At the time of payment, Zayden was the one who paid, and since Tsukasa's index wasn't above 50, there was no return of 1 to 100 times. Only 50% of the amount spent, which was a total of 59,475.24 yen, and he got a return of 29,737.62 yen.
The good side was that Tsukasa's affection index increased to 44.
It could be said that being with Tsukasa was a test, while also by his own will. She was a very beautiful and curvaceous woman; after all, he wasn't a vegetarian who doesn't like meat.
The test he wanted to conduct was simple: to better understand how the affection index works and how to increase it more practically.
Although he knew that each individual functions differently—after all, they aren't robots to be understood in the same way—there is something most have in common: compliments, gifts, and kindness.
While not all fit into these three things, most do.
Among the worlds he had lived in, this one had some things that differed greatly. A crude example was that in these dimensions, women wanted to be treated with chivalry, like paying the bill, opening the car door, etc.
In the world of his past life, he saw that something like this was becoming taboo.
Even trying to open the door for some particular women could end with the man being insulted. The insults were almost always the same: *I have hands and legs, I can open the door myself! I work, I pay my own bills! I don't need men for anything!* Etc.
Thinking about it, that world was truly a nightmare for men.
Even if you tried to be kind, what you got was a kick, and some even ended up in jail. No kidding.
However, everything in life has a middle ground, and there was something that was identical.
Being handsome is justice!
If a handsome man did all the things listed, it was well-received, sometimes even by the most feminist women.
Setting aside these tedious comparisons, Zayden stopped with Tsukasa in front of the cinema area.
"Want to watch a movie?" she asked.
Zayden followed her gaze and saw that it was the poster for a horror movie.
'She likes that?' he wondered and then tested: "Sure. I was actually wanting to watch that movie."
Seeing the movie on the poster he pointed to, her eyes lit up a bit: "Really? Me too! Let's watch that one then!" she said excitedly.
The funny thing was that her index increased by 2 just because he said he wanted to watch that movie and they had something in common.
What he didn't know was that this would be the first time she watched a movie she liked with someone. Everyone in her social circle didn't like horror movies, and because of that, she could only watch them alone at home. Although she practically had a home theater, watching with someone wasn't the same as watching alone.
Quickly, Zayden got tickets to enter. Luckily, a session for the movie was starting in 5 minutes.
The movie's name was [When the Walls Breathe].
"I don't want any." When he asked if she wanted popcorn or a drink, she refused categorically, adding: "But I'd like a still water."
Zayden preferred eating a bucket of fried chicken while watching a movie over popcorn. As for sodas? He didn't like them. It wasn't even about diet or being unhealthy; it was more that he preferred drinking even water over soda.
In the end, he simply bought two waters.
...
In the movie theater, there were few occupied seats.
However, after they sat down, more people gradually arrived, and half of the session was filled.
Zayden and Tsukasa managed to get seats three rows from the front in the lower left corner.
"Good thing we came early and got good seats," Tsukasa commented.
She seemed a bit restless.
He teased her a little: "If you get scared, you can hold my hand."
She rolled her eyes: "It's more likely *you'll* get scared. If that happens, I don't mind holding *your* hand~"
"Actually, I'm scared," he pretended.
She noticed his act and laughed a little: "Keep dreaming, cheeky boy~!"
Seeing her press her lips into a captivating smile, Zayden smiled a bit too.
In moments, the movie started.
The film had barely begun when suspenseful background music filled the atmosphere.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsukasa's focused eyes.
When someone appeared suddenly, she gave a slight jump in her seat, and a smile spread across her face when she saw it was just a person.
Honestly, her reactions were pretty cute, and because of that, Zayden periodically glanced at her, especially during jump-scare scenes.
Her reactions were adorable.
"Pay attention to the movie." Her teary eyes stared at Zayden: "I know I'm beautiful, but we're here to watch the movie, right?"
"Right," Zayden agreed.
Although it was a bit unfortunate not to see her cute reactions, he had seen enough.
At some point in the middle of the movie, the scenes got scarier, and Tsukasa grabbed his hand.
It was natural; maybe she didn't even realize what she did while staring intently at the movie.
...
The movie ended, and the lights came on.
Little by little, people started to leave.
Turning to Zayden, Tsukasa let out a sigh, saying: "It was better than I expected, don't you agree?"
Looking at their hands, then at her, Zayden nodded: "Yeah, it was cool."
Realizing she was holding hands with him, she got a bit nervous and let go of his hand.
Laughing a little, he said: "Let's go."
"Y-Yeah," she stammered.
The way she got nervous, even though she was supposedly the older one and had previously treated him like a little brother, getting so flustered just from holding hands was pretty cute on her part.
When they left, the bright light outside made them squint.
Zayden took a good look at her.
Her skin was silky like soft porcelain. It was so fair that it seemed to glow, smooth like a boiled egg.
Because of that, it was easy to see in the light that she was still a bit flushed.
"I'm going to the bathroom to touch up my makeup," she said, heading toward the restroom.
Seeing her go in, he also felt the urge to pee.
...
Zayden came out of the bathroom first and waited for her.
While waiting, he saw several unread messages on LINE, many of them from his brother, Hyoma.
He replied with a simple: [We were watching a movie, and it just ended. I'm going to hang out a bit more with Tsukasa and take her home.]
He didn't wait for Hyoma's reply and put the smartphone in his pocket when he saw Tsukasa returning from the bathroom.
Seeing the number 49 above her head, Zayden hummed softly.
"Did you wait long?" she asked.
"No, I just got back from the bathroom too," he replied.
"Good." She pressed her lips together and gave a thin smile.
Her lips now shone more than usual; it was clear she had applied lip gloss.
