“Hey, Clover. Are you listening? Hey!”

Maya pinched his sleeve and tugged, stealing his attention.

Reivan was pulled out of contemplation, turning to her with a scowl. “What is it? I’m trying to think up a plan of action here and I’d appreciate some peace and quiet…”

“Stop being such an ass. Anyway, I was just going to suggest we take trains that go around where the monsters are speculated to be. It would cost more, but it would be faster than waiting here for a few days.”

‘...That’s actually a good idea.’

Reivan remembered something she said earlier though. “You said you didn’t have much money.”

Maya shrugged. “I don’t.”

“Then how are you going to pay for the extra expenses?”

“Hehe. I was actually thinking that you could lend me some money!”

“No.”

“C’mon, I’m going to be a battlemage just like you soon. You really think I would stiff you? This is pocket change considering our salaries. Seriously. And even if I can’t pay you back with cash, there are other ways to repay you…”

“What… Wait, no. I’m not worried about you not paying me back. I’m just not in the financial situation to be lending anyone any amount of money. Especially if it’s for a long detour.”

“Oh…” Maya gave up surprisingly fast, muttering to herself. “That’s not good. Guess my only option is to really just wait here and hope for the best. I don’t want to whore myself out to strangers to get the money or anything.”

Reivan grimaced. “I can’t believe you actually considered that.”

“I didn’t. Do you think my eyes are for decoration? I have standards too, y’know… and some morals too. But you have to admit, I’ve got the looks for it.”

“You have the confidence for it, at least.” Reivan rolled his eyes. While Maya was certainly attractive in her own right, the fact that she tooted her own horn brought her score down a few points in his eyes. “I’ll go consult the clerk about the detour plan.”

“I’m offended by your previous statement, but sure. I’ll wait here.”

“You don’t have to. Since you’re broke, I can’t take you with me.”

“You’re going to die alone if you keep this up, Clover.”

Reivan waved her off, convinced that he definitely wasn’t dying alone — and if things worked out, he may never die at all. He then turned around and asked the clerk a few things, getting a better idea of just how large the area affected by the runaway monsters was.

Unfortunately, he now understood that a detour around the affected area was simply unrealistic because of how ridiculously large it was. There were apparently a lot of monsters, and they had spread out far and wide.

‘Son of a bitch… What do I do now?’

Because of the sudden turn of events, he now had a very real possibility of arriving late at the Spirit Tower. Reivan had no information about what went on at the start, and he also wasn't scared of being scolded or embarrassed by the consequences. But if his slot at the tower ended up being revoked because of this, then it was obviously quite a predicament for him.

Being expelled over such a thing would have been absurd from a school's perspective, but really, the Spirit Tower wasn't a school despite it being a place of learning.

Clover was supposed to be employed there — and even though he was given a month to arrive, he would still be late for his first day on the job.

Few employers would be pleased by such a thing.

Such a crazy set of circumstances would have been met with consideration if it happened in Aizen, but Reivan wasn’t too aware of how tolerant the Spirit Tower was about unexpected events causing their battlemages to get there late on the first day of the job. There may have also been vital initiation events involved that were only available on the exact date.

Like forming a spirit bond or some other essential process.

'Shit. Fuck.'

The tower could argue that Reivan — or rather, Clover — could have avoided this entire debacle if he’d just journeyed to the tower earlier. But because he waited until there was only one week left until the agreed-upon time, he was struck with misfortune.

Obviously, Reivan couldn't say that he was busy studying Clover's mannerisms and just about everything about the young sorcerer to better act like him.

‘It seems that I have no other option than to wait here for an opportunity and hope for the best just like that chatty woman.’

Reivan heaved a wary sigh and massaged his temple as he strode back to where Maya was waiting.

“So?” she asked with a smirk. "Your face says it all though."

“...The affected area is too large. It’s impossible for my current funds.”

“Hah. Karma, sure strikes fast.”

“Oh, stuff it up your...” Reivan stopped to sigh again while heading for the station’s exit.

Maya followed him from behind like a tail. “What’s the plan now?”

“The plan is to wait.”

“I’ve gotta admit, I'm not a big fan of this plan.”

“Me neither. We don’t have much of a choice, though.”

“That's true.”

Reivan asked a passing stranger about any decent inns at walking distance and then searched for it with his unwanted companion, renting a room for the night that came with a free breakfast.

