Chapter 8

1.

Love is a drug.

Was that from a movie? A drama? Or a novel? Anyway, it must've been something I'd heard somewhere.

I was really feeling that now. After jogging for a while, I was standing face-to-face with Dojin, and I could tell my face was flushed.

"Are you sick?"

"O-oh, it's because I haven't run in a while."

"Then who told you to get lazy?"

Dojin teased me with a smile. I liked the way he looked, so I tried to smile back—only to realize I was already grinning.

I must've been grinning like an idiot. Did I look a little vulgar?

"Still, you took a break because something good happened, didn't you?"

"Nothing good in particular…"

Being in debt wasn't a good thing. Under normal circumstances, I should've skipped jogging today and gone to hunt monsters after grabbing a quick bite, just like usual.

But I wanted to see him, okay? I didn't know if it was love or just a crush, but as soon as I woke up this morning, I wanted to see Dojin, so I'd changed into my usual jogging clothes.

"You keep smiling, though. It's nice to see."

"I-is it?"

I hadn't noticed at all until he pointed it out.

"Oh, right, Dojin, you have a smartphone too, don't you?"

"I don't use it much, but yeah."

Just as I thought!

"Then I'm thinking of getting one, too. Could you help me choose?"

"I don't know much about them either. Are you sure?"

Of course I was. That wasn't the point, anyway.

The important thing was that Dojin and I were going into the city together, wasn't it?

"Have you picked one out?"

"Not really."

Dojin and I kept stretching as we talked.

And I realized it again. This little bit of time I spent chatting with Dojin was relieving my stress.

Once I realized that, I could feel my face heating up like magma.

At this rate, I really was a girl in love.

"You don't seem to have much stamina today."

Dojin already looked perfectly calm, as if he'd caught his breath while stretching. I felt a little unfairly put out, wondering if I was the only one whose heart was pounding.

But what could I do? There was a saying, wasn't there?

Whoever falls in love first always loses.

I had to admit it.

I had fallen for him. I loved him.

"Maybe it's because I haven't done it in a while."

I could only smile sheepishly and brush it off.

2.

We were supposed to meet again an hour after our jog. After showering, I found myself standing in front of my closet.

What should I wear? I could suddenly relate to women who stood in front of a closet full of clothes and said they had nothing to wear.

I didn't know if Dojin would see it that way, but either way, this was my first date. I wanted to wear something that would make me look as attractive as possible.

Thinking about it that way, even that frilly dress I'd gotten as a combat outfit was pretty cute, but imagining myself wearing it on a date made me think it was absurd.

What about a crop top that showed a lot of skin? I considered it, but it probably wouldn't suit me. Showing my midriff was a whole different level of difficulty from showing my legs, too.

My eyes landed on a water-blue dress in the corner. It was long enough to cover my thighs, with another layer of white fabric over the bust and pretty frills embroidered above and below. The hem of the skirt had similar frills in a darker shade of water blue.

It seemed to evoke the feeling of gradually sinking into the sea from the surface.

This one will do.

The problem was that it was off-the-shoulder, so I decided to change my underwear. I put on a strapless bra that fastened at the sides. It was a little tight, but there was no need to show my bra straps.

It'd be much more comfortable if my chest were smaller, but there was nothing I could do about it—and besides, having a big chest did make me feel proud.

Were visible straps a fashion statement, too?

I matched my bra and panties in white and changed into the water-blue dress I'd picked out. I put on black knee-high socks.

I did my makeup neatly, without going overboard. I went a little more glamorous than the basic, presentable makeup people called 'manners makeup.' I liked how it suited me.

There was a handbag for accessorizing, too, so I took it and slung it lightly over my shoulder.

It was completely empty inside, but now I understood why women carried handbags.

Women's clothes hardly ever have pockets. I guess they ruin the look. Of course, now that I'd tried the clothes on, I could see why. There wasn't really anywhere to put them.

I grabbed a pair of white flats by the front door, put them on, and went to the place where we'd agreed to meet.

Dojin was already there, tapping away at his smartphone.

He was wearing a white button-up shirt, neat slacks, and a light knit vest. I'd only ever met him while he was exercising or just after, so this was the first time I'd seen him dressed like this.

I quietly crept up behind him and carefully spoke.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"Hm? No."

But it seemed he'd already known I was there, so he didn't react much. Couldn't he play along a little?

I felt a petty urge to sulk, but held it back. Dojin was basically a little taciturn, so even if I tried to set the mood with a 'you should apologize first' attitude, he wouldn't notice—or wouldn't see the point.

Being direct and telling him to look at me would probably work better than an aimless 'pay attention to me.'

"What were you looking at?"

"Smartphones. I was seeing if there was one I could recommend."

"Aren't they all pretty much the same?"

"…Well, they are pretty much the same."

It's hard for technology in modern society to advance in just one area. Development needs a foundation, so instead of one company making absurd leaps forward, there are usually competing companies.

"Well, there's only one company that makes smartphones."

"…Right."

I didn't know they'd all be so similar because there was only one company…

There was nothing I could say to that, so I decided to ignore that part.

Dojin and I walked side by side. More accurately, I was a little slower. I mean, I had no idea where to go to buy a smartphone.

Come to think of it, would I have enough money? I couldn't afford anything too expensive.

I suddenly regretted bringing up smartphones with Dojin without thinking it through. If I heard, 'I'm sorry, but your balance is too low to sign the contract,' in front of him, I felt like I'd die of embarrassment…

"By the way, did you pick out your smartphone yourself?"

