"Ren? Are you still asleep?"
"Ah! I was! I'm sorry, I'm going to prepare dinner now!"
When Malik-san came back from the guild, I was still sleeping.
I immediately woke up and I look at the clock in panic.
20:06?!
I've been sleeping for that long?!
I quickly run to the kitchen and prepare the ingredients for fried rice and simple soup.
I feel bad because I didn't get to prepare dinner properly so I had to cook something fast instead but Malik-san said it was delicious and eat it happily.
"Even so, it's unusual for you to sleep off like that. Are you tired?", Malik-san asks while drinking the tea I prepared.
"*cough* I-I guess? I-I was laying on my bed and then I drifted to sleep.." I chokes after hearing Malik-san's question.
Malik-san immediately grabs a napkin to wipe me and gently stroke my back. He asks,"Are you alright? Don't push yourself, Ren. I'm getting worried.. Are you sure you want to take Calhea quest?"
There's no way I can tell you that I fell asleep because I was too tired from masturbating!!
"I'm sure! I want to try doing subjugation quest and I already promised Chris-san that I will be going with him."
Ah that's right! I have to meet with Chris-san tomorrow!
Oh no, I don't know whether I can face him properly…
My face gets hotter when I remember the things I did this afternoon.
Looking at my reddish face, Malik-san asks again," Are you really sure? If you're still feeling unwell tell me immediately, okay?"
"I-I'm fine! I'm perfectly healthy!" I stammer.
"Well if you say so.. Ah that's right, I've prepared something for your first subjugation quest." After saying that, Malik-san goes to his room.
He comes back a moment later with something in his hand.
"Carrying a tote bag for subjugation quest will become a hindrance so I want you to take this. This is my old magic bag that I used back when I was an active adventurer. It has smaller capacity than what I use now but I think it should be enough for Ren." Malik-san says and he puts the bag on the table.
It's a sling backpack with the size of 20x10cm. It's really small but since it's a magic bag the outward appearance can be deceiving. The colour is deep red, almost maroon like a wine.
"If you use this, you can use both of your hands freely." Malik-san adds,"Ah though most adventurer doesn't use sling bag anymore huh? Nowadays I see them using waist pouch or leg pouch instead.."
The one I'm using now is a tote bag type of magic bag with the size of 30x40cm. Since it's a tote bag, my other hand can't move freely because it hang on my shoulder.
For magic bag, the smaller the outward appearance is, the bigger its inventory size is.
My tote bag cost about 40.000 elk, and since the bag Malik-san presents to me is 5 times smaller that means it's also about 5 times more expensive than my current one.
"I'm thankful if I can borrow this bag, but is it okay to hand it to me?"
"Yes, I don't use it anymore. Sling bag is not convenient for everyday use because I have to reach for my back everytime I want to take something but for subjugation quest it is okay. You will be focusing more on the battle so the kind of bag that can make you move freely is better."
That's right, for everyday use it's better to use bag that is easy to access.
Since Malik-san is not using it anymore, i'd be more than happy to use it !~
"Then I will borrow it, thanks Malik-san! One other thing, I'm going to go shopping tomorrow but can you please tell me what kind of things I might need for my journey?"
"Well since Chris is used to it you can actually leave it all to him but let's see.. Hmm.. In that bag there's 5 set of tent and sleeping bag as well cooking utensils and cleaning utensils.. So I guess the only thing you need to buy is spare clothes and food."
Amazing!
That means I won't have to buy much!
Ah, that's a relief.. I was afraid whether my money would not be enough to buy all the necessities..
"Ah that's great, so I don't need to buy much. Malik-san, is there any advice you can give me? Is there anything else I need to prepare?"
"Hmm, well then how about if you prepare the meals for the journey beforehand? You can put the food inside the magic bag, the time works in different way in magic bag so it won't rot. Even though there's cooking utensils in the bag I gave you, I doubt you will be able to cook leisurely like you do now and while you're at it, please prepare some for me too." Malik-san smiles sheepishly.
