Chapter 192: A Corner of the Shop
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192: A Corner of the Shop
Silence settled between the woman and me.
Even so, her gaze never left me. It was the kind of look one might give when observing a curious creature.
Just then, our eyes met through her hood.
Her eyes, tinged with an unidentifiable curiosity, were red.
‘...A noble?’
Even the hair I glimpsed was pink.
Red eyes and pink hair. Based on my experience, this woman had to be a noble.
[Would you like to use Unicorn’s Gaze on the target?]
[Y/N]
Getting involved with a high noble would be a pain, so I decided to use the skill just to find out her name.
[Y]
But the result that appeared before me was far beyond my imagination.
[Elisabeth Francesca Nivia
Status: Virgin]
It was a name I’d never heard before, yet it felt familiar somehow.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me as Amelia’s face flashed through my mind.
‘Amelia Claris Orsia...’
When I first met Amelia, I had guessed her identity from her surname.
The woman before me was Elisabeth Francesca Nivia.
And I was currently in the Nivia Kingdom.
‘...’
I thought I finally understood who this woman was.
She wasn't just any noble, not even a high-ranking one.
She was of a much higher station: royalty of the Nivia Kingdom.
‘...Is this for real?’
The back of my head felt numb.
Was it even possible to run into a princess in a gloomy back-alley shop, not even in the noble district?
This was too much of a coincidence.
“Talking back to me... You don’t seem to be in your right mind...” the princess muttered to herself, looking at me.
It wasn't anger at a commoner who had bantered with her, but more like an observation born of interest.
“Hey.”
After muttering to herself with her head down for a moment, the princess’s attention returned to me.
“How long do you plan on holding my hand?”
“Ah.”
Only then did I release her hand.
It was a shame about the book, but it wasn't valuable enough to argue with a princess over.
Besides, on closer inspection, it looked more like a guidebook than a magic tome.
“Being a commoner, you have no qualms about harassing a woman, I see.”
Harassment for just placing my hand on hers? I was dumbfounded.
“...My apologies. It seems we were both reaching for the same book.”
But now that I knew she was royalty, I had to avoid escalating things over a petty argument.
Just in case, I extended my senses to check our surroundings, but I couldn't feel the presence of any guards.
Nor were there any servants waiting outside the shop.
In other words, the princess had come to a shop in this remote alley all by herself.
‘...Is she sane?’
Even if this was the capital, this world’s sense of morality was stuck in the Middle Ages.
Naturally, security outside the main streets was abysmal.
In the cities I’d traveled through so far, it was common to see bloodstains splattered across back alleys, and in worse places, unidentified bodies were sometimes left lying around.
This meant that anyone, royal or noble, wandering alone was likely to get caught up in crimes like human trafficking.
Was she overconfident or just fearless?
‘There are much better shops in the noble district. Why would she come all the way out here?’
Suddenly, the title of the book I had been eyeing came to mind.
[Magic to Become Good at Sex]
The purpose of the book was obvious to anyone who saw the title.
What if a princess, not even a noble lady, bought a book like this from a shop in the noble district?
It wouldn't be surprising if rumors spread throughout the capital within a week.
‘Well... when I was young, I used to sneak around with my friends to watch porn behind the nuns’ backs.’
In any case, the best course of action right now was to avoid getting involved with her.
“Hmm... Strange.”
But the woman, seemingly displeased with my reaction, crossed her arms and stared at me.
Once again, I saw her red eyes through the hood.
“Just a moment ago, you were acting like a wild colt, but now your attitude has completely changed?”
Her eyes held a mixture of emotions.
The most prominent were interest and suspicion.
“You are a noble, are you not?”
In that moment, I was sure of it.
“I was slow to realize and acted rudely. If you would forgive me just this once, my family will remember your grace for generations to come.”
If I stayed here, I would definitely get dragged into something troublesome.
Just as I was backing away, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible...
“You said you wanted to be forgiven?”
A cold, low voice pierced my ears.
Yet, the lips visible beneath her hood were curled into a faint smile.
