Chapter 69 : First Sleepover
——————————————————-
On Malik-san’s day off, the two of us spent the day relaxing at home and talked about a lot of things.
“I want to see my grandchild soon. I have some savings so I can retire and help take care of the children when you’re away. I’m sure Ren’s child is going to be absolutely adorable!”
Malik-san said, showing me the glimpse of him becoming a doting grandfather in the future. I wasn’t even pregnant yet.. Or rather, I hadn’t even tried making them yet. Malik-san definitely would be the type of grandpa that rushed out to lavish his grandchild with mountains of toys and clothes. It was a little scary to see Malik-san wasn’t joking when he said he wanted to have a grandchild soon…
“But don’t you think being a working grandpa is cool too?”
“You think so?”
“Yes! You’re definitely going to be a cool working grandpa!”
For now, I hoped Malik-san would reconsider retiring from the guild when I had a baby. Malik-san was still young so having him shift his raison d’etre to be taking care of his grandchild is kind off….
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
The next day after, the three of them were moving into the rental house. They seemed to have already finished moving in the morning. By the time I arrived, they were already relaxing in the living room.
“Hello. It seems you guys have already finished moving in?”
“Yes. The bed we ordered for the master bedroom has already arrived as well.”
“Oh? They’re faster than I expected.”
Fer-san was sitting on the sofa with a book in his hand while both Chris-san and Sig-san were sitting on the floor while polishing their swords. I couldn’t believe they had already finished moving this fast. The bed we had ordered the day before yesterday had already arrived as well.
“Ren-chan, you said you’re going to stay over tonight, right?~”
“Ah, yes. I planned on sleeping over but if it troubles you, we can postpone it to a later date?”
“No~ I just want to make sure~”
Chris-san was polishing his sword with a whetstone when he asked me if I would stay with them tonight. He had the usual charming grin on his face.
“Umm…Would it be alright if I cook dinner tonight? The kitchen in Malik-san’s house is really amazing but the kitchen in here does not fall short either so I want to try cooking here…”
The kitchen here looked really amazing. Malik-san’s house had three stove burners but here, they had four! Four stove burners! Honestly having a high spec kitchen like this was a waste since the three of them didn’t really cook. I was thinking of cooking everytime I came here so the kitchen wouldn’t be a waste.
“Oh! I can eat Ren’s homemade meal? We already ate at the nearby restaurant yesterday but of course Ren’s cooking is definitely the best!”
“I would be pleased if Ren-kun would cook for us.”
Sig-san looked relaxed as he wiped his sword on the floor. His tail had been swinging left to right lightly. But the moment I told him I wanted to cook dinner, he visibly twitched. His face became bright and his eyes were sparkling.
I was happy to hear him saying my cooking tasted better than the restaurant’s. Fer-san also looked very delighted. I really needed to do my best to satisfy them…
“Then I’m going to buy groceries before it gets too late, okay?”
“Ah~ I will come with you~”
“I will come as well, Ren-kun.”
“Count me in! Count me in!”
To be honest I planned on going alone but the three of them looked excited to come with me. I had my magic bag with me so carrying groceries wouldn’t be a problem but since we were all already gathered here, maybe going together would be the best?
“Shall we go now? The market is about 15 minutes away from here, right?”
“That’s right but Ren-kun, do you want to shop right away? Would you like to have tea first? Take a break before you go out again?”
“No, let’s go now.”
I had just arrived but I still decided to just leave right away. Had I taken up on Fer-san’s offer and settled in with them, I’d be feeling too lazy to go grocery shopping.
“Ren, will you hold hands with me today?”
“Okay… Have you guys already decided on an order for holding hands with me?”
“No…? Well… We kinda have to be self aware ourselves. The last person that holds hands with Ren mustn’t hold your hands again after. We have to give others their turn too. Though sometimes we forget and still hold your hands consecutively.”
“I see…”
Sig-san offered his hands to me after we left the house. Since he was being so nonchalant about it, I had thought there was already an unspoken agreement between them or something.
“Come to think of it… You guys always put your sword inside your magic bag when we’re walking in the town, right? Isn’t it hard to take them out when you suddenly need them?”
The three of them always put their sword in their magic bag when we were in town. Fer-san’s magic bag was the waist pouch type so it still looked easy to take the sword out but both Chris-san and Sig-san had a leg pouch type. It seemed hard to reach the leg pouch when you suddenly needed your sword.
