endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 39

Vahn blanked out as he stared at the system notification. He never expected that Lili would fall in 'love' with him after such a short period of time. Staring at the young girl that had gotten close to his body during his absentmindedness, he wasn't really sure what to feel. Though he understood what love was from reading manga and the memory of his mother, he didn't really know how to express it. He knew he liked Lili, since she was very adorable, but he also liked Chloe's playfulness and Hephaestus's bashful coolness.

Seeing the quest required him to get 100 affection, Vahn was at a loss. Even though they had spent a fair amount of time together, her affection had only increased twice throughout the entire duration. He had almost even forgotten about it since her aura had remained persistent since he saved her the previous day.

Since he couldn't think of the solution himself, he tried asking his reliable big Sis. ("Sis, how can I increase someones affection to 100? Do I...need to marry them or something?")

A deep, mechanical sigh sounded in his mind. (*I'm sure if you got someone to 100 Affection and they loved you as a member of the opposite sex, they would probably marry you. But marriage doesn't mean someone has 100 affection. There are several types of love as well, such as the bonds between comrades that have fought together, or the familial love like what your mother had for you. How you get the affection to 100 will be entirely dependant on you, since my help would have more negative influence than positive gain.*)

Vahn sighed within his mind. ("Why is love such a complicated thing..."). He looked towards Lili who had been sticking to his body for some time now. It seemed like she was developing the tendencies of some kind of hug type monster. He even noticed she would periodically smell his body, which always caused a cold sweat to drip down his back.

As a test, he tried seeing if he could increase her affection by petting her...

When his hand came into contact with her head, she began to snuggle against him more intensely, almost as if the hand was a signal that allowed her behavior. Though Vahn was beginning to get uncomfortable, he also felt an 'awkward' feeling within his chest as his pulse began to markedly increase. Through his petting, he noticed that her aura seemed to become very lively as it danced about, but there was no change in the amount of affection displayed in the system.

He almost thought about giving her a kiss, but eventually dismissed the idea. They hadn't known each other for very long, and there was still a long while before he could complete her training. If he kissed her now before she had become more stable, he would feel like he was manipulating her. This thought brought back memories of his sunset rendezvous with Chloe, and he began to truly understand why she had prevented him from confessing at that moment. If she had accepted his feelings then and there, he would have become reliant on her. All of his efforts would have been spent trying to make her happy, and it would most likely cause him to make a mistake in the future.

Once again he could see the parallels between himself and Lili. Since she had been neglected so much as a child and also exploited by the people she should have been able to rely on, she was in desperate need of an anchor to ground her emotions. Though he could see she 'loved' him through the system, it was more of a 'puppy love' or 'dependency' instead of genuine infatuation...

He began to understand the dangers of the current situation, so after he gave her two more soft pats he stood up. "It's time we head out of the dungeon. Even if this is the corridor of the first floor, there is no guarantee that danger won't present itself. I also have several things to take care of this evening, so we shouldn't loiter around here for too long."

Lili was disappointed that he put an end to their little moment. She thought things were progressing in a good direction, but right as she was about to try and push things forward he ended up running away. She began thinking Vahn was either too dense to sense the atmosphere, or maybe he wasn't interested in her. Looking at his face, he seemed calm and collected, which caused her to feel a little down.