Mark spent the night at Clara's house, the woman who had given him a change of clothes and a place to sleep.
Despite everything that had happened, he managed to rest better than he expected, though his mind kept going over what he had been through since he arrived in that world.
The next morning he woke up a bit late, his body still feeling heavy, but when he stepped out of the room, he was greeted by breakfast already served on the table.
The smell of hot food reminded him of how hungry he was.
After eating and thanking her, he managed to get some basic information. That place was one of the many border settlements of the kingdom of Kaldor.
It didn't have an official name, but the inhabitants called it the 'Iron Village', in reference to the region's main commercial activity, where almost everything revolved around the extraction and trade of metal.
'What should I do now?' he thought uncertainly, with no clear direction.
[Author System]
[Report: You have completed the first mission. Say or think "Status" to view your statistics.]
The system appeared, as always, out of nowhere, without any warning. Mark was already getting used to that strange sensation.
'Hmm… Status.' he thought.
[Status:
Strength: 10.
Endurance: 8.
Charisma: 12.
Dexterity: 11.
Intelligence: 13.]
[Skills: None.]
'No wonder I got exhausted so quickly… these stats are awful…' he thought with a grimace.
He had created characters with values a hundred or even two hundred times higher than his.
Compared to that, his current body was far too fragile.
[Report:
Name: Mark XXX.
Height: 1.71 m.
Weight: 61 kg.
Appearance: Attractive.]
"Well… I'm a little taller than before. And being attractive isn't so bad." he murmured with a smile, feeling a bit more upbeat.
"Is something wrong?" Clara asked curiously.
"Huh? No, no… I was just thinking." he replied quickly, trying to play it off.
His answer drew a soft laugh from the woman. At that moment, the door of the small house swung open, catching Mark's attention.
"Grandma! How is—?" A young woman of about nineteen, good-looking and with long ears, entered the house.
However, she fell silent when she saw Mark, who didn't know what to say out of nervousness.
"And who is this?" she asked in a serious tone, addressing her grandmother.
"His name is Mark. He helped me find Siesta, and since his things were stolen while he was traveling, I let him stay here last night." she explained calmly.
"Y-yeah… that's right." Mark added hurriedly; the girl's gaze made him very uncomfortable.
"Hm… I don't trust you." she stated firmly, turning her back on him as she picked up the cat.
'And why?' he thought, confused, unable to understand such direct distrust.
***
[Report: New mission available!]
[Notice: You may accept or reject it.]
[Yes / No]
'But it doesn't even say what it's about.' he thought irritably. Even so, he didn't make a decision right away.
Several hours had passed since he woke up, and Liria, Clara's granddaughter, hadn't taken her eyes off him.
Every move he made seemed to be watched, which made him quite nervous.
"Hey!" Liria exclaimed, approaching when her grandmother stepped out of the house.
"Yes?" he replied, looking at her.
"Where exactly are you from?" she asked bluntly, invading Mark's personal space.
'She smells… nice.' he thought as he caught her scent, though he quickly shook his head to push those thoughts away. This wasn't the time to think about that.
He couldn't deny that the young woman in front of him was very attractive and had a nice body, but she was still the granddaughter of the woman who had given him shelter, and that imposed a certain limit.
"Um…" he stammered, trying to remember some nearby place. That village was the only settlement close to the Border Forest.
If he said he came from somewhere too far away or from the opposite direction, it would surely raise suspicions.
"Um? Um what?" she shot back distrustfully, stepping even closer.
But then she lost her balance and tangled with her own feet, falling forward.
Mark tried to catch her, but ended up falling together with Liria.
Puff!
"Ow… that hurt." she murmured, sitting up with a pained expression. "Huh?" she noticed something soft beneath her.
When she realized what it was, her face turned completely red with embarrassment.
She was on top of Mark, more precisely over his crotch, while he looked at her with a slight blush, not knowing how to react.
"W-wait… I can see your…" he murmured, embarrassed, pointing at a certain area that Liria slowly began to look at.
She was wearing a short dress, and it had ridden up, leaving her white panties in Mark's direct view, and he didn't even look away, frozen by the situation.
Liria's blush reached all the way to her ears.
"PERVERT!" she shouted.
***
'This hurts…' he thought, rubbing his right cheek, where the mark of a hand was clearly visible.
'It wasn't even my intention to see your underwear…' he thought irritably.
[Author System]
[Report: Mission accepted.]
[Mission report: Get Liria to forgive you.]
[Reward: +5 Affinity + New skill: Affinity.]
'Huh?' he didn't remember accepting anything. 'It must have been when I fell…' he thought with a sigh.
"Well, this mission works for me… this way I unlock my first skill." he whispered, determined to complete it, even though he didn't know exactly how he was going to do it.