## Chapter 345 – Helping With Romance!
◈-LANT SIDE
It was fun hanging out with the guys after so long.
Even when I threw them, they all did their breakfalls skillfully and charged in, not rusty at all.
I glanced to the side and saw Shima looking at Dave with sparkling eyes.
It’s about time to wrap up the playing.
“Take thisssss!”
Dave charged at me with Excalibur in hand.
“Not a chance! Haaah!”
I shot a non-aggressive magic beam at Dave with my right hand.
Dave dodged the beam and then swung his sword diagonally at me.
“Yiaaaah!”
In sync with Dave’s sword movements, the armor parts where Excalibur touched began to break apart.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
And then I collapsed backward with a thud.
“Victory for justiceeeeee!”
Dave shouted, holding up Excalibur, and the other guys cheered.
“Wooooooaaaaaaaah!”
“They’re really having fun.”
I heard Melissa’s slightly exasperated voice.
“Whew, it’s fun doing this after so long. Ah, Lant. You can get up now.”
“Okay.”
I got up right away.
“Hey, but how did you do that at the end? I was just trying to pretend to cut you.”
“That takes a bit of skill. But it felt real, right?”
“Yeah! Actually, halfway through, I was like, ‘Is Dave really going to cut Lant?’ I was scared.”
“Yeah, yeah, Lant’s armor suddenly broke.”
“Was that also part of the act?”
“Yeah, I used magic to make it look like it was breaking.”
“Lant, you’re amazing.”
After chatting about our impressions of the game with the other guys, I went to the girls who were sitting on the chairs with Dave.
“How was it?”
“Hehehe, you played the Demon King role well, Lant?”
“Y-you were cool!”
“Should we try it with that outfit next time?♡”
“I’m glad you guys seemed to have fun.”
“Lant, tell me later how you did that non-aggressive magic blast.”
“Sure.”
While I was talking with my lovers, Dave scratched his cheek and asked Shima.
“Um… hey, Shima. How was it?”
“Y-you were cool… D-Dave’s hero look… I-I think it suits you.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah… really… it was cool.”
“I-I see.”
The fresh, romantic atmosphere was palpable.
Seeing him still doubting whether she likes him or not, Dave is really dense, I thought.
After playing and moving our bodies a lot, the guys went their separate ways to do their own things.
And I was about to head back to the inn with everyone.
But then Dave was giving off an aura that he wanted to talk to Shima…
“S-Shima, I have something to talk about for a second…”
“Huh?! W-what is it…?”
In situations like this, it’s best to leave first.
I said to Shima,
“Shima, we’ll head back to the inn first.”
“Huh? O-okay? Ah, okay.”
When Shima turned her head back to Dave, I gave Dave a thumbs up.
You can do it, Dave.
◈-DAVE SIDE
The other guys, Lant, and Lant’s girlfriends left the forest.
On the way, Lant gave me a thumbs up.
I guess that means he wants me to talk to her well.
In front of me is Shima, who has grown her hair out a bit compared to before…
It might just be my imagination, but… I’ve been feeling lately that Shima might… m-m-might have feelings for me.
So I consulted with Lant, reflected on it, and now I’m here.
Frankly speaking, rather than Shima having feelings for me, I… I’ve really started to care about Shima.
Shima looks prettier than usual… and when Shima said I looked cool, my face got hot.
…Huh? Does this mean I’ve fallen for Shima?
“Dave?”
“U-uh! What’s wrong?”
“What did you… want to talk about?”
“Ah, well, that’s…”
Honestly, saying I had something to talk about was just an excuse.
I haven’t thought about what I’m going to say.
I just… wanted to be alone with Shima.
But I can’t just stay silent.
“Ah, um… Shima, you’ve grown your hair out recently, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I was just wondering… why you started growing your hair out.”
“W-well, that’s…”
Shima trailed off.
I’ve known Shima since we were kids, so I could tell.
That’s the reaction she has when she’s embarrassed or doesn’t want to talk about something.
