Chapter 286 – Recruiting A Magical Girl!
◈-Tikya’s SIDE
What?
What, what?
Did I just hear what I think I heard?
He, he likes Rent?
What does that mean?
As a person?
As a colleague?
No, no, we just became colleagues, it’s not the time to ask if I like him as a colleague.
Then, is he… talking about me as a man?
But why now…
No, could it be that…
Is this… the line?
Like, I acknowledge you as a colleague, but don’t touch my man?
Come to think of it, Ninya and Noah’s reactions to Rent were so… friendly, even I could tell.
And from what Elsie said, there’s no way Elsie doesn’t like Rent…
But Ninya and Noah seemed to get along well…
Could it be that they’re telling me not to get involved in their friendly competition for Rent?
What, what am I supposed to say!?
No, can’t I just say no to this question?
Of course, I like Rent as a person.
He’s kind, considerate, and different from those other guys who judge me by my looks…
If, if he confessed, I’d be willing to accept him right away… I do like him that much.
Wait, now that I think about it, why do I only have good impressions of Rent?
Huh?
Uhhh?
Could it be?
No way, right?
Huh?
Could it be that I’ve fallen for Rent, whom I’ve only known for three days?
No, no, no, there’s no way I’m that easy!
That’s it!
I’ll look at Rent’s face!
If I have a weird reaction after looking at Rent’s face after this question, that’s the proof!
I raised my head, which I had lowered because I was choking, and looked at Rent.
Rent is looking back and forth between me and Ninya, looking bewildered.
Uh… what is this?
My face is suddenly getting hot.
More than that, Rent looks kind of cute when he’s troubled…
…Is it real?
Am I really this easy?
I mean, in my life, my experience with men has been limited to my rotten father who tried to sell me off, my master who I’m grateful to but has terrible behavior, and those awful guys at the magic academy… Rent is the best man I’ve met so far…
I unconsciously lowered my head again.
I was too busy facing my feelings to answer Ninya’s question.
Then, Noah’s voice reached my ears.
“Hehehe, it’s confirmed.”
“Ti, Tikya-ssi likes Re, Rent… Haaah!”
“Hehehe, yeah, yeah, I knew it~.”
“Huh? Uh, uh? Ti, Tikya-ssi?”
Noah, Ninya, and Elsie must have noticed my reaction.
Rent still seems confused though…
I slowly raised my head and looked at Rent.
What kind of face am I making right now?
It’s definitely as red as a tomato.
“Tikya… ssi?”
Ah, I can’t look at him properly.
I turned my head towards Ninya, avoiding Rent’s gaze.
“…I, if… if I like him… what happens?”
“Huh? Well, you’d date Rent.”
“What!?”
I unconsciously slammed the table and stood up.
That was so unexpected.
At the very least, I was expecting something like, “Sorry, but give up~” or “Nice to meet you as a rival~.”
Da, dating?
With Rent?
What the heck is going on?
“U, um… I have a question…”
“What is it?”
“Ni, Ninya likes Re, Re, Re…?”
“Yeah, I love him the most in the world♡”
“Ninya-ssi…”
Rent’s face turned red.
My heart is aching a little?
Is this… jealousy?
No, more than that…
“Lo, lo, love… but why…?”
Why are you telling me to date Rent when you’re so confident in saying you love him?
What is it? Are you a pervert who gets excited or likes seeing the man you love with another woman?
Then, Noah said to Ninya.
“Ninya~ your explanation is too lacking~ It’s better to explain everything at once in this kind of situation.”
“Hehe, but Tikya’s reaction is so funny?”
“Well… I understand, but it’s too pitiful if you go too far~.”
“Noah is so kind. You accepted me right away too~ I really like Noah’s generosity and kindness♪”
“Hehehe, thank you. Of course, I like Ninya too~.”
What?
What the heck?
What’s going on?
“Rent~ put up a barrier around us so the kobolds don’t interrupt our conversation.”
