Chapter 43

Currently, Hia and Tsuki are walking down the streets of the small town. They have a few hours until noon to make full use of the time and act according to their plan. Their goal is to get food, clothes for Hia, and medicine. As for weapons and armor, they don't need them because of Aichi.

The town is already bustling with noise. The spirited calls of the street vendors, the intense negotiations of housewives or adventurers, and the street stalls related to food are already open. Shouldn't the morning be a bit lighter? The smell of grilled meat and the rich aroma of burnt sauce make one want to say so.

The streets are quite crowded during the time when shops for tools or food are open, so the two decided to go shopping for Hia's clothes first.

Auntie, again, Katherina's map is detailed, listing recommended shops for everyday wear, high-end dresses, and shops for adventurers or travelers. Indeed, Auntie... Katherina is an outstanding person, taking care of even such small details.

The two quickly visited a shop that caters to adventurers. They can also buy everyday clothes to some extent, which is why they chose this place.

This shop, being recommended by Katherina, not only has a wide variety of items, high quality, and practical functions, but its appearance is also unforgettable, making it a store that lives up to one's expectations.

However, here...

"Ah~ Well, welcome? Cute kids~ Come over here, I'm so happy~ I'll serve you well~?"

A monster. Over two meters tall, with bulging muscles like natural armor covering the entire body, and a face painted with makeup that reminds one of a comic book. A tuft of long hair stands alone on the bald head, intricately braided into a braid with a pink ribbon at the end. (Zunzun comment: Are you a blind monk?) With the slightest movement, the muscles across the body twitch and rub against each other, making a sound. The hands, which are pressed against the cheeks, wriggle. The outfit... no, it can't even be called that. It's just pieces of cloth that barely cover the thick limbs and leave the entire abdomen exposed. (Zunzun comment: A bikini?)

Tsuki and Hia stiffened. Hia's consciousness had already flown away, and Tsuki, thinking it was a monster from the nether, had a look of determination in her eyes.

"Ah~ Well? What's wrong with you two? Cute kids can't have such expressions~ Look, smile, smile?"

(All because of you, it's your fault I can't smile!)

Tsuki and Hia both inwardly criticized this loudly, but at the same time, they did their best to endure and not say it out loud. The two, who have the highest potential among humans, now felt they couldn't defeat this monster.

However, facing this monster with a terrifying smile, twisting its body and approaching, Tsuki couldn't help but mutter softly.

"...Human?"

At that moment, the monster let out an angry roar.

"Who~ is a monster that even legendary monsters would run away from, and just by looking at it, one's sense of justice drops below zero and becomes negative~!"

"Sorry..."

Tsuki trembled, tears in her eyes, and took a step back. Hia, feeling a bit cold in her lower body, was completely drained.

After Tsuki immediately apologized, the monster regained its smile (?) and tried to serve the customers.

"Alright~ So? What kind of items do you need today~?"

Hia was still drained, but Tsuki made up her mind and conveyed that their purpose today was to find clothes for Hia. Hia, who now wanted to go back, clung to the hem of Tsuki's clothes and shook her head desperately. The monster said, "Leave it to me~" and carried Hia into the depths of the store. At that moment, Hia's eyes stared at Tsuki, like a pig being sold for meat.

In conclusion, the monster, I mean, the shop owner, Miss Kristabel (?), made the right choice. After noticing that Hia had lost control, she immediately provided a place for her to change clothes, without saying anything, just out of pure concern.

When Tsuki and Hia left the store, they thanked the shop owner, Miss Kristabel. At that moment, they felt that the shop owner's smile had become cute, perhaps due to her (?) character.

"Ah~, I thought it would be different, but the shop owner is a good person."

"Hmm... You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Right~"

The two chatted as they walked in the breeze, with their next destination being the tool shop. However, they were too conspicuous. The road was not smooth, and before they knew it, they were surrounded by dozens of men. Most were men who looked like adventurers, and some were men wearing aprons from various shops.

