Reincarnated as the favorite of an obsessive goddess: gave me a system-Chapter 38: A calm day.

The next morning, although his muscles still felt as if they had been put through a meat grinder, the pain was no longer unbearable. Turning his head, he found Lyla’s face. She was curled up against his side, with one hand resting on his chest.

Kai tried to sit up carefully, but the creak of the bed was enough to make Lyla open her eyes instantly. Her pupils dilated for a second, shifting from peaceful sleep to high alert, until they focused on Kai.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Kai whispered with a smile.

Lyla didn’t respond immediately. She propped herself up on one elbow, looking at him.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel... good. Really good," he replied, stretching his arms. "So, I’m going to go find Allice. I need to train."

Lyla’s expression changed drastically. Her brows furrowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"No way! Absolutely not!" she exclaimed in a tone that allowed no argument. "Training now is suicide. You are staying in this bed, and you’re going to let me take care of you until I decide you can walk more than ten meters."

"Lyla, listen. Now that I remember everything, I can’t stay still. Every second I spend sitting here is a second I’m not using to level up."

"I said no!" Lyla insisted, her eyes beginning to flash with anger.

But before she could let out another reprimand, he reached for the back of her neck and pulled her toward him, giving her a long kiss right on the corner of her lips, brushing against the warmth of her mouth.

The silence that followed was absolute. Lyla froze, her eyes wide and her face turning a shade of red that wasn’t typical for her.

"I’m going to train," Kai repeated softly, pulling away just a few millimeters. "But I promise not to do anything stupid."

Lyla blinked several times, trying to regain her composure. She let out a defeated sigh, though her gaze remained one of warning.

"You’re a cheater; using that against me is playing dirty," she murmured, looking away while biting her lip. "Fine. Go with Allice. But I’m coming with you. I’m not staying here imagining you fainting in the middle of the forest. I’m going to watch over you, and if I see you push yourself even a single millimeter more than you should, I’ll drag you back here. Understood?"

Kai nodded. "It’s a deal."

They left the cabin under the clear morning light. The village was already buzzing with activity. Upon seeing Kai walking, many stopped to wave or give respectful nods. They found Allice near the small stream that bordered the village. She was practicing with her daggers against a training log, moving with that lethal fluidity of hers. Noticing their presence, she stopped and sheathed her weapons in a single motion.

"Well, the living dead has decided to take a stroll," Allice said in her usual sarcastic tone, though her eyes reflected immense relief. "What are you doing out of bed, Kai? Lyla, I thought you’d have him tied down."

"I tried," Lyla grumbled, walking beside Kai with her hands on her hips. "But he’s stubborn. He says he wants to train."

Allice arched an eyebrow, looking Kai up and down. "Train? Kai, you can barely keep your balance without your knees shaking."

"Put me to the test," Kai replied, reaching out to materialize his own daggers from his inventory.

They moved to a clearing a bit further away, a place Allice often used for her private practice. The air there was fresh, smelling of pine and damp earth. Before they could start, two figures emerged from between the trees, Thorne, with his massive axe over his shoulder, and Mira, carrying her longbow slung across her back.

"Did someone say training?" Thorne roared with a deep laugh. "You didn’t think you could leave me out, did you? I’ve been rusting these past three days guarding the gates."

Mira nodded with a calm smile. "I need to move too. The tension in the village has been very high."

Kai looked at his friends and felt a warmth in his chest. This was his team. His family.

"Fine. Let’s do it," Kai said, stepping into a combat stance.

The training began gently, but the atmosphere shifted as soon as Kai made his first move. Before, his body moved on pure instinct, his body was the only thing that remembered. But now that Kai remembered everything, his synchrony was perfect.

Allice lunged at him with impressive speed. Kai didn’t back down. With a minimal flick of his wrist, he blocked Allice’s attack and, in the same movement, used her momentum to slip behind her.

"What...?" Allice turned quickly, surprised. "Your reaction time has improved drastically, Kai."

"Thanks, thanks."

Thorne joined the exchange, launching heavy attacks that Kai dodged with some difficulty due to the persistent pain. Meanwhile, Mira fired blunt practice arrows, forcing Kai to stay alert. Lyla watched from the side, sitting on a rock with her fingers interlaced and her eyes fixed on every one of Kai’s muscles, ready to intervene if anything went wrong.

