Ari sighed. “I’m a misunderstood guy.”

  “Are you now?” Marissa remarked.

  “So, you’re not denying it?” Lana asked.

  He smiled. “It’s true. I’ve done all those things.”

  Their expressions soured immediately.

  “But, does that make me a bad guy?”

  “Yes.”

  “You toyed with the hearts of multiple women.”

  “That…was not my intention.”

  They frowned simultaneously.

  “You can’t be serious,” Marissa remarked.

  “It's the truth. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

  “Are you going to bme your...unfairly handsome face?” Lana asked. “You have to take some responsibility.”

  Ari couldn’t help but grin. “You think it’s unfair for me to be this handsome?”

  “Yes!” they replied in unison, with a faint blush on their cheeks.

  “Haha.” Ari couldn’t contain his ughter.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ugh. It’s just funny to hear that coming from the two of you,” he added quickly when they narrowed their eyes.

  “What do you mean by that?” Marissa asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious? If you’re going to talk about unfairly attractive, you should take a look in the mirror first.”

  “How many hearts have you broken simply by walking past men without sparing them a gnce?”

  “D-Don’t try to change the subject, we’re discussing the consequences of your actions,” Lana responded.

  “That’s not my intention. I’m simply saying that when you’re exceptionally beautiful like the two of you, and handsome like me, sometimes situations occur that are beyond our control.”

  “So, is that your argument?” Marissa asked. “Things just ended up that way?”

  Ari shook his head. “No, I take full responsibility, but there is a reason for my actions.”

  “Please, do tell,” Lana remarked.

  Ari sighed. “Okay, but you have to promise that what I’m about to say will not leave this room.”

  “This is something not even my aunt knows.”

  Maya’s ears perked up when she heard this.

  She found the conversation too entertaining and decided to stay a while longer.

  Maya raised her brow. “Oh? Let’s hear it.”

  “Please don’t share this with Aunt Chloe, I can’t bear to think what it would do to her.”

  Maya’s smile faltered.

  Ari took a deep breath and said in the sincerest way he could. “I died st year.”

  “What?” Their voices overpped.

  “Wait, Ari, are you referring to the tower?” Maya asked, concern pstered all over her face.

  He nodded.

  “But you’re alive now, what happened?” Marissa asked, her voice ced with scepticism.

  “Well, you know about the incident...”

  “What incident?” Lana asked.

  ‘Wait, they don’t know?’

  He gnced at Maya, who shook her head.

  ‘This is perfect!’

  “I’ll keep it brief then.”

  “I got transferred to the Divine Tower: Lumus through portal dispcement, died, and was resurrected by a higher being, but it came with conditions.”

  “Okay, I’ll humour you. What kind of conditions?” Lana asked.

  “I will receive directives that I have to complete, no matter what. And to ensure I have the power to do so, they granted me unimaginable potential and privileges that go along with it.”

  “However, my body is not yet capable of withstanding my new potential, quite literally. To stabilise my body, I require a steady supply of a unique and powerful energy called AP.”

  “Fortunately, as part of the privileges granted to me, I can generate AP through acts that are intimate or lewd in nature. So…with this context, I hope you can understand my circumstances.”

  ‘With this, mentioning the contract ter won’t seem strange.’

  “You don’t expect us to believe that ridiculous story, do you?” Marissa commented.

  “I have never heard of anyone surviving portal dispcement,” Lana said. “And, you would be world famous if that’s really the case.”

  “I was reborn in the tower and only managed to make it out due to the power I received.”

  “Will all of the directives be dangerous?” Maya asked, her expression indicating that she took his words to heart.

  Marissa, having noticed that, expressed her disapproval.

  “Mom, you're not actually considering his words-”

  “I’d like to hear from Ari, please.” She spoke in a soft voice, but her tone was firm.

  “I...don’t know. But completing them allows me to get stronger. I’ve experienced it first hand in the tower.”

  Maya nodded. “It all makes sense now.”

  She then turned to her daughters. “Ari is telling the truth.”

  “What?” they responded in unison.

  “We concealed the records for his sake, so only a handful of people are aware of it,” she said. “To our knowledge, Ari is the first person in the world to overcome portal dispcement and exit a Divine Tower on his own.”

  They gasped so dramatically that their chins nearly touched the top of their chests.

  Maya approached Ari and pced her hand on his chest.

  “You must have had a hard time keeping this burden to yourself,” she said with a warm gaze.

  “Don’t worry, this conversation will not leave this room, right?” she gnced over her shoulder.

  “...Right.”

  “...Yes.”

  Ari smiled. “Thank you. I just wanted to clear up the misunderstanding.”

  “When it comes to generating AP, I don’t really have much of a choice. And as you can imagine, in the beginning, it was difficult to focus on other things, studying especially.”

  “Oh, just so you know, I wasn’t being reckless or anything. My privileges make me immune to STDs and STIs. It also grants me the ability to halt the production of sperm at my will, so there’s no risk of unexpected pregnancies.”

  From their expressions, Ari sensed that it was on their minds.

  They looked relieved by his decration.

  ‘Good thing I brought it up.’

  Lana approached and grabbed his arm. “Ari... I’m so sorry that I misjudged you,” she said with a sad expression. “You went through something so terrible, yet I...”

  Marissa grabbed his other arm, her expression sombre as well. “Ari, I’m sorry too. I was unfairly harsh to you, if I had known...”

  With an insanely gorgeous Reese sister on each arm, and their Goddess of a mother staring up at him from his chest, Ari fought the urge to suggest generating AP immediately.

  But there was no need to rush things.

  For now, he decided to simply enjoy the view in front of him.

  ‘I can get used to this.’