The Blind SSS-Class Final Boss Is Obsessed With Me

"Lap Pillow?" I repeated after Seraphina in complete confusion.

In addition to her awakening the system instead of me, her asking about a lap pillow only confused me more.

Why was she asking me about it? Was it something the system was telling her right now? I just hoped it wasn’t some kind of grand reward the system had promised her for completing a legendary quest.

If that was the case, it meant everything was going sideways. Kaelen never got something like a lap pillow as a reward from his system. In the original novel, his system gave him rare skill books, divine weapons, and stat points. It never gave him soft domestic privileges.

It only pointed toward one possible explanation. The system Seraphina had awakened was completely different from what the protagonist had in the story.

Also, if I went by Seraphina’s words, the System recognized me. She had mentioned something about protecting me to get points.

"Okay, Sera," I said. I walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders gently, then looked down into her blindfolded face. "Did you hear it say my name?"

"Yeah," she spoke up quickly. "Yeah, it... said your... full name... Cian von... Heist."

Wait. If it spoke my full name out loud, then that meant it had to recognize my presence. Maybe it had a function to show me her status screen? Maybe I was registered as a master, or a partner, or a handler?... Or worst, a pet?

I took a deep breath. I needed to test this right now. If I couldn’t have the System, I at least needed to control it.

"Seraphina," I said. "Try saying my full name out loud while looking at the floating boxes. Say ’Cian von Heist’."

Seraphina tilted her head slightly as she looked at the empty air between us.

"Cian... von... Heist," she said softly.

I stood there while holding my breath. I stared into the empty space in front of my face. I waited for a blue box to snap into existence before my eyes.

...Nothing happened.

"Nothing?" I rubbed my temples. This was getting ridiculous.

"Try saying ’Status Screen’," I ordered. "Or ’Display Host Info’. Say it out loud."

Seraphina repeated the words faithfully. "Status... Screen... Display... Host... Info..."

Suddenly, Seraphina gasped. Her body went stiff and her dark aura flickered around her ankles like black flames.

"It... opened," she whispered. "A big box. It has... red and blue lines."

"Read it!" I said immediately. "Wait, no. You can’t read. Let the voice read it to you! What does it say?!"

Seraphina went quiet for a few seconds as if she was listening intently to the voice echoing inside her head before repeating it for me.

[HOST: SERAPHINA]

[RACE: BOUNDLESS ABYSSAL ENTITY]

[LEVEL: 100(∞)(Limited)]

[HP: UNMEASURABLE]

[MP: UNMEASURABLE]

[BOUNDED TARGET: CIAN VON HEIST]

[TARGET CONDITION: FRAGILE / DANGEROUSLY WEAK / MORTAL]

[AFFECTION LEVEL: 85% (DEVOTION)]

[PASSIVE SKILL UNLOCKED: GUARDIAN’S SANCTUARY

Effect: When Host is within 10 meters of Cian von Heist, Host gains +500% defense against all magical attacks.

Penalty: If Cian von Heist receives damage, Host suffers severe emotional damage.]

[CURRENT MAIN QUEST: THE FIRST HARVEST]

[Objective: Eliminate the infiltrating Demon Apostle inside the Academy and Protect Cian.

Time Limit: 00:59:39

Success Reward: 1,000 Evolution Points, System Store Unlocked.

Hidden Reward: Unlocks ’Lap Pillow’ privilege for 30 minutes. (Target will rest his head on Host’s lap without resisting, or, Host can rest her head on target’s lap).]

Seraphina’s face flushed bright red.

"The voice... it says..." Seraphina stammered. Her fingers twitched nervously against her clothes. "It says... if I keep... you safe... you have to... lay your... head on my... legs... for thirty minutes..."

"What?!" I yelled.

A lap pillow?! That was the reward?!

The system wasn’t just different from Kaelen’s. It was completely unhinged. It was treating the future Final Boss like a protective heroine in a trashy romance novel!

It was literally rewarding her for acting like a clingy guardian angel!

’Is the System mocking me?’ I thought furiously. ’I stabbed myself in the heart for this!’

I took a step back and began pacing the room again. My mind was spinning with rapid calculations.

’Okay. Think, Cian. Think.’

I forced myself to calm down. I was an intelligent guy... I knew the plot of this world inside out. I couldn’t let emotion cloud my judgment now.

This wasn’t entirely bad. In fact, if I looked at it logically, it was actually insane.

Seraphina was already the strongest entity in this academy. The only problem was her lack of control and her constant risk of going berserk. But now? Now she had a system that literally bribed her to keep me alive. The System was actively giving her motivation to control her dark power.

If the System rewarded her for protecting me, then I could use her system to guide her. I could use her rewards to power her up even further.

"Sera," I stopped pacing and looked at her. "Does the box show a timer?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes... Numbers are... changing... Counting... down."

"Good," I muttered.

That means a quest is in place. And it is none other than eliminating the Demon Apostle. Just what I wanted.

"Cian...?" Seraphina asked softly. "Is something... bad coming...?"

Before I could answer her, the air inside the small wooden room grew suffocatingly heavy.

BOOM!

A explosion’s sound shattered the quiet night air.

The entire dormitory shook violently as dist and small bits of plaster fell from the ceiling. From outside the window, screaming erupted across the academy grounds.

"ARRRGGGHHH!"

"MONSTERS! THE BARRIER IS DOWN!"

"TEACHERS! WHERE ARE THE TEACHERS?!"

"WHERE IS CIAN’S MONSTER GIRL!!"

I ran to the shattered window and looked down into the courtyard.

The main academy building was on fire. Giant black flames burned through the marble statues. In the center of the destruction stood a towering figure wrapped in dark, tattered robes. He had four obsidian horns curling out of his head and a massive broadsword dripping with black venom.

It was him.

The Demon Apostle, Malakor.

"He’s here," I whispered.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Seraphina was still weak because she can’t really control her power yet. And she was nowhere near strong enough to fight a Demon Apostle. Now that I don’t have the system, I need to think about something else to help Serpahina kill this guy.

I turned around to face Seraphina.

She was standing in the middle of the ruined room. Her blindfolded head was turned toward the window and her dark aura was pulsing wildly, reacting to the demon’s mana outside.

"Sera," I called out to her.

She immediately turned toward me. "Cian..."

"Your System gave you a quest, right?" I asked. I walked straight up to her and took both of her hands into mine. "The quest says you need to eliminate that demon outside."

Seraphina hesitated. "I... I don’t care... about the... demon... I only want... to stay... with you."

"I know," I said as I gave her hand a firm squeeze. "But if that demon stays alive, he will destroy this academy. He will try to hurt you and... Me."

"He wants to... hurt you...?"

"Yes," I lied slightly to push her over the edge. "He not only wants to kill me but also you."

"Seraphina," I said, pointing out the broken window toward the burning courtyard. "Go claim your reward."

While I will go and quickly come up with a way to help you...