Knock, knock – the sound of a wooden door being knocked echoed, catching the attention of Lua and Susuki from within.
"Ah, it must be Kuro," Susuki stood up from his crouch as he reached the door.
"Welcome ho--Aaa?!" Susuki's mouth hung open in shock. The revelation that Kuro had returned with a girl left him dumbfounded.
KOHAKU KURO'S POV:
Susuki wore an expression of shock that I had never seen on him before. Well, of course, he would be surprised; I had left without telling him where I was going, and now I returned with a young girl.
"What happened, brother?" Lua, emerging from the kitchen, momentarily jolted at the sight of us.
"Oh my, what a lovely girl you have there, Kuro. Come inside," she urged.
"So... you said she is your relative, a traveler like you, lost her items like when we first met you?" Her eyes scrutinized me carefully, but I avoided any direct eye contact.
The truth, that she was a dragon, couldn't be revealed. Somehow, this dragon loli had accepted the fabricated story I concocted. Despite its childish nature, they seemed to believe it. Ah, I truly suck at lying.
"Oh, looks like we got another new housemate here, then," Lua said as she stood up, walking towards where the plates were placed.
"By the way, how old is she?"
"Um, her appearance might be like this, but she's already 15..."
"15? Huh," Susuki and Lua exchanged surprised glances.
"Sorry, I brought her here without telling you guys first." I bowed my head slightly, and Airi, noticing, followed suit. I hadn't expected her to be so well-mannered.
"Aww, it's fine, Kuro, right, brother?" Lua didn't look at us, busying herself with food preparation.
"Yeah, man, and here I was going to buy you a new outfit, and then you suddenly ran off. You better buy a new one tomorrow." I had forgotten about that.
"Ahahaha, sorry. I'll do that tomorrow." After everything that had happened, buying new clothes had slipped my mind.
Lua continued preparing dinner, listening to our conversation. I had come back late that day, having missed lunch, and hunger weighed heavily on me.
After that intense fight, fainting, and battling the guild master, I was exhausted and famished. I was still far from my goal of defeating Zephyr, and questions about his demands for tax lingered. Did the Demon Lord also make purchases with gold? With his power, why not simply take what he wanted? Something felt off. Airi had also made it clear she wouldn't involve herself in my quest to defeat Zephyr.
Well, for now, I would focus on growing stronger. I let out a heavy sigh.
"What happened, bud?" Susuki, noticing my mood, approached and put his arm around my shoulders, oddly comforting.
"Ah, it's nothing," I tried to assure him not to worry.
"Ahh, is that so?" He turned his head, glancing at his sister. His expression conveyed genuine concern.
Susuki returned to his chair, opposite mine. "Alright. Now it has come to this..." He wore a serious expression, sharply looking at me.
"Yeah," I responded, understanding his unspoken intent, and glanced at Airi.
Airi, still confused, remained silent.
Susuki retrieved a large bottle of beer from his storage magic and placed it on the table. "Heeere! Airi, this is the best beer in town! Let's enjoy this to the fulles--Ah!" Susuki bit his tongue as Lua hit him.
Lua's face seemed a bit angry. "Brother..."
"Y..ye..yesss, my sister?" Susuki's face displayed a mixture of fear and apprehension as he realized his sister's displeasure.
"Did you want to let a young girl drink this beer just now?" She clenched her fist, ready to reprimand her brother.
"N..no, I mean, I haven't finished yet. I wanted to tell her that it was the best beer that a young girl should not drin--"
"Shut up, you liar," she declared, taking the beer and stowing it in her storage magic.
"Noooo, sister, my heaven... give it back to me."
I couldn't help but laugh. Every day in this house was indeed lively.
As always, I slept in the living room at night, while Lua shared her sleeping space with Airi.
The sun rose, casting its light over the entire town. The chirping of birds and the sounds of people outside created a lively morning atmosphere.
Susuki, just emerging from his room, stretched luxuriously. His disheveled hair hinted at the fact that he had just woken up.
"Morning, Kuro, morning, Airi." He greeted us before heading straight to the bathroom.
"Morning," we replied.
Lua had already left early, engaged in her usual activities outside.
On the table, there were some bread and a jug of tea. I was already full, but Airi continued eating.
"Ah, man, what's up?" Susuki, emerging from the toilet, suddenly threw a question that left me perplexed.
What's up, I wondered.
"Ah, I mean, why y'all wake up so early in the morning?" Susuki's hands slowly pulled a chair close to me as he took a piece of bread.
"Ah, nothing, a habit maybe?"
"A habit? Yeshtedai I wek up earhly ttan you, thgh" (Yesterday I woke up earlier than you, though) he said with his mouth full.
"Ah, yeah, the last time, I was kinda drunk, you know."
"Hahaha, yeah, bud, we drank a whole lot of beer. Sadly, last night my sister took the best beer." He let out a lament.
"Ah, by the way, today I want to take Airi around the town." I changed the topic.
"Ah, that's nice. Need help?"
"Ah, we're fine." I had things to do today, so it was better to bring only Airi.
"Ah, okay, take care then... hmm, I think I also need to go to the town to buy something." He rested his hand on his chin as if in deep thought.
"If you want, we can buy it for you."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, but I did forget it. Well, wait a second." He stood up and rushed to his room.
A few minutes later, he returned with a small white paper in his hand.
"Fyuh, luckily I remembered that I wrote it down last night. Here, bud." He handed it to me.
I accepted it, reading the list of basic daily necessities he had written on the small paper. Lua might have already bought some of them.
"Can you do it?"
"Ah, yeah, of course, only this, right?" I sought confirmation.
