Something's off! Really off!

If it were the girl from earlier, the first thing he’d see shouldn’t be her face—but two soft weights pressing into view immediately.

Once his vision cleared completely, Lyn’s mind went utterly blank. He stared at the petite silver-haired girl straddling him, draped in a gray cloak. He couldn’t react for a moment.

Thankfully, the cloak covered her. It blocked even more shocking images from flooding his thoughts. Otherwise, Lyn knew he’d spiral into deeper chaos.

Lyn froze, staring at the tears welling in her golden eyes. Only when he noticed her impulse to pounce on him again did he finally speak. His voice was hoarse but gentle: “Can you let me up first?”

“Oh.”

The girl murmured softly. She gave him one reluctant glance. Then she obediently slid off him, crawling aside to give Lyn space.

After the silver-haired girl moved away, Lyn exhaled slowly. She was undeniably cute. But he feared his frail body couldn’t handle that much cuteness.

Imagine Kantai Collection’s adorable destroyers pounding your chest with ten-ton tiny fists—who could survive that?

He’d genuinely worried she’d start wildly hammering him again… and knock him out cold.

As Lyn calmed down, he realized why her earlier collision hadn’t shattered him. It was the contract’s protective rule.

Like how Pikachu’s Thunderbolt never truly harmed Ash in Pokémon—even when Ash rode him. Ash just got a temporary “limited-edition black skin.”

Lyn had felt pain too. But he wouldn’t die. He wasn’t even injured.

Still, the pain was brutally real.

Right now, Lyn cared less about the protection. He needed answers. What was happening? Who was this silver-haired girl?

“What’s your name?” he asked, steadying his voice.

“Xing Luo.”

The girl beamed, regaining his attention. Star-shaped marks in her pupils seemed to sparkle.

In this little girl form, only her tiny dragon horns remained. Her tail had vanished. Otherwise, Lyn swore it’d swing “thwack-thwack-thwack,” whipping the ground raw.

Why did he think that? Because her silver ahoge swayed exactly like a tail would.

Meeting her pure gaze, Lyn felt their contract’s pull. Trust and affection radiated from her eyes.

Damn! How could she be this cute?

The thought barely formed when a system alert jolted his heart into his throat.

Lust +1!

Lyn: “???”

What the hell? He couldn’t feel lust—this system was glitching!

Anger +1!

Lyn refused to admit any feelings for this child. Maybe for her maiden form, but never this. He didn’t want a prison sentence in this new world.

Then—Lyn froze again. His body was heating up. Slowly. Unmistakably.