Benny said with a serious face.
“First, could you take off your clothes?”
“?”
You said you wouldn’t make me do anything lewd.
Does that mean being naked might not even count as lewd for Benny? At this point, I can’t help but wonder if this is just someone who’s completely shattered their sense of modesty, whether it’s an inverted world or not.
But really, I’m curious. If being naked isn’t enough, just how much would it take for Benny to feel that something is lewd?
“Naked, dogeza…?”
I blurted out this line without thinking. Ellie, who had been eavesdropping with a crooked tilt of her head, rushed over to counter.
“Benny. This way.”
“Wait! There was a misunderstanding, Ellie! I didn’t even say that!”
“Doesn’t matter; to the truth room.”
“Kyaaaa!!!”
Benny, grabbed by the ear by Ellie, was dragged into the storage room. As if seeking help, Benny waved in my direction, so I waved back.
“Bye bye…”
“Help me, you jerk!”
With a scream and the firmly closed door of the storage room, I took over the counter for Ellie, and before long, a disheveled Benny came out, clutching her head.
As our eyes met, her purple eyes, adorned with heart patterns, flickered with excitement.
“Hey!”
Of course, I felt her falter again when she saw Ellie watching silently from behind.
“I wasn’t asking you to be naked! I was just asking for something you usually wear…!”
“Then why didn’t you say so from the start? Both Ellie and I misunderstood for no reason!”
Shrugging her shoulders, she tossed her sock at me.
“Is this enough?”
“Yeah.”
Benny cautiously picked up my sock with her thumb and index finger and turned her back to drop it into her shadow.
Strangely, instead of falling to the ground, the sock fell slowly into her shadow as if sinking into a swamp.
It was probably headed toward where the shadow monster was.
After staring at her shadow for a moment, Benny sighed with relief.
“Phew. This should be fine for a while.”
“What did you do?”
“It seems they liked you. I just threw them a toy to not interrupt you in between. If I don’t give them something, they’ll pop up no matter the time.”
“…Is that all?”
“There’s a reason I got stuck with the creepy witch title rather than other nice ones.”
Benny, speaking in a calm tone, looked a bit lonely.
“Now, let’s go to my workshop. I’ll simply tell you what you need to do there. And I’ll sprinkle in some magic too.”
“Now? It’s the middle of the night…”
“…Ah.”
Benny realized her mistake and opened her mouth in a daze. Her sharp teeth sparkling between her lips made quite the impression.
After stumbling for a bit, Benny pretended to scratch the floor with one foot and asked, “Could you take off a bit more?”
“Just the sock, right? One second.”
After I took off the other sock, she accepted it and dropped it into a small box.
“Hmm. So you said you were going into the labyrinth with Lydia lately? I’ll tag along to take a look. I want to see how you use magic too.”
“We’ll stop by the workshop after we settle the byproducts.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Benny, happily nodding her head, tidied her disheveled hair from getting smacked around. Then, tapping the ground with her toes, she said, “I’ll come with Lydia tomorrow. Starting the pay from tomorrow too.”
“Sounds good. Then just pay for the socks.”
“???”
Benny tilted her head, wondering if she heard wrong. I reached out to her.
“Did you think I was giving them to you for free? I said I needed them for Benny’s experiments.”
“…Okay, so 10 copper should be enough for the sock?”
“Hmm. Given my scent is on them, I think I should charge 1 silver… but fine! This time, I’ll let it go for 10 copper!”
“……”
Benny handed over the 10 copper looking disgruntled. After seeing her off, I dashed over to the counter and held out my coins.
“Ellie! Could I get a nice cold glass of milk, please?”
“I mentioned it before… but that high-quality milk is more than 10 copper.”
“Then I’ll offer you a chance to lick my bare foot on top of that 10 copper.”
“What kind of profit… profit…”
Ellie paused, trying to suppress a laugh. Like a broken record, she repeated the same words, and after a while, she quietly brought out the milk.
Then she whispered softly, “Is it okay for later, right?”
“I’ll even make you a certificate, so please wait.”
I tore a piece from the stack of paper I bought for writing last time and scribbled what I just said in messy handwriting.
– 10-minute foot licking pass
After making it, thinking it was a bit lacking, I drew some cute pictures too.
“Here you go!”
