Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

"That was one good night of sleep!"

I exclaimed while stretching my hands out into the sky, immersing myself in the sense of freedom provided by the vast expanse of the starlight plain.

Venturing outside of the confines of the maglev I didn't dare to step too far from it, just in case this place wanted to mess up with my sense of space again.

Still, after being stuck inside that technologically supreme vehicle, if there was one thing that I craved, it most definitely was space.

Space to freely stretch my arm, fresh air to fill my lungs with, and even the faint hint of what would be the natural light of the sun were as precious as gold for me right now.

"Good morning," Fay muttered from where we bunched up a tarp, several sets of spare clothes, and some blankets in lieu of bedding.

Just one look at her drowsy face only reaffirmed what I already knew - she wasn't really a morning person!

Yet, while some might look at it from a performance standpoint and how Fay, early in the morning, wasn't the best at pulling herself up by the bootstraps…

For me, this drowsy expression of hers was one of the most precious moments I could enjoy in a day.

The sense of perfect relaxation, her natural longing for my warmth, the way she would cuddle up to me in a silly attempt to stop me from getting out of bed…

All of those things were precious, but so was Fay's expression as she struggled through her task of waking herself up.

She was doing her best… but in this particular scenario, it wasn't enough.

"How did you sleep?" I asked, perfectly happy upholding this kind of pointless small talk. Stay tuned to empire

"Don't act like you don't know," Fay pushed forth, struggling to balance herself in her half-awake state. Then, upon falling forth and grabbing hold of my arm, she sneaked underneath it before snuggling up to my side.

In fact, I could tell that despite all the mental wear and tear of the last two days that we spent first traveling up the plain and then training how to pilot the maglev together, just one night of rest was enough to wash away most of our exhaustion.

One night, two days…

Those terms made no real sense in this part of the world where the light of the stars never faded. It was never as bright as during the day yet also never as dark as during the night, keeping the entire plain in this weird state of limbo, one moment stretched into infinity.

Still, that's what the clock of the maglev told us, allowing us to somehow track the passing of time on this lifeless plain.

"Well then, let's get something to eat and move out."

Shaking off my desire to just sit in place and cuddle Fay up, I tapped her on the shoulder before opening up my hug and turning around.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

We had a lot of rations onboard, with a great many of them boasting the nutrient-heavy qualities that Fay needed.

Due to the influence of this plain affecting the growth of our child, everyone involved in checking her up confirmed that with the right diet, she would at most experience mild exhaustion.

"You want to cook this time?" Fay leaned her head over her shoulder and grinned right back at me.

As if there was any way for us to get any cooking done.

The heights of the culinary mastery I could reach were now limited to snapping the stick of a chemical heater, tossing it inside the tightly sealed back, and then waiting a few minutes for the ration to dissolve into a half-liquid, sticky goo.

So far, we have done our best by composing this icky soup with all sorts of sides and decorations, trying to hide the truth behind fancy arrangements and a rich selection of side snacks.

In the end, though, as filling and as healthy as those rations were, they hardly tasted better than a tasteless slurry. The legendary meal associated with many horrors of the hospital wards, where old-time nurses often believed it to be a cure-all.

Still, with my girl at some unknown point in her pregnancy, requested me to cook.

"I will do my absolute best."

Never before has mixing some basic, dry ingredients in a desperate attempt to make something palatable so enjoyable.

The smile refused to phase out of my lips as I added, mixed, stirred, and spiced the mysterious mixture up.

"It's as good as it will ever going to be," I muttered a few moments later before scooping out half a bowl of the thick soup and passing it over to Fay.

While I was busy trying to commit a miracle or perform a war crime of a biochemical nature, Fay came back into the ship and seated herself just aside, charmed into a trance of watching me move about a makeshift kitchen.

"You can't get honey from a rock," I excused myself in advance, only to catch Fay's quick, upward glance followed by a small, happy smile before she hid her face by raising the bowl and gulping the nutritious meal down.

"Aaah!"

Fay downed all of the bowl's contents in one go before heaving the bowl away while using her forearm to wipe her mouth.

"That hit a spot!" Fay cheered before bringing the bowl back while keeping her arm perfectly straight, landing with her outstretched hand aimed right back at me.

I dared to look down into her eyes for but a second, yet when faced with such freshness, such energy that brimmed out of her eyes as she looked at me…

I froze for a second, unable to process all of the warm affection beaming from Fay's slightly squinted, mushy eyes.

Fay placed the bowl away, only to then bring her now freed hand to my chest.

Looking up my face with a curious, if not inquisitive stare, Fay suddenly leaned closer, as if she wanted to sniff me.

Her eyes squinted even further, turning from mushy to focused and almost… doubtful?

Panicking on the spot, I rushed with all my mental prowess to figure out what happened for Fay's mood to change like that…

Only for Fay to reveal a mischievous smirk just a second before pushing herself deeper and snuggling up to my chest.

"Eat," Fay whispered, wrapping her hands around my back only to reach even further behind and open one of the meals that I'd prepared.

By the time I managed to come back to my senses, this little rascal already leaned away from my chest and now just sat down on my lap, grinning her teeth while holding out a bowl worth of the improvised meal.

"We need to eat and get going, right?" Fay dangled the bowl right beside my eyes as if trying to tempt me into partaking in this questionable treat. "And the sooner we move, the sooner we will be able to get out of here, isn't that right?"

As if enjoying the ride on the train of my fluctuating emotions, Fay leaned right back in, putting the bowl aside only to raise her hand and drop just the tips of her fingers down on my chest.

"And then, we will find some time, get a room, and…"

"Guys, I'm still here," Claudy complained from within the deepest part of the maglev's insides.

Just from his voice alone, it was clear he didn't enjoy the same, relaxing and reinvigorating night that the two of us did.

His point stood valid, though.

And now that I was reminded of his presence, just the idea of Fay showing her lovely, mushy face to anyone else but me... It was all the cold water I needed to douse my growing lust and regather the reins over my body in the imaginary hand of my mental self.

"He's right," I admitted out loud before winking at Fay. "But you are right too," I admitted, reaching out and grabbing the bowl before bringing it up to my mouth and blocking a breath in my nose as I gulped down the entire bowl's worth of the sticky slurry.

"Damn, it tastes like shit," I held nothing back when rating my own cooking. "And now that we've eaten, it's time to go," I announced before throwing a quick glance to where I believed Claudy to be hiding.

Even though it was pretty much outright bullying, I just couldn't stop myself from paying him back for spoiling my moment with Fay, as right as he might've been to do so.

"You better hurry up, man," I called out, my voice full of a sense of vindictiveness. "Trust me, you don't want to be still eating once we get rolling!"