Leaving Maya to handle her own accommodations, he headed for the attached tavern and ordered an early dinner. He had almost chosen a seat at the counter on pure instinct, but in light of the present company, he headed for an empty table instead. Wasting an opportunity to deepen his relationship with a potential connection in the tower would be, well, a waste.

After a while, Maya arrived to take the seat right next to him.

“Hey, Clover. Can you drink?” Maya asked as she scanned the menu.

Reivan patiently waited for the food he ordered earlier to arrive and answered while observing the other patrons — some of whom, he noticed, were actually sneaking glances at Maya. But that hardly mattered to him. “I can, but I won’t.”

“Oh, okay. I get it. You’re a lightweight.”

“...No, I’m not.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed. Being a lightweight doesn’t make you any less of a man.”

“I said I’m not a lightweight.”

‘... Wait a minute. Actually, I’m not sure how well Clover drinks alcohol.’

With how hard life was in general, Clover didn’t really partake in any vices — including, but not limited to, drinking. Clover wouldn't have gone as far as to drink dirty water since he knew getting sick cost more money, but the miser wouldn't spend a dime buying ale to spice up a meal.

‘I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to test the waters. I’m relatively safe right now, with Valter and some Ascendant battlemage observing me.’

Of course, the latter wasn’t observing him as a guard, but rather, to make sure he didn’t do anything shifty. But all the same, surely the hidden battlemage would bail him out of fatal trouble. No matter how much Clover was suspected of espionage, he was innocent until proven guilty, and was hence a promising battlemage recruit on paper.

In any case, Reivan had no plans to get blackout drunk anyway.

He raised an arm toward the barmaid. “I’ll have a mug of beer, please.”

“That’s the spirit, Clover! A bit of alcohol in your system never hurts.”

“Should someone with your financial situation be saying that?”

“You’re right…” Maya finished ordering with a nearby waitress and stood up. “Wait here. I'll show you something neat.”

Reivan raised a brow as she watched her walk up to a middle-aged man sitting by himself at the counter. She said a few words with a smile and sat in the seat right next to the man. Barely a minute later, she had a drink in hand and was laughing together with the stranger, gulping down about a quarter of its contents before eventually standing up and waving goodbye.

Maya sat down and placed a large mug of mead on their table. “Easy.”

“Amazing work.” Reivan snarked. He didn’t miss the subtle physical contact between her and the stranger she extorted a drink from. “Any tips so I can get a free drink too?”

“Die and be reborn as a woman so you won’t ever have to pay for drinks.”

“Guess I’ll pay for my drinks then. Bleeding out of my vagina every month doesn't sound like something I'd want to go through until I grow old.”

Maya frowned but couldn't seem to come up with a response.

Soon, their food arrived and they partook in their modest meals. Afterward, Reivan sipped on his drink to pace himself while Maya knocked hers back like a true alcoholic, earning some applause from nearby patrons.

The nearby drunkards were so impressed by Maya, that they invited the two of them to a bit of gambling — where Reivan slowly robbed them of their money by using his various special abilities and intuition.

After pestering him to no end, Maya managed to convince Reivan to buy a few more rounds for them using his loot. He didn't think it was such a big deal since treating her well now when she was still poor, would make a better impression than when she was rich. It was questionable if she would appreciate it, but parting with a few coins when his wallet was full wouldn't hurt.

By the time they both decided to turn in for the night, the tavern was already in full swing, filled with working men who wished to unwind after a hard day's work.

‘Okay, note to self, Clover’s a lightweight.’

The beer he had drunk did not strike him as too strong and the taste made it apparent that the swill was actually watered down. But after two mugs his vision was already starting to narrow. And after four, he found it hard to maintain balance while seated.

Maya, of course, did not miss the opportunity to point out his weakness. “As expected, you’re pretty weak to alcohol, huh? You shouldn’t have pushed yourself.”

“You're the one who kept getting me to buy more…” Reivan slurred, squinting at her and noting how rosy her cheeks were. But otherwise, she seemed perfectly fine. This pissed him off even more for some reason though.

“Here, I’ll help you up to your room.” Maya took his arm and draped it around her shoulders, helping him up the stairs. “Damn, you’re heavy…”

“Thanks…” Reivan couldn’t afford to keep up the act of acting like an ass, so he just shut his mouth and appreciated the gesture.

