The City and the Adventurers' Guild (6)
The City and the Adventurers' Guild (6)
#
In the end, after receiving everything we were due from that aggressive green-haired woman, we left the Guild. We had also bought all the equipment we'd need tomorrow. It was an awkward time to start anything else.
"Oh, right, Reni. Speaking of which, shouldn't you contact Kate?"
"No. It isn't that urgent. Didn't you say you were just going to visit the dungeon briefly tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I did."
"Then it'll be fine to do it on the way back."
I had no intention of pushing myself on our first outing tomorrow. I planned to explore for only half a day and get a feel for the place. Then Reni drew out her words as though she had something to say.
"So, about that..."
"Yeah?"
"I-I thought we could go to a bookstore... since we still have time..."
"Bookstore! Right! The bookstore! Let's go!"
Yuri shouted with delight. But why a bookstore, all of a sudden?
...
According to Yuri, the northern part of the city held the high-end estates of the Church and nobility and the dormitories of the great clans, while the south held commoners' homes and inns where ordinary adventurers stayed. The west, as I already knew, held the Guild and shops selling adventurer equipment. Finally, the east held entertainment facilities, including arenas, and a bustling commercial district full of clothing shops and salons.
We followed Yuri, walking and walking, until we reached that commercial district. If the west quarter had a slightly wild atmosphere, this place felt considerably more refined. But overall, the women's outfits were just as revealing as everywhere else.
I got my elbow pinched or my side jabbed a few times while I was letting my eyes wander, and then we arrived at the bookstore.
The bookstore occupied an entire three-story building. The moment we got there, Yuri was fidgeting restlessly for some reason. Normally she'd be chattering away excitedly, but now she seemed to want to wrap this up with just a brief explanation.
"This is probably the biggest bookstore."
"Right. So this is the root of all evil that made you homeless... ack!"
"You always have to get one more word in!"
"Hey, where are you going? You need to show us around."
"What for? Wouldn’t it be faster to ask one of the employees over there instead of me?"
Yuri grumbled that and then vanished somewhere. Hmm, had I teased her too much? No, for that, she'd seemed pretty frantic. Anyway, why had Reni wanted to come here?
"Reni? Is there a book you're looking for?"
"Huh? Y-yesno?"
"..."
Reni was discreetly gauging my reaction. What scheme was this priestess cooking up now? Since her sleep magic and alcohol ploys had been exposed, had she come to find another method?
Reni was fidgeting and kept stealing glances at me. For now, I needed to put a little distance between us.
"I'm going to check out the fiction section. Find what you need, and I'll see you after."
"Ah, th-then I, too..."
"?"
Wasn't she looking for something? I headed to the fiction aisle with Reni trailing behind me. Let's see here....
「The story of the great achievements of the emperor who was driven from the imperial throne, saw all his household perish, was himself driven to the edge of the Aslan continent, trained alone for twenty-seven years, and finally, miraculously gathered his vassals to at last reclaim what was solely and justly his.」
"..."
It looked like full-sentence titles were in vogue in this era. Well, I'd heard of that before. In a period where advertising hadn't developed much, you had to write the title so that it conveyed the contents. In the end, as ages turn and turn, they all become light novels. Still, the content was...
「....Imperial Year 990. Prince Theodore the Fifth was born...」
...
Nope. Reading just the first sentence was suffocating. Next.
「....In the beginning, the war between angels and demons...」
"..."
This one's a bust too. Next.
「This is a tale that tells the story of a poor farmer's son reborn as a great hero, from his birth to his death...」
"...."
I simply could not read them. I had once been able to get through boring openings like these, but after reading nothing but web novels, I could no longer stomach stories that began with abrupt exposition. Had my reading comprehension declined? No, my patience seemed to have vanished.
"Re...Reni?"
Reni had vanished off somewhere. It seemed she'd been just waiting for me to get distracted. Well then, I'd better go see just what this priestess was up to.
Following the minimap, I found Reni talking to an employee about something. I pressed myself against the wall to hide and listened. What on earth were they discussing?
The employee wore a troubled expression.
"I, I apologize for saying this, but aren't you a priestess?"
"Yes..."
"Then why... a method for how to lie well? That kind of book is..."
"Urgh...."
....Reni... was lying that essential to you? You were already so glib with lies when we were having sex, so what more...
Anyway, the employee scratched his head for a moment and then led Reni somewhere else. Reni's embarrassed, utterly dejected back looked so pitiful. I nearly burst out laughing at the sight and couldn't bring myself to follow her.
Then what was that Yuri girl up to...
Following the minimap, I found the spot where Yuri was, blocked off by a red curtain. When I lifted the curtain slightly, there she was, staring intently at a book with a dead-serious face.
Just what was she looking at to make an expression like that?
「111 Techniques for the Woman Who Wants to Take the Lead. -How to Gain the Upper Hand?-」
"...."
That girl, who had nothing going for her but her physique, was about to try something weird again. I left her alone.
Come to think of it, I needed to give the Holy Sword some sex education. Was there a useful book anywhere? I called an employee over.
"Ah, excuse me."
"Yes. How may I help you?"
When the blue-haired clerk in glasses turned toward me with an innocent face, I was at a loss for words.
Ah. This was really troublesome. Asking for a sex-ed book was ridiculous in itself. And did they even carry that stuff in the first place? And if I found one? What if I carelessly gave a clueless kid the wrong knowledge? Wait. Why was I worrying so much? She was just an artificial intelligence, at best...
"Sir?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
[Hey. What are you doing? You've been quiet lately.]
[Holy Sword Status: Normal]
...This one was too absorbed in eating candy to pay attention, it seemed.
