Close Enough to Share Underwear
"Hey!! Wait up!!" Alicia shouted, sprinting after Ryude as fast as her legs could carry her. When he finally stopped, she doubled over, hands on her knees, wheezing. "Haa... haa... You cheapskate! How could you just run off by yourself like that!"
"Hm? Why'd you follow me? You could've stayed home."
"What did you even think I was saying? I need to earn money too, you know?"
At those words, Ryude's expression changed. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed off again.
"Argh, you really are the worst!!"
"First one there wins~"
This forest was a danger zone, and no matter how many magic beasts there were, their numbers were still limited. She needed to earn her admission fee too. In other words, they were competitors. If she didn't hurry, every beast in the area would be snatched up. Going deep into the forest was too much of a hassle anyway.
Swish—
"First one down."
An orc was sliced clean in two with a single stroke. Ryude swiftly dug out the mana stone, then searched for his next target.
Boom— Boooom—!!
The forest shook. Birds burst from the trees in a frantic flutter, fleeing into the sky. It sounded like someone on the opposite side was really going all out. Not wanting to lose, Ryude picked up his pace.
After hunting magic beasts like that all day long...
"Huff... huff... How many did you catch?"
"Haa... haa... You tell me first."
With the sun setting in the evening sky, a tense standoff covered in blood began by the stream.
"No helping it. How about we count to three and reveal them together?"
"Fine. No cowardly backing out, got it!?"
"You know it."
"Then one, two, three!!"
Both of them pulled out their bags of mana stones at the same time. They'd both only hunted orcs, so the stones were all the same size. To be honest, bofal bunnies weren't efficient anymore anyway.
"Krr~"
"Ugh!!"
Ryude had eleven. Alicia had nine.
Ryude thrust his arm into the air in a victory pose. Alicia puffed out her cheeks in clear frustration.
"How are you catching fewer than me even while using magic?"
"You cheated with that! If I'd gotten there faster, I would've won by a huge margin!"
"Nah, that's not true. Why are you blaming me for being slow at running?"
"Hmph, anyway, this match doesn't count!"
Alicia whipped her head to the side. Hmm, no matter what, magic can't be all-powerful.
Or maybe it was? Well, putting that aside, her body was far too slender. It wasn't just her small chest. Ryude's gaze drifted down to Alicia's legs. Noticing his stare, she quickly covered her thighs with her hands.
"Hey! Pervert!! Are you going to keep doing that!?"
"Hold on, move your hands."
Squish~
Ryude's hand ran along her thigh. It was soft, sure, but there was almost no muscle. It looked like even a basketball player's hand over two meters tall could easily wrap around it. When he looked up, her face was bright red and her eyes were glistening with tears. Then came the slap.
Smack!
...As expected, her hand was pretty strong.
"Ow, ow, ow."
"Hmph. Serves you right, you pervert."
A bright red handprint stood out on his right cheek. He picked up a cool pebble from the stream bank and pressed it against the sting.
"More importantly, do you even exercise?"
"What are you talking about? I'm slim, aren't I?"
She seemed aware that she was skinny.
"That's not what I mean. No matter how good you are at magic, if your stamina can't keep up, it's useless."
"I can just take them down before that happens. What's the problem?"
It was a typical mage mindset. The mages in games and novels were all arrogant like this. And it was never just one or two who ended up paying for it.
"I know you're amazing and all, but what if you end up in a real emergency? You need some strength in those legs so you can at least run away."
"I can just prevent those situations from happening in the first place."
"Yeah, right. You already lost to me once. What if I'd been serious about killing you back then? Were you just going to stand there trembling with your staff? You'd have died instantly."
"T-that's..."
"Well, you might be able to talk with a person, but what if the opponent is a magic beast? What would you do then? You can't reason with them."
"........."
Alicia was completely silenced. Everything he said was completely right.
"...What are you trying to say?"
Ryude let out a small laugh. Then he suddenly stood up. It was dinner time anyway. His stomach was already growling.
"Get up. Let's go."
"Suddenly? Where?"
"To buy dinner. We have to eat."
First, let's put some meat on her bones. She's way too skinny.
The two left the forest and headed into the streets. Normally on days like this they'd be too tired and just snack on jerky, but his mind had changed.
"Since I caught two more than you, I'll treat you."
Alicia pulled her hood up. She looked around like a lost meerkat, eyes darting everywhere.
"Here, give me your hand."
He held his hand out to her. It was rush hour, so the streets were crowded. There were also drunk people around, so he had to be careful. After a moment's hesitation, Alicia took his hand. Ryude gripped it firmly so he wouldn't lose her.
"I-is this place really selling food?"
"Of course. Look over there."
