Chapter 38: And so begins… Girls' Talk.

We somehow managed to endure Miss Riara’s drunken nightly raids and kept our business running.

Maybe out of pity, by the time half a month had passed, most people—except for a few hardliners—started treating us a little more kindly. Though that kindness was mostly directed at me, Lulu, Yuria, and Fere. As for Master and Kasai-san, people still kept them at arm’s length—maybe even two.

That said, it wasn’t so much hatred as it was fear and wariness, so I’m sure time will take care of it. Miss Riara seems to be doing her best to win over the conservatives too.

Once we’d made some progress softening public opinion, we moved on to expanding our product lineup. According to Master, the ultimate goal is Naisei—in other words, to quietly raise the level of civilization here in order to stand up to those idiots from Fourlitz.

Strengthen this place while avoiding war as much as possible, gather people from across the continent, and create a strong, unified community. Eventually, gain recognition as a nation and establish a place where all people—including those like them—can live safely. That’s the plan, apparently.

Master discussed this with Miss Riara too, and they both agreed on it.

As usual, plans keep moving along without me knowing, but hey, it makes things easier, so I won’t complain.

---

“...Fua!?”

One morning, I woke up to find a pair of breasts right in front of me. Apparently, Yuria had been hugging me in her sleep. If my face had been a few centimeters higher, I might’ve suffocated. You really can’t let your guard down, even indoors.

I gently peeled myself away, stretched out my back, and carefully climbed down from the massive bed, making sure not to step on the still-sleeping Master, Lulu, or Fere. Then I searched through the scattered underwear to find my own and put it on.

...I found my camisole, but not my panties. Oh well, nothing I can do about that. I’ll wash my face and then go back to my room to change into a fresh pair. No point dwelling on the past. I’ll also ignore whatever that carnivorous fish is clutching so dearly. If you let every little thing get to you, you won’t survive in this harsh environment.

That said, I just remembered—why was Fere even here? She wasn’t around when we went to bed. I thought we both agreed we weren’t “like that” and that she had no interest in joining in on this kind of thing...

I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand what’s going on. Tilting my head in confusion, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

After changing clothes and washing my face back in my room, I headed to the dining area. At some point, Yuria had gotten up too and was already preparing breakfast.

“Oh, good morning, milady.”

“Morning. Is Master still asleep?”

While pouring water into a cup from the pitcher, I stifled a yawn and greeted her. I also put on an apron and helped peel vegetables at the sink.

“He seemed to be sleeping soundly, so I let him be. By the way, why was Fere there...?”

“I don’t understand it either. Probably the work of some mischievous spirit. It’s best not to think too hard about it—you’ll just tire yourself out.”

We’ve known each other for a while now, and I’ve come to realize she’s a bit of an airhead. Try to make sense of her logic, and you’ll just spiral into confusion.

“You’ve got it rough too, milady…”

“Hahahahahahaha.”

Scrape, scrape—the sound of potato skins being peeled away filled the air. I’ve gotten pretty good at this, if I say so myself.

“Why not just ask Master for help?”

“He’s the most dangerous one of all.”

Leaping into a dragon’s jaws to escape a tiger—people call that missing the point entirely.

“...Morning.”

While we were chatting, Master finally woke up. He must’ve already washed his face, as he came into the kitchen wiping it with a towel.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

Yuria brought him a cup of water, which he drank in one go before saying, “Thanks,” and then kissed her. After a few seconds, the kiss ended—and then he walked straight over to me.

“Good morning, Sora.”

“Hard pass.”

Don’t come near me when I’m holding a knife! I’ll stab you. Seriously.

“Gooood morrrn—”

“I said pass!”

How many times do I have to tell you it’s dangerous?! Do you only learn when you get hurt, you pervert?! I thought you’d tone it down now that you’re free, but nope, still the same degenerate. Quit trying to force kisses on me!

“Master, please stop. It’s dangerous.”

“Tch.”

“Huff… huff… Show a little restraint already!”

I let my guard down and gave him an inch, and this is what I get. Seriously, there’s no helping this pervert!

---

“I was thinking we should make some household goods to bring over today.”

“Household goods?”

As we sat down to breakfast—some toasted bread, potato salad, sausages, and omelets—we discussed the day’s plans.

“If we suddenly introduce a bunch of super-convenient stuff, it might backfire or get rejected. So we’ll start with the basics.”

Master’s strategy seemed to be to win over their stomachs first, then gradually distribute essential goods to raise dependency. Quite the schemer. But since it’s not like it’ll cause them any harm, we don’t really feel guilty about it.

“What exactly are we bringing?”

“First off, lanterns for lighting and a firestarter—basically something like a lighter.”

Those kinds of things are easily found in the cities. If Master makes them with his tech, they’ll probably end up absurdly overpowered, but for a first step, it’s reasonable.

