Chapter 194: Crying Out Love in the Heart of the City
Chapter 194: Crying Out Love in the Heart of the City
“Wait, Diana!”
“You all, stop them!”
“W-What?!”
Sara, who hadn’t been affected by the spell, tried to block her path, but Diana actually used the leaders of the Mage Association as a human shield.
Can she really do that? Despite how they look, aren't they supposed to be pretty important people?
“Now, let’s go while we have the chance!”
Diana grabbed my hand and pulled me right out of the mansion.
Everything happened so fast that I found myself following her out in a daze.
It was only when we were far enough away that the mansion was out of sight that I finally stopped walking.
“Wait, hold on. Diana.”
Having been dragged out of the mansion by Diana, I stopped her.
“What is it?”
“How are you going to deal with the fallout from this later?”
“Why should I worry about that? Isn't it your responsibility to handle it?”
To my worried question, Diana replied with shameless audacity.
“W-What did you say?!”
“Were you planning on building a harem without being able to handle something like this?”
“…Let’s go back! Right now!”
Honestly, if I had to take responsibility for this situation, I had no confidence I could smooth things over.
I should go back to Leia right now and…
“…Are you serious?”
“Of course I am! Even someone as angelic as Leia would be furious about this!”
“…Is that so. I understand. Let us go back.”
Surprisingly, Diana agreed readily, without any resistance.
“Huh? Really?”
She agreed so easily that I was the one who was surprised and had to ask again.
“Mm. I suppose I shall be left all alone on the day I offered my first kiss, left to lament my fate.”
Diana spoke forlornly, her expression as pitiful as a tragic heroine’s.
“You’re not fine at all!”
“Isn’t that obvious! Did you think I would be?! It seems you still don’t understand how important a kiss is to me! Of course I’m not fine! If we go back now, I’ll curse you for all eternity!”
At my shout, Diana’s forlorn expression instantly twisted into a fiery one as she snapped back.
“Don’t say such scary things! When you talk about curses, it doesn’t sound like an empty threat!”
“It’s not a threat!”
That’s even more of a problem!
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be a coward who lies about his current feelings because he’s afraid of the future?”
“No, but, this is different from that…”
“How is it different?! Are you saying it’s fine because even if I’m left alone, you still have Leia?!”
“W-Why would you say that! Of course not! Fine! Let’s not go back today, just the two of us!”
In the end, I had no choice but to make a decision.
Sorry, Leia. I’ll definitely make this up to you, no matter what.
“…Really? What are you going to tell Leia?”
As soon as I made my decision, Diana asked in a slightly worried tone.
Do you want to go back or not? If you were going to worry the moment I said we shouldn't go, you shouldn't have started this in the first place.
Well, I can understand why you did it, which is why I made this decision.
And what am I going to tell Leia? Of course I haven’t thought about that!
If you want to enjoy the present, you have to leave the future to Future Me!
“I don’t know! Let’s just go!”
“Go where?”
“Anywhere! Somewhere that feels like a date! We can’t just stand around here forever, can we?”
“A d-date…”
“Yeah! Want to link arms?”
When I offered my arm, Diana hesitated for a moment before gently taking it.
Just a moment ago she was dragging me along so forcefully, but now that she was conscious of it, she seemed shy about linking arms.
With Diana’s arm linked through mine, I simply started wandering into any shop that caught my eye.
We bought and ate various tasty-looking street foods and went window shopping as we strolled around.
“That looks delicious, too. Want some, Diana?”
“U-Um.”
“Ah, but it looks like a big portion. Should we buy one and share?”
“Y-Yes, let’s.”
Throughout all this, Diana was noticeably quieter than usual.
Why is she being so shy? It’s so unlike her.
“How long are you going to keep being shy?”
“W-What makes you think I’m being shy?”
“Anyone can see you’re shy. You’re being quiet and not saying anything, which is unlike you.”
“Just what do you take me for! I am, by nature, the pinnacle of mages—taciturn and dignified!”
Yeah, right. Usually, she’ll get excited and chatter on about any little thing I ask.
“Right, right. Well, at least for our date, could you please open that dignified mouth of yours? It feels like I’m the only one having fun. Or what? Are you not enjoying yourself, Diana?”
“N-No! That’s not it! I’m enjoying myself plenty!”
“Then don’t be so quiet. Try to show that you’re having fun. Here, you decide where we go next. Is there anywhere you want to go?”
It might be better to just go wherever Diana wanted to go.
After all, I was just picking places that caught my eye.
Diana probably knew a lot of good spots that I didn’t.
“A place I want to go? Even if you ask… hmm… Not really. You can just decide.”
“Aw, come on. Don’t be like that. You really can’t think of a single place?”
“W-What do you expect! This is my first time on a date!”
Hey, it’s not like I’m any different. The only dates I’ve been on have been with you girls.
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
Sometimes a man has to show some pointless bravado.
…Though that bravado is what led to that whole thing with Felicia.
Anyway, since Diana said that, I decided to just go back to wandering wherever we felt like.
As we were walking, a particular shop suddenly caught my eye.
“Hm? Diana, what kind of shop is that?”
Unlike the other stores, it had no windows, so you couldn’t see inside at all.
I wondered if it was a warehouse, but there was no way something like that would be in a shopping district like this. It was tucked away in a corner, but it was definitely a shop in the commercial area.
Most importantly, there was a proper sign on the building. It said “Philip’s Shop,” a name that gave no clue as to what it sold.
“Hm? I’ve never seen this shop before either.”
Diana didn’t seem to have any idea either.
Should we go in and take a look?
