Chapter 4: Speaking without thinking.

Missions:

Main: Sell 10 crafts within the next 36 hours.

Rewards:

Exp +10

Points +2

Secondary: Accompany Julia to her home.

Rewards:

Exp +5

Points +1

At this point, I was beginning to think that the system was only making fun of me. All it did was ask me to sell more and more crafts. I did not even have that amount at the time!

'I would have to search in the garbage dumps and then I need to work tirelessly in order to get everything ready? You really are a piece of shit.'

"…" There was no response from the system.

My previous good mood had disappeared in less than 10 seconds.

'But hey, at least I had the money I earned before…'

Then an idea occurred to me,

'Now that I have some money, I don't need to search the trash. I could go through a hardware store and just ask them to sell me the defective or unusable items for cheap. After all I should not buy nothing beside food, which wouldn't cost me much.'

Until then, I could never have done something similar, since the most I sold per day was only 1 or 2 crafts. When my luck has increased, if everything kept going as it did that day, I could simply invest some money in buying the objects required to turn them into handicrafts or useful things, then sell them and finally invest a part in buying the items once more. In this way, my days of looking in the garbage were over.

'If I put a little bit of will into this, I can do it!'

Ding!

"Secret achievement unlocked: 'Will and effort' Lvl 1, Reward: +5 points."

'Hahaha, things are starting to work out.'

While I was enjoying the moment, I did not notice the person who arrived in front of me.

"What a beautiful smile, it's the first time I've seen it. You should smile more often Alex."

Right there in front of me was Julia, with her leotard and a pretty colorful ball in her hands.

The shame I felt at that moment was the biggest I had felt in my whole life, I could feel my face turning into a tomato.

"Hahaha, you're shy, I would never have imagined this. Is this why you don't speak in class?" She asked with a laugh.

I really didn't know how to respond to that, so I just stood there quietly avoiding her gaze.

"Right! The class is going to end in a few moments, so wait for me, okay?" She turned around and went back to join her group. Apparently, they were about to make some announcements or something similar, since they all stood in a circle around one of the instructors.

Some time later, the group dissolved and everyone went to the shower-room to wipe the sweat off that appeared from the exhausting training, including Julia.

Contradicting my previous knowledge about the women, Julia did not take long in the bathroom (E/N: We are more efficient than you think boi!). She walked towards me and only made a gesture with her hand indicating that she wanted me to accompany her.

Outside, the moon and the stars shone dimly over the city. It was a very usual sight for me, nothing out of the ordinary, but this time, this time something felt different. I secretly glanced at my companion, who was walking calmly by my side, with her eyes to the front, with no apparent intention to start a conversation.

The light of the moon came from the sky directly above us. The white light and the city as the background, complemented the picture. It was as if she were the sole and irreplaceable owner of this whole night world. The silence, far from being uncomfortable, made everything seem even more mystical.

At that moment, in my head there was no place for anything other than that image.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever…

"What are you looking at?" The sound of her melodious voice took me out of my trance.

"Nothing, it's just that you're very pretty." I let the words escape from my mouth without even realizing what I was doing. But the moment I did I wanted to die. (E/N: The boy is a natural one isn't he? Lol )

'My God, what did I do? Earth, please swallow me' I thought disconsolately.

I didn't dare to look at her again, I was afraid that i wouldn't be able to stand it, and start running away if I did. And even then, as much as I wanted, I couldn't do it because I had already given her my word that I was going to accompany her and it was too late at night to leave her alone.

Thank the heavens that her house was only a few meters away when I made the mistake of letting go of those words.

In the end, she did not say anything, just went into her house and dismissed me with a movement of her arm before closing the door behind her.

*Ding!*

*Ding!*

Several notifications rang in my head the instant she disappeared inside her house, but I was not in the mood to see what it was about.

I ran home and when I arrived, I went straight to bed. All that happened before had ruined my appetite.

'God, what did I do? Now what am I supposed to say when I see her tomorrow at school?' My thoughts tormented me, and that's how I stayed for a while until I fell asleep.

That night, I had a strange dream. I was seated in my place and all my classmates pointed and laughed at me.

Standing in front of my table, Julia replayed my words over and over again so that everyone could hear them and laugh along with the others.

What hurt me the most was the disdain in her eyes. The face that I once saw wearing a beautiful smile was now giving me a cold look full of disgust and disappointment.

Luckily, I woke up right away, but my eyes were wet with tears. (E/N: aww! My wittle bun ¡ it is just a nightmare but if she dares… she better watch out for this granny!)

It was still a long time before morning so I tried to go back to sleep, but the fear of having another similar nightmare plagued me.

Seeing that I was not going to be able to sleep for that night, I took the opportunity to look at the notifications I had received earlier.

"You have completed the Secondary Mission – Reward: Exp +5, Points +1."

"New Secondary Mission: Gift one of your crafts to Julia."

'You really like to make things difficult for me… I still don't even know if I can talk to her and this damn system wants me to give her a present?'

I kept thinking about Julia's gift in my head, and before I knew it, the sun was already showing on the other side of the horizon.