Chapter 18

After somehow managing to stop Yuel from helping and successfully washing off the blood that had clung to my lower body, I headed to the tavern.

The reason was to consult with the tavern's master about whether Yuel's working hours could be changed to the evening.

And as a result—

"Would it be possible for you to work late-night shifts for another week? I'd be really happy if you could, but is that okay?"

He said this with a tired expression.

The tavern's master is a middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle, a slender build, and a rather cool demeanor, making him quite handsome.

However, today is different.

His eyes, clouded with fatigue, and deep bags under them ruin the effect.

He looks quite exhausted.

"I'd like to be more flexible with the working hours, but recently, a lot of people have quit due to getting married or moving, and we're short-staffed, especially at night."

"Indeed, you look pretty tired."

It's clear from the bags under his eyes that the master has been working non-stop, barely getting any sleep.

In the food and beverage industry, when there's a shortage of staff, employees often work day and night to fill the gaps.

It's a common story in Japan as well.

He must be a hardworking man, struggling with the shortage of staff.

"......Ah, these bags are just because my wife asked me to do some S&M play last night, and I was left tied up in an uncomfortable position all night, so I couldn't sleep. It's not related to the work, though."

No, he just seems to be a pervert.

Despite his cool demeanor, the master laughs and says such things.

I'm starting to worry about leaving Yuel in the care of a man like this at the tavern.

Should I make her quit?

......No, but I haven't heard any stories about the master making moves on the waitresses here, and Yuel herself wants to work at this tavern.

Besides, he's married, so it should be fine.

When Yuel asks, "What's S&M play?" I pat her head and try to change the subject.

"Hey, are you not hiring any new waitresses?"

"We are, but no one's coming."

"But this tavern pays pretty well, right? I'd think girls from the town would be lining up to apply."

This tavern has a lot of cute waitresses.

Actually, it only has cute waitresses.

I've heard that the tavern pays a very high hourly wage to maintain this.

"Today, I earned a thousand zennies!"

Yuel says with a beaming smile.

It's a smile that makes me understand how grandparents feel when they want to give their grandchildren pocket money.

I pat her head and say, "That's great."

However, a thousand zennies in just a few hours.

It's quite a high wage.

In Japan, it would be comparable to the hourly wage of a maid in a maid café.

"Yeah, they are lining up, but we can't find cute girls. There was Yuel and one other good candidate, but we're still short-staffed. ...My dream is to work surrounded by cute girls, so I don't want to compromise on this."

Is this something to call him cool for, or should I yell at him for being ridiculous?

...No, maybe it's not wrong as a tavern policy.

I've been coming here for a while because of the cute mini-skirted waitresses.

It's not something a married middle-aged man should be saying, though.

"Would one week be okay? Is that not possible?"

What should I do?

Considering that I'm getting free treatment at the clinic, it's hard to refuse.

Maybe I can adjust my schedule a bit.

If I leave the tavern in the afternoon and go to bed early, like I did yesterday, it should work out, and Yuel's sleep won't be affected.

"I'm fine with it!"

Yuel is enthusiastic.

There's no choice but to let her continue for a week.

We then had breakfast at the tavern and thought about the plans for the day.

Usually, we would go to the dungeon, but I don't really want to go today.

Especially, I don't want to see the giant ants.

It might stir up old wounds.

Although Yuel is determined to work harder, I think I'll take a break today.

What should we do?

Come to think of it, this morning, Yuel reacted when I said I'd buy her anything she wanted.

"Let's go shopping today. Is there something you want?"

It seems Yuel had something she wanted to buy, as she was asking the waitresses for recommendations while I was eating.

From a distance, they seem to get along well.

Maybe she'll introduce me to them someday.

"Master, this way!"

Yuel pulls my hand and leads me down the main street.

She has a genuinely happy smile on her face.

Ignoring the street vendors, grocery stores, and weapon shops, she keeps moving forward, even hesitating a bit at the weapon shop.

And then, we arrived.

At a women's lingerie store.

...Wait a minute.

"Is this the place you wanted to come to, Yuel?"

"Yes, this is it."

Yuel looks at the slightly upscale lingerie store with a smile.

It seems she's not mistaken.

"Yuel, anything is fine. I can't afford something too expensive, but accessories, pretty clothes, delicious sweets, or perfume are all good. Oh, cute stuffed animals would be nice too. Come to think of it, isn't there a better place for you?"

"This is the place I want."

I see.

Honestly, I don't want to go in.

Even from outside, I can feel the "men not allowed" atmosphere.

For a man like me, it's a completely inappropriate place.

The only men who would go in are probably those who claim to be women.

