Chapter 45
.
Having finished our meal, we hurried along to the next “date imitation.”
Personally, now that lunch was out of the way, I would have preferred to relax somewhere, but unfortunately, Neria was the one in charge.
And what Neria was consulting was unmistakably some female-oriented pure-love romance-fantasy erotic novel.
Naturally, it seemed there was no mention of resting comfortably in it.
Well, it was an erotic novel, after all. It would have been rather disappointing if it were packed with scenes like that.
I understood.
"Where's a clothing store? Nam Dowon, do you know?"
"You mean clothes?"
"In this story, the male lead gives the heroine a dress as a gift. But that would be difficult in real life, so for now, I'm going to try any clothing store."
"There should be small shops here and there, but I haven't exactly memorized them…."
I hadn't seen the whole story, but apparently it was about some great nobleman's son giving everything he had to a woman.
In any case, I thought I had often seen clothing stores while coming and going around here, so we should be able to find one quickly.
No sooner had I finished that thought than a clothing store entered my field of vision.
Judging by the few garments displayed outside, it seemed to sell ordinary clothes rather than fluttery dresses.
After even getting Neria's sign of approval that this much was okay, we awkwardly made our way inside.
About ten minutes later, we emerged with a T-shirt for Neria.
It was a bland, solid-color T-shirt that would fit right in with the slovenly NEET wardrobe she usually wore.
"Are you satisfied now?"
"I don't know. I can't really say my heart fluttered this time either."
"I see…."
"Gnnngh…. What should I do to have more enjoyable sex with you…?"
"……."
In other words, she intended to try other things from the novel as well.
And since these ominous premonitions never seemed to miss, Neria really did start trying one thing after another, following her simple shopping trip.
Thus, the second candidate selected was a walk.
In the novel, this was probably the part where they whispered words of love and shamelessly flaunted their affection.
But reality was different.
Neria and my “walk” was nothing more than an activity that was essentially exercise, consisting solely of walking.
In the end, Neria deemed this activity “unsuitable” and moved on.
The third candidate was a movie.
In the novel, they went to see a play, but Neria said that wouldn't suit her tastes and would obviously be boring, so we switched it to a movie theater.
But perhaps because there weren't any interesting movies playing these days, this attempt also turned out terribly.
It took about thirty minutes for Neria to fall asleep leaning on my shoulder as I watched the movie.
After the movie ended, Neria stretched happily and deemed it “unsuitable.”
Accordingly, I emerged from the theater holding an empty popcorn tub.
"Lady Neria."
"What, asshole?"
Right in front of me.
I cautiously spoke to Neria, who was skimming through the web novel and pondering what to do next.
"May I ask you something?"
"Are you asking whether I remember the movie? It was boring, so I erased the whole thing from my head. Yeah. I wasn't sleeping just now, either; I was closing my eyes and wondering whether to change the keyboard― And…."
"No. What I wanted to ask you about wasn't that…."
"Th-then what is it?"
"The reason you're experimenting with all these things right now is to make charging your mana more pleasurable… isn't it?"
"…I suppose that's the conclusion, isn't it?"
Since she was going to have to do it anyway, she wanted to have sex that felt as good as possible.
She had tried being held to see whether she could feel excited, and she had also tried imitating things from the novel.
Neria herself had said as much.
Remembering that, I continued speaking as I put the trash I had carried out into a bin.
"Then does anything work, as long as it makes you feel good?"
"…Hmm?"
"I mean, does it really have to make your heart flutter?"
If the matter could be resolved with simply pleasurable sex, there was no need for us to wander around pointlessly and wear ourselves out like this.
Neria responded to my tentative question by tilting her head.
"It doesn't necessarily have to, but isn't it better if your heart flutters first? How should I put it? Like a buff in a game?"
"That's a very witch-like interpretation."
"What are you talking about? Charging mana with someone who makes you feel excited and giddy should feel much better than doing it with someone you have no feelings for. Honestly, I think that's common sense."
On top of that, Neria looked up at me with her arms crossed beneath her breasts, her expression seeming to ask, “Am I wrong?”
Meeting her pale-blue gaze, I lowered my voice.
"It is common sense. Having sex with someone who makes you feel excited feels much better for men as well as women."
"Then why did you ask whether it absolutely has to make your heart flutter? Are you a goldfish?"
"It's not because I'm a goldfish. I asked because the order might be reversed."
"…What?"
"You might not think much of someone at first, but gradually start feeling excited after enjoying pleasurable sex with them."
"……."
Since we were at the movie theater exit, there were other people nearby.
I said it quietly enough for my voice to be drowned out by the surrounding murmur.
"…Nam Dowon, that just means you want to go home and have sex as soon as possible…!"
"Wait, Lady Neria…."
"You perverted bastard, die, die…!"
Just as she had in the restaurant, Neria was a witch who understood embarrassment, unlike our Team Leader.
After turning her volume down to one so no one else could hear, she took a moment to interpret my words, then immediately punished me by thumping my shoulder with her fists.
…Thanks to that, people began sneaking glances at us, and only then did Neria tuck her fist into her coat pocket, pretending nothing had happened.
That was the spot she'd leaned against while taking a nap moments ago. Was it really okay to repay a kindness like this?
In the end, Neria kept her mouth shut until we reached the elevator outside the movie theater, then finally started arguing with me again once the area had quieted down.
"…I take back telling you to die. If it's not you, I'll have to do it three times as much with another man. I'll let you live for now."
