Our Own Party (1)
“Luna-nim. I bought the ingredients! Where should I put these?”
“Claire. You’re here? It’ll still take some time to finish preparing, so put them in the fridge for now.”
“Yes!”
Claire, her arms loaded with shopping baskets, poked her head out from beside the one blocking her view and stepped inside the building.
It was a mountain of meat and vegetables that would easily feed an ordinary person living alone for half a month.
But in this fantasy world, it would disappear in no time.
Even if we couldn’t finish it quickly, it didn’t matter. We had a fridge.
It wasn’t just keeping things cold—the fridge was enchanted with Preservation magic, making it the ultimate dream appliance for anyone living on their own.
Raw meat would stay perfectly fine for a whole month without any special treatment. Not that I’d ever left it that long.
“Luna. Come take a look at this.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Theo called me from the storage shed. What now?
“Doesn’t this look pretty useful?”
What Theo proudly held up was a barrel sliced vertically in half.
A barbecue grill.
This was my first time seeing one in real life, too.
“Whoa. Where did you find that?”
“I was rummaging through the shed to see if there was anything worth using and it turned up.”
“It’s a little old, but if we clean it properly it should work fine.”
“Right? I’ll get it cleaned up.”
“Do you know where the faucet is?”
“There’s one in the yard, isn’t there?”
“That one’s broken and doesn’t work. Use the one in the back yard.”
“Really? I’ll have to fix it later then.”
Creak. Creak.
Theo dragged the squeaky barbecue grill toward the back yard.
Thank goodness we had a grill. We didn’t have any proper tools for cooking outside before.
I’d been considering grilling in the kitchen and carrying everything out, or even going full wild and roasting over a bonfire. Having a grill would make things much easier.
“Let’s see… Meat and vegetables are ready. Cleaning’s mostly done… Do we have alcohol? Yeah, we do.”
Preparations were almost complete.
What else was left?
Oh. I should bring out some chairs for the table. We might want to sit and rest midway through.
I headed back into the building to grab them.
…….
The party preparations went smoothly.
Once Faye arrived we could start right away.
She had been called in by Professor Ines again today, just like yesterday.
From the atmosphere when she left, it didn’t seem like she was under any special suspicion or in trouble. No need to worry.
Still, she was taking longer than I expected.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Faye showed up.
“I’m here~! I’m not too late, am I? I had to change clothes!”
Her voice was as bright and cheerful as always.
“No, you’re not late… Huh?”
When I turned toward the voice, I froze in surprise.
Faye looked completely different from usual.
A thin dress cut daringly low in both the back and the chest.
The fabric was so sheer that the silhouette of her body showed straight through it.
“F-Faye. What on earth are you wearing?”
“Hm? This? You said it was a party, so I wore it. Wait… Luna, you’re dressed exactly the same as usual?”
On the contrary, Faye looked back at me like she couldn’t understand why I was still in my regular clothes.
“Well, there wasn’t really any reason to change… Ah.”
I finally caught on to what she meant.
“Faye. Exactly what kind of party were you imagining?”
“What kind? The kind where food is laid out everywhere, men and women in beautiful and stylish clothes are dancing… Isn’t that what a party is?”
“Oh boy…”
What I had meant by “party” was just us getting together to eat, drink, laugh, and chat.
It seemed Faye had been picturing one of those fancy noble social gatherings.
That was a little different.
Actually… maybe it wasn’t that different? We’d still be eating, drinking, and talking either way.
Faye seemed to realize the conversation had taken an unexpected turn.
“Uh. Did I get it wrong? Should I go change again?”
“No, no. It looks great on you. Stay just like that.”
It was completely unexpected, but still.
Wait a second.
Wasn’t this actually a pretty good opportunity?
If I was being honest, there had been something bothering me for a while.
I thought Theo was way too passive.
Come on, isn’t it normal for a healthy young guy who obtains a hypnosis ability to go around banging everything that moves?
It didn’t seem like he was holding back because of how far the ability could reach, either.
I wished he would be a little more aggressive. That part had been disappointing.
The more he used it, the stronger the hypnosis ability would grow.
Among the heroines, there were plenty of women who would be difficult to add to the harem.
Women with high status, or incredibly strong pride. The type who would struggle to accept becoming just one of many women for a single man.
For girls like that, you’d need hypnosis that at minimum made them accept the harem. But since they were heroines too, their stats were extremely high.
Leveling up the hypnosis ability was absolutely necessary.
Yet Theo barely used it. At least from what I’d seen, the only thing he’d done was make Faye give him a handjob.
So Faye showing up in an outfit like this was a fantastic idea.
It was hot as hell.
Anyway, it wasn’t like there was anything wrong with Theo’s sexual function. If it got him worked up, wouldn’t he use hypnosis to have his way with her?
“Actually, this is perfect. Faye. Really perfect.”
“Ehehe. You think so?”
When I showered her with praise, she smiled shyly and fidgeted with her fingers.
Aww. So cute.
Let me praise her even more.
