After last night's 'interrogation' storm.
At night, while Jessica was asleep, he used her phone to search for information about souls online. Sure enough... just as Jessica had said, the concept of the soul in this world was in a hazy, fantastical realm that technology couldn't verify.
As for Originium Arts, it was relatively easy to explain. It was purely a matter of different physiological structures between people.
For example...
A venomous snake can secrete venom, but a human cannot. On Earth, a person being able to shoot venom would be called a superpower, whereas a snake shooting venom is a normal operation. The same logic applied to this world. Although Originium Arts were also called 'magic', they were not an unnatural phenomenon at all, whereas the soul was entirely an unnatural phenomenon.
Seeing this.
Lucas felt much more at ease.
At the very least, a person with a sane mind wouldn't think in his direction.
The next day.
Jessica woke up very, very early.
Because of the little idol's invitation, she had barely slept all night, waking up from dreams multiple times to grab her phone and confirm if the text message was real. Lucas couldn't empathize with this kind of star-struck obsession; he even found it a bit hard to understand.
After letting her two seniors in the next room know.
Jessica trotted out of the hotel.
According to the address, the little idol lived in a small apartment of a few dozen square meters in Lungmen's Upper District. After all, she was just an idol, not a star, so her earning power was limited. Moreover, the vast majority of her earnings were taken by her company. Being able to buy a small apartment in the ridiculously expensive Upper District of Lungmen was already quite good. At the end of the day... this kind of idol was at the pinnacle of being a working-class person.
*Phew~*
"Waaah~ Mr. Reeve, I'm so nervous (* / ω ＼ *), this is Sora-chan's home! I'm probably the first fan to be a guest at Sora-chan's house! What if I get too nervous and can't speak? Phew! Phew! I feel like I'm about to faint!"
Jessica lingered at the door for a long time, not daring to knock. Lucas, on the other hand, joked with her.
"How about I knock for you? I can demonstrate how to chat with a little idol?"
Jessica's eyes widened.
Hm?
She was actually seriously considering Lucas's joking suggestion.
"How about... you demonstrate for me, Mr. Reeve? I'm a little scared, and I don't know what to say. I'm afraid of awkward silence. My mind is a complete mess right now, and I can't even speak properly... I..."
Her shy demeanor reminded Lucas of the wonderful days of young love in his past life, when being alone with someone you liked would always leave you shy and tongue-tied. This was where a wingman came in. This was also why young couples in the early stages of a relationship liked to bring a friend along when they went out together.
And back in the day, Lucas was an ace wingman.
"Are you sure?"
Lucas was stunned. He hadn't expected Jessica to agree to his casual joke.
"Yes! I'm sure. I'll watch and learn from the side. When I feel like I'm okay, I'll switch back and talk to Sora-chan myself. Anyway... you're using my body, Mr. Reeve, so it won't make any difference to Sora-chan."
"Tsk... Watch and learn carefully how to talk to strangers, especially the kind who get nervous easily."
Lucas agreed. He had promised to help Jessica overcome her timidity and cowardice anyway, so he could treat this as a public class.
Soul Swap—
Lucas's soul took over the body, and 'Jessica's' originally extremely nervous and shy expression instantly transformed into one of calmness, as if she had changed masks.
"First step... communication between people must be calm. If you're really too nervous, you can imagine the other person is a block of wood."
"But... wood can't talk."
"...."
*Knock, knock, knock~*
Lucas knocked on the door.
The moment he knocked, Sora's voice came from inside.
"Coming~"
Jessica: "Mmm~ It's Sora-chan! I'm so nervous!!"
At the moment the door opened.
Sora, dressed in casual home clothes, wasn't as stunning as she was on stage, but she had a demure, neighborly cuteness. The slight upward curve of her lips was so sweet it could melt your heart on the spot.
"Hello, Miss Sora."
Lucas maintained a perfect smile, his dark eyes seemingly as deep as a pool, but within that depth, there was an added touch of gentleness.
That aura again...
*Oof~*
Sora's pretty face blushed slightly. Looking at the 'Jessica' outside the door, who was clearly so cute but inexplicably had an added touch of heroic spirit, she actually felt a little nervous for a moment.
She remembered the Jessica who had carried her princess-style at the critical moment. Under the spotlight, that side profile... was so cute... and so handsome!
"Jessica-chan... pl-please come in..."
Sora suddenly realized she had left her guest standing outside for so long and quickly invited her in, hastily getting out a pair of slippers for Jessica to change into.
"My place isn't very big, please excuse the mess. A few of my friends are here too, and I wanted to introduce Jessica-chan to them."
Jessica: "Mr. Reeve, why do I get the feeling that Miss Sora seems a bit nervous?"
Lucas: "This is called not losing the battle of auras. In social interactions, losing the aura battle means you're in a passive position. Got it?"
Jessica: "Oh, oh, oh~ I... I think I get it. No wonder I always get nervous when I talk to Senior Franka. It's because my aura is weaker than Senior Franka's. So if I meet someone with a weaker aura..."
"No... no one is weaker than you. Even the old lady mending shoes downstairs has a stronger aura than you."
"?"
Lucas followed Sora and was about to walk into the living room.
A lightbulb suddenly popped out and flashed in Lucas's eyes.
"Ooh! Are you Miss Jessica?! Hello, I'm Exusiai from Penguin Logistics. Interested in joining Penguin Logistics?"