003 You Are So Beautiful, Miss!

Max's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the woman who was sitting opposite him.

'What the…?' 

He cursed inwardly, watching her reaction. 

Max had a very different imagination of what would happen; he thought she would be heartbroken and on the verge of tears, if not bawling her eyes out already. 

But what he saw made him bewildered; 'there's nothing!' he exclaimed inwardly. 

There wasn't any crying or screaming; the woman just sat there, her body relaxed, leaning into the sofa, and her blue eyes fixed on Max's phone, flickering once in a while, seemingly in a daze. 

'What's happening here!?' Max panicked inwardly, his heartbeat quickening. 

He thought he would use the guy's cheating to his advantage and make a move on her, but, 'She isn't even reacting!'

His eyes darted around as he tried to think of something. He had racked his brains before just thinking of the call idea, and he wasn't sure he would be able to think of something again. 

'Should I….give up?' A thought flashed across his mind, but he soon shook his head inwardly, 'No, no, no! I have a once-in-a-lifetime chance in my hands; I can't just let it go!'

And just as he thought about it, the air in front of him vibrated as the system screen appeared. 

[The system suggests that the host uses the skills that the system has granted to the host!]

Max frowned as he read the text, 'System, what do you mean by using my skills? Which skills should I use?' He asked. 

Max waited for a few moments, looking for the system's response.

But the screen was still, as if telling him he had to figure that out by himself. 

TSK

He clicked his tongue in mild annoyance; squinting his eyes, he recalled the list of skills he had got when he awoke the system. 

'Zeus's Rod…Aphrodite's Touch…Appraisal,'

His eyes widened slightly as realisation dawned upon him; turning towards the woman, he mumbled, 'System, use Appraisal on her!'

And instantly, the system screen flickered.

[DING!]

[Using Appraisal!]

Soon another blue screen materialised above the woman's head, filled with her details. 

STATUS 

Name: Mary

Age: 36

Race: Human

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 60 kg

Condition: Depressed

Description: Gave up on life and wants to live quietly. She once loved her husband, yet now is scared of him. And she's sorry that the host was insulted by him. 

Max frowned as he read the information once more, 'Scared… depressed… sorry?'

'Is that why she didn't respond to his cheating?' Max wondered, 'She already knew!' He concluded. 

He then looked at Mary once more; this time, his eyes scanned every inch of her body, and sure enough, he caught something.

'Her hands, they're trembling!' he exclaimed inwardly. 

His mind raced as he tried to think of something, something that would work, 'I could use Aphrodite's Touch on her, but that would need me to touch her….'

Then shifting his gaze towards her face, '...But the question is, would she let me touch her?'

Of course, the answer is no! She is depressed and now alone in her house with a stranger in the middle of the night.

'I have to think of something that would let me touch her!' Max muttered inwardly. 

Gears churned inside his mind as he thought of a plan, and soon enough, an idea struck him: 'What if I offered to massage her?'

But then, 

'Yeah sure, I'll just ask, hey lady, do you want me to massage you? My fingers feel really good!' He scoffed at himself, shooting the idea down. 

But he couldn't think of something else, 'Fuck it!' He cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth, 'I'll just go with it!'

"H-Haha, Master Ken seems to be busy!" he exclaimed, acting, his voice nervous.

"Huh?" Mary exclaimed, falling out of her daze; her blue eyes flickered as she looked at Max, who had put an awkward smile on his face. 

"Yeah," she whispered, hanging her head low, "he seems to be…."

Max pursed his lips at her response; he felt sorry for her. 'Don't worry,' he mumbled inwardly, his gaze softening, 'I will take care of you from now on.'

Max knew how it felt when the one you loved betrayed you. He saw it with his own mother, how she had broken down when his father left them and how she had got addicted to alcohol and drugs.

'I imagine this is a living hell for her. Her husband is having affairs right before her.'

SIGH 

He then sighed inwardly, 'there is no need to think about useless stuff now,' he thought before putting on a bright smile.

"Miss, Master Ken has ordered me to do whatever you want. So please tell me, do I need to do anything? Any help around the house?" He asked. 

But Mary only shook her head lightly before answering, "There is no need," she then took a pause before she added, "Thank you for asking; you can go to your home if you want." 

'Alright, here's my chance!'

"No, miss!" Max exclaimed, "Master Ken will have my head if I do that!" 

He then leaned forward towards her and continued, "If there's nothing around the house that I can help with, then how about I give you a massage?" 

"Huh!?" Mary exclaimed out loud as her eyes widened in surprise. Her entire body shrank visibly as she tightly gripped her nightgown. "Th-There's no need!" She stuttered. 

'Damn!' Max muttered inwardly, but he wasn't going to give up, 'Now or never!'

He then slowly stood up from his seat, his gaze fixated on Mary, who was now trembling in fright as he walked over to her. 

"W-W-What are you doing!?" Mary shrieked in fear, curling herself up on her sofa.

Max's eyes glinted as he neared her, "Miss, you are so beautiful!" he exclaimed out loud. 

"N-No!" Mary exclaimed, tears rolled down her cheeks while her body shivered as she pleaded, "P-Please don't…."

But Max didn't stop; each step he took made her heart tremble in fear, "P-Please…," she pleaded once more before closing her eyes. 

'Why is this happening to me!?' she screamed inwardly, her heart torn to pieces. 

She used to be just a normal village girl who wanted to find her prince charming and live the rest of her life happily, and yet—

".....Huh?" Her thoughts ended abruptly as she opened her eyes, "W-What…?" Her voice trembled in confusion as she looked at the scene in front of her. 

"You think too much, miss," Max mumbled softly as he held her smooth hand, not forcefully, but placed her hand on his. 

He then looked up to her face, a bright smile blooming on his lips, "A beautiful woman like you shouldn't cry," he whispered once more, his thumb rubbing against her hand. 

Mary's eyes quivered as she looked at him; wasn't he going to…

"W-What is—" she wanted to ask, but Max cut her off.

"Your hands," he took her other hand in his, "they tremble too much," he muttered, beginning to rub his fingers against her hands, "it's not good for your health." 

His emerald green eyes pierced her trembling gaze as he asked, "Let me message them, and if you feel uncomfortable, just tell me. I promise, I'll stop." 

But the woman was too stunned to speak.

BADUMP BADUMP BADUMP

Her heart throbbed against her chest, and before she could speak, "Don't worry, I'll stop if you feel uncomfortable," Max said with a smile on his face.

And without a beat, 'System, activate the skill Aphrodite's Touch!'

[Ding!]

[Skill: Aphrodite's Touch has been activated!]

Max's eyes glinted as he looked at the screen; his smile turned into a smirk as he mumbled,

"Let's begin…."