If somebody asks me where my favorite spot in a macho dancing bar would be, I will immediately say that the best place is the farthest table. Here, the music is not so loud, the lights are far away, and we can rarely see the male strippers dancing on the pole from this distance.
When we ordered cocktails, beers, and snacks went to our table, we started to talk about our personal lives. It's refreshing to talk about ourselves and not about Dragon Sage's thesis or assassination targets.
"Now that I have a better look at you, you are a beautiful lady, Yehanna," Marina said as she pushed her face towards the dark-blue-haired woman. "Your hair looks smooth, your eyes are like gems, and you have great assets!"
"Y-Yeah! That's right, Miss Yehanna! I envy your boobs!" Odette cheered. "Mine is still a flat board, but I wish from the Goddess of Dragonoids that I can have those bazoongas like yours!"
"Geez, you girls talk like you're not beautiful yourselves," Yehanna replied. "Ody, you have the face of a cute angel who can compel all men to protect you! And you Mari, your awesome ass makes you a sexy mafia lord yourself!"
"Oh please!"
I just stayed silent while drinking my beer. Am I allowed to be in the middle of this womanly conversation? And do women talk about boobs and asses when they're with friends? I don't know, this is the first time I bonded with women.
I looked around the place. There are no guys anywhere, except for the male strippers dancing on the stage and the bouncers outside the establishment. Just what I thought, I'm out of place here!
I continued to overhear the girls while I indulge myself with nachos, fries, and extra strong beer.
"I bet you already have lots of boyfriends," Marina smirked as she pointed her French fries at Yehanna.
"A-Ah, no!" Yehanna blushed. "I've never had a boyfriend."
"Oh really? It's hard to believe that you don't have one." Marina teased.
"It's true! I never had a boyfriend!" Yehanna answered. "I had myself in some sort of homosexual relationship though."
I almost puked the mixture of fries, nachos, cheese, and beer from my esophagus. I immediately jumped and asked. "You're lesbian!?"
"Ahaha! No, Uly! My girlfriend is the one who is lesbian. Believe it or not, I'm the girly girl in my past relationship." Yehanna said. "It goes back to my high school days, so it's nothing serious. Just some weird puppy love. You know, teenagers love to experiment sometimes~"
"Oh," I muttered as I swallowed the almost-puke stored in my mouth. It's not much, but I feel gross for swallowing it.
"How about you, Odette?" Marina continued her interview. "Did you have any boyfriend or girlfriend?"
"None!" Odette vigorously shook her head. "We're prohibited from entering into relationships back in the Southern Shrine! If we do so, we'll get kicked out!"
"That's so strict!" Marina said. "So, you divine priestesses pledged celibacy?"
"No, we're not!" Odette puffed her blushing cheeks. "We are only allowed to marry once we turn twenty so that our divine blood will be passed through generations of divine priestesses yet to come."
"That's harsh," Yehanna said as she patted Odette's head. "But you're eighteen, right? Just two more years and you can be free to choose whoever you want to marry."
"Y-Yes!" Odette energetically pumped her fists. Then she slowly looked at me with a blushing face.
"Is that why you always go here to the male strip club? To look for a suitable macho husband?" I joked.
"N-No! Geez, stop bullying me, Lord Corasell!" Odette cried.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." I just laughed it out.
"How about you, Mari?" Yehanna asked. "Is Benjamin Jogudra your only love?"
"H-Him?" It's Marina's turn to blush. "Y-Yeah, I guess. We were already a couple when we were sixteen, and then two years later, when we became legally able to marry, he proposed. I left the Magic Academy to become my husband's housewife. And then a few years later, he cheated on me with that damn bitch Claire Magnus!"
It's quite entertaining to watch Marina transform her expression from shy, to happily in love, and then to a vengeful devil. I already know her full story, so I just laughed inside my mind while nodding to every word she says.
"Right, right? Claire Magnus is a bitch!" The oh-so-innocent divine priestess angrily said as she pointed her cheesy nachos at Marina. Her face is all red now, and I saw two empty bottles of apple-flavored beer on her side of the table. "Didn't you know!? General Magnus killed one of the civilians I'm trying to heal! She also got angry at me and Lord Corasell!"
"I saw that! That's why I went to the scene and saved Ulysses from that bitch!" Marina said, her face also red. I guess they're drunk already.
"Anyway," Yehanna pushed her face towards mine, and her adorable crimson eyes stared at my soul. "How about you, Uly? Have you ever been in a relationship before?"
Hearing Yehanna's words, Marina and Odette shifted their attention to me. Now that I'm in the spotlight, I'll be rained down by many questions. I have to answer Yehanna fast before it's too late.
"Y-Yeah. I had a girlfriend. Once." I muttered.
"Eh? Why am I just hearing it now?" Yehanna made a doubtful stare. "You never told me that."
"You didn't tell me that you're a lesbian either!" I shrieked.
"That's not the point. Hmph!" Yehanna pretended to be in a bad mood as she turned away.
"Yeah, that's not the point, Lord Corasell! Tell us about your girlfriend!" Odette pushed me to the edge.
"Oh right. Benj once told me that you had a girlfriend back in the academy." Marina said while she was in deep thought. "What was her name again?"
"Her name? Her name is… Her name is…"
That's weird. I can't remember her name. I can't even remember her face, how she smells, or who sounds like. I know I had a girlfriend before I graduated from the Magic Academy. I can remember the things we used to do. But I can't remember any conversation we had back then.
It's like a hollow memory in my brain. But my heart remembers.
"It's no good." I held my forehead. "I can't remember."
"Eeeh? That's not fair, Lord Corasell!" Odette roared.
"Oh? Maybe you don't want to remember because she dumped a pretentious handsome gentleman like you! Poor Uly~" Yehanna started to pat my head.
"It's not that!" I cried. "I really can't remember her. Maybe the alcohol has been affecting my brain."
Meanwhile, Marina is still in deep thought. I don't think she remembers my Jane-Doe-girlfriend though, as I'm quite sure she never met her. Marina left the Magic Academy way before I got my one and only girlfriend.
"Anyway," I raised my hair and sparkled. "It doesn't matter if she dumped me or not. The only thing that matters is that I'm a handsome man surrounded by girls."
"Girls? Where?" Odette tilted her head.
I spread out my arms. "You girls! The fact that you made a special contract with me makes it clear that I'm a harem king! Mwahahaha!"
I laughed, but the three girls stared at me with disbelief. It's like they're disowning me just by glaring.
"Uly, have you gotten the wrong idea? We're just pretending to be fiancés, remember?" Yehanna forced a smile.
"Um, I'm not yet ready to get into a relationship yet! I'm still a divine priestess! I'm sorry, Lord Corasell!" Odette reasoned out.
Marina did not speak. She just showed her wedding ring in her hand with a guilty smile on her face.
Seeing three girls reject me made my heart ache threefold.