“Faye coming in such a pretty dress really livens up the atmosphere. We don’t know anything about noble parties anyway. This way we can still get a feel for the vibe, right?”
“Hehehe… I’m glad you like it.”
“Yeah. It’s incredibly pretty. That’s our Faye. You look amazing in high-class clothes too!”
“Hehet. No, you’re the one who’s super pretty, Luna. Oh! Luna, do you want to try on a dress like this too?”
“…Eh?”
What did she just say?
“I happen to have a few spare dresses with me. If you go change quickly it won’t take long at all!”
“Eh, um, wait. That’s…”
“Luna’s even prettier than me, so it’ll definitely look better on you. Wow, I can’t wait!”
Excuse me?
Me?
In that dress?
“No, Faye, that’s… Look, it’s a little awkward to say this, but our sizes are pretty different, aren’t they? I’d hate to ruin a perfectly good dress by trying it on.”
Our heights were different. Our chests and hips were different. There was practically nothing similar about us.
Anyone could see at a glance that Faye’s clothes wouldn’t fit me. I tried to refuse, but…
“It’s fine! They’re expensive dresses, so they have size-adjustment functions! Isn’t that amazing?”
“Ah, uh, yeah… That really is… amazing…”
There was no escape. Damn this fantasy world.
My excited mood crashed in an instant.
Where exactly had I gone wrong?
Should I have just given moderate praise and moved on? Or maybe the real mistake was thinking that seeing Faye in that dress and using it to get Theo worked up was a brilliant plan.
Whoever makes others horny should be prepared to get horny themselves…
Goddammit.
“Oh? Faye-nim. You’ve arrived?”
“Claire! Hi! I’m going to borrow Luna for a bit!”
“Of course. I’ll let Theo-nim know.”
“Wait, wait! Faye, wouldn’t it be better to bring Claire along too? It would make the atmosphere even better!”
Now that it had come to this, I couldn’t be the only one suffering. With that thought, I tried to drag Claire into it.
With one more person, I’d feel that much less embarrassed.
But it didn’t work.
“Come on, Claire is a holy knight candidate. We can’t force a member of the clergy to wear something different.”
“What about me?!”
“You’re not clergy, are you? Come on. Let’s go!”
Resistance was pointless.
I was dragged off by Faye’s hand like a rabbit dangling by its ears after being caught by a hunter.
…….
“Wow. So fucking hot.”
“Hm? Luna, did you say something?”
“Nothing.”
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.
Honestly, the sight of me in a party dress was extremely ho— no, extremely pretty.
The charm that came from a look I’d never worn before. Can you understand how arousing this is?
“Perfect. Let’s head back! Everyone must be waiting!”
“Ah…”
The excitement I’d felt while admiring how pretty I looked plummeted straight to the floor.
It wasn’t just about wearing the dress and taking screenshots. I actually had to go to the party like this now.
Ughhhhh…
At least the fact that it was a small, private party with just the four of us was some comfort. Otherwise I might have died from embarrassment.
I moved toward the hideout, careful not to attract any outside attention.
In the front yard where party preparations were nearly finished, Claire was waiting.
The moment she saw me, her expression shifted through a whole spectrum of emotions. What did that mean?
“Wow! Luna-nim! It looks amazing on you!”
So it was a good reaction!
“R-really? You think so? Hehe.”
I’d been embarrassed at first, but after hearing so much praise, I started to feel pretty good.
After all, I was still human. There was no way compliments would make me feel bad.
“But where’s Theo?”
“He hasn’t come back yet.”
“Cleaning the grill must be taking longer than expected. Should we drink something while we wait? Claire, could you bring over what’s on that side?”
“Yes! …Luna-nim. This is alcohol, though?”
“Even better. No, it’s better precisely because it’s alcohol.”
How could I stay sane looking like this? Borrowing a little courage from alcohol seemed like the smarter choice.
“We’ll save the expensive stuff for the actual party. For now let’s just have some simple beer.”
“Beer, beer… Here it is.”
After knocking back a few glasses while chatting, I gradually began to relax.
Yeah. What’s good is good, right? Hehe.
Since it had come to this, I might as well enjoy it.
A short while later, the sound of wheels rolling came from the back yard.
Rumble.
Theo returned, pulling the grill that now made a much smoother sound than when he had first taken it out of the shed.
“Sorry. Cleaning the grill plate itself took longer than I thought… Whoa?!”
Theo had been shaking the now-spotless grill plate like he was showing off evidence, but his eyes suddenly widened.
“Hey. You’re back? We started drinking first. We haven’t opened the expensive stuff yet, so don’t worry.”
“Ah, no. That’s fine, but… what are you wearing?”
“This? When I said it was a party, Faye lent it to me. See? Faye’s wearing something similar, right?”
I pushed Faye forward.
“How is it? Pretty, right? It suits her well, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. It suits her nicely.”
“Hehe…”
Faye, having received Theo’s compliment, twisted her body shyly.
Aww. Our Faye really is adorable.
Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Since Theo’s here, let’s start right away! Put the grill over here! I’ll go get the meat!”
The party begins!