Stella tilted her head; the look Alex gave her was so strange, no longer looking at her like dirt. She asked with a considerate look with a hint of kindness, there was a slight cold light still deep within, but now she didn't feel scared, just looking him in the eye.

'I wonder what class he got?'

Alex didn't think about anything complicated; remembering the entrance of the city and the big portal, he wanted to learn as much as possible before the others entered the city; now that his future ghoul cultivation wasn't locked, his entire body felt less bloated and constricted.

"Shall we go for a date, my lady?"

He reached out gently towards her hand; at first, she thought he was just being strange and wanted to molest her, but seeing his sincere eyes were still emerald green, Stella would trust him this once.

'Hmph, see if you molest me, touch my boobs! I will chop your little cock off when you sleep!'

She took his hand and nodded.

They walked through the church gate together, leaving behind Paolo, who stood at the entrance with a bitter look as if he wished to apologise after seeing the reaction that Alex had suffered from the sphere he gave.

'Although my prime god asked me that favour if something happened to him because of it, my heart could never rest easily...' Paolo thought to himself as he clenched his fist, swearing to make it up to Alex the next time he came.

Suddenly, for the second time in the same day and his entire life as a priest. His beloved god spoke down to him for the first time.

The old man's voice was lazy, but he had a sense of humility and apology to Paolo, "my dear believer, sorry for making you do something that caused pain in your heart. What happened to Alex will never be something he blames you for; I hope you can accept this token of my appreciation, make sure you continue to be a good friend to him, and you might achieve your deepest desire."

Paola immediately felt a burning heat surge through his body, like his muscles, bones and flesh was reforged, only for a short moment, a slight dribble of blood seeping from his nose and lips, but what he gained far outweighed this small pain.

'I... I have more attributes.... they are all 2!?' His mind began to scream with joy, filling his heart with warmth and jubilation as he swiftly turned to the fading back of Stella and Alex, swearing once again. Thanks to a small meeting with them, he would treat Alex and Stella like his true siblings; not only did he gain some power...

The promise of the old man, his prime god...

It meant reuniting with his childhood love, causing his dull, lifeless heart to thump with anticipation.

"May, the prime gods bless you both; meeting you may be misfortune and disaster for others."

"But for me, you are luck incarnate in the flesh!"

Paolo gave a solemn salute and bowed to their backs, which seemed to be bickering about something, as Stella grabbed the crotch of Alex and his hands wrapped around her buttocks, but Paolo didn't look for long; his eyes only had the desire for one woman, that woman slumbered in the church basement as he hurried with a sprint, all to see her once again.

'Wait for me, Esmerelda...

Meanwhile, Stella's hand tightly grasped his package, her stern eyes narrowing as she watched his slightly nervous face.

"H-hey... Stella, I couldn't help it... I was protecting your ass from any enemies..."

"Oh?"

"I can only feel one enemy close by, and it's already slipping between my ass cheeks and stroking me? Care to explain, my grand protector?"

Alex looked at her with a helpless expression; for some reason, since he changed, the mixture of his serious side and playful side began to merge, no longer a heap of dull, dark, brooding nonsense; he was now more of a grey shade, neither overly positive nor negative.

Stella looked at him with cold eyes, her heart was racing, and she did this to hide the truth, to defy the feelings that tried to eat away at her determination. She was about to forget everything, releasing his huge club, because touching that thing felt like it corrupted her even faster than his hand stroking her behind.

"Stella!" Alex spoke sternly and seriously, causing her body to snap to attention as she looked up towards him, slightly parting her glossy red lips, feeling worried and fearful for a moment, "what's wrong.... mmph!?" Before she could speak, he softly wrapped a single arm around her head, pressing his warm lips against hers, squishing them with a soft kiss.

'Stupid girl, you've been kissing me several times, so it's time for payback! Haha, do you think I cannot feel your heart racing? Or feel the vibrations from its excitement whenever I am close?'

Her hands moved to his shoulders and pulled him closer, wanting more of his hot breath. His tongue slid into her mouth, tasting her sweet nectar, so thick and dense as if begging to be devoured. It was like her body had forgotten how to react.historical

There was no rejection as her mind was offline for several moments; by the time she realised what was going on, she had coiled her tongue around his, the villagers around them looking with a blush, seeming to be a more reserved place.

They stood there for a while, his lips exploring her mouth, her arms hugging him tightly, as their tongues danced in the air; quickly, she managed to pull away, turning her head to the side, shocked at her actions as she began to curse him with constant abuse, yet allowed her body to remain within his embrace.

"Pervert, damn molester... Stinky bastard! Don't touch mmph!?"

Alex couldn't resist how adorable she was, her little fists hammered his chest, but there was no power. This woman was powerful and could cause some damage, yet her mantle wasn't used. Instead, it danced around her body, filled with a vibrant and joyful feeling, nothing like one would expect from her words of complaint.

