Chapter 20: Chapter 20 — Is this love
[Congratulations! You have successfully cultivated dual ether and have raised your trust level with your companion.]
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"Damn, that’s killing two birds with one stone," I thought with a grin stretching from ear to ear.
Or rather, three birds. Watching that imbecile Dollmun crying like a complete loser inside his containment jar had been an absolute delight. Hearing him lament over and over, shrieking "My body, my body!" while cursing me with all his might was, without a doubt, the best way to start the morning.
Meanwhile, Domack and Dorko continued training hard outside. I had left them strict orders not to approach the village, to avoid any kind of misunderstanding or inconvenience with the locals.
I was about to brew a homemade coffee in the kitchen of the new cabin when, suddenly, Chimera crept up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
"Master... let’s go back to bed," she whispered, her voice dripping with mischief directly into my ear.
Apparently, the sexy, impeccably stitched chimera had grown quite fascinated with playing with my "serpent." Faced with such an invitation, I wasn’t about to refuse, so we ended up going at it one more time before I could even take the first sip of my coffee.
I know what many of you must be wondering right now: "Bro, did you just cheat on Samira with another woman?" Relax, don’t be alarmed. I had already spoken with Samira beforehand about these kinds of situations.
In fact, she herself mentioned to me that in her past, she’d had her own entourage of suitors. In this world, it’s completely normal and accepted for powerful men and women alike to form their own harems if they so desire. Yes, I know, it’s one of those peculiar things about this isekai universe, but I wasn’t about to complain.
---
After enjoying my small revenge against Dollmun and having a good time with Chimera, I left my summons training in the forest and returned to the inn to meet Samira. I brought her breakfast directly to the room, and the first thing she did upon seeing me walk through the door was plant a tender kiss on my lips.
I returned it gladly and handed her the tray of food.
I stayed there, quietly contemplating her for a long while as she ate her breakfast, admiring just how beautiful she was. When she finished, we broke the ice and fell into the most comfortable conversation. I told her that Pain, the guild master, had intercepted me a while earlier to hand me a heavy pouch brimming with gold Kalikas—a generous bonus reward courtesy of none other than Saintess Karina herself.
"So, Hal... what do you say we go out and explore the town today?" Samira asked, her eyes glowing with anticipation.
"Of course," I replied, returning her smile. "No problem at all. We’ve got the day free."
And so our stroll through the streets of Prusna began.
For a border town, I hadn’t noticed just how truly picturesque and beautiful it was. We passed by various street stalls, noisy blacksmith forges, and food shops where we enjoyed sampling local snacks to our hearts’ content.
Eventually, we stepped into a clothing boutique. Something that pleasantly surprised me was how ridiculously cheap the garments were compared to the gold I was carrying.
I seized the opportunity to gift her a new wardrobe. Although the dress Samira had been wearing when I first met her wasn’t bad at all, the fact that she only had that single change of clothes made me feel like a terrible boyfriend.
So, looking her straight in the eyes, I told her she could pick out absolutely everything she wanted.
After all, we already considered ourselves an official couple.
The attentive shop assistant guided us immediately toward the fitting room area. I stayed waiting outside for obvious reasons, while the woman helped Samira try on different outfits.
"What do you think of this one, Hal?" Samira asked, drawing back the curtain to reveal a beautiful bluish dress, finely adorned with embroidered roses along the sides.
She twirled the skirt with a radiant smile that stole the breath from my lungs.
"You are absolutely stunning," I managed to say, completely entranced.
From there, it turned into a private fashion show. She kept showing me more and more dresses, ensembles, and form-fitting outfits. With every single one she tried on, I could only repeat how radiant and gorgeous she looked.
Damn, at this rate I was going to lose my mind watching the way her hips swayed as she modeled.
At one point in the afternoon, the shop assistant had to withdraw to the entrance to attend to other customers, leaving us completely alone in the fitting room hallway.
Seizing the privacy, during one of her many exits from the stall, Samira took me by the hand and pulled me firmly inside the spacious fitting room with her.
"Do I really look good?" she asked in a whisper, a sudden, adorable flash of nervousness flickering across her features.
"Of course you do. You look as beautiful as an orchid blooming in the heart of spring," I answered gallantly, taking her hand to press a soft kiss to the back of it.
"If I’m being honest with you... I was always afraid you might reject me or call me ’old’ the first time we cultivated our ether," she confessed, lowering her gaze. "But you were left completely spellbound by me."
"Well, what kind of idiot wouldn’t be spellbound by a woman as magnificent and spectacular as you?" I assured her, taking her by the waist.
Our lips met at once in a passionate symphony of wet kisses, bold caresses, and intense groping. I closed the fitting room curtain completely and, riding the rush of adrenaline, we ended up doing "the unholy deed" right there for several intense and delicious minutes.
When we finished, Samira let out a soft giggle and used a touch of her cleansing magic to purify the atmosphere and tidy up the whole space, avoiding any suspicion or future inconvenience with the shop assistant.
"Aren’t you going to buy anything for yourself, Hal?" she asked, touching up her hair.
"Well, now that you mention it, maybe I should refresh my own style."
"Excellent! Let’s see what kind of clothes suit you best, my love," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and gifting me a perfect smile.
God, this woman was incredible. It felt exactly like being inside one of those romantic movies from the 90s.
---
This time it was my turn to step into the neighboring fitting room. I began peeling off the worn-out clothes I had on. Now that I thought about it with a cool head, I felt a bit embarrassed remembering the sorry state I’d been in when I presented myself before the Church’s Saintess the day before.
