Shopping Begins
Having secured a promise of expense support for the duration of our stay, I returned to the room and woke Hana, who was sprawled out asleep.
“Stop sleeping and get up. Let's go shopping.”
But Hana, still drunk on sleep, didn't rise right away.
“Ugh... what a pain... just go with Selena, the two of you...”
She answered in a sleep-slurred voice and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
“We need to buy clothes too. You were just summoned—you don't even have spare clothes, do you?”
When I tugged the blanket down a little to persuade her again, Hana snatched it back and pulled it over her head as she spoke.
“There's the clothes I took off... just take those and have them make the same ones...”
With strength incomparable to an F-rank, she stole the blanket from me with absurd ease, leaving me staring at the dolphin shorts and T-shirt rolling on the floor.
Dolphin shorts that, though it might not have been their original purpose, possessed a certain charm that stimulated something in a man. A thin T-shirt that, paired with the dolphin shorts, claimed to be worn free and unadorned, yet paradoxically stimulated a man's libido all the more.
It wasn't bad, but I had no desire to keep dressing her in a combination whose defense was a little lacking, so I tossed out bait that might change the mind of Hana, who was still clutching the blanket tightly.
“Come on, get up. We need to get you a weapon too, don't we? Hamel's a pretty big city, and trade is lively, so there should be plenty of decent weapons.”
Hana, still under the blanket, poked her head out and asked,
“Will there be dual swords?”
What the hell is that... no, what is that?
I had no idea what dual swords were—Hana, who had never shown interest in weapons before, was talking about them—but I nodded anyway.
“There should be. This is the kingdom's greatest trading port, after all. I heard at breakfast that the count said if it's not here, it doesn't exist on the continent.”
Borrowing the count's boasting about Hamel, I floated a blank check, and after a moment's thought, Hana quietly sat up.
As she rose, the blanket, unable to defy gravity, slid down naturally, revealing her ample breasts still covered in the marks of the previous night.
The elasticity was no joke...
Looking at those breasts, still full of red marks from how I'd deliberately gripped harder out of spite at the springy resistance that tried to push my fingers away, I was recalling the sensation from last night when Hana climbed down from the bed, roughly wiped her body with a towel, and put on her clothes.
“Huh? Underwear?”
When I pointed at the bra and panties strewn on the floor, Hana, covering her body with only the T-shirt and dolphin shorts, answered nonchalantly.
“We'll just buy underwear first.”
As she finished speaking and walked toward the door, her breasts swayed especially largely.
Mmm...
Admiring the heavy movement with my eyes, I left the room with everyone, and several maids were waiting for us.
Mmm... the low defense is a flaw, but classic maid outfits are nice too.
“What's the matter?”
Appreciating the outfit where black and white blended exquisitely, I asked, and a maid who looked relatively older stepped forward slightly and bowed as she answered.
“The count has instructed us to deliver funds to the guest. Here.”
In the hand of the politely speaking maid was a stack of papers about the size of a palm, bound like a notepad, with seals stamped in one corner.
“Checks?”
I had expected a pouch of gold or silver coins, but seeing the paper bundle, I spoke, and the maid nodded.
“Yes. The count said it would be more convenient than carrying coins and gave these to us.”
Well, certainly better than clinking around with heavy coins. Knowing from experience that even the weight of a few silver coins was hard to ignore, I took the checks.
“Then, this way. We'll guide you to the carriage. You lot, start cleaning.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
Following the head maid who gave orders to the maids and set off, what awaited us was a luxurious four-horse carriage.
“Ah... the ride quality is gonna suck...”
With Hana grumbling the moment she saw the carriage, we all climbed aboard, and the coachman showed his face through a small window and asked,
“Where shall I take you?”
“First, to a women's clothing store, please.”
Hehe... clothes with reeeally high defense... hehe... sturdy clothes...
Sitting on the soft seats, imagining Hana and Selena dressed in clothes boasting overwhelming defense, the carriage came to a stop.
“We've arrived. This is a place directly run by Linda Dawson, one of the kingdom's foremost designers, especially enjoying overwhelming support from young women these days, so you'll be able to find clothes that suit your tastes perfectly.”
Leaving the coachman's unsolicited information behind, we got out of the carriage and entered the three-story building with the sign 'Linda' hanging out front.