“Hm~ Walking in the town with a sword out in the open is difficult. It might not be so bad for me and Fer but Sig’s sword is stupidly big. He almost accidentally hit people with his sword just by carrying it.”
He got a point there… Chris-san used two swords but they were both quite small and Fer-san had one normal sized sword but Sig-san… He used one big two-handed sword. The sword was almost as big as me even…
Even though the sword was properly sheathed, being accidentally hit by that big sword must’ve hurt. This was why when we were walking in a single line during the Calhea quest, Sig-san had to stay at the back of the line.
“Moreover, the three of us can use both magic and martial arts to a certain level. Even without our swords, we wouldn’t be easily defeated.”
I turned my back to see Fer-san, who had been walking behind me. He was smiling confidently. He was right though. Those three were all A-rank adventurers and there were only 50 A-rank adventurers in Alsar.
“Everyone is so strong… I wonder if I should try to learn some self defense techniques?”
Could I become A-rank like them when I didn’t have any means to protect myself? I guess I would have to think of something…
“That would be great but… Considering Ren’s physical strength and talent in offensive magic… I think it’d be a little hard for you, Ren.”
Sig-san, who was walking beside me, said while nodding to himself.
“I knew it…”
Of course… Not to mention in Alsar, almost everyone was bigger than me. I doubt learning self defense would help me much and not to mention I had no talent in offensive magic as well. What should I do….
“How about if you summon a magical beast to protect you?”
“Magical beast?”
“Yes. They are similar to monsters but you can summon them and bind them with a contract to have them to do your bidding. But no one actually knows from where they are summoned though? I heard they come from the demon world but I’m not really sure about it either… But what I know for sure is that the stronger they are, the harder it is to summon them.”
Oooooh!!! Summoned beast! It really gave you the fantasy world vibe!! I mean this world was a fantasy world but the summoning beast really made the fantasy world vibe shoot out the roof. Usually in summoner setting, we get to summon a holy spirit or a fairy but since Fer-san said it was a ‘magical beast’, it must’ve resembled an animal or sort. I wonder what kind of beast will come for me?
“Is summoning hard to do? If it’s possible for me to do it, I definitely want to try it! To be honest, I feel embarrassed to say this but I know in my current condition, even a woman can easily defeat me…”
Yes… Up until now, I hadn’t seen any adult woman who was smaller than me. Even if I were to see a woman who was smaller than me, I could tell from their gesture and appearance that they were far younger than me but despite that, the difference in our genetic mapping was too evident. Just from looking at their physical appearance alone, they looked stronger than me…
“You’re right… Summoning a regular beast is not difficult though.”
Ah. Fer-san was staring at me with pity. I was weak. I wasn’t belittling myself, it was a fact. I think it was important for me to just accept the fact as it was. There was no need to sugar coat it.
“Is that so? But I think I never saw one when I walked in town.”
I said, tilting my head to the side, confused.
Yeah. Although I was still not sure what a summoned beast looked like, I don’t think I had ever seen anything like that in town?
“I usually keep them inside my ornament~ And to begin with, there’s not much people who had successfully established a contract with a summoned beast~”
“Oohh… How convenient… But why? Summoned beasts are strong and they can protect you, right?”
Storing it inside an ornament… That might come in handy… A large beast would scare people and become a hindrance for other people to walk around. But I wonder why I never saw one in town? Since a summoned beast sounds so convenient and useful after all.
“It’s simple. A summoned beast is extremely fickle. In the first place, there’s a possibility the beast won’t respond to your summoning and even if you managed to summon one, there’s a high chance for them to refuse having a contract with you. Also, the contractor needs to feed the beast with their blood regularly. Because of all those factors, there’s not many people who have a contract with a summoned beast.”
Sig-san explained.
“I see… Do you have to give a lot of blood to them?”
“Nope~ You can just prick your finger and feed them some drops of your blood~ Summoned beast can’t eat regular food. They feed on their contractor’s magical power. Blood is used as a medium to transfer the magical power from the contractor to the summoned beast~”
“Ooh… I see.. Ah, another thing. Can summoning be potentially dangerous?”
