Since the event with the manager was set for later tonight, I figured there wasn't much point in doing anything too productive during the day.
I might as well just lie down on my crib and let the hours pass.
Maybe I'd get some rest first, then deal with assignments after waking up.
That sounded like a decent plan.
Whether I'd actually follow through with the assignments later was a different story, though.
My motivation tends to disappear the moment comfort shows up, and my bed was definitely winning that battle.
The apartment I was staying in wasn't anything special.
Calling it "compact" would be the polite way to put it, but honestly, it was just small.
There was a living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen. Of course, there's also a bathroom.
And well, that was the whole place.
It cost me around 10,000c a month.
For what it was, that price wasn't terrible. I had seen worse deals, and at least this place didn't look like it would collapse if someone sneezed too hard.
Keeping up with rent wasn't exactly easy, though.
Weekends meant working my ass off as a cashier at a convenience store.
Weekdays weren't much easier. After classes, I would sometimes work part-time as a librarian.
Between all that, I could just about manage my expenses. "Just about" being the key phrase there.
While walking home that day, I noticed someone ahead of me struggling a bit.
A beautiful woman was carrying a bunch of groceries, clearly more than she should've been holding on her own.
It was Ma'am Minerva.
She lived right next door.
In my head, I had already labeled her as the sexy wife next door.
Not something I'd ever say out loud, obviously, unless I had a death wish.
She had proportions that were hard to ignore. Even with her being in her forties, she carried herself in a way that made people look twice.
Honestly, even I couldn't deny it. She was attractive. There was no point pretending otherwise.
Her husband really is one hell of a lucky bastard. That guy must have done something right in life to end up with someone like her.
She was smoking hot.
She had that natural MILF aura.
Her chest wasn't exactly big, but that didn't really matter. Everything else more than made up for it. Anyone focusing only on that would be missing the bigger picture.
"Oh, Leon, going home right now?"
Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, ma'am. Just came back from work."
"You really are working hard," she said, smiling in that easy, warm way.
While we were talking, my attention shifted slightly. Not just toward her, but toward the interface that had appeared beside her.
___
Minerva
Affection: 20♥︎
Mood: 50♥︎
Lust: 90♥︎
Status: Acquaintance
___
Her lust is at ninety.
What the hell does that even mean?
I couldn't tell if that was directed at me or if I just happened to be nearby while she was dealing with something else entirely. Either way, it felt like information I wasn't supposed to have.
While I was still trying to process that—
___
NEW QUEST!
Minerva is carrying a lot right now. She would appreciate a helping hand.
Reward: 10♥︎
Requirements: 20 Strength
___
Another quest appeared.
So even if I already had something active, more could just show up like this?
But... hmm?
This one felt different though.
There were requirements now.
20 Strength?
Well...
I wasn't exactly weak, so that didn't seem like a problem.
I probably could handle it.
At some point, I realized I had been staring for too long again.
"Leon?"
Minerva's voice had a hint of confusion.
That snapped me back to reality.
I must've looked ridiculous, just standing there and zoning out.
"Uh… sorry. Do you want me to carry those for you?"
"Hm? Oh, sure~!"
She didn't hesitate. The groceries were handed over almost immediately.
That worked out better than expected.
We walked toward her house, which was literally right next to mine.
"Thanks, Leon," she said. "You're a lifesaver~! My back has been aching lately. I'm not exactly getting younger."
The way she said it sounded casual, but there was a slight tiredness underneath.
___
Minerva is carrying a lot right now. She would appreciate a helping hand.
COMPLETED!
Reward: 10♥︎
___
"No probs," I replied.
At that moment, I wasn't even sure why I agreed so quickly.
She had a husband.
That fact alone should've been enough to keep things simple.
Still, something about the situation made it hard to just ignore.
With proportions like hers, it was honestly dangerous to stay too aware of it.
Even the way she moved, that slight arch in her back when she adjusted herself, it made things worse.
In a good way. Or a bad way. Depends on how you look at it.
"Well then, I should be going," I said.
"You can stay for a bit, you know?" she offered. "I'm actually preparing something right now. I can give you some."
Right as she said that—
___
NEW QUEST!
Minerva might be preparing something spicy. She has been feeling frustrated for a while since her husband has not been giving her attention, so she has been dealing with it on her own. Her Lust for you is currently at an all time high. Would you risk it?
