Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

Zishan thought about it and decided that there was only one reasonable way to get out of this situation. ’I should go to sleep! Or at least pretend to be sleepy and sleep!’

[...]

After Ollie misunderstood what he had meant by swearing in the name of his little brother, Zishan had spent several seconds trying to explain himself while Elinox continued standing beside the sofa. Her expression had barely changed throughout the entire exchange, which made it impossible for him to tell whether she was annoyed, amused, or deciding which part of his body she would electrocute first.

Eventually, he gave up.

A long yawn left his mouth as he stretched both arms wide. ”Wow... fighting thirty Wyverns really took a lot out of me...”

Ollie stared at him.

Zishan ignored the boy and leaned farther against the sofa. ”I suddenly feel very sleepy.”

Elinox watched him.

Another exaggerated yawn came out.

Then, Zishan slowly closed his eyes.

Within several seconds, his breathing had slowed enough that anyone watching might have believed he had fallen asleep. At least, that was what he hoped.

’Perfect. Someone should award me a Grammy at this point!’ He kept his eyes shut. ’You can’t question a sleeping person. That’s basic human decency! WAHAHAHA!’

[The System has found no recognized law supporting that statement.]

’Nobody asked you. Tch.’

Zishan relaxed his body further into the cushions and committed himself to the performance.

What he did not know was that Elinox had taken the empty space in the middle of the sofa.

Ollie sat on her right with Silvy resting near him, while Zishan occupied the other side. Elinox settled between them and looked toward the young man who had gone from perfectly awake to deeply asleep within an amount of time that would have impressed a professional actor.

Zishan felt the cushion sink beside him.

His thoughts stopped. ’Fuck.’

Someone had sat beside him, and there was only one person who could have done that.

’Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did she sit here?’

His breathing remained slow despite the panic growing inside his head.

’Is she going to electrocute me until I answer her questions or something?! Did she find out I was just pretending to be asleep?!’

He remembered the Lightning Mana Elinox possessed and became even more committed to keeping his eyes shut.

Perhaps sleeping would protect him. Or it would totally backfire!

Still, it was too late to abandon the strategy now.

Elinox watched him for a while before a small sound left her. ”Hmm.”

Zishan’s thoughts became louder. ’What does that mean?!’

Then she spoke, ”I know you’re awake, but sleep well till you can.”

Zishan almost opened his eyes. ’FUCK! Was that a threat?!’

He resisted as he forced his face to remain relaxed.

’No. Don’t react. What if she’s only saying that because she wants to check whether I’m awake? If I open my eyes now, I will lose my shit and think again of another thing as an excuse!’

And so, he continued pretending.

Elinox tilted her head slightly.

Zishan felt something touch his cheek. His thoughts immediately exploded. ’What the hell?! Who’s poking my cheek?!’

The pressure disappeared and returned. Then, his cheek got poked again.

His eyelid twitched, though he managed to keep it closed.

Elinox studied his face. ”He really is asleep, I guess.”

Zishan almost felt relieved.

Then she added, ”Sleep well, little guy.”

His entire mind revolted. ’Who are you calling little guy?! I’m older than you, remember?!’

He wanted to sit up and demand clarification, but at the same time, he also valued his life. So, he kept all of his thoughts to himself and continued his fake-sleeping tactic.

Ollie had been watching the entire thing from the other side of Elinox, though the boy seemed unsure whether he should say anything. His large green eyes moved toward Zishan before returning to Elinox, and the corners of his mouth began threatening to rise.

Zishan could not see him.

That was probably for the best.

A small movement came from Ollie’s side.

Silvy opened her grayish-silver eyes.

The little dragon lifted her head from where she had been curled against the sofa and looked around. Her gaze landed on Elinox first. ”Mamaaa!”

Elinox turned.

Silvy’s tiny wings shifted against her back as she raised her head higher. ”Mama! Mama!”

Then, her gaze found Zishan. ”Papa! Papa!”

Zishan remained motionless. ’Go back to sleep, little one.’

Silvy crawled closer. ”Kiss!”

Zishan’s thoughts stopped for a moment.

Silvy looked between the two adults. ”Papa! Mama! Kiss!”

’What the hell is wrong with this little kid of a dragon?!’

He wanted to cover her mouth, but he obviously could not do that without exposing himself.

’Just shut up and go back to sleep! Ollie, little brother, help me out here!’

However, Ollie was the one who instigated it in the first place. The boy just didn’t expect Silvy would ask for that. He had no control over the little dragon’s mind.

And so then, this seven-year-old boy had become intensely interested in whatever Silvy was trying to accomplish.

Silvy reached out one small claw and tapped Elinox’s arm. Elinox looked down at her. The hatchling pointed toward Zishan.

”Kiss!”

Elinox followed the direction of her claw.

Silvy tapped her arm again. ”Kiss Papa! Cheek! Kiss!”

Zishan’s breathing almost stopped. ’WHAT?!’

Elinox looked from Silvy toward the man beside her. Then, back toward Silvy. ”Okay?”

Zishan nearly broke character. ’WHAT DO YOU MEAN, OKAY?!’

Ollie’s eyes widened. Elinox noticed him looking at her, so their eyes met. Then, Ollie understood something very important at that moment.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the sofa and began pretending to sleep, too.

Zishan still had no idea this had happened.

Silvy remained the only one openly awake.

The baby dragon sat there with her tiny front claws raised and began gently clapping them together. Her tail moved aggressively against the sofa. ”Mama! Kiss!”

Elinox stared at her.

Silvy clapped again with her claws.

Elinox turned toward Zishan.

His breathing remained steady, and his face gave no sign that an entire argument was taking place inside his head.

Elinox hesitated. She had no idea why Silvy wanted her to kiss him. The baby dragon had only been alive for a short amount of time, so Elinox could not understand where the idea had even come from.

Her gaze settled on Zishan’s cheek. ’Well, it’s just a kiss...’