Rolling in Gold! Auntie Appears?!
"Hahh... khaaah!"
I was back in Gailwards Fief. The friendly smiles of the guard captain and his men as I'd left still wouldn't leave my mind.
Live well, wherever you end up.
As I looked around the streets, a goldsmith's shop I'd never seen before caught my eye. And it wasn't the only one — a few other newly opened stores stood out as well.
The vibe feels a little different too. Has our fief actually developed?
I had business to take care of anyway, so I stepped into the goldsmith's. First I pulled every last gold piece out through my ring.
"Exchange all of this for gold coins, please."
"Huuuh — are you serious?"
"Yes. Yes."
"Please wait just a moment!"
The owner was a man with a half-bald head and slightly protruding front teeth. For all that he looked like a cheapskate, he seemed pretty diligent at his work. In the blink of an eye, he'd converted everything into gold coins.
"Hahaha! You give off a completely different air from how you look, so I had my suspicions — are you a Hero, sir?"
"That's right. Lashu of Gailwards."
"Whoa, if it's Lashu of Gailwards, there's no way I wouldn't know. Not around here, at least!"
"Figured as much."
The owner came back lugging a sack stuffed to bursting with gold coins. I picked it up lightly in one hand and gauged the weight. How to put this. Jackpot.
A whopping fifty thousand gold. This is enough to loaf around for the rest of my life and still have change left over.
I was honestly blown away. All of this was mine? Mine? To hold a fortune I'd never even laid a finger on back in the real world, here of all places — I almost wondered if I was dreaming.
But I can't stop here.
Now that the money had come in, I ought to share it with the girls and flex a little while I was at it. I called Aki as I left the goldsmith's.
Hold on. What the hell is that name.
Eastern Supreme... whatever. So you can set the display name the other person sees yourself?
How did Aki even figure that out? She usually just wanders around with that vacant, drooling airhead smile. Is she secretly smart?
I filed Aki's painfully cringey ID away in the back of my mind and headed home. Aki appeared at my side before long.
"Ohoho! Lashu!"
"Thanks for coming out. So? This is my hometown — Gailwards Fief."
"Oh myyy, the air is so nice here!"
We arrived at the house. I went inside expecting Mom to greet me, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Lumina was doing deadlifts with a hunk of metal she'd gotten from who-knows-where.
"...Lumina. Where's Mom?"
"Huh? Lashu, long time no see. Lady Sion went out to meet someone?"
"Did she? That's unusual."
"Anyway, you're back? When the hell are you heading out on your adventure?"
"Soon. Never mind that — come with me."
"Hahh? Wait, who's the one behind you?"
Lumina came over, wiping her sweat-soaked body down with a towel. Her physique looked even better than before, somehow. Was that the gym's doing? I'd heard that if you hit the weights hard enough, even existing breasts start to shrink. Lumina was something else. A beastkin, grinding away day after day like this.
"This is Aki. This is Lumina. We're heading out on an adventure together from here on."
"Ohoho♥ Nice to meet you, Miss Black Rabbit!"
"Pleasure, Smiley-Eyes."
Why are you calling each other by nicknames instead of actual names? Anyone watching would think you two were already super close.
I hurried off somewhere with the two women in tow. Walking down the street with Aki on one side and Lumina on the other, every single person around us turned to stare at me and me alone.
"That's the runt, Lashu Leonhart, right? That's him, isn't it?"
"Whoa, he became a Hero and his luck completely turned around. Holy shit..."
"I'm so fucking jealous. Beauties on both arms. Goddamn jealous."
"And one's a beastkin, the other's a demure Eastern beauty! When do I get to live like that?"
Looks of envy and jealousy poured in from every direction. This was just a regular Tuesday for me, though. Well, that's the destiny of a Beastly Hero, isn't it? Heh heh!
Aki glanced around, then let an eye-smile bloom across her face.
"Ohohoho♥ Just like you'd expect from Lashu's hometown — those burning stares from every direction... mmh."
At that, Lumina scratched inside her ear.
"You know how bored I've been this whole time, right? How about we throw down for old times' sake?"
"...Do you ever get tired?"
"Nope. Or we could just have sex. You in?"