[Holy Sword Enjoyment Reserve : 50%]
[Eat in moderation. Your teeth are going to rot...]
Suddenly, a loud roar of "Waaah!" came from outside. When I stepped out, people were gathered in a circle as if watching something. Pushing my way inside, I saw a female warrior clashing swords with some musclehead. Uh... that looked dangerous. But the onlookers, as if used to it, made no move to stop them; instead, they just shouted excitedly as if it were entertainment.
"Now, now! Today marks the fifth challenge of Asnal of the Lamia Clan! The odds are 5 to 1!"
There was even a tout taking bets.
Even so, the situation looked pretty serious. The sky-blue-haired warrior was swinging ferocious sword strikes at the meathead, but she seemed to lack the strength, because she kept getting deflected every time.
Anyway, the Lamia Clan, was it? The place those three idiots from last time were from.
-Ping!
Suddenly, the necklace rang. It seemed the priestess had finally learned how to use it.
"Yoo-jin? Where are you?"
"Ah, I stepped outside for a second. Did you buy the books?"
"Y-yesno? I-I'm done."
If she had bought them, then she had bought them. What was ‘yesno’ supposed to mean?
When I went to the front of the bookstore, Yuri had a paper bag stuffed full of something, and Reni... Reni's stomach was bulging out in a rectangular shape. Had she hidden the books she bought under her robe? Did she not realize how obvious that was? Was it because her chest was so big she couldn't see underneath it?
"..."
"Wh-why do you look at me like that? Is something on me?"
"No. Let's go."
We were on our way back when Yuri, as if she'd suddenly remembered something, grabbed my arm and shoved her paper bag at me.
"Ah, hold on, you go ahead!"
"Huh? What about you?"
"I, I have somewhere to stop by for a moment! Take this for me!"
"What about dinner?"
"I can skip dinner~"
With that, Yuri dashed off somewhere. Well, it was probably fine since I had the minimap. Where on earth was that girl going?
The moment Reni saw Yuri disappear, she smoothly linked her arm with mine and smiled brightly. It would have been really nice if she hadn't been wrapping her other arm around her stomach.
Just what kind of book had she bought to go this far? Had she really bought a book on how to lie well?
#
At last, we returned to the inn, had dinner, and retreated to our respective rooms for some personal time. Tonight was my first proper night with Yuri. I had to prepare. Candles for atmosphere, an aromatherapy candle and wine for relaxation, and lotion. Rose petals... were a bit much, right? I'd skip it.
Anyway, tonight wasn't like before, where we were rushing or going at it hot and heavy. We had to take it step by step, so I had to set the mood at least this much...
-Knock, knock
"Y-Yoo-jin?"
"Yeah?"
Opening the door revealed Reni, fidgeting with her fingers in front of me.
"What's up?"
"Ah, um, well..."
"Yeah?"
"Y-Yuri seems like she's going to be la-late tonight... s-so before that...."
"Before that?"
"Before that... amplification... pr-practice...."
"..."
As expected of Reni! She never misses a chance, no matter how brief! But...
"Ah... mmm... ngh..."
I kissed Reni and gently persuaded her.
"You know that's a bit of a stretch, right? If we start now and she comes back..."
"Urgh..."
"T-tomorrow, I'll do it however you want, Reni."
"Okay..."
Reni, looking a little dejected, returned to her room.
Hmm. Honestly, I wanted to do it too, but that would have been a breach of etiquette. Reni knew it too, which was why she backed off quietly. Good. Now to light the aroma candle.
Good. I was fully prepared. Tonight, I was going to caress her slowly and sensually from the very beginning until she melted and couldn't take any more. I sat cross-legged with my dick hard and began simulating what was about to happen...
-Knock, knock.
"It's me."
"Ah, yeah. Come in."
Finally, Yuri entered. She was... covered up in something like a raincoat, hiding her appearance.
"What's going on? Did something happ—gah?!"
And underneath that...
"What the f-!"
A goblin! Why was there a goblin?!
I practically jumped out of my skin. Then the goblin lunged at me and reached out its hand, grabbing my dick...!
"Gotcha! You goblin pervert!"
"What?!"
#
"You goblin pervert! Your true colors are revealed!"
...It was Yuri's voice. So this girl had vanished earlier to prepare this.
"See! I knew this would happen! You perverted bastard. To think you had sick sexual desires like this!"
"..."
"You don't want this getting out, do you?! Then from now on, you'll do everything I say... exactly..."
The goblin, seeing that I was saying nothing, started trailing off. My expression at that moment must have been anything but normal.
"Hey."
"...Uh, yeah?"
"First, take that off."
"Uh... yeah..."
When the goblin mask came off, it revealed a face that was sheepish and yet a little indignant. But... what was I supposed to do with this girl...
"Hey... you..."
"Wh-what..."
"...The first time, you did it outside like that, then the next time it was the three of us. After that, I thought I'd been a little too rough, so I reflected on it and prepared all of this..."
Only then did Yuri look around. When she saw all the things I'd prepared, her face looked like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
"And yet you... is that how you treat a person?"
"Guh... s-sorry..."
"Why did you do this?"
"N-no... I just... thought it'd be funny... a-and, back then, you really..."
"Hey!"
"Urk..."
This girl, learning useless knowledge again and trying to shake me down. This was absolutely not something I could let slide!
"Do you think just saying sorry is enough?"
"...Th-then?"
I racked my brain for a moment. This was an attack on me, yes, but at the same time, it was an opportunity!
"...You wronged me, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Then if you do one thing I tell you to, I'll let it slide."
I gave her a sinister smile.