Once they arrived outside his room, he thanked her again as he struggled to unlock the door. Then he stumbled inside and landed face-first into bed.

‘Being drunk sucks…’

He already wanted his original body back. Actually, he could cure himself instantly with [Drug Memorization]. But the sudden alleviation of his intoxication surely wouldn’t escape his observer’s notice.

Hence, he had to suck it up and suffer the consequences of his curiosity.

‘Well, at least I know I shouldn’t drink booze using Clover’s form.’

No matter what celebration he had to attend using this identity in the future, it was better to avoid ingesting any alcohol — that is, unless making a fool of himself was his goal.

“Hey, scooch over. You’re taking up the entire bed.”

“Ugh, fine…” Reivan grunted and rolled over, unintentionally causing his dizziness to worsen. The pang of pain was enough for him to realize the strangeness of the situation though. “Wait a minute, what’re you doing in my room?”

Maya, who was definitely not supposed to have followed him inside his room, was lying down right next to him on the cramped one-person bed. She made no move to get off despite him pointing it out too, shamelessly wrapping her arms around him and using his arm as a pillow.

“Clover. An unmarried woman and a presumably unmarried man are lying down together in bed,” she whispered in amusement. “What do you think they’re up to?”

“...Get the hell out of here.”

“You’re really gonna kick me out?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself… My head’s killing me and you’re making it worse.”

“But Clover…” Maya trailed off, sounding pitiful. “I don’t have a place to stay tonight.”

Reivan winced after a particularly intense wave of dizziness struck. The only silver lining was how he didn’t seem to have the urge to vomit, but perhaps to compensate, the headache was particularly nasty. He massaged his temples and tried to recall what happened earlier.

‘... Yeah, she was definitely lined up right behind me… I didn’t see her do it in person since I left her and headed for the tavern, but it took her a while to follow me inside…’

“Didn’t you order a room right after me?” Reivan asked, somewhat sure of himself after successfully arranging his groggy thoughts. “The lady downstairs said there were still a few rooms…”

“Well, that’s because I never rented a room.”

“...Hah? What do you… Agh, fuck, my head…” Reivan took a moment to groan, biting his lip under the strain. “But…”

“I took a while before following you, right? I was just asking the innkeeper how strong their alcohol was. I didn’t wanna get too drunk after all.”

“...You dumbass. Why didn’t you just rent a room, then?”

Maya giggled, stroking his back and pressing herself against him. “Because it’s a waste of money. And I planned to room with you from the start, silly.”

Reivan grimaced. “Get the hell out.”

“Are you serious…? Setting aside how you’re just going to throw a friend out on the streets, I can’t believe someone can actually refuse at this point… Or do you just not know what my actions mean?"

"I know what it means..."

"Then what's the problem? Is your virginity that valuable? Are you into men or something? Oh, wait, did you leave a lover behind back in your hometown?”

Reivan was just about to say yes to the last and least offensive thing she said, but he remembered that he was supposed to be Clover Salwyn, right now, and Clover didn’t have a lover back home.

Or rather, he used to have one.

But when he met up with the real Clover a few days ago, they agreed that outwardly, Ellin and her family went with her romantic pursuer, sailing across the sea to settle down somewhere in the Pentagoria Continent.

This was because smuggling people out of Arkhan was easiest when they weren’t in Arkhan anymore, leaving it through official channels. If anyone ever investigated Ellin’s fate, they would find that the girl and her family never reached their destination. But at that point, there could be any number of reasons why — after all, the expanse of water between continents wasn’t known for its safety.

All of that meant that as far as anyone was concerned, Clover spent a few days of bliss with Ellin as a bittersweet farewell before leaving for the Spirit Tower. Now, Ellin and her family were preparing to embark on a new life on another continent.

Hence, Clover was single.

In fact, he was supposed to be heartbroken.

Reivan stopped paying attention to his unwanted roommate to nurse his headache, thinking about which option was in line with the character he was playing as.

‘I mean… She doesn’t look bad, so most guys definitely wouldn’t refuse her proposition…’

Of course, in Reivan’s mind, the pinnacle of beauty was reserved for his lovers and the women in his family. It would be an insult to them all if he compared Maya to them. But objectively she was very easy on the eyes and had the figure of a K-pop idol or something.

