Stammer like an idiot! ...wait, this isn't a good plan.

"I...um...w...well..." I managed to say, feeling my face grow hotter and hotter. Great. Just great. I was embarrassing myself in front of the robotic girl I had purchased. At this rate I was going to be the first person to fail to connect to their robo-slut. Yet what could I say? I could tell her that I thought she was was beautiful, but that seemed too forward, especially to someone like her.

All the while, those gorgeous lavender eyes stared at me expectantly. Her face was utterly impassive, save for the slightest hint of pink on her cheeks, probably from being stared at by what was surely appearing to be a creeper of some kind.

My options exhausted, I let out a sigh. "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," I finally said. To my surprise, my response didn't prompt her to roll her eyes at me. Instead, her body relaxed a little, no longer hiding herself entirely inside her cloak. I **** myself not to gawk in any way. If I did that again, I'd be sunk, surely.

"It's alright," she replied. "I probably have that effect on people." Judging from how she said it, she was referring to her unusual pigmentation and perhaps that stone on her forehead rather than from attractiveness.

Okay, she was relaxed in front of me. That was a start. "Yeah, but I still behaved rather poorly. Tell you what, the book is on the house," I said. She quirked an eyebrow at this. "I own the store," I explained.

This seemed to peak her interest. "This whole store?" she asked, a bit of disbelief in her voice. I nodded. "So if I walk up to the counter and say that Mister...?" she trailed off expectantly.

"Doe," I filled in for her. "Jonathan Doe." That made her roll her eyes. Not surprising. Being named John Doe got that response from people.

"Right. If I walk up to the counter and say that Mister Doe said I can have this book, they'd accept that?" I shook my head. "Well, no. They'd need more than your word for it. That would be a really bad store policy," I replied.

She shrugged. "Fair enough," she conceded. "Alright, this I have to see. Come on," she said, turning toward the counter. I followed her as she approached the register. "Hey. Mr. Doe here said I could have this book," she told the cashier. I nodded to them, confirming that I had indeed given it to her.

"Yeah, okay," was the dismissive response. Raven stood still for a second, a look of surprise briefly flashing on her face before going back to its usual impassive expression. "...I'm Raven," she said. Apparently I earned enough trust or something to get her to introduce herself.

Well...so far so good. "Nice to meet you, Raven," I said. "Feel free to read any of the books while you're here. I'll make sure no one harasses you over it." Whoa, I almost got a smile out of that...