THEGC 08

Chapter 008

For a while, neither of us spoke. Then Jairen quietly placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Lana. You always work hard. You’ll be able to pay it off.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll buy the clothes for you this time! Think of it as my apology for asking something rude.”

He smiled warmly. I smiled back, but honestly… it wasn’t a real smile.

“Do you have a store in mind?” he asked in a gentle tone, pretending to follow my lead.
“No, not really. I haven’t even explored the town yet.”
“Then how about I take you to one I recommend?”
“Sure!”

He confidently told me to just trust him.
If my guess was right, he was using this inn for money laundering or as a secret base—so of course he’d know this town well.

Still, since he was pretending to be a normal guy, I didn’t think he’d take me anywhere too suspicious. So I followed him quietly.

The streets were crowded, and people kept brushing past us. Suddenly, someone bumped into Jairen.

Thud!

“Huh?”

Before I could even turn around, Jairen grabbed the young boy who had run into him.

“Ah! What are you doing?!”

Jairen didn’t say a word—just stared at the boy in silence.

“W-What?” the boy stammered.

I quickly stepped between them and spoke to the kid.
“Hey, little guy. If you did something wrong, it’s better to tell the truth.”

Normally, Jairen wouldn’t even look at someone like this. He wasn’t the type to care about being bumped into—unless something was off.

“I didn’t do anything!”

Please, kid, don’t push it. You have no idea who you just touched. I’m more scared for you!

The boy looked at me, then quickly turned his head away.
“I-I didn’t do anything wrong! Let me go! I’m just running an errand!”

Without a word, Jairen reached into the boy’s pocket.

“Wait—! You can’t just—”

Jairen pulled something out from the boy’s back pocket: a small leather wallet. His wallet.

Even after getting it back, he didn’t say anything. He just kept staring at the trembling boy.

“Uh…”
“S-so that’s… I mean…”

Sigh.

“Mr. James, let’s just go.”
“Why?”

Because you are the kind of man who’d chop off a thief’s hand, that’s why!

“If we report this, we’ll spend the whole day giving statements to the guards. You’ll waste your day off.”
“Why would I give a statement? I could just say—… ah.”

Please, stay in character! Don’t let your true nature slip, even for a second!

After a brief pause, Jairen smiled.
“You’re right. What’s important right now is buying clothes with you.”

“Kid, apologize quickly,” I said, when Jairen just stood there silently.

The boy’s eyes welled with tears. He whispered, “S-sorry…”

But Jairen didn’t even look at him. He simply turned away.

“What are you doing, Lana? Let’s go.”

His smile was charming—almost dazzling—but the crying boy behind us made my chest ache.

Still, I couldn’t help him now. I had my own problems.
And, honestly, this was Jairen being merciful.

So I pretended not to see anything and took Jairen’s hand.

Right then, a system message popped up.

[Surprise Mission! Help the troubled child!]

Ding-ling!

“Welcome~!”

The store Jairen took me to was… well.

“Lana, what do you think? I thought this was a pretty good shop.”
“Yes… I really like it.”

It was incredibly expensive.

Honestly, I was nervous. Terrified. I felt like a potato farmer who’d accidentally wandered into a royal boutique.

The clerk didn’t show it, but I saw her eyes quickly scanning my cheap outfit.

Jairen called her over and asked for a catalog like he’d done this a hundred times before.

“Sit down, Lana.”
“…Alright.”

I was going to sit across from him—but then thought, maybe I should raise his affection points while I can, and sat beside him instead.

He looked surprised at first, then his face turned a little red.

Jairen was good at controlling how others saw him.
Even so… I wasn’t sure if that reaction was real or just an act.

“L-Lana. What about this one? I think it’d look perfect on you.”
“I like all of them.”
“Really?”

He snapped his fingers, calling the clerk over again.

‘You’re not even trying to hide that you’re rich, huh?’

Was he actually showing off on purpose? Probably.
Jairen was too intelligent for this to be an accident.

He pointed to a few dresses in the catalog.
“Yes, right away,” the clerk said, bowing deeply before bringing them over on a rack.

“Would you like to try them on?” she asked.
“Of course! Lana, try them all!” Jairen said cheerfully.

He smiled kindly. I forced a laugh. “Haha, sure.”

The clerk approached to help me change—her movements professional and calm. Definitely experienced.

“What do you think?” I asked, stepping out in one of the dresses.

It was beautiful. Even I had to admit that.

‘Well, obviously. Jairen probably studied fashion etiquette from childhood.’

“…It looks good on you,” he said quietly.

The dress was long, white, and decorated with pale blue lace that went up to the neck.

I glanced at the rack—all the dresses were long, modest styles.
Not a single off-shoulder piece among them.

‘Yep. He’s got very specific tastes.’

As he walked closer, the clerk politely stepped away.

No. No, come back. Don’t leave me here!

“You really look beautiful, Lana.”

[‘James (alias)’s affection has increased.]

He still wore that gentlemanly smile—but his eyes… had a spark of excitement.

‘God… this is a PG-rated game. I know it is.’

He placed a hand on my shoulder. I shivered.

Then the clerk quietly slipped out of the room and shut the door.

Click.

Where are you going?! Come back, please!!

[You have successfully finished your first date with “James (alias)”.]
[You can now read his emotions more clearly.]

Thankfully, the shopping—no, his charity show—ended safely.

I was honestly terrified he’d say something like, “May I dress you myself?”
But thank the heavens, the PG rating stayed intact.

Sure, you could pay real money to unlock the 19+ version…
But I never bought that DLC, and I never will!

So this has to stay a normal version. No way would the system just give me the adult one for free.

Yes. I trust capitalism!

“Thank you so much today, Mr. James.”
“No problem. I had fun too.”
“And for the clothes… how much were they? I’ll pay you back later!”
“What? Haha! Don’t bother. You couldn’t afford it anyway.”

That stung a little—but then I thought about it. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

‘Yeah, sure. Pity me, rich boy. Maybe next time I’ll get a title that gives me +5 Luck instead of just +1.’

Jairen looked at me. His expression said, You’re not leaving me yet, are you?

But before he could say anything, the system message popped up again:

[Surprise Mission! Help the troubled child!]

…Right. That. It was still glowing at the top of my screen.

Normally, this would’ve been the perfect time to invite him to dinner and raise his affection again.
But that mission window just kept bothering me.

“Are you still thinking about that kid from earlier?”
“What? No, not really…”
“You’ve been distracted all day.”
“…Sorry.”

That’s because you make it hard to relax!

I forced a polite smile, but of course he noticed anyway.

‘Ugh, this is why I could never like someone like him.’
I preferred people who were honest, not sharp enough to read every thought.

“Don’t worry about it, Lana. There are plenty of kids like him. You must’ve had a tough life, but you grew up so well.”