I had no idea.
Inviting her right now felt like a gamble, and not the fun kind.
More like the kind where you lose everything and then sit there wondering why you even tried in the first place.
It was just… too risky.
I should probably focus on raising her mood first.
That part at least made sense in my head.
Play it safe, build things up properly, then go for it when the odds are better. Sounds simple when you think about it like that.
The problem was, I had absolutely no idea how to actually do that.
Sure, I managed to raise her LUST earlier through my actions, even without directly following some system prompt.
That just kind of happened naturally.
But figuring out how to trigger that again, or even control it? That was a completely different story.
And if I just stood here doing nothing, I had this gut feeling that I'd end up losing this chance entirely.
Her LUST was already maxed out.
If I let this moment pass, there was a good chance I wouldn't get another opportunity like this again.
"Hm? Leon, why did you suddenly go quiet?" she asked, looking at me with a bit of curiosity.
"N-Nothing. I was just thinking about something," I replied.
"I see…"
[-1 Verra's MOOD]
[-1 Verra's MOOD]
[-1 Verra's MOOD]
Crap?!
What the fuck just happened?!
Why did her Mood suddenly drop like that?!
Ah… right.
That was on me.
I wasn't paying attention to her at all.
I got stuck in my own head, running through options like I was playing some strategy game, and completely ignored the actual person in front of me.
Of course her mood would drop.
Nice going. Truly impressive.
"A-Aren't you going to ask what I was thinking about?" I said quickly, trying to salvage the situation before it got worse.
At this point, I was going all in.
There was no holding back.
If this failed, then it failed, but I wasn't about to just sit here and let everything fall apart without trying.
"What is it exactly?" she asked.
"Well… after being shown something like that, I don't think I can keep my thoughts from going somewhere… right?"
"So you're saying you're thinking about something naughty?"
"Something along those lines, yeah," I admitted.
Okay, yeah. That was definitely pushing it.
But doing nothing was basically the same as giving up, and I wasn't ready to do that yet. If I had to risk sounding a bit bold, then so be it.
She blushed, just slightly.
"Hmm, then you should be grateful. It's also your first time seeing a woman's breasts, isn't it?"
"You don't have to shove it in my face that I'm a virgin."
"Well, that makes two of us, I guess. I hadn't shown these with anyone else besides you. And I'm not making fun of you. I'm a virgin too."
"Well, for a guy my age, these days, being a virgin is basically asking people to make fun of you."
"Same for women my age," she said. "If I told my colleagues I don't even have a boyfriend yet, they'd start teasing me immediately. Some of them even call me a saint, which is… honestly not as flattering as they think it is."
She took another swig of her beer.
A long one this time, like she needed it.
"People keep asking me if I'm planning to stay single even when I hit my thirties. Like, can't they just mind their own business?" she continued, her tone carrying a bit of frustration now. "It's not like I'm desperate to find someone right away. But everyone around me, even my parents, keeps asking when I'm getting married. That's why I tried dating sites, you know, just to speed things up. Unfortunately… that didn't really work out either."
"Well, it's fine to wait, isn't it?" I said. "It's not like you're in a rush. And honestly, I think someone will show up eventually. You don't need to force it."
"Really? You're not just saying that because I'm your manager, right?"
"Of course not. Don't you think we're past that kind of thing already?"
"Well… I see. I guess I'll believe you."
___
Your sweet talking is working on her! You seem to be heading in the right direction thanks to your 51 COMMUNICATION. Not bad. Keep it up, and you might actually score tonight. However, be careful. If you overdo it, she might catch on and get turned off. Tread carefully.
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's MOOD]
[+1 Verra's AFFECTION]
[+1 Verra's AFFECTION]
[+1 Verra's AFFECTION]
___
___
Verra
Affection: 45♥︎
Mood: 25♥︎
Lust: 100♥︎
Status: Interested
___
My eyes were basically getting spammed by those notifications popping up one after another.
So… the sweet talking was working.
That was good.
