Embracing, Dwelling, and Being Born (1)
The day of my date with Veronica. Before we could enjoy ourselves, I first handed over my temporary membership card at the Mages’ Guild and bought the scrolls. They were wind-type spells that Tirsi had recommended. The total came to nine silver and forty coppers.
Three mid-to-low-tier spells for a measly 9.4 million won? It felt ridiculously expensive, yet when I compared it to streaming equipment prices back on Earth, it actually seemed pretty cheap.
“You said you weren’t sure which ones would be useful, so you bought three. That’s why it cost so much, is it not?”
Veronica, who had used transformation magic to hide her horns, spoke in a slightly sulky tone. She was wearing her usual Romania-style dress—the kind goddesses in Greek and Roman myths might wear—with a light coat thrown over it. Makeup was out of the question for our socially awkward goddess, and it seemed she hadn’t even tried to dress up specially for the date.
I was dressed in neat winter clothes myself, so I had no intention of pointing it out. Still, I hoped she would forgive me for not being able to keep up with the bizarre fashion sense of this world. The fashion leaders here all seemed to possess tastes straight out of some otherworldly André Kim runway show. If the models were told to walk around in those outfits in real life, they’d probably rush to JobKorea looking for a new gig.
Or maybe she had agonized over what to wear, only to give up on an attempt she’d never made in her entire life and simply come out dressed as usual. When I thought of it that way, her unchanged outfit looked like she had deliberately chosen “the look that earned the best reaction from her husband,” and that was honestly kind of cute.
Would this be how a guy felt if his girlfriend from the office showed up for a date in a full suit?
I slipped the scrolls into a slate case so they wouldn’t get in the way while we walked and answered her.
“Who cares? These days I’ve reached the level where dropping that kind of money on specs for my resume doesn’t even sting.”
“That is not the issue. Do you not wish to activate the spell we created together more smoothly?”
We created together. It was true I couldn’t have finished that spell without Veronica, but the subtly possessive cuteness leaking out of her made me smile like a proud dad. The way she stood with her hands on her hips, grumbling, reminded me of a little girl pointing at a sandcastle on the beach and insisting which part she had built. Somehow, it was incredibly lovable.
“That’s part of it too. Until now I didn’t have the money, and even without it I figured I could make do, so I held back.”
When I said that, Veronica’s eyes narrowed even more unhappily.
“That is exactly it. If you were short on funds, you should have told me sooner. Did you truly think I would refuse you a few silver coins?”
I see. So that’s what she was upset about.
I let out a small chuckle. I’d been hanging around people with wealth on an entirely different scale lately, but our dear attendant had quite a substantial personal fortune herself. I’d noticed it before we went to the Prophet’s Garden Island last time. Although the Bicorns had been cut off from other races for a long time, gemstones and the like were still accepted in human society. She had probably been far richer than I was when I first arrived, practically penniless after buying a house.
“Even so, a man has his pride. How could I borrow money from my own wife for something I need?”
If it were a simple one-to-one marriage, that would be fine. It would be a beautiful story of trust and devotion between spouses—something to encourage, not criticize. But I wasn’t in a normal situation, was I?
The reason I could build a harem filled with beauties like our wives was the underlying premise that I had the ability to provide for multiple wives. So if I asked those same wives for money because my own finances were lacking? Then I would truly become nothing more than a kept man and a living bio-dildo for my wives. This was a matter of my self-respect, and also the minimum conscience required of a man living in a harem paradise.
“You need not concern yourself with such things…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do that from now on. So let’s drop the past talk and just worry about having fun and eating well.”
I grinned and gave my thick wallet a confident pat.
“Sorry for stopping by the guild first. I knew that once I started dating you, I’d lose track of time completely, so I made sure to take care of this. I couldn’t risk forgetting to buy the spell scrolls, right?”
“……Hmph. Your silver tongue is as smooth as ever. Our master would probably float just fine if he fell into water—thanks to that mouth of his.”
“Of course. So don’t worry. Even if you fall in, your human lifebuoy Norde will come rescue you.”
