After discovering that the Favorability Lock was friendly, but that she could still lower Favorability through her own will, Dolores breathed a sigh of relief.
At least this way, she didnโt have to worry about Favorability going up just by greeting him twenty times, or becoming lovers after only seventy or eighty exchanges.
For Dolores, that would have been terrifying.
The game design aimed for simplicityโraising a capture targetโs Favorability usually required just four basic options: talking, patting heads, giving gifts, or completing tasks.
But as a restriction, and also to provide Support Illustration scenes for the capture targets, when Dolores and Little Flower Fish designed it, different Favorability upgrade stages had specific story events.
If the event wasnโt completed, the characterโs Favorability would be stuck there. For some high Favorability stages, only special means could raise Favorability to the next stage.
These also served as prerequisites for certain endingsโat the very least, a full Favorability playthrough and a low Favorability playthrough would yield completely different endings.
Dolores couldnโt stop Green from completing tasks and earning Favorability stored as items in the Warehouse, but at least she could strangle any Favorability from conversation, touching, or gifts at the source.
No matter how much went up, it could go back downโnothing would be allowed to accumulate.
From this angle, as long as she stuck to her guns and didnโt actually become a fool who truly fell for him, the other party would have a hard time manipulating her Favorability with the system alone.
Because in the design, the Favorability gained from tasks was quite stingyโmostly side quests, and even those often meant for entertainment, with very awkward Favorability rewards.
The main function of these side quests was just to slap a few Support Illustrations of the character on the screen.
In the normal game flow, who would go through all that trouble for the pitiful Favorability from tasks? Isnโt it easier to just chat, pat heads, and fill up the Favorability bar the next day?
Thinking of this, Dolores felt she still had room to resist.
Greenโs Revenge required marrying her before it could continueโon this point, she could delay or even sabotage him.
At the same time, perhaps this was what the [Favorability] affected. Though she had lost some wariness after Favorability reached [Friendly], it wasnโt like sheโd blunder her way up to high Favorability, like Like. So, she could still keep getting in the way.
She could still rely on her status as a princess, which made Green cautiousโif she werenโt a princess, she wouldโve been snatched up by him long ago.
Freedom might not be real freedom, but without this restriction, sheโd have no chance to continue her face-to-face game of wits and pretense with Green.
Otherwise, he could just tie her up and, with a little talk and touch every day, max out her Favorability in ten days flatโsheโd fall, give in, and surrender all resistance.
That would be absolutely terrifying, man.
The scene returned to Doloresโs conversation with Green.
Whatever Favorability she had gained from chatting was promptly lowered again by Doloresโher daily limit of 5 Favorability from chatting had been used up.
Now Green couldnโt dare touch Dolores in public; after bringing up a few other legendary stories, he served her a Fruit Platter and Dessert according to what he remembered she liked.
Dolores ate happily, and Green felt he hadnโt remembered wrong.
But Doloresโs happiness was simply because sheโd been hungry most of the day, and the new flavors of food from another world were quite good.
Her Favorability inconveniently ticked up a bit to 31, reflecting her cheerful mood, but was soon pressed back down to 30.
Maintaining her poise, Dolores nibbled at her Sweet Point with small, dainty bites. She looked truly adorable, especially with her petite figure and those emerald eyes framed by long lashes.
Halfway through the conversation, the two found a place to sit down. Green only brought two plates of Sweet Points for Dolores, while quietly admiring her as she ate.
Greenโs memories of Dolores were still rooted in the pastโthose gentle, gentle times.
Just as Little Flower Fish had said, Dolores should have that quality that made people instinctively want to open up and lean on her.
Without saying a word, without provoking anyone, Dolores simply ate her Sweet Point in little bites. Just watching her made Green indulge in memories of that feeling.
To be able to lean against her, knowing her arms could never wrap around him, yet she still offered an indescribable sense of reassurance.
That filter from their previous lifeโafter seeing her again, it was hard to dispel it all at once.
No matter how much hatred he thought he had before meeting her, or even when he spoke with bitterness at noon.
Green had anticipated many scenarios when facing Dolores.
No matter how extreme a possibility Dolores imagined, Green had considered it too. But the hardest thing for him to get over was that betrayal by the original host.
Green hoped Dolores would remain just as she was in his memory.
Redemption? That word, placed on Dolores, Green felt, was maybe still a bit too much.
Perhaps it was precisely this tangled mindset that made the [Demon] bring Green the [System].
It made senseโif it were just pure Revenge, Green thought direct power, like some sort of legendary Blessing, wouldโve let him do far more, maybe even seize her by force.
Green had figured it outโhe could give Dolores special treatment, as long as she kept being the Dolores from his memories and didnโt betray him again.
For that outcome, he didnโt mind using the Systemโs power.
Dolores set down her fork, noticing that Green hadnโt moved at all, just watching her eat Sweet Point.
She had tried to read some clue from his faceโhonestly, Doloresโs people skills were abysmal in her previous life, so she couldnโt make out what the subtle changes in his expression meant.
But she still felt something was off.
Green should be harboring a considerable amount of hatred toward her, right? Otherwise, what was the point of all those Support Illustrations of prisons, streets, and punishments heโd drawn for โDoloresโ?
She didnโt know exactly what the original host had done, but whatever it was, it was more than enough to justify Greenโs hatred and desire for revenge.
But now, Green wasnโt showing any obvious hatred toward her.
That was highly abnormal. Had he really let her off? That was even more impossible, otherwise he wouldnโt keep showing affection toward her.
Dolores couldnโt figure out what Green was really thinking, or what kind of future he expected to share with her.
Ever since she crossed over, everything seemed to be changing. Sometimes it matched her scarce memories, sometimes it didnโt.
After all, as the protagonist, Green lived in a world built with pre-written stories, his actions later flavored by a sense of โhate.โ
But in a world made more complete by all these elements, would the hatred, designed just to drive his actions, really make Green hate so deeply?
As the most uniquely designed character, just how much of the ideal โloveโ had Dolores really given Green?
If hatred wasnโt enough to keep Green on his bloody path of Revenge, would the memories and love that now dominated begin to twist that hatred?
Dolores always felt Green was strange when facing herโshe saw no obvious hatred, and instead, he gave her an uncomfortable feeling.
Something odd, and sickly.
It was as if he were thinking of something strange.