Actually, that was more than good.
But at the same time, her Mood was still low. Not terrible, but nowhere near what I needed it to be.
It's not even close.
And the worst part was how slow it was increasing.
At this rate, I'd be here forever, grinding Mood like it was some boring stat nobody cares about until it suddenly becomes important.
How was I supposed to raise it fast enough?
___
If you want to increase the amount of points you gain through conversations and actions, you should increase your stats.
___
Well… thanks for that.
Very helpful. Truly.
Would've been great if you told me that earlier.
I looked at her again, thinking.
If I leaned a bit more into suggestive comments… would that help?
I had already been doing that, more or less. It seemed to catch her attention, but not enough to make a big difference.
And there was still the risk.
If she realized I was sweet talking her on purpose, things could go south fast. The system literally warned me about that. If she got turned off, then everything I had built up so far would just collapse.
"Oh, look at the time," she suddenly said. "It's getting late. I enjoyed talking with you, Leon, but we should probably stop here before we get completely smashed. I still have to drive myself home."
Ah, shit.
She was starting to leave.
What was I supposed to do now?
Just accept it? Let her walk away like nothing happened?
No way.
If I did that, the level of blue balls I'd be dealing with would probably be illegal in some countries.
Should I use the ♥︎?
If I used the ♥︎ I got from the quest earlier, I could boost her mood directly.
But even then… it still wouldn't reach the requirement.
Would it even matter?
What were my chances right now?
The system wasn't really giving me anything useful to measure that.
…Fuck it.
I'll use them.
I can earn them back later anyway. Even more if I actually succeed in this quest.
There was no point saving them if I end up losing this chance completely.
___
Verra
Affection: 45♥︎
Mood: 35♥︎
Lust: 100♥︎
Status: Interested
___
Now it was at 35.
It was still not enough.
It was still far from the requirement.
But… it had to improve my chances, right?
At least a little.
***
We were already outside the bar, making our way across the parking lot toward her car.
I stayed close beside her, helping her keep her balance as we walked. She was completely smashed, after all.
Honestly, letting her drive home like this felt like a terrible idea.
I mean, I wasn't exactly a saint, but even I had enough common sense to know that this could end badly.
Should I just take the shot now?
"You're really drunk right now, Manager. Are you sure you can make it home by yourself?" I asked.
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
She sounded confident. A little too confident, actually. And from what I knew, people who sounded that sure of themselves were usually the ones who ended up in accidents.
"You should probably just call a taxi instead," I said.
"And leave my car here?" she shot back, turning her head slightly toward me. "Do you even know what happens if you leave your car in Dusk City overnight? There's like a ninety percent chance it gets stolen."
Well… she wasn't wrong about that.
"Then… why don't you stay at my place?"
I finally went for it.
Still, I didn't just throw it out there randomly. I tried to build it up a little to make it sound reasonable instead of suspicious.
"Your place?" she repeated, clearly processing what I had just said.
That was when she turned to look at me properly, her expression somewhere between curious and slightly wary.
"It's near Dusk City," I explained. "It's not that big or anything, but it's more than enough for one night. At least until you sober up a bit." I paused for a second, then added, "And the area is pretty safe. Not a lot of crime happens there. Honestly, it's a better option than trying to drive all the way home like this."
I kept my tone steady, trying not to sound like I had any other intentions, even though my brain was definitely running ahead of me.
Now it all came down to her answer.
I think I handled that pretty smoothly, all things considered.
"Well… that actually sounds quite reasonable," she said after a moment. "But are you sure you're okay with that?"
Right as those words left her mouth, the interface appeared in front of me.
___
COMPLETED
If I invited her to stay at my place, would she accept?
Invite her
Reward: 50♥︎
__
I did it.
I actually managed to pull it off.
I had to fight the urge to react, to grin like an idiot or do something even worse right there in the parking lot. That would have ruined everything instantly.
So instead, I kept it together.
"I'm completely fine with it," I said, keeping my voice as normal as possible.