Invincible Evolution System

Chapter 7

Orion blinked his eyes open, the faint scent of antiseptic and the soft hum of distant machines pulling him from his groggy state. It took a moment for his vision to focus, but when it did, the sight that greeted him made him question whether he was still unconscious. Leaning over his bed was the beautiful brown-haired girl he vaguely remembered saving. Her silky locks spilled over his blanket like a cascading waterfall, her large eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Yet there was something strange in her gaze—a hazy fog, almost as if she were moving on autopilot. Orion felt his eyelids twitch. The girl's face was steadily drawing closer, her lips barely trembling as if... no, surely not. "Is she about to—?" His thoughts froze as the realization hit him. She was leaning in for a kiss! Orion didn't know what to do. Panic coursed through him, but his body refused to respond, caught in a strange limbo between disbelief and awkward acceptance. His mind raced with conflicting thoughts. Should he stop her? Let it happen? Pretend it didn't afterward?

But before he could arrive at any decision, the girl hesitated, her lips mere inches away from his. Orion: "???" The girl's cheeks burned a deep crimson as she blinked rapidly, finally regaining her composure. "...Hey... are you awake right now...?" she asked, her voice soft and trembling, her blush threatening to consume her face. Orion opened his eyes fully, fixing her with a bemused look. "...Yes, I am..." Her reaction was immediate. She practically leaped back, pressing herself against the wall beside the window as if trying to merge with it. Her dainty hands fidgeted nervously in front of her, her gaze darting anywhere but toward him. "I-I see..." she stammered, visibly mortified. "Y-You're not going to ask what I was doing...?"

"No, I don't think so," Orion replied evenly, his expression unreadable. "I... see... T-Thanks..." "No problem." The room fell into an awkward silence, broken only by the faint sounds of summer outside. The humid heat clung to their skin, amplifying the discomfort of the moment. The girl squirmed under the weight of her own embarrassment, her thoughts spiraling uncontrollably. 'W-What was I thinking?!' she screamed internally. 'Why did I almost...? I must be losing my mind! He just looked so peaceful and handsome lying there, and I—' She buried her face in her hands, her cheeks so red they almost glowed.

Noticing the oppressive quiet, Orion decided to cut through the tension. "So... how long have I been out?" He glanced down at the bandages wrapped snugly around his torso. The dull ache in his body hinted at the extent of his injuries, but he had no sense of how much time had passed. The girl hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper as she answered, "I-It's been around... thirty hours..." Orion blinked. "Thirty hours? That means I missed the Daily Quest cut-off..." His voice trailed off as he lifted his blanket slightly, checking his pelvis. To his relief, everything was still in place. "Y-You..." The girl's voice faltered as her wide eyes flickered toward him. Her face turned an even deeper shade of red as she hastily covered her own with her hands. "I-I didn't know they were supposed to be that... big..." Orion froze, question marks practically floating above his head as realization struck him. "Oh. That's... uh... sorry about that." He offered a slight bow of his head, wincing as pain shot through his torso. "D-Don't move!" the girl scolded, rushing to his bedside. Her hands glowed with a soothing green energy as she pressed them over his injury. The warmth seeped into his body, dulling the pain and leaving him with a strange sense of calm. Orion watched in fascination, his curiosity outweighing his discomfort. "This is... magic?" he murmured, his eyes alight with interest. The girl flinched under his gaze, retreating to her chair by the windowsill. "P-Please don't come so close..." she whispered, her voice trembling. 'H-He smells good... How can someone smell this nice after being hit by a truck?!'

"Sorry," Orion said, leaning back into his pillow. "It's just... I've never seen magic up close. It's a lot prettier than I expected." Her blush deepened, and she began twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "I-It's fine... And about earlier..."

"I already forgot what happened," Orion interrupted with a warm smile. The girl's heart fluttered, a strange warmth spreading through her chest. "...Thanks..." she whispered shyly. Orion decided to steer the conversation away from the increasingly awkward air. "How long have you been here?" Her response was hesitant, almost reluctant. "...Since you got here..." Orion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You really shouldn't have done that. We've only just met; there was no need for you to put your health at risk like that—" He stopped when he noticed her biting her lip apologetically. He sighed again, softer this time. "I'm not mad. Just... take better care of yourself, okay?" "Mhmm..." she mumbled, nodding slightly. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her dress, and a faint smile tugged at her lips. Orion leaned back, studying her for a moment. 'She seems like a good person,' he thought, noting her shy demeanor. 'But she's clearly a pushover... I can see people taking advantage of that.' His gaze drifted toward the window, taking in the view of Hoshito from the top floor of the hospital. The city stretched out before him, bustling and alive, but his thoughts turned inward. He wondered briefly if his family had come to visit him. 'Probably not,' he thought with a wry smile. 'They wouldn't even notice if I dropped over dead one day.' A faint glow caught his attention, and from the corner of his eye, an all-too-familiar blue pop-up appeared.