“No. Summoned beasts can’t step outside of the magic circle until the contract is established so they can’t hurt the summoner. That is why, you don’t have to worry, Ren-kun.”
The three of them took turns in answering my questions. I guess I should just give it a try? Even if I couldn’t summon one or even if I couldn’t make a contract with one there was no harm in trying. In fact, challenging yourself was crucial to improve yourself.
“I want to try it.”
“I see~ To be honest I want to say that the three of us will protect Ren-chan but realistically speaking, we can’t be there for you all day long. Having a summoned beast might be good for Ren-chan’s safety~”
“Well then, there are some things we have to prepare beforehand. Why don’t we try it after we’re finished with the Lasserna quest?”
“Okay!”
I wonder what the preparations were? But now, I had something to look forward to after we finished with the quest.
“Welcome! Welcome! Our tomatoes are cheap today!”
“The young lady over there! Why don’t you take a look at our goods?~”
The energetic sound of the shopkeepers could be heard, indicating we had already arrived at the market. We were so engrossed in talking, I hadn’t noticed we had already arrived at the market.
“Now then, do you guys have any requests?”
“Every meal that Ren-chan makes tastes so delicious…”
“That’s a difficult question…”
“Hmmm~”
Sig-san looked like he was deep in thought.
The three of them weren’t picky with their food. They would eat anything I made but I still wanted to know if there was anything they wanted to eat. But it seemed, nothing came to their mind yet.
“Oh! I want meat! Beef sounds good!”
Sig-san suddenly exclaimed with a bright smile on his face.
“Fufu~ Since Sig-san is the first one to answer, let’s have beef for today.”
It was decided, we would have beef today.
“Let’s go to the butcher first? Hm~ I wonder what I should make~”
I began to think of what to cook as we walked toward the butcher. Sig-san definitely liked a big and hefty meal, right? In that case, chaliapin steak seemed like a great choice for today.
“Excuse me, can I have four pieces of this steak meat?”
“Oh, Ren-kun! Steak, you say? Are those the rumoured fiancés that I’ve been hearing about?”
I asked the butcher for four pieces of steak meat. This old man was an acquaintance of mine. After glancing at my joined hands with Sig-san, the butcher immediately asked if they were my fiancés or not. But…. ‘Rumoured’ he said?
“What kind of rumour have you been hearing about them? And… Yes. The three of them are my fiancés. We’re planning on living in Pedrel after we get married. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you more in the future.”
The three of them only nodded slightly at the butcher. It seemed they had no plan to have a small talk.
“Is that so? Ren-kun, you know, you’re the hottest topic in Pedrel right now. After returning from a subjugation quest, suddenly you become so strong and you even brought these outrageously handsome and strong fiancés. Of course people would be talking about it? But man, you guys look so great together!”
“Ahaha… I see… Thank you.”
He was right but you know? It felt a little scary to know how fast a strange rumour could spread when you were in the spotlight.
“Here you go! Four pieces of steak meat. 5000 elk only as a gift for your engagement!”
“Eh? Really? Thank you very much!”
The butcher gave me a big discount for the steak meat. I had purposely chosen the meat which was a little bit more expensive than I usually had as a housewarming gift for the three of them. One slap of this meat was twice the size of the regular steak meat but the butcher had generously given it to me for a cheap price! I had to pay it quickly before the butcher changed his mind!
Without wasting any time, I took out my money from my magic bag and paid for the meat and put it inside my magic bag swiftly.
“See you again, Ren-kun!”
“Thank you for the meat!”
I began to walk to the other shop while the three of them silently followed me from behind.
“Ren-chan, is that a new wallet? That’s not the same wallet you used to have, right?”
“Ah, yes. This is for the party, or should I say, our household expenses. I had bought it this morning before I went to the guild to take some money from our party card balance. I figured it’d be better to have separate wallets for our household expenses and my personal expenses.”
I was the one keeping our party card and also the one in charge of cooking. In order to not have my personal money and the party’s money to get mixed up with one another, I decided to have a separate wallet for each of them.
“Ren-kun, you’re really meticulous.”
“I’m already 21 after all. Though it is true I may not know much about this world but you guys are treating me like I’m a kid!”
Fer-san was genuinely praising me but really, it was like they sometimes forgot I was already 21.
I pouted and puffed my cheek at them to show I was upset but on second thought…Maybe this was not the best place to do it?