“Uh… okay.”
*Snap!*
Rent snapped his fingers, and a translucent blue barrier appeared around us.
It was clearly a barrier formed with high-density magic.
“Well, this should keep the kobolds from bothering us, so let’s talk~.”
Noah said with a grin.
“First, let me confirm again. Tikya, do you like Rent?”
I need to say it clearly here for the conversation to progress.
It’s really… really embarrassing to say it out loud… but I squeezed out the words with all my might.
“…I, I do… like him.”
“Hehehe, what do you like about him?”
Another question!?
Noah waved her hand.
“Sorry, sorry, let’s talk about our story first, then you can tell us.”
And Noah clapped her hands once and said.
“First of all, I love Rent too. And Elsie too!”
Another shocking statement.
Huh?
What?
No, I expected it, but is it okay to say you love him so openly?
“And we all know that, and we’re all Rent’s lovers now! We’re all planning to get married in the future!”
Uhhhhhhhh?
A harem?
Is this a harem?
“Oh, and by the way, Melisa, Tina, and Miranda-ssi, who we’ve already met, are also Rent’s lovers.”
“What?”
Wait, what did you just say?
Melisa, Tina, and… Miranda-ssi too?
I can understand Melisa and Tina.
But Miranda-ssi?
Miranda-ssi is the landlady of the inn and… Tina’s mother, right?
Huh?
Uhhhhhhhh?
I quickly reached out my hand and said.
“Wait, my head hurts.”
“Okay! Think about it calmly!”
“Hoo…”
I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts again.
So… Rent is dating his party members, plus a girl from his hometown… and the mother and daughter who run the inn he’s staying at?
Okay, good.
I’ve organized my thoughts.
But I can’t understand it…
My head hurts.
Master, I think I’ve fallen for a nice but weird man.
“…Rent.”
“Ah… yes. Tikya-ssi.”
“Is that… all true?”
“…Yes. They’re all my precious lovers.”
Rent didn’t deny it.
Rather, he emphasized that they were his precious lovers.
Rent was the master of a harem.
Well, I’ve heard somewhere that high-ranking adventurers have multiple women…
I never thought the man I fell for would be like that…
And those lovers are all willing to accept me.
What is this?
Is my common sense weird?
Usually, when a woman’s man gets a new woman or shows signs of getting a new woman, they don’t like it, right?
Usually, they stop it, right?
Ah, my head hurts again.
Even with my genius brain, I can’t understand it!
“Can I ask a question?”
“Ask anything.”
“Usually… don’t they stop it? When… when another woman likes their man…”
“Well~ usually they would. But we already know that Rent is a cool and attractive man, and we don’t think it’s worth stopping. And we have faith that even if Rent gets a new woman, he’ll never abandon us or love us less.”
What is this?
It’s clearly abnormal, but I feel a sense of absolute trust that’s dazzling.
When I was in the magic academy, all those guys and girls who picked fights with me and cheated or got new lovers or had love triangles all ended in a messy breakup!
By the way, I felt really good about it back then.
“Do you have any other questions?”
Noah looked at me with a bright smile.
“Th, then just one more…”
I swallowed and glanced at Rent before speaking.
“Even if… even if I like Rent… shouldn’t we hear Rent’s opinion too?”
Yeah, Rent’s opinion is important.
Even if Rent is kind, dating is a different matter.
Even if Rent doesn’t judge people by their development, if we date, we’ll… have a relationship, right?
Thinking about that, he might reject a woman like me.
Looking at Rent’s taste, he only likes women with good development.
Ninya, Elsie, and Noah, and those three I saw at the inn, all had good development.
There’s no way Rent, who dates those kinds of people, would…
Date me.
Ugh… it hurts a little even thinking about it myself.
“Hmm~ I don’t think you need to worry about that? Right, Rent? Do you want to date Tikya?”
She’s asking him directly?!
I immediately turned my head towards Rent.
“I…”
My heart is pounding.
