Chapter 20: I Am Her Prince

Venus placed her hands behind her back, swaying gently as she spoke: "Based on my analysis over the past few days, Shin Garei still retains a child’s heart and a longing for perfect love. She will never accept a man who falls short of her standards, which is why she’s rejected so many suitors."

"Huh? Doesn’t that make it insanely hard?" I asked, feeling discouraged.

"When I call you dumb, you really don’t bother being modest. Under my ultimate strategy, she’ll have no choice but to fall in line! You just need to make her see that you’re the absolute best, and she’s bound to fall for you," Venus said.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I have my own arrangements—we’re playing the sophisticated game. Just make sure you don’t overdo the enthusiasm. Be polite yet natural, carry a touch of bad-boy charm without being genuinely wicked, and show broad erudition without overtly flaunting it," Venus declaimed, nodding her head thoughtfully.

"My god, that sounds way too hard! For starters, being ’broadly erudite’ is impossible for me—it’s not like you guys don’t know what I’m made of!" I whined with a grimace.

"With that attitude, you’re doomed from the start. I told you before: have some confidence. Every woman harbors a fantasy of Prince Charming—the problem is, right now Shin Garei doesn’t even have a white horse, let alone a prince. You need to remember that from this moment on, you are her prince. Princes carry an innate pride in their bones, and their pride stems from confidence in who they are," Athena scolded, exasperated by my lack of spine.

"Exactly! Confidence naturally breeds charm, and charm is what captures a woman’s attention. Of course, don’t overdo it either—excessive confidence becomes arrogance. Don’t think playing it cool is enough to pick up sophisticated women; that only tricks schoolgirls. When pursuing a woman—especially an exceptional one—she secretly wants a boyfriend who stands taller than her, and Shin Garei happens to be that caliber of woman. One of your refined female writers, Eileen Chang, once said: ’If you give a good woman a chance to go bad, she’ll turn worse than any bad woman!’" Venus chimed in.

"You even know Eileen Chang?! Good grief... how do I actually build this confidence?" I asked, staring at Venus.

Athena and Venus shared a smile. "What’s the big surprise? You’ve actually made huge progress. The old you would’ve never had the guts to ask Shin Garei out in the first place. Confidence is cultivated, and the only way is practice. They say clothes make the man—I’m sure a makeover will boost your confidence quite a bit."

From that moment on, my day turned into a whirlwind. I immediately took a taxi to Tokyo’s most famous hair studio to get a new look. This studio, named "Superstar," was massive. Supposedly a go-to spot for celebrities, its prices were painfully steep.

Luckily, I had just pocketed 500,000 yen yesterday; otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared set foot inside.

A male stylist with long hair worked on my head for hours, perming and straightening it. Spending nearly the entire morning there, I slowly watched my transformation in the mirror.

Framed by this new hairstyle, my once unremarkable self looked infinitely sharper, exuding an air of handsome charm and a touch of a dashing rogue!

Trying out a smile in the mirror, my vibe instantly turned bright and warm. You get what you pay for, though—checking out left a painful dent in my wallet.

Along the way, Venus stared at me with sparkling eyes, nodding continuously, before dragging me straight into a high-end shopping mall.

Venus wouldn’t even let me enter boutiques with clothes under 5,000 yen, steering me straight toward luxury designer stores instead. It was a massive eye-opener—I didn’t recognize half the brands, and simple garments with barely any fabric carried price tags of twenty or thirty thousand yen. If Mom knew I bought clothes this expensive, she’d skin me alive!

Venus picked out my outfit, and I had to admit her taste was impeccable. In no time, I had a complete top-to-bottom transformation anchored in a sleek black theme, radiating an aura of mistery. Standing before the mirror, I could barely recognize myself. While not drop-dead gorgeous, the distinct charisma oozing from my demeanor was genuinely striking—at least the money wasn’t wasted!

