When Shinji spoke, Psykos froze for a moment. A subtle flush of red colored her cheeks before she could stop it.

"I... I didn't lie to you or anything..." she murmured, voice barely audible.

"Mhm, I believe you," Shinji replied with a calm nod.

"Even so, Vice President Shinji, you shouldn't trust that woman so easily," Psykos insisted once more.

"I get it, I get it. So, what's the plan for tonight?" Shinji shifted the conversation without missing a beat. Is he going for the Giggity?

"Tonight? That's simple…" Psykos turned around and pulled a few books from the shelf behind her. "It's a shame you've forgotten. Back then, we used to read about psychic powers together every single day," she said, her tone tinged with nostalgia.

Shinji scanned the bookshelf. As expected, nearly every title revolved around psychic phenomena. Psykos had unlocked her [Third Eye] thanks to insights from an ancient text literally titled The Third Eye.

The realization brought Shinji some relief, so thank God, he hadn't said anything too forward earlier. That would've been mortifying.

...

Just like that, the two spent the evening buried in books.

"It's getting late. Let's call it a night," Shinji said as the clock neared 10 PM.

"Mm," Psykos murmured as she closed the book in her hands.

"I suppose I'll go get some rest then?"

He had just taken a step when Psykos gently called out to stop him.

"Wait. I... I want you to stay with me tonight."

"Alright," Shinji agreed without a moment's hesitation. He didn't misunderstand her. It was clear Psykos didn't mean it romantically. Maybe, she likely just didn't want to be alone.

"But are you sure? This bed clearly isn't made for two," he said, eyeing the narrow mattress.

Was he supposed to take the couch? If so, there wasn't much point in staying.

"It's fine. We'll share one pillow," Psykos replied casually, as if it were nothing unusual.

So Shinji lay down beside her, both of them using the same pillow, since it was the only one there.

[Alert! You have lain in the same bed with Psykos. Reward: 40 points!]

The system notification chimed in Shinji's mind. Seriously?!

Moments later, Psykos shifted and gently rested her head on his chest.

"Sorry, Vice President Shinji… just for tonight, can I be a little selfish?" she asked softly.

"Sure..." Shinji answered with no hesitation.

She had also removed her glasses, something she only ever did before going to sleep. Those glasses had practically become a symbol of who she was. (AN: Like Shinpachi?)

The night passed in silence. Nothing eventful occurred, at least not officially. Still, Shinji couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed.

The bed was way too small, and Psykos's sleep habits were anything but gentle. With her tossing, shifting, and sprawling limbs, Shinji barely managed any rest. I mean, who could even sleep when a stunning woman is sleeping so gracefully so close? He had no idea how he calmed his erection, let alone got any sleep.

By morning, he found himself in an awkward tangle: one of Psykos's legs was thrown across his thigh, and both her arms clung tightly around his torso. Her head remained nestled against his chest, and from how close she was, he could feel the soft pressure of her breasts against his side.

That pretty much summed up the entire night, an exhausting, tension-filled kind of torment.

Yet through it all, his self-control had held. Aside from a bit of lost sleep, he hadn't done anything reckless or out of line.

Shinji was already awake, lying completely still so as not to disturb her. Psykos was still fast asleep, breathing softly beside him.

He didn't dare shift even slightly. Waking her up like this felt like it would be… rude.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. Psykos stirred, her eyelashes fluttering before her eyes slowly opened. There was a fleeting look of confusion in her gaze as she realized someone was lying beside her.

She had, after all, been living alone for quite some time.

"Good… morning, Vice President Shinji," she said quietly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning," Shinji replied with a smile. Nope, he wasn't smiling. It was his default smile of despair now, after sleeping with a beautiful girl and not doing a shit.

Now that she had unwrapped herself from around him, he could finally move freely again.

Psykos didn't seem to recall how clingy she'd been throughout the night, or maybe she remembered and simply didn't care. She let go with the same calm demeanor she always had, showing no trace of awkwardness.

"Give me a moment. I'll go make breakfast."

Before she could even get out of bed, Shinji's figure disappeared from view. Exactly ten minutes later, he came back, cleaned up, refreshed, and holding two plates of food.

He'd clearly gone home, showered, and made breakfast himself before returning.

Placing the plates on the table, he joined her silently. Each serving included a sandwich, two sunny-side-up eggs, and a glass of milk.

"Thanks," Psykos said, smiling warmly as she picked up her fork.

"I'll probably need to head out soon. Genos got a call from the Hero Association, apparently something big's going down."

As they finished eating, Shinji casually brought it up.

"Genos... that robot who called me 'Mistress'?"

Psykos raised a brow as she asked the question.

"He's a cyborg, not a robot," Shinji corrected her.

"So, what's this serious matter about?" she asked, then quickly added, "Actually, if it's confidential Hero Association business, forget I asked."

"It's not really confidential. Unless something changes, a meteor is on course for City Z. The impact could wipe out the entire city and the surrounding areas. An evacuation alert has already been issued."

Shinji spoke openly, not holding anything back as he explained the situation.

"...While the thought of wiping out a large chunk of Homo sapiens sounds tempting to me," Psykos said calmly, "you're a hero now. You're not the kind of person who'd just stand by and let it happen, right?"

Even knowing Shinji was about to defend the very people she despised, she didn't seem angry. She simply understood him.

"You're right. I'm going to stop the meteor," Shinji said firmly.

If he handled the situation cleanly, this could easily earn him a promotion to S-Class. In the original events, Saitama had stopped the meteor, but he'd done it by smashing it into pieces. The resulting fragments had rained down on City Z, causing massive destruction, though miraculously, no one died.

Despite his efforts, the Hero Association gave most of the recognition to Metal Knight and Genos. Saitama's own ranking barely budged; he went from 342nd in C-Class to just 5th.

According to Genos, if the meteor had been fully neutralized with zero damage and one hero had received full credit, that hero could've been promoted directly to 5th place in S-Class.

Though this meteor was ranked as a Dragon-level disaster, it wasn't like the typical threats under that label. Normally, Dragon-level implied the potential to destroy multiple cities, the keyword being potential. But this meteor was different. If it hit, destruction was guaranteed. No "potential," no theory, just absolute devastation for City Z and the cities around it. That was what made this one stand apart.

"I support you," Psykos said plainly before adding, "Now that I think about it, with how the Hero Association operates, someone like you, only ranked 5th in A-Class, probably won't get the credit if there are S-Class heroes involved, right?"

She clearly understood the system's flaws well.

"Exactly..." Shinji nodded.

And that was the frustrating part. The Association would likely dispatch Genos and Bang, and Metal Knight would show up too, mainly to test his weapons. In the end, someone else would get the spotlight, not Shinji.

The Hero Association followed strict contribution guidelines and left no room for dispute.

In the original scenario, even after Saitama destroyed the meteor, the Association handed the credit to Metal Knight and Genos. Genos tried to protest, but nothing changed.

"Don't worry. I'll handle that part for you," Psykos said with a confident smile.

Her lips curved in a composed, knowing expression, as if she'd already devised the perfect countermeasure.

"I'll always support you, no matter what. Even after you get your memories back."