One of them stepped forward. Tsuki didn't remember, but this man was actually the one who was whispering to someone else when Aichi and Katherina were talking at the adventurer's guild.

"Your names are Tsuki and Hia, right?"

"?...Yes."

Tsuki narrowed her eyes in surprise. Despite Hia being a demi-human, the man still used the honorific "sama" when addressing her, which surprised her.

After hearing Tsuki's answer, the man nodded to the men behind him and looked at Tsuki with a determined gaze. The other men also stepped forward, approaching Tsuki and Hia.

Then...

"Tsuki-sama, will you go out with me!!"

"Hia-sama! Be my slave!!"

In other words, that's what happened. The difference in what was said to Hia and Tsuki was because Hia was a demi-human. To transfer a slave, the owner's permission is needed, and it was well-known that Hia and Aichi had a good relationship from their interactions at the inn yesterday. So, if they could win over Hia first, it would be easier to convince Aichi... perhaps that was their thinking.

Incidentally, at the inn, due to various strong impacts, no one noticed that in a normal slave contract, it would be impossible for a slave to disobey the owner. Otherwise, the fact that Hia wasn't actually a slave would have been exposed long ago. It's also possible that the contract's binding power was weak, and no one even thought about it.

So, the reactions of Tsuki and Hia, who received the confessions, were...

"...Hia, the tool shop is this way."

"Ah, yes. I hope they have a good selection."

They started walking as if nothing had happened.

"Wait, wait! What's your answer!? Even if you say 'no'... gah..."

It was a completely ignored attitude, and the man groaned, with several others collapsing in an OTL shape. However, there are always those who don't give up. Moreover, Tsuki and Hia's beauty was of the level that could make fish dive, the moon hide, and flowers blush. A bit out of control, it might be understandable.

"I'll make you recognize my existence, even by force!"

The man who went berserk shouted, and the other men's eyes sparkled. They surrounded and quickly approached the two, as if not wanting to let them escape.

Then, finally, the man who greeted them first shouted and lunged at Tsuki. If a Japanese person saw him, they would say, "Ah! It's a Lupin dive!"

Tsuki just muttered coldly.

"[Cryostasis]"

After that, the man was left with only his head, his body completely encased in an ice coffin and falling to the ground due to gravity. "Guh!" he let out a merciless cry as he rolled on the ground.

The surrounding men looked confused and shocked. No wonder, as Cryostasis is classified as a high-level water magic, and Tsuki could cast it with just a word. Anyone who saw it would be shaken. "She must have chanted a spell beforehand" "There must be a magic array hidden under her clothes," the men secretly speculated.

Tsuki approached the man encased in ice, and the surrounding people were shocked by the power she displayed. Some men, as if saying, "I'm the second Lupin!" took a stance. But Tsuki made an example of him.

Tsuki raised her hand, and the ice around the man gradually melted. The man's expression relaxed as he saw the ice melt, and he looked at Tsuki with passionate eyes.

"Tsuki, Tsuki-sama. I'm sorry! But I truly like you..."

Even while still encased in ice, the man tried to express his true feelings, but his words stopped halfway. That was because he noticed that only a tiny part of the ice had melted, specifically...

"That, that, Tsuki-sama? Why, why, only that part...?"

Indeed, Tsuki had only melted the ice around the man's crotch. The rest of the ice still restrained him. A bad feeling washed over him, and he broke out in a cold sweat, looking at Tsuki with an expression that said, "It can't be, it can't be, right?"

Tsuki just tilted the corner of her mouth.

"...Targeted shot"

Then, wind pebbles continuously hit the man's crotch.

────Ah────!!

────Yame Buta!! (Note: This is a play on words, "Yame Buta" can mean "Stop Pig" or "Stop Buta" (Buta being a derogatory term for a person))

────Yao~ sama~ on!!

The man's cries echoed through the morning streets. Accompanied by the sound effect of Mario getting a coin (imagine the bloody sound), Tsuki persistently shot the man's crotch. The content was like being continuously punched by a boxer like Tyson.

The surrounding men, whether they were the ones who had surrounded them or just onlookers, and even the unrelated street vendors, all

covered their crotches with their hands.

