Joji did not know what to say. That single hesitation was enough.
Lena caught it at once, pressed her lips together, and gave him one long look.
She knew. Or if not the whole of it. The same strange system lived in him too.
"Joji, look, I'm not going to pry into what kind of system you have," Lena said. "Mine just... needs a man to work."
He stayed silent, so she pressed on.
"It gave me two paths. Either I become the whore of this world, or I become the most loyal wife."
That landed harder than it should have.
Lena looked down at her hands for a moment, then back at him.
"You know what we were back then. We did half of it for money, half for fun, and that was that. But this world isn't Earth." Her voice lost even the last trace of playfulness.
"Joji, I don't want to force myself on you, and I don't want to make this ugly. But I don't mind learning to like you. Maybe even love you."