“Thank you for visiting the kingdom's finest fashion shop, 'Linda'. How may I assist you?”
A female clerk in a sleek black suit greeted us politely.
“I'd like to buy some underwear for these girls and a high-defense robe for her to wear...”
“Fufu. This way. First, I'll guide you to a place with underwear that will suit the two of you perfectly—underwear that will make the customer very happy.”
Glancing at Selena and Hana with a subtle smile, the clerk answered, and beyond the curtain we followed her through, a new world unfolded.
Mannequins wearing bras and panties made entirely of sheer material that left the bare skin completely visible, ones wearing bras that barely covered half the breasts and panties smaller than a palm that covered the pussy, ones with cups split vertically long to expose the nipples and areolae and panties split vertically to bare the pussy completely, ones with bras that only barely supported the underside of the breasts and panties with holes only in the most important pussy part that needed covering, ones wrapped only in string bras and panties—
Wow...
Looking around at the mannequins clad in lewd lingerie that put strength into my cock just from looking, and others with relatively less exposure but gorgeous lingerie, I was inwardly admiring when the clerk walking ahead turned to us and said,
“How do you like them? This is the lingerie brand 'Great Secret' that Miss Linda especially cares for. It's the brand most preferred by lovers and newlyweds. Would the customer like to pick designs that seem to suit your lovers?”
Hearing the pride in the clerk's voice, I forgot even to correct that they weren't lovers and imagined Selena and Hana wearing the various lingerie on the mannequins standing under the soft lighting.
—Gulp.
Naturally swallowing the saliva that had pooled in my mouth, I began picking out every piece of lingerie that made my cock react.
“This one... and this one... hmm... this too... ah! Almost forgot this. And...”
As I shopped for a long while, gulping, Hana, who had been following while telling me the sizes, said,
“Hey. Take it easy, take it easy. We're going to be wandering around for a while until we get a base, so what's the point of buying this many underwear? You said you'd buy other clothes too. Are you going to carry them all yourself?”
Hearing Hana's scolding and turning my head, I saw the clerk holding four large paper bags.
Uh... did I... pick a bit too many?
“Ahem. I-I picked a little too many. Th-then shall we go buy robes now?”
“Haa...”
When I cleared my throat awkwardly and spoke, Hana sighed and took a relatively modest lingerie set from the paper bags—a half-cup bra with a T-back panty smaller than a palm—and went into the fitting room.
A short while later, Hana emerged with the movement of her prominent bulges much calmer.
“Th-then please show us some robes now.”
When I spoke, the clerk, who had missed a chance to raise sales further, showed a slight look of regret as she opened her mouth.
“I could introduce a good porter... ah, no. Hoho. Then this way.”
Following the clerk who led the way with an awkward smile up to the second floor, mannequins wearing outerwear came into view.
The clerk continued walking to where the mannequins in robes were gathered and began explaining the features of the displayed robes.
“This robe cinches the waist to emphasize a graceful line...”
“This robe has a slit below the chest to match the currently popular underboob fashion...”
“This robe has long side slits to show off sleek leg lines...”
“This robe applies a cleavage look for a rich mature beauty...”
Why is she only showing things that are barely different from what Selena is wearing now? Did she forget I asked for high-defense robes?
Feeling doubt toward the clerk who was introducing only robes that, while looking luxurious at a glance, had defense lower than or not much different from the robe Selena had customized herself to raise defense—by cutting a hole in the lower abdomen to reveal the womb tattoo—I carefully said,
“Um... something with high defense...”
“Ah. Understood, customer. This way. I'll introduce robes made of a bit thicker fabric.”
I asked for high defense and this is the nonsense I get?
Flustered by the clerk's absurd words, I shook my head and spoke again.
“No, no. I'm asking you to introduce robes with high defense.”
The clerk, who had been about to move and stopped at my words, smiled awkwardly and said,
“Haha... c-customer? Th-that's why, robes made of thick material...”
Feeling frustration at the clerk who kept going on about thick material while trying to introduce low-defense robes, I shouted,
“No. High defense!High exposure! Introduce me to sturdy robes that make you wonder if they're clothes or just scraps of cloth stuck on!!”