Eventually, the concentrated barrage, which seemed like it would never end, stopped when the man lost consciousness. Not allowing him to lose consciousness in one hit and then using wind magic to accumulate damage, it was a display of skill. Tsuki blew on the tip of her finger and left a parting message.

"...Becoming a woman is just right" (Zunzun comment: Referring to a eunuch or a ladyboy)

That day, a man died, and a second Kristabel, the future Maria-Belle-sama, was born. He trained under Shop Owner Kristabel and was entrusted with the management of the second store, and he indeed became famous because of this choice... but that's another story.

Tsuki earned the nickname "Crotch Crusher" and caused a sensation in the capital through the adventurer's guild, making male adventurers tremble, but that's another story.

Tsuki and Hia ignored the fearful gazes of the male adventurers and continued shopping. Along the way, they noticed that occasionally, girls would mutter, "Tsuki-sama..." and give them passionate looks, but they ignored all of it and went to buy things.

～～～～～～～

When Tsuki and Hia returned to the inn, Aichi had just finished his work.

"Good work. Why, the town seems to be in an uproar. Did something happen?"

It seems he sensed the commotion earlier.

"...Nothing."

"Ah~, yeah, that's right. Nothing, really."

The shop owner was like a monster, and a man was sent to heaven, but they summarized it as nothing. Seeing this, Aichi showed a slightly surprised expression and shrugged.

"Well, okay. Did you get everything you needed?"

"...Yes, don't worry."

"Right, we bought a lot of food, so it's fine. Even with this much, the treasure vault is really convenient~"

Before they went shopping, Aichi had given them the [Treasure Vault]. Seeing Hia's envy of the ring, Aichi smiled wryly. Currently, Aichi's skills cannot create a [Treasure Vault], but it is indeed convenient, and if he can make one, he plans to give one to Tsuki and Hia.

"Then, Hia, this is for you" (Zunzun comment: This is the first time Aichi calls Hia by her name)

Saying this, Aichi handed Hia a cylindrical object, 40 cm in diameter and 50 cm long, with a handle-like thing on the side.

Hia reflexively caught what Aichi handed her, but it was too heavy, and she stumbled, hurriedly increasing the output of her body enhancement.

"This, this, what is this? It's so heavy..."

"Exactly, this is a new mace for you. It's well-balanced, right?"

"Huh, this...?"

Hia's question was understandable. The cylindrical part didn't look like a mace, and the handle was too short, making it unbalanced.

"Ah, that's the standby state. Just inject magic power."

"Okay, is that it? –!?"

As he said, when she injected magic power into the mace-like object, it made a mechanical sound, and the handle extended to a length proportional to the mace head. This mace-type artifact, named Dorygen (named by Aichi), is Hia's weapon. It deforms and activates its internal mechanisms when magic power is injected at specific points.

What Aichi wanted to do beforehand was to make this weapon. In the morning, while Tsuki and the others were shopping, Aichi remade Hia's weapon.

"This is the limit for me now, but I plan to improve it as my skills advance. We don't know what will happen next. Though you've been trained rigorously by Tsuki for ten days, it's still not enough, and it's still dangerous. This weapon is designed to help you perform at your best. We are comrades now, so if you die recklessly, I'll kill you, understood?"

"Aichi-sama... no, no, what are you saying? It's fine. I'll keep getting stronger, because I'll follow you wherever you go!"

Hia happily hugged Dorygen. Tsuki, who was a bit jealous, shrugged. Aichi smiled wryly. For him, the image of a beautiful girl hugging a mace as a gift was quite surreal.

Outside, the sun was already high in the sky, casting a warm and brilliant light. Feeling this warmth, Aichi took a deep breath. Looking back, Tsuki and Hia were also looking at him with relaxed expressions.

Aichi just nodded at the two and took a step forward. Tsuki and Hia followed closely.

The journey resumes.

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Famous Quote:

Every goddess you can't get has a man behind her who can do whatever he wants with her.

──Anonymous