by Ko Hiratori
Kiyori says, “I tripped on my first step in both love and adventuring,” so, “Next time I’m going in fully prepared.”
I keep telling her putting in too much effort can be dangerous, too. But I’m sure her dream will come true. I mean, she has a great face.
All I have to report is so same-old, it’s boring, huh?
Sometimes I feel like things have got to change, but nothing has, so what can I say?
Since the silver-haired man stopped coming around, my feelings have been frozen in time.
On rainy nights, I always pay attention to the windows, looking for him in the light of the street lamps. I thought as long as I was at the shop I would be able to see him again, but maybe I can’t assume that.
He did tell me to come to him next time—although he never told me where he lived.
He might not even be in this city. I have this feeling I felt those sharp hawk eyes somewhere else.
It’s possible that, just maybe, he was there that time.
If when he said to come see him, that’s where he meant, then...
—Oh yeah, I made it to number three in sales!
＊
By the way, Miss Haru has been acting strange lately. I can’t be the only one to have noticed. This is Kiyori.
Even when we’re having tea like this, it’s not uncommon for the conversation to suddenly trail off and all of us to just sit there absentmindedly. At those times, it was usually Miss Haru who would find something for us to talk about, but more often now she just stares off into space.
Looking at her melancholic face from the side, she seems sort of seductive and mature. Of course, she’s a sex worker, so if she tried, she would be far more seductive and mature than me. But the image I have of Miss Haru is more someone who tells off-color jokes, roars with laughter, and really knows how to eat, so she seems almost like a different girl.
It’s like she’s seeing a place that isn’t here, so for the people actually with her, it feels lonely.
I tried sending Lupe a sign with my eyes. She smiled, charmingly traced the rim of her cup with a finger, and raised a hand to call for service. “Sumo! More tea, please!”
“C-Coming right up.”
Mr. Sumo, his big stomach jiggling, came over with a cute teapot. I heard he took great pains to find one that Miss Haru would like. Because he really loves her.
Perhaps the vibrations of the floor returned Miss Haru to herself, because she remembered her role and said, “This tea is so yummyyyy!” and touched Mr. Sumo’s arm with a smile.
Mr. Sumo smiled modestly, his face bright red, and mumbled, “Th-This one? You can have as much as you like.” And he was serious, because he gave us a free refill.
“Ee-hee-hee! Thanks!”
Miss Haru—no, that’s not a fair way to put it—we shrewdly took advantage of his kindness and had our third cup of free tea that day. Miss Haru says business goes both ways, but things come out pretty uneven in the end.
“Miss Haru, is something wrong?” I threw her a vague, open-ended question.
For just a second, she looked annoyed. But only for a second.
“Something? No, nothing, but it sucks. I want something good to happen, Lupeeee.”
“Huh? Didn’t you just get ranked number three in sales? I always knew you’d make it there.”
“Really? Thanks. It’s thanks to you, Lupe-senpai.”
“It’s only a matter of time before you pass me up...”
“No! I’m going to do my best to tie you. Plus, you still make like double me, so there’s no way.”
“Hoo-hoo. You’ll just have to sell more, Haru.”
“Here she is, the next madam.”
“I am not!”
Miss Haru and Miss Lupe can take that sort of general topic and flesh it out into a whole conversation. It’s things like that that really make me admire night workers. When I have nothing wrong, I just say, “Nothing,” and that’s it.
But I’m used to her style of conversation now, so she can’t fool me so easily.
According to Miss Haru, there is something “annoying” about me. And I also know that she feels annoyed when someone tries to press her on something she doesn’t want to talk about.
And in that case, even I agree, I must be quite an annoying woman. But I want to know. Although, I’m also scared to find out.
“Are you by any chance thinking of going away somewhere?”
I feel like I heard something before about number three being her goal.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but what does number three mean to her? Not number one, but right under Lupe. Doesn’t it seem like a reasonable goal?
Like a good stopping point.
“...Whaaat? Like where? This is the only place I have.”
After raising her eyebrows a bit, she smiled. Lupe looked outside, and I could tell she was disengaging.
I think she meant, If you’re going to dig into it, you’re on your own. This was my responsibility.
I clenched my fists on the table.
“You can go anywhere you want, can’t you Miss Haru? There’s nothing tying you down. You’re free, strong, cheerful. You’re the kind of person who can survive anywhere. You’re probably sick of it here. You want to go somewhere new, right? Please tell me truthfully.”
Miss Haru sighed. Then she said, “You really say what you mean now, Kiyori, huh?” sounding half-exasperated, half-amused.
It’s thanks to you, Miss Haru.
“You know Widgecraft, right? That lewd old guy I introduced you to before. I tried going with him and his friends into the woods.”
Both my and Lupe’s eyes widened at the unexpected response.
She had also noticed that Miss Haru had been preoccupied, but she never would have imagined that it was occupied by the demon lair. Me neither.
Actually, why didn’t she take me along? I’ve been telling her over and over how much I want to go.
“It’s not like I want to go far away or anything. There’s just something that’s bugging me. So I want to take a little trip to confirm.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, I get that you want to go. But I’m not using the usual army-sanctioned route. ’Cause I’m not a Sister, right? So I can’t take you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, though.”
