Chapter 50: Dressing Up

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Dressing Up

[A few minutes ago.]

Emma had been standing in the same spot for several minutes, her gaze fixed on the military building ahead.

Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her expression growing more impatient with every passing moment. Her eyes never left the heavy metal door of the building. Every time a soldier walked past, her heart gave another hard, unwelcome thud.

’What the hell is wrong with me?’

Wasn’t she supposed to despise this bastard?

The bastard who had walked into her life, torn her pride apart, and somehow still managed to stand there looking completely unbothered?

So why was her chest so tight? Why did the thought of him not walking back out make her stomach twist?

She lifted a hand and bit down on the short nail of her little finger. The soft snap as it broke only made her chew harder.

’No, no. It’s not like I care about him. This is all just revenge.’

She nodded to herself as if she could somehow convince her own heart to believe the clumsy excuse. ’Yes. If he dies before I can settle things with him, then what was even the point of coming all the way here?’

She repeated the words in her head like a spell.

Then the door opened.

Michael stepped out as if he had merely gone inside to ask for directions. That same teasing smirk rested on his face, his snow-white hair slightly tousled by the wind and his rose-pink eyes already scanning the crowd.

He looked completely fine.

No bruises. No fear. Not even a hint of distress.

Just that irritatingly relaxed expression that made her want to throw something at him.

Emma clicked her tongue under her breath, though her shoulders had relaxed considerably. ’No way I can fall for this bastard.’

He was annoying as hell. A complete scumbag who collected women the way other people collected cheap souvenirs. She would bet anything he had taken his mask off the moment she told him to put it on, just so he could flash that face of his and go flirt with some other girl.

And then there was the teasing.

He loved teasing her, even though he was the one who had stomped all over her pride. The least he could do as a man was apologize, but no. He had to be rigid and stubborn while somehow acting as though the whole thing was a joke.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was always cracking jokes at her expense until her face burned. Even when she was clearly giving everyone the silent treatment, he still found some bullshit to tell her about.

A total gossip king.

So unmanly.

And freaking chalant.

Then, during their one-day journey to the mountain, he would act like he genuinely liked her one minute, only to start thinking about kissing some other woman the next.

He was so damn infuriating.

Didn’t he know men were supposed to be loyal? Caring? At least a little bit of a simp?

Michael stopped right in front of her and tilted his head, his smile widening. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

Emma’s face immediately went deep red. ’Wait. Why was I thinking about all that? Why do I even care if he’s a scumbag or not? It’s not like I’m his woman.’

She scoffed, folded her arms tighter across her chest, and turned her face away. "I was just thinking about how bad the weather is and how you’ve made us waste even more time."

It was a lie.

Even after telling herself that Michael wasn’t important, she had still been thinking about him. And now she was desperately trying to make sure he never found out.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye—just in time to see his hands rise. Before she could step back, warm palms cupped both her cheeks.

Michael’s face was filled with pure amusement as he gently squished her chubby cheeks, the very cheeks she had always been insecure about. "Aww. You look so cute when you sulk."

Emma’s entire face flared even hotter. "You bastard—what are you doing?" she stammered, her voice pitching higher than she intended. "There are a lot of people here you idiot!"

Michael blinked, as if he had only just remembered the crowd surrounding them. He immediately pulled his hands back, looking only mildly apologetic. "Sorry. Got carried away."

He reached into his dimensional pouch, pulled out the simple mask, and slipped it over the lower half of his face in one smooth motion. "There. It’s on. Happy now?"

Emma glared at him for a full second before spinning on her heel and marching toward the quieter shopping area.

"Let’s just go already!" she yelled over her shoulder.

Raven was already moving. The moment Michael turned, she slipped her hand into his, holding it a little tighter than necessary, as if quietly claiming territory no one else had thought to claim.

Her cat ears twitched once when he looked down at her.

He raised his free hand and gently patted the top of her head. "How was the mission? Were you guys able to gather anything?"

Raven shook her head several times, her red-and-black hair swaying with the motion. "Nothing much, actually. Most people got really secretive the second we started asking anything useful."

She glanced up at him, her golden eyes filled with curiosity. "What about you? Did you get anything important? Since the officers carried you off, you most likely got something, right?"

Michael nodded, tapping a finger against his chin beneath the mask. "Yeah. I got a lot. For now, let’s just find somewhere to group up."

"Hmm. Emma already found somewhere." Raven replied while pointing toward a modest two-story inn a short distance from the testing line.

Michael gave a small nod, though his gaze briefly drifted toward the little ramen shop near the edge of the camp.

Raven followed his eyes and tilted her head. "What happened?"

"Nothing important," he said, and started walking again.

After walking a few steps, with the inn already within sight, the system’s familiar chime suddenly rang in Michael’s head.

Ding!

[You have earned 10 Emotion Points from target: Emma Waltz.]

Ding!

[You have earned 20 Emotion Points from target: Emma Waltz.]

The notifications continued stacking in rapid succession until, finally, one last window settled in the corner of his vision.

[Emma Waltz — Current Affection: 78]

Michael’s eyes widened. ’Seventy-eight?!’

No matter how many times he thought about it, Michael still couldn’t understand it. Emma was already at 78, while Raven was only at 71, despite him having spent nearly an entire day with Raven during their flight—not to mention the intimacy they had shared the day before.

Yet Emma, whom he had barely spent any meaningful time with, already had a higher affection?

’Then does that mean there’s something different about the way I approached the two of them?’

Michael’s eyes narrowed.

The more he thought about it, the more stranger it became.

With Raven, things had progressed a little more naturally. He had talked with her, traveled with her, gotten his ass handed to him by her, and even crossed that final line with her. Although they hadn’t known each other for long, he could still say that their relationship had been built through shared experiences, at least to some extent.

