Chapter 54: Chapter 54: A Single Act in the Morning

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

Author’s Note: Go explode

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The next morning I left the inn with a cane. Haster uhh, gave it a little too much effort.

Suppressing my wobbling knees, I used a cane borrowed from the inn to support myself… Well then, where should I go?

“Thinking about it, I don’t know much about this city. I need a guide.”

“Agya?”

Yig, who came along as an escort, tilts his head as well. He shouldn’t be familiar with this city either, so he won’t be much help for that.

When it comes to guides, the only acquaintances in this city are, mister Oreas and Haster aside, only mister Elric and miss Leche.

Moreover, I don’t know where the Elric couple lives. We met up in front of the gate last time.

“So I guess in the end we’ll have to ask Haster to guide us?”

“Ugyun.”

Yig has gotten quite a bit bigger in this past month, so instead of riding on my head, he’s on my shoulders now.

The reason my shoulders have been stiff lately is probably because of this kid. If they were gonna get stiff, then I wanted them to get stiff from having big boobs.

Turning on my heel, I went back to the inn to find Haster (boy mode) taking his breakfast in the dining area.

He went back to his adult form just at night, since I couldn’t keep calm otherwise, but before I left, we canceled his [Transformation].

He notices me, waves his hand and calls me over. He almost looks like a puppy.

“What, Yuuri, did you already finish your business?”

“I had a problem before I even began. I don’t know much about this city, so I don’t even know where to go to investigate anything and…”

“Haha, well I guess we did only pass through before.”

His lively appearance while laughing makes it seem like he really is a little boy inside. Will I get used to this eventually too?

Right, let’s take the first step towards that goal today while we’re at it. Time for a date!

With that decided, I’ll hurry and invite him…

“Haster, uh, umm… Would you show me around the city?”

“As long as I can finish my food first, sure.”

He displays his vigorous appetite as he munches down.

With his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel stuffing its mouth, he definitely does not look like a boy who’s just been asked out on a date. The mood is ruined.

Oooh, sure, he was just raring to go last night though. I’m sure he’s running on empty now, god dammit all!

“But hey, ya know, it kind of bothers me that I can’t drink while I’m in this form.”

“I don’t particularly like it when you do, so that’s not a problem. And by the by, please don’t say things like that out in the open.”

“But I enjoy it quite a bit. Getting that fuzzy feeling in my head after drinking and stuff.”

“I think having all sorts of things blown away from that fuzzy feeling is a problem. Like your reasoning, or your self-restraint.”

“I do work a lot harder after drinking than when I’m sober.”

“So that was the culprit, huh…?”

To think his sex-focused mode was caused by his drinking every night… I’ll have to consider what’s on the menu from tonight onwards.

“Haster, let’s abstain from alcohol starting tonight!”

“What, why?”

“I like you when you have your wits about you. When you’re more of a beast… Well, it’s not that I dislike it, but it bothers me when you’re always a beast.”

“What’s wrong with being a beast? You get happy about it.”

“My body can’t handle it!”

“Lovers’ talk is all well and good, but be discreet about it.”

“Ukyan?!”

Someone was behind me who hit my butt and then gripped her fist for further emphasis. It’s the inn lady.

Now that she mentions it, there were many other customers having breakfast in the dining area.

—In other words, I… Was openly, and completely, exposing our night time activities in front of other customers…?

Blood instantly rushed to my head, and I was conscious of my face turning red. I unconsciously hid my face in my arms, and made to dash away from there at lightning speed.

The problem was all the work from last night… My weakened hips wouldn’t listen to me, and I flipped over right then and there.

~*~

“I can’t believe you… Laying your paws on such a little girl like this. There’s a lot of preparation that girls need, you know?”

“Uhh, actually… Yuuri may look this way—“

“Don’t you be quibbling with me! You may be similar in age, but you’ve gotta hold yourself back for another five years, or you’ll break her.”

“No, look, I’ve waited a good five years alre—”

“Shut yer damn mouth!”

Haster is getting a scolding from the inn lady.

I was sitting in his seat, and while stuffing my cheeks with a salad sandwich for breakfast, I was being assaulted by the gazes around me, so…

“… I want to hurry and get out of here.”

“Ugyuu”

The surrounding male customers sent gazes that practically shouted, “go explode, normies,” our way.

The gazes from the women are painful too. Their eyes said, “that damn bitch caught one of the good boyfriends”.

This feels like some kind of public humiliation.

“Umm… He’ll hold himself back, so we’ve got to… I have some things to take care of too.”

“And you need to clearly refuse him if you don’t like what he’s doing, okay? No, at your age, turn him down even if you don’t mind what he does.”

“Uh, yes, ma’am.”

But I don’t age, so if I do that, then no matter how long I wait… Well, he doesn’t age anymore either anyway.

Which would mean eternal postponement? I would really prefer to pass on that.

Let’s just find a good way to get through this, and say our farewells.

“It’s fine. He likes big breasts, so he’ll get tired of someone like me in no time.”

“That’s not true!”

“What a horrible child! To think you’d get bored of such a cute girl like this!”

“No, I’m not gonna get bored of her! I would caress her all over for the whole day if she let me!”

“I’m telling ya to control yourself, ya damn brat!”

The lady slaps Haster loudly.

By the looks of it, I made things heat up even more. Mission failed?

“Now listen here. Do you realize just how lucky you are? Look at the men around you!”

“Ah, so she did notice what’s going on around us…”

Our surroundings had become quite the miserable sight.