Ellie had a moment of complicated looks but quickly grabbed the coupon, hiding it away as if no one should see.
Talk about an honest person when it comes to desire.
*
The next morning, Benny came to the Fairy and Silver Coin with Lydia, just as she promised.
Seeing me all set up, she jumped onto a nearby chair with a satisfied expression.
“Alright, alright! It looks like you have the basics down. Of course, that’s thanks to Lydia teaching you!”
“…Just to check, is there some rule that you have to climb somewhere when greeting?”
Both yesterday and today, her climbing behavior left me speechless, so I asked, and it was Lydia, not Benny, who answered my question.
“Benny is short, you know? So, to assert dominance, she climbs up high when greeting.”
“Lydia?! I told you not to say that!”
“Even if you didn’t tell me, it would become clear within a day or two.”
“But still!”
Benny stomped her feet, throwing a fit, and I couldn’t help but snicker as I continued.
“I actually think it’s nice that Benny is short! There’s no need to look up like with everyone else.”
“I hate that!”
“Who cares? I just like it. Anyway, let’s get moving. I’m honestly excited to test out my new stuff.”
“Right. This time to the first floor? Or…”
“Let’s just go straight to the second floor. There’s nothing left to gain on the first floor but battling the Giant Mantis… which can be replaced by the Spider Queen on the second floor.”
“That’s true. Alright, but we need to stop by the guild’s supply shop first.”
“Guess we should? I haven’t bought a lantern.”
“I’ve got one. This year’s new model from the Mage Tower. It’s a magic stone rechargeable one, but it also allows for direct magical charging. It has 10 output settings, and it’s equipped with an invisibility piercing feature. Designed by the Workshop Union.”
“…How much?”
“Just 5 gold. Originally, it was 6 gold, but I got a VIP discount. Ahem ahem.”
With her hands on her hips, Lydia was clearly seeking compliments for her great achievement, but…
“Equipment geek.”
“……!”
“Do you really need such an expensive lantern while partying with a mage like Benny?”
“Bu-but I could fall behind Benny!”
“Even so, there’s no reason to need it this much. It’d be better to get a decent lantern and save the rest for emergency supplies or survival kits.”
“I already bought all that.”
“?”
“Heheh. I bought everything at the highest level and then spent the remaining money on a nice lantern.”
“……”
This time, it was my turn to be at a loss for words.
Both were minor consumables, but they’re known for getting more expensive as the quality rises.
Like, bread that fills you up with just a single bite, setting up a safe zone, long-distance communication magic devices, potions, and so on.
It couldn’t have been a small sum, and they got everything at a high level? And they still had money left over for a high-end lantern?
With that kind of cash, how many gachas could they pull…?
“Ha!”
Coming to think of it, wanting to gacha first with possibly hundreds of gold to spare isn’t really that different from Lydia.
I patted Lydia’s shoulder with a kinder heart.
“When you have to eat emergency food later, could you just slice a little? I’m curious about what it tastes like.”
“Only if Jonah is around.”
With a warm atmosphere, Lydia and I made some small promises. Then, Benny interrupted us again.
“Hey, wait a second! Didn’t I mention that I’ve been teaching Ellie’s request from a month ago? I plan to bring her along as my baggage during my break.”
“Yeah, that’s correct.”
“But you’re going to the second floor? At that age? With just a month of adventurer experience?”
“That’s true.”
I answered briefly and quietly stared at Ellie. It seemed Benny wasn’t made aware of the full details.
Thankful to Lydia for giving me the choice, I nodded and opened my mouth.
“I defeated the Guardian of the First Floor.”
“Huh?!”
“Is this a secret?”
As I brought my finger to my mouth, Benny’s expression scrunched up in disbelief.
“Don’t lie! It’s hard to believe there’s a guardian on the first floor, but you say you defeated it?!”
“How about we make a bet? Whoever loses has to act as a baggage handler for the day.”
Just to clarify, I only bet when I’m confident I’ll win.
*
The moment we arrived on the second floor through the tablet, Benny collapsed onto the ground.
“…Be honest. Don’t you look like a kid, but are actually older like me?”
“Uggh. I-I’m baby Jonah. I don’t know my actual age since I’m an orphan.”
“……”
Benny silently took the bag I was carrying.
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