Ch.132132. Dating Copy Bug

While I couldn’t fully understand the favorability system’s principles, once it manifested as numerical values, there was no denying the hierarchy.

It wasn’t a problem when it was just Celia and Alkine. Since Celia was the senior and Alkine the junior, it made sense that Celia had the higher number.

There was an unspoken rule about not checking each other’s favorability scores, but even considering that, Celia’s score was overwhelming. I just checked and it was 81—having a different first digit seemed to give her a sense of confidence.

Anyway, the two had accepted each other and maintained a relationship of mutual understanding.

The problem arose when Lilith inserted herself between them.

Lilith, who joined late, had an absurdly high favorability score. Alkine had 53, but Lilith came in with 55… which seemed to have shocked Alkine considerably.

“Haha…”

Alkine could only laugh hollowly at having her second place position snatched away.

To be fair, 53 isn’t a low score at all. It indicates enough affection to willingly sacrifice for someone else.

For Lilith to surpass that with 55 was simply unreasonable.

“Miss Lilith. To be honest, I expected this would happen. But shouldn’t you respect the proper order?”

“I didn’t expect things to turn out this way…”

“I suppose not… Sigh, really. It’s amazing you didn’t realize until reaching this score.”

Celia’s sentiment matched my own.

Seriously. What had she been thinking all this time?

I glanced at Lilith, wanting to ask, but she flinched and avoided my gaze.

“Wait… don’t look at me. Looking at you now makes me feel strange.”

“…Miss Lilith. That kind of talk is cheating, so it’s forbidden.”

“What is?”

“Are you really asking… Sigh, never mind. It’s forbidden, that’s all.”

…It seems even simple conversation is difficult right now.

Unlike the other two who became bolder after recognizing their favorability, she’s become more timid.

That’s refreshing in its own way…

Celia looked back and forth between the dejected Alkine and the shy Lilith, then sighed deeply.

“Let’s talk as we go.”

The distance to Ritten was quite far, but even if it weren’t, this was going to be a long journey.

///

Celia’s flight wasn’t as romantic as yesterday’s.

The atmosphere was so awkward that the scenery hardly registered.

Celia seemed to feel the same way, as she moved closer to me and asked:

“What are we going to do about those two?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Who else would I ask if not you, Ludion?”

…Come to think of it, that’s right.

I was the object of their favorability after all.

But there was truly nothing I could do.

Telling Alkine “53 is a high score too” wouldn’t be convincing at all.

“Sigh… go talk to them. I’ll just listen.”

But Celia didn’t give me any preparation time and immediately inserted me between the two women.

“…”

“…”

Both Alkine and Lilith just stared at me without saying anything, which was extremely awkward since they would normally have initiated conversation.

I’d have to speak first.

“Senior Alkine.”

“Yes!”

“…”

Perhaps singling someone out was a mistake. The two women’s reactions immediately diverged.

Alkine was delighted, while Lilith became sullen.

…Don’t tell me. Were they deliberately keeping quiet to see who I would speak to first?

Oh no. If so, I’ve made a serious mistake.

I only spoke to Alkine first because Lilith had told me not to look at her. Now I’ve inadvertently established an order of preference.

It was too late to fix it, so I continued with what I was going to say.

“Would you like to talk with me after we finish this business?”

“Oh? Oh… sure.”

I hadn’t spent much time with Alkine lately since I’d been with Celia.

I decided to have the conversation we’d been putting off and face her feelings honestly.

I’d actually wanted to take things more slowly, but given the situation, there was no choice.

“…Sounds like a date request to me.”

Lilith muttered, though clearly loud enough for me to hear.

When I turned to look at her, Lilith was staring directly at me.

Her expression was hard to read—I couldn’t tell if she was displeased or not.

It felt like the first time we’d properly faced each other today.

But as soon as she realized we were looking at each other, she averted her gaze.

“I told you not to look at me.”

She’s really making it hard to adjust to this new behavior.

Since I had something to ask her too, I naturally called her name.

“Lilith. I have a question for you too.”

“Oh, yes. Huh? What is it?”

I decided not to comment on her confused eye contact.

I felt a bit bad seeing how expectant she looked, especially since I didn’t have anything particularly special to ask… but I went ahead with my question anyway.

“Did you gain any abilities as your favorability increased?”

“…”

Yes, I know what the problem is.

I basically asked Alkine on a date, but with Lilith, I’m just asking about her new abilities.

From someone who was just conscious of favorability scores, this must be deflating.

That was partly my intention. While I had already glimpsed what abilities she gained when checking her favorability earlier, this seemed like a good way to change the subject.

Lilith sighed deeply, glared at me, then jumped when our eyes met and looked away again.

Then she stammered out an answer to my question.

