*Knock* *Knock*
"Ray? Are you awake?" Mira quietly called out from outside his bedroom door.
Ray swiftly got up, then opened the door to see Mira standing in the hallway.
She was wearing a simple nightgown and her face was flushed right now.
Thanks to everything that had happened today, Mira had been unable to sleep.
She had been trying to sleep for more than an hour now, but every time she closed her eyes, she kept replaying how Ray had suddenly kissed her that morning, along with the other kisses they had shared while bathing just before dinner.
Realizing this, Ray smiled and stepped aside so she could go in.
"Come in." He urged her but Mira hesitated, her cheeks flushing even harder.
The two of them were technically lovers now, and Mira believed that it was only a matter of time before the two of them finally got married and became an official couple, so there should be nothing wrong with her sleeping in the same bed as her future husband right?
This was the naughty thought spiraling through the mind of the young Tauren as she stepped inside while Ray closed the door behind her.
The two slid into the bed and cuddled, with Mira resting her head on Ray's chest while her finger slowly drew hearts on his chest.
Ray smiled and placed a hand behind his head while staring at the ceiling.
His other hand was busy stroking Mira's brown hair affectionately.
Although Ray was a commoner like everyone else in the village, among all the young boys in the village, who were similar in age to him, Ray was definitely among the top three good-looking boys in Thornsville.
His shoulder length obsidian hair which covered his left eye made him look even more attractive in the eyes of so many girls his age, especially coupled with the fact that he had a well built body, thanks to the countless amount of farm work he had been doing on his own ever since he lost his father a year ago.
Anyway, Ray continued to stroke Mira's hair gently as the two of them remained silent while simply enjoying the comfort of each other's presence.
The soothing silence continued until Mira suddenly asked a question.
"Ray? I need to know. Are you really sure about us?"
"Of course, I am."
Mira raised her head worriedly and began to explain. "I mean, you know I'm a demihuman, and people would look down on…"
"I don't care what anyone thinks about us, Mira."
"But… Mm?"
Ray silenced her with a kiss before pulling away reluctantly.
"You're mine. That's all that matters, okay? Now, sleep or I'll give you a hundred kisses if you keep asking me such questions."
Mira smiled and gently placed her head on Ray's chest once again.
Although a hundred kisses had certainly piqued her interest, she still had a lot of work to do in the morning and she had already kissed Ray a lot of times while they were in the tub. Mira decided that it would be better to just rest for now and save the kiss for another time.
Meanwhile, Ray smiled and thought about Mira's worries concerning the two of them being together.
For years, humans and demihumans hadn't always been the best of friends.
It was only recently, about three to four decades ago, when the demons nearly wiped out all the beastmen and other races, that they decided to side with the humans, but even though they had been living with the humans ever since, not everyone fully trusted them.
However, since Ray had visited other villages and cities in his first life, he knew that the demihumans living in Thornsville were treated a lot better than the ones residing in other villages and cities within the kingdom.
But as for how and why a Tauren, such as Mira happened to be living with Ray and his family?
The answer to that question was simple.
Mira's parents had been farmers who had lived not too far away from Ray's father's farmland.
However, a dangerous beast had stormed out of a forest nearby and for reasons still unknown, killed everyone it met on the way.
Mira's parents happened to be among the few who got hurt and killed, and ever since then, Ray's parents had welcomed Mira into their home as a part of their family.
Ray sighed deeply as he wrapped one of his arms around Mira before closing his eyes to sleep.
He had a lot of work to do in the morning, so he didn't want to waste his time reminiscing about the past he couldn't do anything about.
For now, his mind was focused on the things he wanted to do the next day and since he had nothing else to do at the minute, Ray swiftly fell asleep.
The next morning, Ray woke up to the smell of baked bread in the air and he could also feel Mira pressed against his body as well.
She was still asleep and so, he just lay there and listened to her soft breathing.
Ray also noticed how cute her cow ears were as they twitched slightly while she was still asleep, then he noticed her tail had curled around his legs.
Seeing this, Ray's lips widened into a smile when he realized that everything that had happened yesterday wasn't a dream and he definitely wouldn't have wanted it to be a dream either.
Although he didn't know how or why he had suddenly returned to the point where everything had begun, he was glad that he had, because this had given him the chance to make things right in his life and Ray wouldn't want it any other way.
In his first life, he had never experienced this.
He had never held her and neither had he woken up beside her, but he was glad he could do all these and more in the future.
Since he had more important things to deal with to secure the future he dreamt of, Ray carefully slipped out of the bed without waking Mira up, then he dressed quickly before heading downstairs.