The Incubus System

The Incubus System Chapter 623. Ow! Ow! Ow!

"I have to." I muttered. "I just wanted to say that I appreciate everything you've done for me," I said, turning to the side before meeting his gaze again. "You have done so much for me, and I am truly grateful." I held my words as I remembered that I haven't even told my real identity yet. It built another guilt in my heart. But for sure, I knew what to do with his wounds.

Larry smiled and poked my shoulder with his fist. "Stop making that face," he said, joking around as usual. "It's disgusting. Aren't you tired of making others think that we're more than friends?"

I couldn't help but smile at his joke. "You're right," I said, shaking my head.

"Besides, this is my choice. This is what all heroes do," Larry said, taking another bite of his croissant nonchalantly without using his eating utensils. But as he opened his mouth, he grimaced in pain again. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" I bet the wound hurt him. Still, he ate it while I was staring at him worriedly. "I should have ordered the chocolate one," he commented, rubbing his jaw.

"You know, I'm surprised your dad and mom haven't said anything about your wounds," I said, changing the subject. "Where is your dad, anyway?"

"Oh, he's gone again," Larry said, rolling his eyes. "Duty called. And my mom I managed to lie to her." He grinned proudly.

"What did you tell her?" I asked curiously.

Larry took another big bite of his croissant before speaking again. "I told her that I had a fight with Ruby and she slapped me in the face," he said, shrugging carelessly as he gestured to his wounds. "That's why I got all of this. And she believed me." He closed the conversation with a quiet chuckle, his mouth still full of food.

I cringed at his explanation, feeling a sense of disgust wash over me. "Is that kind of similar to what actually happened?" I asked, skepticism in my voice.

Larry looked at me, confusion on his face. "What are you talking about? It's completely different," he said in a casual tone.

"What's different is that Ruby didn't just slap you, but she beat you up and you never dated her," I pointed out, trying to make sense of the situation. "And I'm surprised your mom didn't report her to the police."

Larry sighed and shrugged. "Actually, she almost did, but I managed to stop her," he admitted, looking a little sheepish.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What did you say to your mom?" I asked, curious.

Larry hesitated for a moment before confessing. "I told her that I cheated on Ruby, so she was mad at me and beat me up," he said innocently, taking another bite of his food.

I let out a long exhale and shook my head from side to side, feeling a sense of disbelief wash over me. "Let me guess. Are you saying that you're having an affair with 'Nana-chan'?" I guessed, taking another sip of my latte.

Larry's eyes widened in shock. "No!" he protested, shaking his head. "I told her that I cheated with you."

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

The sudden shock of Larry's words caused me to almost choke on my latte, and I quickly set it down on the table to avoid spilling it. My wide eyes were fixed on him as I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to catch my breath.

"W-What?!" I exclaimed, my voice hoarse from coughing. "Why would you tell her that?!"

Larry shrugged, looking unapologetic. "It was the only excuse I could think of on the spot," he said, his tone nonchalant. "And it worked. My mom bought it, and she stopped trying to report Ruby to the police."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You lied to your own mom and used me as an excuse?!" I asked in disbelief, my voice rising in anger.

Larry raised his hands to calm me down. "Don't freak out. I'm still straight. I just had no other choice," he said, trying to defend himself. "If I said 'Nana-chan', my mom would have tossed her out again. And she knew I had almost no female friends, so I could only think of your name."

I stared at him in shock and disgust. "Then what was the point of the previous dinner then?" I asked, the weight of my question heavy in the air.

Larry shrugged nonchalantly and popped the remaining croissant into his mouth. "It was an emergency situation," he said as if that explained everything

My jaw dropped in shock. I couldn't believe how he could be so casual about lying to his own mother. 'Ha whatever. It's his mom anyway,' I gave up. But at the same time, I couldn't blame him either, given that it was all because of me. I sighed, knowing that there wasn't much I could do about it.

"If something happens, I'll throw all the misunderstandings at you," I said in a threatening tone, trying to make it clear that I wouldn't take the fall for his lies.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," Larry said confidently, giving me a thumbs up.

We decided to change the subject and spent the next hour catching up on what we had been doing over the holidays. Larry told me a lot about the demon hunter association, carefully disguising it as just a game. He mentioned an annoying higher-up official, whom I suspected was Nathan and a couple of new, cool skills he had recently learned. I could tell that he had leveled up a lot. I wondered if he had been participating in a lot of demon hunts lately.

Eventually, I realized that an hour had passed and decided that it was time for me to head home. "I have to go. I promise to come home before dinner," I said, getting up from my seat.

"Cool. My job also will start soon," Larry replied, also standing up.

After paying, we left the coffee shop, and as we walked out, a girl's voice called out from behind us. "Ethan..."

Larry and I turned around at the same time, and as soon as we saw Ruby standing a few meters away from us, our smiles faded.