Chapter 045: Hot Room and Calm your Heart
âY-Yeah. A cheap one though.â (Rifreya)
She brought me to her lodging.
âHere, here. Letâs go in before the people of the inn notice us.â (Rifreya)
Rifreya goes up the stairs while still holding my arm with unbelievable strength.
I followed her lead just like that.
My head felt light, and my brain couldnât process anything properly right now.
She might be drunk herself.
She opened the door to the room at the end, pushed me into the room, and locked the door with her hands behind her back.
I would say her room is slightly better than the one I am staying at.
Rifreya looked like a rich girl, but that might not actually be the case.
She lit the lamp in the room and sat at the bed.
The swaying and fleeting light was accentuating the beautiful body of Rifreya.
ââŠI told you I wanted to thank you, butâŠI actually donât have that much money.â (Rifreya)
âI-I see. Then, thereâs no need to push yourself.â (Hikaru)
âNo, I want to thank you. And soâŠuhmâŠI couldnât think of anything but thisâŠâ (Rifreya)
She says this as she unbuttoned her shirt one by one.
Below that shirt that she hesitantly took off, there was only a thin petticoat.
The lines of those white and plentiful breasts of hers were revealed, and I averted my gaze.
I didnât expect it to turn out this way.
I could feel myself sobering at mach speed.
Rather than happiness, confusion took over me faster.
âRifreya, I havenât been around these areas for long. Is this a normal way of thanking others around here?â (Hikaru)
âNoâŠit isnât that normalâŠI think. But I somewhat understand that this has value⊠Ah, but I have no experience, so uhmâŠI donât know if I will do wellâŠâ (Rifreya)
Her eyes were damp as she said this.
Her voice, her shoulders, even her fingers were trembling, and even with that, she faced my way, and invited me as if she had resolved herself.
âIt is true that it may have value. If it is someone like you, Rifreya, it would go for who knows how much gold⊠No, you canât even put a price to it.â (Hikaru)
âI-I donât think thereâs as much value as you say it has, butâŠbut I am happy that you think that⊠Also, it is true that I think it would be fine if it is you, Hikaru.â (Rifreya)
She placed her fingers on the string of her petticoat, and closed her eyes.
I sat by her side and stopped her hand.
ââŠIn the first place, I saved you on my own volition. You didnât ask me to save youâŠno, not only that, you could even say I stole your kill.â (Hikaru)
Hitting an already aggroed mob is even considered bad manners in MMORPGs.
This world is obviously not a game, but thereâs the need to apply some of that logic to it.
âN-No, I asked my servants to call for help, and it is indisputable that you saved me, Hikaru.â (Rifreya)
âThen, letâs say I did come to save you under your call. Does that mean that from now on, when people save you, you are going to continue thanking them in this manner? This time it was me, but if it had been another man, they would have taken you without hesitation. Arenât you an explorer? This is almost like prostitution.â (Hikaru)
âN-No way⊠A prostitute is justâŠ!â (Rifreya)
âBut am I not right? Is it that different?â (Hikaru)
I am giving her a sermon here when I am not even from this worldâŠis what I thought, but I have to say this.
She is an idiot. She has the appearance of someone thatâs a bit intelligent, but sadly to say, she is imprudent, thoughtless, and too self-conscious, andâŠway too good of a person.
I have always been worried about the boldness of my little sisters who grew up fast in both mind and body, so I canât leave girls like this be.
Her appearance might be top tier, but thatâs exactly why I have to tell her this.
More so because I was pissed.
ââŠCauseâŠI canât think of anything else. AlsoâŠI thought it was fine if it was you, Hikaru⊠When you showed up from inside the darknessâŠyou were coolâŠâ (Rifreya)
Rifreya was muttering excuses while looking down.
I must have looked a bit nicer because I saved her life. It was dark too.
The cleavage of her breasts was accentuated from her curling up, shaking my heart, but I want her to understand this properly.
âRifreya, an explorer is a job where you save and are saved. Thereâs no need to owe anything to anyone on every single instance. If you want to thank someone no matter what, treating them to a meal really is plenty enough.â (Hikaru)
I actually donât know how explorers operate.
But helping each other out in the battlefield that is the dungeon should be a given. What we are doing is hunting. It should be normal for hunters to help each other.
âBut butâŠmy family precepts tell me that I should return a debtâŠâ (Rifreya)
âThatâs why I am talking here about the way you return that debt. Returning that debt with your body is the thought pattern of a psycho. If you were to save an explorerâŠand letâs say that person is a handsome man. What would you do if that person told you that they want to return the debt with their body?â (Hikaru)
âI would kick themâŠâ (Rifreya)
Rifreya looks down and goes silent just like that.
This type of convincing is difficult. Thereâs no knowing if she has understood the real meaning of the word, and it is not like I am certainly on the right here.
The side of me pushing my own values on her is stronger here.
ââŠI am a man myself, so if I were asked whether my feelings are wavering here, I would say they are. You are beautiful and charming⊠But IâŠam not happy being thanked in this manner.â (Hikaru)
I say this, but I donât know what to do.
She has her head drooped and completely silent.
I took a deep breath and opened the Status Board.
I myself need to cool my head down too.
(The viewersâŠhave increased. Even a situation like this is being watchedâŠ) (Hikaru)
At some point in time, my real time viewers have increased to over 200,000,000.
It is around 10 times as much as the standard recently.
The time I spent with Rifreya was fun.
It probably doesnât have anything to do with her being beautiful. I simply missed human interaction.
I wanted someone who would laugh together with me.
But thatâs my weakness.
I am still drunk, and this situation doesnât feel real, but thereâs no doubt I will be regretting what I did now tomorrow morning.
Rifreya herself gets watched by being involved with me.
That would trample on her very dignity.
ââŠAnyways, I have managed to accept my own feelings thanks to you having a meal with me. If you are going to continue being an explorer, donât do something like this ever again, okay?â (Hikaru)
I donât know if she will actually change.
But I am sure my connection with her will be severed with this.
She has been silent this whole time, but I am sure she is angry. No one would want to be preached like this.
In the end, I might have hurt her with my own selfishness.
In the first place, we are living in different worlds.
I stood up from the bed just like that.
If I were to leave just like this, that would be the end of it.