This was the first time Luo Cheng had a real conversation with Cafe. Even though she was a max-favorability character, the only sound he could make horse girls emit in the game was gasping, aside from basic greetings.
Now that he had the chance, Luo Cheng chatted with Cafe non-stop, and she responded with a constant, gentle smile.
"Next time, Trainer, you should come to my room to try my favorite brand of coffee," she suggested.
"You always smell so nicely of coffee, unlike anyone else," he commented.
"Do you like the smell of coffee, Trainer?"
"I do, but only after I started liking you, Cafe—especially chocolate-milk coffee."
"T-Trainer..." Cafe stammered, covering her face as a blush crept up. Her golden eyes shimmered brightly.
As they talked, Luo Cheng noticed some inconsistencies. According to the game's settings, trainers weren't allowed in the student dorms, so how was he able to enter Cafe's room without permission? For him, it was a daily destination, just like how a player might raid an NPC's house like a bandit, looking for valuable items. He would frequently go to the student dorms to see if there was anything interesting to find. And in the girls' dorms, he would, of course, often find little pink toys. He was curious what the students would do when he took these things. Would they just pretend to touch themselves? He even spied on them for a few nights.
It turns out, yes. They would react to the change in an object's location, but if it was gone, they would simply gesture to the empty air. When he took a comb, they would pretend to comb their hair and then tie up their messy hair with an imaginary ribbon. Of course, Luo Cheng only did this when he was extremely bored.
So, if his actions in the game world were affecting the real world, how did he get into the student dorms in the first place? He should have been stopped by the dorm managers, yet they never reacted to his presence. After their walk, Luo Cheng suggested they go to the student dorms.
"Can trainers go in? I remember Dorm Manager Amazon saying... no one but students is allowed," Cafe asked.
"I don't know. Let's ask," he replied.
In the game, Luo Cheng frequently went into the student dorms and explored them all. The beds were comfortable, but they were too small. The horse girls were tiny and looked like porcelain dolls lying on them, but Luo Cheng, being almost six feet tall, had a difficult time sharing a bed. He would often be kicked awake by a soft little foot on his face, only to find himself on the floor. While the horse girls were small, they were incredibly strong, and a soundly sleeping Luo Cheng was no match for them. Still, some would hold on to him tightly, their soft legs wrapped around him like an octopus, and their ears pressed to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. It was a good feeling.
Arriving at the dorm, Luo Cheng was blocked by the dorm manager, Meisho Amazon. She had beautiful deep-blue hair that cascaded down her back, and her healthy, tan skin glowed under the lights. Her crimson eyes were striking, and she was curvaceous, with a confident, leader-like presence. Her large chest, which seemed ready to burst out of her clothes, bounced as she crossed her arms.
"No, a trainer can't just come to the student dorms in the middle of the night. Are you up to no good, Trainer Luo Cheng?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"You actually admitted it! No!"
"Amazon, I've already done it," he said.
Her chest was a glorious F, which put her in the top tier at Tracen. Besides a few horse girls who could completely bury his face in their chests, Meisho Amazon was practically unmatched. With her cute little fangs, she perfectly embodied the saying, "both cute and sexy."
"What are you talking about? I can let you in to eat something during the day when no one's around, but not at night! All the girls are in the dorms now," she said, pointing to the building behind her, her voice full of righteousness.
She would only let him in the lobby or kitchen, but why did Cafe think he had been in her room?
"Have I been in here before?" Luo Cheng asked.
"No, you haven't... but, huh..." she muttered to herself. Her memory seemed to have a strange discrepancy. Even though he had never been there, Meisho Amazon distinctly remembered him being in her room.
*What's going on?*
Observing her expression, Luo Cheng guessed that the game world's influence on reality wasn't limited to the horse girls' favorability. It could also interfere with reality itself. He made a mental note of this new information and bid them farewell.
"I'll sneak in when no one's around."
"Don't use the word 'sneak,' I'll be inviting you in," Amazon corrected him. "Now hurry up and go. Don't disturb the girls. Go... Come back when no one's around, and sneak into my room, got it?" she said, waving her hand.
*It looks like this holy ground is not open to me today.*
Luo Cheng shook his head in resignation. As he was leaving, Cafe held his hand. "Trainer, let's take a walk together again tomorrow." As she spoke, Luo Cheng felt a presence next to him and a faint laugh as something whispered into his ear. He shivered and looked around, but saw nothing. He gently stroked Cafe's ear and promised to see her tomorrow. Looking at her rosy cheeks, he suddenly wanted to play with her "cat-like" form again.
Returning to his dorm, he passed a few trainers who greeted him. He awkwardly returned their greetings, realizing he didn't even know their names. In the game world, he had no concept of "friends." He was always alone.
After a confusing exchange, he went to his room. He looked at the familiar layout and remembered it was exactly as he had left it. The clothes hanging on the wall and the shoes in the shoe rack were the same. There was even a half-eaten apple in the fridge. Everything in the room had a corresponding item in the game world. Luo Cheng felt like he was in a world caught between reality and a game. He couldn't tell the difference anymore.
He decided that tomorrow he would sign a contract with Fine Motion to increase his number of horse girls and then see what changes would appear in the game world.
Stripping off his clothes, Luo Cheng lay in bed. He was not used to sleeping alone anymore. He thought to himself, *I should have bought a body pillow.*
The next morning, a few birds chirped outside his window. Luo Cheng groggily opened his eyes, feeling a presence by his bed. He yawned and stretched, then saw the person standing there.
She was wearing a white dress with a blue-and-purple jacket draped over her shoulders. Her long orange hair fell to her waist. When he met her clear blue-and-purple eyes, he recognized her.
It was the Tracen Academy's chairwoman, **Yayoi Akikawa**.
"Good morning, Trainer Luo Cheng!" she said, slapping her fan and speaking in a voice that was surprisingly loud for her size. "I didn't see you in your office, so I thought I'd check the dorms. I never thought..." she said, pointing her fan at him. "You'd still be sleeping! The early bird gets the worm. Get up! I've already made you breakfast!"