Chapter 173: 173 | Revolutionary Wool
The System wanted me to collect heroines like trading cards. Rina Soleil sat three feet away from me apologizing for existing while her tail did that adorable little twitch thing, and my brain was already running the math on how to turn innocent conversation into Temptation Gauge progression.
Real scumbag hours, apparently.
"So what’s your Aspect?" I asked, because that was the question everyone asked and answering it would give her something familiar to talk about instead of sitting there vibrating with social anxiety.
Her face went through about six different expressions in two seconds. Surprise that I’d asked. Hesitation about whether she wanted to answer. Something that looked like embarrassment. Then resignation, like she’d decided the question was inevitable anyway.
"Wool," she said quietly. "I generate and manipulate wool constructs. It’s. Um. Not very impressive compared to most people here."
She said this like she was apologizing for her superpower, which was both tragic and completely on-brand for someone whose default setting appeared to be ’sorry for taking up space.’ The girl could probably smother a city block in comfort-inducing fluff and she was treating it like a party trick nobody wanted to see.
"That sounds useful as hell," I said, and meant it. "Defensive applications alone would make most Heroes jealous."
Her purple eyes went wide again, that same surprise from earlier but bigger this time. Like the concept of someone describing her Aspect as useful had never occurred to her as a possibility worth considering.
"Really? You think so? I mean, everyone always says it’s nice and soft and comforting, but in combat applications it’s mostly just. It makes people sleepy. And comfortable. Which isn’t very heroic, is it? I can’t blow things up or move super fast or anything exciting like that."
The way she said ’exciting’ made it clear she’d heard that word applied to other people’s Aspects approximately a thousand times while hers got filed under ’sweet’ and ’nice’ and other words people used when they were being polite about something they found boring.
"Exciting is overrated," I said. "Half the people in this building probably have Aspects that are one bad day away from accidentally leveling a city block. Someone who can make opponents too comfortable to fight effectively? That’s strategy."
Her tail did the twitch thing again, but this time it was a different kind of movement. Less anxiety, more. Something else. The fluffy white puff bounced once against the couch cushion and settled back down, and the motion sent a spike of something warm and interested straight through my chest that the System immediately catalogued with the enthusiasm of a starving accountant.
〘 Temptation Gauge Update: Rina Soleil.
Current status: 3%.
Stage: Neutral (Elevated).
Recent modifier: Validation of Aspect utility. Subject responds positively to genuine appreciation of her capabilities.
Analysis: Subject has low self-worth regarding combat applications. Approach vector: continued validation, practical applications discussion, demonstration of respect for her strategic value.〙
Three percent from one compliment about her superpower. Jesus. This girl was going to be dangerous to my emotional stability if she kept being adorable every time someone treated her like she mattered.
"Have you tested it in actual combat scenarios yet?" I asked, because now I was genuinely curious about how her Aspect worked and not just fishing for Gauge progression. "Like, what happens if you hit someone with the full comfort effect?"
"Oh." She straightened slightly, and for the first time since she’d walked through the door, her voice carried something other than apology. Not confidence, exactly, but engagement. Like I’d asked about something she actually had thoughts on instead of something she needed to minimize. "Well, it depends on the concentration and the duration of contact. Light exposure just makes people feel relaxed and content, which can reduce aggressive impulses. But sustained contact or higher concentration can induce deep relaxation states that make combat focus nearly impossible to maintain."
She paused, then added quickly, "But it’s not mind control or anything invasive like that. People can still think clearly, they just. Don’t want to fight anymore because fighting feels uncomfortable compared to the wool."
"That’s terrifying," I said, and her face immediately went back to that apologetic configuration. "No, I mean terrifying in a good way. You basically turn combat zones into therapy sessions. How the hell do you counter that?"
"You. You think it’s terrifying? In a good way?"
The question came out small and uncertain, like she was testing whether I actually meant what I’d said or whether this was elaborate politeness designed to make her feel better about her disappointing superpower. Her hands twisted together in her lap, and her tail had gone completely still.
"Rina." I leaned forward slightly, not enough to invade her space but enough to communicate that I was paying attention. "You have an Epic-rated Aspect that can shut down hostile intent without causing permanent harm. Do you have any idea how rare that is? Most combat Aspects are about breaking things or breaking people. Yours is about making conflict impossible to maintain. That’s not just useful, that’s revolutionary."
Her cheeks flushed pink again, darker this time, spreading from her jawline up toward her hairline. Her hands stilled in her lap and her purple eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that caught me off guard. Not the anxious scanning from earlier, not the threat assessment mode. Something deeper, like she was looking for proof that I was lying to her or making fun of her and couldn’t find any evidence of either.
"I’ve never. No one’s ever described it that way before."
"Then no one’s been paying attention."
The words came out harder than I’d intended, carrying more edge than a casual compliment warranted. Because honestly, what kind of system looks at an Aspect that can neutralize aggression without violence and files it under ’disappointing’? What kind of training program makes a girl apologize for having the exact power set most Heroes spend their entire careers wishing they could access when the situation calls for de-escalation instead of destruction?
Rina’s tail did something I hadn’t seen it do yet. Instead of the nervous twitch or the anxious tucking, it lifted slightly and curled forward, the fluffy white tip visible in my peripheral vision as it settled against her thigh. The movement was unconscious, natural, like her body language had shifted toward something more open without her brain consciously deciding to make that adjustment.
〘 Temptation Gauge Update: Rina Soleil.
Current status: 8%.
Stage: Neutral (Elevated).
Recent modifier: Passionate defense of her abilities. Subject experiencing positive emotional response to being valued.
Analysis: Significant jump indicates subject has received minimal validation regarding her strategic worth. Continued approach along these lines recommended.〙
