Not long after that spoonful, Hime finally finished all the cakes she had ordered.
"Are you done?" I asked.
If she was finished, we could head straight to the cashier and pay for everything.
"Yes," she said while wiping her lips with a tissue.
I rose from my seat, followed by her, and began walking toward the cashier.
In front of the cashier's desk, the woman who had taken our order earlier was waiting for us as well.
I was a little surprised—does she really do all the work in this shop?
"Um… you two were the ones sitting by the window earlier, right?" the woman asked.
"Ah, yes," I replied.
She immediately took a sheet of paper and a pen to write down everything we had ordered and calculate the price.
She even remembered exactly what cakes Hime and I had ordered; it seemed like no one could possibly cheat in this cake shop.
"Thank you for waiting, the total is 35 silver coins and 12 bronze coins," she said.
… I reached into the pocket of my pants and took out the money inside.
Unfortunately, I only brought 25 silver coins with me today. There was still an amount remaining that needed to be paid to settle everything.
I glanced slightly at Hime and blinked repeatedly to signal that I didn't have enough money.
She only gave a small smile, and then I felt my left hand being held by someone.
I looked down, and it was Hime's hand. Ah, so that's what she meant.
I took the money Hime handed me and paid for all the cakes we ate today.
"The amount is exact~ Please come again, okay?" the woman said just before Hime and I left the cake shop.
Cring.
The bell on the door rang again as we pushed it open.
Oh right, I still hadn't asked her what happened on the 40th floor back then, to the point that they found a cave containing Mithril.
But… I probably don't need to know about that. Not everything needs to be known.
"Do you want to go straight back?" I asked.
For some reason, my instincts told me we wouldn't be returning that quickly.
Maybe because I was spending time alone with a girl? Or maybe because I felt like I had done this kind of thing before?
I didn't know—I couldn't remember—but something told me we wouldn't be heading straight back to the inn.
"Yukito-san, you're still free, right?" Hime asked.
"A-ah, yes… why do you ask?" I asked back.
See… I knew it. It was bound to happen.
"In that case, you can accompany me a little longer, right?" Hime asked.
"…Of course," I replied with a smile.
——
What I predicted really happened, but I didn't feel like my time was wasted doing this.
After all, this was Hime's request, and I still felt guilty toward her for what happened back then.
To Hime, I was just a man who accidentally got summoned to this world, yet she dared to defy her own father—the king—and chose to stay by my side.
At that time, I thought everything was fine, and that Hime had already steeled her resolve.
But eventually, I realized my position. Hime must have been deeply hurt because she was humiliated by her own father in front of many people.
I had no idea how she truly felt about that event, but it must have been traumatic for her.
She probably never imagined being treated like that by her father, as if she was hated within her own kingdom.
But… if Hime can still smile like that now, then I don't need to worry about her condition.
"Yukito-san, I want to go inside. Are you sure you want to come with me?" Hime asked.
Of course, I was confused by what she meant. In front of us was a clothing store.
There was no specific sign indicating what kind of clothing they sold, but did Hime really need to confirm with me before going in?
"I'll come with you… besides, it's just a regular clothing store, right?" I asked.
Hime didn't answer my question and walked straight inside.
Naturally, I followed her and opened the door—before I realized what kind of shop it actually was.
It didn't take long before I stepped back out, closing the door, and waited outside for Hime.
I saw it, even if only for a moment… this store was a women's underwear shop.
When I looked inside, there were only girls there—including Hime—and not a single man present.
Now I understood… why she asked me that earlier.
——
I only waited outside for about five minutes, but I kept being stared at repeatedly by people passing by since I was standing right in front of this kind of store.
I knew exactly what they were thinking about me, and I couldn't deny it because it did look like that.
Hime finally came out, but I didn't see a single bag with her.
"Finished, let's go home?" Hime said.
"Huh? You didn't buy anything new?" I asked.
If she went into a store like that, it should mean she was going to buy new underwear, right?
"Nope~ I just had a small matter to take care of inside the shop. Basically, you're not allowed to know about it yet," she said.
…But honestly, I was really curious about what she meant by that.
"Come on, you really won't tell me?" I asked.
"Nope~" she replied.
——
That evening, we returned to the inn and were immediately greeted by Yuu-chan, who looked a little annoyed at us.
"Yuu-chan… may we go to the bathroom for a bit… I want to take a bath…" I said.
"Before that, I want to ask… why did you two go to the cake shop but not bring anything back for me?" Yuu-chan asked.
She meant that… I completely forgot about Yuu-chan while enjoying the cake with Hime.
"I–if you want, I can go back to that shop and buy some for you—" I said.
But Yuu-chan immediately rejected my offer, giving an answer that confused me even more.
"No, I'll go with Hime," she said.
"Ah… you want to do that… alright, I'll go with you," Hime said.
"Eh?" I muttered, still not understanding what they were talking about.
Click.
Both of them left to go to the cake shop, leaving only me in the room.
What were they… planning to do, exactly? I seriously had no idea.
Maybe… girl talk? Could be… Oh, I need to take a bath.
——
Ah… soaking in hot water after visiting the dungeon and accompanying Hime for a walk…
Ahh~~
This feels so comfortable. The warmth of the water calmed me and relaxed my entire body.
Maybe… I'll soak a little longer than usual.
I opened my eyes and looked around the bath; I was the only one soaking here at the moment.
"If only… I could soak together with someone… that would be really nice…" I muttered.
It had been so long since I last bathed together with someone else, so I wanted to experience it again.