“Ah, i-if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. I was just curious, so I asked.”
“Whew… really?”
Shima sighed in relief.
Y-yeah, I guess it was a question I shouldn’t have asked?
“Yeah.”
“Is that… all you wanted to ask?”
“Ah, well, that’s…”
Find something to ask, find something to ask, find something to ask!
I need to buy some more time!
I can’t just ask Shima right away, “Do you like me?”
While I was wondering what to ask, Shima said to me,
“Um… Dave. Can I ask you something this time?”
Thankfully, Shima seems to have a question for me.
Okay, I-I can buy some more time.
“Huh? U-uh! Sure, go ahead. What do you want to ask?”
“D-Dave… what do you think?”
“H-how do I think about what?”
“Does my hair… suit me?”
Shima asked, touching her bangs.
That gesture seemed, how should I put it… cuter than usual.
“Y-yeah! I-I think it suits you.”
Wow, I’m totally stuttering.
“R-really?”
“Yeah. I like your usual style too… but I think you look good now too. Y-you look pretty.”
“I look pretty… hehe, I see…”
Shima seems happy.
Is she just happy because I complimented her?
Or is it something else?
What is it?
Damn it! Lant, the romance expert who built a harem, help me out!
“U-um, Dave…”
“U-uh! What is it?”
“Dave, do you… have a type of woman you like?”
“Huh? Huh? W-why are you asking about my type of woman?”
Huh? Why is she asking that now?
D-does she have feelings for me after all?
S-should I ask her?
“Um, well, you know! I was, like, wondering what kind of girls are popular with guys.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Wow… I almost embarrassed myself for asking.
Ugh, this is really bad for my heart.
“So, like… do you, do you like girls like Ninya?”
“Huh!? Why, why are you bringing up Ninya?”
“Well, because… all the guys were looking at Ninya, and Dave too… right?”
Ugh, they say girls are sensitive to gazes, and it seems like it’s true.
“Well, that’s… Ninya has a great figure, right? As a guy, I can’t help but look.”
Ah, even I think that’s a terrible answer.
See! Shima’s expression has darkened!
Quick! Quick, say something else…
Ah, I know!
“B-but, I think Shima is eye-catching enough too.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Shima’s hair has gotten longer recently, and, like… your vibe seems brighter, so you’re, you’re, you’re prettier than usual.”
“I-is that so… Th-thank you…”
“I, I was just s-stating the facts.”
Yeah, I was just stating the facts.
But… saying it in front of her was incredibly embarrassing.
“…Hey, Dave.”
One step.
Shima approached me, grabbed the hem of my shirt, and looked up at me as she spoke.
“What kind of girl… does Dave like?”
“Huh?!”
“What’s Dave’s type of girl?”
“Um… well, that’s…”
“Gulp…”
No matter what I tried to say, I couldn’t answer because it was such a sudden question, and then Shima swallowed and said,
“Do you like… sexy girls?”
“S-Shima!?”
“Do you like them?”
“U-um, do I, do I have to answer?”
“…Yeah, please.”
Shima is staring intently at me.
“W-well, if you’re a guy, you’d, you’d, you’d naturally like them…”
I don’t think there are many guys who dislike sexy girls.
“…I see.”
Shima stepped away from me… and said with a bright smile.
“Well, then, I’ll do my best too!”
“U-um, yeah. Do your best.”
I reflexively answered without even thinking.
“Ah, it’s time for cleaning. Dave, I’ll go ahead.”
With that, Shima turned around and ran off.
And I was left alone in the hideout.
“…Huh? Wait. What does she mean by ‘do my best’?”
But Shima, who could have answered that, was no longer there.
◈-Rent SIDE
There was still a little time before lunch, so after stopping by the inn, I told everyone that I was going to stop by my house for a bit and headed home.
And after standing in front of my house, I knocked, knock knock.
It was to prevent my mom and dad from being caught having their alone time like last time.
