Chapter 339: Everyone Has Secrets [Part 1] The next few weeks before the dungeon competition for the First Years and their special guests hadn’t been smooth for Alex. For some reason, Latifa and Lavinia asked him to accompany them to some boutiques in the city. At first, Alex didn’t mind. Accompanying two ladies on their shopping trip sounded like a good way to pass the time. Unfortunately, reality differed quite significantly from his imagination. The two ladies dragged him all the way to boutiques that specialized in selling lingerie. The young man couldn’t help but wonder if it was some kind of punishment game or not. Fortunately, they didn’t ask him which ones suited them best. They simply browsed the stores, while Alex did his utmost to endure the odd looks the other shoppers kept shooting in his direction. But on their latest shopping trip, Vaan asked to tag along. Alex agreed without thinking, not knowing he would soon regret it. At one of the boutiques, Vaan picked up one set of purple lingerie after another. And he wouldn’t stop asking Alex if they looked good on him. "You know," Vaan said coyly, "I won’t mind such a gift if it’s from you." If not for the fact that Alex raised his fist and threatened to smack him silly, Vaan would have continued teasing him. In the end, Alex dragged Vaan into a quiet alley and demanded to know the real reason why he was messing with him. Upon realizing that the details of his visit to the Velvet Vault had been revealed to all the ladies of their club, he finally understood why Latifa and Lavinia were bringing him to those boutiques on purpose. "Lotte or Lumi, I don’t care which one of you is here right now. Come out," Alex said after hearing everything from Vaan. "You’re no fun, Vaan," Lumi complained as she appeared at the entrance of the alley. There was no trace of remorse on her face. Instead, she looked very arrogant, her arms crossed over her chest. Vaan only coughed lightly, but there was still a hint of mischief at the corner of his lips. Clearly, he had tagged along so Alex would finally understand why Latifa and Lavinia had been forcing him to join these shopping trips. "I don’t want to hear that from a stalker," Alex said in a serious tone. "Why do you always follow me around? Are you after my body?" "Huh? Why would I want your body?" Lumi asked back disdainfully. "Even if you were the last man in this world, I would not touch you with a twelve-foot stick!" Alex crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Latifa’s Alter from head to toe. There were two main hurdles to raising Latifa’s affection points to its limit. The first one was to gain her Alters’ recognition because, technically, they were a part of her. Each of them was the manifestation of her different characteristics, which she had hidden deep in her heart or in her subconscious mind. And among Latifa’s Alters, Lumi was the ultimate Gatekeeper. Only by getting her approval would the protagonist and Latifa have a romantic relationship that would lead to a happy ending. Forcing Latifa to be a romantic partner without all her Alters’ recognition would lead to a bad ending. Truth be told, Lumi’s words right now were the same as a dialogue scene in Latifa’s route. The moment "Even if you were the last man in this world, I would not touch you with a twelve-foot stick!" left her mouth, a series of options would appear, allowing the players to decide how they wanted to reply to her declaration. Although he wasn’t seeing them right now, Alex still remembered those choices very vividly since Latifa was one of his Four Queens in the game! ——— [Multiple Choice Options] < Choice A: Defiant Response > "Good. Because I don’t need approval from someone who hides behind Latifa instead of being honest with themselves." (+ Rebellion points / Risk of Bad Ending) < Choice: B Playful Response > "Twelve feet, huh? Then I’ll just get a thirteen-foot stick and poke you back until you admit I’m not that bad." (+ Humor points / Lumi’s Guard slightly lowered) < Choice C: Sincere Response > "Even if you hate me, I’ll keep proving myself. Because I’m not after Latifa alone. I’m after all of her, including you." (+Trust points / Lumi’s Approval chance increases) < Choice D: Dismissive Response > 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎 "Whatever. I don’t have time to deal with bratty Alters who can’t decide what they want." (Immediate - Affection / Lumi’s hostility rises greatly) ——— If the goal was to raise Lumi’s affection points, the answer was really simple. But as with his decision to not use the in-game answer to start his relationship with Fran, Alex refused to treat Lumi as an object of conquest. "Lumi, I would appreciate it if you respect my privacy," Alex said calmly. "What would you feel if someone were to stalk Latifa? Wouldn’t you get angry if that was the case?" Alex had many secrets, and one of them was his knowledge of the game. If Lumi or Lotte continued following him in secret, there was a chance that they would get entangled in something that they shouldn’t know for the time being. Also, it would be annoying if he had to constantly worry about looking over his shoulder whenever he planned to do something in regards to the progression of the Story Arcs. Lumi didn’t answer right away because she knew that she was in the wrong. But, as she was Latifa’s Alter, she inherited her stubbornness and strong will. In truth, Alex didn’t really hate her. In fact, he liked Lumi very much. When it came to the rankings of Latifa’s Alter, Lumi was actually second only to Lulu. Unfortunately, Lulu would only appear after Latifa became a Rank 4 Celestial Walker. Lumi’s fiery personality was something that Alex loved and respected. But there were times when he had to stand his ground and not be overwhelmed by her momentum. And this was one of those moments. "Lumi, can we work this out?" Alex continued. "I don’t want to have any friction between us, so let’s get along, okay?" "Hmph! Why would I get along with you?" Lumi clicked her tongue. "Just go ahead and gift Vaan that lingerie set you bid for!" With a huff, the young lady vanished and returned to Latifa’s side. Alex sighed before glancing at Vaan, who didn’t even bother to hide how much he was enjoying the show. After Vaan pledged his life to him, Alex had formed some kind of connection with the pretty boy, allowing both of them to know where the other was. Also, since Vaan was now an Apostle Candidate, Alex believed that things would become more troublesome in the future.