Men gripping their mugs as they shed bitter tears, men crying while they stare towards the heavens, men biting down on dish cloths while pulling them as if to tear them apart…

Yeah, my previous self would have been one among them…

“Oh, mister, the dish cloths are dirty, so you really shouldn’t bite down on them, you know?”

“Oh, ooohhh… Are you an angel?”

The man seemed mysteriously moved by my advice. Yeeeaaah, that’s just a little creepy, okay?

“Look at how distressed the unpopular men here are!”

“Hey, LAY OFF!”

“Listen up, you lot are unpopular with women because you start drinking first thing in the morning!”

“Is that any way to talk to your paying customers?!”

Our entire audience turns on the lady at once when she identifies their flaws.

After having this scene shoved in their faces, being insulted seems to have snapped whatever string of reason they still had.

The entire store spread out from our table, the battlefield, as it turned into a stage for The Lady vs. The Customers. We left our breakfast fee on the table and high-tailed it out of there.

~*~

“Ugh, that was awful.”

“Hmph. This and that are all your fault for being so horny all the time.”

“That is one thing, and this is another. I have no intention of ceasing to love you, alright?”

Since we left most of our breakfast when we escaped from the dining area, we calmed back down and moved toward something similar to a cafe for some food.

This cafe has a bit of a refined air to it, and I noticed that most of the customers were female.

We took seats near a window. He ordered a meat pie and coffee, while I ordered a parfait.

One good thing about getting this body is that I now feel no shame in ordering this sort of thing.

I liked sweets, but requesting a parfait as a guy all alone was a difficult task. With the appearance of a little girl, there are absolutely no issues!

“So? Where do you want me to show you around? Did you want to see the local attractions?”

While stuffing his face with the pie, packed to the brim with filling, he asks me where I want him to take me.

He really does eat a lot…

“No, do you know of some place with detailed books on monster ecology?”

“Monster ecology, huh? For general information the books at a magic tool shop would suffice, but…”

“I would like ones with as detailed of information as possible.”

“Publications are exceptionally expensive, so… Perhaps if we go to a wealthy man with a lot of knowledge… Oh, I suppose that would apply to Elric.”

“Hmmm, would a merchant have books on things like monsters?”

“Typically, I suppose they wouldn’t.”

What’s the point in bringing up wealthy people who just happen to have books? You’ve got the means and the end switched around.

But seriously… The way he’s eating makes his food look really delicious.

I want one now, but I really don’t have room left in my stomach for a whole one to myself.

“Haster, that sure looks good, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s delicious.”

“Can I have a bite?”

“I’ll trade you for a bite of your parfait.”

“Sure.”

Answering as such, he dishes out a smattering of pie, and extends it to my lips.

—I-is this… Is this what they call an i-i-i-i-indirect kiss?!

Well yeah, we’ve done a whole lot more together than kissing, so it’s probably a little late to be getting bashful, but it’s still embarrassing out in public!

However, this could be a chance… I’ll act like I’m eating the pie, bring my mouth all the way around his finger, and then openly lick and taste it… Haa, haa.

“Why is your breathing getting ragged?”

“I-it’s nothing, just your bad habits rubbing off on me. I’m perfectly fine.”

“I have no bad habits.”

“Are you insane?”

I got a little carried away there, but I’ll just calm down. Yeah.

I bite down on it normally and savor the taste.

Mmm, the flaky pie material is wrapped around the meat juices and plentiful ingredients, and the difference between the textures of the inside and outside is exquisite.

It’s a little on the salty side, but for my body that’s fatigued from working late into the night, it tastes very delicious.

“This is pretty good… It tastes like it would go well with sweets. Oh, here, your taste in return.”

I take a scoop of the parfait and bring it to Haster’s lips.

He swallows it up in one bite, and tastes its sweetness.

“Mmm, it tastes pretty good, but I guess it doesn’t quite go well with the piping hot pie? It feels like its coldness is making the fat from the meat harden in my mouth.”

“Ooh, I guess that would be a problem. Maybe it would have been better to rinse it down with a drink beforehand.”

“I’ll do just that, so give me another bite.”

“Ergh, I believe that would be in violation of our equivalent terms of exchange?”

“It’s quite cheap as a guide fee though.”

“You’re being damn shrewd.”

Saying so, I once again present the spoon to him.

Just then, the sounds of giggling flew into my ears.

“Hey look. What a cute couple.”

“Wha, aren’t they siblings?”

“Can’t be; they don’t look alike, do they? But they sure are cute. Sure the girl is, but the boy is too!”

Uuuh, come to think of it, this would look like a young couple feeding each other from an outside perspective…

We were going to just eat together like we normally do, but it was probably a failure.

“Oh, did she hear us?”

“The girl is bright red! How cuuute—”

This can’t be happening… I’m afraid I might not have much self-control either.

For now I’ll push the parfait over to him, and bring the conversation back on topic.

“What, you’re done?”

“My stomach is all full. Anyway, about the books… Is there no place that deals in things like dictionaries?”

“Hm? In that case, rather than a magic tool store, a store for rare and old books would probably be better. Books have value as works of art too, so there should be quite a few collected.”

“Then could you guide me to there?”

“Got it. Then I guess we’ll go once I’ve cleaned this off.”

Our next destination is a rare book store.

But with how shy I feel having a date, I couldn’t manage to continue it in public.

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Author’s Note: Aaah, I was determined to increase the tempo while writing, and yet here I am writing this fluff… orz