“Then read this book’s title.”
“...Pardon?”
“Read it.”
It was a command.
To me, it felt like petty revenge against a commoner who had talked back to a princess.
‘...Why is my luck so bad today?’
I swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape.
I didn't want to play along with her childish game, but I couldn't ignore her either.
I calmly collected myself.
Dealing with a woman of her personality was simple.
Either humor her as much as possible or ignore her completely.
The choice for me was obviously the former.
If I chose the latter against a princess, the royal knights might come for me.
“...Magic to Become Good at Sex.”
It felt strange to say it myself, but was it really okay for a princess to be interested in a book like this?
The title was so direct, it didn't fit with this world's preference for metaphorical expressions.
“I believe you may have chosen the wrong book...”
I picked a book from the shelf and pulled it out. It was titled ‘Magic to Make Flowers Bloom.’
“Isn't this the book you were originally looking for?”
She had been caught by a complete stranger trying to buy an obscene book.
It couldn't be a pleasant situation, even for a princess.
I thought it was a reasonable way to handle it, but her reaction was different from what I expected.
“No?”
“...?”
As if she had no sense of shame, the princess held up the book with a smile.
“I came here to buy this.”
“...”
“But you caught me, didn't you?”
A sense of dread washed over me at her somewhat excited tone.
“I’ll take this matter to my grave...”
“Who says you can? I have no intention of forgiving your rudeness. And what about the shame I’ve suffered? I might never be able to marry now.”
Her red eyes, hidden beneath the hood, shone with a bewitching light.
Like a child who had found a fun new toy.
“...What must I do for you to forgive me?”
I wanted to just knock her out and run, but she wasn't an ordinary noble; she was a princess.
Hiding my identity with magic would also be a problem.
There had to be at least one mage in the royal palace more skilled than me.
If such a mage were to track me on the princess’s orders, it would only be a matter of time before I was caught.
As annoying as it was, humoring her for now was the best option.
“Follow me.”
Following her unsettling smile, I moved deeper into the shop.
*
I knew from the start she wasn't normal.
A woman of her station, a princess, wandering through the commoner’s district just to buy a dirty book—it was absurd.
“Take it off.”
“Pardon?”
“Your pants. Take them off.”
But I never imagined it would be to this extent.
“...Are you, by any chance, insane?”
I asked in all seriousness.
Unless she was completely out of her mind, there was no way a princess would give such an order to a man she’d never met.
“Interesting.”
But my reaction seemed to please her, as the smile on her lips widened.
“Fine. I suppose even a man can be shy about taking his clothes off.”
“What kind of bullsh—”
“Shh.”
Closing the distance in an instant, the princess whispered in my ear.
“Don’t raise your voice. What if you wake up the shop owner?”
“...”
Then maybe we shouldn't be doing this?
As I stared at her in disbelief, the princess let out a small laugh.
“You know, I’ve been interested in sexual things since I was a child. It might be my parents’ influence.”
“...”
Were those words that should be coming out of a princess’s mouth?
“A commoner like you wouldn't know, but noble society is incredibly strict. Chastity is a given, and I even had to dance with a family member at my debutante ball. I’ve never even had a proper conversation with a young lord from another family. The only men around are the knights who guard me from a distance.”
“...So you snuck down to the commoner’s district to buy a dirty book?”
“What else could I do? If I asked a maid, it would surely get back to my father.”
Somehow, I felt that would have been a much better option than a princess sneaking into the commoner’s district without any guards to buy a dirty book.
I suppressed the incredulous laugh that tried to escape.
“How do you know I’m not some random thug?”
“Don’t worry about that. I don’t do this with just anyone. Do you think I’m crazy?”
From my perspective, she already seemed plenty crazy.
“That expression again. So insolent.”
The princess pointed a finger at me and let out an amused laugh.
“I just want to see the real thing, so you’ll have to cooperate. Of course, you can refuse if you really don’t want to.”