“What are you talking about? …. I won’t be able to do this kind of thing if you’re still a kid, right?”
“Hi-?! Ah!! W-what are you doing?!”
With a mischievous smile on his face, Sig-san let my hands go and slung his arm around my shoulder, pulled me close to him and licked the corner of my ear.
I was so surprised that I accidentally let out a strange voice from my mouth.
“Now, do you understand that I never treat you like a kid?”
“I understand! I understand so please don’t do this kind of thing in public!”
He let me go almost immediately but Sig-san was still grinning from ear to ear.
I never thought he’d do this kind of thing out in the open just to prove his point!
“So it’s alright if we do it in private?~”
Chris-san asked, throwing a flirtatious glance at me.
“Eh?! T-that’s not what I meant…”
If possible, I’d like it if they could also restrain themselves even when we were at home.
“Alright, alright. Let’s finish the rest of our shopping trip.”
“Ah.. Yes…”
My hand was free since Sig-san had pulled his hand from me so Fer-san took this opportunity to grab my hand and pulled me along the way.
“Oi, wait for me!”
“Where are we going next?~”
I walked along with Fer-san and glanced at Sig-san and Chris-san who were following us from behind.
In the end I was able to finish my shopping without any trouble.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
For our dinner tonight, I cooked some chaliapin steak and added some vegetables as a side. I also prepared a soup with plenty of vegetables and a baguette.
Of course, since the meat I had was bigger than usual, I couldn’t finish one portion by myself. I split half of my portion and gave it to Sig-san.
“Ah!~ I just remembered~ About the date we talked about~ 5th is Sig’s day, 7th is mine and 9th is Fer’s day, right? Do any of you have any problem with this date?~”
“Yes. I don’t have anything to do so any date is fine by me.”
Chris-san mentioned the date while we were eating dinner. I nodded as I answered his question.
“I’ll be sure to finish the quest quickly while we’re not together.”
“Please don’t push yourself too hard, Fer-san.”
Fufu~ I can’t wait for our date~
After that, the four of us slept together in the newly arrived bed. The bed was really outrageously big.
Well… Of course we did more than just ‘sleeping’ that night….
Chapter 69 : First Sleepover
——————————————————-
On Malik-san’s day off, the two of us spent the day relaxing at home and talked about a lot of things.
“I want to see my grandchild soon. I have some savings so I can retire and help take care of the children when you’re away. I’m sure Ren’s child is going to be absolutely adorable!”
Malik-san said, showing me the glimpse of him becoming a doting grandfather in the future. I wasn’t even pregnant yet.. Or rather, I hadn’t even tried making them yet. Malik-san definitely would be the type of grandpa that rushed out to lavish his grandchild with mountains of toys and clothes. It was a little scary to see Malik-san wasn’t joking when he said he wanted to have a grandchild soon…
“But don’t you think being a working grandpa is cool too?”
“You think so?”
“Yes! You’re definitely going to be a cool working grandpa!”
For now, I hoped Malik-san would reconsider retiring from the guild when I had a baby. Malik-san was still young so having him shift his raison d’etre to be taking care of his grandchild is kind off….
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
The next day after, the three of them were moving into the rental house. They seemed to have already finished moving in the morning. By the time I arrived, they were already relaxing in the living room.
“Hello. It seems you guys have already finished moving in?”
“Yes. The bed we ordered for the master bedroom has already arrived as well.”
“Oh? They’re faster than I expected.”
Fer-san was sitting on the sofa with a book in his hand while both Chris-san and Sig-san were sitting on the floor while polishing their swords. I couldn’t believe they had already finished moving this fast. The bed we had ordered the day before yesterday had already arrived as well.
“Ren-chan, you said you’re going to stay over tonight, right?~”
“Ah, yes. I planned on sleeping over but if it troubles you, we can postpone it to a later date?”
“No~ I just want to make sure~”
Chris-san was polishing his sword with a whetstone when he asked me if I would stay with them tonight. He had the usual charming grin on his face.
“Umm…Would it be alright if I cook dinner tonight? The kitchen in Malik-san’s house is really amazing but the kitchen in here does not fall short either so I want to try cooking here…”
The kitchen here looked really amazing. Malik-san’s house had three stove burners but here, they had four! Four stove burners! Honestly having a high spec kitchen like this was a waste since the three of them didn’t really cook. I was thinking of cooking everytime I came here so the kitchen wouldn’t be a waste.