But Emma?

He had done almost none of that.

Most of their interactions consisted of him teasing her, provoking her, and casually trampling over whatever remained of her patience. If anything, he had spent more time getting on her nerves than actually trying to get closer to her.

And yet her affection was higher.

Maybe the things he thought annoyed her weren’t actually pushing her away. Maybe... they were doing the exact opposite.

Then did that mean she secretly liked scumbags? Or perhaps she actually enjoyed being teased?

Or maybe it was because, unlike Raven, who had initially grown close to him because she wanted to get closer to Seraphine, Emma had approached him with no such calculation or ulterior motive.

If that was the case... was her whole rant about getting revenge just... her wanting to be difficult?

Michael thought it over.

Even he, who considered himself fairly knowledgeable when it came to women, probably wouldn’t have figured this out if the system hadn’t shown him the numbers.

He had genuinely thought Emma disliked him. He had even wondered if she might one day stab him in the back after all the teasing he had put her through.

Who would have thought she actually liked it?

The corners of Michael’s lips slowly curled upward.

At that moment, the system chimed again.

Ding!

[New target available for Custom Quest creation.]

[First-time target discount applied.]

Michael stopped walking, his eyes gleaming with interest. After a beat, he turned to Raven with an easy smile. "Can you go on ahead without me? I want to check something real quick."

Raven raised an eyebrow, her ears flicking slightly, but she still gave his hand a small squeeze before heading toward the inn she had pointed out.

It was only a few dozen steps away, close enough that she could still see him if she looked back.

Michael glanced left and right, making sure the narrow alley between two supply tents was reasonably secluded.

Once he was satisfied, he slipped inside and called up his system panel.

The glowing screen unfolded across his vision, displaying all of his current heroines.

At the very top was Ivy, who currently had the highest mission score. He had only recently discovered that the score represented the number of successful missions each person had completed.

Michael tapped on her name.

Although Ivy wasn’t currently with him and was technically his ex at this point, he still felt it would be wrong to go silent for more than three days. So he created a custom quest for her and spent a painful amount of Emotion Points just to attach a short message to it before sending it off.

Next, he selected Rachel, who currently had the highest affection at 96, and assigned her a mission as well. Just like Ivy, he attached a short message for his adorable pregnant wife before sending it.

When he reached Seraphine’s profile, whose affection was the second-highest at 92, his finger hovered uncertainly over the mission button.

Since Michael didn’t know Seraphine’s current condition, what she might be doing, or even where she was, creating a suitable quest for her would be difficult. He could always leave it to the system and randomize the quest, but that felt too risky.

A poorly timed quest could easily do more harm than good.

In the end, Michael decided it was better not to interfere.

Finally, he opened Emma’s panel.

The description listed her physical details with the system’s usual bluntness. When his eyes reached her breast size, which the system had labeled as "Soft L-cup," a short, slightly perverted giggle escaped him before he could stop it.

Michael immediately shook his head, disgusted with himself. ’Get a grip, Michael!’

Forcing himself to focus, he opened the mission creation tab and began writing.

The structure was familiar, almost identical to the first major quest he had given Seraphine.

[Mission: Tell Host your deepest secret, then kiss him.]

[Reward: Mid-rank Spirit Restoring Rune.]

He tapped Create.

The price appeared.

Michael froze.

It was far higher than anything he had paid before.

Not merely expensive.

Borderline ridiculous.

’So this is what the system meant by different names having different values...’

Did that mean Emma’s true potential was extremely high? Perhaps even higher than Seraphine’s? If so, why did she still seem so weak?

Michael had no answer. And honestly, he didn’t care enough to force one right now.

Whether Emma turned out to be an ordinary girl or something closer to a saintess, he had already decided he would help her grow stronger either way.

Michael exhaled slowly, steadied himself, and tapped Accept.

His Emotion Points drained away.

The mission window glowed softly before vanishing into Emma’s status panel.

.....xXx.....

[Meanwhile, inside the inn.]

After Emma stormed off toward the inn, she immediately took the stairs, not even bothering to look around or acknowledge the old owner who waved at her.

Her boots hammered against the floorboards as she climbed, each step louder than the last. A passing innkeeper even flattened himself against the wall to avoid her path. Emma barely noticed, too busy cursing under her breath and stomping on the wooden floor as if the poor thing had personally offended her.

Within seconds of reaching her floor, she found the room she’d booked for herself and Raven, shoved the door open, and slammed it behind her.

Then she slid down against it, breathing like she had just outrun a rift boss. "Fucking bastard."

Her cheeks were still burning. She pressed both palms against them, which only made things worse because they were exactly where his hands had been. Warm. Careless. Squishing.

Emma gritted her teeth as his earlier words resurfaced in her mind.

You look so cute when you sulk.

"I do not sulk," she hissed at the empty room.

The empty room didn’t argue. Neither did the part of her that knew better.

She tipped her head back against the door and let out a long breath. Finally... Quiet. A bed that wouldn’t call her adorable.

Ding!

Emma went rigid.

A panel unfolded directly in front of her face, glowing a soft purple with shimmering edges. She swatted at it on instinct, only for her hand to pass straight through.

"What the—"

This... wasn’t her system, was it?

No. She knew the world’s system. Blue, boring, and about as personal as a tax form: World Points, rank, a few stats. That was it.

This was different.

The color was wrong. The font was wrong. And somehow, the entire thing felt like it was addressing her personally.

Her eyes slowly moved across the first line.

[Mission: Tell Michael Kaiser your deepest secret, then kiss him.]

[Reward: Mid-rank Spirit Restoring Rune.]

Emma stared.

Once.

Then again.

Her lips twitched. "...That fuck?"