Project: Socialize

"I'm ugh..."

I glanced up from my phone screen and saw that Markus was eyeing me with a sort of anticipation...like in a negative way. He appeared quite nervous judging off of the beads of sweat on his forehead, and in addition to that, he appeared to be quite tense at the moment.

Immediately, I started thinking over my options. I first glanced over at Cheral and then Yerith. I don't know them that well to be able to predict their actions, so these two would are unknown variables in regard to what they would do.

Then, I glanced over at Markus, who appeared to be...how do you say it...like he kinda holds me in a sort of negative light? Like he definitely does not like me base off of what's going on and what my response will be. If I respond that I'm Loriana's nephew, this animosity from him would surely disperse, but...there's this mission that god damned Ralus sent me. Seriously...What the hell is God doing playing video games?

Lastly, I quickly sneaked a peek at Loriana, who appeared to be quite intoxicated. Surprisingly, her doesn't have the greatest tolerance with alcohol, meaning that it doesn't take much to get her drunk. Judging by how "gone" she was, she probably won't recall what happened here...

Finally, come to think of it, that reward was 500 SP, which is way more than what I have right now. God did warn me to not let my SP balance become zero, so...I'm kinda forced into this...Like what the hell?

I cleared my throat, and decided that I have no other option.

"I'm her boyfriend," I forced out in the most serious voice I could muster.

Immediately, I glanced over to check Cheral and Yerith's reaction to my sudden statement. They both had a look of surprise on their face, but immediately, Yerith recovered from it.

"Yeah," she said with a smile, and from underneath the table, I could see her legs move to notify Cheral to play along.

"Right," Cheral's look of surprise immediately developed into a smile. "This is Loriana's boyfriend."

"Him?" the man from earlier said with surprise all over his face. "But he's still in high school?!"

"It's not illegal," Yerith refuted. "He's over the age of sixteen, so he's legally considered an adult."

"Yeah but..." the man placed his hand on his face. "Still...if someone is over eighteen, they usually don't go for those under eighteen."

"You yourself said most people," Cheral immediately added in to help support Yerith's argument. "And since it's not against the law, what's wrong with that?"

"I guess..." that man shrugged in defeat. "Hey Markus," the man glanced over at the young man and patted his back. "You alright?"

"Boyfriend...?—Huh?" Markus jumped when he realized that he was being talked to. "I'm-I'm fine."

"No, I ugh—"

Just when I was about to decline, Cheral grab hold of me by my arm and pulled me closer to the seat that Yerith had opened up for me.

"Come on," she said, and from her voice, I could vaguely feel a threat directed at me.

"Yeah," Yerith added. "It'll be fun."

From their smiles, I could tell that the only reason they played along with my absurd statement from earlier was that they wanted to see some drama. They want something to entertain them. From how Markus was acting, I can tell that he likes Loriana. That is extremely obvious. Therefore, I deduced that what Cheral and Yerith wanted is to see how he would react when faced with this situation. Because of this, I know for sure that if I were to protect this—um...how would you say it?—lie of mine, I must play along with them and provide them with entertainment. All I had to say about this is that...damn grownups are scary, especially woman.

With a unwilling sigh, I sat down next to Loriana, and I immediately began tending to her. I carefully and gently lifted her face off of the table, using a clean napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth. It would seem that my actions caused her to stir somewhat from her slumber as she opened her eyes and stared into mine.

"A...Alevian!" she said in a joyful voice that was filled with emotion, which is a polar opposite as how she is when she's sober.

She brought her arm around my neck, hugging me tightly and bringing her face to my chest. She giggled slightly and rubbed her face up against me.

Upon seeing this, my first reaction was to push her away since...you know...normal guys would get a reaction from such intimacy. However, since I'm forced to play the role of her boyfriend, I allowed it to continue on and continued on with my acting.

"L-Loriana..." Markus appeared to be quite shocked by her sudden display of intimacy towards me which was evident by that depressed look on his face as he almost appeared to sunk in her seat.

"You alright?" I asked Loriana in a gentle voice. "You know you can't drink too much."

"Only a little," she responded. The effects of the alcohol made it so that her pronunciation was slightly off, which was a sharp contrast to the usual Loriana who's mature, strong, and independent. However, her intoxicated self proved to be such a polar opposite that it made her seem quite cute.

When she finished speaking, she wrapped my arm tightly around her chest, making it so that it disappeared between her breasts. The softness of her breasts were...pleasant. Like very pleasant. It was one of the best feelings a man can ask for in life. I then suddenly realized that I had made contact with the holy land.

I glanced over at the others at the table and realized that they all averted their gaze to avoid the awkward situation. Well...all except Markus, who appeared to be quite devastated and stared at the plate before him in despair. Then, there is Cheral and Yerith, who concealed their laughter as they enjoyed the show that was put on.

"So," Yerith started speaking in order to create more entertainment for herself. "How long have you two been dating?"

Immediately, Markus looked up from his plate and over at me. He appeared to be quite interested in this story, almost as if trying to see if he has a chance or not.

