The First Step Forward

It felt like an eternity had passed. Fuming with rage, Yang Sora had looked like a wild beast on a rampage. It took Lee Yoonseo a good ten minutes of desperately holding her back before Sora finally calmed down enough to stop trying to tear me limb from limb.

My back is still tingling from the sheer bloodlust radiating behind me... Unlike before, when she had let her guard down just a fraction, she was now watching me with as much vigilance as when we first met—no, even more. Actually, "vigilance" was too mild a word. It was pure, unadulterated hostility.

"Come on, Sora, let it go~ Please? From what he said, Seong-gi didn't do it on purpose, right?"

"Hmph!"

"Hahaha..."

Having heard the whole story, Lee Yoonseo was doing everything she could to cheer Yang Sora up, sticking close to her side, but Sora's mood showed no signs of improving. I could only watch the two of them and offer an awkward, strained laugh.

"W-Well, in that case, I'll go look for some more tree fruit around here."

"Okay. I'm so sorry, Seong-gi. I'll try to calm Sora down a bit and then we'll catch up with you."

Knowing that my presence would only make things worse, I decided to use the tree fruit as an excuse to make myself scarce. Yoonseo gave me an apologetic look as she replied, while Sora refused to even glance in my direction. I immediately left them behind and began scanning the surroundings for more fruit.

"But man... that sensation earlier..."

As I walked, searching for the fruit, the memory of what had just happened flooded my mind. I looked down at my right hand—the hand that had squeezed Yang Sora's breast. Quite some time had passed since the commotion, yet the sensation was still vividly etched into my palm.

"It was so soft and bouncy..."

It was my very first time touching a woman's breast in real life, and the sensation was far more incredible than anything I had ever imagined. As my thoughts ran wild, I felt Bess slowly raising its head.

"Whoa, calm down... It's not your turn to shine yet..."

I muttered to myself, striking a dramatic pose as I looked down and smirked at Bess.

"Who are you talking to all by yourself?"

"Yaaah!"

I shrieked in terror at the sudden voice beside me and whipped my head around. Standing there was Lee Yoonseo, a bright, refreshing smile gracing her lips.

"Oh my, did I startle you? I'm sorry."

Yoonseo offered a light apology, seeing me jump out of my skin.

"N-No, it's fine. I was just surprised because your voice came out of nowhere."

"Hehehe."

Yoonseo giggled softly, as if finding my flustered reaction adorable.

"By the way, is Sora doing okay? You caught up with me faster than I expected."

"Yes! Sora said she's feeling a bit better now, and that looking for fruit on her own would help her calm down completely."

"I see..."

"Don't look so down, Seong-gi! When Sora gets mad, she really loses her temper, but once she cools off, she's actually pretty quick to let things go!"

When I offered a weak, bitter smile, still feeling guilty about what had happened, Yoonseo patted my shoulder comfortingly. I returned her gesture with a gentle smile of my own.

"Now then, how many fruits do we have left to find?"

"Hmm... eight more."

"Only eight? Let's search hard! I think we can finish this today!"

"Right!"

Lee Yoonseo possessed an energy that naturally brightened her surroundings. Her pure, elegant aura, her constant gentle smiles, and her kindness toward others made her incredibly lovely. Having a girlfriend like her would be pure bliss, the thought crossed my mind.

"Well, I'll head over this way! I only came over because I figured you'd be worrying about everything!"

"Haha... thank you. I'll do my best to search too!"

Feeling re-energized, I clenched both fists and gave Yoonseo an exaggeratedly enthusiastic reply. She giggled at my antics, waved goodbye, and disappeared in the opposite direction. Feeling much lighter, I resumed my search for the tree fruit with renewed vigor.

"Phew... they're sparse, but at least they're out there."

Quite some time had passed since I parted ways with Yoonseo. By the time I managed to scavenge three more fruits, I looked up to find the sun dipping below the horizon. Lingering any longer in the Trial Zone after dark would be extremely dangerous. I began calling out their names as I searched the area, and before long, I managed to locate them. We gathered together and pooled our collected tree fruits and herbs.

"How is it, Seong-gi? Did we get everything?"

"Hold on, let check."

I opened my quest window to check the remaining counts and compared them against the materials we had gathered.

"One... two... three... Oh! We got them all!!"

"Really?!"

Yoonseo clapped her hands in delight, and even Sora, though she tried not to show it, seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Then let's get out of here quickly, turn in the quest, and get the next one! We didn't accept the next quest yesterday because we wanted to take it together with you!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

We immediately headed back to the entrance dividing the zones and spoke to the Tower resident to complete the quest.

