Teressa bit her lip, clearly a little taken aback, but she nodded at Shelly’s words to show that she agreed.

"Shelly is right. We should eat first before we talk. My mood will probably improve in the meantime." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Rin did not want to postpone the conversation, but he had a feeling he would not get anything out of Teressa while Shelly was sitting beside him.

So he allowed Shelly to lead him away, and Teressa followed behind them.

They headed to their usual table, where Shelly brought out the food for them to eat. Rin had barely taken a few bites when he noticed Teressa looking at him.

More specifically, she was staring at Rin and Shelly’s linked arms with a longing expression on her face.

It was clear that she wanted something from Rin...or at least wanted to say something to him. But she was holding herself back.

’I’ll have to make some time to talk to her alone later.’

Rin decided as he took another bite from the spoon Shelly was holding out to him. He flinched when Shelly’s grip tightened the moment his attention drifted toward Teressa.

It was as if Shelly could tell whenever he stopped paying attention to her, and it annoyed her enough to make her jealous. So she pulled little tricks like this to regain his focus.

It had seemed cute at first, but Rin had to admit it was becoming a little too much now.

’I should probably have a talk with Shelly as well. Not that I hate her showing her feelings...but she could at least try to be a little more subtle about her affection.’

Still, he had a feeling that conversation would end up being useless as well.

...

Rin tried to make time to talk with Teressa after finishing his work, but more responsibilities piled up not long afterward.

More people from independent settlements began showing up—as he had expected—and Rin became busy arranging accommodations for them.

And it seemed he was not the only one occupied at the moment. The system also appeared to be busy, judging by how it had not shown up in quite some time.

The only decent thing about the whole situation was that his leadership skill finally reached the next level.

[Leader (Lvl 3 - 2050/2000 Followers). Next Milestone - 5000 Followers]

[Level-Up Benefits: Better efficiency. Lower chance of receiving debuffs. Charisma has also increased.]

Rin dismissed the system notification after reading it and resumed organizing the paperwork for the newcomers.

He was still busy when he heard a knock on his door. But the person knocking did not immediately enter, which made him curious.

Shelly never bothered knocking before entering, while Albus knocked once and walked in right after. Reina was more polite and usually announced herself before entering, while Collin knocked three times before introducing himself and stepping inside.

Based on that pattern, Rin concluded that this was not one of his usual visitors, which only made him more curious.

So he stood up and opened the door himself.

He was surprised to find Teressa standing on the other side.

Her head was lowered, and her posture looked tense yet strangely defeated at the same time. Rin felt surprised by her sudden visit, but he quickly stepped aside to welcome her in.

"This is a sudden visit. Come inside and take a seat. I’ll hear you out."

Rin told Teressa as he welcomed her inside. But she hesitated for a few seconds, clearly looking awkward.

This was not something Rin had expected from her. Then again, he had not spent much time with her, so he did not know whether this was unusual behaviour or not.

He waited for Teressa to come in at her own pace, and she slowly calmed down as she sat on the sofa.

Once Rin was sure she had settled down, he coughed lightly into his fist to get her attention before asking his question.

"So, care to explain why you came to see me?"

Teressa bit her lip, seemingly wondering how to bring up the issue. After a moment, she rolled up her sleeve and revealed a mark on her arm.

It was small, barely the size of her nail. But it pulsed strangely and looked as though it was slowly spreading.

"This mark appeared on me not long ago. I checked the system, and it told me this was a sign of corruption. I-I don’t know what to do about it."

The succubus looked shaken by the mark on her arm, and Rin felt concerned as well.

Just looking at it gave Rin a bad feeling. But he did not want to alarm Teressa further, so he smiled reassuringly instead.

"I’m sure it’s nothing too serious. But if you’re worried, I can look into it. When did this mark first appear?"

Rin asked, and Teressa answered immediately.

"It showed up not long ago. Maybe right after the last task ended. At first, I didn’t think it was important. But the marks are spreading, and I don’t know what to do. Rin...am I going to die? I don’t want to die."

Teressa confessed, and for the first time, Rin felt like he was seeing the ’real’ her beneath the mask she usually wore.

The succubus was normally flirtatious and loved teasing others. Rin had not spent much time with her, but because of their bond, he felt like he understood her better than most people.

And right now, Teressa was terrified in a way he had never seen before.

Rin felt sorry for her, so he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a half-hug.

"Everything is going to be alright, Teressa. It’s just a mark, and we can investigate it properly later. You don’t need to be this tense or scared. I promise everything will work out."

Rin held the succubus close, and she leaned against his chest for comfort. They remained like that for a few seconds before Teressa slowly pulled away.

Her eyes still looked tender, but they were much brighter than before.

"Thank you for listening to me and promising to help. I-I should get going now. I left my post unattended..."

Teressa stepped away before Rin could say anything else. She looked back at him one last time before quietly slipping out of the room.