“Mom~ Dad~.”
Creak…
When I called out to my mom and dad, the door opened.
“Oh my, our son is here?”
My mom, with very shiny skin, came out with a bright smile.
“I just came by for a bit, Mom. Where’s Dad?”
“Your dad is sleeping in bed right now. Hehe, he really used a lot of energy yesterday.”
My mom seems very happy.
Looking at her shiny skin… I’m guessing she probably sucked up a lot of Dad’s energy yesterday?
Wait a minute.
But I definitely gave Dad an energy booster yesterday…
Mom is up and about, and Dad is still sleeping.
That means… even after Dad took the energy booster, Mom still won.
“Mom, your skin looks amazing?”
“Oh my, is that so? Maybe it’s because I ate the food our son gave me yesterday~?”
My mom said, pretending not to know.
As a child, I should probably stop asking any more questions.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yeah, I really just stopped by for a bit.”
“Okay. Oh, and tell Ninya thank you. Tell her I really, really like the gift our daughter-in-law gave me.”
“Okay, Mom. Ah… make sure Dad has a good lunch.”
“Okay, okay, our son is always so filial~ Your dad needs to use his energy again after lunch~.”
Use his energy where?
I wanted to ask, but as a filial son, I didn’t bother asking.
I turned back and headed back to the inn.
When I returned to the inn, there was no one on the first floor, so I went into my room, and all my lovely lovers were there.
Moreover, they were all sitting and reading.
Elsie and Noah were sitting on the bed, Ninya was standing, and Melissa and Tikia were sitting on the floor.
“What are you all doing?”
“Ah, Rent, you’re back. Well, we didn’t really have anything to do, so we were talking about what to do, and then Tikia suggested we read Magical Girl Marine.”
While I was gone, Tikia was doing her proselytizing.
“So, Ninya, Melissa, and I are reading volume 1.”
“Tikia, you had three copies of the same book?”
“In my inventory, I have the regular edition as well as the illustrated edition. And I also have the regular edition for my collection.”
You’re a model otaku, Tikia.
Looking at their reading speed, Noah, Ninya, and Melissa seem to have read about a third of it.
“How is it, everyone?”
“Well~ I’m still reading, but it’s fun.”
“It’s not bad. I think it’s the kind of thing that Rent and Tikia would really like.”
“I thought it was a little childish at first… but now I’m kind of curious about what happens next?”
Noah and Ninya seem to like it, but Melissa seems to be on the fence.
Maybe it’s because Melissa mainly reads more intense romance novels?
But people don’t just get stuck in one genre.
As proof, I like pure love stories, but I also really like imagining humiliation scenarios.
Just as people have various sides, not just one, tastes can also be just as numerous.
Hmm… books…
Next time, how about borrowing some erotic novels from the library and having them read them aloud while we play?
A situation where they recite sexy lines and then follow the positions in the sexy book!
I think that would be great!
“Hey, Tikia, if you don’t mind, would you like to read the books I read next time?”
“Yeah, the books Melissa reads? What kind of books are they?”
“They’re romance novels.”
“Romance novels… Hmm, maybe they could be reference material for dating Rent… Okay.”
Melissa is also subtly trying to proselytize Tikia with intense romance novels.
It might be too stimulating for Tikia, who likes magical girl stories… but I imagined Tikia reading that kind of novel, blushing, but still reading with great interest, and I thought that would be good too.
“Tikia, I want to read part 2.”
“Oh! Now that you mention it, Rent read to the end of part 1 last time! Okay! I’ll get it right away!”
Tikia happily handed me the book right away.
“Thank you. Ah, it’ll be uncomfortable, so I’ll make some chairs.”
I immediately created four chairs in the room.
“Hehe, thank you, Rent.”
“Thank you.”
After being thanked by the three of them, I sat down in a chair and started reading, and we spent our time reading until lunchtime.
A quiet time where everyone is focused on their books.
I think that spending time peacefully with my lovers like this is also very nice.
