After having dinner with her and spending a bit more time talking, Lisa and I eventually decided to part ways for the night. It wasn't rushed or anything, just one of those natural endings where both of you kind of feel that it's time to head off.
I did offer to drive her back home since it would be safer that way, especially this late, but she told me she actually lived nearby. Apparently, it was just a short walk from where we were, so she insisted it was fine.
"I hope to see more of you," she said, looking at me with a small but confident smile.
"Me too. I'll keep in touch," I replied.
"You better."
It felt like things were starting to move in a steady direction. Slowly, but still moving. Especially after managing to convince her to at least entertain the idea of a polygamous relationship, assuming I actually succeed in winning her over. Saying that out loud still felt a bit insane, but somehow, it worked.
With the system backing me up, I had this confidence that I could eventually get there. It wasn't guaranteed, but it didn't feel impossible either.
After that, I stood there for a moment, watching her walk away. She didn't look back as she just kept going at her own pace. Once she disappeared from sight, I got on my motorcycle and started heading home.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
LISA
I stayed where I was for a bit, watching Leon as he drove off on his motorcycle.
When he finally disappeared from my sight, I realized I was smiling without even noticing it earlier.
That guy was… interesting.
At first, when I saw him, I didn't really think much of it. He wasn't exactly my type. Actually, if I were being honest, he didn't fit my usual preferences at all. But somehow, that changed the more I paid attention to him.
Especially when I saw him working out.
There was this steady improvement in how he looked, at least in my eyes. It wasn't sudden or dramatic. I guess you could say it... gradual. But noticeable enough that I couldn't ignore it.
Maybe it was because I had a thing for hardworking men. Calling it a fetish sounded a bit too much, like I was making it weirder than it needed to be. It was probably better to say it was just my standard.
Still, it wasn't like I automatically fell for every hardworking guy I came across. Most of the ones I liked were fictional anyway. The kind you see in TV dramas. The perfectly written types who always seem to have their life together and know exactly what to say.
Which probably explained why I still didn't have a boyfriend.
But Leon was different.
There was something about him that I couldn't quite explain. Some kind of pull that didn't make complete sense but was still there.
And the way he moved on the treadmill or while he was working out… it was efficient and clean. Actually, it looked almost precise in a way that made it oddly satisfying to watch. I found myself paying more attention than I probably should have.
That was likely where all of this started.
So when he asked for my number and invited me to dinner, I didn't hesitate. I just said yes like it was the most natural thing in the world.
By that point, I was already a little interested in him.
Although, when he mentioned building a harem and wanting me to be part of it, that definitely caught me off guard.
I mean, seriously. Who says something like that so casually?
It felt like he was joking, but at the same time, he didn't seem like he was joking at all. It was confusing in a way that made me curious instead of annoyed.
And because of that, I wanted to hear more. I wanted to understand what he was thinking.
Before I realized it, I had already agreed. If he managed to win me over, I wouldn't mind being part of that so-called harem.
Not that I actually believed he could pull it off.
I mean, realistically speaking, what are the chances? Even if he somehow managed to win me over, it wasn't like other girls would just willingly jump into that kind of setup.
Still, I agreed.
Partly because he's kind of hot. I can admit that. And he fits my type more than I initially thought. I didn't want to miss the chance to be with someone like that.
"Well, if he somehow manages to build a harem and I end up being part of it… then I guess that's just how it is. Though, I really doubt he can make it happen."
Even as I said that, there was this small feeling in the back of my mind that maybe… just maybe… he actually could.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
LEON
When I got home, I didn't waste any time.
The first thing I did was check my status.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 110
STAMINA: 130
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 125
LOOKS: 75
S-SKILL: 60
CHARISMA: 15
COMMUNICATION: 70
LUCK: 75
REPUTATION: 6
INFAMY: 88
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Looking at it now, things were slowly starting to come together.
Not perfect, but definitely not bad.
The biggest problems were still my REPUTATION and INFAMY. Those were sitting at levels that were honestly just embarrassing. Calling them bad felt like an understatement.
Everything else, though, was improving steadily.
My COMMUNICATION had gone up by 4 points, and my INTELLIGENCE increased by 5 points after dealing with Lisa earlier.
That alone made the whole interaction worth it.
I also still had 10♥︎ left, along with over 22,000 credits.
Since my current situation wasn't exactly struggling, I decided to convert all the remaining ♥︎ into credits. There was no point holding onto them if I wasn't using them.
And when I did that…
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Total credit: 122,876c
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Nice.
Now I actually had enough to make proper investments for the internet cafe.
Since the opening was scheduled for next week, I figured it was better to get everything sorted out early instead of rushing later.
So I started ordering what I needed. Comic books, sofas, vending machines, and a bunch of other things that would make the place feel more complete.
In total, it cost me around 30,000+ credits.
Yeah, that's a lot. No denying that.
