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LEON
It was already 4 in the morning when someone walked into the convenience store.
My eyes were half-closed at that point, barely doing their job. I had that slow, heavy kind of drowsiness where everything feels delayed by a second, like my brain was buffering in real time. I blinked a couple of times, trying to wake myself up properly.
Then I saw who it was.
The manager, Verra.
The moment our eyes met, hers widened just slightly. It was quick, but noticeable. Right after that, she immediately looked away, like she had touched something hot and didn't want to deal with it.
Yeah. That reaction said a lot already.
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Verra
Affection: 42♥︎
Mood: 30♥︎
Lust: 30♥︎
Status: Complicated
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Her status was labeled as "Complicated."
Up until now, I hadn't really bothered digging into what those statuses actually meant. They were just there on the screen, like background info you glance at and then ignore. But lately, I started noticing how they affected quests and outcomes. It wasn't just decoration. It actually mattered.
So yeah, naturally, I got curious.
Can I check what the STATUS really does?
Or maybe get a full breakdown of how this entire interface works?
Because at this point, I was basically playing a game without reading the tutorial. And somehow still progressing, which was either impressive or just dumb luck.
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Status being in COMPLICATED means the person you are looking at is INTERESTED in you, but has many factors holding her back. To change her status to INTERESTED, you must raise her AFFECTION to 100♥︎
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…Seriously?
That sounded like a lot.
I didn't even think the quest about passing the exam next week to unlock Professor Sarah was this demanding. That one at least made sense. Study, pass, done.
But this?
This felt like emotional grinding.
So I need to push her affection all the way to 100♥︎ just to stabilize her status into "Interested"?
That's not a small step. That's a full climb.
It honestly felt like the system was quietly increasing the difficulty without telling me. Like it was testing how far I could go before I hit a wall.
Still, I couldn't complain too much.
Without this system, I wouldn't even be in these situations to begin with. I wouldn't have options, quests, or anything remotely interesting happening.
So yeah, I guess I had to accept whatever rules it threw at me.
While I was looking at her, she kept avoiding eye contact. She looked… uncomfortable. Awkward. Like she didn't know how to act around me anymore.
Which, to be fair, made sense after everything that happened.
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NEW QUEST!
Verra is somewhat awkward around you
Ask her if she's doing okay
Reward: 5♥︎
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A quest popped up right in front of me.
It was simple. Almost too simple. Like the system was giving me a warm-up before throwing something worse later.
"Manager," I called out.
She flinched when I said that. Not dramatically, but enough to notice.
"You left when I woke up. Did anything happen after that?"
It wasn't the smoothest line, not even close. But it was what came out, and honestly, it did the job.
She didn't say anything. It was more like she was pretending she didn't hear any.
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COMPLETED
Verra is somewhat awkward around you
Ask her if she's doing okay
Reward: 5♥︎
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Right after that, another quest appeared.
Just straight into the next one, huh?
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NEW QUEST!
Verra has no idea how to interact with you. Increasing her MOOD might help with that.
Increase her MOOD to 100♥︎
Reward: 5♥︎
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Another quest.
This one was different though.
It didn't tell me exactly what to say or do. It just gave me a target. Raise her mood to the maximum.
Sounds easy when you read it like that.
Actually doing it? That's a whole different story.
How am I even supposed to pull that off?
And for only 5♥︎ as a reward? That felt a little unfair, not gonna lie. The effort-to-reward ratio was looking questionable.
Still, I didn't have the luxury to complain.
The main problem right now was figuring out how to raise her mood without making things worse.
I considered going for something cheeky. It crossed my mind. But at the same time, that felt risky. One wrong move and I could tank whatever progress I had.
There was also the option of using the ♥︎ directly.
But I wasn't sure how that worked exactly. If it had limits or conditions like affection did, then wasting it now would be stupid.
Better to save it.
For now, talking seemed like the safest route.
"Do you mind talking, Manager?" I asked.
"T-Talking? What do you mean? About what?"
Her response was cautious and careful. Like she was making sure we stayed within boundaries.
Which made sense.
She did tell me to forget what happened.
So yeah, I had to be careful with what I said next.
"Well… I'm not really sure," I said. "I just feel like I should start a conversation."
"It's fine if you don't," she replied. "A manager and an employee don't need to talk unless it's something important, right?"
That was a clean block.
She was putting distance between us. Clearly.
I understood why, but at the same time, that didn't solve my situation.
The system wasn't giving me hints this time. There was no guidance nor any kind of suggestions.
So I had to figure it out on my own.
"Well… what about as a man and a woman?" I said.
The moment I said that, she froze for a second, then blushed and looked away again.
[+5 CONVERSATION]
Alright… that landed.
Not perfectly, but it definitely hit something.
"Why do we… need to talk about that?" she asked, her voice quieter now.
"Honestly," I said, "as much as I want to just do what you asked and forget about that night… I can't."
I paused for a bit, making sure I didn't mess this up.
"Like you, it was my first time too. So yeah… it's not exactly something you can just forget that easily, right?"
