39 The Red Flood of the Death Flowers (2/2)
”Red spider lilies protect the dead. When they started spreading around, my home grew morbid.” Attori chuckled with guilt hidden in her lips. ”As a child, I thought they were the ones making my home bad. I learned to hate those flowers, and I thought of destroying them.” She then sighed after a deep breath. ”I stocked up gasoline in my room. All it took was a little experiment. I played with some of it, and ended up burning my bed.
”I went out to call help, but my gasoline stock exploded. The next thing I know, the whole house was on fire. Even the trees around it were on fire.” She stared at the burned house as if it was burning yet again. At every bat of her lashes, she could hear the fire roar louder and louder along with the screams of her sister. ”But the lilies remained, dancing with the wind that made the fire even bigger. Firemen came soon and controlled the fire. I was angry at the flowers.
”Before the fire went out, I slipped from their hold and took a burning wood from a nearby tree.” She spun on her heel and swung her arms as if she did throw something at the patches behind them. ”I threw it at the flowers, and they burned like papers. The whole farm of lilies burned that night, injuring some of the firemen who were trying to kill the fire on the house. Needless to say... I got sent to the hospital to get fixed.”
Arata only stared at her. He then went to her and patted her hair. ”Did your parents break up after that?”
”Yeah, thanks to me and my stupid gas collection.” She made a bitter grin before stepping forward to embrace her boyfriend. ”My mother said it was time for one of them to go. The ill atmosphere in the house just made an arsonist out of one of their children. She chose to leave since quitting her job was something she had been thinking about.” She raised her hands against his back before gripping at the shirt tightly. ”Ever since then, things were different, and I had never recovered from the gazes of my family.
”I never had the chance to choose more than one, Arata.” She laughed against his shoulder. ”I can only take one and commit to it. I chose my warring parents over my flowers, and I had chosen myself over my mother's will. I don't care how uninteresting this looks to you, but I'm choosing you over anything else.” She grinned away from his sight. ”Even if I had to cause another fire to salvage what I care for.”
[You just pulled off a stunt! Your pep talk gave a boost of 15 to Mad Bitch Attei Attori's Date Meter! It is now at 90/100! Keep on going!]
Arata wrapped his arms around her and held her tighter. He swung his bag off of his shoulder and tried to go through his inventory for the remaining gifts he had. He took out a weird-looking hairpin with a wild flavor text. He dropped his bag on the ground before putting the hairpin on her hair.
”I know yellow isn't your color, but I just thought you'd like it still.” He chuckled as he finished putting. He pulled back to let Attori feel the hair pin with her hands. He watched her make out the synthetic circles that represented the golden billy balls. ”I don't want to change you, Attori, but I hope you would recover from what happened to your family. You don't have to always choose between anything.” He took her other hand and squeezed it firmly. ”I'll take you to a future where we get all that we love.”
”Arata...” Attori stared at him, before smiling sweetly again. ”That really sounds like a god, now, doesn't it?”
[You just pulled off a stunt! Your gift: Golden billy balls hairpin, gave a boost of 20 to Mad Bitch Attei Attori's Date Meter! Congratulations! It is now at 100/100! Why don't you go for a Kiss?]
He only pecked at her, which she hugged him for.
[You have initiated a Kiss! Congratulations! You have earned 1 Cosmos Kiss as a reward from the event The Autumn Flowers have Risen! You can give it to any date-able of your liking. Please be reminded that all Cosmos Crowns are only usable during the event.]
[You have failed to unlock the secret request. Keep on asking for dates and find an opportunity to a more creative way to impress the date-able!]
It was another missed secret request, but he was too occupied to be thinking about the game. Right now, he was just glad Attori was back to her normal self even after confessing about a childhood nightmare she brought upon herself.
To think about it, the house was ruined, but the foundations still seemed to be standing. Arata then looked around the burned house, even with Attori pulling him down for a hug. ”But damn, this property looks so good. And the soothing ambiance of the woods...”
”You can probably buy it from my dad. It was not up for sale in any estate listing after all...” The girl hummed along with her boyfriend. ”By then, I hope we can grow some beautiful flowers that wouldn't be anything close to bad things. Ah, married life!”
”Yeah, married life...” Arata chuckled... only to be stunned by a couple of notifications.
[You have unlocked Mad Bitch Attei Attori's old home, 'La Radiata!' This property will give you new dating spots and higher chances of obtaining rare items! This will also raise your Fame by 200 points! Would you like to purchase the property? Yes / No]
[Your level is too low to purchase 'La Radiata!' This property is only available for players above Level 110! Make sure to check in everyday or do activities to fill your experience bar!]
'I can buy this in the future!?' The player's eyes widened a little as he saw the possibility of homing Attori at such place yet again. Also, he was conflicted by the fact that another property would be unlocked aside from the custom restaurant. Will there be new properties in the future? How many more sites would he be able to unlock? The player's mind was bugged by further achievements, but he was feeling calm under the embrace of his love.