I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 59: 59:Reward.

The system expanded before him.

Affection Threshold Reached: 13

Current Relationship Assessment:

• Interested

• Trust Developing freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Then the rewards panel appeared.

[Reward One:]

Attribute Increase

Silver felt warmth spread through his body, it felt as though he had taken something hot when his body was freezing.

Strength:

21 → 22

Agility:

16 → 17

Perception:

20→ 21

Silver exhaled slowly. The improvements weren’t enormous, yet every point mattered especially perception. Perception affected combat, reaction, awareness, and tracking. Plus that wasn’t nearly everything.

The second reward appeared.

[Reward Two:]

Skill Upgrade

Silver immediately became interested.

A glowing screen unfolded.

Phantom Draw

Level 2 → Level 3

His eyes widened. That was absolutely huge. Although he was proficient with guns, reading enough novels had made it pretty obvious that system-granted skills were difficult to improve, most of which required extensive practice or months. Yet the reward had elevated it instantly.

Knowledge flooded his mind; draw speed, positioning, movement patterns, and weapon transitions. The information settled naturally as though he’d practiced for weeks, maybe months.

Silver smiled. Now that wasn’t really useless.

The third reward appeared.

[Reward Three:]

Special Item Granted

Silver frowned. Items were uncommon; he had never received one as a reward.

The screen expanded.

[Soul Bloom Fruit]

Quality: Exceptional

Description:

~A rare soul-nourishing fruit.

•Increases synchronization during first integration.

• Improves compatibility with selected beast.

• Reduces integration failure risk.

• Most effective on uncontracted awakeners.

Silver immediately sat upright, his expression completely changed. He understood the value of the fruit instantly.

This wasn’t useful for him, it was useful for Ravenna.

The system seemed to anticipate the thought.

[Recommended Recipient]

Ravenna Arkland.

Silver stared then laughed out loud. For all its mechanical nature, the system occasionally displayed surprisingly good timing.

This item was absolutely perfect. She still lacked a beast and needed her first integration.

According to the item description, this could improve the process dramatically. The fruit rotated slowly inside the inventory screen. It was beautiful, golden in colour, and almost glowing.

Silver couldn’t even guess its market value, he wasn’t sure if there was one in this world. If there was it was probably very expensive.

The system displayed one final message.

[Observation]

Mutual growth objective progressing successfully.

That made Silver pause. That sentence represented the entire difference between this system and others.

It wasn’t built around taking from Ravenna or exploiting her. The rewards flowed both ways. If she grew stronger he benefited. If he grew stronger he could help her. The cycle reinforced itself.

Silver found himself appreciating that more and more.

The vehicle continued moving. Eventually, the lower district disappeared behind them as the upper district’s gate closed softly behind them. The estate slowly approached.

The familiar gates opened and Silver stepped out, still thinking about tomorrow. He would be hunting with Ravenna and trying to find her a suitable beast, which meant he was going to start training his newfound powers. The future looked surprisingly promising at the moment. freewebnøvel.com

His happy thoughts were broken when he noticed someone standing near the entrance.

Silver stopped.

"..."

’Oh...’

For a brief moment,t he’d forgotten she existed. Cruella stood beneath the estate lights, elegant and beautiful. Several servants pretended not to watch which was clearly the opposite.

Silver sighed internally.

She smiled when she saw him.

"Silver."

’There is no avoiding this’

He approached.

"Can I help you?"

Cruella’s eyes widened, her shock clear. Apparently, she’d expected something warmer. Still, her smile remained.

"I wanted to ask something."

"Okay."

The silence stretched between. They both stood there silently as they waited for the other to speak. Eventually, she realized he’d make her do the work.

A tiny crease appeared near her brow.

"Who was that girl?"

’Can’t I just have an evening to myself without her trying to stalk me, or probably her minions’

Silver resisted the urge to smile, the question itself told him everything. She was curious, possibly annoyed, or something else. He didn’t care.

He slightly tilted his head, smirking.

"What girl?"

Cruella clenched her fist on the side while maintaining a harmless smile.

"The one from earlier."

"Oh."

Silver nodded then immediately shrugged.

"Someone," he replied nonchalantly.

She stared at him, clearly waiting for him to explain further. He didn’t.

"Someone?"

"Yes."

The answer was technically true which made it his favorite kind of answer. She looked unconvinced.

"Silver."

"What?"

"I saw you."

"And?"

"You were together."

Silver considered that then nodded.

"That’s usually how dates work."

She completely froze for perhaps two seconds then barely recovered.

"A date?"

"Yes."

Silver smiled politely. Cruella ran a hand through her perfect hair before linking her hands in front of her.

Silver could see her frustration. It was pretty obvious that the conversation wasn’t following the script she’d expected, not even remotely.

The old Silver would have eagerly explained everything, just to get her approval and validation but the current Silver just wanted to sleep.

Cruella folded her arms.

"So who is she?"

Silver thought for a moment then chose emotional violence. Just a little gaslighting, the harmless kind.

"A friend."

She frowned.

"A friend?"

"Yes."

"You never mentioned her."

"You never asked."

She opened her mouth, then closed it then opened it again as though she wanted to say something but couldn’t come up with a reasonable way to speak. She eventually gave up.

Silver almost felt bad. Then remembered all the expensive gifts she’d happily accepted in the novel.

The sympathy vanished immediately.

Eventually, she recovered.

"Is she important?"

Silver smiled then answered honestly.

"Yes."

She wasn’t prepared for that, he could tell. The silence lingered longer than usual. Silver checked the time.

"Anyway... I should go."

She frowned. The conversation was ending before she’d gotten what she wanted. A rare experience for someone like her.

"Silver..."

"Goodnight."

Just like that, he left. Cruella remained standing beneath the lights, looking genuinely confused. Silver considered that a successful interaction.

By the time he reached his room, the estate had become quiet. Most residents had already retired.

Silver changed clothes, then headed toward the private gym. Despite everything tomorrow mattered.

Ravenna would accompany him. Even though she didn’t lack combat experience he still wanted to be the one she could lean on.

Still, her combat experience was clearly something she had taught herself and she lacked proper contractor training which meant he needed to prepare.

The weights felt lighter than before, his improved strength was already noticeable. Every movement felt smoother and more efficient.

Hours of training, practice, and preparation passed, by the time he finally stopped, the moon stood high above the Sanctuary.

Silver returned to his room, showered, and collapsed onto his bed. He fell asleep looking forward to tomorrow.