"Ugh, we came out today to buy clothes for you ladies. Restrain yourself. Restrain."
At my words, both women turned to look at me at the same time, eyes going wide. Was it really that shocking?
"Oh myyy?!"
"Clothes? Out of nowhere? Did you do something wrong?"
They looked thoroughly surprised. I felt a little wronged here.
"I came into some money. Ah — first, take your shares. From now on, you two are the members who'll be adventuring with me. So even if you're not Heroes, you should at least dress like adventurers, right?"
What Aki and Lumina were wearing right now was everyday casual wear, nothing more. Even casual wear needed to be in a form better suited for travel. Like that little sister from a certain oni-slaying manga, you know the one.
Aki nodded.
"I agree. Something suited for combat, yet comfortable no matter when or where!"
Lumina, of course, just yawned. Typical of a woman with zero interest in dressing up.
"Is it really necessary? Well, it's free, so I'm not complaining."
And so we stepped into a clothing shop. The moment we entered, a middle-aged woman with rigidly upright blue hair came forward to greet us. That pile of hair looked tall enough to be half her height — a veritable burial mound. A style like that had to be hell to maintain.
"Oh my, what lovely young ladies we have here!"
"Go on, pick something out."
I told the two of them. Looking around, there was everything from fashion apparel to the lighter gear adventurers typically looked for.
"Oh myyy, how should I dress to look more like a shrine maiden? Hoho♥"
"Tch... I'd rather have something easy to fight in. Don't they have any bikini armor?"
The two women immediately started browsing. So they were interested after all, deep down. I just stood there and watched. Truth be told, my own fashion sense wasn't exactly outstanding either.
"Oh my, that looks wonderful on you!"
"The clothes have found their owner, oh my!"
The shopkeeper bustled after the two women, making a fuss over everything. She was clearly determined to sell them even one more item if she could. Still as relentless as ever, that lady. She came over to my side and offered a greeting.
"Lashu, it's been a while. I heard you became a Hero."
"Yes, Auntie Green. Have you been well? How's business?"
"Oh, same as always for me. Though lately more tourists have been coming to the fief, so that's been nice."
"Oh, so things really have developed?"
It really had developed. Our fief. Hell yeah, Renata Maman. The light and the salt! The one we couldn't do without — the woman who would turn our fief into a land of milk and honey!
"It's all thanks to Her Ladyship, really."
"Right? She really is an amazing woman."
A pleased smile spread across my face. There weren't many operators as capable as Renata. She'd even taken that complete dumpster fire of a lord as her husband, so her character had to be excellent too.
Auntie Green clapped her hands in the middle of our small talk.
"That's right, that's right. But Annie — is something going on with her?"
"Huh? Why?"
Why was Annie coming up here? She was probably doing just fine on her own. But Auntie Green's face had darkened a little.
"I haven't seen her around at all lately. Shops are starting to multiply, and it's the season when revenue should be going up from all the tourists. But she hasn't even been opening her store?"
"...That can't be right. She's seriously hardworking."
I tilted my head. Annie wasn't opening her shop? She lived every day feeling so empty that running that general store was the one thing keeping her together. And she wasn't opening it? What was going on? Had she caught a cold or something?
While I was still turning it over in my head, the two women came out wearing the outfits they'd picked.
"Oh...!"
Faced with an unexpected feast for the eyes, I could only stare at the two of them.
"Ohoho♥ How do I look, Lashu?"
Aki stood in a yukata embroidered with rippling patterns of sky-blue. She struck a clumsy pose and even threw in a wink. It looked light and airy, but up close you could tell it was made of a remarkably tough material.
"Tch."
Lumina stepped out in a pure white bikini with nothing but a short red jacket thrown over it. Light, yet perfectly suited for combat — a look that was so very her.
"Oh, you both look amazing! Incredible! The clothes really have found their owners, for real!"
I couldn't believe those cheesy lines had just come out of my mouth. Aki smiled, looking thoroughly pleased.
"Ohohoho, I'm not wearing a single thing underneath, you know♥"
"W-wait, what?!"
"Yukata are traditionally worn without underwear, after all♥"
I-is that so. I paid as fast as I could and got us out of the clothing shop. Lumina glanced at my face, then muttered offhandedly.
