68. The Truth
"H-heek…."
I nearly had a heart attack when Aisha suddenly popped up.
I knew she was getting closer, but I had no idea she'd be peeking through the door crack like that.
It was straight out of a horror movie—I couldn't help but scream.
If I hadn't fortified my mind with an image of an impregnable fortress before opening the door, I might've passed out on the spot…
Hearing my scream, Aisha looked at me with a mix of disbelief and emptiness.
"…Mr. Soo-chan, am I really that scary to make you scream like that?"
…Well, scary might be putting it strongly. I was just startled by the jump scare…
Still, from her perspective, it must've seemed ridiculous.
'Ha… now what do I do about this.'
This was undeniably an emergency.
We'd bumped into each other at the worst possible timing.
'…There's still a chance.'
Stay calm.
Instead of panicking, I needed to think of a response that fit the current pattern—before the golden window slipped away.
I quickly reviewed the countermeasures for Pattern J-11.
'Perfect. Countermeasure 3 it is.'
Countermeasure 3 for Pattern J-11 boiled down to "postpone."
Step back from the sudden situation to buy time for preparation, then review the best response.
If you could prepare in advance, it was no longer an emergency.
'If I'm fully ready, I can survive.'
The key here was creating an urgent excuse anyone would buy.
But a near-NEET like me didn't have anything like that…
Luckily? I had a shop.
Being the owner gave me the responsibility I needed—a perfect card to escape her clutches right now.
I finished thinking and opened my mouth.
"Ahaha… It's not that you're scary, I just got startled, Landla— I mean, Aisha sis."
"…We'll go with that. Do you have time right now? I need to talk seriously…."
Good, right on script so far.
Time to deploy the prepared response.
"Sorry, now's not good. I have to head to my shop right away."
"Your shop? Mr. Soo-chan's shop?"
"Yeah, I just opened it recently, so it's still in the super needy phase. I check every morning, lunch, and evening for issues or improvements."
I slipped in the shop mention naturally, emphasizing how busy the early days were.
How's that? It lined up perfectly with my daily routine and usual paths.
"Hmm… I see? You're more diligent at work than I thought. I was a bit worried since I'm so work-obsessed myself… but we'll get along great."
What… what gets along great…?
For some reason, her eyes gleamed like her opinion of me had shot up.
"People who pour themselves into their work are cool. More than I expected."
"……."
Her reaction wasn't what I'd anticipated…?
Whatever. I'd made my excuse, so priority one: bail.
"Ahem… Anyway, I probably can't make time right now. Catch you later…."
I tried to slip away smoothly, but…
"……."
"……."
"…Could you move, please?"
Aisha was still blocking the doorway.
Why wouldn't she budge?
The manual didn't cover this pattern.
My blood ran cold.
The manual wasn't foolproof.
Its countermeasures came from real guys spilling blood to fill it, so of course there'd be special patterns they never encountered.
Meaning this might be my first case… or maybe no one who'd faced it lived to record it….
I felt like the first patient with a newly discovered disease.
'…Fine. If I survive, I'll record it for others.'
Feeling the crisis but steeling my resolve for life, I called out to her.
"Aisha sis? I don't know why you're blocking the way, but I really gotta go."
"I'll come with you."
"……Pardon?"
*
What pattern was this…?
I reviewed the manual's contents as I headed to Kkomangi's Moonlight Recipe.
'This has to be recon on the obsession target's workplace, right?'
That made it Pattern T-4.
Countermeasures for that were…
"I had no idea you opened a shop."
Aisha, who'd been following me while I pondered, finally spoke up.
"…Yeah, I thought a restaurant would be good… My hometown recipes fit the shelter situation well…."
"So the menu at Mr. Soo-chan's shop is all hometown food?"
"Mm… Started with variety, but now it's mostly that."
Gukbap—no, the sagol noodles had insane turnover, so I went all-in on one menu.
Easier on the staff too.
With just salt, Minotaur bone broth noodle tasted amazing and was cheap, selling like hotcakes.
Lately, I'd shared my steamed egg recipe, and harpy egg steamed eggs were killing it as a side.
'Huh… guess it turned into a gukbap joint after all.'
Eh, the shop was thriving anyway.
"Looking forward to it, your place."
"…Yeah."
