Lys wiped mud from his boots as he followed Mira inside. The stone floor felt solid and cold, a massive change from the packed dirt of their hut. Sara led them with sharp, confident steps. Behind them, Olga’s cane clicked rhythmically against the floor. Lys caught Sara glancing back over her shoulder. When she realized he was watching, she straightened her spine and pulled her shoulders back. She didn’t look annoyed by his stare; she looked like she enjoyed the attention.

  The interior of the house was a shock to Lys. The walls were made of heavy, cut stone without a single crack. Thick wooden beams crossed the ceiling, supporting a roof that actually looked weather-proof. Shelves held organized jars of dried food and polished tools.

  By the standards of his old world, this was basic. Here, it was a palace. While his mother and sister lived in a hut rotting from the ground up, this home felt permanent. The wealth gap hit him hard. Even in a small village, the distance between the haves and the have-nots was a canyon.

  "Sit," Sara commanded, even though she tried not to sound like it was a command. She just had the voice of someone used to being obeyed. She pulled out heavy chairs around a table scarred from years of use. "I’m Sara. This is my mother, Olga."

  Mira sat down and folded her hands tightly in her lap. "I'm Mira. This is my brother, Lys."

  Olga lowered herself into a chair, her joints creaking like old wood. "Boy, you pulled me from the grave today. Just a thank you isn't enough."

  Lys sat down and gave a casual shrug. "I just saw someone who needed help."

  Mira’s mind was already moving past the rescue. Sara stirred a pot over the hearth, and the scent was incredible. It was a thick stew, rich with meat and root vegetables. Her stomach cramped with hunger. In this life, a meal like this was a rare event.

  As Sara set a steaming bowl in front of Lys, a sharp light flashed in his vision.

  << Tier 2 Quest: Charm the Landowner >>

  Objective: Flirt with Sara Thorne and raise her Lust to 15% during the meal.

  Reward: 100 SP | Basic Hunting Skill | Affection Boost 14+

  Note: Target holds local influence. Success grants access to resources.

  The meaning behind this sudden quest was clear. This wasn't just lunch; it was an opportunity.

  Sara sat across from him. Her light-green colored dress was tight over curves shaped by the good food and physical labor she is used to. The system labeled her as an active target. So, He knew what he had to do: flirt effectively and gain a foothold in this village.

  Sara tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the stew. "So, Lys, what's your story? You don't strike me as a slacker."

  Mira answered before he could, her spoon poised mid-air. "He’s been fighting a fever for a month. It kept him bedridden. He hasn't been able to work." She kept her voice steady, eyes scanning Sara’s kitchen.

  She didn't mention that they survive on scraps. Sara had spent the walk over here bragging about her land. She owned the acres of land around this village that fed the villagers. And Mira wasn't about to make them look weak in front of a hotshot like her.

  Sara chewed slowly. "Oh, my. Fever is a killer in this outskirts. I’ve seen it take down my field hands. Herbs and medicine found here don’t have much effect on fever, so be carefull to not get down with another fever. How can we lonely women find men, if even young men like you fall down with measly fever! It’s not like there are very abundant men nowadays, you know!" she said it with a hint of flirting in her voice.

  Olga sipped her stew quietly. Lys leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping an octave. "What are you talking about? Why would a woman of your caliber have to worry about finding men? It takes a lot of nerve to run an empire like that. A woman with that much power... it’s bound to turn heads, isn’t it?"

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Sara stopped eating. She crossed her arms, a move that emphasized her chest. Under the table, her foot grazed his, lingering for a second too long. "Turn heads, does it? Does it turn your head, Lys?"

  Mira’s spoon clinked loudly against her bowl. Lys ignored the warning look from his sister. "And why wouldn’t it! That kind of strength is attractive. It makes a man wonder how well you handle other things."

  Sara’s lips twitched toward a smile, though she kept her expression tough. "Watch yourself, boy. I don't care for empty flattery." Despite her words, she shifted her chair closer. Her knee was now pressing firmly against his.