“I gained bonuses called Revelation and Blessing, and a special ability called Creation. But I haven’t used any of them, so I’m not sure exactly what they do.”

Time, Providence, and now Creation.

The three of them could practically create a world at this rate.

Since she didn’t know herself, and it would be awkward to test them now, I decided to move on.

“…Did you really call me just to ask that?”

“Was there something else you wanted me to say?”

“No, no! Why would I? You’re really full of yourself, you know?”

Watching the two women’s reactions swing back and forth at my words made me feel like my sense of ethics was crumbling. Or had it already crumbled?

At first, even just Celia was overwhelming, but now with three of them, I wasn’t even surprised anymore… Is this what getting used to something feels like?

I didn’t want to get used to this.

Just then, my body was moved from between Alkine and Lilith to Celia’s side.

I thought I heard disappointed sighs from behind, but I pretended not to hear.

Celia also glanced behind us once but ignored it and said what she wanted to say.

“Well, I think they’ve both sorted out their feelings by now. Let’s leave them to work things out.”

“Yeah. That’s for the best.”

“By the way, what’s with making date plans without consulting me?”

“…Huh?”

“Shouldn’t you be going on dates with me, of course?”

I thought she was joking, but her expression was serious.

No, Celia, if you start acting like this too, I’m really going to struggle…

///

Even at Celia’s flying speed, the distance to Ritten was far.

By the time we arrived, the sky was already growing dark.

But we’d had plenty of time to talk, so the awkward atmosphere from our departure had long since dissipated.

Instead, Alkine and Lilith seemed filled with some strange enthusiasm… which I decided not to worry about.

We arrived at a cliff near the edge of the continent.

Next to the treacherous terrain surrounded by the cliff was our destination, Ritten.

It had too many buildings to be called underdeveloped, but its irregular structure spread out too widely to be called advanced.

The bright lights made it clear that many people frequented the place.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Whew, how many hours did that take? Good job.”

“It was nothing.”

After finishing this conversation that sounded like we’d just battled through holiday traffic, we landed in some deserted alley in Ritten.

There was no need to enter through the main gate. After all, this was Ritten.

Ritten. This city, developed along the cliffs at the edge of the continent, was home to all sorts of people from adventurers to criminals.

Perhaps because of this, it resembled a lawless zone in many ways.

Apart from a few major rules, the only things you absolutely had to follow here were not to be foolishly taken advantage of and not to get stupidly beaten up.

Entering innocently through the main gate? You’d likely get into a fight over entrance fees or some other nonsense.

That’s why I had told Celia from the start that we should sneak in, and we successfully managed this illegal entry.

Well… since night was falling, we should move quickly.

Before leaving the alley, I took clean hoods from my inventory and distributed them to everyone.

Most people wandering around Ritten hide their identities, so this was to blend in naturally.

We weren’t so weak that we needed to hide, but showing your face openly here could get you treated like a novice.

Rather than being looked down upon and getting involved in unnecessary trouble, it seemed better to cover up a bit.

Well, we could hide completely with Celia’s magic and no one would notice… but Celia needed rest too.

“I’m really fine.”

She says she’s fine, but… I’m not.

I already feel terrible for making her fly all day. I’d feel even worse asking her to do this too.

And we’re about to look for lodging, so being completely invisible would be inconvenient.

Since we’ve come all this way, let’s try to enjoy it like tourists.

So, with our hoods pulled up, we began our exploration of Ritten…

“Hey, you lot. Look over here for a second.”

“You look like you’re from some fancy family, but sneaking around like you’re not confident in your abilities?”

…Only to be stopped by some thugs before we could even start.

It seemed the hoods we wore to hide our identities had backfired and made us look weak.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t… The world really doesn’t work the way you want it to.

I glanced briefly at the three women checking for my reaction, then made a decision.

“Shall we take off the hoods?”

If we’re going to be challenged either way, there’s no need to hide.

And well…

“…Wait. That face… from somewhere… Could it be the Imperial Princess?”

“What nonsense are you talking? There’s no way the Imperial Princess would be in a place like this…”

In lawless zones like Ritten, people are actually more likely to recognize celebrities.

Even the most ignorant wouldn’t fail to recognize Celia.

“Hmm, it feels like Ludion is using me as a shield.”

“I can’t deny that because it’s accurate.”

Hearing my unapologetic admission, Celia seemed to have an idea and smiled sweetly as she continued.

“I’ll let it slide just this once. Next time, it’s one date per use.”

“…Would you put your hood back on?”

“No.”

I tried to salvage the situation, but there was no way to put spilled water back in the cup.

“…”

“…”

Celia marched forward confidently, completely ignoring Alkine and Lilith who seemed to have a lot to say.

Her date duplication bug had begun.