This was Logan's first genuine conversation with Manhattan Cafe.
Despite having Max Affection in the Glitch World, the only sound he could extract from her back then—aside from a scripted greeting—was soft panting.
Now, finally given the chance, Logan was talking nonstop, and Cafe was responding with a soft, ethereal smile.
"Next time, please come to my room, Trainer. I have a specific brand of coffee I would like you to taste."
"You always smell like good coffee, Cafe. It makes you distinct."
"Do you like the smell of coffee, Trainer?"
"I do. But honestly, I started liking coffee after I started liking you. Especially chocolate milk coffee."
"Tra... Trainer..." Cafe cupped her cheeks, her voice dissolving into a shy stammer. Her golden eyes flickered like candlelight in a drafty room.
As they chatted, Logan noticed a discrepancy.
According to game lore, Trainers were strictly forbidden from entering the student dorms. So how had he been wandering into Cafe's room without permission in the Glitch World?
To Logan, the dorms were just another map. Like an RPG player barging into NPC houses to loot chests, he treated the student rooms as his personal pantry.
He often raided their rooms to see what "items" they kept.
And given that these were teenage girls, he naturally stumbled upon... private items. Diaries. Plushies. And sometimes, pink toys.
He had been curious. What happens if I take these? Do they mime using them?
To verify, he had camped out one night.
The result? Yes.
They reacted to the displacement of objects, but if an item was removed entirely, they would mime the action with thin air. When he stole a comb, the girl would brush her hair with an invisible comb, and the tangled mess would magically straighten itself.
Of course, he only did this when he was bored out of his mind.
But if his actions in the Glitch World carried over to reality... how did he bypass security?
The dorm matrons should have blocked him. Yet, in his memories, they never reacted to his presence.
After their walk, Logan suggested visiting the dorms.
"Can you enter, Trainer? I recall Dorm Head Hishi Amazon saying... no one but students allowed."
"Don't know. Let's ask."
In the Glitch World, the dorms were comfortable but the beds were too small.
Horse Girls were petite, fitting perfectly on the twin-sized mattresses like porcelain dolls. But Logan, standing nearly six feet tall, struggled to fit.
He often woke up on the floor, kicked off by a small but powerful foot.
Horse Girls might be small, but they were dense with muscle. Once asleep, they were immovable objects.
However, sometimes they would cling to him. Their soft, springy thighs would wrap around him like an octopus, and they would press their ears against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. Those nights were nice.
Arriving at the dormitory entrance, Logan was intercepted by the gatekeeper.
A Horse Girl with dark blue hair cascading down her back and healthy, tanned skin glowing under the streetlights stood before him, arms crossed. Her crimson eyes were sharp, and her figure—specifically her chest—looked ready to burst through her shirt.
It was the boss of the Miho Dormitory: Hishi Amazon.
"No entry. Since when do Trainers visit the dorms at this hour? Are you planning something wicked, Trainer Logan?"
"Yes."
"You actually admitted it! Absolutely not!"
"Amazon... I've already done plenty of wicked things."
You are incredibly soft.
Her F-cup chest was top-tier in Tracen. Aside from a few others capable of suffocating him completely, Hishi Amazon had no equal. Coupled with her little snaggletooth, she was the perfect blend of cute and sexy.
"What nonsense are you spouting? During the day, when the dorm is empty, I might let you in for a snack. But at night? No! All the children are here." Amazon pointed her thumb back at the building, righteous indignation radiating from her.
This version of Amazon would never let him pass.
So why does Cafe remember me being in her room?
"Have I been inside before?" Logan asked.
"You haven't been here before, but... huh..." Amazon frowned, her confidence wavering. "That's strange. I remember... seeing you in my room."
What is this?
Watching her confused expression, Logan formed a hypothesis. Maybe the Glitch World's influence wasn't just limited to Affection stats. Maybe it could overwrite reality itself, planting false memories or altering physical laws to match his "gameplay history."
He noted this down mentally and bid them farewell.
"I'll just sneak in when no one's looking."
"Don't say 'sneak.' I'll invite you." Amazon corrected him, blushing slightly. "Now go! Don't disturb the kids. Come back when... when it's empty. You can come to my room then. Secretly. Got it?"
She waved him off aggressively.
Looks like the Sanctuary is closed tonight.
Logan shook his head helplessly. Before leaving, Cafe squeezed his hand. "Trainer, let's walk again tomorrow."
Just as she spoke, Logan felt a cold breath on his ear, followed by the faint sound of giggling.
He shivered violently and looked around. Nothing. Just the empty night.
He patted Cafe's ears—fluffy cat ears—and promised to return. Seeing her flush red, he felt a sudden urge to play with her in her "cat mode" again.
The Stranger Next Door
Walking back to the staff dorms, Logan passed several other Trainers. They greeted him by name. He nodded back, realizing with a jolt that he didn't know a single one of them.
"Yo, Logan. Just getting back?" A curly-haired middle-aged man waved from the next door.
Logan gave an awkward smile.
In the Glitch World, the concept of "Friends" or "Colleagues" didn't exist. He was the only human. He was Solitaire.
Mumbling a vague response, he retreated into his room.
The layout was identical to the Glitch World. The clothes hanging on the wall, the shoes in the rack—even the half-eaten apple in the fridge.
Every item had a 1:1 correspondence.
He felt like he was living in a seam between dimensions. Reality and Game were bleeding into each other, and he could no longer tell where the pixels ended and the atoms began.
Tomorrow, I'll sign Seiun Sky. Build my roster. Then check if the Game World updates.
He stripped naked and lay on the bed. It felt empty. He wasn't used to sleeping alone anymore.
Should have bought a body pillow.
The next morning, birds chirped outside the window.
Logan opened his eyes groggily. Through the haze of sleep, he sensed a presence standing over his bed.
He yawned, stretched, and focused his eyes.
Standing there was a small figure in a white dress, a blue-purple haori draped over her shoulders, and orange hair cascading to her waist. Her clear, purple-blue eyes stared down at him.
It was the Chairwoman of Tracen Academy, Yayoi Akikawa.
"Good morning! Trainer Logan!"
She snapped her fan open and shouted with a volume that defied her tiny stature.
"I didn't see you in the office, so I came to the dorms to check! And lo and behold..." She pointed her fan accusingly at his naked form.
"Why are you still sleeping! The plan for the day starts in the morning! Wake up! I have already prepared your breakfast!"