“Oh! I can eat Ren’s homemade meal? We already ate at the nearby restaurant yesterday but of course Ren’s cooking is definitely the best!”
“I would be pleased if Ren-kun would cook for us.”
Sig-san looked relaxed as he wiped his sword on the floor. His tail had been swinging left to right lightly. But the moment I told him I wanted to cook dinner, he visibly twitched. His face became bright and his eyes were sparkling.
I was happy to hear him saying my cooking tasted better than the restaurant’s. Fer-san also looked very delighted. I really needed to do my best to satisfy them…
“Then I’m going to buy groceries before it gets too late, okay?”
“Ah~ I will come with you~”
“I will come as well, Ren-kun.”
“Count me in! Count me in!”
To be honest I planned on going alone but the three of them looked excited to come with me. I had my magic bag with me so carrying groceries wouldn’t be a problem but since we were all already gathered here, maybe going together would be the best?
“Shall we go now? The market is about 15 minutes away from here, right?”
“That’s right but Ren-kun, do you want to shop right away? Would you like to have tea first? Take a break before you go out again?”
“No, let’s go now.”
I had just arrived but I still decided to just leave right away. Had I taken up on Fer-san’s offer and settled in with them, I’d be feeling too lazy to go grocery shopping.
“Ren, will you hold hands with me today?”
“Okay… Have you guys already decided on an order for holding hands with me?”
“No…? Well… We kinda have to be self aware ourselves. The last person that holds hands with Ren mustn’t hold your hands again after. We have to give others their turn too. Though sometimes we forget and still hold your hands consecutively.”
“I see…”
Sig-san offered his hands to me after we left the house. Since he was being so nonchalant about it, I had thought there was already an unspoken agreement between them or something.
“Come to think of it… You guys always put your sword inside your magic bag when we’re walking in the town, right? Isn’t it hard to take them out when you suddenly need them?”
The three of them always put their sword in their magic bag when we were in town. Fer-san’s magic bag was the waist pouch type so it still looked easy to take the sword out but both Chris-san and Sig-san had a leg pouch type. It seemed hard to reach the leg pouch when you suddenly needed your sword.
“Hm~ Walking in the town with a sword out in the open is difficult. It might not be so bad for me and Fer but Sig’s sword is stupidly big. He almost accidentally hit people with his sword just by carrying it.”
He got a point there… Chris-san used two swords but they were both quite small and Fer-san had one normal sized sword but Sig-san… He used one big two-handed sword. The sword was almost as big as me even…
Even though the sword was properly sheathed, being accidentally hit by that big sword must’ve hurt. This was why when we were walking in a single line during the Calhea quest, Sig-san had to stay at the back of the line.
“Moreover, the three of us can use both magic and martial arts to a certain level. Even without our swords, we wouldn’t be easily defeated.”
I turned my back to see Fer-san, who had been walking behind me. He was smiling confidently. He was right though. Those three were all A-rank adventurers and there were only 50 A-rank adventurers in Alsar.
“Everyone is so strong… I wonder if I should try to learn some self defense techniques?”
Could I become A-rank like them when I didn’t have any means to protect myself? I guess I would have to think of something…
“That would be great but… Considering Ren’s physical strength and talent in offensive magic… I think it’d be a little hard for you, Ren.”
Sig-san, who was walking beside me, said while nodding to himself.
“I knew it…”
Of course… Not to mention in Alsar, almost everyone was bigger than me. I doubt learning self defense would help me much and not to mention I had no talent in offensive magic as well. What should I do….
“How about if you summon a magical beast to protect you?”
“Magical beast?”
“Yes. They are similar to monsters but you can summon them and bind them with a contract to have them to do your bidding. But no one actually knows from where they are summoned though? I heard they come from the demon world but I’m not really sure about it either… But what I know for sure is that the stronger they are, the harder it is to summon them.”
Oooooh!!! Summoned beast! It really gave you the fantasy world vibe!! I mean this world was a fantasy world but the summoning beast really made the fantasy world vibe shoot out the roof. Usually in summoner setting, we get to summon a holy spirit or a fairy but since Fer-san said it was a ‘magical beast’, it must’ve resembled an animal or sort. I wonder what kind of beast will come for me?
