I wailed at Lydia, who was covering her chest with a blanket she had pulled from somewhere.
“Why, why?! Why can’t we do this, Lady Lydia?!”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“So why?! You seduced me first! Walking around with those enormous breasts is practically an invitation to touch them, right?!”
“…That’s strange. Normally, it’s women getting dragged away by the guards after fondling a man’s butt when they say things like this.”
“Who cares! Just let me touch them! Let me touch them!”
I threw myself onto the floor, spreading my limbs in a dramatic pose that was a little embarrassing even at my age.
Take this! Jonah’s Death Beam! …No, Jonah’s Tantrum!
“Bwaaaaah!!!”
I flailed my arms and shouted loudly. The noisy tavern suddenly fell silent, all eyes on me.
Even the employees in their swimming suits, who had been calmly serving, and the customers leering at them turned their gazes toward me in unison.
Ellie, who looked horrified, quickly covered her face to pretend she didn’t know me, while Lydia looked aghast, her face frozen in shock.
Seizing the moment, I declared my goal once more.
“Let me touch your boobs! Please! I’m begging you!! Bwaaaah!!”
At this point, everyone looked like they had just seen a madman.
Hmph! It’s the world that fails to recognize the dreams and hopes contained in Lydia’s chest. I’m not the bad guy here.
How many times had I flailed my arms and legs in humiliation and guilt? Finally, Lydia raised both her hands and shook her head lightly.
“Alright. I get it, so get up, Jonah.”
“Yes!”
I quickly scrambled back to my seat. I had shouted out of shock, but honestly, I was a bit embarrassed too.
But if throwing a tantrum on the floor could get me to touch Lydia’s chest, then it would be worth it.
I shot her a hopeful gaze, and Lydia sighed, pressing her forehead.
She looked tired, so I sneakily approached her and reached out.
Smack!
And then I got slapped on the back of my hand.
“Why?! You said you understood!”
“Your eyes are scary.”
“That’s slander! Where else can you find such pure and clear eyes like mine?!”
“…Not your eyes, Ellie’s eyes are scary. It looks like she could kill me at any moment.”
“Ah.”
When I turned around, Ellie immediately turned her head to avoid my gaze. The intensity of her attempt to avoid me almost made her neck snap.
From this angle, I couldn’t see her, but considering how desperately she was trying to get away, I could tell she wasn’t making a normal scared face.
Well… even so, asking Ellie to laugh in this situation would be too inhumane.
I might have calmed her down a bit, but the fundamental issue hadn’t been resolved.
The Pan Continent needed a lot of population since civilization had reset once, and with the only remaining god being the Goddess of Love, male-female relationships tended to be generally lenient and free.
But that doesn’t mean jealousy and insecurity disappeared. Just because polygamy was allowed in the past on Earth didn’t mean there wasn’t jealousy among the wives.
The same went for Ellie. I might have calmed her down with the earlier headbutt, but watching me touch Lydia’s chest would definitely make her feel something.
When I hesitated, Lydia, speaking in a tone as if soothing a child, opened her mouth gently.
“Later. I’ll let you touch them when Ellie is not around. Just wait for now.”
“Okay! If that’s the case, I can wait!”
“Good boy.”
Lydia lightly patted my head and stood up.
“Well, I’ll be going now, Ellie. Jonah, you should get to bed early since you need to go to the Labyrinth tomorrow.”
“Uh… okay. Be careful going home.”
“Of course! See you tomorrow!”
As Ellie and I reflexively waved goodbye, Lydia waved back lightly and exited the Fairy and Silver Coin.
I laughed quietly until I realized something.
…Wasn’t Lydia just throwing around empty promises like it was nothing?
“…”
I understood now how Ellie felt after being treated like this by me.
Suddenly feeling a pang of guilt, I hopped over the counter and ruffled Ellie’s ash-gray hair.
And then I got scolded for stepping on the counter with my shoes.
*
After scrubbing the shoeprints from the counter, I returned to my room.
I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling and thinking.
“Should I blow my money on a gacha right now…?”
I just wanted to sneakily do a little shoplifting, but somehow it escalated. It was a fleeting moment, but I had amassed quite a sum.
A whopping 14 silver and 78 copper. On a normal day, I would have spent it on a ten-pull without hesitation.