“I refuse—”
“But then, I’ll keep what happened today in my heart, won't I? I hold a grudge for a very long time, so I might just have to tell my father with tears in my eyes.”
“Is that a threat?”
“That depends on your attitude, doesn't it?”
“Hoo...”
“Oh? Did you just sigh?”
The princess seemed to find every one of my reactions amusingly novel, and it was giving me a headache.
‘...Should I just run for it?’
I’d feel bad for the other three, but if I left the capital quickly, I could probably shake off any pursuers.
Then I could end the matching and come up with a contingency plan later.
But honestly, I didn't want to.
Coming up with a plan was a hassle.
I already had a mountain of things to think about; I didn't need to add anything else.
‘No, wait a minute. Is there even anything to think about?’
My opponent was a princess who had never even held a man’s hand.
If I played along for a bit, she’d probably get tired of it and leave.
Just in case, I cast a silence spell.
“You should just give up and quietly...”
“I understand.”
“...Huh?”
I unbuckled my belt and dropped my pants.
Left in just my underwear, the princess seemed a bit flustered, her words suddenly scarce.
I could feel her gaze fixed on my crotch.
‘So forward for a princess.’
Then again, I’d heard that women, though they don't usually show it, have libidos just as strong as men.
Even Iris, who had been shy like an innocent virgin at first, had become more and more assertive lately.
Anyway, since I’d come this far...
Ssk.
There was no reason to hesitate.
I pulled down my underwear, and my dick was fully exposed.
Even I had to admit it was an unusual size.
“...Gulp.”
Just then, I heard the sound of someone swallowing dryly.
Sure enough, the princess was staring intently at my dick, her head bowed so low I couldn't see her chin.
She looked like an adolescent boy seeing porn for the first time.
“Wow...”
It seemed it really was her first time seeing a dick in person, as she couldn't stop marveling at it.
But why did she seem to be getting closer?
“...This isn’t what I saw in the book.”
“Pardon?”
“I heard it’s supposed to stand up straight like a tree, but why is yours so limp? Are you sick or some—”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Was she trying to call me impotent?
“That’s a phenomenon called an erection, which happens when a man is aroused.”
“An erection...?”
“Normally, it’s small like this. So it doesn’t get in the way of daily life.”
Even as I said it, the absurdity of the situation hit me.
I never thought I’d be giving sex education to the princess of a nation.
“Small? But it looks big.”
“Size varies from person to person. This is small for me.”
It had always been big, but my dick had gotten even bigger after my awakening.
It was one of the things I was proud of.
Anyway, about five minutes passed like that.
“Are we done now?”
It was awkward to keep standing like this, so I was about to put my clothes back on.
Thump!
“...I want to see it.”
“Pardon?”
The princess grabbed my wrist.
“I want to see it erect.”
“...”
Was this woman in her right mind?
As if she’d forgotten her own identity as a princess, she started making ridiculous demands.
“...That might be difficult.”
“Why?”
“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
I gestured around us.
“An erection is a physiological response to arousal. Do you really think it’s possible to get aroused in a place like this?”
“You’re not aroused with me right in front of you?”
The princess tilted her head as if she genuinely couldn't understand.
I was speechless.
Was she overflowing with confidence or just full of self-love?
“No, I’m not. In the first place, wouldn’t getting aroused by a woman with her hood pulled down low mean I have no standards?”
“Hmm...”
Fortunately, the princess faltered at my irrefutable logic.
“So, if you’ll excuse me...”
“Wait!”
I tried to use the opportunity to get dressed, but she stopped me again.
Unable to take it anymore, I raised my head to say something.
Flutter.
“...?”
My eyes met the princess’s.
We had made eye contact a few times, but this was different.
Her hood was off.
Her red eyes and pink hair were clearly visible even in the dim interior of the shop.
As her hair, which reached her shoulder blades, fluttered, I found myself momentarily captivated.
Her title as a nation’s princess was no mere decoration; her beauty was reminiscent of an elf.
Her eyes looked a little fierce, but despite that, my gaze was repeatedly stolen away.
“Still not getting excited?”