Once I turned everything in, the familiar quest window and settlement results popped up before my eyes. I watched as the additional completion rewards were credited to my account. Among them were stat points, prompting me to open my status window, but as expected, my skill kept my stats completely locked from rising.

"Did you complete it, Seong-gi?"

"Yes! Thanks to you guys!"

"Great, then let's all accept the next quest together!"

Hearing her, I looked back at the screen to see the prompt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asking if I wanted to proceed. I nodded, and the three of us selected to move on to the next quest simultaneously.

The text floating before our eyes shifted, revealing our next objective. This time, it was an actual hunting quest. After spending all our time peacefully gathering herbs, the sudden shift back to combat made our tension spike, and the three of us swallowed hard.

"Haha... looks like the next one is a real fight..."

"Yeah..."

"B-But let's do our best! I'm sure it won't be too difficult right from the start!"

Yoonseo tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere, putting on an exaggeratedly cheerful front to encourage us.

"Right! I'll do my best too."

I replied ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠loudly to match her energy. Yang Sora just watched the two of us in silence. I instinctively felt that this was the perfect moment to speak to her.

"Um, Sora."

"Yeah?"

I spoke to her cautiously.

"About earlier... I'm incredibly sorry! It wasn't intentional, but I know it must have made you feel awful! I'm so sorry!"

I had been thinking about this the entire time I was searching for the fruit. I had to apologize to Yang Sora before we parted ways today. It was crucial for our future party synergy, and more importantly, because my ultimate survival depended on me eventually bedding her. After all, nobody would want to do that kind of thing with someone they despised. I bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, offering her a sincere, polite apology.

"I mean, look... *cough, cough*..."

Sora scratched her cheek awkwardly and cleared her throat.

"Hey! Stand up already! People are staring!"

"B-But..."

"Whatever... it's fine. I just overreacted because it was so sudden and shocking... I know you didn't do it on purpose."

Sora mumbled, her voice trailing off so much it was barely audible.

"I'm not mad anymore... and, uh... I'm sorry for hitting you earlier, too..."

Her face was flushed bright red with embarrassment.

"Hehehe, look at our Sora being so good."

Yoonseo smiled brightly, clearly pleased to see us making up.

"Ahhh! Enough! This topic is officially banned! It's over, done!"

"Yes, thank you, Sora!"

As Yoonseo started teasing her, Sora flailed her arms in the air, desperately trying to shut down the conversation. I found her reaction incredibly cute and smiled as I let the matter drop. Yep, that is the textbook definition of a tsundere!

"In that case, as an apology for today and a thank-you for helping me with the quest, how about I treat you both to dinner? Since we'll be hunting together from now on, we could use some... team bonding?"

Riding the positive wave, I gathered my courage ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and made the offer.

"Wow, really? Sora, let's go, please?"

"Well... I guess so..."

Yoonseo clapped her hands in excitement, and seeing her reaction, Sora reluctantly agreed, pretending to be dragged along. With that, we set off toward the restaurant district for dinner.

Perhaps because so many humans had been summoned here, the residential area featured a surprisingly wide variety of Earth cuisines. As long as one had enough Points, they could enjoy a different meal every single day. However, since I had been strictly saving my Points by surviving on cheap bread, I wasn't familiar with the local menus and left the choice entirely up to the two girls.

"Hmm... what should we get~ Hmmm~ Sora, what do you want to eat?"

"I don't care, just get whatever you like. I'm not picky."

Yoonseo hummed a cheerful tune, clearly thrilled at the prospect of a delicious meal, as she scanned the storefronts lining the street.

Since it was dinner time, the surrounding restaurants were in full swing. The lively chatter of patrons packed inside spilled out onto the streets. Walking through the bustling crowd almost made me feel as if I were still back on Earth.

"Oh! Let's go in there!"

After walking for a bit, Yoonseo pointed toward a restaurant. We headed inside and took a table. Yoonseo quickly ordered a variety of dishes from the waiter who approached us, her face beaming with a bright smile.

"Hehe~ It already smells so good! I'm so excited~"

"It really does. Is this your first time eating at a restaurant since coming here, Yoonseo? You too, Sora?"

"Yes! Between saving Points and our party being incomplete, we had to be careful, so we've just been getting by on basic rations!"

Yoonseo nodded vigorously, her reactions incredibly animated. With every nod, her large breasts bounced in tandem, threatening to steal my attention. I forced myself to ignore the distraction and kept the conversation going. After chatting for a while, our orders finally arrived. The dishes looked absolutely mouthwatering, sending a rich, savory aroma wafting over the table.

"Alright, let's dig in!"

At Yoonseo's cheerful declaration, our party's very first celebratory dinner officially began.