As we entered the store, fragrance flowed from the various fabrics and items. It smelled like fresh cotton with a hint of leather and newly made shoes with touches of fruits and floral scents.
I watched as Rena rushed to the front counter and opened several leather-skinned books, seeming to have images and pictures of dresses or something, as she grew more excited.
"Oh wow!" She pointed to one and said, "This is what I want."
There was an elderly woman at the counter; her hair was still raven black, despite her wrinkled face, and a lovely pair of green eyes that were like perfectly crafted dolls fixated on Rena as she looked at the dresses with sparkling eyes.
She smiled as Rena flipped through the pages and pointed at each dress before stopping on one.
My heart seemed to stop beating when I saw the dress Rena wanted. It was a beautiful wedding gown!
"It looks beautiful; the red and black is a bit strange, but wouldn't it suit you well."
"Hohoho, is this handsome young man your groom?" The elderly lady finally spoke, but her hands were stroking my body!? She seemed to have teleported from the counter to my side in no time... my chest, back, hips, ass, inner thighs... in seconds, her hands looked youthful despite her old face, seemed to have touched me everywhere...
She finally slipped over my crotch with a strange look in her gleaming emerald eyes.
"Not stuffed... Needs extra room and give in the crotch."
Her old voice sounded before turning to Rena, who was still excited over the dresses, "You're a lucky woman to have such a handsome and well-equipped groom, fufu."
Was I just molested?
Wasn't she an elder!?
Why did she say equipped... How did she know If I was big?!
Rena didn't notice as she giggled while looking through the book.
"Aki, can you wait outside? Maybe go see another shop while I speak to the madame?"
She asked me with such a calm voice that I didn't suspect anything; instead, seeing the prices, it would probably cost at least ten silver for a basic outfit, so I gave her some of my coins, leaving me with just over thirty.
As I stepped outside and the jingle of the bell and door began to close, the slight words of their conversation entered my ears.
"Oh, what a nice boy you have there."
"Hehe, he's the best."
"I bet the nighttime is..."
*Slam*
Part of me wanted to open the door and hear their gossip about me; however, that was a fleeting thought as Yuzu, and I looked around the town, wondering what we should do now.
"Yuzu, do you want anything, or should we do something fun?"
Yuzu shook her head while saying, "Play."
We walked down the streets and stopped at various stores, but nothing seemed interesting; most sold clothing, tools, weapons, armour, and other simple goods, which didn't interest us much.
Then, as we passed a small dirt road and bakery, there was the sound of steel clashing and the grunts of several people.
"Shall we check it out?" I asked Yuzu, who was now in her fox form wrapped around my neck, eating some dried meat and cuddling my neck.
I felt bad for saying she shouldn't show her true form. Maybe it was my possessive desire, but Yuzu was just too ethereal and beautiful, like a fairy from another realm...
I didn't want others to see that; a selfish desire in my heart that wanted her to become mine.
Even though I have Rena...
[Don't be so hard on yourself.]
[Drawing these kinds of women towards you is part of your fate.]
[Embrace your true desires; why pretend you still feel human feelings when you don't?]
I felt my face change, the smile on my lips faded, and my mood became less brilliant and more solemn. Being called out by the goddess made me feel like a man caught cheating by his wife.
I just didn't want Rena to worry, so I used the common sense of a human to keep acting and showing many feelings.
This didn't mean all of it was fake; I felt love, desire, affection and joy, but... the empathy and compassion or disgust when seeing corpses or skinning them were acting.
[It's not your fault. That was your payment, and your love for Rena is genuine, probably even more than the past you.]
Rena is my sun.
Never forget that, even if you are the one to hurt her. I will slay you.
[...]
Thanks to Yuzu and Rena's emotions and feelings, I could stop myself from becoming a monster; I could feel certain emotions thanks to them and would never let myself become like those annoying, heartless protagonists.
They would become my heart, and I will remain balanced through them.
As I walked down the dirt path and towards the sounds of fighting, these thoughts flashed through my mind.
Yuzu perked up as we entered a large open area with dozens of people training and fighting with dull blades, axes and weapons with a tall wooden wall around the open building.
Along the walls were countless seats in a large rectangle, where people sat while watching the centre, cheering and yelling.