“Is summoning hard to do? If it’s possible for me to do it, I definitely want to try it! To be honest, I feel embarrassed to say this but I know in my current condition, even a woman can easily defeat me…”
Yes… Up until now, I hadn’t seen any adult woman who was smaller than me. Even if I were to see a woman who was smaller than me, I could tell from their gesture and appearance that they were far younger than me but despite that, the difference in our genetic mapping was too evident. Just from looking at their physical appearance alone, they looked stronger than me…
“You’re right… Summoning a regular beast is not difficult though.”
Ah. Fer-san was staring at me with pity. I was weak. I wasn’t belittling myself, it was a fact. I think it was important for me to just accept the fact as it was. There was no need to sugar coat it.
“Is that so? But I think I never saw one when I walked in town.”
I said, tilting my head to the side, confused.
Yeah. Although I was still not sure what a summoned beast looked like, I don’t think I had ever seen anything like that in town?
“I usually keep them inside my ornament~ And to begin with, there’s not much people who had successfully established a contract with a summoned beast~”
“Oohh… How convenient… But why? Summoned beasts are strong and they can protect you, right?”
Storing it inside an ornament… That might come in handy… A large beast would scare people and become a hindrance for other people to walk around. But I wonder why I never saw one in town? Since a summoned beast sounds so convenient and useful after all.
“It’s simple. A summoned beast is extremely fickle. In the first place, there’s a possibility the beast won’t respond to your summoning and even if you managed to summon one, there’s a high chance for them to refuse having a contract with you. Also, the contractor needs to feed the beast with their blood regularly. Because of all those factors, there’s not many people who have a contract with a summoned beast.”
Sig-san explained.
“I see… Do you have to give a lot of blood to them?”
“Nope~ You can just prick your finger and feed them some drops of your blood~ Summoned beast can’t eat regular food. They feed on their contractor’s magical power. Blood is used as a medium to transfer the magical power from the contractor to the summoned beast~”
“Ooh… I see.. Ah, another thing. Can summoning be potentially dangerous?”
“No. Summoned beasts can’t step outside of the magic circle until the contract is established so they can’t hurt the summoner. That is why, you don’t have to worry, Ren-kun.”
The three of them took turns in answering my questions. I guess I should just give it a try? Even if I couldn’t summon one or even if I couldn’t make a contract with one there was no harm in trying. In fact, challenging yourself was crucial to improve yourself.
“I want to try it.”
“I see~ To be honest I want to say that the three of us will protect Ren-chan but realistically speaking, we can’t be there for you all day long. Having a summoned beast might be good for Ren-chan’s safety~”
“Well then, there are some things we have to prepare beforehand. Why don’t we try it after we’re finished with the Lasserna quest?”
“Okay!”
I wonder what the preparations were? But now, I had something to look forward to after we finished with the quest.
“Welcome! Welcome! Our tomatoes are cheap today!”
“The young lady over there! Why don’t you take a look at our goods?~”
The energetic sound of the shopkeepers could be heard, indicating we had already arrived at the market. We were so engrossed in talking, I hadn’t noticed we had already arrived at the market.
“Now then, do you guys have any requests?”
“Every meal that Ren-chan makes tastes so delicious…”
“That’s a difficult question…”
“Hmmm~”
Sig-san looked like he was deep in thought.
The three of them weren’t picky with their food. They would eat anything I made but I still wanted to know if there was anything they wanted to eat. But it seemed, nothing came to their mind yet.
“Oh! I want meat! Beef sounds good!”
Sig-san suddenly exclaimed with a bright smile on his face.
“Fufu~ Since Sig-san is the first one to answer, let’s have beef for today.”
It was decided, we would have beef today.
“Let’s go to the butcher first? Hm~ I wonder what I should make~”
I began to think of what to cook as we walked toward the butcher. Sig-san definitely liked a big and hefty meal, right? In that case, chaliapin steak seemed like a great choice for today.
“Excuse me, can I have four pieces of this steak meat?”
“Oh, Ren-kun! Steak, you say? Are those the rumoured fiancés that I’ve been hearing about?”
I asked the butcher for four pieces of steak meat. This old man was an acquaintance of mine. After glancing at my joined hands with Sig-san, the butcher immediately asked if they were my fiancés or not. But…. ‘Rumoured’ he said?