"Ah, yeah, only that. The other things... Lua might have already bought them."
"Okay, then," I replied.
I noticed Airi had finished eating, so we stood up, and I washed our dishes. Susuki was still enjoying his breakfast.
"Well, we'll go first." I waved at Susuki as I closed the door.
"Take care, bud." I heard his voice, though I ignored it.
I'll buy new clothes and get all the things Susuki asked for. After all, I've been using the same clothing, and I think I should get something for Airi too.
I looked at Airi. "What?"
"Ah, nothing. Let's go buy new clothes first."
The shop was quite spacious, rumored to be the best clothing store in town. It looked luxurious, reminiscent of shops from my previous life.
The bell above the door rang as I entered.
"Welcome, sir," greeted the employee, a woman in her twenties dressed in white, presumably the store's uniform. Ten lines of clothing, boys and girls, were neatly displayed, with changing areas available. The clothes seemed tailored for noble or wealthy families.
I walked toward the first set of clothes and checked the price tag. "30 Golds."
Phew, I thought it was going to be expensive. I had acquired a lot of gold from defeating the 'Disastrous Goblin.'
"Hey, mister, don't touch it if you're not going to buy it." A harsh voice interrupted me. It belonged to a man around my age, also dressed in the store's uniform. He seemed rather thin.
His eyes rolled at me as if I were a peasant.
"Tch," Airi seemed irritated with him.
"Well, well, Airi, can we just let him be?" I communicated with Airi telepathically. It wouldn't be good to let this loli dragon get worked up.
"Hmph," Airi walked away to explore other clothes.
"What a lowly peasant, wearing some weird clothes," the man muttered.
As we strolled, I approached the female employee.
"Can I have some clothes for this little gir—ehem, I mean, for my relative here?" I almost said something that would surely have angered her, but I managed to catch myself in time.
"Sure," she replied with a big smile. If I had to choose, I'd prefer dealing with her over the arrogant man.
Wait. Did I forget something? A powerful aura emanated from inside the changing room. Right, the dragon had a strong aura that only the leather clothes could suppress.
Not wanting to startle the employee, I decided to wait patiently.
After a few minutes, they emerged from the changing room. Airi's aura was still visible, but the employee seemed unperturbed. Apparently, she couldn't sense it.
"Do I look good?" For a moment, I found myself captivated by Airi's appearance. Had I become an idiot after befriending Susuki? It seemed this loli was quite attractive.
"Hah, no need to ask. Of course, I look good," she said confidently.
While I had initially asked for clothes, the girl had managed to give Airi a noble-like appearance, complete with a blue blouse, a short skirt, and a small hat. It suited her well.
"I'll take this and also all of these." I handed over six more clothes of the same size for Airi.
Meanwhile, from afar, the male employee was watching us.
"Tch, what peasants. Such weaklings," he muttered. However, even with my senses, I could hear him clearly.
I briefly considered buying expensive clothes to show him up, but drawing too much attention wasn't my style.
As I browsed, I spotted a particular item. "I'll take this," I announced.
"I'll change first," I told them, and Airi waited outside with the female employee.
"So, how is it?" I asked as I stepped out of the changing room.
"Mister, you look so good in it."
"Hmph, I'm still better." Airi's face suggested otherwise. I wondered if this was what people called a tsundere.
Regardless, I liked the clothes. They made me look like an adventurer—white clothes underneath, a black robe, long black pants, gloves, and decent boots.
At the counter, the female employee prepared our purchases.
"How much is it?" The arrogant employee was glaring at me, ready to humiliate me.
"It's 3400 gold, mister."
Chuckled. "Here you go."
"Hah, serve you ri...ght?" The man struggled to spit out his words, shocked to see me produce a lot of gold from my storage magic.
"Thank you, mister. Please come again." She gave me a big smile.
"Ah, before that," I handed her another thousand gold.
"This... isn't this a lot, mister?" She looked at the gold, and before she could react, we had already left.
The man remained stunned, staring at the substantial amount of gold I possessed.
"I never knew a newborn god could use teleportation."
"Well, I guess I can." I scratched my head, teleported far from the town, to the dungeon where I had fought the goblin before.
[Teleportation]
Info: Teleport to the place where the host wants.
(Only to places the host has seen.)
It was certainly convenient, although I had tried it before, my skills couldn't teleport me back to Earth.
I walked through the dungeon, finding everything unchanged. The door was still open.
"Are you sure, Kura? Last time you almost died on the first floor."
Sigh Had she ever spelled my name correctly?
"Well, yeah. That's not going to happen this time." For some reason, I smiled, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement. Was this what fun felt like? My previous job had been so boring; life had rushed by.
I wondered what awaited me on the second floor.
But before that, "Airi, open your clothes."
"Kufufufu, what a virgin you are, asking me to undress here. Is my body really that attractive-ah?" I gently hit her head with my hand.
Sigh. "Last time, your aura scared off the monsters around us. I want to enchant mana suppression on your clothes."
She slowly undressed herself in a lewd manner, my face turning red.
"Bwahahah, enchant my ass, with a face like that. Bwahahaha, you sure are a virgin."
"Huh? Then have you ever had any sex before?"
K.O.
She obediently handed me her clothes after her defeat against my words.
I enchanted everything necessary, and then she put her dress back on.
Let's go! Second-floor dungeon! I wondered what awaited me as I slowly entered the dungeon door.
Meanwhile, deep inside the second floor of the dungeon.
A man in a black robe sat on a throne surrounded by a large statue.
"This is going to be fun." He let out a chilling laugh as his left eye turned red.