I left the training area and cleaned up before going to my mother's office, night had already fallen as I walked through the mansion. Before I got to her room, I ordered a maid to bring me a hot drink.
Wait a little while, and the maid quickly brought a tea set. I grabbed the cup and saucer to avoid spills and ordered her to leave. I did this a bit away from my mother's office because she could probably sense our presence if we got too close, and I wanted to make her think that I had personally gone to pick up a cup of tea from the kitchen.
Unwrinkling my black shirt with a wave of my hand, I resumed my walk. I arrived at a hallway with only one room; this one had two huge wooden doors with half-moon shaped knockers and intricate decorations like branches of a tree. I took a deep breath and stretched out my hand to knock; however, before I could make contact with the cold dark brown wood, the office's double doors opened, leaving behind a small gust of wind.
Inside the office, my mother was writing on a sheet behind a massive pile of messy files. The sound of a pen scratching paper was the only sound in the room. As I walked in with the cup of tea in my hands, my mother looked up with a slight smile.
"Did something happen, Nate?" She asked without hiding her curiosity.
"Nothing, I just thought I'd bring you a drink, you're working hard," I said with an innocent smile; I held the cup in front of her and looked at her through the steam rising from the hot drink.
+100 affection points
"It wasn't necessary." Lilia said, but her eyes turned into crescents of happiness, and she immediately put the cup to her mouth.
She blew, making swirls with steam; these quickly took the shape of a flock of birds and flew all over the room until they vanished. Lilia watched my reaction, and my eyes were wide as saucers, this time, I didn't have to act so harshly; I was pretty surprised to see such a phenomenon. Lilia smiled proudly and drank her tea with a somewhat smug sparkle in her eyes. However, this was no time to be distracted. I resumed the conversation looking her straight in the eyes.
"It's necessary, it's a son's responsibility to take care of his mother!" I said as I looked at her with determination.
"I think it's the other way around, little Nate" My mother laughed lightly shaking her head.
"No, I'm sure, my dad said 'if I die someday, it's your duty to protect and take care of your mother'" I stated confidently, with no sign of embarrassment at such a blatant lie.
"He said that?" She sent me a slightly surprised look, and the slight trace of sadness on her face did not escape unnoticed by me.
"Yes, he said so" I replied, in a somewhat tearful voice.
"First you have to grow up and become strong if you want to protect your mother. Even though I don't look like it, I'm pretty strong." Lilia said as she flexed her arm, striking a pose, trying to recompose the mood.
'She didn't deny it' I thought as I mentally nodded satisfactorily.
"Still not going to sleep?" I asked with slight concern in my tone as I looked at my mother.
Her gaze strayed to the cluttered papers on her desk, and a tired sigh escaped her fleshy lips "I wish I could, little Nate, but your mother's a little busy" She said with a resigned smile.
"I'll study hard to help you, Mom!" I declared, looking at the sheets with something resembling bookkeeping from my previous world. I was good with numbers, but they were not my forte; however, something as simple as bookkeeping was a piece of cake for me.
"Really? When you're ready, I'll let you help me" She said, laughing lightly without taking my words seriously.
"Just wait for me!" I nodded, she laughed charmingly and stroked my head with a loving look.
"Okay, it's time for you to go to sleep. You have lessons tomorrow, you don't want to be sleepy if you want to help your mother with her work" Lilia smiled and kissed me on the forehead.
"Goodnight, Mom!" I ran up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, obviously I slightly activated the 'Touch of pleasure' skill.
"Good night, Nate" she was surprised, but smiled lovingly.
With that, I left the room heading for Charlotte's room.
(***)
"(Novem has increased 3% her love for me, may not seem like much, but it is progress)" I informed my little sister by telepathy.
"(Sniff ~ That's good news, big brother, Purr~)" Charlotte replied, her head sunk into my chest as she hugged me like a koala bear.
"(It also appears that the inherited responsibility strategy will have an effect on our mother)."
"(Purr~ Is that so? Sniff~)" Replied my little sister, at this point I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"(Hey, Charlotte, can you stop making sound effects mentally? It's important talk)" I said with an irritated tone.
After entering the room, my little sister sticks to me like chewing gum as she sniffs my chest and rubs her whole body against mine. Although her body is still too small to even see her as anything more than a cute little girl, the sound effects she adds to her telepathic chatter are pretty uncomfortable as you try to literally engage her in a conversation that is life or death for us.
