in the weak voice which was sadly the peak of what kind of sound I could produce.

"What's up?" Silently appearing slightly off to the side and several paces behind, Claudy invaded the very corner of my vision while making sure to move over to the side that Fay's head and storm of her hair didn't block.

"Could you leave us alone for a while?" I requested in the same, weak voice as before. "I've made her worried, so now I need to make sure to soothe her mood. I only saw her happy and enthusiastic thus far, so I would rather not test how she will be if I wrong her and refuse to mend my ways."

There was no denying this revolting truth.

By growing so desperate I took the risk of opening myself up to the light of the stairs… I wronged Fay by doing so.

I failed to control my own impulses, regrets, and desires and went through an easily lethal process just in a bid not to hold the two of them back.

Or, in simpler words that lacked the cover I instinctively infused my former explanation with, in my bid to catch up with the others, I was desperate not to be left behind. Not to be a burden that would prompt Fay to recalculate whether or not I was worthy of her or not.

I allowed my own insecurities to triumph over the trust I had in Fay, leading to a situation where she was losing her senses out of fear I actually did something to myself.

'Sure, it worked out in the end…' I thought, caressing Fay's back while I could feel her slowly calming down within my embrace. 'But that doesn't excuse me.'

I took a deep breath and raised my eyes… Only to realize that Claudy, being the good brother that he was, already left the scene.

The clicking sound followed by the small, hissing noise of the air escaping from the seal confirmed that he went back to his sleeping capsule before hermetically sealing it, leaving the fate of his breathing to the automated ventilation installed within the capsule.

"Fay, I really need to apologize for acting recklessly like that," I whispered while moving my hands to the back of Fay's head and pressing it into my chest, as if worried she would use this moment of my vulnerability to escape. "I was so scared that my inability, my lack of talent, or whatever it was that was stopping me from overcoming this trial…'

My voice cracked before coming to a complete stop when I had to redirect my attention to stop tears of shame and sorrow from oozing out of my eyes.

"Pete…?" Startled by my sudden revelation, Fay pulled herself back all on her own, it being her turn to make a move to take a look at my face.

"I just couldn't help but worry how whatever miracle made you fall for me would exhaust. I was worried that if I grew to be too big of a burden, you would grow tired of me and…"

The last part of all those negative feelings I endured for the past week I didn't even dare to utter. And so, instead, I simply shook my head before reaching out and resting my hands on Fay's shoulders.

"That's why, as stupid, childish, and indirect as it might be, I want to show you how I've changed," I said only to raise up to my knees while moving my hands from the upper part of Fay's shoulders to locking my hands on her armpits…

And then lifting Fay's light body up, only to turn her around and lower her back to the ground.

But that was merely the beginning.

The moment Fay's knees touched the ground, I moved my hands off her arms and onto her back, pushing them down and towards the floor of the buggy's main area.

Still startled and confused by my actions, Fay relaxed her hold on her end of our bond while still letting me move her body however I wanted.

The moment she did, a small chuckle escaped from her mouth before she pressed her chest down against the buggy's floor while twisting her hips up as if she wanted to aim her hidden garden right at my face.

"I cannot deny the darkness that took root into the very core of what I am," I spoke out even though I knew Fay had already grown aware of all the turmoilous feelings within my soul. "But just like it is the darkness that my self was mostly shaped by, it is you that's the current whole of my being right now."

Leaning down over Fay's back and pressing my front against her spine, I wrapped my hands around her waist and locked them over her tummy, giving her a weird hug that was pretty close to the position most bi-sexed animal races would enter to procreate.

"That's why, it's time for me to show courage and not only claim you to be mine but also prove I really believe it," I whispered into Fay's ear while my hands danced over her stomach, one sneaking underneath her shirt and moving up to where Fay's clothes hid her impressive bust while my other hand snuck into her panties instead.

Still, rather than going in for some foreplay, I simply hooked my fingers against Fay's panties and pants at the same time, before pulling them down and exposing her shapely ass right in front of my face.

"It might be silly, stupid, childish, and make no sense at all," I announced, raising up from over Fay's back only to pull down my own pants and grab at my own handle before pointing the tip of my flesh blade right into the scabbard it was designed to sheathe itself in.

"But today, I'm going to make you mine and do so with all the determination and courage I can showcase!"