There was no tongue this time; his lips just pressed against her, stroking her back and holding her tightly; Stella's rejection was intense for the first moment before slowly her body relaxed, ignoring the world, ignoring her mind and just wrapped her arms around his back, as they stood below a huge fountain that began to spurt it's beautiful water art, they shared a long, sweet kiss.

After a few moments, Stella pulled away, her eyes staring at him with dazed wet eyes as she placed her fingers onto his lips and kissed them, then continued to the tip of his nose and then his forehead; Alex found it endearing and cute, but her eyes were tinged with confusion, she let go and stepped forward to her left.

"Stupid...." Her soft voice muttered as she began to dart towards the inn, where Paolo told them to register as a dimensional mercenaries.

Alex stood for a moment, basking in the sweet sensation of Stella's gentle kiss, her soft lips and sweet fragrance; while Stella's heart was in chaos, her affection rating, if visible, would be wildly going up and down constantly as she fought her inner demons.

The warmth of his body, his powerful arms that gave her a sense of protection and ease, his affection kiss that melted the darkness from this collapsing world.

She stopped outside the old wooden inn, a huge building with two entrances, her eyes tightly shut as she began to take deep breaths, grateful that Alex knew not to chase after her and stick to her like glue; one moment passed, still in chaos.... two moments passed...

Stella regained her cool after 10 minutes, opening her bright blue eyes, ignoring the various people that asked her questions, and giving a polite smile and nod as she pushed through the door.

"I'm falling in love with him."

A single thought revolving around her mind, no longer forcibly denying or trying to reject Alex, she uttered the words quietly like a mosquito as she approached the high wooden counter with several pretty women in office-like suits and various strange tools.

The purple-haired beast woman greeted her with a smile; her strange ears, which were neither a feline nor canine that Stella knew, fluttered like huge long antennae as she began to speak with a slightly distorted voice.

"Welcome to the Adventurers Inn. Are you a new visitor? If so, how may I help you?"

Stella looked at the woman for several moments, reading her name tag, which said Valulaela, a strange but cute name, she thought to herself before she looked over her shoulder. The handsome man with his silvery white hair brushed back like a wild thug, emerald eyes, narrow like a gangster... His thick muscular chest peeked through the shirt like a sex god.

Her mind added to the previous thought as if Stella slowly began to take a step forward to face Alex with her honest feelings.

'And it's nothing to do with his special power... That's still sealed away in my abdomen...'

A strange light filled her brilliant blue eyes as she watched him carrying a small box of the expensive meat skewers that she kept looking at but didn't want to be too cheeky and ask for, whispering, "idiot... I don't need gifts to forgive you..."

'Mother... your daughter is about to seduce her first and only man! Slowly... deeply, I will make Alex love me the most... Shower me with affection and give him the same in return... If he doesn't molest me in public all the time... Please wish her luck...'

Alex wasn't clueless, that look was something Amy had given him several times in the past, mostly before they began to date, and she would strangely turn up in places he went on a whim, 'she's not going to become a strange stalker like Amy, right... That girl even followed me to a men's bathhouse...'

His mind was confused at how she suddenly changed because the bloodline reaction when he checked it was almost non-existent. It felt more genuine; for the first time, she realised that non-humans might resist his infection or could keep it at bay for a certain amount of time. This caused his own heart to throb, different from Samantha, Maria...

'I should make sure Laura is the same, although only a half-elf. This means I can enjoy romancing her normally; that moment she taught me so desperately, was it because she feared being abandoned rather than succumbing to the ghoul infection? It would explain why she and Mildred were the only two not in my strange world of memories... All the girls I've formed bonds with appeared, but those two...'

He renewed his determination to show more affection, learn more about his vesta and not treat them all like disposable women. The new ghoul tactics skill allowed him to view what things his vesta was good at and what they could accel at in the future.

Stella for example

[Strengths]

Bed skills, Shadow magic, Dagger combat, Persuasion

[Weaknesses]

Physical combat, Love and Affection, Long battles, Feelings, Alex.

[Potential]

Stealth, Wind Magic, Ambushes, Short battles, Linguistics, Planning

"Excuse me... I hope you can not waste time; I might get in trouble, haha!" The soft voice of the strange beast girl sounded, her small antennae flopping down as she tapped the counter, causing Stella and Alex to stop their interlocked eyes.

"Ahem..."

"Hahaha!"

The pair nervously came to terms with feelings that they previously would avoid or ignored; Alex stepped forward, his face fearsome and wild but handsome nonetheless; strangely for the beast girl, his looks weren't fierce but very attractive as their race looked similar to Alex, with a more wild and feral facial structure.

His deep voice sounded, secretly taking one of Stella's hands below the vision of the clerk, her soft fingers intertwining with his as they stood beside each other, her other hand snatching the meat skewers as Alex dealt with the clerk.

"We were hoping to become Dimensional Mercenaries if possible. Can you teach us the way, Miss Valulaela?"