I see, so you can also use the magic bag in that way. So clever!
That way I can focus on the quest without have to worrying about food.
"Okay! Since I will be meeting with Chris-san tomorrow, I will start cooking in 2 days from today. Of course, I will prepare a lot for Malik-san too."
Really, now that I know it my life as house-husband will be even more enjoyable to do! I can prepare a lot of food in advance so that when I'm too lazy to cook,I can just retrieve it from the magic bag.
Ever since I arrived here, I've been in charge of the household chores and cooking. I was worried whether Malik-san will be able to at least eat properly while I'm gone but thanks to magic bag, I can be at ease now.
"Oh really? For me too? Ah I'm glad.Ren's cooking is really delicious and I feel really happy when eating it. I would be really lonely if I can't have Ren's cooking. Also, rice! I'm already accustomed to rice that I will feel strange if I go a day without eating rice."
"Fufu~ Thank you for the praise! I will put extra effort in cooking just for you, Malik-san!"
If someone praise you like that, of course I will feel pumped!~
I'm going to cook lots of delicious food for Malik-san!~
"Tomorrow is going to be the first time for you to go into the market without me huh.. I hope you will have fun." Malik-san says.
"Yes, you could say that. Malik-san always accompanies me all this time, though I don't know whether I can have fun or not since I'm going to shop for supplies instead for leisure."
It's a shame I can't go with Malik-san but I hope I will have a good time!
After that, Malik-san and I talk for some more before we finally go into our own room and sleep.
Even though I already slept a lot in the afternoon, I'm still sleepy..
———————————————-
"Nng… *yawn*.. I don't want to take any quest today so I planned to sleep in but I'm already awake at my usual time.."
It's 7 AM.
Since I'm already up, I'm going to make breakfast and boxed lunch for Malik-san and maybe after that I will clean this house thoroughly.
Today's breakfast is western style. I make french toast, salad and corn soup. Yup, everything looks balanced.
At 8 AM, Malik-san comes into the dining room and sit down to eat with me.
"Itadakimasu. As usual, the food looks delicious." Malik-san says as he munch on the french toast.
After Malik-san finish eating, I follow him to the entrance to see him off. I also give him his boxed lunch.
"You're going shopping today, right? Don't forget to bring the bag I gave you yesterday. I added a little 'something' for you. Ah and, I forgot to say it yesterday but just take the bag. No need to 'borrow' it. I don't even use it anymore so don't hold back. Well, I'm off now~" Malik-san wave his hand.
"E-eh? W-what? Ah, have a safe trip!"
What did Malik-san say again?
Ah.. Even though I honestly only wanted to borrow it..
Malik-san he really spoils me rotten..
Well, I already knew he would do it but I will still feel bad about it..
"Ah I knew it, he gave me money.. And a lot of it too.. Geez Malik-san, I would turn into irresponsible adult if you keep spoiling me like this!"
I count the money, he gave me 300.000 elk.
Right now, I only have 70.000 elk thanks to Lulu grass gathering quest. I'm really grateful for the extra money, that means I won't need to worry whether my money will be enough when I go shopping but..
Malik-san, you pamper me too much!
300.000 elk is too much you know!
For the time being, I will only use my 70.000 elk. I won't use Malik-san's money unless absolutely necessary.
"Now that I think about it.. I promised Chris-san to meet with him at 12 o'clock. That means I'm meeting him during lunch time. Should I eat lunch first? Or should we eat lunch together?"
I didn't remember whether I promised to have lunch with Chris-san or not.. Now I'm confused.. Ah….What should I do..?
Do we even have time to eat lunch together? Won't we be too busy shopping?
But I don't know whether we might take a long time to shop or not too..
Maybe we can buy something simple from the food stall and eat as we walk?
It's almost 11:30 AM. From Malik-san's house to our meeting point, it will only take about 10 minutes.
