NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97
Claire was much more vigorous than I expected, and Leo was way more gentlemanly than I anticipated.
Well, Leo’s character was something I had seen a lot even in the original story. When I think about it, that frustrating harem protagonist personality was just the right kind of gentleness for this era. He doesn’t touch ladies without consent and treats them as gently as possible, even when necessary.
Although I had never seen Leo wearing anything like a silk hat.
The only thing I could see was Alice’s back as she walked in front of me, but with her hair parted, I could catch glimpses of the tips of her ears turning bright red. She probably looked like she was about to have a heart attack from embarrassment. Not to mention, every time Leo and Alice passed by, all the guys around looked on with envious eyes.
Well, even if they ran after her because they liked bunny girls, the chances of that being sincere are pretty slim. It would mostly be because that guy seemed really rich. Of course, the guys were aware of that fact, but there aren’t too many men who would say no when a bunny girl offers that kind of “service.”
On the other hand, even though Alice was still wearing a mask, the sight of her was pure ‘embarrassment’ itself. It wasn’t a face that adventurers would normally make. And since Leo was young and handsome like the protagonist of a game, his presence made Alice’s reaction even more convincing.
On the outside, it really gave off the vibe of a ‘young lady adventurer who fell for a gentleman who is kind to any woman.’ Yeah, I guess that would be enviable from a guy’s perspective.
Both were minors, but still.
Conversely, I was getting a lot more attention from the ladies.
The reason was probably ‘pity.’
Most of the guys wandering around here had bare faces without masks, but the women were almost all hiding their faces behind fans or wearing partial masks like bunny girls. While it wasn’t frowned upon for women to gamble, the atmosphere wasn’t exactly welcoming either.
However, I could clearly feel the emotion of ‘pathetic’ mixed in the gazes of the women looking at me even beyond those masks.
While Leo walked with Alice without daring to touch her, Claire was firmly gripping my wrist and practically dragging me along.
Moreover, Alice’s chest was completely clear of anything, but between my own… well, clearly, there was something that could easily be called ‘payment’ stuck there.
It varied by person, but there are definitely homosexuals in this world. Men who reveal their affection for other men, and women who do the same for other women. And there are also women willing to spend a lot of money on adventurers here.
It seemed that the women sending me sympathetic glances were mostly thinking along those lines.
…Should I turn back?
Should I just go back to square one and get Alice again?
As I followed Claire, dragged along, I seriously considered it but ultimately gave up on that thought.
Whatever.
Since Alice wanted this so badly, I just went along with it.
I knew I was coming knowing this would be embarrassing, so who could I blame?
With a mindset of ‘whatever will be will be,’ I just followed Claire without any thoughts.
Fortunately, that mindless state was great for maintaining a blank expression.
*
“So you came all the way here saying you wanted information? In that outfit?”
Claire questioned incredulously, and Alice’s face turned even redder.
In a corner of the building.
The two people who had led us into a back corridor, rarely frequented by other customers, crossed their arms and stood in front of us.
Claire, without wearing a mask, was standing tall.
But I couldn’t bring myself to mention that fact. It wasn’t that I was scared of Claire, it was more that I was very seriously embarrassed about the current situation. If I opened my mouth, my voice would undoubtedly crack without a doubt.
Alice and I had removed our masks and were holding them in our hands. I was nervously fidgeting with the black half-mask, trying not to touch it, but Alice was already shifting her gaze around, nervously fiddling with her own white half-mask.
“…The person with the information we need has infiltrated as an adventurer.”
Finally managing to speak, Alice’s words made Claire wipe her face.
“There’s really no need to infiltrate in such a getup, right? We could have just come as customers like you.”
“…”
This is a bit strange.
In the original story, the biggest reason Alice donned the bunny girl outfit was because of Claire.
After hearing a line like, ‘I’m doing the hard work while you sit comfortably,’ Alice got so mad that she ended up infiltrating in the same way as Claire… that was the story of the original work.
And now, it was oddly Bella who had stimulated her into this, not Claire.
In a sense, this was a clue that Alice recognized Bella as a true sister. Since the fellow princess Bella was directly on the scene, it seemed strange for her to be stepping back, considering that she was also a princess, just like Bella, feeling the way Alice did towards Claire in the original.
In a sense, it was quite an admirable sentiment.
“Why don’t you say something, too?”
“Uh? Me?”
Leo, who had been staring at the ceiling lights instead of daring to look our way, jumped in surprise when Claire’s gaze fell on him, then turned to us before returning his gaze to its original position.
“…”
Seeing Leo’s unhelpful reaction, Claire wiped her face again.
In the original, Leo didn’t recognize Alice at their ‘first meeting’ either. It wasn’t until the second day when, after hearing that Alice couldn’t make it for a late-night request, he started to have doubts and came looking for Alice.
His current reaction wasn’t strange.
“And you, sis.”
“…Yes.”
I deliberately averted my gaze from Claire, who was looking at me with fiery eyes.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
Hmm.
Somehow, it felt like asking if it was okay to say, ‘What’s wrong with that?’ isn’t going to go over well.
I remembered why Claire was so upset from when she dragged me by my wrist earlier.
That orphanage we were at with Claire was that kind of place. Even if I didn’t realize it back then, I would understand when I looked back during the process of searching for her later.
So… frankly speaking, it didn’t sit well with her that I was dressed in clothes that could be considered “for selling my body”.
“It’s because of me.”
Before I could make any excuse, Alice spoke up first.
“I… decided to infiltrate here, so I wore the same outfit to protect myself.”
“…That’s true enough.”
Thankfully, it seemed Claire understood Alice’s words. Alice was one of the few people capable of reading my expressions. I assumed Claire, who witnessed that right beside her, could understand too.
“Where did you get those outfits?”
“That is…”
Alice couldn’t quite answer that question.
After all, the one who had slyly prepared my bunny girl outfit was none other than Bella. While she had nudged us into wearing these clothes, she didn’t seem to be around to enjoy the sight.
Thinking back, she had also been absent even before I turned back time. Considering Kiara Verati’s reaction, Bella seemed to have gotten quite close to her.
…She wasn’t watching us eagerly from a distance or something, right?
“So, why are you suddenly here? Claire, you’re not even wearing a mask.”
“Uh?”
Alice, who found herself in a tricky situation, immediately fired the question at Claire.
Claire, who had been acting incredibly confident just a moment ago, seemed a bit flustered when confronted with such a question.
“Answer my question first—”
“No need for that. You can get this kind of outfit easily enough if you’re looking to play around. Honestly, how many of the people working in such outfits here do you think can openly reveal their past?”
“…”
“If I say I’m looking to work, I can get this outfit right away. The people giving away clothes wouldn’t care who I am. They probably wouldn’t think for a second that I’m a princess.”
It was a bit forceful, but it wasn’t entirely implausible.
Who would actually think that someone wanting to work as an adventurer in this place was secretly a princess? It was far more believable to think she was just someone who looked similar.
“Alright? So you all tell me your reason too. If it’s Leo, I wouldn’t even care—”
Upon hearing Alice’s words, Leo looked a bit hurt, but Alice ignored his reaction and turned to Claire again.
“—What’s the reason for a woman to wander around here, with her face uncovered? And what was that about Sylvia earlier, shoving money into her chest?”
“…”
Only then did I lower my gaze.
There were still a few pound notes wedged in my chest.
I quickly reached to pull them out to return them to Claire but then hesitated.
…Isn’t this a bit odd, returning damp and lukewarm bills?
Claire looked complicated too.