From a modern person’s perspective, Maya was like the most popular girl in high school.

Basically, she was the biggest fish in one of many small ponds.

Reivan was used to seeing giant whales and megalodons though. Maya was nowhere near enough to steal his heart with just her looks, but he couldn’t deny that he found her appealing. And it wouldn't have been a stretch to say that Clover would have felt roughly the same.

It wouldn't be a strong case against him, but it would certainly be strange for a virile Arkhanian young man — who was single — to refuse a beautiful young woman who was practically serving herself up to him in a silver platter. Maybe his headache had something to do with it too, but he felt like refusing her at this point would be wrong.

'If she catches feelings for me at some point... that can only be an advantage.'

Valter and many other knights who had experience being spies had already given him a good idea about how useful relationships could be. Reivan himself already had proof through experience during the plan's preparation stage.

Of course, since Maya propositioned a man she'd met on the same day, Reivan held no misconceptions that she would catch feelings for him easily. But this could serve as a foot on the door, allowing him to make use of her somewhere down the line.

‘Damn. I have to give in, here, don’t I?’

From every rational angle, the best choice for Reivan was to just accept. Rather, there were only disadvantages in refusing.

As much as possible, he had been refraining himself from intimacy with women whom he had no plans of marrying, but now, it seemed it would be unavoidable.

“Fine…” Reivan relented, holding back a sigh. “Let's do this.”

“You’re really good at making it seem like you’re doing me a massive favor here.” Maya chuckled sheepishly. “But whatever. Thanks, I guess? I'm not here just to stay and sleep though. If that wasn't clear enough for you, virgin boy.”

"I'm aware... and don't call me virgin boy again or I'm shoving my wand up your— Anyway, how can I be sure this isn’t some elaborate trap to mug me?”

“You’ve got to be kidding…” Maya slapped her forehead, obviously exasperated at him. “Why would I mug you? How can I even do that?”

But Reivan wouldn’t give up so easily. “We’re both armed. With wands.”

“...Okay, I see your point. Why didn't I think of that?”

Maya seemed to take a moment to arrange her thoughts before taking off the only ring she was wearing. Then she showed it to Reivan before lightly tossing it to the side. “There. Happy? Can we please get on with it now? Before I start regretting this entire thing and camp out on the streets.”

“Fine…” Reivan also took out his wand and flung it toward a stool in the corner of the room.

“Great! Now, lemme pay you back for the room and the drinks…” Maya scooched closer, grinning as her hands snaked into his shirt. “I’ve wanted to get a better feel since earlier…”

“Don’t move too much, I feel like I’m dying…” Reivan winced but let her molest him to her heart's desires. Her soft caress sent bolts of electricity up his spine and he couldn’t help but run his hands all over her body too.

Despite his innermost wishes, biological functions were hard to fully restrain, and blood rushed into his lower body. Growing slightly impatient, he slowly undid her clothes.

“You seem used to this, Clover.” Maya popped his shirt open and started peppering his chest with kisses.

“Not as much as you, obviously.”

“Well, I get around as much as the next person… But let’s not talk about that.”

Maya pushed him away and got up to straddle him, rocking her hips back and forth. They were still mostly clothed though, so all her actions did was rub things together and make his blood boil even more.

“Let me do the moving this time, Clover. Not that you can do it even if you wanted to.”

“... You say that as if there’s a next time.”

“Well, that’ll depend on you.”

Maya giggled, running her eyes all over his body.

 

---

 

“...Ugh.”

Reivan awoke with a killer headache. He’d experienced worse ones, actually, but either way, the feeling of someone slamming a hammer on your head was never pleasant no matter how gentle they were.

In the same way, his hangover caused his mood to drop.

‘... I woke up at the same time as I usually do, so there’s that. But I think that may have worked against me in this case.’

From the window of his room, he could see the sun’s rays were just starting to peak out of the horizon. But if he’d slept in a bit later, perhaps Reivan would have a weaker headache to greet him first thing in the morning.

Reivan threw a glance at the partially dressed woman resting on his arm — which felt numb because of how weak he was. He slowly pulled himself free and got up to search for his pants. After a round of groggy treasure hunting, he was finally dressed for societal interaction, albeit slightly smelly from the dried sweat last night.

