By the time I had finished dressing, it was already the time for us to meet up, so I left my room. As I did, I saw Mimi already waiting for me outside, dressed in a black form fitting dress that accentuated her natural curves. She looked beautiful in it, her hair curled lightly in the front and her dark makeup making her hazel eyes pop in a way I had never seen before.
It was obvious that she had been preparing for this date for a while now, even going so far as to buy a dress like that. Meanwhile, I had done nothing of the sort, in fact, while she had used that entire hour to get ready, I had used it to fuck someone else. I felt kind of guilty, enough that I promised myself that I would treat her as good as possible today.
I raised my hand in greeting as I called out her name. Her head flicked towards me, the dull expression on her face instantly changing when she saw me. Her face lit up, with her eyes sparkling and her mouth growing wider than I thought possible. I smiled, the feeling of being loved was intoxicating. It made me want to receive it more.
It even made me want to be able to give it out.
[Reading user desires…]
[Processing…]
[Error: Desire too low…]
I tilted my head, confused at the sudden notifications. But when I saw Mimi's bright smile darken slightly in concern I quickly pushed such thoughts out of my mind and focused entirely on her. I vowed to not pay any attention to my notifications today.
It was still a few hours before the night market would begin, so we used this time to explore the daytime activities of Kleotis. It was my first time on an outing in this world, but I had gone out with friends on Earth so it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. It was almost as if I was a tourist, seeing the sights of a new city. Thinking of it like that brought a smile to my face.
For a while, we simply explored the entertainment district. Kleotis was split into different districts that grouped its different services together. There were four main ones, the residential district, the business district, the restaurant district, and the entertainment district. Their names are pretty self-explanatory.
The residential district contains the living spaces for all of the city's residents. It's split into its own sub districts, the Upper sub district, Middle sub district, Lower sub district, and the Slums. The Upper sub district contains the rich and those in positions of power, like the city governor or the owner of a big business. Those in the Middle sub district are usually those who work in the business district under those in the Upper sub district, or those who own a smaller business or restaurant. It also contains most of the Inns that tourists would use, however the one that I ended up in was one of the few in the Upper sub district. The Lower sub district is for those who work the lowest paying jobs, like servers in a restaurant or janitors, it's a sub district filled with small uncomfortable living spaces. The Slums are a place for the jobless and the criminals, those who can't fit in with the rest of society. It's a place left untouched by the police and the city government alike, as it cannot be tamed. Instead, they leave it be in hopes of containing most of the city's unsavory figures to one area.
The business district is the place where people try to make money. It contains things like big conglomerates that monopolize an industry and make a fortune and small mom and pop shops that simply make enough to stay running. It also contains the place called The Craftsman's Road. The Craftsman's Road is a place filled with those who can create, be that weapons, armor, trinkets, toys, etc. No matter what it is, if it can be made, it can be made on The Craftsman's Road.
The restaurant district is by far the simplest district. It used to not even exist, the area that it now encompasses used to be shared between the three other districts, an area right in the center of them. However, almost twenty-five years ago the city had witnessed a boom of tourists, and along with it a boom in restaurants to accommodate those people. Because of the rising number of restaurants and the sporadic placement of them, people began to complain about being unable to find certain ones and getting lost in the city. So, to make things simpler, they moved all of the restaurants to the middle of the city, where it would be easily accessible to all, and declared it a new district.
The entertainment district was by far the broadest district in the city. It was the district that contained the most variety, as it sold not only goods, but also services and other things too. The district was unofficially split in half, one side being the red light district and the other, not. The red light district was by far the more popular one, as it drew in droves of men every night to partake in both the sexual services and the alcohol. It contained bars, brothels, strip clubs, anything of that sort. And unlike those same areas back on Earth, this place was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The other half of the entertainment district contained the more innocent pleasures. Movies (displayed with magic instead of film), sports fields, bowling alleys, etc. It was a popular place for dates, as they would go here after eating in the restaurant district to have fun. This was the place we were in right now, or more specifically, the movie theater we were in. Because we had a few hours, we decided to spend some time wandering around, but Mimi had seen a poster for the movie theater and had wanted to experience what a movie was like in this world. So we went.
It was a far different experience from a movie back on Earth, as they used magic to both record and display the picture. Which meant that everything, including the feelings of the protagonist, were felt by the audience.
