Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Date with Shaomei #03
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We stepped down from the carriage and silently paid the coachman twenty gold coins—far more than the three-gold fare.
Of course, the coachman didn't refuse the money. He simply wished us a good time and departed with dignified grace.
He'd clearly been a grubby sort of man, but for some reason, I found his retreating figure awfully cool.
"...Shall we go?"
"Huuuuh... Y-Yeah..."
Shaomei, still lost in the afterglow of our romp with a dazed expression, clung to my arm. No way she could've missed seeing that.
'Coachman sir... I don't know your name, but thank you...'
I gave a quick bow toward the departing carriage in the distance, then took Shaomei's hand and started walking toward the bustling streets.
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I'd wanted to let Shaomei rest a bit since she was still floating on cloud nine, but she shook her head vigorously and dragged me somewhere.
"This place..."
"Isn't this one of Big Brother's favorite spots? Whenever you were stressed, you'd come here and gorge yourself, right?"
Cafe Flower Seed.
This cafe on the outskirts of the bustling district was somewhere I'd stumbled upon by chance while wandering around to relieve stress back when my self-esteem had hit rock bottom from being called the Bald Knight.
I absolutely loved spicy food. I'd decided that in real life, nothing beat loading up on tongue-searing heat and then soothing it with something sweet.
But spicy food was rare in this world. A few dishes from the Republic Federation had a mild kick at best—nothing compared to the habanero-trained palate of my old self.
"This place is great... Yeah, I don't think I've been here even once yet."
But Flower Seed's spicy offerings satisfied even me. Hooked on that burn, I'd made it a regular haunt after my second regression.
"You... remembered this place?"
"You always looked so happy eating here. It stuck with me."
A pang tugged at my heart. Maybe because no one who knew my tastes had ever remembered something like this before—I felt like I might tear up.
"Come on, no hesitating—let's head in, Big Brother!"
Lost in the moment, I let Shaomei pull me inside.
"Welcome! Just grab any empty seat!"
Yenika, the cafe owner, greeted us with her familiar face. It felt like stepping into a slice of childhood innocence, and I got a little excited as I sat down and picked up the menu.
"First time for both of you, right? Our cafe specializes in..."
"First off, the seafood pasta here."
Yenika had a knack for remembering every customer's face.
Which meant I'd heard the tutorial spiel every single regression. So I skipped it boldly and pointed midway down the menu.
"And everything below that, too."
"...P-Pardon? All of them? Our portions are huge, and the spicy stuff is really spicy—you might struggle."
"It's fine, I know what I'm doing. Shaomei, you're hungry too, right? Get her the Federation seafood fried rice and a bamboo shoot noodle soup."
Yenika looked flustered at my order of all eight dishes below, hesitating as she took it down. But as I closed the menu and started chatting with Shaomei, she finally headed to the kitchen to start cooking.
"Ah, I hadn't even thought of this place. Feels great to be back after so long."
"...After so long? How long has it been for you, Big Brother?"
At Shaomei's question, I started counting back on my fingers.
"Let's see... One year beyond the barrier, the year before that chasing artifacts and contracts, plus visiting all those hidden masters... About three? Four years? Something like that."
Saying it out loud made me feel a little guilty toward Agnes. We'd finally gotten together, and I'd been ridiculously busy, dragging her through every hellhole to help me out.
"...In my memories, you always seemed like you were running from something. Was it all Demon King stuff?"
Cough.
I nearly choked on the drink I'd just slurped through the straw at the sudden Demon King mention.
"Everyone praises Hero Kaiyen and that parasite brother of his, but I remember. You were the one busting your ass every time to fight the Demon King, right?"
Was that how it looked?
Come to think of it, I'd ended up doing it myself out of frustration from dragging around the protagonist who was supposed to slay the Demon King. From the outside, it must've seemed like I was the one obsessed with taking him down solo.
"It just kinda happened that way. Even without me, that guy would've moved eventually..."
I trailed off casually, then noticed Shaomei's expression souring.
"...What's wrong, Shaomei? Your face fell all of a sudden."
"Why does Big Brother always go out of his way to suffer alone?"
Her sudden switch to "Big Brother" caught me off guard—like I'd done something wrong. But it wasn't anger; it was sorrow in her eyes, leaving me sheepish and awkward.
"Every time, you figure it out alone, act alone, suffer alone—even when there are people around you way stronger and greater than Big Brother. Why do you have to step up?!"
"...Well, Kaiyen's so frustrating, and convincing the others is a hassle, so I just handle it first..."
"You're the most frustrating one!"
Bam! Shaomei slammed the table, glaring at me with teary eyes. This was uncharted territory for me—I was totally flustered.
"Sh-Shaomei. Calm down first..."