The training lasted a couple of hours. They ended soaked in sweat and breathing hard, but with their spirits high. Kai, keeping his promise to Lyla, stepped back before reaching total exhaustion.

"Enough for today," Allice said, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Kai, I don’t know what the hell happened to you in that fight with Qaxy, but you’ve become... terrifying. Your fighting style has lost all the hesitation it had before."

"I guess it’s because I remember everything now," he replied, storing his weapons in his inventory.

Allice was taken aback. "You remember everything? That’s why you anticipated my move earlier; you knew it by heart. Cheater!"

Kai began to laugh, dodging Allice’s attempts to playfuly swat him. Finally, the group returned to the village, walking peacefully. Hunger was starting to set in, and the smell of stew floating in the air was the best reward.

In the center of the plaza, near the large communal fire, long wooden tables had already been set up. When they arrived, they found the rest of their friends were already there. Bram and Grom were discussing the durability of new weapons while devouring chunks of rustic bread. Sylva was serving bowls of a thick vegetable and meat soup, and Roshia was helping distribute fruit.

"Look who decided to join us!" Bram exclaimed, raising a mug of craft beer. "Sit down, Kai! Grom says he knows of a material to make the weapons even stronger!"

Kai laughed and sat on one of the central benches. Almost immediately, a small gust of wind and energy slammed into his side.

"Kai!" Elara shouted, hugging his waist before climbing onto the bench to sit right beside him. "Mama said you could eat with us today! I saved the reddest apple of all for you!"

Kai smiled from ear to ear and ruffled the girl’s hair. "Thanks, Elara. It’s the best apple I’ve ever seen."

On Kai’s other side, Lyla sat down, making sure she was close enough for their shoulders to touch. Soon, everyone was seated around the table. The food was simple but delicious, roasted game with forest herbs, roasted tubers, freshly baked bread, and sweet fruit.

"To tell the truth," Thorne said, his mouth half-full of meat, "after what happened with Qaxy, the village feels different. There’s less fear. People know that if a subordinate couldn’t take us down, we have a real chance."

"But we must not let our guard down," Sylva intervened, her tone maternal but firm. "The news of the death of one of Malk’s subordinates will reach the other gods’ ears sooner or later."

Kai nodded, setting his bowl on the table. "I know. That’s why today’s training was so important. Not just for me, but for everyone. We’re going to turn this place not just into a home, but into a fortress."

"Well, less war talk and more eating," Lyla interrupted, placing an especially tender piece of meat on Kai’s plate. "You need to gain weight. You’re too thin."

Roshia let out a giggle from across the table. "It seems the goddess has returned to her absolute protector mode."

"Seems?" Allice joked. "She never left, she’s always right behind him."

Laughter erupted around the table. Elara told exaggerated stories about how she had helped Thorne hunt a chicken that had escaped, while the dwarves continued to bicker over materials for the weapons. Kai watched the scene, feeling a peace that his previous life had never allowed him to know.

Several hours later, Lyla forced Kai to rest, so they returned to the central building and lay together in silence. A silence that Kai was the first to break.

"I’ve been thinking... when Malk finds out we killed Qaxy, he’ll likely be furious and want to finish us off. So, we’ll need to improve the village’s defenses." Kai paused, burying his face in Lyla’s neck. "I remember several things from my life in Japan that we could use here, techniques and technology that no one in this world has seen. For example, bows."

Lyla listened intently.

"The bows here are basic, but I remember in my life in Japan, during a global event called the Olympic Games, there was the sport of archery. They used very advanced bows that I’m sure we can replicate bows that are infinitely better."

"But do you remember how they were made?"

"Not exactly, but we have two master craftsmen. I’m sure that if I explain the idea to them, they’ll be able to pull it off," Kai assured her with a tone of pride.

"Then you should try, but tomorrow. For now, you need to rest." She pulled Kai even closer to her.

Kai smiled softly, offering no resistance to the situation. "Always so bossy."

Lyla made a sound of mock annoyance and pulled him closer still. "I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, sweetheart," she replied while stroking his hair.