"wuwuwu..." (Let's see closer! That silver knight is beating them up! Exciting!)
"Sure, let's go see it."
Walking forward, we climbed into the stands and sat beside several children, jumping up and down while yelling.
"That knight is so cool!"
"She's strong."
"My father says she's a princess or a noble!"
"Really?!"
"Wuwu!" (Aki, look! That silver knight is winning!)
"Ah... look at the cute fox; she's eating jerky and cuddling that handsome brother..."
"So cute... it's like she's speaking to him."
In the centre, a woman in shiny silver armour gleamed in the light, reflecting the sun's rays.
At the same time, she danced with four men, swinging her sword as if it weighed nothing, dodging every attack and delivering swift attacks to their chests or legs, knocking them down within minutes of intense fighting.
"Wooooh!"
"So amazing!"
"Fight, big sister!"
Her silver helmet never moved, seeming to be something she refused to take off, but the shimmer of her silver eyes penetrated the dark visor shining in the sunlight.
Seeing her fight made me want to challenge her... I grasped my hand tight and Yuzu seemed to understand my feelings as we hopped down the steps.
"Ah!?"
"Big brother and the cute fox are heading to the ring!"
Yuzu tilted her head as we headed to the entrance, where three guards stood, watching over the fights; they were burly men wearing heavy iron armour with swords strapped to their waists and spears in hand.
"Let me fight."
I asked with a calm voice. The look in my eyes seemed to make the men feel something akin to fear, as their first reaction was to hold their swords and step back.
However, after calming down, they laughed.
"Haha, kid, get lost; only adults can fight here."
"Why? Will you lose to a child?" My voice was calm as I stared at them with a confident smile, making them feel irritated as they stepped forward.
"Brat, scram before we beat you up."
"Just let me fight, and if I lose, you'll be rewarded."
I took out ten silver coins, making their eyes widen as they stared at the coin before looking at the crowd; a few people were already whispering as they stared at us.
"Ten silver coins?! Is the kid rich!"
"Those guards won't lose; they're pretty famous fighters."
"Maybe he's trying to bribe them to take a fall."
"Hahaha, that brat is going to learn a lesson."
One of the guards stepped aside, and the other two followed, "Fine, but know the silver maiden doesn't go easy just because you are handsome or rich."
Silver maiden? Is that the name of the girl fighting in the centre?
Entering the ring, I could feel countless eyes staring at me, thinking I was there to get beaten up; I heard comments like:
"That kid is going to lose."
"Hehe, those guards better earn some money; otherwise, they might lose their jobs."
"His fox is cute, though."
My eyes scanned the arena before I stepped forward, holding my black lance. A knight with a rugged face looked at me with an unpleasant gaze, the deep scar on his cheek giving the man a distinct aura.
"Ah!? The kid is going to fight the former Bandit King of Azorus?"
"Wow, he is going to lose; how unlucky."
"Is he crazy?"
"No, look, he brought a weapon."
The man glared at me as he swung his great axe, creating a gust of wind.
However, the words around were filled with scorn and abuse. He alone didn't look at me with disdain or mockery. Instead, he seriously seemed to try to assess my abilities.
A bandit king? I hate bandits... What a good choice.
I noticed the female knight looking towards us as we, the centre of the stage, were away from her.
"Lad, where is your armour? Are you okay to fight without protection?"
"I am fine. Thank you for your concern. Let's start the fight; the others are getting anxious."
His voice contained no mockery but genuine concern, making me think that this guy was probably a former knight or guard captain from somewhere rather than a bandit.
"I am Kraus. Let's have a nice fight."
"Akira."
"Don't die."
Flicking my wrist, the black shaft of my spear danced in a beautiful spiral before I lunged forward, penetrating the blade towards Kraus's throat, the attack causing the wind to reverberate with a howl as his axe barely blocked the deadly strike.
"Woah... Kid... No, Akira, you're strong!"
I stepped forward three times, using all my muscles now beside the bandit Kraus, my face beside his head as my left hand covered his face like a claw and smashed him into the concrete.
"I know."
[I guess you'll need some kind of bandit slayer title... It seems they made a mistake hurting Rena...]