Makotoâs dramatic words practically made Haruna exasperated. Haruna was also at that age, so it wasnât like she didnât have an interest in pictures, videos, books, etc, that were embarrassing to show others. But as someone who grew up in a house of worldwide-renowned big-shots, Haruna also couldnât just get her hands on those things so easily, so she had a rather clean upbringing despite having superficial knowledge about sex.
As a result, Haruna had lived without having to deal with the embarrassment or discomfort of parents, siblings, or male acquaintances finding erotic books hidden around her. She really didnât get how pressing of a situation Makoto was in.
Digressing a bit, in the current year that Haruna and friends had left their world, anime-related word usage had become quite commonplace. As a result, even Haruna, who was essentially a regular person and not much of an otaku, had an idea of what Makoto was talking about.
ăEven if fujoshi are recognized as a great force in the world, BL is still something normies would look at you with cold eyes for reading, yâknow?ă
ăIf you say soâŠâŠă
For Haruna, who had no interest in such things, it was impossible to understand what sort of things fujoshi had to deal with. As a result, all she could do was answer Makotoâs claim with a slightly confused expression.
ăWait, you do have books, or pictures that youâd rather not have anyone see, right? Maybe not the 18+ ones, but at least R or something?ă
ăI had friends show it to me before, but I donât own any.ă
ăWhaat? Isnât that unusual for your ageïŒă
ăIt isnât like I donât have some interest, but I also donât really want them. If I keep those things around and donât watch out, there are sure to be several people who will ask troublesome questions when I go house searchingâŠâŠă
In an environment like Harunaâs house where an unspecified amount of people entered in and out, she probably couldnât just carelessly get her hands on even slightly suggestive material like idol pictures. When you also considered that Harunaâs parents had a decent amount of prestige in the entertainment world, 2d was one thing but products involving 3d men would risk leaving unneeded suspicion. Sensing these unique predicaments at play, Makoto just grimaced.
Haruna probably didnât realize how pampered of an upbringing she had, and her parents probably didnât intend for it either. But with the environment being as it was, Haruna was in fact a well-off young lady. Already accustomed to it all, she hadnât realized it much, but observing Harunaâs little mannerisms or walking postures, or the way she ate at mealtime, Makoto could not bring herself to say that Haruna was not a rich girl, because she most certainly was. Even the taciturn mannerisms that she occasionally exhibited in her words and deeds were clearly reflecting the lack of openness she was allowed in the environment she was raised in concerning her type, sexual curiosity, etc.
ăAnyway, for that reason, Iâve been betting on the time difference ever since we got sent here, and I want to quickly go back and conceal the evidence before itâs discovered.ă
ăYou act like this doesnât concern you, but Iâm pretty sure Hiroshi has those sortsa things too yâknow? Just not as severe as Mio and I.ă
ăItâs not even that weird for men to have erotic books and all that, so Iâm really not that concernedâŠâŠă
ăYou donât consider it to be indecentïŒă
ăIIt isnât even like I have zero interest, so Iâm pretty sure it would just be wrong in many ways to ridicule people for having those things, rightïŒă
A bit overpowered from Harunaâs extremely reasonable, upright argument, Makoto couldnât help but nod with a serious face. She was so insistent on protecting her chastity, and maybe that created a decent perception of balance within her to be so magnanimous.
ăSo, you briefly mentioned Mio-chan earlier. Does she want to return for the same reasonïŒă
ăI think so, yeah. Also, when youâre as otaku to the bone as she is, itâs super difficult to change, I think.ă
ăPretty much the same, huhïŒă
ăFrom the way she talks, I often feel that way, yeah.ă
From this area, Mio was also in a complicated position. Honestly, a healthy body with no problems was something not exchangeable, something to be grateful for. Ever since coming to this world, Mio didnât show it on her face initially, but she was unbelievably happy to be able to taste food with her own mouth and eat it.
But once humans adjust to their environment, they quickly begin to exhibit desires of the fleshâŠ
ăRight now Hiroshiâs here and sheâs suppressing it, but if given the opportunity, sheâd start saying âthis is a real dating sim!â and stirring things around with everyoneâs romantic interests.ă
ăNo, câmon, you must be exaggeratingâŠâŠă
ăActually, itâd be great if it stopped there, but back when we took out the maneater in Ortem, she secretly went and grabbed some of Hiroshiâs test products we used for that, so she might actually start treating this like a real eroge and have Artiem, the underground elves, Nora, etc fall into a trap. Iâm serious, you knowïŒă
Haruna recoiled in shock as she remembered the test products that Hiroshi made to combat the maneater. Not a single one of them had the power to strangle a person to death, but much like what happened with tying Artiem up into a position that was not presentable, there were plenty of items among them that could make some very vivid 18+ scenes. Hiroshi should have disposed of them, but apparently this time Mioâs tenacity won out.
ăW-Well, first off, we shouldnât discuss this too much while walking, so once we meet up with Tatsuya-san and window shop a bit, letâs get back early and resume the discussion, kayïŒă
ăYep. I donât think anyone would really get it by listening, but itâs not something to discuss while walking, I agree.ă
The topic had turned to one that mature women probably shouldnât discuss, so Haruna hurriedly changed the course of plans and Makoto followed along. It wasnât like there werenât any other serious topics to discuss, but the majority of them were better off waiting until everyone was gathered, so the two girls began talking about Forre fashion- a relatively safe topic.
Until now, Haruna and Makoto hadnât had much time to work together due to the differences in the jobs assigned to them and their compatibility, but it wasnât like they didnât get along or had anything they couldnât deal with. They were close in age after all and had much to discuss about the differing fashion of Farlane, Darl, and Forre as they walked around looking at the various shops before reconvening with Tatsuya.
Around the time Haruna and the others were surveying the marketplace. Andrew Misen, the envoy of the kingdom of Farlane, had an audience with the king of Forre, Gouto the Eighth, letter in hand delivered from the king of Farlane.
ăNow then, I have read the letter from King Regnas.ă
Putting power into his abdomen so as to not be overwhelmed by the astonishing height (almost 2 meters) and girth (steel flesh like that of an ogre or giant) of this âhumanâ king Gouto, Andrew saluted him in response.
ăIf it is truly possible, then we would love to have it. HoweverâŠă
ăI understand your concern very well.ă
Andrew nodded at the king of Forre. Even he would have tried to persuade the Farlane king to reconsider by putting his own neck on the line (literally) had this not involved Elenaâs dagger. That was just how unrealistic this was.
Then again, he had been staying in Forre for five years by this point, polishing his eye for smithing items, plus he was an accomplished enchanter, so he was able to understand immediately just how remarkable Elenaâs dagger was.