He was speechless for a moment however Wren caught himself and took a step forward.
"She just left and I came in. Are you stuck in there?" Wren asked and almost face-palmed immediately after.
It was such a stupid question.
[What did you think? She's stuck of course. I'm starting to think you don't have eyes… first your taste in women and now this? Tsk, I should have chosen another Host.]
He clicked his tongue and the woman in the washing machine paused.
"Wren, you're here already? No I'm not—" She tried pulling herself back and failed completely but the only things she managed were swinging her hips even more and riding her dress up further until Wren could see everything the dress had previously been handling. "I'm actually really stuck in here."
"What happened?" Wren asked, making a genuine effort to look somewhere else though his eyes kept finding their way back regardless.
"Well you see… I was removing clothes from the machine and then I saw my wallet knocked deep inside. As I tried to reach it I got stuck. My breasts are too big for this small mach…" She stopped herself there, clearly deciding that the sentence didn't need to be finished. "Anyway. I'm sorry I couldn't welcome you properly. I made lunch too and cleaned your room as well… You can go check it out. I'll free myself eventually. This happens usually."
Wren blinked and stared at the back of the washing machine for a moment.
'If it happens usually, why not just change the machine?' He thought.
"How do I help you? I can't just leave you like this." He said and the woman went quiet for a beat.
"Well… you'll have to hold my waist and drag me back while I free myself from over here." She said carefully. "For that, you have to be behind me completely."
"I see." So in the end he was going to do exactly what Nyx said.
He walked around behind her and her backside was completely in view with pale and smooth skin since the dress had gone up entirely but he looked away.
[Just enjoy it Host, it's fine.]
'Shut up.'
"Uh… are you there yet? You have to come forward a bit so I can feel you." Diana said and he stepped forward until his crotch met her behind. "Good. Now place your hands on my waist and pull me back as hard as you can."
He placed both hands on either side of her waist and she trembled immediately.
"Hmph! Your hands are cold." She said.
[Hehe~ Seems like I won't have to do anything. Stepmom is already making moves herself.]
'Shut up.' He gripped her waist properly and pulled back hard. She came loose immediately and the two of them went down together.
Wren opened his eyes and the woman was sitting directly on his lap, looking down at him.
She had dark chestnut hair in a loose bun framing a face that was… genuinely pretty.
She also had warm brown eyes with soft features and the kind of face that looked younger than how old she probably was and she smelled like vanilla.
'She's really pretty.' He thought.
Comparing her to Charlotte wouldn't even be fair… She was heavier against his lap than expected and her chest was, she really did fit the mother role in every possible way.
[So Host. Are you seeing the beauty of married women now?]
'I actually see it.' He thought.
"Oh…" Diana looked down at her situation and stood up quickly, turning around and giving a small bow. "Thank you very much Wren."
"You're welcome." He stood up. "I didn't catch your name."
She looked up at him and went slightly still. He was much taller than she expected and the face didn't match what she'd been shown at all.
'When did he get so handsome…? Did he spend his whole college life in a gym?' She blinked. If it weren't for the blond hair being identical to his father's she might not have recognized him at all.
"Oh! I'm Diana Langford." She straightened up. "I married your dad two years ago and I understand completely if you hate me… he said you might but I want you to know I'm not trying to take any place that belongs to your mother."
"Hate you?" Wren looked at her. "I'm not a child. I know how these things wo—"
GRUMBLE!
He looked down and his stomach had made its opinion known.
Diana smiled, it was a pretty warm smile that made her face light up.
"You're hungry."
"I got on the bus first thing this morning so I haven't eaten anything." He said, slightly embarrassed about the timing.
"Like I said I made lunch, but you'll need to shower and change first." She took his hand and pulled him forward with a strength that was genuinely surprising for someone her size. "Come on. I'll show you to your room."
…
The cold water hit him from above and Wren stood there and let it.
"I still can't believe this." He ran a hand down his stomach slowly.
He had a six pack… An actual, proper six pack that had absolutely not been there yesterday morning.
He held his arm out and looked at it properly.
His arms were different too and his chest was different. He looked like he had been quietly living in a gym for three years while simultaneously doing something else with his life.
[A System is meant to throw logic out of the window completely, Host. And remember… this is only your starter pack. Mission rewards can be both physical and monetary. Oh, and don't forget your new little brother.]
He looked down and cleared his throat.
He hadn't had anything to be ashamed of before… he was a little above average with six inches which had always seemed perfectly functional.
He'd grown an inch and a half from whatever the system had done in the bus and he knew the exact number because of course he had measured it.
'I do like it.' He thought.
[Now… Are you ready to throw your morals out of the window and start going after people's wives and girlfriends?]
He stood under the water thinking about Charlotte standing at her door telling him he was forgettable.
He had been handed something he didn't ask for and couldn't give back… The system was perverted and Nyx was a menace but the results were standing in the shower with him right now and they were hard to argue with.
'Fuck morals!' He thought finally.
[HEHEHE~ I knew you would come around. Congratulations on officially accepting your title as a Host. Now I'll explain what I have to offer in full detail.]
Wren turned the shower off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist as he stepped into the room.
It was a proper room which was larger than anything he'd had throughout college with a window that looked out toward the tree line, a bed that looked like it had actually been made by someone who knew what they were doing with light wood furniture and clean walls.
It was simple but good, Diana had clearly put thought into it.
He spread his clothes out on the bed and clicked his tongue.
Several of his shirts were going to be an issue… they were too small across the shoulders now or either too tight at the arms however he found an oversized black singlet and black joggers that had originally been meant to be baggy and tried them against his frame which was a perfect fit.
He pulled them on.
"Nyx… The briefing."
