With the tavern keeper too busy selling off his daughter's dignity for two barrels and a dirty promise, I figured maybe it was the perfect time to… explore.
Nothing criminal, of course.Just an investigative stroll.A spontaneous wander. A tactical peek.
Seen calmly from the inside, the tavern looked bigger than it seemed.Not in actual size — in accumulated history.
The dark wood of the walls whispered secrets in every crack. The floor creaked like it remembered the weight of every customer who'd passed through in the last thirty years. There was a hint of hidden mold, old beer dried in the corners, and something sweet in the air — maybe cheap perfume spilled on someone by accident.
I could still hear muffled voices downstairs, deeper in the cellar. Just enough to know no one would notice me.
That's when my eyes landed on the staircase.
I went up.
The steps creaked like they were trying to report every movement, but no one showed up. No voices. No doors opening.
The upper floor was a narrow hallway with a low ceiling, a small window at the end glowing with moonlight. Three doors. The middle one was ajar.And a gentle breeze slipped through it, carrying the scent of something floral and warm — lavender, maybe. Or real soap. A rare luxury in this place.
I moved closer.
Not out of malice. Not on impulse.But out of… applied curiosity.Field research.
I pushed the door slowly.
And there it was — Lina's room.
No mess. Everything was simple and clear. The bed made, sheets clean and worn. A small desk with an open notebook, neat handwriting on the page under candlelight. A few flowers drying near the window. A necklace with a red stone hanging from a nail on the wall.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, through thin curtains that seemed to beg for silence.
There was peace in that room.
Order. A desire to stay.
And for just a second — just one — I forgot I was in a hellhole of a world where goblins crawl out of the earth and mayors trade people like market goods.
That's when I heard footsteps behind me. And a female voice — sharp as a kitchen knife:
"What are you doing in my room?"
Now it's time to use my Charmcraft.
| SYSTEM: Dante's Charmcraft v1.0 – Tactical Flirting Framework |
> TARGET: Lina – Tavern Girl (High Resistance, Low Trust, High Inner Turmoil)
| STAGE: Emotional Defusion + Bond Creation
--[TACTICAL MODULES ENGAGED]--
Her voice was dry, but not exactly angry. More like someone who'd already had a bad day… and just found out it got worse.
I turned around with a half-smile and raised my hands, as if to say I surrender, even though my dirty hands, with their scraped knuckles and working-man's calluses, didn't exactly scream harmless.
| NEG SHADOW
Description: Subtle comment meant to disrupt ego defense.
Effect: Lowers social armor through mild teasing. Target amused, but skeptical.
"I was just admiring the décor," I said. "Very… tidy. Doesn't quite match the chaos downstairs. Are you sure you live here?"
Lina raised an eyebrow. She was still standing in the doorway. Her red hair was tied up in a messy bun, with a few strands loose around her ear. The sleeves of her white blouse were rolled up, revealing part of her shoulder, and there was flour on her fingers. She'd probably come straight from the kitchen. Or reality.
"You came up here just to snoop through my room?"
"No," I said, pointing downward with my thumb. "The original plan was to eavesdrop on whatever's happening in the cellar. But then I couldn't resist the smell of soap and neat handwriting. I'm weak."
She huffed. But the corner of her mouth twitched.Almost a smile.I was gaining ground.
"You want to come in already, before my dad gets up here and throws you out the window?"
"If it's that window," I said, nodding toward the one behind me, "I might actually accept. At least the view's nice."
She opened the door a bit wider.
A silent invitation.
I stepped in carefully — like someone entering a sacred place. Or the lair of a redhead with low patience and high murder potential.
"You look... bad vibes," I said, sitting down on the stool by the desk without being invited. "Something happen? Something besides your dad downstairs negotiating your life like you're a pretty jar of mead?"
She didn't answer. But her eyes shifted away.
Unintentionally confirming.
| EMOTIONAL ANCHOR
| Description: Makes the girl laugh during a moment of vulnerability (jokes about stabbing the mayor).
| Effect: Builds trust through shared dark humor. Defuses stress. Increases intimacy.
"Yeah," I went on, "if you really end up forced to marry the mayor, promise me one thing."
"Go ahead."
"On the wedding night... stab him. Hard. Right there, where it makes that ugly sound. No one will notice. I'll hide the body myself. The town's small, but the well behind the tavern looks deep."
She coughed out a laugh. Quick, but honest.
"What else do you suggest?" she asked, arms crossed, leaning against the wall — starting to play along.
"Well… if the stabbing plan fails, drop a little Silvarite in his tea. Explosive. But tasteful."
"And what if I just want to run away?"
"Running is overrated," I said, looking at her with fake life-coach wisdom. "You'll sweat, walk too much, and end up smelling like me. You really want that? Or would you prefer a romantic murder plot?"
