Is it just me or was Anne acting a bit strange?
[She was, but telling you would not be good for training your ability to understand women]
Entering the cafe where he had promised to meet with the cosplayer, a thought sprung up in James' mind as he recalled how Anne let him go out without a word.
He had expected her to be a bit more… controlling or something along those lines as he did not hide the fact that he was going out to meet with a woman. Though he did preface his statement with the fact that it was for the talent agency but…
[Good Luck]
Now… ah fuck it, I'll deal with it later
Entering the cafe, James shook off all the negative thoughts he had as he focused on looking for a nice spot.
Unlike the shop where he brought Anne to, this was a regular cafe. He was not planning anything nefarious nor was he going to test out any abilities… well he was planning to use some… rather unsavory abilities related to his demonic inheritance but that was only if the other party was willing.
Anne was the one who started it all, I was simply responding to her advances… yes
[...]
Ignoring the silence of the system, James ordered coffee and found a seat.
Located at a rather secluded spot, the area did not have a great view of the cafe nor did it have access to the large windows. It was the spot where the unfortunate people who enter when the cafe is full go.
But James found this spot to be the perfect place to have a proper discussion with the talent he was about to recruit.
Would she accept though?
James thought about the contents of the contract he had made, unlike the big companies and other agencies, James did not use any underhanded tactics or the like. He simply made a contract that would allow him to make full use of his abilities.
[Using a Soul Contract instead of a legal one… I see why you succeeded in becoming the inheritor]
What could I do? The company hasn't taken off and the things listed in the contract would be striked out by law!
[Why even add it then? Even the largest corporations have people that use "favors" as a means to get up in the ranks]
I'm not going to make THAT kind of company!
[Well you already are, aren't you?]
I'm giving them a choice! I'm not forcing anyone, if they don't want to accept then they could easily reject it!
[That's what they all say~]
…
Externally he was calm but James was already having a personal struggle as he thought of the contract he had written up.
It made use of the Soul Contract, a technique that he was given access to by the system to try and force him to begin with demonification. It was a tempting offer but James still held back, Anne would be taken care of later.
For now, his goal was to look for an employee who is more… normal?
But normal people won't take such a contract would they?
He thought internally, the system gave him even more comments that tried to get a rise out of him but James remained apathetic, at least on the surface.
At that moment, a cup of coffee was served on his table, "Here's your order", a bright female voice sounded before him.
James' focus was not on his surroundings so he did not notice the server placing the coffee on his table. He raised his head to his apology as the server had likely come to him since he did not respond when his name was called.
But just as he raised his head, the server had placed another cup opposite of him and took the seat in front of James.
"?"
James showed a look of confusion as he stared at the short haired girl who was seated before him.
She did not wear the standard uniform of a cafe worker but instead the uniform that looked like one of a manager. She rested her elbow on the table as her chin rested on her hands.
A bright smile was plastered all over her face and James could not help but be captivated by her clear purple eyes.
She had pink highlights, piercings on her ears, light makeup and a choker which was connected to a wide fishnet style mesh top hidden underneath her shirt.
Although she looked professional, a second look at her showed that she was quite an expressive individual behind her professional look.
James had seen his fair share of beautiful women, he was quite an avid enjoyer of alternative and goth chicks in fact- a fortunate result of the cartoons he watched growing up.
Though his love for "alternative" fashion did take a negative blow with the recent movements in his past life, the woman before him did not check any of the "red flag" boxes.
The highlights on her hair were more of an accent, she did not dye her hair completely as she simply used a matching color to bring out a bit more flare on her look. The make-up she wore was not heavy, but the key part of it all was the inherent air about her.
Ever since James had inherited the power of a "Lust Demon", he had been able to unconsciously perceive the feelings of the people around him. He was able to "know" when Anne was horny and when she felt other types of emotions.
He had initially thought of it as his own ability to understand women after years of dealing with them but now he knew that it was not normal…
[Congratulations, you have discovered another ability of the Demonic Physique you now have!]
The system did not help though as all it did was confirm what he already believed.
Ever since James stopped dancing to its tune, the system had become less proactive in supporting him and even went as far as to ignore some of his questions.
As James was left blankly staring at empty space, the woman before him decided to break the ice as she asked.