Which meant the scary movie we were currently watching was far scarier than anything we had back on Earth. Which was probably the reason why Mimi was currently pressing her face against my chest and using her hands to block her ears in an attempt to block out the movie. It didn't work, of course, as the movie's magic still conveyed many things to her, but she still tried.
I chuckled as I watched her cower before wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. A feeling of heat grew in my chest, an emotion I wasn't familiar with was welling up.
[R%#@in*&Us#@(Des(*$@#...]
I pushed the notification away from me instantly, not paying it any attention. Instead I focused on the girl in my arms. She was cute, like a tiny animal cuddled up to me, seeking safety in the face of danger. It stirred both my protective desire and something else deep within me, but I couldn't figure out just what that was. The heat in my chest also had something to do with it.
[Re$@din$&Use)(Des*&e…]
It was a confusing, yet nice feeling that overtook my senses. I found myself wanting to spend more and more time with her. I reached my hand up, letting it rest on her head before I began to pet her softly, almost like I was petting a cat. A smile naturally broke out on my face as I did so, seeing as her expression went from one of fear and trepidation at the movie to one of satisfaction and enjoyment simply because I pet her.
[Reading%#$Use#$%Desir#$e…]
Then, the movie ended, and I watched as she looked up, opening her beautiful hazel eyes and looked at me with an expression that begged me to continue petting her. The heat in my chest increased, and my heart began to beat rapidly. I couldn't understand why, but my hand would not leave her head. Instead I was stuck continuing to pet her, each time bringing me more and more satisfaction.
[Reading User Desire…]
[Processing…]
[Confirmed.]
I tuned out the notifications that kept appearing, not letting them pull me away from this enjoyable situation. We sat through the entire credits just like that, her staring at me, me staring at her, and my hand gently brushing through her hair. When the lights of the room turned back on, marking the end of the movie, Mimi turned bright red and pulled away from me. A small frown appeared on my face, disappointed that I wouldn't be able to continue the situation.
I hid it instantly, instead standing up and offering a hand to her. "Come on, let's go get something to eat." She nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling herself up. She was about to pull her hand back, but something within me caused me to interlock my fingers with hers, not allowing her to do so.
I wasn't sure why I did this, and I looked at my hand in confusion for a moment, but in the end I figured there was no harm so I didn't stop. Mimi, on the other hand, turned an even darker shade of red, stuttering over her words with an agape mouth. "Y-y-yes, l-let's go."
I smiled, pleased that she didn't try to take her hand back again, and began to walk out with her in tow. We stayed like that the whole walk to the restaurant district, only stopping when we finally entered a restaurant in order to sit down. We sat on opposite sides of the small table, just like a date. I was pleased for some reason when I thought of it like that, the thought of this being a date made my heart flutter.
Then, something occurred to me. Something I had thought was no longer possible ever since I had first awakened my Skill. Do I love her?
[Skill:Ravenous has begun evolution due to increased user desire…]
[Preparing…]
[Calculating…]
[Confirmed. Evolution starting…]
My thoughts raced as I subconsciously read the notifications, I had just learned about my Skill's ability to evolve not long ago, but it was already evolving. And if it hadn't evolved before that, how was I experiencing love? I looked at 'Ravenous's' description once more, focusing on the Side Effect. It still said the same thing as it always had, 'Emotion 'Love' Suppressed.'
[Evolution at 35%]
As I thought about it for a moment, I realized something. 'Suppressed' does not mean 'negated'. Love that is suppressed is still there, just not as prevalent. So it was still something I could feel, just not as easily as others. Which meant that those I felt like I loved, I really truly did love. And Mimi was one of them.
[Evolution at 75%]
As that thought entered my brain, I looked up, looking across the table at the girl sitting there. She was focused on the menu in front of her, not realizing my gaze was on her. Her hair slowly slipped down, falling in front of her face. She used her hand to tuck it behind her ear without looking, simply doing so subconsciously.
[Evolution at 99%]
It was a normal movement, yet it was the most attractive thing to me. I sat there wide eyed, just staring at her in shock. She noticed finally, looking up at me before smiling brightly, sending my already rapidly beating heart into overdrive.
[Evolution Complete.]
[Skill:Ravenous has evolved to Skill:Lust]