I guess I will leave in 10 minutes so I won't be cutting it close.
"Ah because I was too busy thinking about Malik-san's pampering me.. I forgot about yesterday's incident! My heart is not ready to meet with Chris-san yet!"
Really, masturbating while thinking about the person you're about to meet is not a good idea. Not at all.
Human is really weak to desire..*sigh*
"I should just act like usual.. Yes, the usual me.. The usual me.. But I just met him yesterday so there's no way Chris-san will know what I act like usually, right?"
If I act all flustered, Chris-san will get suspicious so I have to keep my cool. I don't want Chris-san to think 'What's up with this child?'! I want to leave good impression on him. Let's just ignore yesterday's incident and act like nothing happened!
————————————————
Alright I've arrived.
We're meeting near the city bell tower.
There's a lot of people in here because it's a popular meeting place.
I don't see Chris-san anywhere.. Well there's still time before our meeting time but even if Chris-san did arrive first, it'd be hard for me to find him and vice versa since I'm smaller than average Alsar people.
Even if I stretch my neck I couldn't see anything but the crowd's head.
Well in time like this, there's only one thing to do!
"[Search]!"
I chant the support magic [Search] while thinking about Chris-san in my head.
I've experimented [Search] with Malik-san, it seems like my maximum radius is 200m.
This is not the first time I use [Search] to look for specific thing. I also use this magic while gathering lulu grass.
Though during quest, [Search] magic is often used to detect if there's any monster nearby or not. Using [Search] to look for something is not a common practice here.
Malik-san was surprised when I told him how did I manage to collect this many lulu grass.
"I didn't think to use [Search] in this way!" Malik-san told me while praising me.
It felt good to be praised. I'm happy I can be helpful to Malik-san in any way.
"Ah Chris-san is heading this way. I will just stay here and let him come up to me."
I detected Chris-san approaching me.
If I move from my spot, I'm afraid I won't be able to cut through the crowd and end up losing him instead.
A couple minutes later, I finally see Chris-san but he hasn't noticed me yet. He turn his head around while searching for me.
Chris-san.. He's really handsome..
He's wearing a simple short sleeved v-neck t-shirt with blue jeans and black gladiator sandal. (T/N: EUW GLADIATOR SANDAL ON MEN. EUW)
On his neck, there's a simple dog tag and on his right thigh, a black leg pouch. Is that his magic bag?
Overall it's a simple casual style but the outfit accentuates his long limbs and leg, making him even more gorgeous.
To top it all, his face is as sexy as ever. The combination between his style and his natural good looking face can make anyone turn their head.
"And on the other end, there's me. The plain good ol' me.. Somehow I really don't want to walk beside him.." I sighed. My inferiority is kicking, Chris-san is just too handsome, I'm afraid people will look at me with scorn for walking beside good looking man like him.
Still, I already promised him so I can't just back down because of my pettiness!
I see he's still looking for me between the crowd.
With determined heart, I call out to him, "Chris-san! Over here!"
Hearing my voice, Chris-san immediately perk up and smile at me and say,"Ren-chan!~ I'm sorry I didn't notice you. Did you wait long?~"
With a small jog, Chris-san approached me. Ah, the closer he is, the more dazzling he become!
I smile back to him,"No, I just arrived a moment ago."
"Fufu~ Our conversation is just like what people meeting for a date would say~ My first date with Ren-chan~ Have you had lunch yet?~"
D-Date?!
Well it is true our flow of conversation is exactly like what people meeting for date would say but still! D-date?! With Chris-san?!
My face heats up immediately. I know he's just teasing me but it's still embarrassing!
"Geez Chris-san, this is not a date, we're going for errand, right? We have to shop for supply! As for lunch, I haven't had lunch. What about you?"
"Eh~ That's great, then let's have lunch together Ren-chan~"
"Okay, where do you want to eat?"
