As they continued walking, Lila suddenly stopped, tapping a finger against her chin.

  “Alright,” she said, turning to Elias with a mischievous look. “Time for a challenge.”

  Elias raised a brow. “A challenge?”

  Lila nodded. “Your life is too robotic. So, I’m giving you a task.”

  He crossed his arms. “That seems unnecessary.”

  She grinned. “No backing out. You have to do it.”

  Elias sighed. “What is this task?”

  Lila dramatically pointed at him. “You have to find something in this mall that youlike.”

  Elias stared at her. “…That is vague.”

  “Exactly!” she said cheerfully. “It can be anything. Something that interests you, something that makes you curious—anything that isn’t just ‘necessary’ or ‘efficient.’”

  Elias considered this. It seemed simple, but he already knew the answer—there was nothing he particularly liked.

  Still, Lila was waiting, her eyes expectant.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “…Fine,” he said finally.

  Lila clapped her hands together. “Great! Let’s go, Elias. Operation ‘Find Something Elias Likes’ begins now!”

  —

  The challenge, as expected, was proving difficult.

  They walked through various stores, but nothing caught his interest.

  A gaming store? Pointless.

  A music store? He listened to music when needed, but it wasn’t enjoyable.

  A bookstore? He read to gather information, not for entertainment.

  Each time, Lila hummed in disappointment. “You’re so picky,” she teased.

  “I am not picky. I simply do not find unnecessary things engaging.”

  Lila groaned. “You’re impossible.”

  But she wasn’t giving up.

  —

  Finally, they ended up in an arcade.

  The flashing lights, the ringing machines, the excited chatter—it was overwhelming.

  Elias frowned. “This is chaotic.”

  Lila grinned. “Yup! Which means it’s fun.”

  “I do not see the correlation.”

  Lila ignored him, pulling him toward a claw machine.

  “Alright,” she said, pointing at a stuffed animal inside. “Win that.”

  Elias stared at it. “Why?”

  “Because it’s adorable.”

  “That is not a valid reason.”

  Lila pouted. “Come on, just try.”

  Elias exhaled but stepped up to the machine. He analyzed the mechanics, calculating the most efficient way to grab the plush.

  Then, in a single precise movement, he controlled the claw—

  And won it on the first try.

  Lila’s jaw dropped. “No way.”

  He picked up the stuffed animal from the prize slot and held it out to her. “Here.”

  Lila blinked, then took it slowly. “Wait… you won it for me?”

  “I do not need it.”

  She stared at him, then at the plush.

  Then, suddenly, she burst out laughing.

  Elias frowned. “What is funny?”

  Lila wiped a tear from her eye. “You completely missed the point! The challenge was to find something you like, and you ended up winning something for me.”

  Elias blinked. He hadn’t even realized.

  Lila grinned, hugging the plush. “Well, I won’t complain. But you still haven’t completed the challenge.”

  Elias sighed. This was turning out to be more difficult than expected.

  Lila leaned toward him, smirking. “But, Elias… You did have fun just now, didn’t you?”

  He opened his mouth to refute—

  But for some reason, he hesitated.