Villain: 10x Rewards Begins With The Protagonist's Mother

Burp!

Dante had an ugly look on his face, the bitter taste of medicine still sitting strong on his tongue.

It was noon now.

He had eaten twice already but still couldn’t get rid of the aftertaste, even after pretending to swallow the medicine in front of Natasha and moving it straight to his inventory the moment it disappeared down his throat.

’Inventory is really my lifesaver. I would be done for without it.’ He thought, almost shedding a tear of gratitude.

"Fufu~" Natasha laughed and covered her mouth with her hand when she saw the tears forming in his eyes.

She felt a small sense of revenge.

It was a bit childish for someone her age, but Dante had a way of bringing out sides of her that she had buried deep under her calm facade.

"Master, you’re so cruel! It was just a joke..." Dante could tell she had mistaken his reaction for something else, which only made him more annoyed.

"Hahaha... I’m sorry, Dante." Natasha laughed while holding her stomach.

"I just don’t want you doing anything that puts your life at risk." She said while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"So," she paused and reached her hand out toward him.

"Promise me you’ll never drink like that again." Her tone went gentle and her eyes softened as she looked at him.

"Fine..." Dante pretended to hesitate for a moment before giving in.

"That’s my student!" She said with a genuine smile.

’Hehe, you got your revenge. Now it’s my turn, Master.’ Dante saw how happy she looked and decided it was the perfect time for the second task.

[Triggering Task 2...]

[Chain Mission: Care for Dante (2/3)]

[Task 2: Dante hasn’t bathed since yesterday, spent the night drinking, and is now drenched in sweat. He smells like a winery and can barely lift a finger. Wipe him down and get him into clean clothes before he becomes a health hazard.]

[Time Limit: 2 hours]

’This is it?’ Natasha’s reaction after reading the condition was equal parts confusion and relief. She had been expecting something impossible after what the system said, so this felt completely underwhelming.

’Looks like I was scared for nothing.’ She thought, breathing a sigh of relief on the inside.

In her opinion, helping her sick student wipe his body and change his clothes was completely normal. The only thing she was actually worried about was whether Dante would be too embarrassed to face her afterward.

If Dante knew what she was thinking, he would probably have laughed out loud.

He could get caught with his pants down and his first reaction would be asking if she liked the view.

Shame simply didn’t exist in his dictionary.

"Dante, you’re covered in sweat and you smell like alcohol. How about I help you wipe down and get you into some clean clothes?" Natasha spoke with a gentle expression, like she had absolutely no hidden motives.

Dante visibly stiffened after hearing her words.

He got nervous, his eyes went avoidant, and he looked like he was desperately searching for a way out.

Then his eyes lit up.

"Master, aren’t you an awakener? Don’t you have some spell or technique for this?" He said with hopeful eyes while laughing his ass off on the inside.

"Uh..." Natasha had a dumbfounded look on her face.

Of course she did.

She could handle it in an instant, but the condition had specifically told her to wipe his body herself.

"Surely there is, right?" Dante played along with her act and looked at her with a nervous smile.

"Nope. They’re not safe," Natasha lied straight to his face while thinking, ’...not safe for me.’

Before he could hit her with another question, she quickly got up and moved, tossing a few words over her shoulder.

"Wait a minute. I’ll go get things ready."

****

A few moments later, Natasha came back with a basin of warm water and a towel. She set them down on the table beside the bed and sat on the edge next to Dante.

"Let me start with your face first." She said, reaching her hand toward him.

"...Okay." Dante pretended to cooperate reluctantly and let her wipe his face.

She was thorough about it, working behind his ears and down his neck before putting the towel back in the basin.

Then she reached for his shirt buttons.

Dante turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, looking like he was embarrassed.

Seeing that, Natasha had an amused smile on her face. ’Don’t worry, Dante. Master won’t make fun of you...’

Her thoughts came to a sudden stop as she undid the last button and pushed both sides of the shirt open.

"Wha..." Her mouth fell open as her eyes landed on what was underneath.

His physique was nothing like she had expected it to be.

To put it simply, it was a work of art.

She stared at the defined lines of his chest and the six pack carved into his stomach like someone had taken a chisel to it. He was lean but packed with muscle in a way that made it obvious this wasn’t something he had built overnight.

Gulp!

’But when did he?’ Natasha was thoroughly confused.

As far as she knew, Dante had never been the type to train his body.

’Was he secretly training behind our backs this whole time?’ She thought, genuinely amazed.

And something suddenly made sense to her.

When she had carried him earlier this morning, he felt noticeably heavier than he had the night before.

She had written it off as her imagination, or maybe she was drunk.

’Looks like I really was drunk.’ She settled on that conclusion, since she knew a body like this wasn’t something anyone built in a day or two.

With that, she helped him slip the shirt off his shoulders and started wiping down his upper body.

She wrung out the towel and started with his shoulders, working her way down his arms slowly. The muscle under her hands was firm in a way that kept catching her off guard every time she moved to a new spot.

Just as she moved to his chest, her hands stopped.

She was staring at the same chest she had leaned against and cried her eyes out last night.

Back then she had just found it a convenient place to hide her face. But looking at it now from this angle, it gave her a strange feeling of safety.

Dante, who had been keeping his eyes turned away, noticed her staring at his chest without blinking.

He could smell an opportunity from a mile away.

"Master?" He called out in a gentle tone and looked down at her.

Natasha raised her head and looked up at him.

Their eyes met.