“If that sort of route exists, I’m fine taking it. Please take me. I want to go with you.”
“No. It’s super dangerous. I can’t take you.”
“Why not? I may not look very reliable, but even I’m a Sister with an angel name from the church. I may not be able to fight, but I can at least save everyone with my healing magic. And I can even put up holy barriers—”
“I don’t mean like that. It’s impossible on a way more basic level. There’s no time to use healing magic. Where I’m going, you die instantly if you get hit. It’s survival of the fittest out there, so I really can’t recommend it.”
“If I were scared to die, I wouldn’t want to be an adventurer in the first place. I want to go deeper into the woods than any other team and give the women of this world some courage. If possible, I want to be the number-one team with you, Miss Haru. I want to show everyone that girls can do it too!”
“Have you always been so ambitious, Kiyori...?”
It’s thanks to you, Miss Haru.
Watching you, I discovered what it means to want something.
And I’m pretty sure I’m brave, too.
“But you have to understand. There’s no glory for girls in the woods. It’s a slimier, muddier, creepier place than you think. How can I explain it...? It’s not like there’s anything to achieve in there. I think you’d have a much better life if you found a dream, or goal, or whatever on this side.”
“But you’re going, aren’t you? I can’t be so stupid as to give up before even seeing it.”
“I’m telling you, it’s different from what you think. It’s a place where demons are on the rampage, but first and foremo
st, it’s a place where the rules of this world don’t apply. Do you understand? There aren’t any soldiers or officials or townspeople. In other words, it’s a lawless land of men.” Miss Haru frowned.
So? I pursed my lips and we glared at each other.
“U-Umm, can I ask you something, Haru? Why do you need to go to such a dangerous place so badly...?”
Without realizing it, I had gotten pretty absorbed in the conversation, to the point that I nearly gave away Miss Haru’s true nature in front of Miss Lupe.
Miss Haru said, “Ahh,” with a smile and put her hands together. “Lupe, sorry. I’m going on sort of a secret adventure. If it seems like it will take a while, I’ll take a proper vacation, so please don’t tell Madam.”
“Miss Haru, let’s—”
“Okay, this conversation is overrrr. I answered your questions, so please don’t bring up any more stuff that will cause me trouble.”
Miss Lupe seemed like she had more to say, but Miss Haru ignored both of our looks and gazed down the street.
Her face was a wall in profile.
When this girl from another world looks far into the distance, our eyes can’t follow.
It’s so lonely because she doesn’t understand how we feel.
“...Speaking of the forest, I heard from a customer that there are penis-shaped monsters in there.”
“What the hell? I never heard that! Are you serious?”
“They rub up against dakimaku trees and squirt white stuff from their heads. They’re virgin monsters.”
“Ee-hee-hee-hee-hee. What? That’s hilarious. If I find one, I’ll jerk it off!”
She really does like to talk nonsense. I’m not like Miss Lupe, so I don’t have the wherewithal to react to Miss Haru’s moods. I just get confused.
When I ask Miss Haru about the other world, she won’t tell me, and she won’t tell me what sort of person God is, either. On top of that, she won’t tell me what she wants to do, so I get the feeling our friendship is pointless.
Maybe one day she just won’t come back. I end up imagining lonely things like that.
She must not understand that feeling. Or maybe I just don’t mean anything to Miss Haru.
“I’m going.”
I put the money for my tea on the table and left.
Mr. Sumo was about to bring us cake, but I had him cancel my order.
I feel like I’ve been irritated more often lately.
＊
But Miss Lupe taught me that in front of a man, you have to be pleasant, so I’m forcing myself to smile even if I’m not in the mood. This is Kiyori.
“Everything tastes delicious when I’m with you.”
I can even come up with this kind of fawning line when he orders way too much greasy meat without even asking what I want.
Even if you can’t keep the conversation moving completely smoothly, the guys will be fine as long as you say something cute at key moments. That’s another thing Lupe taught me.
He—his name is Killak—blushed with a smile. He’s a B-Rank adventurer, and five years older than me.
I can’t quite call him my boyfriend, but I cheer for him at his matches (although I don’t gamble), and sometimes we have tea and talk, so we’re friends.
For the past several days, I’m not sure why, but he’s been complimenting me, consoling me, and touching my head and shoulders a lot more. Judging from my experience with Mr. Endless Crimson Rain, he’ll probably want to get seriously physical soon.
But both Miss Lupe and Miss Haru are against it. “Don’t let him right away!” They say I don’t have to do it unless I want to.
They can say that, but I don’t really feel like I’ll ever want to do it, and I don’t think a man would hang around with a woman who refuses.
Mr. Killak has a plain face, but he’s B-Rank and dresses flashily, and women like him. I think other Sisters have been asking him to be their partner.
In other words, I have rivals. I’m being appraised.
So in order to get him to take me into the forest, I have to get him to be more interested in me than the other Sisters. If he wants my body, I’ll have to give it to him. Of course, if Miss Haru would take me, I wouldn’t have this problem, but...
