A Sweet Illusion

"Hello, Oraboni."

"..."

At the sudden appearance of the girl, my first instinct was to be on guard.

...But still.

An encounter with a friendly entity. The status window had clearly said so.

And this girl had just defeated the goat-headed monster that was attacking me.

Even if I hadn't quite seen how she did it.

So, could I consider her an ally?

"Who are you? Why did you save me?"

"Ariella's name is Ariella. What's your name, Oraboni?"

"...Edwin. Edwin Faldemont."

"Edin? Ed-win? Ed... Ed-in?"

The girl tilted her head, lisping over the syllables.

I corrected her.

"Edwin."

"Ah, I get it. Edwin. That's how you say it, right? Edwin Oraboni."

"Yeah, so first, could you answer my question..."

"Nice to meet you, Edwin Oraboni!"

She was using that classic kid logic where she only said what she wanted to say.

I couldn't help but chuckle wryly.

"Sure, nice to meet you too. Now, can I ask you something? Why are you in a place like this? And why did you save me?"

"Huh? Ariella has always been here."

"Always? You didn't end up here while dreaming like me? Were you born here?"

Ariella scowled at my questions.

"I don't know! Ariella was just here. From the very beginning."

From the very beginning?

Did she not remember how she got here?

Or was she a native of this world, just like that goat-headed monster from earlier?

Either way, pressing the issue didn't seem like it would yield much.

I went back to my first question.

"Why did you save me?"

"Huh? That thing was bullying you, wasn't it? Or were you guys playing together?"

By 'that thing,' she meant the goat-headed monster. Playing together? Not a chance.

I shook my head. Ariella beamed.

"Right? I could tell you didn't like it, Oraboni. So Ariella punished it. I did good, right?"

"...Yeah. You did great."

"Hehe, you're very welcome!"

It seemed unlikely I'd get any useful information out of this girl. Instead, I opened my status window.

My blessing was gone. It had definitely been the Blessing of Encounter. So that blessing's power was what allowed me to meet this girl?

I turned my gaze to the bonds section. Sister?

Come to think of it, she did call me Oraboni. Did I have a younger sister I didn't know about?

When I opened the entry, a message appeared.

Rather vague information. Come to think of it, bond details had never been particularly useful.

It felt like a game tooltip just stating the obvious.

"...Useless."

As I muttered in lament, Ariella flinched at my words.

"O-Oraboni... Ariella is useful! Really. You have to believe me."

"What? No, I wasn't talking about you..."

"Ugh, Oraboni. Look at this."

Ariella waved her hand in the air, and a sword materialized in her grasp. What in the world was that?

She waved her hand again, and this time, she held a large book. A magic circle was drawn on its cover.

With one final wave, a sloshing glass bottle appeared, its mouth tightly sealed with a cork.

"What are these?"

"I told you, Ariella is useful. I brought these to give to you, Oraboni."

To give to me? These things? Just then, another notification window popped up.

A trade event. Ah, I see. She was like a merchant NPC. But what was the price...?

"Ariella, are you giving these to me?"

"Yeah. But you have to pay me back, Oraboni."

"A price? What is the price?"

"I don't know. You just have to give me something of value. That's the rule. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like you, Oraboni, but I can't just give you whatever I want."

But I didn't have anything to give. In reality, Edwin was royalty, but in this dream world, he was a penniless beggar.

Tsk, this was tricky.

"But I don't have anything to give you."

"Huh? Oraboni, are you a beggar?"

Look at this kid's attitude. I let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm a beggar. So, can't you just give it to a poor beggar for free?"

"Mmm, I want to, but I can't. There are rules. I always have to get something of equal value in return."

Of course not. I had tried to slide by on her affection for me, but it seemed the 'rules' weren't something she could bend just because she felt like it.

As I pondered my options, the girl spoke up hesitantly.

"Mmm... Okay, fine!"

She set the items down on the ground, crossed her arms, and declared:

"Since you're a beggar, Oraboni, I guess I have no choice. I'm not supposed to do this, but I'll accept something other than an item. Still, I can't give you all of them. You can only choose one."

That was incredibly welcome news. I knew it. Since it was the first shop encounter, she was giving me a break.

Ariella pointed to the items on the ground one by one as she explained them.