"So about the proposal?"
Her words snapped James out of his stupor as his eyes cleared and he faced the woman before him.
"Ah! Sorry, I was just shocked that…", James paused as his eyes lowered to focus on the ID that was on the woman's chest.
Seeing where his eyes were at, the woman did not get mad instead, she showed him a teasing smile as she asked.
"That a person like me could be a manager?"
James shook his head with a smile, remaining calm as he answered.
"No, that the cafe I chose as a meeting place on random just so happened to be the very one you work at"
His words were half true, he did get shocked at the fact that his random choice had led to this coincidence but his mind was more focused on the system's replies.
[When you scrolled through her timeline, you unconsciously noticed that the place where she took most of her outdoor shots was at the park two blocks from here. You unconsciously chose the closest cafe to the park assuming that the park was the easiest place for her to access. By that logic, the best meeting place would be an establishment closest to the park and it just so happened that a not so famous cafe was nearby]
I'm not that smart, I can't even properly do math that does not involve money.
[You live unconsciously, breathing is unconscious, walking is unconscious since you don't really try to balance yourself as you walk now do you? Talking is unconscious as you don't have to scroll through a list of words and meanings to formulate sentences. The more an action is done, the more your brain gets used to it and conscious acts become unconscious actions- for better or for worse]
Wait… you're telling me I'm a professional stalker?!
[You noticed the hidden meaning in my words and the implication I was trying to push subtly in seconds. But at the same time, you failed to see that what I was trying to imply is that you are a sharp thinker and could unconsciously make the best decisions based on minimal information]
Now, you're gaslighting me!
"Is anything wrong?"James found himself getting lost in thought once more as the system started to attack him personally, which looked off to the woman before him.
"Sorry, my life hasn't really been in the best of states recently and I've found myself thinking more often recently… by the way, let me introduce myself first I'm-"
"James Bowen, the abandoned son of the Bowen family, a fallen billionaire who currently has an unknown amount of assets to his name"
"..."
James went silent as he heard the woman reply to him, he wanted to respond but he got a weird feeling from the woman.
As James was trying to think of a reply, the woman did not let him get a chance as she quickly continued to lead the conversation.
"Elizabeth Black, owner of this cafe and one of the countless women you pulled into a VIP room"
Extending her hand towards James, the short haired woman had a look of extreme confidence on her face. The emotions that James sensed from her were quite… complex.
There was a hint of joy, some bits of desire but also an undertone of ulterior motives.
James could not tell what it was specifically but his guts were telling him that the woman before him was not simple and that meeting him was not something she thought of suddenly. This was something she had been planning for…
[You finally noticed, took you long enough]
Huh?
[Why would a random girl on the internet respond to a stranger's DM's and even agree to meeting with him? You barely talked, you both did not fully confirm your locations and all you did was offer her a job and she did not even hesitate to say "yes"]
After he heard the systems explanation, something suddenly clicked in James head-
[Just because you are James Bowen doesn't mean that everyone would be willing to meet with you. In fact, you should expect women to avoid you. Right now, all the world knows about you is that you're just a pretty face whose only skill is wasting money. Money that you don't have.]
So why would women still want to meet with me for no reason?
James was suddenly hit by a reality check, he was so high on his success with Anne that he believed that women would still jump into his arms because he was handsome.
But the truth of the matter was different.
James was no Justin Bieber, he was just some lonely rich kid with a bit of looks.
Women flocked towards his money and his looks just made him the better choice than some sleazy old man.
Lesser evil huh…
James thought as he realized that his "genetic gifts" were still useless in a corporate world.
The world, even with a variety of races and with his great genetics, still focused more on money. Money still made the world turn and James could not do anything but curse at his own lack of self-awareness.
The worst part of it all?
He thought he was very much self-aware of his own situation, he believed that he had a good grasp of who he was, what he had to do and how he would do it.
Turns out, he knew jack shit about his own situation, less about the world and even less about how he needed to act.
As he was going through the motions, he once again entered his own world.
After spacing out for the third or fourth time now, Elizabeth sitting in front of James let out a sigh as she asked in an exasperated tone-
"Did losing all your money really hit you THAT hard?"