“Sora and… Fere, Lulu—you three handle the prototype lighters. Makoto, Yuria, and I will prep the yakitori. Let’s give it our best today.”

Master lost the staring contest with Fere, huh? Well, considering magic reserves, it does make sense to assign roles that way.

After breakfast, everyone got to work on their respective tasks. I received a set of blueprints from Master and headed to the workshop, where I started directing Fere and Lulu as we worked on assembling the tools. Meanwhile, Master and his group started food prep in the kitchen.

“So, Senpai… honestly, what do you think of Lord Shuya?”

As I was fitting a processed scrap magic stone with an engraved circle into a cylindrical tool, Lulu suddenly leaned in with a gleam in her eyes.

“I wanna know too!”

Why are you chiming in too, Fere…?

“I don’t particularly think anything. If I had to say, I suppose he’s my employer… and a friend.”

There’s really no better way to put it. I do feel a sense of friendship, but no matter how much I think about it, there’s zero romantic interest. I answered normally, but Lulu and Fere gave me deeply skeptical looks.

“You’re lying. With all the flirting going on, there’s no way there aren’t any feelings involved.”

“Totally lying.”

That’s just a ridiculous accusation…

“It’s true. I’ve never seen him that way.”

“Then how come you can still do lewd stuff with him?”

……Huh? Wait—actually, good question? N-no, no no, that was all forced. Right, forced. It wasn’t something I chose. And even recently, it’s just been part of paying off debt. It’s not like that.

Yeah. That’s it. It’s purely transactional. It has nothing to do with romance or desire. Okay—logical defenses: prepared.

“I know what that’s called. That’s called a bitch.”

“Can you not call me that!?”

What the hell is this stupid fish-girl talking about!? That’s blatant defamation!

“Or maybe a high-class courtesan—Hyeroff, right? Classic Senpai.”

“Okay that’s just too far!!”

What even is that supposed to mean!? And don’t stick ‘high’ in front of something so disgraceful! Are you insane!?

“I still love you, even if you’re a bitch, Sora!”

“I said I’m not a bitch! Say that again and I’ll fillet you into sashimi!!”

And unlike the dolphin and whale defenders back home, there’s no one here to stop me. I will show you no mercy.

Besides, everyone I’ve ever had that kind of experience with has been either another member of Master’s harem—or someone he deliberately arranged for! And all the non-Master ones were women! Calling me a bitch is just too cruel.

“Ah, come on! If it’s love talk, Kasai-san’s stories are way more interesting than mine! He’s so easy to tease right now! What’s going on with his unrequited feelings?”

“You’re blatantly trying to change the subject… Well, whatever. Apparently, he tried to make a move just yesterday.”

“Really?”

Oh, that’s unexpected. That girl even hinted before that she’s looking for a boyfriend, so there might be a chance... As someone who understands the misery of quietly tossing and turning alone in the middle of the night, I really hope it works out.

“In the end, though, he chickened out right before the moment.”

“That’s no good…”

So the ‘chicken’ label sticks, huh? Poor guy.

“Is someone like Makocchan what you’d call a ‘funyachin’?”

““……””

Seriously, where on earth did this dolphin learn that word?

---

After making a total of 100 sets each of lanterns and lighters between the three of us, we handed them over to Master and the others, who were going out on today’s trading trip. That left me, Fere, and Kasai-san to stay behind.

While fiercely blocking their goodbye kisses and feeling relieved to be free from dealing with drunks today, that nightmare arrived.

“Hey, Sora, you there?”

“…………”

Telling myself it was just my imagination, I looked from my room’s window toward the door—and there stood a terribly disappointing high elf, clutching a bottle of alcohol.

---

◇◆ ADVENTURE RESULT ◆◇
【EXP】
BATTLE TOTAL 12
MAX Combo 3
◆【Sora Lv.81】+5
◆【Lulu Lv.31】+4
◆【Yuria Lv.29】+3
◇―
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.81 [812] → [817]
Lulu Lv.32 [327] → Lv.33 [331] << Level Up!!
Yuria Lv.30 [307] → Lv.31 [310] << Level Up!!

【RECORD】
[MAX COMBO] >> 34
[MAX BATTLE] >> 34

【PARTY-1 (Main)】
[Shuya] [Lv.77] HP 1432/1432 MP 2530/2530 [Normal]
[Sora] [Lv.81] HP 60/60 MP 733/733 [Fatigued]
[Lulu] [Lv.33] HP 735/735 MP 36/36 [Normal]
[Yuria] [Lv.31] HP 1540/1540 MP 88/88 [Normal]

【PARTY-2 (Sub)】
[Fere] [Lv.25] HP 252/252 MP 830/830 [Normal]

【PARTY-3 (Sub)】
[Makoto] [Lv.42] HP 1550/1550 MP 128/128 [Normal]
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

【Comment】

“They finally showed up at our house.”

“Eat and sing! Parties are so much fun!”