At first, I thought I would get conscious of Chris-san because of yesterday incident but when I talk to him, I feel comfortable. The conversation flows smoothly and Chris-san is really friendly too.
With a hand on my waist, Chris-san pulls me closer to him to avoid people pushing against me and says,"Hmm, it's been a long time since I last came here so I don't know where to eat. Is there anything specific you want to eat, Ren-chan?"
I was taken aback that I almost at lost for word. He's too close, way too close. My heartbeat won't stop thumping.
"T-thank you, Chris-san." I stutter my words.
Chris-san in return smiles gently at me and says ,"No problem. There's too much people in here, let's move somewhere else~"
His hand moves from my waist to rest on my shoulder.
"Ah, umm.. Your hand.."
"Hm? Sadly because of our height difference, holding your waist will be uncomfortable for a long period. That's why, I will hold your shoulder instead~"
There's only 30 cm difference between our height, I don't think it would pose that much of a problem. Right?? Why is he so mean..
B-but! Two man walking so close like this, the people will stare!
"It'd be hard for me to walk like this, so can you please let me go?"
"No can do~ This is a date afterall~"
"D-date you say.. But I'm a ma- Ah wait, homosexuality is normal in this world.."
I completely forgot that it's normal here. When I look around the street, there's a lot of people in various race and gender walking together. The diversity in this world is amazing..
"Hm? Is it different in Ren-chan's world?"
"Ah, yes to be specific, in my country the marriage between homosexual couple and polygamy couple is not legal yet." I explains to Chris-san.
Hearing it, Chris-san in return gives me a strange look.
"Then, what about you Ren-chan? What do you think about homosexuality and polygamy?"
"To be honest, I'm still not sure. Because back in my world that kind can be considered as taboo, I didn't get any chance to try it."
Though yesterday I masturbated to Chris-san….
BUT I WON'T TELL HIM THAT. NO WAY
"Hmm, I see.. Since you never experienced it first hand, you don't know what to think about it." Chris-san lean his body to me and whispers to my ear,"Then, how about if you try it with me?"
I cover my ear immediately, blood rushes into my cheeks.
"N-No thanks! Right! Where do you want to go for lunch, Chris-san?"
"Aww, I got rejected~ Fine then, I will let you off this time but be prepared, I will give my all next time~ Hmm as for lunch, I saw a nice restaurant when I was walking here, shall we go there?"
"Ah yes, let's go there."
—————————————-
Chris-san take me to the restaurant he mentioned.
Instead of the shoulder, now he's holding my hand as we walk.
I already give up on asking him to let go, at least it's easier to walk this way.
Thinking rationally, holding hands has its benefit. I won't get lost in the crowd if we hold hands and there's no prejudice here in Alsar so there's nothing wrong with holding hand.
But as I thought, we're still attracting attention for a different reason..
"I knew it, because Chris-san is an ikemen.. People are looking at us, you know."
"Ikemen? What's that?"
Ah looks like the word 'ikemen' doesn't get translated through.
I wonder why some words get translated and some doesn't…What's the difference between them?
Is it because it's a popular phrase for modern japanese people?
"Umm, it means Chris-san is really cool and handsome."
"Fufu, thank you for the praise~ Though I must say, the reason why people is looking at us is because Ren-chan is such a cutie as well~ Half of it is your fault too, you know~"
Uwah, looks like Chris-san is already used to people calling him cool.
He doesn't look baffled at all.
But it's to be expected, since he is really cool to the point people would yell, "How can there be a guy like him?!"
Sighing, I reply," I'm not cute. Come on, I'm hungry Chris-san."
"Eeh~ You're really cute though. Oh, we're almost there. That's the place."
Even though I already told him I'm not cute, he still insist saying I'm cute.
Somehow, we look like we're flirting with each other.
You know, the kind when couple would go "Ah you're so cute~" "Nooo I'm not, you're the cute one~" "Nooo it's you~"
Even though we're not flirting! Totally not!
Anyway it looks like we've arrived.