[Dolores Favorability Task: (Friendly)]
Task Requirement: In any scenario, at any time, confess to Dolores in front of Felts IV and ten other Nobles of the Land Kingdom with “Respected” status or above, and obtain Felts IV’s preliminary approval.
Task Reward: Unlock the Familiar Stage of Dolores’s Favorability.
This was the new Task that popped up in the system after Green used a Favorability Item, raising Dolores’s Favorability to [Friendly].
The reason for suddenly confessing to Dolores wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment impulse; otherwise, he could have chosen another time and directly sought an audience with the king to discuss matters regarding Dolores.
What he could have gained would certainly be more than what he managed in such a rush.
It was the system’s task prompt, specifically the requirement for “ten Respected Nobles of the Land Kingdom,” that was the real reason behind Green’s sudden confession.
As someone outside the local power structure, he could only meet such conditions at banquets like this. If he waited for the next opportunity, who knew when it would be—maybe not in this lifetime.
From this moment on, Dolores’s Favorability display was no longer fixed at 30, but could fluctuate between 30 and 50, until reaching the next stage, the Familiar Stage (50).
In a typical game process, each character’s Favorability Stage would come with a scene, dialogue, or CG.
But in this real world, Dolores—with her strong will—would never follow the script to act out the story with Green.
Even though Dolores knew about this segment—since she had personally drawn the CG, which depicted Green meeting Dolores, who was admiring flowers in the Static Garden.
From [Acquaintance] to [Friendly], Dolores would begin to converse with Green, voluntarily telling him things—well-known things, like her hobbies.
But because they came straight from Dolores’s lips, and during their chats she would explain why she liked flowers and desserts, players would get a clear sense that Dolores’s attitude toward them was warming, and the two were getting closer.
Even if there was no blushing sprite or change in how she addressed him, these conversational details alone distinguished the [Acquaintance] stage from [Friendly], creating a noticeable difference.
So, the current Dolores’s [Friendly] and the Original Owner’s [Friendly] were worlds apart in Green’s eyes.
Green had even wondered if Dolores, like him, had been reborn, but thinking it over, it was impossible.
Because he had managed, with no background, to gather a huge amount of items and make a lot of preparations in just half a year.
If Dolores were the same, she could have easily done as much—she had the Land Kingdom behind her, and as a princess she could have used her resources to do even better.
But Dolores seemed utterly unprepared. If he were Dolores, he would’ve found a way to confirm if his fate matched his previous life’s track. If there was any sign of rebirth, he’d have paid a fortune to have the threat nipped in the bud.
Although Dolores’s reaction was quite different, Green hadn’t followed the original path either, so it was still within the realm of possibility.
Perhaps in his previous life, after a narrow victory and in a pitiful state, Green had inspired Dolores’s pity.
Such tender pity had left a deep impression on Green.
But this time, since he didn’t follow the script—winning easily with a carefree attitude—maybe, in Dolores’s eyes, he was no different from all her other suitors.
Without that initial impression of weakness, perhaps Dolores would be more straightforward with him.
Though Green still suspected the system might reverse Favorability, since it had already shown other strange powers, and since he could keep raising Favorability to test it, he set those thoughts aside for now.
The scene returned to the question Dolores had raised.
Green’s account of his dream was fabricated, but it was based on the local Land Kingdom legend [The Rock and the Golden Tree]. If it had been the Original Owner, he would’ve immediately recognized the imagery.
Among the People of Land, there were several Prophecies. One told of “a knight from a foreign land marrying the princess, severing the disaster spawned by an ancient Curse, and protecting the People of Land.”
It was called “Prediction of the Princess and Knight.”
[The Rock and the Golden Tree] was a legend praising courage and relating to the Land Kingdom’s royal legitimacy.
In the story, the Swamp, embodying greed and fear, swallowed the Holy Mountain that the People of Land had worshipped for generations. In the center of the Swamp, a Golden Tree grew from the last remnant of the Holy Mountain’s rock. Its branches stretched out of the Swamp, bearing Fruit. The Fruit fell outside the Swamp, gifted to the People of Land, who were lost and starving at the time.
After the Fruit dropped, the Golden Tree withered. On the rock in the Swamp were left a Sword and a Seedling of the Golden Tree, which no one dared take.
But a brave soul crossed the mountain-devouring Swamp, retrieved the Sword and the seedling, and then led the People of Land to defeat the dragon threatening their country, overthrowing the Foreign Race’s enslavement.
That brave soul became the First King of the People of Land.
The devastating defeat in the western expedition a few years ago had shaken the People of Land’s confidence in the current king, so the branch Green had obtained from the ruins in his Memory was urgently needed by the other party to solidify their rule and strengthen their claim.
The Original Owner would’ve understood this, but Dolores did not.
If you asked her, she could only mutter nonsense; she wasn’t in charge of this part of the lore, and as a recent transmigrator she hadn’t had the chance to learn.
Besides, Dolores knew about major events—mostly involving the protagonist and Special Heroine secrets that not many people knew.
But if you asked for details, Dolores would go mute—she simply didn’t know.
Green wouldn’t suspect that, as a princess, Dolores didn’t know her own people’s history or her family’s legitimacy story.
That would be a stretch.
So, Green answered directly, “I think I may have dreamed of your Land people’s Holy Mountain without even realizing it.”
“After arriving in the kingdom, I studied your legends and stories. After reading the ‘Prediction of the Princess and Knight,’ I felt I might be the knight chosen in the Prophecy, and marrying you was both the fulfillment of your legend and my own mission.”
“And in the dream, perhaps it was you—my love of the future—who, through that dream scene, guided me to meet you and fall for you.”
Green’s story was convincing, his words sincere, thoroughly fooling the half-informed Dolores.
Because it wasn’t something she knew, and he was so specific, Dolores’s first reaction was: could this actually be part of her own story?
Given the character and plot design, it all sounded reasonable. She couldn’t spot any flaw for the moment.
Dolores also gained two clues—“legendary story” and “Prophecy”—and decided to look into that golden branch as soon as she returned.
But… something felt off.
[Dolores]
[Favorability: 33 (Friendly)]
From Green’s perspective, he could also see some special records.
[Talked with Dolores, today’s Favorability +3 (2 left today)]
[Touched Dolores (5 left today)]
Dolores saw her Favorability at [33], then after Green’s brief “by the way,” it jumped to [34].
Dolores: “……”
She suddenly remembered—the classic romance game mechanic where dialogue choices could increase Favorability.
Then Green looked up again.
[Dolores feels annoyed with you. Favorability -4]
[Dolores]
[Favorability: 30 (Friendly)]
Note: Favorability will not drop below 30 (Friendly)
Green glanced at Dolores. The two fell silent for a moment over this change, but it seemed neither noticed anything amiss in the other’s expression.
This time, Dolores took the initiative and asked, “Why did you suddenly stop? Is there more to the story?”
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