My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 697

"Oh! Right," Kisha finally reacted, a beat too late. Realizing her mistake, she quickly pulled a vial of shimmering blue liquid from her inventory and handed it to Keith. "Here, drink this first. You'll be good as new in no time."

Keith eyed the suspicious liquid in Kisha's hand before looking up at her, his skepticism evident. For some reason, resentment bubbled up inside him—was she not even truly worried about him?

If this had been before, just scraping his knee would have been enough to send her into a panic, fussing over him as if the world were ending.

But now? She looked mildly embarrassed for hitting him too hard, maybe a little concerned, but not nearly as frantic as he expected.

His gaze shifted to Duke, who was still laughing on the sidelines, clearly enjoying the spectacle. Keith narrowed his eyes.

'It must be because of him,' he thought bitterly. 'This man stole her love for me.'

Keith resentfully snatched the vial of blue liquid from Kisha's hand and downed it in one go, his pout deepening. Just as he was about to grumble, Kisha seemed to realize why he was sulking. She stepped closer, standing beside him, and gently ruffled his hair. _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}

"Good job," she murmured, her voice soft and coaxing. "You're doing great. Such a brave kid…"

Her words, though meant to comfort, only made Keith puff his cheeks in frustration. But despite himself, he leaned ever so slightly into her touch.

Keith pouted even more and grumbled, "Stop treating me like a kid already…"

Yet, despite his protests, the small smile creeping onto his lips betrayed the joy he felt at Kisha's display of affection. Even Duke, who had been laughing moments ago, stopped and shot Kisha a look filled with unmistakable jealousy.

Caught between the two, Kisha hesitated. No matter what she did, one of them would end up feeling left out. Instead of choosing sides, she decided to remove herself from the situation altogether, turning on her heel and walking away, leaving the two to sort out their silent rivalry on their own.

"Alright, I'll stop," Kisha said with a smirk. "But instead, why don't you two train together while I go check on the newcomers?"

Just as she finished speaking, her grandfather arrived, catching the tail end of her words. His gaze flickered between Kisha and the two men, a knowing look in his eyes as he took in the situation.

"Right, make sure to whip that kid into shape so he stops dragging everyone down when he joins the others on missions outside," Grandpa Alden said, his tone firm, as if reprimanding his grandson while fully expecting Duke to push Keith even harder.

Keith's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at his grandfather as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

Did Grandpa really think he was slacking off?

Was he a burden during supply runs and patrols? In truth, he had been performing well—so well that even Ethan no longer had to keep a constant eye on him.

Keith had learned the ins and outs of survival, what to do and what to avoid, yet here was his grandfather, making it sound like he was a dead weight.

"Beat him a few more times so his bones turn to steel and his skin toughens like concrete," Grandpa Alden added, throwing more fuel onto the fire.

His mischievous smile only deepened as he turned to Keith, whose horrified expression made him look thoroughly bullied.