"(Why?)" She asked giving me an upward glance with her red eyes.
"(Just hear me out, we need to decide the course of action for Aria)" I sighed as she kept rubbing her head on my chest like a cat.
"(Just let me get the smell of those women off of you)" Charlotte said, as she dug her nose into my shirt and sniffed repeatedly.
'Smell? Is it a hound?' I thought and after a few seconds my little sister sat up in bed with a bright smile, seemingly refreshed.
"Ready, I've taken my dose of Adamin" Charlotte said in her normal voice.
"(Don't use my old name)" I reminded her through telepathy.
"Hmmm, so Natamin? Yeah, that sounds good" Charlotte nodded happily, and when she noticed my blank stare, she giggled cutely, hiding her face behind her pyjama sleeve.
"(I'm all ears now, big brother)" Charlotte said as she stopped laughing.
"(Well, as for Aria, any ideas?)" I asked and we went into discussion mode again.
"(Hmm, she is sad, according to the game she is an orphan, I guess her parents died recently, giving her affection now in her weakened state would be effective)" Said my little sister with a shrug.
"(Sounds good, when should I start giving her affection?) I questioned, it couldn't be too soon, as talking to her now when we have no contact would be too unnatural.
"(In a month)" My sister said with a strange gleam in her eyes.
"(A month? Isn't that too long?)" I asked confused.
"(Trust me, big brother, I have a plan)" Charlotte said confidently as she puffed out her chest.
"(What's the plan?)" I asked raising an eyebrow, my little sister could be quite cruel if I didn't keep a constant eye on her.
"(Secret)"
"(Charlotte, tell me the plan)" I watched her seriously, but to my surprise, Charlotte didn't avert her eyes or blush as she usually does.
"(Trust me, big brother, you'll know it when you see it)" Charlotte said seriously, and I could tell she wasn't kidding.
I hesitated for a while, not wanting my little sister to get too involved in this, but finally nodded. If her plan failed, I would have an excuse not to involve her any further in all this.
"I love you, big brother" Charlotte cheered as she threw herself onto my chest and hugged me tightly. I could only smile wryly at this.
I left the training area and cleaned up before going to my mother's office, night had already fallen as I walked through the mansion. Before I got to her room, I ordered a maid to bring me a hot drink.
Wait a little while, and the maid quickly brought a tea set. I grabbed the cup and saucer to avoid spills and ordered her to leave. I did this a bit away from my mother's office because she could probably sense our presence if we got too close, and I wanted to make her think that I had personally gone to pick up a cup of tea from the kitchen.
Unwrinkling my black shirt with a wave of my hand, I resumed my walk. I arrived at a hallway with only one room; this one had two huge wooden doors with half-moon shaped knockers and intricate decorations like branches of a tree. I took a deep breath and stretched out my hand to knock; however, before I could make contact with the cold dark brown wood, the office's double doors opened, leaving behind a small gust of wind.
Inside the office, my mother was writing on a sheet behind a massive pile of messy files. The sound of a pen scratching paper was the only sound in the room. As I walked in with the cup of tea in my hands, my mother looked up with a slight smile.
"Did something happen, Nate?" She asked without hiding her curiosity.
"Nothing, I just thought I'd bring you a drink, you're working hard," I said with an innocent smile; I held the cup in front of her and looked at her through the steam rising from the hot drink.
+100 affection points
"It wasn't necessary." Lilia said, but her eyes turned into crescents of happiness, and she immediately put the cup to her mouth.
She blew, making swirls with steam; these quickly took the shape of a flock of birds and flew all over the room until they vanished. Lilia watched my reaction, and my eyes were wide as saucers, this time, I didn't have to act so harshly; I was pretty surprised to see such a phenomenon. Lilia smiled proudly and drank her tea with a somewhat smug sparkle in her eyes. However, this was no time to be distracted. I resumed the conversation looking her straight in the eyes.
"It's necessary, it's a son's responsibility to take care of his mother!" I said as I looked at her with determination.
"I think it's the other way around, little Nate" My mother laughed lightly shaking her head.
"No, I'm sure, my dad said 'if I die someday, it's your duty to protect and take care of your mother'" I stated confidently, with no sign of embarrassment at such a blatant lie.
"He said that?" She sent me a slightly surprised look, and the slight trace of sadness on her face did not escape unnoticed by me.