"No. Mine was…"

Dojin fell silent for a moment, then answered.

"The old Sword Saint gave it to me. He said I should answer my calls."

I paused to pay my respects to the old Sword Saint, who was working hard even today.

He really looked after Dojin in all sorts of ways. An article I'd seen in the news said the 'Dragon' was also a young boy, and that the Sword Saint personally took care of him.

"Then maybe I should get the same model. I think I get a little rough when I fight, too."

"I fight gently."

Geez.

"If the Sword Saint gave it to you, doesn't it have all kinds of features?"

"It's still just a phone."

Come on.

"Since I'm a Hero too, I'd like to use one that's sturdy and has good features."

"It'll break in one hit anyway."

Play along!

I was a little annoyed with Dojin, who usually humored me at least a little, but wasn't going along with me at all now. I wasn't just trying to buy a smartphone!

I came out here because I wanted to talk more with Dojin and get to know him better.

While I swallowed my annoyance and followed beside Dojin, he stopped. He seemed to be checking his smartphone to see if this was the right place.

The building in front of us looked more than ten stories tall. I'd been expecting something like the 'cell phone store' that used to be on the first floor of a building, but this felt like we'd come to a Samsung showroom.

Come to think of it, smartphones were a monopoly product, so of course they'd sell them somewhere like this.

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah. Take a look around."

Saying that, Dojin headed toward a woman who looked like an employee. Or, he tried to.

Before he could, I grabbed his sleeve.

"You said you'd help me look."

"…I was going to ask if they had a certain model."

"Let's look together."

I had no intention of letting Dojin go. I knew it'd be faster to ask an employee.

But buying a smartphone was really just an excuse. I came because I wanted to walk with Dojin and wander around the city. Otherwise, it'd be easier to come alone.

You wouldn't even humor me while we were walking, and now you were going to leave me behind in the store and go get help from some woman on your own? Absolutely not.

"Then let's do that. You don't mind walking around a bit?"

"I could do it all day."

That sounded like something a certain Shield Hero would say.

Dojin and I walked side by side, looking over the products one by one. I thought about linking arms with him, but worried that would be getting ahead of myself…

"This model is popular among female Heroes. If you operate it this way, you can use the display as a touch screen in midair…"

But in the end, when Dojin tried to quietly slip away, I grabbed his arm and linked mine with his by force. I could clearly feel my breasts pressed against his arm, but that was exactly what I'd intended.

A woman's breasts were one of this body's biggest selling points. What kind of idiot would give that up? Besides, Dojin was cute when he stiffened up shyly, twitching every time the sensation changed as my chest moved against him.

"This camera is really bad."

I passed on the product the employee was explaining. Sure, a touch-screen display floating in midair sounded like an exciting piece of new technology, but that thing had magic mixed into it. I could practically feel the magic pouring off it.

"Then how about this model? It follows the design of older smartphone models…"

The employee showed us a model similar to the smartphones I'd seen in my old world.

Come to think of it, Dojin's smartphone looked like this. I thought its design hadn't changed much. Even the case had the same feel as ones from my old world.

"…and its camera is one of the best compared to other models, as you mentioned. Since the exterior is basically the same as existing models, the performance is also…"

The employee kept talking, but I was more curious about Dojin's smartphone. The designs looked similar, but even just looking at the various series on display, there were a few I couldn't quite identify.

"I'm looking for the same model as this one."

I tugged on Dojin's arm, silently asking him to take out his smartphone.

Looking a little reluctant, Dojin took out his smartphone and showed it to me.

"This is…"

The employee seemed a little flustered.

"I'm sorry. This model was custom-made for the Sword Saint, so…"

"Oh…"

I guess someone like the Sword Saint could get a custom-made phone. That's impressive.

I gave up trying to avoid the issue and lowered my head, fiddling with my fingers on top of Dojin's hand. I'd made a fool of myself by butting in and failing.

"I'll order another one just like this. Put Esper's name on it."

"Oh, yes! I'll add one custom order for Esper."

The employee left first, her footsteps clicking as she walked away.

"…Why didn't you tell me…?"

"I was going to order it as soon as we got here."

I was a little peeved that Dojin hadn't humored me on the way here, and annoyed that he'd headed straight for the female employee as soon as we arrived.

But still, I was the one who'd done it, wasn't I?

"Sorry—"

"Don't apologize. It'll be here soon."

Dojin cut me off. But did custom orders not take several days?

"Esper. As it happens, the Dragon recently…"

According to the employee, Dragon had accidentally ordered too many, and there was one left over.

"Since this is for her, please register it…"

I hung back, shrinking a little, while Dojin gave the employee various instructions.

"Ms. Lapis Lazuli? I'll help you register it, as Esper requested."

Following the employee's instructions, I channeled magic into the smartphone. She explained that all smartphones made for Heroes used this kind of lock.

She showed me the basic functions. It was basically similar to the smartphone I'd used in my old world. It even had KakaoTalk.

After learning all the familiar basics, it was time to pay… Could I afford it?

"Oh, about the cost…"

"The Sword Saint is covering the full price of this model, so it's free."

This was another custom-made model ordered by the Sword Saint, so it could withstand the bumps and knocks of everyday life, was waterproof, and even had 'overtechnology' features, like using magic to charge with solar power.

And this was free?

"Please don't worry, and enjoy using it."

The employee said with a bright smile.

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

Dojin pulled me out by the wrist.