"This is your ID card. Keep it safe! If you ever need help, feel free to contact me anytime!" Schwarz said with a smile as she handed over an ID card with his photo on it, along with her business card bearing her phone number.
"Thank you, Officer Schwarz," Ren said gratefully, happy to have met someone as kind as her. He then walked out to the car where Exusiai and the others were waiting.
As soon as Ren got in the car, Texas started driving, and Exusiai quickly turned to him and asked in a hurry:
"So? You didn't get any special offers from her, did you?"
"Nope. Officer Schwarz was really nice. She made my ID for free and even treated me to a meal."
"Phew... that's good to hear! You're super lucky you met her when she was in a good mood. Because normally, that Officer Schwarz isn't as sweet as she seemed today! She's as strict as Sir Ch'en!"
"Really? But she was so kind to me, I can't imagine her being like that at all."
Although Ren didn't know who Sir Ch'en was, Schwarz seemed genuinely kind to him. Even though she had been serious while working, it was understandable—her job involved dealing with all kinds of strangers. He couldn't picture her being mean or unreasonable without a reason.
"Really now? Hmmm~ Maybe you're just her type," Exusiai said teasingly, scrutinizing Ren's face.
"If you bulked up a bit, you might actually turn out to be a real looker, Ren. And if you ever manage to win over Miss Schwarz, don't forget about us, okay?"
"Miss Exusiai, please don't tease me like that..." Ren laughed awkwardly at her joke and turned to look out the window, pretending to enjoy the scenery to hide his embarrassment.
In truth, though, he was more interested in the new system he had just received.
[Shop – 4 Items Available]
[Zhongli's Signature Spear (+10% Mimicry) – 10,000 Emotion Points]
[Zhongli's Outfit (+5% Mimicry) – 2,000 Emotion Points]
[Geo Vision (+1% Mimicry) – 5,000 Emotion Points]
[Gacha Machine – 100 Emotion Points]
[Current Emotion Points: 600]
"Emotion Points?" Ren wondered how he had already earned 600 points. He opened the history tab in the shop window and saw entries that made him raise his eyebrows.
[Lemuel (Codename: Exusiai) feels grateful for your help. +100 Emotion Points]
[Celina Texas (Codename: Texas) feels grateful for your help. +100 Emotion Points]
[Celina Texas (Codename: Texas) was moved by your past. +200 Emotion Points]
[Beatrix Schwarz (Codename: Schwarz) sympathizes with and understands your hardships. +200 Emotion Points]
'So... those are their real names?' Ren was surprised. Apparently, the names everyone had introduced themselves with were just codenames. He began to suspect that all officers in this line of work probably used codenames.
But what truly puzzled him were the details in the messages.
'The top two I can understand, but what do the bottom two mean?' Ren glanced up at Texas, who was driving. But her instincts were sharp—she immediately noticed his gaze through the rearview mirror.
Ren quickly smiled at her to play it off and then looked away, back at the system messages in front of him.
'Could it be... they misunderstood something about me?' he wondered.
He hesitated about whether or not he should clarify things. But after some thought, he decided it was better to let it be. Even if he tried to explain, he had no way to support or back up whatever excuse he'd need. It was easier to let them believe what they wanted—and if things ever blew up, he could always tell them the truth then.
'As for the items in the shop, even if I'm not an expert gamer, it's pretty obvious that these are... kind of useless for me.'
A spear? He could barely lift a tree branch right now, let alone wield a heavy stone spear.
And Zhongli's outfit? Based on his in-game physique, there was no way it would fit. Ren's body was way too thin for that size—it'd only stretch the clothes out.
As for the Geo Vision—how could something so expensive only give a 1% boost in mimicry?
'Could it be a system error?'
The thing that intrigued Ren the most was the last item—the Gacha Machine.
He had played mobile gacha games before, so he knew what it meant. It was like a form of gambling—if you were lucky, you'd get what you wanted. If not, you'd have to keep spending money until you did.
Ren had dabbled in mobile games before, but he'd never gotten hooked. Mostly, he just played them as a way to relax, like his therapist had suggested.
But when it didn't help, he stopped.
'...It's just 100. Might as well give it a shot.'
Since he couldn't afford anything else anyway, he figured one pull wouldn't hurt.
[Gacha Machine: Activated]
[You received the skill: Heart's Eye (SSR)]
"...Huh?" Ren froze for a moment. Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed—he saw beams of light scanning the surroundings, and above Exusiai and Texas, messages began to appear.
[Exusiai] [Affinity: 15% (Acquaintance)] [Status: Friendly] [Emotion: Curious]
[Texas] [Affinity: 10% (Acquaintance)] [Status: Neutral] [Emotion: Sympathetic]
'...So this is the power of the skill?'
"What's wrong, Ren?" Exusiai asked, turning around when she heard him.
"N-no, it's nothing... just a little headache," he replied hastily, like a kid who'd just been caught doing something wrong. Texas glanced at him briefly through the mirror.
"You're probably tired. Just hang in there... we're almost at the bar. We'll take you to see the boss, and then to your room."
"I agree! Let's introduce him to the boss first, then let him rest. He's been out in that wasteland for so long, after all!"
"...Thank you, both of you," Ren said sincerely. The skill had allowed him to read their emotions and confirm that they truly cared about him. That made him feel more at ease.
'But for some reason, I'm feeling a bit dizzy... Could this be a side effect of the skill?'
He tried to deactivate the ability mentally, but no matter what he did, it wouldn't turn off.
Eventually, he closed his eyes for a moment, focused on the thought of shutting it down, and after a few seconds, when he opened his eyes again, the visuals returned to normal and his headache vanished.
'Whew...' Ren sighed in relief. The skill seemed pretty useful—perfect for detecting suspicious people. While the dizziness was annoying, it was a small price to pay, especially since he could turn it on and off at will.
'Did the gacha really just give me something this good?'
Driven by curiosity—or maybe greed—Ren tried another pull.
[Gacha Machine: Activated]
[You received weapon: Magic Tome (N)]
[Item stored in system inventory. Once retrieved, it cannot be returned. Please consider carefully.]
'Hmm? A magic tome? So the rarity range goes from N to SSR. Lucky there's an inventory system—otherwise, if this thing just appeared out of nowhere, Exusiai and Texas would freak out.'
Excited, Ren kept pulling.
[Gacha Machine: Activated]
[You received armor: Inazuma Warrior's Breastplate (R)]
'Whoa! Got some armor this time. And it's R rank...'
[Gacha Machine: Activated]
[You received weapon: Short Sword (N)]
'Finally, a melee weapon I can actually use.'
[Gacha Machine: Activated]
[You received skill: Intermediate Cooking (SR)]
'Another skill! SR this time... but cooking? That feels kinda lame.'
Still, Ren kept going.
[Gacha Machine: Activated]
[You received miscellaneous item: Klee's Bomb (R)]
'They even have joke items? This gacha is evil...' Ren reached to press the button again, but then a message popped up.
[Insufficient Emotion Points]
Ren's eyes widened. He quickly checked his balance and saw that he had exactly 0 points left.
'Ah... I really got carried away, huh?'
Now he understood the true evil of gacha. It was so hard to resist clicking just one more time.