I know Freya — she's that beautiful character I'd seen in some fan art online before. She's also one of the most popular characters in the whole story. But… she's not supposed to be a waitress here.
She's a Goddess. A highly respected one.
'Is she in disguise? But why is she here?'
I pretended not to notice and looked away. After I sat down at the table, a waitress came over to take our order. Luckily, it wasn't Freya. We ordered a lot — plenty of food and drinks.
It had been a long time since I'd had any beer, so I asked for a big mug. I was curious to know if beer tasted any different in this world.
"I didn't know you drank," Bete said.
"I usually don't, but I just felt like it today."
"You're happy, aren't you?" Tiona said with a grin. "You looked like you were having a lot of fun inside the dungeon."
"Yeah, it was fun."
I wouldn't say I'm happy… I'm excited.
I keep thinking about all the things I could do with this system — how strong I could become.
Actually… I don't even know how I'm supposed to get stronger using it. Isn't it meant just for… winning over women?
"I'm glad you had fun," Tiona said, giving me a light slap on the back.
After that, we all started chatting about random things. This time, they didn't leave me out of the conversation. A few minutes later, our food finally began to arrive. And when I saw who was serving it, I swallowed hard.
'It's Freya…' I avoided looking into her eyes.
She had a bright smile on her face as she served our dishes.
'Hasn't anyone noticed it's her?'
I glanced at Freya—and then our eyes met.
[ Freya's affection for you has increased! ]
[ 0 > 20 ]
[ Freya's status has changed to: Friend ]
'!'
Friend?
Freya stared at me for a second. Her gaze was cold and piercing. I started to sweat and felt her hand brush against my arm before she walked away from the table.
When Tiona noticed how tense I was, she placed a hand on my arm and asked,
"Are you okay?"
I looked back—and saw Freya staring directly at me.
I quickly turned my head away.
"It's nothing…" I forced a bitter smile.
'Why is this happening? Why am I getting so much of her attention?'
I'm not anyone special, and my looks are pretty average.
'Is it just because I figured out her true identity?'
Yeah… that's probably it.
####
I ate while trying my best to ignore Freya's presence in the restaurant. When we finally finished and left, I sighed in relief. Tiona, noticing that, asked, "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting strange today."
We were walking behind the rest of the group.
"I just got a little nervous, that's all."
"Why?"
"I just don't feel comfortable getting that much attention."
"Hmmm… walking around with Ais does tend to draw a lot of attention."
"Don't get me wrong. I still want to stay in this group."
"Hahaha. I'm glad. I'd be sad if you left."
"…" I smiled at her, and Tiona's eyes widened slightly.
[ Tiona Hiryute's affection for you has increased! ]
[ 12 > 14 ]
When I saw the system messages, I opened my status screen.
Above Tiona's head, some information appeared.
I hadn't noticed before, but her "difficulty" was…
Name: Tiona Hiryute
Difficulty: Easy
Status: Friend
'Easy…?'
Why?
Tiona is beautiful and strong, with a great personality. There's no way she'd be easy to win over.
'Does that mean she's already interested in me?'
That would make sense.
If a woman already has some interest from the start, it would naturally be easier to win her over.
The bar might fill up quickly. I wonder what happens when it reaches 100?
I'm curious.
"You're staring at me too much, stop it!" Tiona smacked my arm and ran over to Tione. I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets, continuing to walk while glancing around.
'I really am in another world, huh… How crazy.'
As I walked through the streets, it finally began to sink in.
I started thinking about all the things I'd left behind in my old world.
But soon, that feeling of nostalgia faded away.
The life I had on "Earth" wasn't exactly a good one anyway. So I guess… it's fine, right?
####
When I got home, I headed straight to my room.
After taking off my blood- and dust-stained shirt, I went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and noticed a slight change in my body. "Hm?" My abdomen, once flat, now had a bit of definition.
"What the…?"
My arms also looked more toned.
Before going to the restaurant, my body was still the same. What the hell happened?
Then I remembered what happened with Freya.
'Wait, did my body change after Freya's status changed? Did her affection somehow make me stronger or something?'
I opened my status again.
When I checked Tiona's "difficulty," I hadn't looked at my falna. Maybe something changed?
Level 1
Strength (STR): F 385
Endurance (END): F 355
Dexterity (DEX): F 371
Agility (AGI): F 398
Magic (MAG): F 361
"Wait… that's amazing."
Each of my stats went up by almost a hundred points after Freya's status changed?
I didn't know that increasing someone's affection could also raise my falna! I thought the only way to improve it was by exploring the dungeon. This is an incredible advantage!
"Maybe it increased that much because she's a Goddess… I'll only know for sure once Tiona's status changes."
For now, I guess I'll focus on that.
Winning over Tiona—and making her mine.
####
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