"Thank you."
"So…, …what you said while throwing away the trash earlier."
"……."
"Explain it again in a way I can understand."
"Explain it…. Hmm…."
It wasn't even something that needed explaining.
Why else would people say “sex first, relationship later”?
There were also expressions like “a bond from sex” and “sexual compatibility,” weren't there?
It was extremely common in everyday life for a relationship that began as a sex-partner arrangement born from a little mutual fondness to someday progress into something deeper and more intense.
But Neria, standing there with a sullen expression, didn't seem to understand at all.
How was I supposed to explain it so she could accept it with a “Maybe that's true?”
If I brought up something like the “bond from sex” I'd mentioned earlier, wouldn't she kick me in the shin instead of punching my shoulder this time…….
"…Ah."
While I was pondering with my chin propped on my hand, a small idea came to me.
*****
On the way back to Neria's house.
Neria, sitting beside me in the back seat of the taxi, held my smartphone and muttered,
"…You carry things like this around saved on your phone?"
"……."
The countless erotic novels saved inside it.
More precisely, Neria was skimming through, one by one, the countless erotic novels Team Leader Eve had written herself.
"I'm not trying to say anything, but it's so like you."
"……."
"Yeah. If you're in the Rehabilitation Support Department, I suppose it's only natural for you to be this shady and perverted…."
"……."
"Still, I vaguely heard the boys say that most guys are like this when they're talking among guild members. They have tons of dirty pictures just lying around in their phone galleries…."
"……."
"Though you are more perverted than you'd expect from someone who supposedly likes pure love…."
Since it was extremely difficult to fabricate a perfect story about how those things had ended up saved on my smartphone, I decided to take a slight hit to my reputation instead.
Besides, even if I had said, “These are erotic novels our Team Leader wrote herself, cutting back on sleep to use me as her meal,” it was obvious she wouldn't have believed me properly.
When I explained, “I just picked up whatever got me worked up while browsing the internet,” Neria nodded as if to say, “Of course.”
She slowly examined the titles one by one from the top, then sighed, “Phew―,” and poked me with her elbow.
"You gave the folder your own name, as if you'd collected work-related files in it, but the contents are like this. Haa…."
"In any case, Lady Neria, it's fine to look through everything, but what I asked you to do was…."
"I know. You told me to read this one earlier, didn't you? 「The Delinquent Junior……」 Anyway, this one."
A story about being fucked like a dog after a delinquent junior got hold of my weakness.
Needless to say, that was a title Team Leader Eve had come up with herself.
And one more thing that went without saying.
I hadn't obtained the Team Leader's permission to show it to Neria,
so probably, well.
…As long as I didn't get caught.
It should be fine, right?
"Would you like me to stop here?"
"Ah, thank you. Sorry for the trouble."
"……."
Embarrassed to death, I hurriedly got out, while Neria beside me remained utterly relaxed.
"……."
"……Oh-ho…."
It was the same as we continued along the road and walked into the apartment complex.
This witch displayed an exasperatingly slow, sluggish pace while skimming through my smartphone.
…Could she be so engrossed because Team Leader's erotic novels suited her tastes?
Come to think of it, I'd heard that Neria liked reading novels as a hobby, in addition to liking games.
But her expression was a little too unimpressed for me to view it that simply.
Maybe I should take it as, “It doesn't quite suit my tastes, but you told me to give it a try, so I'll read it anyway.”
Or perhaps there was another reason.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked,
"What do you think after reading it, Lady Neria?"
"……I don't know. There hasn't been a sex scene yet. I'll read a little more for now."
"…Understood."
Well, she'd only just finished reading about ten minutes' worth.
She had probably only made it a little past the beginning.
I left her to it and walked with her to the front door of Neria's apartment.
…And even then.
Neria continued reading Team Leader's erotic novel.
"……."
Beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
Shielding the keypad with her body, Neria unlocked the door, and I followed her inside.
The air brushing over my face was at least a little warmer than outside, though honestly, there wasn't much difference.
"Excuse me."
"……."
All I had to carry was the single T-shirt we'd bought for Neria at the clothing store.
If it had been my clothes, I would have tried them on right away before deciding what to do, but since they were Neria's, I set them on the living-room sofa for now.
Even then, Neria seemed too busy reading the erotic novel to pay attention to anything else.
"What would you like for dinner?"
"…I don't know. I'll just eat something simple."
"Then I'll just check whether there are any ingredients. I think there probably are…."
"……Yeah."
She had eaten a little popcorn in the middle of the day, but this was probably Neria's first time going out in a long while, so she might be hungry.
So perhaps I'd earn more points by preparing dinner for her before I left today.
Ah, was that compliment coupon I'd used before still valid?
It probably didn't mean anything anymore.
Even while I lightly moved around the kitchen, Neria seemed busy poring over her erotic novel.
"……."
"……."
…And when I went to drink some water by myself, Neria was still sitting on the sofa, absorbed in her erotic novel.
When I handed her a glass of cold water, she finally looked toward me for a moment.
"…Thanks."
Literally, only for a moment.
For no more than a few seconds.
Then Neria returned the half-full glass to me and continued devouring the erotic novel, collapsed sideways against the sofa.
The same witch.
Written by the same woman,
Team Leader Eve's erotic novel.
"……."
…Fortunately, she now seemed more focused than unimpressed,
so I stepped away for a while so I wouldn't disturb her.