Chapter 2: Apparently Girls Count Too
The soft warmth of the hug carried a clean, elegant gardenia scent. It mingled with the sweet peach-like fragrance coming from Tessa’s own body, creating an atmosphere that felt strange, comforting, and oddly perfect.
It was warm. Safe. Gentle enough to chase away the cold that had been creeping into her bones. Tessa’s cheek rested weakly against the other girl’s shoulder as the warmth of her body seeped through the thin fabric between them. Her oxygen-starved brain went blank for a moment.
While she was still too stunned by the sudden hug to react, that teasing mature voice burst into her head again.
[Ding! Detected “Tender Care” from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +5!]
[Current Affection Points: 6]
[Status: Affection Depletion. Natural decay: -1 point per hour. Estimated remaining life: 5 hours, 59 minutes.]
It felt like rain after a long drought.
A faint but pure stream of energy flowed into Tessa through the place where their bodies touched. The invisible hand squeezing her heart loosened at once, and fresh air rushed back into her empty lungs.
“Hah… hah…”
Tessa gulped down air. The suffocating feeling of being on the edge of death receded like a tide, leaving behind the weak, shaky relief of someone who had barely survived.
I’m alive…
Her whole body went limp. She almost sagged completely against the girl holding her.
“Are you okay?”
The cool yet gentle voice sounded above her again, carrying a trace of concern so subtle that it was almost hidden.
Tessa finally lifted her head and forced her blurry vision to focus. She wanted to see the face of the person who had just saved her life.
It was a face beautiful enough to steal words from her mouth.
Her skin was fair, her features delicate, her long black hair falling smoothly over her shoulders. Her eyes were clear and calm, like still water under autumn light. She did not have the overwhelming, dangerously charming beauty that came with Tessa’s succubus body. Instead, hers was a soft, refined kind of beauty, cool and luminous, like moonlight.
At that moment, her brows were drawn together slightly. Tessa’s pale, helpless face was reflected in those clear eyes, and the worry in them looked as if it might spill over.
Seraphina Frost?
The name clicked into place inside Tessa’s mind.
The Arts Department’s campus beauty. Vice president of the Student Council. Halewick University’s untouchable moonlit goddess. She was the kind of top-tier beauty Tessa had only seen in campus gossip threads and blurry forum photos.
And now she was standing right in front of her.
Holding her.
“I… I’m fine,” Tessa said.
She instinctively tried to pull away, only to realize her whole body was soft and powerless. She couldn’t gather any strength at all. When she opened her mouth, her voice came out thin, weak, and close to tears.
“I was on my way to a Student Council meeting and accidentally ran into you. I’m sorry,” Seraphina said softly, supporting Tessa’s unsteady body.
Wait.
A bolt of lightning seemed to flash through Tessa’s mind.
Her amber eyes widened, full of disbelief.
The system had just said… [Tender Care] from [Seraphina Frost]?
Girls counted too?
[Hehe. Of course they do, my silly Master.] The system’s playful voice arrived right on cue, carrying a teasing lilt. [Affection has no gender. As long as it is a positive emotion directed toward you by an intelligent being, it can be converted into nourishment.]
[It is simply that, according to the system’s data, males are more likely to generate intense emotional responses when faced with your current charm. The conversion efficiency is higher, so the system recommended that path first. Who told Master to resist so hard?]
To Tessa, the explanation sounded like music from heaven.
So that was how it worked. She did not have to force herself to interact with men who made every part of her soul uncomfortable.
As a former straight guy and now, apparently, a girl, being around soft, sweet, pretty girls was obviously much easier on the heart. A brand-new path opened up in front of her.
At that moment, the way Tessa looked at Seraphina changed completely.
Before, Seraphina had been a lifeline to a drowning person. Now, she was practically a miracle descending from the clouds. She was not just some campus goddess. She was Tessa’s life. Her one and only hope of survival.
Tessa stared straight at Seraphina with those watery amber eyes. The terror and despair from before had vanished. In their place was a kind of helpless dependence, like a lost fawn finding shelter, or an abandoned kitten finally discovering someone willing to take it home.
Seraphina’s heart softened under that sudden, shining gaze.
She had seen countless boys look at her with obsession, greed, or awe. But she had never seen eyes like these. Clean. Pure. As if Tessa had made her the center of the entire world.
It made her heart, already tired from dealing with too many fake smiles and empty compliments, skip a beat without permission.
[Ding! Detected “Pity” from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +2!]
[Current Affection Points: 8]
“You…” Seraphina’s voice softened even more before she seemed to realize it. She reached out and brushed aside the sweat-damp bangs stuck to Tessa’s forehead, then asked gently, “You really don’t look well. Is it low blood sugar? Do you remember where your dorm is? I’ll walk you back so you can rest.”
The Student Council meeting was important, of course.
But looking at the beautiful girl in front of her, fragile enough to break at a touch, Seraphina could not bring herself to simply walk away.
[Ding! Affection Points +1!]
[Ding! Affection Points +1!]
[Current Affection Points: 10]
Hearing the alerts ring one after another inside her head, Tessa was already celebrating wildly on the inside.
A broad, sunlit road had opened before her. A road filled with flowers, warm daylight, and sweet-smelling beautiful girls who could keep her alive.
Her joy was so intense that she almost wanted to throw her head back and laugh. On the outside, though, Tessa only leaned weakly against Seraphina, relying on the support of that soft arm.
This body seemed ridiculously sensitive. Just being held like this made a strange shiver run through every place their skin brushed close. A tempting blush rose across her face without her permission. She felt awkward, but she also had no choice but to depend on Seraphina’s support.
“We… seem to be in the same department, but I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” Seraphina said as she helped Tessa toward the dorm building. Her voice was gentle, as if she were trying to distract Tessa with conversation. “What’s your name?”
“I…”
The girl’s scent. Her soft voice. The warm, gentle touch of her arm.
Tessa’s mind went blank.
Almost without thinking, she blurted out, “My name is Evan… ah, no…”
The moment the words left her mouth, her whole body jolted.
She snapped back to her senses.
Crap. She had almost exposed herself.
She bit the tip of her tongue hard. The sharp pain dragged her mind back into place. Seeing the confusion in Seraphina’s eyes, Tessa hurried to correct herself, her voice stumbling from nerves.
“…T-Tessa. Tessa Vale.”