Chapter 16: +1 Clara's AFFECTION - I Unlocked The Love Quest System

"You can't," she said, her tone firm, but there was a slight tremble underneath it.

"Why not? I think I can take the guy on," I replied.

"You don't know who you're dealing with."

That made me pause for a second.

What? Was he some kind of mafioso heir or something?

Because if that was the case, then yeah, I might need to reconsider my life choices real quick.

I mean, I'm all for helping, but I'm not exactly built to fight an entire crime family. I'm not trying to end up as a missing person report.

"That's the first son of Theobard Richards," she said.

The moment she said that, my eyes widened without me even realizing it.

Theobard Richards?

If I remembered correctly, he was the owner of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The number one distributor of high-quality drugs, especially the kind people use for common illnesses like colds. Basically, the kind of guy who probably makes money every time someone sneezes.

But that wasn't all.

I also remembered hearing things about him that weren't exactly clean.

Normally, I wouldn't bother remembering the name or face of some big-shot CEO. That kind of stuff doesn't stick with me. I don't really care about corporate figures or whatever.

But Theobard Richards? Yeah, he was hard to ignore.

He had been all over the news so many times that even if you tried to forget him, his name would just pop back up again like an unwanted notification.

There were reports about him being involved in illegal drug distribution. Not just rumors either, but actual investigations. And on top of that, people kept saying he had connections with multiple mafioso groups all over Dusk City.

And you know someone's dangerous when their name shows up in the news more for shady dealings than for actual business success.

The mafioso groups he was connected to… if I remembered correctly, those were the same ones rumored to silence people permanently.

Thinking about it now, going up against someone tied to all that sounded less like bravery and more like me signing my own death certificate.

Good thing Clara told me before I did something stupid.

But something else caught my attention.

First son?

"Did you just say first son?" I asked, making sure I heard that right.

She nodded.

So not the youngest.

But the first son.

And unfortunately… I knew exactly who that was.

That bastard had been married three times already, right?

And every single one of those marriages ended in scandals. Not small ones either. The kind that get dragged across headlines for weeks.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

I had seen reports about him doing some pretty disgusting stuff. Things like sexually harassing his employees. Abuse of power, manipulation, and all that trash behavior.

He was, without exaggeration, a complete scumbag.

And to make things worse, he wasn't even young anymore.

The guy was already in his forties.

"Right now, that person is planning to consummate our engagement," she said. "I know it's supposed to happen after marriage, but he doesn't seem like he can wait. He also has this habit of following me everywhere and making sure I'm constantly being watched. He doesn't like the idea of anyone touching what he considers his. I'm sorry for involving you in this situation, Leon. I know it's dangerous to drag you into something like this, but…"

"You don't have to feel sorry, Clara. You're scared of him, aren't you?" I asked.

She nodded.

That was enough.

Something in me just snapped a little.

I couldn't believe there were families out there who would willingly let their daughters marry someone like that. Not just someone terrible, but someone way older and someone who clearly didn't see her as a person.

It was obvious how that kind of story ends.

Miserably.

__________________________

NEW QUEST!

Protect Clara from the bastard tailing her.

Reward: 100♥︎, +30♥︎ AFFECTION

Requirements: 100 STRENGTH, 100 AGILITY

WARNING: This quest is deadly. Failure may result in death. It is highly advised to meet the required STRENGTH and AGILITY first. Even then, proceeding is still extremely dangerous.

Reminder! The system cannot bring you back to life!

__________________________

The interface popped up again, showing me a new quest.

And it didn't hold back at all.

Deadly.

I already knew that.

Getting involved with someone like that was obviously going to be dangerous. That wasn't even a question.

But seeing it written out like that still hit differently.

Clara was trembling beside me.

She clearly wanted to get away from him.

"I'm sorry, Leon. I think this was a bad idea," she said. "I just wanted to stay away from home for a while since he's there right now, planning to consummate our union. That's why I asked you to come with me… and help me with something. I didn't realize how dangerous this would be for you. L-Let's just end this here, okay? I promise I'll help you with your studies tomorrow."

She started to step away, like she had already decided to leave.

But before she could go, I reached out and grabbed her hand.

At that point, I didn't really care how dangerous it was.

There was a chance I could die.

Not exactly a comforting thought, but still.

There was no way I was just going to let Clara walk back into that situation.

"Come with me," I said.

I didn't wait for her to argue.

I immediately started moving, pulling her along with me as I tried to get us out of there.

There were a lot of people around, which actually worked in our favor.

Crowds make it easier to disappear if you know what you're doing.

Still, I had to make sure we actually lost him completely.

"W-Where are we going?" she asked, clearly nervous.