"We uh..." I began brainstorming at a rapid pace to piece together a reasonable story. "We've been together for about a year now."

"Well, how did you two met?" Cheral added in.

"We uh...it's a long story," I said.

"We don't mind it being a long story," Yerith said.

"Well...it's getting a bit too late," I said, slowly getting up and slowly helping Loriana onto her feet. "I should get her home. Bye."

"Really? That sucks," Cheral frowned upon hearing my desire to depart. However, her and Yerith did not attempt to stop me, probably knowing that I won't be able to bs anymore stuff out of the top of my head.

"Sorry," I excused myself. "And thanks for taking care of Lori for me. And as for Lori's portion of the bill..."

"Don't worry," Yerith said. "We paid when we got here."

"Is that so?" I nodded. "Then we'll be heading home now."

I lowered my head somewhat in a slight bow and slowly took off with Loriana towards the door of the place. We exited without any interruptions, and once outside onto the nighttime streets of Palisia, I realized that I wouldn't be able to take Loriana home by way of public transport. It would just take way too much effort and it would probably not be the best for Loriana. Therefore, I decided that it would be best if I called a taxi.

The taxi system in Palisia is quite convenient. Not only do they pick up customers while driving around the city, if one does not see an empty taxi, which is quite common in Palisia, one can use the official taxi app to call a taxi to your location. Since the taxi company is partially owned by the government, the fixed rate is quite low, at only 50 Vil for the first two km and each km from that on is 20 Vil. And if one uses the taxi service during any times after 11:00 PM and before 5:00 AM, the starting fee will be 80 Vil for the first two km and each km from that on will be 40 Vil.

With one hand holding Loriana close so that she can use the left side of my body as a support, I used my right hand to take out my phone. I navigated through my phone and opened up the taxi app. I then confirmed the request for a car and moved closer towards the main road so that we will be easier to find.

However, just when I was about to mobilize, I was halted by a voice from behind me.

"Um!"

I looked over my shoulder and discovered that the voice belonged to Markus. His heavy breathing led me to believe that he rushed out of the restaurant soon after us, and from his determined eyes, I could sense something bad.

"May I help you?" I asked cautiously,

"Are you really Loriana's boyfriend?" He ignored my question and immediately began his interrogating.

"Yeah," I responded. "Isn't that obvious?"

"I...I find it hard to believe."

"Then how do you want me to prove it to you?"

"I know it's um...weird and maybe even creepy for me to ask this but," he blushed as he averted eye contact but soon recreated the line of communication once again. "If you two are truly lovers, then a kiss should be easy!"

"A kiss?" I eyed him with surprise.

"What?" a look of joy spread over his face as he believed that he might've discovered a weakness. "Can't do it?"

"No," I said, forcing myself to uphold the act since I had still not received the mission complete notification. "It's just that doing it in front of people is quite awkward."

"T-then go ahead!"

"Fine," I sighed.

I turned my face toward Loriana's, eyeing her beautiful lips.

Come to think of it...I've been a bit too naive. This mission is something I can't avoid, but it's also something that will have tremendous consequences. For example, all of Loriana's coworkers have heard me claim that I'm her lover, and...things might be become weird for Loriana. Hell, even her reputation might be at stake for possibly dating someone way younger than her. So...things will be quite weird for her. However, there should be a way to make things right...There should be. However, thinking of a solution will be something the future me has to deal with. The present me still has this challenge before me.

With the moon shining high above in the nighttime sky over head, and the bright lights of the city illuminating the world. I slowly brought my lips closer and closer to Loriana's. I ignored Markus's surprised look, and continued to bring my lips closer to hers.

I can see that Loriana has opened her eyes, and those light gray eyes stared back into mine. They seemed to sparkle and waver in surprise as she realized how close my face was to hers, but it was already to late to stop. Therefore, the kiss connected.

My lips touched with hers, and immediately, I could feel something trying to penetrate my closed lips. My eyes opened wide when I realized that it was Loriana who's trying to use her tongue to create a more intimate kiss. My sudden surprise led my mouth to slightly open, which then allowed for her tongue to enter my mouth and encircle mine. She wrapped her arms tighter around my neck, preventing me from escaping her, and continued the kiss.

Soon, I was out of breath and that led to me pushing her away from me gently. As our lips parted, threads of saliva connected her mouth to mine, and even our heavy breathing couldn't make it part.

"There," I immediately said as I turned to face Markus. "You got your proof?"

"Yeah," Markus looked down at the floor with a painful expression of despair on his face as he accepted what he had just saw as reality. "Thank you."

He then turned around and started for the other way, leaving me standing there along with Loriana still in my arms.

I slowly glanced back over at Loriana, and I discovered that she has once again fallen into a intoxicated slumber. Her gentle and peaceful breathing as she slept almost made what had happened earlier a distant dream. However, when I touched my lips with my fingers, I can feel that they were wet with her saliva...

What the hell?

---

Congratulations! You've completed your assignment on time.

The reward of 500 SP has been added to your account.

Your SP balance is: 575 SP