"Yes, he said so" I replied, in a somewhat tearful voice.
"First you have to grow up and become strong if you want to protect your mother. Even though I don't look like it, I'm pretty strong." Lilia said as she flexed her arm, striking a pose, trying to recompose the mood.
'She didn't deny it' I thought as I mentally nodded satisfactorily.
"Still not going to sleep?" I asked with slight concern in my tone as I looked at my mother.
Her gaze strayed to the cluttered papers on her desk, and a tired sigh escaped her fleshy lips "I wish I could, little Nate, but your mother's a little busy" She said with a resigned smile.
"I'll study hard to help you, Mom!" I declared, looking at the sheets with something resembling bookkeeping from my previous world. I was good with numbers, but they were not my forte; however, something as simple as bookkeeping was a piece of cake for me.
"Really? When you're ready, I'll let you help me" She said, laughing lightly without taking my words seriously.
"Just wait for me!" I nodded, she laughed charmingly and stroked my head with a loving look.
"Okay, it's time for you to go to sleep. You have lessons tomorrow, you don't want to be sleepy if you want to help your mother with her work" Lilia smiled and kissed me on the forehead.
"Goodnight, Mom!" I ran up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, obviously I slightly activated the 'Touch of pleasure' skill.
"Good night, Nate" she was surprised, but smiled lovingly.
With that, I left the room heading for Charlotte's room.
(***)
"(Novem has increased 3% her love for me, may not seem like much, but it is progress)" I informed my little sister by telepathy.
"(Sniff ~ That's good news, big brother, Purr~)" Charlotte replied, her head sunk into my chest as she hugged me like a koala bear.
"(It also appears that the inherited responsibility strategy will have an effect on our mother)."
"(Purr~ Is that so? Sniff~)" Replied my little sister, at this point I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"(Hey, Charlotte, can you stop making sound effects mentally? It's important talk)" I said with an irritated tone.
After entering the room, my little sister sticks to me like chewing gum as she sniffs my chest and rubs her whole body against mine. Although her body is still too small to even see her as anything more than a cute little girl, the sound effects she adds to her telepathic chatter are pretty uncomfortable as you try to literally engage her in a conversation that is life or death for us.
"(Why?)" She asked giving me an upward glance with her red eyes.
"(Just hear me out, we need to decide the course of action for Aria)" I sighed as she kept rubbing her head on my chest like a cat.
"(Just let me get the smell of those women off of you)" Charlotte said, as she dug her nose into my shirt and sniffed repeatedly.
'Smell? Is it a hound?' I thought and after a few seconds my little sister sat up in bed with a bright smile, seemingly refreshed.
"Ready, I've taken my dose of Adamin" Charlotte said in her normal voice.
"(Don't use my old name)" I reminded her through telepathy.
"Hmmm, so Natamin? Yeah, that sounds good" Charlotte nodded happily, and when she noticed my blank stare, she giggled cutely, hiding her face behind her pyjama sleeve.
"(I'm all ears now, big brother)" Charlotte said as she stopped laughing.
"(Well, as for Aria, any ideas?)" I asked and we went into discussion mode again.
"(Hmm, she is sad, according to the game she is an orphan, I guess her parents died recently, giving her affection now in her weakened state would be effective)" Said my little sister with a shrug.
"(Sounds good, when should I start giving her affection?) I questioned, it couldn't be too soon, as talking to her now when we have no contact would be too unnatural.
"(In a month)" My sister said with a strange gleam in her eyes.
"(A month? Isn't that too long?)" I asked confused.
"(Trust me, big brother, I have a plan)" Charlotte said confidently as she puffed out her chest.
"(What's the plan?)" I asked raising an eyebrow, my little sister could be quite cruel if I didn't keep a constant eye on her.
"(Secret)"
"(Charlotte, tell me the plan)" I watched her seriously, but to my surprise, Charlotte didn't avert her eyes or blush as she usually does.
"(Trust me, big brother, you'll know it when you see it)" Charlotte said seriously, and I could tell she wasn't kidding.
I hesitated for a while, not wanting my little sister to get too involved in this, but finally nodded. If her plan failed, I would have an excuse not to involve her any further in all this.
"I love you, big brother" Charlotte cheered as she threw herself onto my chest and hugged me tightly. I could only smile wryly at this.