"I don't want to go back yet," she said in a sweet tone.
"Then, how about we go to the Game Center for a bit?" Zayden suggested.
"Game Center? I've never been to one of those," she admitted. "But I've always been curious. Let's go~"
Offering his arm for her to hold, this time, she grabbed it more naturally, and the two walked to the Game Center.
It was on the same floor and very close to the cinema area. After walking a bit, they arrived.
Zayden had been to this Game Center before and had a card with over 100,000 yen in credit.
Taking the card from his wallet, he asked: "Is there any game you're interested in?"
"Well..." She touched her lips with her index finger. A second later, she parted her lips and said with a cheerful smile: "Actually, I've always wanted to try that one."
Following the direction her finger pointed, he realized it was, in fact, a basketball shooting machine.
"Do you like basketball?" Zayden asked.
"Yes, I was part of the basketball team in high school. Don't be surprised, I was really good~" She hummed happily.
"I see." Zayden went with her to the basketball shooting machine.
"Ready?" Receiving a nod of agreement, he swiped the card.
Soon, the iron bar holding the basketballs lifted, and the balls started rolling down.
Tsukasa stood on the left side and Zayden on the right.
When Tsukasa picked up a basketball, Zayden saw her eyes sharpen.
Even wearing a dress, she managed to shoot, and it was a basket.
Smiling triumphantly at him, she grabbed another ball.
"Come on, don't just stand there," she said and shot the ball next.
When it hit the rim, she clicked her tongue and grabbed the next ball.
Zayden reached out, picked up a ball, and with a quick motion, shot it.
The ball hit the backboard and slid, bouncing against the rim and, upon falling, went in.
A sound signaling a point echoed.
"Not bad~" she said and shot again.
In an instant, another point sound echoed: "But I'm better~"
Seeing her being so competitive, Zayden smiled in response, grabbed the next ball, and shot.
With a "shoahh" cutting through the air, the ball went through the net, and the machine signaled the point.
Noticing her surprised look, Zayden smiled playfully and commented: "Actually, I was also part of the basketball team~"
"Grr!!! I'm not going to lose!" She became even more competitive and went back to shooting.
In an instant, both of them made several baskets.
They were like basket-making machines, breaking the machine's record, drawing the attention of people in the Game Center.
Little by little, people started gathering to watch them play. Whether it was because they were practically making a basket with every shot or because they were easy on the eyes.
Some people even took pictures of them playing.
The camera flash annoyed Zayden a bit, and he looked back to see more than ten people around them.
'When did they get here?' He was so focused on playing that he didn't notice these people arriving, though he heard some voices and assumed a few people were watching, but he didn't expect there to be so many.
Looking at Tsukasa, seeing that although she was starting to sweat, she still seemed happy while making baskets, for now, he decided to ignore the people behind them and kept shooting.
After five more shots, Tsukasa's strength waned, and she could barely reach the basket.
"Ahh, I can't keep going..." She lamented, adding: "Zayden-kun, the rest is up to you!"
Only after saying this did she look back and see the crowd drawn by them.
"What the heck!?" She exclaimed, completely surprised by the number of people.
Some even laughed at her reaction.
"Girl, you're amazing!" Someone shouted.
"Yeah, it was awesome watching you play!" Another exclaimed.
Even though she was surprised by the crowd, who doesn't feel happy with compliments for their excellence?
At least Tsukasa did.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she smiled, saying: "Isn't that right?"
Her reaction sparked a wave of compliments and cheers.
She was already very beautiful, and seeing her like this made the hearts of men and women race.
"You're really good, and your boyfriend is too. You two are perfect for each other!" Someone shouted. It was the voice of a very excited girl.
"He's not my boyfriend..." Tsukasa mumbled softly, lowering her head, blushing deeply.
'Do we look like a couple?' She glanced sideways at Zayden.
She had to admit that while he was playing focused, he looked particularly cool and handsome.
Her heart raced a bit, and she looked away, fidgeting with the tips of her reddened fingers.
Meanwhile, something appeared in Zayden's retina.
───────────
[Available Mission: Increase Affection Index]
[Time-limited Task – 2 days: Raise the Affection Index of someone of the opposite sex above 60]
[Reward: +2 points in random attributes]
───────────
He didn't initially understand why this mission was triggered, but when he looked at Tsukasa and saw that her affection index had risen to 51, he figured it was because of her.
Zayden didn't expect he'd be able to raise her affection index for him so much.
The most surprising thing was that he didn't think he had done anything incredible to increase it so much.
Not wanting to be more of a spectacle, Zayden stopped shooting and turned to Tsukasa.
"Aren't you going to continue?" she asked.
He shook his head: "I'm satisfied. Let's do something else. I'd rather do something with you."
"I see." She seemed pleased but tried to hide it, pretending to cough and saying: "W-Well, let's go to that one then!"
She pointed her finger randomly, and the direction she pointed to was the purikura (photo booth).
"Aren't you going to continue?" Seeing that they wanted to leave, several people showed disappointment.
While Zayden ignored them and took Tsukasa's hand, heading toward the purikura.
...
In front of the purikura booth, Tsukasa seemed surprised.
"Wasn't this what you wanted?" Zayden asked.
"Err..." She seemed a bit confused, but thinking of herself as the older one, she forced herself to regain composure and said confidently: "Yes, I wanted to take a picture with you as a keepsake~"
Even though she tried to seem relaxed, her trembling voice gave her away.
Laughing a little discreetly, Zayden said: "Alright, let's go in then."
In fact, it was his first time entering a purikura.
But it wasn't anything too surprising.
He stood next to Tsukasa and swiped the card.
After selecting options, the countdown began.