I hugged her and declared that as confidently as I could. And don't worry, I realized how that sounded.
「I… I'm thankful for your kindness, master, but there's really no need for you to go so far for me. I can sleep on the floor just fine.」
Roxanne murmured quietly.
Make her sleep on the floor? What kind of an evil degenerate would I have to be to do something like that?!
Inside of me, something seems to be screaming 「Keep it up! Keep going and she'll be yours!」, but I'm doing my best to ignore that inner voice. I've already decided not to rush with those things so that I won't break this fragile bond of trust that has been forming between us. This is going to make the eventual payoff that much sweeter.
「Is that what's considered normal here? To have slaves sleep on the floor?」
「I heard that is how most masters treat their slaves, so that is probably the case.」
「Well, not in mine. The floor it too hard cold and uncomfortable for someone as delicate as you, so you're going to sleep in this bed with me where it's nice, warm and soft.」
「Y-Yes! Thank you for your endless kindness towards me, master.」
「Good.」
I wrapped my arms firmly around her and enjoyed the hug. Her body is so soft, and yet so elastic. She is just as tall as I am, but so thin and small at the same time. It's complete mystery to me how the girl's bodies can be so delicate. Roxanne still does not move away from me, staying firmly in place, not doing anything to avoid the hug, proving that she does not dislike it. Looks like she really accepted me as her master, and herself as someone who belongs to me.
The bulges of her chest touch my arms. T-This is so tempting! So irresistible! If she keeps doing that to me, then…
「We still have some time before the day draws to a close, so I can use it to perform the maintenance of our equipment. Can you hand it over to me, master?」
Roxanne's remark and request cleared my mind and changed my mood in an instant.
「Do you really think that a maintenance is necessary? I mean, we just bought all those things today, so…」
「That won't do!」
Roxanne raised her voice and glared at me with sharp eyes. Her current gaze was filled with a strong sense of conviction.
「Eh?」
「When you enter the Labyrinth, your life or death with will depend on the state of your equipment. If you want to ensure that you will always come home safely, you have to take care of it whenever you can.」
「I… I guess you're right.」
I know that what she's saying is true and that we'll only benefit from it, but what I still do not understand is why is she being so insistent about it? When I released her from my arms, Roxanne stood up and took the small bottle of olive oil in her hands.
「So, uhm…」
She turned around and bowed her head to me. The atmosphere around her went back to the usual, gentle one.
「Yes? What is it?」
「Since I bought myself new underwear, I will make the ones I am wearing now into cleaning clothes I will perform the equipment maintenance with.」
「Okay, I see nothing wrong with it.」
「In the meantime, you should go eat dinner, master.」
「Wouldn't it be better if you could take care of it first so we could go eat together?」
By the time we will finish eating, the sun will most likely set, and if she wants to take care of the equipment maintenance, then it would be better to take care of it while it's still bright outside. The lanterns might help remedy that, but their light will only be enough to keep the room lit for one hour at best. If possible, I would like to enjoy it while there is still light outside.
「But…」
「It's okay. We can go eat together, there's nothing wrong with that.」
「Are you certain? The meals here look like they are pretty expensive, so they would be wasted on someone like me. That's why you can go eat the luxury meal yourself, while I will find myself some cheap place to eat on my own…」
Is she just extremely shy or does she not want to eat together with me that badly? Well, be that as it may…
「Nice try, but I have already paid for dinner for two people, remember? It would be a damn shame if it went to waste just like that, don't you think? Or is it that you don't want us to be seen eating together?」
「No, that was not what I wanted to say. I'm sorry if it sounded like that!」
「No worries. I take it we're good then?」
「Yes, we are. Now then, with that said…」
I placed all of my equipment: Copper Sword, Leather Armor and Leather Shoes onto the desk, just as Roxanne requested.
「N-Now, if you'll excuse me.」
She suddenly began to take off her pants. I was a little bewildered at first, but thinking about it, that's perfectly logical. She said she's going to use her old underwear as a cleaning cloth to perform the maintenance on our equipment, then it would stand to reason that she has to take it off first. Even though I have the best seat possible for such a spectacle, I don't know if I should just outright stare or be more tactful about it.
「Ah, my bad. Please, don't mind me.」
I waved my hand lightly and turned my gaze away from her. Truth is, I want to look at her as she changes, but I cannot make it too obvious. Ideally I would like to see her chest, because that would be a soothing sight for my sore eyes, but I probably won't be able to see anything because of her tunic. But in exchange, maybe I will at least get to see her butt? Yeah, right.
Ah, I can see a tail. A tail! Roxanne has turned sideways to me (of course), so I could see her tail. It's made of the same chestnut-colored bushy hair as her hair and ears. Now that I saw that her tail is just as fluffy as the rest of her, I will have to make sure to pet it later.
Roxanne changes her clothes fast. And when I say fast, I mean it like, really fast. I wanted to see if I will be able to catch some more glimpses of her body, but I guess it can't be helped. I guess there's no point in complaining about that.
Sitting on the chair, Roxanne's expression once again changes to a serious one as she began taking care of our equipment by adding a little bit of olive oil onto the cloth and polishing it.
「If you take care of it like this, you will be able to keep your equipment in good condition at a relatively low cost for as long as you need.」
「So if you won't perform regular maintenance then the equipment's performance is going to drop, is that right?」
「Exactly. And if the user cannot wield his weapons and armor comfortably, it will hinder his overall performance.」
So it's also a matter of personal feelings, huh? Be that as it may, I don't think that Durandal also needs to go through maintenance today. For now it is good to go as it is.
When Roxanne finished cleaning our equipment, we went down to the cafeteria and proceeded to select the meals from the menu.
「I'll take the dish #1 and herbal tea. Which one would you like, Roxanne?」
「Uhm, is it really okay for me to choose for myself?」
「Of course. Pick whatever you want to eat the most.」
「Right. In that case, I will also have dish #1 and herbal tea.」
「Understood.」
We made our orders and were guided to our table for two.
「You'll be sitting here, Roxanne.」
「Uhm, are you sure about that? What if…」
「It's fine. Just sit down already.」
I might have sounded really irritated just now, but what was I supposed to say? She has to sit down to eat. I would have been in a whole lot of trouble if people witnessed me eating normally while a girl accompanying me was standing all the time. When I finally managed to persuade her to sit down, our meals were brought to us shortly after.
「This is… incredibly delicious!」
「Right? It truly is.」
All in all, the food served in this inn proved to be much more delicious than I could have ever imagine. I'm glad to see that even in such a world there is still food that I can enjoy. And seeing how Roxanne is munching on her own portion with such vigor that her ears shake left and right, she must think so as well.