“Welcome. Oho, are you a couple? My, what a rare pair of customers we have today.”
As soon as we entered the shop, a suspicious voice greeted Diana and me.
And I immediately realized what kind of place this was.
It would be strange not to realize after seeing this.
The shelves inside the shop were lined with dildos of all shapes and sizes.
“Th-This place is…?!”
The moment she stepped inside, Diana’s body went rigid, as if she’d been petrified.
“I can’t believe it was this kind of shop.”
“Oh my. Did you come in without knowing? You must be very curious people. But since you’ve come all this way, why not have a look around?”
“Sure, why not.”
“W-What?!”
I led the startled Diana further into the shop.
To be honest, I was a little curious myself.
I’d never been inside an adult toy store, not even before coming to this world.
My heart pounding slightly with excitement, I began to look around.
The display of dildos had the biggest impact, so it was the first thing I noticed, but there were plenty of other interesting items as well.
Things like gels, and rings that looked like they were meant to be worn on… something.
“This looks interesting. I wonder if it really feels better if you use this?”
“H-How would I know! Don’t ask me things like that! Besides, you don’t need anything like that, do you!”
“Hmph. Of course not. Things like that are only for losers with no confidence in themselves. Someone like me has no need for them.”
“Right! You’re amazing! So let’s get out of here!”
“Why? Let’s look around a bit more. It’s interesting.”
Diana seemed desperate to leave, but I decided to browse a little longer.
Looking around the shop, I saw that besides dildos, most of the items were sexual aids for men.
This really drove home how much the men of this world must struggle.
After all, in this world, women couldn’t just fake it.
You could tell immediately by whether or not you gained experience points.
Even if they weren’t doing it to level up, it must be incredibly demoralizing to be the only one finishing every time.
They must want to make women feel pleasure, even if it means using things like this.
And yet, seeing how many high-level adventurers were women, it seemed these tools weren’t very effective.
Wait, if you use these tools to bring your partner to climax, do you even get the full experience points?
Using a weapon in battle isn’t cheating, so maybe using a tool like this is fine and you get the full EXP.
Then again, you didn’t make them feel it with your own abilities, so maybe the EXP is halved?
I don’t know. This is something I’ll have to test properly.
“Shopkeeper. I’ll take this one, and this one… oh, should I get this too?”
“Didn’t you just say you don’t need them! Why are you trying to buy them! You’re more than enough without them, so let’s just go!”
“Thanks. But it feels rude to come all this way and leave without buying anything.”
In the end, I stubbornly bought a few items.
“Thank you. Please come again.”
I wanted to look around more, but Diana was nagging me so much that I had to just grab a few things that caught my eye and leave.
I should remember this place and come back alone later.
“Alright then, Diana.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s test them out right now.”
“I knew it! This is why I wanted to leave!”
“But aren’t you curious too, Diana? About whether you still get full experience points even if you use a tool.”
“You don’t! Isn’t that obvious!”
“How would you know that? Don’t tell me, Diana…!”
“I’ve never tried it! Do you have to try everything to know about it?! I know because I’ve heard stories!”
“I see. Anyway, that means these things are completely useless for leveling up. So what’s that shop even for?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?! It’s a shameless shop that exists purely for the sake of pleasure!”
I see. So that’s why Diana was so reluctant to be there.
“But Diana, try to think about it differently. It’s not shameful that we went into that shop together.”
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
“Think about it. If we weren’t serious about each other, would we buy tools like this that don’t even help with leveling up? Going in there together means we’re a couple who can pursue pleasure without worrying about levels. It’s like we were advertising to the world how much we love each other.”
“Th-That’s!”
“Right? It was the perfect place to visit to commemorate us getting together, wasn’t it?”
“Ugh… ugh! You and your silver tongue…!”
Diana muttered, still unconvinced.
Alright. Time to ride this momentum!
“In that spirit, shall I try these items out on my beloved Diana right away?”
“I knew it! That’s why you were sweet-talking me!”
“Don’t say that. I was being sincere when I said I love you. So, hmm? It’s okay, right?”
“F-Fine! I get it, so stop shoving those things at me! First, let’s find an inn…”
“Who has time to look for an inn?”
I grabbed Diana’s hand and pulled her into a deserted alley.
Perfect. No one’s passing by.
“Y-You, d-don’t tell me you’re planning to do it here?”
“Hm? I am.”
“Are you an idiot! Do you really think I would do it in a place like this!”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?”
“Do you really have to ask! What if someone walks by!”
“We can just show them proudly. That we’re a couple so in love…”
“Don’t think you can get away with anything just by saying that!”
Tch. So that didn’t work.
Alright, then this time…
“Diana. Listen carefully. Doing it here isn’t for my sake. It’s for you. Why can’t you see that?”
I tried mimicking what Diana had said earlier.
She said it herself, so it should work, right?
“What are you talking about now?”
“Doing it here will help with your… proclivities.”
“Are you still on about that! Didn’t I tell you that’s not it! I wondered what grand reason you had for quoting my own words back at me! I was a fool for even considering it for a second! No, you’re the fool!”
“You’re right. I am a fool. A fool who only knows Dia—”
“Are you going to keep spouting nonsense!”
I was being a little sincere there…
Anyway, I’m not giving up yet.
I put on a serious expression again and spoke to Diana.
“Diana. We’re going to be together for the rest of our lives, so let’s be honest with each other. Honestly, you…”
“I told you that’s not it!”
It seemed Diana was determined not to admit it.
Alright. In that case, I’ll put off using the things I just bought.
First, I’m going to make her be honest with herself.