She pretended to be upset, but Veronica didn’t actually seem displeased. Our wives were dangerously weak to compliments. It was going to be a problem.
“Let’s go. This pathetic husband has scouted out several places he thinks his wife might like.”
“That is somewhat promising. Even if you choose poorly, I shall do my best to appear delighted, so have no fear.”
“Now that’s something I can’t just let slide. Want to test how much I love you? Opportunities like this don’t come often, you know?”
I smiled and politely took Veronica’s hand, leading her along. As a side note, I had learned the geography of Etur Lasna yesterday by beating the crap out of some low-ranking knight buddies, so I planned to keep the source a secret. Designing a date course while pounding potatoes and sweet potatoes with my fists wasn’t exactly something to brag about. It would kill the mood. The mood, damn it.
─Squeeze.
When I gently pulled her hand, blood rushed to Veronica’s face. We’d already seen every inch of each other, yet holding hands made her react like this? Still, considering she had skipped all the normal stages of dating and gone straight to “You! Become my wife!” and gotten married, it wasn’t that strange a reaction.
“Y-you idiot! Let go! I am not a child! Do that sort of thing to Larilura instead!”
Why was she dragging Larilura into this when she had been quiet the whole time?
I spoke in an apologetic tone.
“Don’t be like that. Think about me a little too.”
“……Your feelings?”
“Yeah. Here, look.”
I turned her shoulders so she faced the street. A noisy crowd was milling about in front of the Mages’ Guild.
“There are so many people. This is precious time when it’s just the two of us, yet if my dear wife starts suffering in the middle of that crowd, how do you think your husband would feel?”
“……Mm.”
Veronica couldn’t argue. Her curse still hadn’t been fully cured. To her, a crowd like that would feel like walking barefoot across a carpet covered in Lego bricks.
─Fidget.
Still, the way her fingers kept rubbing against mine suggested that she wasn’t so much disgusted as simply embarrassed.
“I did consider a picnic in the forest, but that’s something we can do any day.”
I grabbed her other hand as well, completely dismantling her fading resistance. I made sure not to let her feel the wedding ring. That was essential.
“Besides, you must be sick of forests by now, right? Nothing but grass and trees—there’d be nothing to do. You came out to play, yet all you’d end up doing is staring at my face?”
“I-I have never simply stared at your face in particular!”
“Reeeally? How lonely. I’m doing my best to only look at you right now.”
I lifted the right hand I held like a princess and flashed her my best smile. The moment I brought my grinning face closer, Veronica’s pupils shook violently and she turned her head away. But there was nowhere to escape without letting go of my hand, so in the end she lowered her head and muttered.
“……Saying it like that is unfair.”
“A man in love is bound to become a little shameless.”
Humans are creatures of emotion. Of course Veronica wasn’t human—she was a member of the divine race—but mentally she wasn’t all that different from us. It was something I had learned while living with her. If the other person didn’t mind physical contact, a single touch was far more persuasive than a hundred words. Words could be ignored, but human warmth seeped into the skin unless one actively resisted.
It seemed even a goddess in this world was a social animal after all.
─Rustle.
I slowly released her hand so the sensation would linger. As if acting on half-instinct while lost in thought, Veronica’s hand followed mine for a moment before she caught herself and froze. How cute.
“Doesn’t it ease your curse a little when you’re like this with me?”
I slid my arm around her waist from the side and pulled her close. I had considered kissing the back of her hand, but if she was conscious of other people watching, it might backfire, so I held back. Public proposals were apparently quite polarizing.
“How about it? Hate it? Should I just walk separately?”
I spoke in a sweet voice and teased her. As expected, our Veronica was the textbook example of “study-only nerd trait: completely helpless in unfamiliar fields.”
“………………”
…Shake, shake.
She quietly shook her head from side to side. Because she was pressed against me, the motion looked like she was rubbing her face against my chest. Ah, what should I do with this adorable, socially awkward goddess? I kind of wanted to bite her.