’Level too high?’
I checked Celine’s stats before, and even my uncle’s strangely high attributes were visible.
So why was Lea off-limits?
In anime, the most harmless-looking characters were always the most dangerous.
’No. Don’t jump to conclusions. She doesn’t look like she wants to hurt me.’
Then again, neither did my ex before she stabbed me.
’Still, someone that strong could be useful to have in my cult. First, I needed to figure out what I was dealing with.’
This world clearly didn’t play by the same rules as my old one.
My uncle had already proven that, and now there was Lea. The best proof of all, though, was me—a transmigrator with a System.
With nothing else to go on, I headed home and arrived nearly half an hour later.
Celine was nowhere to be seen, so I went to my room and changed. I barely made it down the hall before my phone buzzed.
(Raven. It’s me, Lea. Did you get home safe?)
I paused before sending a quick yes.
Her response came instantly.
(Are you busy?)
I told her I wasn’t, and we exchanged a few more messages before my phone buzzed again.
This time, it came from Celine.
She was going out of town to visit her parents for a few days. Considering what happened last night, I doubted the timing was a coincidence.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do while she was gone.
If only the System gave me something useful to work with.
’The First Doctrine.’
Right. Two days remained on the timer.
I had no idea what to expect from it. Hopefully, whatever it was would help me make progress faster.
My phone buzzed again.
(Do you want to have lunch?
Going out with her again this soon was probably a bad idea when I still knew so little about her.
Then again, saying no wouldn’t get me any answers. If I wanted to figure out what was going on with her, I needed to spend more time around her.
(Sure.)
An hour later, I stood in front of a two-story villa about the same size as my house. Its modern design gave it a completely different feel.
I rang the bell, and the door opened within seconds.
"Hi," Lea greeted me, slightly out of breath.
She wore a white blouse and just enough makeup to bring out her already cute features.
"Did I make you wait long?"
’Long?’
She opened the door so fast I wondered if she’d been standing behind it the entire time.
"Not at all. By the way, where are your parents?"
I asked, glancing past her. The house looked very empty, with barely any furniture.
"They’re not home!" She stepped outside.
Her slightly flustered expression caught my attention. Maybe she didn’t want her parents seeing her with a guy.
That actually made sense. Plenty of girls hid me from their parents in the past.
One incident in particular involved a girl hiding me from her mother. She caught us, and somehow it turned into a three...
Hold that thought. My story was wandering into dangerous territory.
"Let’s go."
Lea nudged me toward the gate, and I followed.
The diner she picked wasn’t anything fancy. It sat just outside the neighborhood, squeezed between a convenience store and a laundry shop.
She opened the door and walked in, making her way to a table near the window. When I caught up, she was already seated.
"You can sit here." She pointed to the chair beside her.
I glanced at the empty seat across the table.
"What’s wrong with this one?"
"Nothing." She smiled and lightly tugged at my sleeve. "I just want you sitting next to me."
Damn. That was unfairly cute.
I gave in and took the seat beside her.
Once our meals arrived, Lea started telling me about her time abroad. Talking to her felt natural, and before long, I found myself relaxing around her.
The television was playing the local news in the background. I normally ignored that stuff, but one sentence caught my attention.
"...the seventh reported homicide this month..."