But even after spending that much…
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Total credit: 90,431c
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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I still had a solid amount left.
Not bad at all.
I really liked this system.
No, scratch that, I loved it.
It honestly felt like I had found some kind of shortcut in life, like I had unlocked a cheat code that no one else knew about.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
The next day rolled around, and I actually did something productive again today. I spent a bit of time studying and listening to the lectures. That alone gave me +5 INTELLIGENCE points. Honestly, if real-life studying worked like this, I think more people would actually bother.
After that, I headed out to check on the renovation. Everything was going smoothly. Suspiciously smooth, actually.
And then I saw her.
Samantha.
"Samantha? What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting for you," she said, smiling like it was completely normal.
That caught me off guard. Waiting for me? That wasn't something I expected at all. I hadn't told her to come, and I definitely didn't schedule anything with her today.
Before I could even ask anything else, she suddenly lifted her phone and shoved it right in front of my face.
"The picture I took yesterday is going viral. A lot of people are planning to check this place out!" she said, clearly excited.
At first, I thought she was exaggerating. People throw around the word "viral" like it means anything these days. Usually, it's just a few likes and shares and suddenly they think they're famous.
But when I actually looked at the numbers… I had to take that back.
One million views. One hundred thousand likes. Sixty-nine thousand shares.
That wasn't just viral. That was insane.
"T-This is… way more than I expected."
"Well, of course it is. I, Samantha Nyxford, am highly regarded. Naturally, anything I post is bound to become a sensation. That's just how it works," she said, clearly proud of herself.
I mean, she wasn't wrong. With numbers like that, she had every right to act confident.
"It seems like people assumed I'm some kind of ambassador for this place," she continued. "That's probably why it gained so much attention. I usually only promote things I officially represent, so they're probably excited. And with how popular internet games are lately, a lot of them think I'm moving into that space too. Which, to be fair, I've been interested in for a long time."
That made sense. With her influence and natural charm, it was almost expected that people would follow whatever she did.
"You should do a grand opening, Leon," she said.
"Yeah… I guess that makes sense," I replied. "Wait, let me call someone to handle the preparations."
I wasn't even sure if she'd be available, but it was better to inform her early. If the opening was happening next week, she needed to know now instead of last minute.
I pulled out my phone and called Denise. She picked up almost immediately.
"Hello?"
"Are you available?"
"Yes. Why?" she asked.
"The internet café is opening next week, so I figured I should let you know ahead of time. It's probably going to get busy."
"Wait, you mean I'm starting work there? Hold on, you're not saying I'll be working alone, right?" she asked, sounding slightly panicked.
"Of course not. I'm already working on hiring more people. I'm planning to get someone for the day shift and another one as well. If you're okay with it, you can take the night shift," I explained. "I'll set up proper schedules so everything runs efficiently."
"O-Okay…" she said.
There was a short pause before she spoke again.
"By the way, I saw Samantha Nyxford's post last night. It's blowing up everywhere. And… I noticed it's the interior of the café. Did you arrange that?"
"Yeah. Something like that," I answered.
There was silence on her end for a moment.
Then, in a quieter voice, almost like she didn't mean for me to hear it, she muttered, "Who the hell are you, really?"
[+5 Denise's AFFECTION]
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Denise
Affection: 20♥︎
Mood: 40♥︎
Lust: 35♥︎
Status: Interested
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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It looked like I was slowly getting through to her.
At first, I wasn't really that interested in Denise. She wasn't exactly my type to begin with. But now… yeah, I had to admit, I was getting a bit curious.
And honestly, if I was being practical about it, the more women I had around me, the more points and money I could earn. It wasn't exactly romantic thinking, but it was efficient. And right now, efficiency mattered more.
"So, what do you want me to do?" she asked.
"Just wait for further instructions. I just wanted to give you a heads-up," I said.
"Alright. If that's it, I'll end the call now. Bye."
And just like that, she hung up.
I took a small breath after the call ended, letting things settle for a second.
"Was that your girlfriend, Leon?" Samantha asked.
She had clearly been listening to the entire conversation. And she was not even trying to hide it.
Her expression was curious, like she genuinely wanted to know the answer.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
NEW QUEST!
Samantha is curious about your relationship status.
Tell her that you don't have a girlfriend, but you're interested in getting one.
Reward: +10♥︎ AFFECTION
Tell her that you don't have a girlfriend, but you're interested in the person you just called.
Reward: +15♥︎ AFFECTION, -30♥︎ MOOD
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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For some reason, the second option felt a bit off. It gave more AFFECTION, sure, but the penalty to MOOD was pretty heavy.
It was one of those choices where the reward looked tempting, but the downside made you hesitate.
Still, the increase in AFFECTION was noticeably higher. That alone made it worth considering.
But losing that much MOOD… yeah, that didn't feel like a small consequence.
I couldn't help but wonder what kind of trouble I'd be getting myself into if I picked that option.