Chapter 63：How to get a date to your room and show her your artistic masterpiece (1/2)
”I understand the naga queen's motivation,” Annabelle said.
Ben raised an eyebrow. ”And what is that?”
”Those crabs have been overfishing, destabilizing the ocean's eco-system. They're bad guys…”
”…They are?”
”It's like the Earth today. Humans are ruining the environment. I sure wish I had the naga army. I've considered wiping out humans myself…but it would cost billions of man-hours.” She sighed. ”I don't have so much time…”
Ben's face became solemn. 'Would she pass the entrance exam at an insane asylum? ...I should have gotten a hint of this when she agreed to draw me as a dragon on our first meeting... Those damn titties cast a spell on me…' Despite thinking that, he nodded in agreement. ”You're right…”
He was helpless. 'I'm still bewitched by those breasted warlocks…'
The two strolled the gallery, viewing paintings and getting to know each other. They conversed about this and that: art, music, the likelihood of being caught in a Groundhog's Day scenario…
Ben tried his best to keep the conversation in the realm of human logic. Yet, Annabelle had a tendency of jumping into tangents like the Titanic's passengers jumped into lifeboats during the iceberg collision…
”What made you decide to study art?” he asked.
Annabelle smiled. ”I enjoy learning about the universe...Nothing lasts forever, you know? Everything erodes in the tragic sea of entropy… Art's amazing because it captures things that only exist for a moment, or don't exist at all--only visions in someone's mind. Then you can show that art to people, and watch time melt them away like ice cream on a summer day…”
…
'Lost me at the end there...and how can I follow that up?' Ben swallowed. ”I like ice cream…”
He swallowed again. 'That's the best you could come up with, stupid brain?!? Are you forcing me to exist as the world's comic relief?!? ...That's it...isn't it? Brain, I urge you to rethink thrice! Comedy isn't popular! We want tits and ass!'
Ben continued to complain. 'Look, I'm not a Gary Stu, nor am I a Japanese novel mc, so these girls don't have the decency to throw themselves at me! ...If you keep making me spit out stupid things in front of them, it'll be death at this rate!' He sighed internally. '...Forget it. To be fair, Annabelle's personality isn't generic enough to make this easy…'
Annabelle's eyes brightened. ”I like ice cream too…I…also like you.”
[Target's current attraction level: attracted(+1)]
Her statement caught Ben off guard and brought him back to reality. His impression of Annabelle was unusual, to say the least. 'She sure is honest. I don't even need the system to tell me about her feelings…'
***
After spending another hour together in a conversation reminiscent of an Adult Swim sketch...Ben led Annabelle out from the art exhibit and toward his dormitory.
[Target's current attraction level: attracted]
[Target's current comfort level: familiar(+1)]