She finally smiled. A real one.
And there, for just a second — in the quiet of her room, between the neatly made bed and the faint floral scent — I felt the tension shift.
There was still weight in the air.
But now it was a different kind of weight.
The kind you feel when two people understand each other without needing to say too much.
The kind that doesn't need poetic words — just well-placed sarcasm and the right presence in the right place.
That said, girls who laugh at dumb guys are my favorite. Here's my tip: the tougher a girl acts, the gayer she usually is — and I don't mean that in the romantic preference kind of way. I mean it in the emotionally guarded but secretly soft kind of way.
You've heard the saying that tough girls go for funny guys?
Well, Lina's the perfect case study.
She doesn't laugh easily, but when she does — it means something.
And I've got more than enough material to keep her laughing.
So, points for me.
"You're an idiot," she said, almost like she could read my thoughts.
"Yep," I replied, folding my arms and leaning back on the stool. "But I'm a fun idiot. That's gotta be worth something."
She looked at me for another moment.
The kind of look that doesn't turn away quickly.
And I realized: I wasn't that far off from earning more than just a few laughs.
Lina was still leaning against the wall, arms crossed — but now her eyes were softer.
More… present.
That's when I decided to speak.
"I'm leaving the village for a while."
She raised an eyebrow. A small movement, but one that said: here comes trouble.
| DHV-INSERT: [Demonstration of Higher Value]
| Description: Tells story of bravery, survival, and wit through humor (giant spider, goblins, sequestro de circo).
| Effect: Establishes competence and charisma without sounding boastful.
"I need to go back to those mines," I continued, with that casual tone I use when talking about suicidal missions. "The same one where I killed the giant spider, almost exploded, and got humiliated by goblins. Basically, my second home."
"Why?" she asked, voice lower now. "You barely made it back last time."
"Because something down there stinks.
And surprisingly, this time, it's not me."
I smiled.
She didn't laugh at that one. Just stared.
Okay. Mental note: maybe that joke came a bit too early.
"There's something weird going on with the mayor," I continued. "He's involved in something down in those mines, and I'm going to find out what it is. And when I come back…"
I took a step forward.
"…I'll get you out of that bastard's claws."
She lowered her eyes for a moment. Bit the corner of her lip — not seductively, but out of old pain. Insecurity. Fear of hope.
"What if he does something before you return?"
"You go with Plan A."I leaned in slightly."Clean stab. Preferably between the second and third course at dinner."
She laughed. Brief, but real.
"You make it sound easy."
"It's not. But I'm great at making it look easy."I stepped a bit closer.
Close enough to catch the scent of real soap — the kind you couldn't find anywhere else in this village.Then I slowly raised my hand and gently touched her chin.
Her skin was warm. Soft. Her gaze — now locked onto mine.
| BAIT & PROMISE
| Description: Gives a high-value item as a future anchor and symbol of promise.
| Effect: Symbolic commitment. Romantic weight + Emotional stake.
"This is for you."
I pulled the spider gem from the inside pocket of my coat.
Black, gleaming, with faint red veins pulsing through it like it had been carved from the eye of an elegant nightmare.
She raised an eyebrow. "That… looks cursed."
"It probably is. But it's worth a lot. So keep it for me."
I smiled. "Consider it a receipt. If I don't come back, it's yours. If I do come back, it's my excuse to see you again."
She took the gem delicately, like she was holding something far more important than it looked.
"You sure?" she asked.
| FRAME CONTROL: "I'm betting on myself." [Active Confidence Loop]
| Description: Asserts dominant confidence without arrogance.
| Effect: Shifts power dynamic, reinforces magnetism.
"I am. I'm betting on myself."
She didn't say anything, but her eyes sparkled brighter than the stone.
"It's going to be alright," I said. "I promise."
She hesitated. For just a second. Then nodded, slightly.
That's when I looked around and whispered — like it was a secret I didn't want the room to overhear:
"Also… with this dim lighting, this scene is borderline romantic, don't you think?"
She burst out laughing.
And me? Well, I'm not like most high school boys.I know better.
A beautiful woman's laughter, in a room just for the two of us, with soft lighting?
If that's not the right moment — I don't know what is.
I leaned in a bit more.
My hand was still on her chin, and her eyes were still on mine — which, honestly, was an achievement considering my overall aesthetic.
But there, in that light, in that silence, with the world forgetting to interrupt us for a few precious minutes…
--[COMBAT LOG]--
> Status: Lina - Emotional Guard reduced by 35%.
> Affection Status: Elevated.
> Intimacy Potential: Imminent…
Well, I may be rich in many things, but luck is never one of them.
Guess who just had to show up at the worst possible moment?