Project: Socialize

At around 3:00 PM, Loriana knocked on the door to notify me that I should be readying myself for departure. She didn't enter my room like always, granting me the liberty to privacy. Instead, she just spoke in a soft voice from the other side of the door. In fact, I don't think I have ever heard her raise her voice. Maybe it's because I was never a troublemaker for her or it's just her nature to not be loud. Anyhow, she's always so reserved and calm, like the ideal adult that children had always fantasized about when confronted with the question of what an ideal adult is.

I began changing out of my indoor clothing. I opted to go with a simple gray T-shirt with a light black zip-up hoodie since it was raining and somewhat cold outdoors. I slipped my phone into the pockets of my black pants and then left my room.

Outside, I discovered that Loriana has already prepared herself for going out and was sitting in the living room, waiting for me. Her choice of color seemed to be pretty complementary to each piece of her clothing: a long sleeve white button-up blouse with a black skirt along with a light black jacket that complemented her clothing.

"You ready?" she asked as she saw me emerge into the living room and stood up.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Are we taking the trains or your car?" I recalled the scarlet sports car that was parked in the underground parking lot of our building.

"My car," she responded by showing me the keys that were in her hands.

The two of us then walked over towards the entrance area of our house, slipped on our foot wear, and proceeded to exit. I was quite nervous when leaving because I was afraid that the new neighbors might accidentally bump into us, which would then call for a further awkward introduction sequence for me. In simpler terms, it means that I don't wanna talk.

Lucky for me, when we exited the door opposite to ours did not seem to move a single bit and there were no one else in the proximity. With my hands in my pant pockets, I waited as Loriana locked the door with her finger print on the sensor before the two of us started for the elevators.

To accommodate for many families that reside in the building, there're five elevators in total. However, only two elevators are used for us residents on the higher floors with the remaining three reserved for those that reside on the lower floors since, as Emilia had informed me, the lower floors had multiple residential units on the same floor, meaning more people to use the elevators.

The elevator door opened when it arrived on the first floor of the underground parking lot, revealing a large concrete covered parking lot. Overhead, there exists numerous lights that provided illumination to the place. With these illuminations, one can see the assigned numbers for each person to park in. There were some spots open since not everybody opted to own in car since you really don't need a car if you live in Palisia.

I followed after Loriana as we walked over to her car that was parked in the parking spot assigned to us. It has been quite some time since I last seen this scarlet red sports car. It's paint was still sparkling and shining as ever as Loriana kept it in top condition and would clean the car at a drive through car wash whenever it would get too dirty. Although it was a sports car, it was still a four-seater with only two doors.

With a press of a button on her car remote and the doors automatically opened. I boarded the car on the passenger side and Loriana got in on the drivers side. Then, she pressed the start-engine button and the dashboard and smart screen within the car lit up. The doors soon automatically closed and the car was ready to start mobilizing.

For some reason though, the atmosphere within her car felt extremely calming.The sound of the car engine gently humming could be audible from within the vehicle and as the lights within the car dimmed down, leaving us in the darkness with the only source of illumination coming from the smart screen of the car and the dash board. Loriana turned on the radio, and soft, relaxing music could be heard from the car speakers. The vehicle was filled with the smell of Loriana, which I couldn't tell if it was the perfume that she usually used or if it was just her body's natural aroma. However, all I know is that the smell wasn't very strong and that it was quite calming to smell.

I yawned as the car started moving and she drove us around the parking lot towards the entrance. Once there, the gate would automatically scan our device for the registration and open up the gate to allow us to exit the parking lot. That was exactly what happened and our car was able to drive onto the rainy streets of the Lumina district of Palisia.

Rain drops fell onto the car, dotting the windshield, and blurring vision. Loriana turned on the windshield wipers and the rhythmic motion of the windshield wipers began, moving left and right, left and right. The sky above was cloudy gray, casting a somewhat gloomy atmosphere over the city. However, the city continued on, ignoring the influence of the weather and responding only with the umbrellas used by the pedestrians. Life was as usual for Palisians even in the rain. People still have to go to work or go meet up with friends or family. Therefore, the public transport system continued to run at its original efficiency; the rain seemed to have no effect on the public transport system as all buses and trains continued to run as usual. This can be proven by how the buses continued moving on the road and the trains continued running on the elevated railways not too high above street-level.

"It's quite relaxing isn't it?" Loriana said to me as we waited at a red light.

"Yeah," I yawned, looking out the car window on the passenger side and at the city outside. The wide, opened windows of the stores were brightly lit, providing a sharp contrast with the bland city scene outside that resulted from the rain.

"It's been a while," she sighed, "since we talked like this."

"Yeah..." I muttered, agreeing that it truly has been a while since we had the alone time to truly talk.

"So...has something been bothering you lately?" she glanced over at me with a piercing look that almost felt as if she was looking right at my heart.

"N-nothing," I stuttered as I glanced away out of nervousness.

How can I tell her that I changed your memory and that I had actually almost had sex with her? That...she'll probably think I have a mental illness or something.

"If you don't want to tell me you don't have to," she said as the light turned green and the vehicle started moving once again. "But I want you to know that if anything is bothering you, I will always be on your side to help you."

"..." I looked over and observed the side view of her face.

"Even if you've done something wrong," she continued to say. "Know that I will always forgive you in the end."

I stared at her in silence. To be honest, I really wanted to cry at that moment. My eyes watered up as I realized that the sole purpose she had suggested that we go out for lunch was so that she can create a situation where we were isolated in close proximity to each other and she could talk to me. This dedication, this care that she provided me...it only served to multiply the guilt. Her emotions of pure...care and love for me, yet I've...yet I've almost tainted her body while she was without conscious.

I suppressed my urge to tear up and looked away at the outside world through the window in fear that she might see the slight redness or the wateriness of my eyes. I then glanced down at the illuminated screen on my phone, eyeing the Socialization app. It was all because of this stupid app that my life has become like this...If it weren't for Ralus...things wouldn't have gone like this.

I let out a gentle sigh as I finally cave in to the fact that this will be a prison with no escape for me. I literally know the truth behind the world that I reside in and have even met God himself. However, I do not feel as if it is a blessing. Rather, it was more of a curse, with God's negligence and the morally wrong commands of the angel Ralus. God did try to correct it by assigning Emilia to be the one responsible for assigning missions to me. However, he did also send her out to monitor me. Although Emilia has given me more freedom and privacy than I had initially imagined it to be, I still do not fully understand why she was sent here. What was God afraid of from me that would prompt him to send an angel to constantly monitor me?

I looked out the window and realized that we were now driving on the highway that was also elevated from street level. From here, I could see the tall skyscrapers in the not too far distance as we drove on the highway along the Helliger River. The rain had made the distant view somewhat blurry as the rain clouds seemed to conceal the top of the skyscrapers in the mist. However, that just made the city view even more pleasant to the eyes as everything seemed to merge perfectly.

As I looked down at my phone once again, I realized that there was a notification once again.

--

Current Objective

Stay the night with Loriana in a lover's hotel.

Time Limit: 10 hours

Reward: 4500 SP

Hello, do you miss me?

~Ralus