Professor Sarah was rumored to have a boyfriend. According to what most people around the university said, that boyfriend was Professor James, another professor who worked at the university.
Still, that was all it really was.
A rumor.
Nobody had actually seen the two of them acting like a couple. They weren't seen walking together, eating together, or doing anything that would immediately make people think they were in a relationship. If anything, they acted like complete strangers whenever they happened to be in the same area.
Even so, there was one thing that kept the rumor alive.
The ring Professor Sarah wore.
It looked exactly like an engagement ring.
Because of that, most people naturally assumed she already had a boyfriend, or more accurately, a fiancé. It wasn't exactly solid evidence, but it was enough for people to connect the dots. Universities loved gossip almost as much as students loved procrastinating, so it wasn't surprising that everyone simply accepted it as fact.
There was only one day left before the midterm examination.
Over the past several days, I'd spent a lot of time raising my stats.
The improvements weren't explosive or anything dramatic, but they were steady, and that was honestly the important part.
When I checked my current status, this was what I saw.
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Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 135
STAMINA: 150
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 145
LOOKS: 75
S-SKILL: 115
CHARISMA: 35
COMMUNICATION: 150
LUCK: 75
REPUTATION: 7
INFAMY: 88
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Looking at it at first glance, it honestly didn't seem like much had changed.
Nothing really jumped out at me.
But that was only because I'd been looking at these numbers every single day.
Compared to where I'd started, the difference was actually pretty huge.
Bit by bit, everything was moving upward.
And honestly, that was enough for me.
I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection.
Compared to the version of myself from before I got the system...
I'd definitely changed.
I wasn't half bad anymore.
Actually, calling myself "not half bad" almost felt like I was underselling it.
I was starting to look like a proper hunk.
I raised both arms and flexed in front of the mirror.
My muscles tightened immediately.
I wasn't one of those ridiculously bulky guys who looked like they spent every waking hour inside a gym.
Instead, my body had become lean. Defined. And kinda athletic.
Everything looked balanced.
Honestly, it looked pretty good.
I couldn't help staring at myself for another second.
"Looking good."
I paused.
"...Okay, maybe I shouldn't compliment myself out loud."
That was a little embarrassing.
Still...
The system definitely deserved some credit.
Then again, it wasn't entirely because of the system.
If I'd actually gotten serious about exercising before all of this happened, paid attention to how I dressed, and stopped living like someone who thought instant noodles counted as a balanced diet, I probably would've improved eventually anyway.
The biggest problem back then wasn't that I couldn't do those things.
It was that I simply didn't have the motivation.
Now I did.
Looking back, I guessed the system hadn't just increased my abilities.
It had also given me the push I'd needed to finally start moving.
And honestly...
I was glad it had.
While I was still looking at myself, my phone suddenly rang.
I glanced at the screen.
It was Clara.
I blinked.
She was early.
I honestly hadn't expected her to arrive yet.
Then I remembered.
Right.
Today was the day we'd planned to have sex.
At the same time, we were also supposed to study together for tomorrow's examination.
Talk about efficient scheduling.
I answered the call.
"Hello, Leon. I'm right out front," Clara said.
"I'll come get you."
"Alright."
The call ended.
I quickly got dressed before leaving my apartment.
A minute later, I headed downstairs.
Clara was already waiting outside.
The first thing I noticed wasn't her expression.
It was her outfit.
She looked really good.
She wore a simple white blouse that wasn't flashy or overly revealing, but it still had an elegant and expensive feeling to it.
Combined with her long pink skirt that reached below her knees, the entire outfit looked surprisingly modest.
Yet somehow...
She still looked incredibly sexy.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure how she managed that.
Some people really were unfairly blessed.
"Come on," I said. "I'll take you to my apartment."
She smiled.
"Okay."
The two of us started walking together.
She quietly looked around every now and then, taking in the apartment complex as we made our way inside.
Before long, we happened to run into Ma'am Minerva.