"This is the Purifying Sword. It has the power to dispel evil energy and can cut through anything wicked. This is the Tome of the Void. If you read this, you can learn magic that doesn't exist in this world. And finally, this is the Elixir of Mystery. If you drink it, you'll gain the strength to fight swords with your bare hands..."

Okay, skip. In other words, these were the starter weapons.

They weren't exactly Fire, Grass, and Water types, but I got the gist of it.

Warrior, Mage, or Monk?

I hesitated for a moment, but then made my choice without further delay.

"I'll take the Purifying Sword."

"Really? You don't want to think about it more?"

Ariella asked, but I nodded firmly.

My aura manipulation techniques in this world worked exactly the same as in reality.

Which meant my abysmal magic aptitude would likely carry over as well.

The Elixir of Mystery didn't seem bad, but this world was ultimately a game dominated by swords and magic. There were barely any top-tier martial artists in the original novel.

I nodded once more.

"Yeah. I'll go with the sword."

"Okay. You seem smart, Oraboni, so I'm sure you have a plan. Hmm."

She nodded in agreement.

"But you said I had to pay with something else. What do I need to do?"

"Ah, that. Well..."

Ariella grinned as she replied.

"Hmm... Give me a kiss on the cheek, Oraboni. That will pay for the sword."

"...A kiss? Is that really enough?"

"Yep. Do you see how much I like you now, Oraboni?"

An unexpected answer. I was sure she'd make me do some quest.

Ariella smiled shyly, placing a hand on her cheek and giggling.

"So do it quickly, before I change my mind!"

"...Alright. You're sure that's enough?"

"I said it is! Hurry!"

When I gently pressed my lips to her cheek, Ariella squealed with laughter.

"Oh my goodness! This is so embarrassing!"

After her dramatic display of giggles, Ariella picked up the sword and handed it to me.

"Great! Take this, Oraboni. And as a bonus tip, keep in mind that different rules apply every time you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enter a new room. Remember that every single room in Sheol is dangerous."

The girl's tone, lighthearted at first, grew increasingly serious.

Her warning raised a question in my mind.

"But this room doesn't seem dangerous."

"Ah, because this isn't a room! It's like a crevice between the rooms. That's why lost goats like that one earlier can wander in."

She turned around after saying this.

"Mmm, I'd love to hang out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with you longer, Oraboni, but this space is a bit unstable. You should leave quickly. The exit door is over there."

Holding the sword, I was ushered toward the door by Ariella's nudging hands.

What is even happening? I should check my status window once I get out. I'm curious about the new quests too...

Just before I left, Ariella whispered to me.

"Don't forget, Oraboni. Every space here is dangerous. They will try to kill you. You must keep that in mind."

"Right... But who on earth are you—"

"Ah, ah, just go! We'll talk next time. See you later, Oraboni!"

Ariella said with a smile, and as I opened the door—

.

.

.

.

.

"Lord. Please wake up. Mmph... Ah."

I woke up from the dream to the sensation of Thalia kissing me.

What is this? A kiss? What on earth... is going... on?

"..."

Ah, right. The morning kiss. That's right. Thalia always woke me up with a kiss in the morning.

"Mmph, mm... Haa."

Her tongue slid smoothly against mine. A soft, careful movement. I happily accepted the sensation.

"Mmm... Thalia."

"Are you awake, Lord?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

Thalia stared intently at me.

"What's wrong?"

"C-Could we do it a little more?"

Thalia leaned in shyly. Fine by me. I claimed her lips once again.

"Mmph... Haa—Thank you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lord. We should head out now."

She gently pushed me away, trying to hide her flushed cheeks. I nodded.

Thalia really loved me too much.

"By the way, Lord. Last night... did I please you enough?"

Last night? Please me? ...Ah, right. I had spent a wonderful time with her yesterday.

No matter how many times we did it, Thalia clung to me so persistently that we ended up spending the entire night tangled together.

Hmm. But was Thalia always this physically affectionate?

"Thalia, you're quite bold today."

"Am I? You're the one acting strange today, Lord."

She gave my cheek a light peck. Hmm, was I? Well, Thalia loved me. It was only natural for us to be this close.

I pulled her into a tighter embrace.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to hold you."

"Ah... Please don't say such embarrassing things."

Thalia's ears turned bright red. I playfully toyed with her earlobe.

Seriously. This was a dream-like daily life. If this was a dream, I'd never want to wake up. Wouldn't you?

Humming to myself, I took a step forward.