“What kind of rumour have you been hearing about them? And… Yes. The three of them are my fiancés. We’re planning on living in Pedrel after we get married. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you more in the future.”
The three of them only nodded slightly at the butcher. It seemed they had no plan to have a small talk.
“Is that so? Ren-kun, you know, you’re the hottest topic in Pedrel right now. After returning from a subjugation quest, suddenly you become so strong and you even brought these outrageously handsome and strong fiancés. Of course people would be talking about it? But man, you guys look so great together!”
“Ahaha… I see… Thank you.”
He was right but you know? It felt a little scary to know how fast a strange rumour could spread when you were in the spotlight.
“Here you go! Four pieces of steak meat. 5000 elk only as a gift for your engagement!”
“Eh? Really? Thank you very much!”
The butcher gave me a big discount for the steak meat. I had purposely chosen the meat which was a little bit more expensive than I usually had as a housewarming gift for the three of them. One slap of this meat was twice the size of the regular steak meat but the butcher had generously given it to me for a cheap price! I had to pay it quickly before the butcher changed his mind!
Without wasting any time, I took out my money from my magic bag and paid for the meat and put it inside my magic bag swiftly.
“See you again, Ren-kun!”
“Thank you for the meat!”
I began to walk to the other shop while the three of them silently followed me from behind.
“Ren-chan, is that a new wallet? That’s not the same wallet you used to have, right?”
“Ah, yes. This is for the party, or should I say, our household expenses. I had bought it this morning before I went to the guild to take some money from our party card balance. I figured it’d be better to have separate wallets for our household expenses and my personal expenses.”
I was the one keeping our party card and also the one in charge of cooking. In order to not have my personal money and the party’s money to get mixed up with one another, I decided to have a separate wallet for each of them.
“Ren-kun, you’re really meticulous.”
“I’m already 21 after all. Though it is true I may not know much about this world but you guys are treating me like I’m a kid!”
Fer-san was genuinely praising me but really, it was like they sometimes forgot I was already 21.
I pouted and puffed my cheek at them to show I was upset but on second thought…Maybe this was not the best place to do it?
“What are you talking about? …. I won’t be able to do this kind of thing if you’re still a kid, right?”
“Hi-?! Ah!! W-what are you doing?!”
With a mischievous smile on his face, Sig-san let my hands go and slung his arm around my shoulder, pulled me close to him and licked the corner of my ear.
I was so surprised that I accidentally let out a strange voice from my mouth.
“Now, do you understand that I never treat you like a kid?”
“I understand! I understand so please don’t do this kind of thing in public!”
He let me go almost immediately but Sig-san was still grinning from ear to ear.
I never thought he’d do this kind of thing out in the open just to prove his point!
“So it’s alright if we do it in private?~”
Chris-san asked, throwing a flirtatious glance at me.
“Eh?! T-that’s not what I meant…”
If possible, I’d like it if they could also restrain themselves even when we were at home.
“Alright, alright. Let’s finish the rest of our shopping trip.”
“Ah.. Yes…”
My hand was free since Sig-san had pulled his hand from me so Fer-san took this opportunity to grab my hand and pulled me along the way.
“Oi, wait for me!”
“Where are we going next?~”
I walked along with Fer-san and glanced at Sig-san and Chris-san who were following us from behind.
In the end I was able to finish my shopping without any trouble.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
For our dinner tonight, I cooked some chaliapin steak and added some vegetables as a side. I also prepared a soup with plenty of vegetables and a baguette.
Of course, since the meat I had was bigger than usual, I couldn’t finish one portion by myself. I split half of my portion and gave it to Sig-san.
“Ah!~ I just remembered~ About the date we talked about~ 5th is Sig’s day, 7th is mine and 9th is Fer’s day, right? Do any of you have any problem with this date?~”
“Yes. I don’t have anything to do so any date is fine by me.”
Chris-san mentioned the date while we were eating dinner. I nodded as I answered his question.
“I’ll be sure to finish the quest quickly while we’re not together.”
“Please don’t push yourself too hard, Fer-san.”
Fufu~ I can’t wait for our date~
After that, the four of us slept together in the newly arrived bed. The bed was really outrageously big.
Well… Of course we did more than just ‘sleeping’ that night….