I really don't want to go in.

If I peek inside, I can see colorful lingerie neatly displayed.

Young women in their teens and twenties are chatting happily while holding lingerie.

Lingerie, women, lingerie, women.

I don't... want to go in.

It's too much, the stares from the surroundings are too painful.

However, Yuel, seemingly unaware of my thoughts, says, "Master, please help me choose," and pulls me into the store.

What should I do?

It's not good for a man to enter a women's lingerie store.

But the staff, who seemed surprised to see me enter, went back to serving other customers when they saw Yuel nearby.

Is it okay?

Looking around, there are no other men in the store.

I wish I had been kicked out, but it seems I was overlooked.

...Right. I'm just accompanying a young girl shopping.

I'm in a protective role.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Besides, Yuel and I could pass as siblings, even if not as father and daughter.

Yes, siblings.

It's like a young sister is buying lingerie, and I'm just accompanying her because she can't do it alone.

If I think of Yuel as my sister...

I look at Yuel.

Her light brown skin, blue eyes, shining silver hair, and the cute elf ears peeking out.

It's a stretch.

We're different races, after all.

"Master, I'll go look over there."

The way she calls me is also a problem.

No matter how you look at it, Yuel and I look like a master and his slave.

...No, but it's fine.

She is a slave, but I'm just accompanying a young girl to buy lingerie as a guardian.

I feel some stares from the men, but there's no obvious disdain.

Yes, it should be fine.

"Master, how about this?"

While I'm thinking about this, Yuel brings a piece of lingerie.

She looks up at me with a shy smile, trying it on her body.

A beautiful piece of lingerie decorated with lace, in a chic purple color.

It's a negligee, a type of women's pajama.

The fabric looks thin and soft, and it must be comfortable to sleep in.

It seems fine.

Except that it's so thin that you can see right through it.

Yes, the purple lace negligee is so thin that you can clearly see Yuel's clothes underneath.

It doesn't seem to serve any function as clothing, to hide the skin or retain body heat.

Yuel might catch a cold.

It's lingerie for sleeping.

Usually, she sleeps in a thin shirt and pants with me, but from now on, she wants to sleep in this?

That doesn't seem right.

The stares from the surroundings are getting more intense.

A twelve-year-old girl trying on a negligee so thin you can see through it.

It's not good.

What's not good is the stares from the surroundings.

The women around us are whispering and looking at us.

Even more so because I'm a male customer.

From the outside, it looks like I'm trying to dress a young girl in inappropriate lingerie.

If she had chosen something like a cute pumpkin panty, it might have been a heartwarming scene, but Yuel chose a see-through lace negligee.

Why did it come to this?

"Master, does it not suit me?"

While I'm enduring the stares, Yuel looks at me with sad eyes.

I want her to put it back, but I can't leave her looking sad.

"......It's not bad, but maybe something cuter would suit you better."

"Cuter...? ...How about this one?"

Yuel puts the purple negligee back and picks up the one next to it.

Then, she tries it on her body.

A cute pink see-through negligee.

...It's just a different color.

Did she really like the see-through negligee?

Now that I think about it, she seemed to have already decided what to buy.

"Yuel, why do you want this negligee so much?"

"Well, Gazer said that if I want to get closer to Master, I should choose this kind of clothing... 'Don't listen to him anymore.'"

In the end, we bought a regular negligee that wasn't see-through.

After that, we spent our days like this.

In the morning, we explored the dungeon, and in the afternoon, we spent time at the tavern, returning to the inn in the evening to sleep.

Yuel worked at the tavern from late at night to early morning.

That was our daily routine.

A few days passed.

Recently, it has become a routine to have breakfast at the tavern and listen to Yuel talk about what happened at work.

She made friends with the waitresses, and one of them took down some thugs who were bothering her.

She also talks about what the waitresses like, what they do on their days off, and their preferences in men, whether they have boyfriends or not.

It's very informative.

But today was a bit different.

"One of the waitresses I work with is in financial trouble and has to sell her house, so she was having trouble finding a place to stay. I told her about the inn we're staying at."

It's a bit of a heavy topic.

The inn we're staying at costs 500 zennies per night.

It doesn't have a bath, but it's a relatively clean room with a lock.

It's a good place to recommend to a woman in financial trouble.

"Wow, the waitresses have it tough too, huh."

"Yes. She works at the clinic during the day and at the tavern at night, but she can't keep up with her debt payments."

A struggling clinic.

It sounds like a story I've heard somewhere before.

No, it can't be.

"......Just out of curiosity, what's the name of the waitress?"

"Um, it's Ellis."