"Somewhere he won't be able to see us," I said. "If we can keep you away from home, then he can't consummate anything, right?"

Honestly, what he was trying to do was complete bullshit.

Consummation is supposed to happen after marriage. That's literally the point. Doing it before that just sounds like he's making excuses because he can't control himself.

"B-But if he finds out who you are, you could end up in a dangerous position," she said.

"Well, I just want to help a friend. Is there something wrong with that?" I replied.

Yeah. A friend.

Even though Clara probably knew about my past, considering my reputation wasn't exactly hidden, she never treated me differently.

She still talked to me like I was normal.

And somewhere along the way, we became friends.

Actual friends.

And right now, there was no way I was handing her over to some scumbag like him.

Not happening.

[+1 Clara's AFFECTION]

I didn't even bother checking the notification that kept popping up right in front of me.

I just kept running.

At that moment, stopping to read some system message felt like the dumbest thing I could do. Whatever it was, it could wait. What mattered more was putting distance between us and that guy.

If I could just get her somewhere safe, somewhere far enough away from her home for a while, then that should be enough… right?

At least, that was what I kept telling myself while I kept moving.

***

In the end, I decided to hide her in a nearby hotel.

Honestly, I didn't have some deep, well-thought-out reason for choosing the place. It was just close and available, and right now, I wasn't exactly in the mood to explore all my options like I was booking a vacation.

I just needed somewhere quick.

Somewhere that worked.

If Clara could stay here for a bit, then things should calm down eventually. That was the plan, anyway.

After paying for the room, we were handed the key without much fuss.

The total came out to around 30,000c for the night.

I mean, I won't lie, that's not exactly cheap. That's the kind of number that would usually make me pause and rethink my life choices for a second.

But given the situation, her safety mattered more than the price tag.

There were definitely cheaper rooms. But according to them, this was the only available room.

Still, I wasn't about to complain.

At the very least, it also confirmed something important.

The money I had was legit.

__________________________

Total credit: 473,451c

__________________________

Looking at that number, I couldn't even say the cost hurt that much.

It barely scratched what I had.

With how easy it had been to earn money through the system, spending 30,000c didn't feel nearly as heavy as it should have. Honestly, a part of me was more surprised at how little I cared about it.

We started walking down the hallway toward our room.

"I-I'm going to pay you back."

"You don't have to worry about it," I told her.

It was a lot of money, but compared to everything I had gained so far, it didn't feel like a loss worth stressing over.

When we finally stepped inside, it didn't take long for the realization to hit.

This was a love hotel.

Of course it was.

I mean, considering this was the only nearby option, it made sense in a weird way. Places like this were usually discreet, and they didn't ask too many questions. They were built for privacy. People came here specifically because they didn't want to be seen or questioned.

Which, in a situation like this, actually worked in our favor.

Still, that didn't make it any less awkward.

Could I have chosen another place?

Probably, yeah.

Did I?

Nope.

So here we were.

As I looked around the room more carefully, it became pretty obvious why the price was 30,000c.

It wasn't just the room itself.

It was everything inside it.

There was this curved seat off to the side, the kind that looked like it had a very specific purpose. Definitely not something you'd see in a normal hotel room unless they were going for a very bold design choice.

And then there was the cross. An actual cross setup, complete with cuffs attached for both arms and legs.

On top of that, there were several… things.

Tools? Instruments? I wasn't even sure what to call them without sounding like I knew exactly what they were used for, which I definitely did not want to admit out loud.

"Uh, L-Leon…" she said.

Her voice had that mix of embarrassment and uncertainty, which honestly made perfect sense.

This wasn't exactly everyday scenery.

"D-Don't worry, I'm not planning to do anything," I said quickly.

It looked like she had gotten the wrong idea just from the fact that I picked this place.

Can't really blame her for that, considering everything around us was basically screaming something else.

"I-I'm not really worried about that…" she replied, still glancing around the room. "But… do you think we lost him?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "And places like this are pretty strict when it comes to privacy. They deal with… situations like this all the time. Affairs, secrets, that kind of thing. They're not going to let just anyone walk in or give out information."

That was honestly one of the main reasons I went with this place.

Not because I had personal experience or anything like that.

Definitely not.

But I had heard enough stories and rumors to know how these places operated.

And that was exactly what we needed right now.

__________________________

You managed to get away from Clara's fiancé and have avoided a direct confrontation. He no longer knows where the two of you are. For now, he has given up. However, he will return in the future.

[+1 INTELLIGENCE]

__________________________

Well, that was something.

Sounds like he really did give up, at least for the moment.

Still… the part about him coming back later was not exactly comforting.

Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: +1 Clara's AFFECTION