With 4 silver, I could last a few days, especially since I needed to enter the Labyrinth tomorrow, and I might earn some income.
Still, the reason I was hesitating was simple. After unintentionally leaving Ellie in shambles, I suddenly remembered the lighter I’d pawned.
Was it 5 silver and 50 copper? I couldn’t stop as I was held up by Lydia on the way back, but now I could go back alone and pick it up.
“…Yeah. I might not have strength, money, or a home, but I have Ellie, right?”
Taking care of Ellie right next to me is the right thing to do rather than depending on the uncertain outcome of the gacha.
I could pick it up after returning from the Labyrinth tomorrow, but honestly, I felt like I’d just end up spending that money on gacha again.
I trust my judgment. I honestly believe that if I had a little extra, I’d go bankrupt on gacha right away…!
With that resolve, I headed down to the first floor.
As night fully set in, the Fairy and Silver Coin became bustling as expected. Because some time had passed, Ellie had regained her usual calm demeanor while staring blankly into the tavern.
To an outsider, it might look like she was just a freeloader, but in reality, she had established a system that brought money in even while just sitting around.
I envied her. In my past life, I wanted to be a landlord and write what I wanted without worrying about money.
For example, a dark fantasy featuring a heroine with just a head, or a cyberpunk martial arts story with a heroine with poison-pierced piercings.
Of course, that dream was thwarted by gacha mishaps and unexplained explosions.
…Honestly, the fact that my previous life ended in an explosion seems quite significant.
Why would the goddess of love grant gacha abilities to someone who exploded in their past life? Maybe she has a worse personality than I thought.
Thinking useless thoughts, I approached Ellie.
“Uh… Jonah. What are you doing up so late?”
A strangely awkward atmosphere filled the air. I guess she was still bothered by what happened earlier. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Lydia’s chest or my belly, but something was definitely on her mind.
Quietly, I moved closer and hugged Ellie’s tail. The fluffiness was quite satisfying.
At first, her tail twitched like a fish just caught, probably surprised, but after I held it firmly, it calmed down before long.
I buried my face in the rich fur and took a deep breath before speaking.
“I couldn’t sleep because I wanted to smell Ellie’s tail.”
“Eep!”
Ellie flinched at my light joke, but it didn’t seem to have the pure cheerful surprise it used to have.
“I was just kidding. I came down to get some fresh air… but seeing you, I suddenly have something to say.”
“What is it?”
I pressed close to Ellie, who was still shivering, and asked.
“Ellie, what are you thinking right now?”
“…I’m not thinking about anything.”
“Really? For someone who’s not thinking about anything, your reaction is pretty suspicious.”
I giggled and pulled Ellie closer. If it were usually, this would be a pretty cool back hug…
But at the moment, thanks to our height difference, it ended up with my face buried in her back.
But that was enough. It was wholesome skinship, just sharing our body warmth instead of doing anything lewd like usual.
As I stood like that, I slowly felt Ellie’s body relaxing, which had been tensely rigid.
“Were you expecting something? Well, I’ve been coming on pretty strong lately.”
“Well, it did cross my mind a bit.”
Ellie nodded, trying to act nonchalant. Even though we’ve known each other for months, the speed of progress in our relationship over the past few weeks had been much quicker than before.
“I had my reasons too. Up until now, all I had was this body, right? So I had to be careful with it.”
“Wouldn’t it still be better to be careful?”
“Um… there was a bit of misunderstanding regarding the part about being careful. More accurately, it was closer to holding back.”
I like Ellie. I’m not entirely sure if it’s love between a man and a woman, but I definitely harbor feelings that go beyond just ordinary fondness.
It’s only natural to want physical closeness. Especially since I know that with the reversed ideas about chastity, the other person wouldn’t refuse.
But I held back. I was well aware that if I rushed to escalate our relationship, we would end up stagnating.
I could help Ellie run the Fairy and Silver Coin, maybe someday we could have kids, and perhaps I’d have the time to write again.
This would surely lead to peaceful and joyful days.
…However, it wouldn’t last forever.
If this world truly shared the same setting as my novels, then things wouldn’t go as smoothly.
You know what?
I’ve never written slice-of-life stories before.