I mumbled back, and we'd arrived.
My shop, Kkomangi's Moonlight Recipe, was buzzing from the entrance.
"…Business is booming? You're more capable than I thought?"
Her sly smile and crinkled eyes sent chills down my spine.
…This was one of the old maid elf patterns. The more social influence their obsession target had, the greater their satisfaction.
'Damn… this reaction means we're already into stage 2.'
We stepped inside.
Aunt Rana came to greet us.
"Boss, you eatin'?"
"…Aisha sis, you eating?"
"Yes, I'm curious about the menu here."
"…Aunt Rana, two bowls of noodles and steamed eggs each, please…."
……Ah, crap. I'd never actually inspected the shop—what was I supposed to do? If she caught on that it was a fake excuse to escape, Pattern Y-1 would kick off…
"Sh…shall we check the kitchen?"
Aisha didn't look suspicious, but I was on edge anyway.
Stepping into the kitchen brought a wave of steamy heat.
Luna was inside, sweating buckets as she prepped food.
Then, one idea hit me.
'…Maybe.'
Whether it worked or not, better than nothing.
Luna spotted me entering, and I went straight to her, hugging her tight.
"O-oppa…?"
"Luna!!"
I pulled her in—
"Ah… Oppa, wait… I stink of sweat!!!"
Luna tried to push me away in embarrassment, but I hugged tighter, and she gave in, hugging back.
'This is it.'
If I could make Aisha see how close Luna and I were… wouldn't it mimic the "married man" effect?
At stage 3, an old maid elf might split lovers apart, but we were early stage 2…!!
"…You seem close with your employee?"
"Luna's not just an employee—she's very, very precious to me."
Luna trembled in my arms at my words, hugging tighter. Her tail swished side to side.
"I… I see…? H-ha…."
Feeling Aisha's momentum deflate, I thanked Luna.
"…Thanks as always, Luna."
"…Thank you too, Oppa."
*
Luna had washed away all my anxiety up to now.
'Talisman works like a charm.'
Aisha sat across from me, silently eyeing the food that arrived.
She'd been chatty on the way here, but now she looked visibly down.
'…Like a beast that lost its prey.'
In this state, I should probably start the convo.
With sturdy wall Luna, I even had the leisure to chat her up.
"So, what's this consultation about?"
"…I was wondering if you know why men avoid me…."
She said it all mopey, but the content was absurd.
"……."
One sentence, and my brain froze.
'Wow… leaves me speechless.'
But asking that now? Her intent was a mystery.
She seemed genuinely clueless about old maid elf lore.
'No way….'
…Could she really not know why men avoid her? Absurd as it sounded…
No new trap here, felt like.
Hm… should I test the waters?
She looked that defeated—not acting.
The manual's warnings flashed, but I spoke.
"Just to check—are you seriously clueless?"
"…I know there's something I don't know, but no idea what…."
How could she not know…?
She was over four centuries old.
Meaning she'd gal-ed just as long…
Come to think of it, Dennis bro said something on showcase day.
— "Dunno? It's a win for me. Probably got half-day off easy 'cause it was sudden, y'know? Felt like getting swept up in the flow. Even if Dungeon Master announced ahead, types like Prof. Aisha who ignore the community wouldn't approve mass leave to paralyze the Magic Tower…."
…No interest in the community….
If true, Aisha was the type who lived IRL only, no SNS.
…Luna mostly used the market too, no heavy galling.
My circle's gallers were just Elise and Dennis bro.
Makes sense—some skip it if the vibe's off or life's busy…
'Now what? Tell her? Or nah?'
If she was a pure old maid elf clueless to her rep… the shock of learning it would be unimaginable.
'But oh well, karma.'
Sorry, Aisha, but we were here now. Time for the truth.
'…There were nameless guys you got for sure.'
I finished thinking and taught her how to face the brutal truth.
"Sigh… If you really want the truth… search 'old maid elf' on the gallery. Brace yourself—it might hit hard."
"…Pardon?"
She looked dubious but pulled up the community and searched "old maid elf."
Moments later…
"Th-this…!!"
Her face paled at the results, then flushed red.
Aisha shot up from her chair, yelling indignantly.
"Wh-what is this!! I've never done anything that horrific in my life!!!"
"……?"
Huh?