Even though my head is telling me I’ll be rejected.
My heart is believing in a possibility and beating wildly.
Rent blushed slightly and said.
“Well… if Tikya-ssi says she likes me…”
That was almost an affirmative answer.
What should I do?
My heart is beating so fast.
“More than that, I never thought Tikya-ssi would like me. We’ve only known each other for three days, and…”
“Rent~ I already fell for Rent at our first meeting?”
“I, I did too…”
“Me too? Isn’t three days rather long?”
“…I guess so.”
For some reason, I’m thinking, “Isn’t everyone falling in love too fast?” but it’s not my place to say that, and more than that, my heart is pounding so hard with joy that I feel like I’m going crazy.
“More than that, is everyone really okay with me dating Tikya-ssi?”
“Why are you asking that now? We already resolved that when we got together with Ninya~ I thought a month and a half was long enough?”
“Ugh…”
Rent looks cute when he’s troubled.
No, that’s not it!
“Re, Rent is… with another woman… this time Tikya-ssi… Haaah! Ugh. Haa…”
Elsie’s face turned red, and she lowered her head.
Is it because Elsie is a priestess that she’s rejecting it?
“Elsie…”
Rent looked at Elsie, probably thinking the same thing as me.
“Elsie, you don’t like it, do you?”
Elsie immediately raised her head and said to Rent’s question.
“N, no! I don’t dislike it at all! Um… Solishin governs life and creation. As someone who serves Solishin, I think it’s good for Re, Rent to… get along with many women. Rather, I think… it’s good even if there are… more…
That’s what I’ve been thinking recently…”
“Elsie?”
She’s cute when she tilts her head.
Why do I keep thinking that!
Even Elsie, who I thought would be a priestess, was in favor of it.
No, wait, now that I think about it, as Elsie said, Solishin is the god in charge of life and creation.
I heard it from my master before.
There was a flood, and they sent the knights, but when they arrived, the flood was already over, so they couldn’t spread the glory or teachings of Solishin, so the knights came to the magic city and ended up taking nude photos for Miss Solario.
It was to stimulate people’s desires and encourage the life and creation that Solishin wanted.
My master went to the filming site and used binding magic to stop the rampaging knight commander.
By the way, my master had a very lewd and creepy smile that day, which was really unpleasant.
What’s with that “Kuhuhuhut, the axe marks when they rampage are so artistic~” You perverted old man.
I was wrong to think that Elsie, a priestess of a religion that officially takes and publishes nude photos, would have normal ethics.
“…Tikya-ssi.”
“Huh!? Yes, yes!”
I unconsciously straightened my back and looked at Rent.
“I think you’re a very attractive person, Tikya-ssi.”
“Ugh!”
Rent said I was attractive.
Rent said I was attractive.
Rent’s words that I was attractive were echoing in my head.
“Of course, we’ve only known each other for three days. But… first, let me explain the attractive parts of Tikya-ssi that I’ve noticed.”
Huh!? Wait a minute!
Are you going to say that here!?
“Tikya-ssi mostly has a blank expression, but when you talk about Magical Girl Marine or magic, your eyes sparkle. I think Tikya-ssi looks really cute and… pretty at those times.
You might not like your appearance, but… I think your small appearance is very cute and nice. I thought you were very cute today when you were so happy to use magic and jump around.
You said you wanted to be like Magical Girl Marine, but at least in terms of cuteness, I think you’re not inferior to Magical Girl Marine.
And also…”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”
I hurriedly stopped Rent.
Wait a minute.
Please.
Really.
“Haaah…”
My heart is pounding too hard.
My face is so hot, I feel like I’m burning.
Rent’s words about me being cute are echoing in my head, making me dizzy.
And… I’m so happy that the corners of my mouth are raised and won’t go down.
Even though I’m a genius, this… this kind of…
It’s the first time I’ve been praised and called cute by a man I’ve fallen for, so I don’t know what to do…