She looked like she was about to head outside.
Probably to buy groceries or something to eat.
"Oh, Leon."
She smiled warmly.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
Then her attention shifted toward Clara.
"Oh my."
She smiled even wider.
"Isn't she a beautiful young woman?"
Clara smiled politely.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
Well...
That was probably the most natural conclusion she could've come to.
A man and a woman walking together toward an apartment.
It definitely looked suspicious.
I wondered what I should even say.
For some reason, this felt exactly like one of those moments where the system would suddenly throw a QUEST at me.
I almost expected a notification to pop up in front of my face.
Nothing.
Seriously?
No QUEST?
That was unusual.
I was still thinking about my answer when Clara spoke first.
"W... We're not."
She beat me to it.
And just like that...
She denied it.
Well, she wasn't wrong.
Right now, the relationship between us was simply that of SEX FRIENDS.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
"Oh..."
Minerva nodded.
"I see."
Strangely enough...
She looked happier after hearing Clara's answer.
That immediately caught my attention.
Out of curiosity, I checked her status.
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Minerva
Affection: 30♥︎
Mood: 30♥︎
Lust: 80♥︎
Status: Acquaintance
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I looked at it for a few seconds.
Well...
I guessed it made sense.
I hadn't really started doing any of her QUESTS yet.
Because of that, our relationship hadn't progressed beyond ACQUAINTANCE.
Still...
That Lust stat was pretty hard to ignore.
Eighty.
That was... high.
Very high.
I honestly wasn't sure how far things could actually go between us.
The biggest issue was obvious.
She had a husband.
Even if they didn't seem to have children together, they were still married.
That fact alone complicated everything.
Wouldn't having sex with someone else's spouse count as some kind of crime?
Or at the very least...
It sounded like the kind of thing that could get someone punched in the face.
Probably deservedly so.
Still...
Judging from her status...
She definitely seemed sexually interested in me.
And if I was being completely honest with myself...
I was pretty tempted too.
Still, before anything else, I needed to know whether her husband was actually a complete scumbag. If he turned out to be a decent guy, I'd probably end up feeling guilty that I fucked his wife. That wasn't exactly something I wanted weighing on my conscience. As far as I was concerned, I at least wanted a good reason before getting tangled up in something that messy.
"Yup. That's right," I finally replied after a brief pause. "We're just going to study together."
Minerva smiled as soon as she heard my answer.
"As expected, you're quite the studious person, aren't you?" she said warmly. "Well then, break a leg. If you'd like, I can prepare some food for the two of you so you'll have something to eat while you're studying."
"It's alright," I answered with a small smile. "We were planning to buy something ourselves anyway. But I really appreciate the offer."
"Oh, I see," she replied with a nod. "Well, in that case, I should get going now. I still have to buy groceries before I head back. My husband's friends are coming over later."
"I see..." I said.
With that, Ma'am Minerva gave us one last smile before turning around and walking away.
My eyes naturally followed her as she left.
I didn't even realize I was still looking until she was already several steps away.
"She seems like she likes you, Leon," Clara suddenly said.
"Hm? Does she?" I looked over at her before glancing back toward Minerva. "But she has a husband."
Even so, if I was being honest with myself, I had already noticed it too.
Whether it was sexual attraction or just simple curiosity, I still couldn't say for sure. But ever since I started helping her carry groceries whenever we happened to run into each other, she'd slowly become friendlier toward me. Those little conversations gradually became longer, and over time, her behavior had become a little more... suggestive.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing that anyone would immediately point out.
But if you actually paid attention to the little things, the lingering glances, the way she talked, the excuses to keep chatting for another minute or two, they started becoming easier to notice.
It was subtle.
Which was why I was honestly surprised Clara had noticed it at all.
"Well..." Clara shrugged lightly. "Maybe. It was just a hunch."
"A pretty accurate hunch."
She smiled a little after hearing that but didn't say anything else.
Not long afterward, we reached my apartment.