"Charging off alone for food in monster-infested zones and coming back all banged up every time! Contracting with a demon to help Sister Violet, only to get mobbed for allegedly colluding with the Demon King and executed! Ditching us all to kill the Demon King alone... crossing the barrier solo... getting so stressed you go bald... Hic... sob..."
As Shaomei listed my screw-ups one by one, I ran out of words.
'Wait, why's she crying over the bald part...?'
It wasn't like I'd chosen to go bald. I felt so wronged. Blame Kaiyen and the unicorn for that.
But with Shaomei bawling her eyes out, I couldn't say it. I swallowed my complaints, scooted over, and patted her shoulder.
Yenika burst out of the kitchen, thinking we were fighting or something, and stared in bewilderment at Shaomei sobbing in my arms.
'Don't look at me like that. It wasn't my fault.'
But the other customers and Yenika all shot me looks asking what I'd done. So unfair.
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"So, this time around, I just want Big Brother to do whatever he wants."
After her cry, Shaomei had calmed down and was nestled in my arms, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief I'd given her.
"Do whatever I want...? Like what?"
Sure, I still planned to land one big hit on Kaiyen, but I wasn't telling anyone that yet. If even a whisper got back to him, it'd be trouble.
"...How about going public with an engagement to Sister Agnes? It'd squash all those weird rumors at once."
"Shh!... E-Engagement? Like I said last time, we'll talk about that later, slowly..."
Shaomei had dropped a bombshell, so I lowered my voice to a whisper, glancing around.
Throwing a huge scandal to counter baseless rumors would be like burning the house down to kill a bedbug.
"Why hide it? In past rounds, you dated openly without a care. What do you lack that you have to bow your head?"
"No, it's just that it'd get so annoying and tiring for me... Last time, we got caught and half-forced into going public anyway..."
If Kaiyen and the crown prince hadn't walked in on us kissing in Agnes's office by chance, we could've kept up that thrilling secret romance a while longer.
Feeling a tightness in my chest, I ignored the cooling food and slurped my lemonade through the straw.
"...And Sister Violet. What are you going to do about her?"
"Cough! Cough!"
This time I really choked. Shaomei patted my back until I finally settled down.
"V-Violet... I'll just go apologize to her."
"With an apology? You think that'll wrap it up?"
Her eyes scolded me, as if that would magically fix everything.
"Wh-Why are you mad, Shaomei...?"
"Right now it's just Sister Violet, but what about the Saintess? You two got along great in the third round. And the underground city's whore? You were half-dating her in the second."
Her words hit like a solar plexus punch. My chest felt heavy. I hadn't expected her to bring up every girl I'd ever flirted with.
"...No, we haven't even met them yet, so no need to worry that early..."
"And then what? You meet them, hesitate, hurt them, apologize? That's what's frustrating! I don't even know who's calling who frustrating here!"
Shaomei grabbed her ice water and gulped it down to cool her anger. I'd somehow shrunk into the posture of a student scolded by their teacher, eyes downcast.
"I get that you've been a virgin all this time and love romance stuff. But after flirting with all these women, saying now you can't take responsibility—what do you think would happen?"
"...I never flirted around... Sorry."
I started to protest out of injustice but dropped my gaze under her glare. It really wasn't like that. Hing.
"I don't expect you to take the Saintess or the whore as obligations or anything. But Sister Violet's different."
Her voice softened a bit as she gently gripped my hand.
"So, just close your eyes and go for three wives and four concubines this time. Enjoy it, Big Brother."
...Huh?
"Three wives... and four concubines...?"
"Yes. Agnes the Imperial Princess, me, and Sister Violet as the main wives. The rest as concubines. Got it?"
The phrase straight out of some wuxia novel left me utterly flustered.
Even in kingdoms allowing polygamy, one wife and one concubine was the norm...?
"Or what, were you planning to make all those women your official wives?"
"No, no! I'm just shocked by the whole three wives four concubines thing!"
Her eyes sharpened again, so I waved my hands frantically to calm her.
With a sigh, Shaomei tightened her grip on my hand.
"Believe me, Big Brother. Better to boldly declare three wives and four concubines now than scramble later and end up with nothing. Otherwise, don't complain if one of them stabs you."
"...Did I really charm that many women? Isn't that Jorba's specialty...?"
No, I'd never pulled a Golden Sun. Must've been guilt by association since Jorba was always around, creating that impression.
"Young Master Jorba knows how to draw lines. Unlike some Big Brother who can't and ends up charming every woman around."
"...."
Me, worse than Jorba?
"Remember this. Me, Agnes the Imperial Princess, and Sister Violet. The rest are for fun. Or at most, concubines."
Squeeze.
Shaomei's grip on my hand hurt like hell.