The screen unfolded in front of him.
[Welcome to the NTR Business System. I will be your guide and assistant, Nyx, on this splendid adventure you are about to embark on. Unlike most systems that will simply make you seduce every woman you see and turn you into a community dick… I will make you a community dick with class. I do not only focus on crushing the dreams of clueless husbands and boyfriends who place their women on pedestals like goddesses. I also deal with Business.]
"It's hard to imagine you dealing with business." Wren said and Nyx ignored him completely for the first time.
[You are offered two functions with the System. The Mission function, which allows you to take and track missions, and the System Bank, which allows you to store both items and credits. Items earned from rewards can be brought into the real world directly from the Bank. Credits saved in the Bank can be withdrawn to your personal account via untraceable transfer that cannot be flagged or tracked… however a withdrawal charge applies.]
"Charges?"
[Transferring 100 credits carries a one credit charge. The larger the withdrawal, the larger the charge. Plan your use of money accordingly and now to access your missions, say the word.]
"Missions." He said, he really didn't mind paying any sort of charges at all as long as the System helped him make more money.
The screen shifted and expanded.
…
[On the mission tab, you can see all your current missions. If you fail to complete a main mission within the time limit, a randomized punishment will be activated. SIde missions on the other hand simply vanish if they are not completed within a time period]
[MAIN MISSION]
[Upgrade Langford Lodge to Level 2]
[Time Limit: 6 Months]
[Reward: 50,000 Credits + Lodge unlocks full System upgrade support + Harlow regional visibility boost]
[SIDE MISSIONS]
[Kiss a woman in a committed relationship on the lips]
[Time Limit: 3 Days]
[Reward: 100 Credits]
[Obtain your Stepmother's used panties]
[Time Limit: 3 Days]
[Reward: 200 Credits]
[Clean the ground floor of Langford Lodge]
[Time Limit: 3 Days]
[Reward: 500 Credits]
Wren stared at the screen for a long moment.
"Adding one non-perverted mission doesn't make the list any better." He said. "And I'm not stealing anyone's underwear."
[Hehehe~ Unfortunately if you want credits then you'd better get moving. Chop chop, Host.]
"Whatever." He folded the screen away and dug into his luggage, pulling out his cash.
It was a little over ten thousand credits… everything he had left, all of it from savings he'd built up over college doing part time work.
It wasn't much but it would do for now.
He pulled out a two thousand credit bill which was plain blue and a large C printed on the face with the denomination beside it before putting it in his pocket.
"I need a phone first." He muttered heading for the door.
He came down the stairs and found Diana in the living room, she was bent forward once again with her head behind the television and doing something to the cables.
She heard him coming and pulled back, turning around holding a red cable that had been cleanly separated at the connector.
She looked at it then she looked at him with a small pout though he couldn't tell if she was embarrassed.
"I accidentally ruined the cables." She said. "I wanted to show you the channels when you came down but it wasn't working so I went to check the back and I pulled the wrong one and then…"
She held up the cable as evidence. "Now I'll need to go to the electronics shop to get a new one. I'm sorry, I was only trying to be helpful."
"Don't worry about it, I'll pick it up." Wren said. "I had business there anyway."
"Oh—" She hesitated. "If it isn't too much trouble. I would go myself but there are these old men around here that keep staring at me whenever I go out alone and I just…"
She looked at the floor like she wasn't sure she should have said that much and Wren's lips twitched. She was really acting less like a mother and more like a shy younger woman
"I'll get it." He said, cutting it off before she had to explain further. "What cables exactly? I never had a television in my room so I wouldn't know what I'm looking for."
"AV cables… the red, white and yellow ones that connect to the ViewBox decoder." She said then her voice became softer: "Please be safe. And come back early, you still haven't had lunch."
He gave her a nod and walked out, pulling the door shut behind him.
"Out of there." He muttered once he hit the open air, walking toward the sidewalk. "It's a bit strange talking to her knowing she's my stepmother."
[Then simply stop thinking of her as your stepmother and start thinking of her as a target. It's not complicated.]
"Easy for you to say." He looked up and down the street. "Wait. How do I even get to the shop again?"
…
Fifteen minutes later… which was fifteen minutes of Nyx giving commentary he didn't ask for, several locals doing double takes as he walked past, and two separate people stopping to ask if he was new in town, Wren pushed open the door of the electronics shop.
A small bell chimed above the door and the inside smelled unexpectedly like new car… that plasticky smell that didn't belong in a shop full of phones and cables but was there regardless.
Devices were arranged across the shelves and counters with reasonable organization though nobody was behind the desk.
'Are people not serious about their jobs around here?' He thought.
He walked to the counter and his eyes landed on a framed picture sitting face-out on the surface and he picked it up.
"Oh, I remember this." He said quietly.
It was old, this was a photo that had been printed and framed rather than just existing on a phone somewhere.
A group of kids in the summer light on a street in Harlow that he could half recognize from this morning.
He was in it… and his mother was in the background too.
'Right, these kids in it were my friends and these were their parents.'
A door behind the counter swung open and a young woman came out wearing a work apron and a cap tilted slightly on her head.
She was short… genuinely short and completely flat in every direction. He could have mistaken her for a guy if not for her long hair and round face.
She clocked him immediately and her whole energy shifted into customer service mode.
"Oh! A customer!" She came behind the counter and looked up at him with attentiveness. "I haven't seen your face around here before… are you a tourist? Do you have relatives in Harlow or something?"
Wren looked at her then he looked around the empty shop and back at her.
"Why is a kid trying to attend to me?" He asked, genuinely not meaning it as an insult, however several veins popped on the woman's face.
"Fuck you, motherfucker."