When I spoke to her like that, I made sure she heard every single word clearly.
"And you really are beautiful," I told her, keeping my tone steady. "I still can't believe that… I actually had sex with someone like you. You know, it feels like I somehow hit the jackpot or something like that."
[+15 Verra's MOOD]
That was a pretty big jump.
Honestly, bigger than I expected.
So what, was this really how it worked? Just keep complimenting her and slowly raise her mood? It felt a little ridiculous when I thought about it like that, but at the same time… it was working, so I wasn't about to question it too much.
"And your body is also quite… amazing," I added, choosing my words carefully but still keeping it natural. "I genuinely don't understand why men don't approach you. I think it's a huge loss for anyone who looks at you and doesn't think, 'Yeah, that's a beautiful woman right there.'"
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
Only plus one that time.
Alright, so it wasn't as simple as just stacking compliments nonstop. Figures. Would've been too easy otherwise.
As I kept talking, throwing in those compliments here and there, I noticed something small but noticeable. Her ears were slowly turning red. Not bright red, not exaggerated, just enough to tell she was affected.
Still, she refused to look at me.
She kept her gaze away, like she was trying to hold her ground or something. At this point, it felt like a bit of a silent battle. If I kept going just a little more, maybe she'd finally give in and face me properly.
"That's why, even if I want to respect what you're asking and just forget everything, I can't," I said. "It's just not something I can do."
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
After that, she finally turned toward me.
"Ugh, you're seriously pissing me off… Why do you keep hitting all the weak spots I have?" she muttered under her breath, but loud enough that I could clearly hear it.
So yeah, this approach was working. Not perfectly, but enough to get a reaction.
"Did you hate what happened that night that much?" I asked.
"H-Huh?" She looked straight at me, clearly caught off guard.
That reaction alone already told me she wasn't expecting that question.
"I-It's not like… I hated it," she said, stumbling a bit over her words.
"You didn't hate it?" I followed up. "Then why are you asking me to forget it, even though you feel that way?"
"T-That's…" She paused, looking down like she needed a moment to gather her thoughts. "M-Maybe because… I don't really know what to do. It's like… part of me wants to forget it too. But… just like you, I guess… something like that isn't something you can just forget easily."
So she couldn't forget it either.
That made sense. Honestly, it would've been weird if she could just act like nothing happened.
It was our first time, after all. For both of us.
Stuff like that doesn't just disappear. Whether it was good, awkward, confusing, or all of the above, it sticks. It's the kind of thing that lingers in your head longer than you expect.
Probably way longer.
"Are you going to try and forget it again?" I asked.
"Why are you asking me these kinds of questions?"
"Well, it's only natural that I'd be curious, right?" I replied. "I mean, I think it's normal for me to want to know what you're planning to do."
"Sometimes… those kinds of questions aren't really necessary," she said.
Yeah, fair enough.
Maybe I was pushing a bit too much. Not everything needed to be dragged out into the open like this.
"I think trying to forget it would be pointless," she continued after a short pause. "No matter what, I feel like it's going to stay with me. I can't just brush it off as some drunken mistake either. I feel like… I was actually pretty aware when we did it."
"You're admitting that?" I asked.
I really thought she would just use the whole drunk excuse and be done with it. That would've been the easier way out.
But she didn't.
"Well… there's no point in hiding it anymore," she said. "I was drunk, sure, but I still had enough awareness. I don't think I was that drunk."
That made sense.
If she had been completely out of it, things would've been different. I wouldn't have gone along with it either. If she had been the kind of drunk that couldn't even stay conscious, then yeah, that would've been a completely different situation.
"Since you're asking so many questions, I think I'll ask something too," she said.
"Go ahead," I replied.
There was a short pause. Not long, but enough to make it feel like she was choosing her words carefully.
Then she spoke.
"Did you… feel good?"
I mean, I kind of expected something like that. It wasn't exactly out of nowhere. Still, hearing her actually ask it felt different.
"Well, there's no point in hiding it either," I said. "Yeah, I did. It felt really good."
Simple answer. Honest answer.
The moment I said that, she blushed.
Not dramatically and not over-the-top, just enough to show it got to her.
"So you did feel good…" she muttered quietly.
"How about you?" I asked. "Did it feel good for you too?"
Might as well return the question. Fair is fair.
"Why do I have to answer that?" she said, a bit defensive.
"Well, I answered yours. It's only natural that you answer mine too," I replied.
She hesitated.
You could see the slight pause as well as the small shift in her expression. She wasn't sure how to respond, or maybe she just didn't want to say it out loud.
After a bit, she seemed to gather herself, like she was forcing herself to at least say something.
"There's no way I can answer that," she said. "I don't even know if it really felt good or not."
That answer… was about as unclear as it could get.
Not a yes, not a no. It was an answer that was just somewhere in between.
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CURRENT PROGRESS
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Verra
Affection: 42♥︎
Mood: 47♥︎
Lust: 30♥︎
Status: Complicated
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