I turned toward Faye, and she was red as a tomato. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. I was half-naked, covered in sweat, a sword in my hand, and the grin from earlier still plastered on my face.
Right.
"…I should really lock that door," I muttered.
"That's not the problem!" she snapped immediately, then froze, realizing how loud she'd been. Her hands flew up to cover her face for a second before lowering just enough for her to peek at me through her fingers.
Her gaze didn't stay on my face.
It dipped, very briefly, then snapped right back up.
"A-Am I interrupting something...?" she added, her voice noticeably less steady than before.
"No," I said, lowering the practice blade and setting it aside. "You came just right when I finished. Why'd you come?"
"Well, when I realized you weren't at the conclave, I got worried, especially with how suddenly you left yesterday..."
Faye said, seemingly self-conscious about something.
She hesitated, fingers tightening slightly in her skirt.
"…I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday," she admitted quietly. "About what you picked… and how it felt wearing it."
Her gaze dipped for a moment before returning to me, softer this time.
"So I came here."
Well, more self-conscious, it was clear that whatever it was, it was definitely something other than my current appearance right now. And that made me question it more.
What in the world could make her more embarrassed than seeing me in this state?
[Faye Amberlyne: Personality heavily shifted due to actions.]
[Faye Amberlyne: Personality heavily shifted due to actions.]
[Faye Amberlyne: Personality heavily shifted due to actions.]
The system notifications blared inside my head, only adding to my confusion. What in the world was going on?
"Is there perhaps something wrong?"
"W-Well... I'm not sure how to say this, but..." She exhaled. "You liked it when I wore that... outfit, right?"
Did she mean the lingerie? Calling it an outfit was probably giving it too much credit. It couldn't even be called normal underwear, even if I was being generous. Now that I thought about it, the fact that Faye had willingly chosen to wear it was surprising enough.
"Why are you bringing it up now?"
"W-Well..." Her breath hitched. "I bought it, and... I thought you might want a better look at me while I was wearing it again..."
[Faye Amberlyne: Personality heavily shifted due to actions.]
D-Did I seriously just hear what I thought I heard?
For a second, I didn't say anything. Not because I didn't understand, but because I understood perfectly. There was no way I could miss it; she was practically the most obvious person alive right now.
I don't think I could even call myself a man if I ignored all the hints she was throwing at me.
"...You thought I'd want to see you in that again?"
Faye flinched, but didn't back down. Her fingers tightened in her skirt, knuckles pale.
"I mean... you're the one who picked it," she said, voice wavering. "So I figured... maybe I should buy it and show it to you again another time..."
"…and I wanted to see what kind of face you'd make."
She trailed off. Eyes flicking to me, then down, then back up.
"...Y'know, let you see it properly without your general interrupting us."
There it was, the most obvious romantic hint a woman had ever given me, and it only took a second life. Fate really can be strange sometimes, huh?
Well, better late than never. Besides, refusing her now would definitely be the worst possible choice. Not just because she was connected to the quest, or because I'd feel guilty after influencing her so much, but because of something more... normal.
It was because I couldn't forgive myself if I let this chance to be with a woman like her slip away.
Hearing it out loud, I kind of sound pathetic...
But she didn't need to know that.
"...Faye."
She straightened. "Y-Yes?"
I took a step toward her. Just one. She reacted not by stepping back, but by freezing, as if she didn't trust her body to move. No, that wasn't it. She froze because she didn't want to pull away from me.
"You came all the way here just to tell me that?"
"I, well, when you put it like that..."
Another step. Close enough now to see her breath hitch before she could hide it.
"You said you weren't used to this. Being seen like that."
"I'm not," she admitted. "That hasn't changed—"
"Then why?"
That stopped her. Not because she had no answer. Because she did, and saying it out loud was harder than anything else.
Her lips parted. Then closed as she thought about what she was about to say. But it didn't take long for her to make up her mind.
"...Because it's you. It's not like I'm going around doing this for every man. You proved that you're at least worth loving, even if, well... we haven't even known each other for a week yet."
"…I know it's fast," she added. "Too fast, probably."
A small pause.
"But… I still wanted to come."
She let out an awkward laugh, saying it out loud only made the situation feel even wilder in her mind. Seriously, how in the world had she fallen for someone so quickly? Was she always this easy? Or was the person in front of her—me—just that special?
I exhaled and ran a hand through my damp hair.
Yeah. There was no way I could pretend it didn't affect me. Even someone like me, who isn't used to affection, would lose all inhibition and hesitation hearing words like that from her.
"...You're going to make this difficult for me."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," I said, meeting her eyes, "that if you're offering something like that..."
A pause. Just long enough to make her nervous.
"...I'm not going to pretend I don't want it."
Her face went red instantly. "C-Cassian—!"
"But," I cut in, just to be sure I won't regret this later on, "you don't have to force yourself just because I said I liked it."
That landed. Harder than anything else. Her expression shifted, clearer. And this time, her shyness was replaced with a little bit of annoyance. A reaction I definitely did not expect.
"You..." She said firmly with slight irritation. "I already thought about it. A lot."
Of course she did. Those notifications weren't subtle.
"So stop treating me like a child, my stuttering doesn't exactly mean I'm against it, okay? I'm just... not used to something like this."
"…but that doesn't mean I don't want to try."
"…So don't waste it, okay?"
Her voice was still soft, but there was something else beneath it now.
Expectation.
[Faye Amberlyne: Personality heavily shifted due to actions.]
[Claim Heroine to Finish Quest]
Claim...? So I wasn't wrong, this really was some weird romance or sex system. That wording alone was enough proof. But just like I said.
I wasn't against it.
Or, well, not fully against it, the wording still cringed me out.