My Scumbag System - Chapter 254

Chapter 254: The Goddess of Love Just Turned This Day Trip into a Dating Sim
I looked at my group while assessing them with new urgency.

Emi, the sweet innocent girl whose trust I was carefully cultivating. Her healing abilities made her invaluable, and her connection to Natalia provided a perfect avenue into additional social circles. She was already warming to me with her cheeks coloring slightly whenever our eyes met for too long.

But rushing things could spook her and drive her away permanently. Pushing too hard too fast might shatter the careful foundation I’d been building.

Soomin, the shy nervous wreck who was terrified of her own shadow. The girl practically fainted when someone raised their voice near her. Getting her comfortable enough for a thirty-second kiss within a single day seemed like trying to tame a wild rabbit in the middle of a thunderstorm.

And yet her alter ego, that feral uninhibited fox spirit, might be an entirely different prospect. The fox had practically thrown herself at me during training. The question was whether I could trigger the transformation and control the situation without things spiraling into chaos.

Skylar, the cynical punk who would probably stab me if I tried anything without proper buildup. Her permanent expression of bored disdain masked a wickedly sharp intellect that saw through pretense like it was made of glass. She made her living reading people and situations, which made her both a dangerous target and a potentially valuable ally.

If I could intrigue her enough to lower her guard, maybe find that thing that actually interested her beneath all that carefully constructed apathy…

And Carmen, my drunk ridiculously attractive and completely unpredictable Teaching Assistant. The most experienced of the bunch by far, and the one with the authority to make my academic life hell if I miscalculated. Yet there was that wink earlier and that arm looped through mine, the subtle signs that might indicate interest.

Or might simply be her natural flirtatiousness that she deployed like a weapon to keep students off balance. The highest risk option, but potentially the path of least resistance if I played it right.

Four options. Fourteen hours. One monumentally stupid quest from a bored goddess.

Aphrodite’s chibi avatar gave me a final wink before dissolving into sparkles that smelled like roses and regret.

[Have fun, little schemer. Try not to get slapped too hard.]

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I muttered while the ferry’s horn blared to announce our arrival at the mainland. The sound reverberated through the metal deck beneath our feet as the vessel slowed its approach to the dock. Water churned around its hull in white foam while harbor workers prepared to receive us.

I forced myself to focus on the immediate situation and pushed the quest notification to the back of my mind. The quest would have to wait since I couldn’t exactly start making out with someone in the middle of a crowded harbor. For now I had to navigate a city, find equipment that might save our lives in the upcoming Gate run, and somehow engineer a situation where one of my companions would want to kiss me for at least thirty seconds.

All without looking like I was planning any of it.

Just another Tuesday in paradise.

“You look like you just swallowed something unpleasant,” Carmen observed as we disembarked, her arm still looped through mine while we began walking down the metal gangplank to the solid concrete of the pier. “Having second thoughts about our little shopping trip?”

Her one visible eye studied me with unsettling intensity as if trying to read the thoughts behind my carefully composed expression. The morning sunlight caught in her messy black hair and gave her a disheveled halo effect that somehow enhanced rather than diminished her appeal. She really was unfairly attractive for someone who looked like she’d just rolled out of bed after a three-day bender.

I gave her my most innocent smile while adjusting our pace to accommodate her slightly unsteady gait. “Not at all. Just wondering what kind of trouble we might find in the Forge Quarter.”

“Trouble has a funny way of finding you, doesn’t it, Satori?” She squeezed my arm and leaned in closer like she was sharing a secret. “Or maybe you go looking for it. Hard to tell with you.”

She had no idea. As we merged into the bustling crowd of the harbor district, I began mentally sorting through approaches and contingencies and backup plans. In less than fourteen hours I needed to create the perfect romantic moment with one of these women, or face a catastrophic setback to everything I’d been building.

The clock was already ticking in the corner of my vision like a countdown to my social execution.

“Satori-kun!” Emi called out. “Look at all the shops! There are so many! Where should we go first?”

Her enthusiasm was infectious even if it was slightly overwhelming at this hour of the morning. She practically vibrated with excitement while her eyes darted from storefront to storefront like a kid in a candy store.

“Let’s start with the weapons district,” I suggested while trying to focus on the actual purpose of this trip instead of the impossible quest hanging over my head. “Get the essentials out of the way first, then we can explore.”

“Boring,” Skylar drawled from behind us where she’d materialized like a ghost. “I vote we hit the music shops first. My headphones are dying.”

“Your headphones can wait,” Carmen said without looking back. “Weapons first. Then armor. Then whatever frivolous things you children want to waste money on.”

“I’m not a child,” Skylar protested with zero heat in her voice. “I’m eighteen.”

“Barely.”

“Still legal.”

“Still a child to me.”

I tuned out their bickering while scanning the streets ahead. The Forge Quarter lived up to its name with smoke rising from dozens of workshops and the sound of hammers on metal echoing between buildings. The architecture was industrial and practical, all exposed brick and steel beams and large windows to let in natural light. Signs advertised everything from basic gear maintenance to custom Aspect-attuned weaponry.

This was going to be a long day.