Obviously, he wasn't some kind of brute, so he cleaned up after the fact. But he was drunk and tired, so he’d unknowingly missed some… spots. And now those spots smelled putrid.

‘Luckily, I think there’s a spell for this… I just didn’t bother to learn it. Balls. Why the fuck didn't I or Clover learn it...’

Reivan stretched his limbs despite the ringing in his head and slowly started to stretch in preparation for some light exercise. Feeling slightly curious, he threw a glance at Maya and checked her favor using [Supreme Insight].

 

 

Reivan grunted as he rolled his shoulders, noting how it had barely changed since he last checked. Curiosity turned into Desire instead of Interest — the baseline emotion for someone to consider him as a romantic partner.

Over the years, he’d actually dedicated a fraction of his time and resources to examine more how the favor section of someone’s status worked.

It was, after all, something he encountered every time he peeked at someone using [Supreme Insight]. But after realizing that he didn't have a great idea about what those numbers meant for him, he set out to study it when he had free time. Sometimes, he went out to the field himself, but most of the time, he just made repeated use of [Supreme Insight]’s ability to tell him what other people scored each other.

Through his efforts, he realized that the favor system was quite simple.

Favor made it sound positive but it, as shown in the past, also displayed negative emotions. This made Reivan feel as if the name wasn’t apt for what information it displayed, but he didn't let it bother him too much.

For example, no matter how things started out, if Person A had around the score of negative fifty for Person B, Person A’s dominant emotion would become malice or some other variation without exception. And generally, it was at this point that Person A would start actually taking action against Person B.

At negative sixty, Person A would be more than likely to resort to violence as long as the consequences of doing so weren’t too heavy.

At negative seventy, Person A would hurt Person B even if the consequences were significant.

And at negative eighty, Person A would kill Person B.

As for negative ninety and above… Reivan wasn’t able to test it out on intelligent creatures too much, but he was sure that having such a negative favor meant that Person A would sacrifice anything and everything just to kill Person B, inflicting as much suffering as possible before finishing them off.

it was a hatred so deep that the other person’s suffering became their reason for existing.

Turning that around, the positive aspect of favor was more diverse, and the numerical score depended heavily on what the dominant emotions were.

A few years ago, Helen’s favor for him had been maxed out. But that was when she still viewed him as a friend. The moment her feelings turned romantic, the score actually lowered.

According to some of his... experiments in the past, this wasn’t unique to Helen since women who he’d befriended lowered their scores of him when he steered the relationship into something more intimate.

And during those experiments, he realized that how far someone was willing to go depended on how high the score was.

Fifty generally meant a somewhat intense desire to know more about them.

Sixty was the stage where they would desire a more official relationship and want to spend more time together.

Seventy was the stage where a woman would want to become intimate — in the case of a man, they would be willing as long as the score wasn’t negative. But women proved quite a bit more... selective.

Eighty meant that marriage was very much on the table.

And similarly to earlier, he wasn’t able to test the nineties and above too much, but he was quite sure that it was the level where someone would climb a mountain of blades or wade through a sea of fire if it was for their lover’s sake. Self-sacrifice must have been also on the table.

Of course, not all people were the same.

Some slight variations existed and there were all sorts of other real-life factors affecting someone’s decision. Such as a man who had sex with someone scored a negative sixty because it gave him a feeling of dominance over her. Or a woman who married someone she scored at twenty-five because he was rich.

But going back to Reivan’s current situation, Maya had sex with him even before he had a score of thirty. He had never seen such a low barrier for… well, entry.

Sure, she had made it apparent that he was her type. And his [Lie Detection] didn’t act up, so it must have been true. But being “her type” was normally enough to warrant a higher score in the first place.

Yet, her score barely moved.

This could mean one of two things: either Maya had some kind of past that made her the biggest slut Reivan had ever seen in his life, or she had ulterior motives.

‘This is giving me a greater headache… And in the end, it doesn’t matter.’

Even if Maya did have ulterior motives, it changed nothing. Reivan had ulterior motives too, after all. In fact, his ulterior motives were much darker than anything she could imagine. He felt nothing for her, and saw her as nothing but a potential ally in the tower.

It mattered little to him if she thought the same thing.

Reivan threw one last glance at her before leaving their room, intent on jogging around the block before most people started waking up.