YES, YES, YES!
Reward: 50♥︎
Requirements: 90 Strength, 100 S-Skill, 190 Stamina
NO
Reward: -30♥︎ Mood, -70♥︎ Lust, but +10♥︎ Affection
WARNING: Choose carefully. A wrong decision could backfire. You might lose future opportunities with Minerva. There is a chance of success, but it is a gamble.
___
That warning did its job.
It popped up at the worst possible time.
Or maybe the best time, depending on how you look at it.
Well, I guess jumping into that blindly would have been a terrible idea.
The requirements alone were enough to make me pause. 90 strength, 100 S-skill (???), and 190 stamina.
What even are these?
"Uh, sorry… I'm really tired right now, so I can't stay long."
___
Minerva might be preparing something spicy. She has been feeling frustrated for a while since her husband has not been giving her attention, so she has been dealing with it on her own. Her Lust for you is currently at an all time high. Would you risk it?
COMPLETED!
Reward: -30♥︎ Mood, -70♥︎ Lust, but +10♥︎ Affection
___
___
Minerva
Affection: 30♥︎
Mood: 20♥︎
Lust: 20♥︎
Status: Acquaintance
___
"I see," she replied, though there was a slight pause before she continued. "You have been working hard, after all. That makes sense. You can come by anytime if you feel like it. You're always welcome."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said.
Leaving her place quickly felt like the safest option.
Staying any longer would have made things harder to control.
That situation had been way too risky.
Without the system stepping in with a warning, I probably would have accepted without thinking. That would have ended badly.
Still, a part of me felt a bit of regret.
Opportunities like that didn't come around often.
There was no guarantee it would show up again.
If I had accepted, things could have gone in a completely different direction. Whether that would have been good or bad was hard to say.
Honestly, I'd probably cum immediately. And yeah, that would've been embarrassing as hell. She might've lost interest right then and there.
That thought alone was enough to justify the decision.
Those requirements existed for a reason, I guess.
I guess it was better to build up first than rush in and mess everything up.
"Can I check my stats?" I said quietly.
Right after that, an interface popped up in front of me, displaying my current status like some kind of game screen.
___
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 40
STAMINA: 40
AGILITY: 40
INTELLIGENCE: 75
LOOKS: 68
S-SKILL: 10
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 50
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
___
…Oh. Wow.
Were these really my stats, or was this thing just politely telling me I'm kind of a loser?
The only ones that weren't painfully average, or straight-up bad, were my intelligence, luck, infamy, and looks.
Well, at least I wasn't losing in the looks department. And academically, I wasn't exactly struggling either. Luck, though… yeah, that one felt debatable.
And seriously...
REPUTATION: 5?
That low?
…Yeah, okay, fair enough. With that level of infamy, I kind of asked for it.
Still, something caught my attention.
Can I use these ♥︎ to increase my stats as well?
I mean, I can use them to raise affection, so maybe… just maybe… they work here too?
Right now, I had 10♥︎.
After a moment of hesitation, which was a very brief hesitation, by the way, I decided to dump all of them into STRENGTH.
And when I did…
___
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 50
STAMINA: 40
AGILITY: 40
INTELLIGENCE: 75
LOOKS: 68
S-SKILL: 10
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 50
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
___
Well, I guess it worked?
I mean, the number went up exactly how I expected.
The weird part was that I didn't feel anything at all.
It was like adjusting a setting in a menu and that was it. Kind of underwhelming, honestly.
I half expected something dramatic, like, at least a small hint that my strength had increased. Apparently not.
Still, that confirmed it.
That was how the system worked.
The more I thought about it, the more everything started to feel like I was inside some kind of game.
Which brought up another question.
How much luck would someone need to get something like this?
Looking at my current LUCK stat, the answer was probably not sixty. There was no way this happened because I got lucky. That didn't add up at all.
So whether this was coincidence or something else entirely, it didn't really matter right now. What mattered was that I had it.
And I was definitely going to use it.
The next thing I needed to figure out was the ♥︎.
Were they really just for increasing affection and stats, or was there something more to them?
Because if that was all they did, it was useful, sure, but it felt like there had to be more.
Right as that thought settled in, another interface appeared without warning.
___
You can exchange 1♥︎ for 10,000c.
___
My mind went completely blank the moment I read that.