Dressed to the nines, I returned home. Before my seat even got warm, Athena and Venus began training me again. Venus conjured up a teacher’s outfit, complete with glasses and a pointer, and launched into her lecture: "For a romantic illiterate like you, the Goddess of Love has no choice but to give you a crash course. During a pursuit, physical contact with a woman is inevitable—and those exact moments are when you’re most likely to leave a lasting impression and win her favor, so there’s zero room for error!"

"What kind of physical contact?" I asked, blushing red.

Hearing my question, Venus raised her pointer and gave me a light whack, scolding: "Dirty thoughts filling that head of yours! I mean handshakes, guiding her, dancing, or gentle kisses! During a handshake, never grip her hand tightly with your palm—use your five fingers to gently hold her four fingers, using minimal force, just resting lightly. When guiding her, don’t grab her arm; gently support her hand. When dancing, don’t hold her too tight—place your hand naturally on her back. Remember, never wrap your entire arm around her waist; simply rest your flat palm lightly against the center of her back."

"Kissing is the most crucial part, and the hardest to gauge," Venus continued endlessly. "It requires reading her boundaries from her eyes before your lips make a move. If she softly closes her eyes or looks entranced as you lean in, it means she’s accepted you in her heart, and you can go for her lips. If you only kiss her cheek or forehead instead, she’ll actually be disappointed! But if her eyes betray fear, or if her eyelids flutter nervously as she squints, kissing her lips will make her mark you as untrustworthy or a pervert, ruining her impression of you. In that case, a gentle kiss on her forehead proves you’re a true gentleman."

Pausing mid-lecture, Venus sighed and looked around: "There are actually many techniques to kissing, but it’s a shame we’re the only two women here—and both without physical bodies—otherwise we could demonstrate for you!"

Hearing Venus say that, I blushed crimson and stole a glance at the two of them. That’s actually a pretty good idea... I wonder what kissing a goddess feels like? Thinking this, my eyes lingered on Athena a moment too long.

Athena’s face flushed red, and she huffed, "Venus, what nonsense are you spewing?! You’re a goddess!"

"Can’t a goddess fall in love, get married, and have babies?" Venus replied matter-of-factly.

Athena couldn’t take her anymore and snapped, "Venus, stop talking nonsense! What right do we have to fall in love right now? We don’t even have physical bodies, let alone talk about having... that!" Mentioning babies brought a deep rosy blush to Athena’s face, making her look so adorable I wanted to take a bite, staring with wide eyes.

Hearing Athena say that, Venus lowered her head, complaining gloomily: "Seriously... without a body, I can’t wear pretty clothes for people to see, can’t eat delicious food, can’t go shopping, can’t be kissed, and can’t even get married and have babies!"

"Cough... cough..." Hearing Venus’s wildly outrageous rant, I couldn’t help but burst into a coughing fit.

Athena, who had her head down, raised her head again with a dangerous glint in her eyes: "You really think I can’t discipline you?"

Seeing Athena genuinely angry, Venus playfully stuck out her tongue and quickly shifted the topic: "Fuitsu, call Shin Garei out again tonight! We’ll find an elegant spot and capture her heart once and for all!"

Spotting the murderous look in Athena’s eyes as well, I quickly huddled next to Venus to start brainstorming. I wasn’t stupid enough to poke a lit powder keg right now.

Venus and I put on a synchronized act of talking nonsense, completely avoiding eye contact with Athena. Sure enough, after a short while, Athena’s anger subsided. Unable to stand being ignored, she joined our discussion group, diffusing the conflict into thin air.

Picking up the phone, I dialed Shin Garei’s mobile number. Before long, her voice rang through the receiver: "Hello, who’s this?"

"It’s Fuitsu, Garei-san!" I answered.

"Haha, it’s you! Is there something up?" her crisp voice asked from the other end.

"Nothing major. Are you free tonight?"

"Ah... of course I am! What’s going on?" She blurted out multiple questions at once.

"I’d like to invite you out for a drink!"

"Let’s go back to the coffee shop then!" Shin Garei suggested excitedly.

"We’ll talk when we meet! It’s a deal then—let’s meet downtown at 8 PM!" With that, I hung up the phone, turned around to flash a victory sign to Athena and Venus, and opened my laptop to look up a nice spot online!