What Ryude pointed at was a stall selling charcoal-grilled whole chickens. Oil dripped and sizzled as the birds roasted. Alicia frowned at the sight.
"You're... going to eat that...?"
Food wasn't just about taste—appearance mattered too. Red ramen looked appetizing, but no one would touch blue or pink. She probably had never seen food like this before. Ryude grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
"What's wrong with it? Come on."
"U-um?"
She reluctantly let herself be dragged over.
"Oh, Ryude. You just getting in?"
"Yeah, I just finished up."
The chicken stall owner was already on friendly terms with Ryude. After all, he bought from here at least twice a week.
"Is that a friend next to you?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Alicia hid behind him, tightly gripping the back of his collar. The owner rummaged around and pulled out a paper bag. Inside was a perfectly roasted, golden-brown chicken.
"Here, share it with your friend."
"You're just giving it to us?"
"Yeah. After I finished grilling, I noticed one leg was missing. I was going to eat it myself, but I've had so much lately I'm getting tired of it."
"Wow, being a regular really pays off."
"Heh heh. Come again soon."
"Of course~"
They'd unexpectedly scored a free chicken. The bag even thoughtfully included toothpicks. Ryude picked out a glistening piece and held it out to her.
"Try it."
"...I don't want any. You eat it."
She shook her head with a wrinkled nose. But Ryude shoved the toothpick straight into her mouth.
"Mmph...!!! Mmph...!!!"
The suddenness made Alicia chew on reflex. The subtle charcoal aroma. The crispy skin with its savory flavor. On top of that, it was perfectly salted. Everything blended together beautifully.
The chicken melted away in her mouth.
"Good, right?"
Alicia gave a small nod. She couldn't deny how delicious it was.
"Heh heh, see? I told you it was good."
"Can I have one more bite?"
"Sure. Here, say ahh."
"Aah~"
Nom nom.
"You're really eating well."
She seemed to have quite the hidden appetite. At this rate, putting some weight on her would be easy. Watching her cheeks puff out as she ate, a natural smile formed on his face.
"Then shall we check out that place too?"
"Yeah!"
With her tension finally gone, Alicia and Ryude wandered all over. They'd planned to take the food home, but their stomachs were already full.
"Hm?"
Just then, he felt eyes on them from an alley. He quickly turned, but there was no one there. Was it just his imagination?
"Whoa, I'm stuffed~"
"You said you weren't going to eat, but you ended up eating more than me, didn't you?"
"Couldn't help it. I starved all day today."
They finished off the rest of the packed food cleanly. After that, once the sun went down, it was bath time.
"Why am I even making this?"
"Stop complaining and hurry up. Are you really planning to make a lady bathe in a completely open area?"
...She'd done it just fine yesterday. What he was building now was a shower booth. He wove together branches to create partitions. Having decorated his cave alone all this time, this was easy for Ryude.
"There, all done. Go wash up first. I'll go after."
"Thanks. Then I'll ask you to stand guard~"
"Wait, I made this for you and now you want me to stand guard too?"
"What if someone comes!? Are you going to take responsibility!?"
"Sheesh. Maybe I should just shower with you."
"What? What did you say?"
"Nothing. Just hurry up and wash."
Ryude stood guard in the cold wind, then washed himself afterward. Oh, this is pretty nice. This shower booth blocked the wind well. As expected, making things always came in handy.
"Hey, didn't we agree that daily necessities would be bought with our own money?"
When he finished bathing and entered the cave, he saw Alicia drying her hair in front of the brazier. The shirt she was wearing was his.
"Ah, this?"
Alicia pointed at her shirt. So she did know.
"Come on, it's just a shirt. It's really comfortable."
Ryude exercised every day, so he had a decent build. When Alicia wore his clothes, they became oversized on her.
"Just a shirt? Those pants are mine too."
"Ah, you noticed."
The baggy shirt and pants. It was the classic "girlfriend wearing her boyfriend's clothes" look. Normally it would stimulate protective instincts. But to Ryude, it just felt shameless. Those were clothes he actually liked.
"Sheesh. At this rate, are you going to start wearing my underwear too?"
"Ah..."
It had been a casual remark, but Alicia blurted out something unnecessary.
"Hey, no way?"
"Ahaha... I was going to buy some, but I didn't know where the underwear shop was..."
She scratched her cheek. Then, as if she'd just remembered, she added some nonsense.
"B-but these square ones are really comfortable, you know?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Unable to hold back, Ryude lunged forward. He grabbed the waistband of her pants and pulled. They were already loose, so the string of the square-cut underwear was immediately revealed.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!! You pervert!!! Let go, let go right now!!!!"
That day, Ryude got slapped on the cheek once again.