"Wow!"
I was caught off guard noticing a full-length mirror with elegant silver edges embedded in the fitting room wall. Well, and here I thought these kinds of everyday luxuries didn’t exist in this medieval world. I took a moment to examine my own reflection.
"Hello, new me."
For those curious, my current appearance in this world is as follows: I have striking red hair, intense blue eyes, a pair of youthful freckles on my cheeks, and fair skin. But what truly left me speechless was the change in my physique. I was no longer the scrawny, sedentary guy from Earth; now I sported well-defined abs and a toned chest. Not that I was some hyper-muscular gym bro, but I definitely had an athletic body that didn’t fall short.
Suddenly, the curtain slid open and Samira walked in without warning.
"Hal, you’re taking way too long... Oh, my!" Her sentence cut off halfway, her violet eyes flying wide open at the sight of me shirtless.
"Well, you’ve seen me naked before, haven’t you?" I joked, scratching the back of my neck.
"Yes, but I’ve never stopped to detail your body like this," she admitted, stepping closer to glide the palm of her hand across my back. "You look just like a sword master from the Kingdom of Rumack... Imposing and irresistible."
Samira’s fingers trailed slowly across my shoulders, descending along my chest until they traced the lines of my toned abdomen.
The atmosphere heated up again in a single second, and we fell back into fierce kissing. We were on the verge of unleashing a second round of "the unholy deed," but I managed to restrain myself by sheer force of will, remembering we were still inside a public store.
I stepped out to try on several clothing options. The shop assistant suggested an ensemble that, according to her, was all the rage among hunters and men of the village. It was crafted almost entirely from low-level monster materials: trousers made from forest deer hide, boots of Trakus leather (a species of scaly reptile from the region), and an imposing jacket sewn from lesser ogre hide.
"God, if the folks at PETA saw what people in this world do to monsters, they’d drop dead from a heart attack on the spot," I thought, letting out an internal laugh as I pictured the scene.
---
Though that outfit was ideal for going out on a hunt, since I planned to spend a few relaxed days in town, I preferred to look for something more casual and comfortable.
The shop assistant’s next suggestion consisted of dark shoes, rigid black trousers, and a very long dark tunic with a hood. It was, essentially, the most generic, cliché, and overused outfit of every light novel and isekai protagonist.
"God, in this I look exactly like fucking Kirito," I thought with a grimace. No offense to the fans of that MC, of course, but I didn’t want to walk around looking like some emo chosen by fate. I was about to reject it when Samira saved my life.
"Hmm, what do you think of this one?" she intervened, holding up an ensemble that looked a thousand times better. It consisted of a good-quality white linen shirt, flexible brown leather trousers, and extremely comfortable footwear for walking around town.
She winked at me with complicity, and I smiled at her, completely grateful for her excellent taste.
After settling on that definitive ensemble, I left Samira chatting with the shop assistant while she finished packing up her own selections. I stepped out to wait for her at the shop counter and proceeded to settle the full bill. The entire new wardrobe cost us about 1,000 silver Kalikas—a pittance considering the funds I was carrying.
When Samira finally emerged from the fitting room wearing one of the new outfits, I was left utterly and hopelessly stunned.
She had on a daring, form-fitting short purple dress that accentuated her killer curves, paired with low-heeled shoes. She swept her violet hair back with elegance as she held the shopping bags, devouring me with her gaze.
"Come on, silly, stop staring at me like that," she said with a playful smile, taking my arm so we could start walking back into the bustling streets.
"And to which place would you like to go after this, my lady?" this redhead inquired in a chivalrous tone.
"Hmm!" She placed a finger thoughtfully on her chin. "The shop assistant mentioned that in a few days the village’s annual hunting festival will be held. Perhaps we could sign up and participate together. What do you say, love?"
"Love." She had just called me "love."
I don’t know exactly what happened to me in that instant, but I felt my heart start pounding at a thousand beats per minute inside my chest simply from watching her smile beneath the afternoon light.
What the hell was this? Why was I going crazy and losing my composure over a single word from her?
"Is this what my old schoolmates back on Earth called true love?" I questioned myself.
In my former life as an internet troll, I had never taken the time to understand other people’s feelings or why they got so foolish when they fell in love. But now I understood it perfectly: I was completely, utterly crazy about her.
I stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Is something wrong, Hal?" Samira asked, turning to look at me with genuine confusion.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air, looked her firmly in the eyes with total seriousness, and spoke from the very depths of my soul:
"Samira Von Skillar Salazar... I solemnly swear that I will love you to infinity, no matter what happens. And it doesn’t matter if in the future I end up having many wives due to the customs of this world—I promise you I will love each one equally, but you will always be my first great companion. So, please... would you go out with m—"
I couldn’t even finish the sentence because Samira took me firmly by the collar of my shirt, pulled me toward her, and planted a kiss so deep and passionate it erased every thought from my head.
"We’re already going out, you little fool," she told me as we parted, her gaze brimming with absolute tenderness.
"I know... but I wanted to make it official and have it sound much more formal and romantic," I replied, feeling my cheeks turning as red as my own hair.
She let out a beautiful, melodious laugh that echoed through the street.
"Well, you are a romantically forgetful man, Harold Pitt."
Without wasting another moment, we decided to relocate all that overflowing romance back to our room at the inn, where we joined our bodies together once more with a wild, burning passion that lasted until the late hours of the night.
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