Eros's Sudden Rapport Request
The system message that appeared first was clear: Sonya’s favorability had increased. It had jumped from the favorability stage straight to blind faith. That much made perfect sense, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. After all, she had just eaten the dessert I made. Gourmet Feeding must have triggered and boosted her favorability. On top of that, we had already agreed to attempt a conditional rapport, so the rise came even more easily. Even if she acted prickly on the outside, it was proof that she actually thought quite highly of me on the inside.
That part was easy to understand. But then…
A new target wishes to form a rapport with you.
◆ Conditional Rapport Target ◆
Eros (Lv.350 / Affection) — Favorability Relationship
“Huh? What’s this…?”
Sonya’s case had been straightforward, but this notification made no sense at all. The target was completely unexpected. Why would she suddenly want to form a rapport with me? And an SSR-rank dragon requesting a conditional rapport at that? The name Eros… who was that again?
The name felt oddly familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. I had heard it somewhere, but it didn’t sound like a real name. Then it clicked.
“Ah, right! That was Zero s’s real name!”
Now I remembered. The hatchling who held the title of scoring zero in every subject. The Love Dragon, Zero s. Despite having the perfectly respectable real name Eros, she caused so much trouble that everyone called her Zero s instead. A willful girl who did whatever she pleased. And according to the level, she was indeed a second-year.
But why Zero s? Why now? Why would she suddenly request a conditional rapport with me? And where was she even sitting right now? I couldn’t understand a single thing about her.
I had only come face-to-face with her a couple of times, and even then it was just during roll call. Every time she saw me she would sneer in that peculiar way that made me want to give her a good smack on the head. She had called me a weakling, a short-lived species, and other mocking names. There had been zero warmth in her tone.
In contrast, Sonya’s attitude had clearly shifted midway through our interactions. That was why I had assumed Zero s simply disliked humans in general. So why was she suddenly requesting a conditional rapport?
‘Even if the cream choco pie got four-and-a-half stars, there’s no connection between us at all. How could this possibly succeed?’
The absurdity made my shoulders shrug on their own. I was starting to wonder if the system had glitched.
“Ah, maybe…”
Come to think of it, I had experienced something similar a few times before. The first time I handed out biscuits to the fourth-year girls, and again when I scattered them among the first-years during roll call. Both times, the only thing known about me was that I had made snacks, yet I had been flooded with countless rapport requests.
I quickly dismissed the floating status windows with a swipe. If this was anything like those previous incidents, there should be more reactions besides these two. According to past experience, the entire second-year class should be requesting rapport with me right now.
“Huh? That’s all?”
But my expectation was completely off the mark. No other notifications appeared besides the ones from Sonya and Eros. I had been certain the entire second-year class would be in a state where rapport was possible.
What on earth was going on?
Muttering to myself, I wandered through the banquet hall where the tea party was being held, heading toward the area where the second-years were seated. I wanted to see it with my own eyes and figure out exactly what was happening—and what Eros’s conditional rapport request was all about.
From a distance, I could hear sharp voices.
“Hmph, for a mere human servant, you made this pretty well.”
“It tastes good, but I don’t want to admit it.”
“The seniors are the same. Roll call is taking forever these days and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Why overthink it so much? If it tastes good, that’s all that matters.”
“I agree with that. That’s that, and this is this.”
Even while they were enthusiastically devouring the desserts, their words remained contradictory—they refused to openly acknowledge how good it was. That prickly way of speaking was unmistakably second-year.
Right. The second-years had the most difficult personalities. They were like rebellious girls in the midst of stormy adolescence. That explained why I wasn’t getting a flood of successful rapport notifications like I had with the first- and fourth-years. Their base favorability settings were clearly set much lower.
“Huuuh—?! S-see, it really is delicious……?”
“Sonya? That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you make that kind of face! You looked kinda cute just now!”
“Hmph! You were the one making weird noises and saying it was delicious a second ago!”
“W-what…? D-don’t be ridiculous! When did I—?! There’s no way I would exclaim over something as pathetic as this snack…!!!”
While pretending to collect plates, I carefully observed the second-year table and caught familiar voices and names.
‘Ah, so they were over there.’
It was the very pair who had sent me system messages. Sonya and Eros were bickering, sitting alone together in a corner. They looked quite close—roommates, after all. On the surface it seemed like they were arguing, but this was the first time I had seen Sonya speak to someone with such a relaxed expression and tone. Maybe her attitude changed quite a bit when dealing with her peers.
“Watch closely! Behold as this Eros-sama casually disposes of the dessert made by that pathetic servant…!”
—Thud!