"Ahem. Thanks, Lashu."
"Don't mention it. But you really do look comfortable."
"It's gotta be at least this much. Heh heh — I can just ditch the jacket and go swimming whenever."
"Nice. I like it."
If we were heading out on an adventure, we'd run into oceans and valleys eventually. And if you looked closely at Lumina right now, you could see the carved axe-cut of her abs. All the more reason to like it, right? Heh heh.
As we stepped back out onto the street, Aki took my left arm.
"While we're at it, I'd like to pay my respects to your mother♥"
"P-pay your respects...?"
"Yes! We're comrades now, aren't we?"
"Ahh, then let's go."
That kind of greeting? I'd panicked for a second thinking she was about to take me as her husband.
I brought the women home. When we arrived, I could hear voices talking inside, so I hurried in.
"Well, I'm glad you'll be staying for a while at least. Make yourself comfortable."
"Sis, you've really gone soft. You used to ignore me like it was nothing."
"Oh my, when did I ever?"
"Ah, was I the only one who felt that way? Ha."
"Who would ignore you? You're a Saintess recognized by the Empire."
Mom was having tea with someone. Strange — the woman sitting across from her. Who was that?
Who was she again?
I kept staring, but all I could do was tilt my head. I was sure I'd seen her somewhere. Then the other party looked at me instead and recognized me in an instant.
"Huh?"
"Good heavens, look at you — you've put on muscle! You've become a full-grown man!"
The woman came closer, running her hands over my arms. Fresh orange-red hair cut to a medium length, green eyes, and irises marked with a thin sky-blue cross. Up close, that glamorous 80D figure only looked more overwhelming. I wanted to bury my face between those breasts right then and there.
Standing this near, her scent — something like perfume — grew even richer, and those ample breasts seemed to show through her thin clothes without the slightest shame. I dug through the original Lashu's memories.
"No way... Auntie? Aunt Sharia?!"
"That's right. You finally recognize me? Hehe, I've thought you were completely adorable ever since you were a baby! I'm a little hurt, you know?"
My mouth fell open. Lashu had... no. Mom had a sister. A Saintess recognized by the Empire, known as the Saintess of Extreme Cold — Sharia Canape. Her personality was cold and blunt, so she hadn't been popular with people.
So this was my aunt. Hnnnngh.
I introduced the girls right away. When I said they were the members I'd be adventuring with, Auntie was even more surprised.
"Our Lashu has even put together a Hero party now? And a foundation too!"
"That's how it turned out, haha!"
"Wonderful. You've truly become a proper man. This... makes me want you even more. Hehe."
She finished with a lingering, syrupy eye-smile. Mom's lips immediately puckered into a pout.
"Still lusting after my son, I see? Sharia, you idiot!"
Auntie's face went cold in an instant. All emotion seemed to vanish from it, leaving her looking utterly vacant.
"I'm not like you, Sis. I don't have everything. What? I'm not even allowed this?"
Her voice was as icy as her expression. It sounded cold enough that anyone would have cut ties on the spot. The atmosphere turned frigid all at once. This was probably the face Auntie usually showed other people.
I was caught off guard. She looked so much younger than Mom that even calling her "aunt" felt off — she was practically the same age as Annie. Even so, I hadn't realized the sisters didn't get along. Unlike usual, Mom let out a sigh, and the smile vanished from her face. Auntie kept glaring at her.
"Uh, uhh..."
"Ahem..."
Aki and Lumina had lost their words, flustered. No — this atmosphere!
"Ahaha! Mom, I'm hungry! Snacks, please, snacks! And Auntie, it's been so long — tell me something fun! Sharia Canape, the Saintess recognized by the Empire! Hyaah, so coool!"
I did my best to break the tension. Anyone else couldn't have done it — only I could. To these two women, there was no one as special as me. Mom soon stood up with a smile.
"Just wait a little, son! Ohoho."
Auntie smiled too.
"Shall we, then? Auntie's going to be staying here for a while, you know."
The atmosphere eased again. I was able to talk about all sorts of things with Auntie. It was nice being able to look at a beauty like her, but dealing with her was still difficult. How strange. A woman who could make even me feel awkward. I wanted her even more.