People like Miss Haru with special powers don’t understand this, I guess. In order to stand at the entrance to the forest, we have to win this battle. Men always have their pick of the women.
But it’s not as if I dislike him, and I’m always saying I want a strong boyfriend who I’ll be able to count on when we’re adventuring, so I can’t go back now.
“Uh, the weather seems like it’s going to go bad, so do you want to go to my room?” he mumbled under a blue sky.
Of course, I said, “Sure.”
I only do it because it’s necessary.
I certainly don’t have regrets.
＊
All he does is suck my nipples, and it’s driving me crazy. This is Kiyori.
At first I could moan like it felt good, but as he was sucking away like a mosquito, it started to hurt, and I got annoyed. When I said, “Nnn,” half in protest, he thought for some reason that I was gasping and started grabbing my breasts and leaving kiss marks there, too.
“Nn, no.”
I accidentally said no. But maybe he couldn’t hear it, or he interpreted it in some other way, because he started breathing even harder and keep sucking on my skin.
“You’re getting off that much just from your chest? And it’s only your first time!”
Why do men and women have such a hard time understanding each other? When I said, “Please don’t say things like that,” he got even happier for some reason and starting going on about his technique.
“Ngh, nn!”
He had only just started touching me down there when suddenly he put a finger in. It hurt to be rubbed when it was dry, but he forced it all the way to the back and said, “Oh, you’re wet already.”
I didn’t think so, but when I said, “I don’t know,” he said, “You can just leave it to me,” as he took out the luvya grass and put some on his finger.
“It might hurt at first, but it’ll feel better soon,” he said as he put two fingers in. That really hurt, but when I said so, and that I was sorry, he said, “Then do you wanna do it without the luvya?” That would have been even worse, so I just put up with it.
“They say that women get off more without luvya. Well, we can get there eventually.”
That has to be a lie.
But if this man chooses me as his partner, he might actually want me to do it without the luvya eventually. I’ll just have to get him to forgive me for not allowing that.
The other thing I was kind of thinking about, although it was probably rude, was how Mr. Endless Crimson Rain mainly lay around like a dead fish. I think that was actually easier because I was able to prepare myself.
Mr. Killak seemed to like playing with women’s bodies, but it didn’t feel good at all. I felt like I was being kneaded like some dough, and that was it. If we’re going to keep seeing each other I’ll have to find an opportunity to ask him to touch me a little more gently.
I understood how hard Miss Haru and Miss Lupe have it at work.
“Kiyori, I’m sure you’ll get addicted to my cock real soon. I can’t believe this is your first time when you’re so dirty... I’ll be gentle and teach you, though,” he panted.
Mr. Killak forced himself in. The luvya made things slide a little more easily, but it still rubbed in a way that hurt.
“Nn, ow...”
“How is it? Does it hurt?”
“Uh, no, I’m all right...”
“You can tell me if it hurts. I’ll go slow.”
Oh, so you’re going to move, then. I spread my knees a bit to give him space.
He moved his hips in quivering little motions, grinding deep inside me. It wasn’t slow, but more like he was doing push-ups. His bumped his whole body into me.
Panting.
Yes,
I’m sure that’ll wear you out. I remember what a hard time I had when Mr. Endless Crimson Rain told me to get on top.
“U-Umm, you don’t have to work so hard...”
“It’s okay. Like I said, you can, leave it to me. Ahhh. Does it hurt? Does it still hurt?”
Honestly, it hurts, and you’re crushing me. But I couldn’t say something like that to someone who was trying so hard.
So I told him it didn’t hurt. Then he asked, “Does it feel good?”
I don’t know why those are the only two options, but I said, “Yes, it feels good,” because I figured he’d be happier that way.
“Huh? Are you really a virgin?”
Then he got upset instead.
I had no idea what to do, so I said, “I’m sorry.”
“Whoa, wait a sec. Are you serious? This isn’t your first time?”
He had been saying things that seemed to imply that it was my first time, but I thought he meant my first time with him, so I didn’t feel like I needed to correct him. I did wonder why he kept confirming that point, though.
Mr. Killak started moving his hips so fast the bed creaked. It felt like he was torturing me, and it hurt even more.
“Ah, ah, shit! What, the fuck. I didn’t know that! Oooh, ooh...!”
Then he suddenly ejaculated inside me and got all angry. “Why?! I had sex with you because I thought I was your first. And you’re a Sister, so usually you’d be a virgin!”
He put on his underwear in a huff. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I started gathering up my Sister habit.
“U-Umm, why are you angry?”
“The question is, why aren’t you a virgin?!”
Why? All I could really say is that I had been living my life.
And it’s not as if I’d done anything so horrible.
“Anyone who gets tricked this badly would be mad! I’ve been swindled—swindled! How much money do you think I’ve spent on you? Fuck. Get out of here, you slut! I never want to see your face again!”
“What? Umm, please wait. I...!”
I had barely any clothes on, but he threw me out. I rushed into the shadows to finish dressing and cried a little bit.
I don’t know why such an awful thing should happen to me. I must still be making a mistake somewhere in there.