Suddenly, as if someone had pressed a berserk button, Eros shot up from her seat. She glared at the cream choco pie she had already taken a bite of and shouted dramatically. It seemed Sonya had struck a nerve with her pride. As Eros stood with her violet hair fluttering, the angular horns on either side of her head became clearly visible.
“Eros, quiet down! The seniors will hear you!”
“Hmph! Then take back what you just said!”
“What did I say?!”
“That I made a fuss over something as trivial as this dessert…! Do it now!!”
“Ugh, fine. You didn’t make a fuss. You ate it and felt nothing at all. So can you sit back down now?”
“Hmph—! You should have said that from the start.”
From what I could see, Sonya was practically acting like a mother. She reluctantly gave in and soothed Eros’s mood. Their relationship was clearly quite special.
“Phew, Eros? Let’s just finish eating. The seniors might call for us soon.”
“Haa, I really hate this. Even after becoming second-years, we still have to attend the new student welcome party……”
New student welcome party? There must be something else besides today’s tea party. It wasn’t like a university orientation or anything.
“Still, since we’re not the youngest anymore this semester, it should be a bit better, right?”
“Huuu… I hope it goes the way you said, Sonya.”
“Besides, second-years are exempt from the initiation ceremony, so don’t worry too much. And let’s finish eating and think about it.”
“Yeah! Then let’s try eating some more—?!”
I listened to their conversation from a distance. Initiation ceremony? There really was something going on. But that aside, it was probably time for me to make my move. I planned to approach them at the right moment, pretending to collect plates naturally. Then I would speak to Eros. I was curious what kind of conditional rapport she wanted to propose. At the very least, I should know the conditions before accepting.
Come to think of it, it was kind of funny. A conditional rapport meant there were conditions she wanted to set with me. In that case, shouldn’t she come find me herself? That was how all the other girls had done it so far.
‘She really does have a willful personality.’
Shaking my head at Eros’s peculiar nature, I watched them from afar. I was about to approach and ask what her conditions were.
—Waaang…!
Just then, both Sonya and Eros shoved the entire cream choco pie into their mouths at once.
‘Perfect. Now’s my chance.’
I slowly made my way toward them from behind, planning to collect their plates naturally so as not to startle them, then strike up a conversation.
But then…
“Heeung—♥ Y-you’re too good at this…?!”
—Flop!
Suddenly, Eros let out a dramatic moan and threw her head back. At first I thought she had gone into sugar shock. The other girls had reacted strongly to my desserts before, but Eros’s reaction was by far the most over-the-top. She had only taken one bite and now she was collapsing backward?
To be precise, she was being ridiculously dramatic.
“Th-this Eros…! My tongue has been conquered by the skill of a mere human—♥”
I had thought she fainted, but she continued muttering while her head was still thrown back, reciting an extremely strange line.
“……”
And she said it while making direct eye contact with me—the very person who had been quietly approaching from behind.
“Eeeh……?”
A short yet endless silence fell. Eros, who had been continuing her exaggerated reaction with her head tilted back, finally noticed me. Her violet pupils contracted sharply.
“Huh…? Huaaaaah—?!!!!”
Still in that same backward-tilted position, Eros let out a piercing shriek. Her face flushed bright red. She had probably shown a reaction she never wanted me to see. Just being caught being moved by a dessert made by a mere human was enough to crack her pride.
—Crash! Bang!
After screaming at the sight of my face, Eros ended up toppling over backward.
‘Tsk, she really is noisy……’
Still, she was SSR-rank, so I held back. She didn’t seem like a bad person at heart. First, I needed to hear what her conditions were. The fact that a conditional rapport request had appeared meant she already had some favorability toward me.
“Miss Eros? Are you all right?”
I naturally approached and tried to help her up.
—Swish!
But Eros roughly swatted my hand away, like a stray cat that had been reached for only to scratch the back of the hand instead.
“Wh-what are you trying to do, touching a lady?!”
“Hmm?”
“A-and just now, pretend you didn’t see that…! I wasn’t impressed by your cooking—I simply tripped over a rock and fell……!!!”
—Whoosh!
After swatting my hand away, Eros hurriedly stood up. With her face still flushed crimson, she rattled off a ridiculous excuse and then…
—Tap tap tap tap!
She dashed off, her pointed ears flushed all the way to the tips.
“Huh? Huh? E-Eros—?! Wait for me!”
Even Sonya reluctantly followed after her.
“Haha? What a dramatic personality. What just happened?”
Only an empty table remained in front of me. I had wanted to ask about the rapport conditions, yet both targets had fled in a hurry. And I hadn’t even done anything.
—Ding!
“Huh? There’s still more?”
Just as I was hesitating whether to chase after them, another notification appeared.
The rapport target has temporarily suspended the conditional rapport.
This is a unilateral change of heart by the target, so no penalty will be applied.
Well now. What was this about?