I unlocked the door before stepping inside.
"Make yourself comfortable," I said as I set my keys down.
"Thanks."
Without any hesitation, Clara walked over and sat her ass down on the sofa.
Meanwhile, I headed over to grab the books we'd be using.
Since we'd already decided to spend the afternoon studying, it was probably better to get started before either of us got distracted.
While I was gathering everything, Clara quietly looked around the apartment.
Her eyes wandered from one shelf to another, taking in the room with genuine curiosity.
A few moments later, she stopped in front of one of the framed pictures.
"Hm?"
She picked it up carefully.
"Is this your family?" she asked.
The picture showed me when I was still a little kid.
Standing beside me was a woman who looked like she was in her thirties back then.
Next to us were two other girls, all smiling toward the camera.
"Well... yes," I answered. "But not exactly."
She looked at me, waiting for me to continue.
"My parents passed away a long time ago. After that, my aunt, who's my father's younger sister, became the one who raised me."
I smiled faintly.
"At this point, I honestly think of her as my own mother."
"I see..."
Her voice became noticeably quieter.
She looked a little sad after hearing that.
Maybe she'd assumed it was still something painful for me.
"You don't have to look so worried," I said with a small laugh. "I don't really remember my parents that much anyway. I was only about three years old when they died, so I barely have any memories of them."
I placed the books on the table.
"So, more importantly..."
I looked at her.
"Should we get started?"
She nodded.
"Yeah."
Without wasting any more time, we began studying.
The next several hours passed surprisingly quickly.
Questions turned into discussions.
Discussions turned into explanations.
Every now and then, one of us would get something wrong, and the other would point it out before moving on to the next topic.
It wasn't exactly exciting, but it wasn't boring either.
Having someone else there actually made studying a lot easier than doing it alone.
Before either of us realized it, five whole hours had already gone by.
That was enough.
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COMPLETED!
Spend 5 hours studying with Clara.
Reward: +10 INTELLIGENCE. +5 COMMUNICATION.
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Perfect.
Now I'd finally reached the threshold I needed to comfortably pass tomorrow's exam.
"Are you sure that's enough for you?" Clara asked as she stretched her arms.
Looking at it from her perspective, I couldn't really blame her for asking.
We'd only managed to cover around half of the material in those five hours.
Normally, that wouldn't exactly inspire confidence before an exam.
"Well," I replied, trying to sound casual, "I also studied during my free time, so I think I'll manage."
That was, of course, a complete lie.
No way was I going to explain the whole system to her.
"I see..." Clara nodded slowly. "Well, I guess you're alright now. Hopefully you'll be able to pass even with just this."
"Yup."
I smiled.
"Don't worry about it."
After that...
Silence...
Neither of us said anything.
The studying was over.
The books were closed.
The room suddenly felt much quieter than it had a minute ago.
Now what?
"Um..."
Clara broke the silence first.
"I... brought something."
She slowly reached into the purse she'd brought with her.
For a second, I wondered what she was looking for.
Then she pulled it out.
A box of condoms.
X-tra Large.
For a moment, she simply stared at it before awkwardly raising the box in front of her face, almost like she could hide behind it.
It honestly wasn't doing a very good job.
"N-Now that we're done studying..." she mumbled while refusing to look at me. "I-I guess... we should move on to the other reason I came here..."
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
She looked ridiculously adorable.
The funny part wasn't even the condoms.
It was the fact that she'd apparently rehearsed this in her head and still ended up looking like her brain had completely crashed halfway through.
And considering she was the one who bought the box herself...
I guess she was looking forward to this just as much as I was.
Maybe even more.
Well...
I definitely wasn't going to complain.
"Clara," I said softly as I leaned closer.
She froze for a second.
Then, after taking a quiet breath, she lowered the box from in front of her face.
Our eyes met.
Neither of us said another word.
The distance between us disappeared as our lips met.
The box of condoms slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor with a quiet thump while I gently guided her backward onto the couch.