  Olga cleared her throat and focused on her bowl. The room fell quiet, filled only with the sound of the fire and the smell of the stew.

  Sara didn't just own land; she owned people. In a world where men were fading away, she was the pillar holding the village together. And Lys saw the hierarchy clearly: his family was at the bottom, and she was at the top. But he saw the cracks in her armor, too. She talked about the scarcity of men with a hunger she couldn't quite hide. And that’s the kind of demand he wanted from a woman like her. It makes his job half-done already.

  "It’s not flattery. It’s the truth," Lys said. "You’ve built something impressive. It must get lonely carrying that weight by yourself."

  Before she could respond, the door slammed open. A worker stood there, face red and tunic torn. "Sara! Lena’s hurt. She twisted her ankle in the furrow. She can't stand, and the girls are panicking."

  Sara stood up so fast her chair scraped harshly against the stone. "Again? How many times do I have to tell her that girl needs to watch her step?"

  She grabbed a shawl from a hook, her face turning back into a mask of stone. "Stay here. I’ll be back."

  The worker nodded, glanced at Lys with wide eyes, and followed Sara out. The door slammed again, rattling the jars on the shelves. Olga gripped her cane. "It never ends. The land is a hungry master. Always making someone injured."

  Mira leaned in and whispered, "She’s the boss of this whole place, Lys. We shouldn't stay too long."

  Lys felt the tension. The worker’s panic confirmed how the village worked. Sara was the center of the food production in this village.

  While his old life was about hunting for the next meal, Sara’s life was about controlling the future of the village. So, it wasn’t hard to figure out that if he wanted to climb faster in this village, he needed her.

  ------

  Sara returned a few minutes later, her hands smudged with dirt. "I wrapped it. She’ll live, but now her work will have to be done by someone else. We are already down on people as it is. Who knows how I will manage another person for the job?" She sat down, her thigh pressing against his again. "Now, where were we? You were asking about my burdens?"

  Lys let a small grin touch his lips. "Yes, I was. I was saying a man could help lighten the load, you know! Of course, If you let him."

  She let out a short, surprised laugh. Then she reached for the bread, her hand brushing his arm intentionally. "You're cocky. I like that. You should come back when we can talk properly."

  Their flirting was making Mira a little uncomfortable, seeing how touchy touchy they were being casually right in front of her. But she said nothing.

  They finished the meal as Sara talked about the lands she controlled. She described how her fields stretched all the way to the river, where her workers toiled from sunrise until the sun went down. She spoke about them like tools, explaining that they worked only for a small share of the harvest, like it was her way of being generous.

  Lys realized the truth of this village: the landowners held the keys to survival, and families like his were invisible unless they were useful. But saving Olga had changed the rules.

  As Lys was listening to Sara’s words with a focused gaze, she mistook it as if he was interested in her body. So her eyes also lingered on him. And after a while like that, a new message flashed in Lys’s vision.

  << Quest Complete: Lust hit 15% >>

  The rewards flooded into him. He saw the SP added to his system, while the hunting skills became part of his mind. He now knew how to track prey and move through the woods like a predator. He was a little shocked to see the effectivness of system, even though he had an idea about how it would work, being an occasional gamer himself.

  Seeing them eyeing up each other, Mira stood up immediately, her voice sounding a bit stiff. "Thank you for the food."

  Sara rose as well. She stepped close and placed a hand firmly on Lys’s shoulder. "The door is open for you, Lys. Come visit me anytime. I will be waiting for you."

  ***

  Outside, the thick mud sucked at their shoes as they walked toward their small hut. Mira stayed quiet for a long time before she finally spoke. "You were playing a dangerous game in there, Lys. I don’t like it. You being chummy with her that much."

  Lys just shrugged, his mind already on his next move, which was securing a stable life for his family. He softly said to Mira, "We need an edge, Mira. And I think this is how we get it. Just trust me on this."

  Mira just nodded, clearly happy that her brother wasn’t just blindly trying to suck up to Sara, but he was secretly trying to look out for his own family all this while. Not knowing the actual reason for Lys’s earlier behaviour.