The freedom of not having to worry about men's eyes was something Ren truly appreciated after moving.
People's gazes are surprisingly easy to read. Lewd stares from the opposite sex, in particular, are completely obvious. With the sharp senses of a succubus, she sometimes felt the illusion of her skin being caressed just by being looked at.
While she felt sorry remembering she used to be "the observer," being "the observed" also bred a self-serving thought: "This is why men are..."
In that respect, a women-only space was easy.
Of course, the same sex can be harsher than the opposite sex in some regards.
Being looked at in a "what is that outfit" way can be quite hurtful, but girls are generally quite tolerant of stylish or cute outfits.
If they judge that the outfit suits the person and that the person isn't trying to attract the opposite sex, they often give genuine compliments.
Since Ren had gone to the trouble of creating a "women-only residential area" and minimizing her encounters with men, even when she wore somewhat revealing clothes, they would approach her kindly and say, "That's cute."
Given that Ren's wings and tail necessitated exposing more skin, she was very happy with this reaction.
...However,
"I really wonder about this one...?"
One day, Ren visited her regular cosplay shop and frowned at an outfit the owner recommended.
"Huh, you don't like it? I think it's cute."
It was a garment that was too normal to be called "cosplay," yet too provocative to be called "casual wear" or "going-out clothes"—something that was truly difficult to react to.
Broadly speaking, it was a knit or sweater, characterized by a large opening at the back.
Using a garment meant primarily for warmth in this way was audacious, which made it stylish and liberating. Ren even thought it would be incredibly comfortable to wear.
"The Virgin-Killing Sweater, I highly recommend it!"
"No, the name is the main problem!"
As per its history (?) of becoming famous within otaku culture at one point, it carried a strong image of being an erotic costume.
Of course, it was just a sweater, so there was no problem wearing it normally, but due to the large opening at the back, wearing it alone meant her chest might be visible from the side. In a sense, actively showing it off was arguably its original purpose.
Ren, who valued comfort but disliked being overly erotic, was concerned.
Then the owner spoke up.
"In your case, you can't help being looked at lustfully."
The blunt and accurate observation pierced Ren's heart.
"You have a figure that even other women envy, you're cute, and you smell good even without perfume. People will think you're lewd unless you wear a full-body suit."
"Are you telling me to give up...?"
"Exactly. If anything, wouldn't being more confident mean you're looked at less lustfully?"
That was true.
Even with the open back, it was still warm, and it was better to have something this comfortable for staying inside or walking nearby.
"I'll give you a discount; why don't you buy it?"
The price offered was a bargain, even by the standards of this world.
"Are you sure you can sell it that cheaply?"
"It's fine. It's only one type of material, and once the shape is decided, it's just knitting, so it doesn't take much effort."
Those in the garment class could significantly shorten the work process.
This sweater, which became a simple task once the person had some skill, was apparently made during the owner's spare time.
"If you don't want it, I'll sell it to a man with a young wife."
"That might be good, but in that case, please let me buy it."
"Thank you for your purchase."
Ren didn't want to see a husband enthusiastically buying the item, only to be rejected by his wife and left desolate with the sweater in his hand. The sweater itself wouldn't have a happy ending either.
So, Ren paid and purchased the sweater.
Borrowing the fitting room, she put it on immediately.
"Ah, this is better than I thought."
"See?"
Her back felt incredibly comfortable.
Since wearing just this on bare skin would be too erotic, she would need to wear something underneath, but otherwise, it was an excellent item for winter indoor wear.
It might have been a surprisingly good purchase. She thanked the owner, returned home, and showed it to her companions.
"Ooh. Yeah, it's cute. You bought a good one."
Furi, her partner-like figure, praised her honestly. However, she then narrowed her eyes.
"But it emphasizes your chest, making it very erotic."
"Is that just because you're looking at me lustfully, Furi?"
"Yeah. Well, if someone you like wears an erotic outfit, it's bound to make you excited."
"Gasp."
Ren was the one who ended up blushing when told so directly.
Hastily averting her gaze, she looked at Iris and the others and asked, "What do you think?"
"I think it's cute! But I'm envious of you, Ren-san. It probably wouldn't suit me..."
"You think so? I think this kind of thing is cuter when the chest isn't too big."
When Iris tried it on, her slender figure made the slightly oversized sweater emphasize cuteness and style over lewdness.
Since she usually wore practical clothing when going out, this distinctly loungewear style was refreshing. Any man unfamiliar with Iris's private side might be knocked out immediately if they saw her.
"Hehe, is it cute?"
"It's incredibly cute. If you walked around town in that, everyone would try to pick you up."
"Hmph. Master. May I try it on as well?"
After complimenting Iris, Mei wanted to try it on too.
The backless style would likely suit her, given her pale, smooth skin.
"I think the maid outfit suits you better, Mei."
"Then how about wearing it over the maid outfit?"
"Hmm... Mei-chan, I don't think that would work. I mean, it would probably get stiff."
Since the maid outfit itself wasn't a skin-tight design, the sweater fabric might stretch out. Everyone intervened when Mei started trying hard to force it on.
"Phew, that was close. ...So, what do you think, Shion?"
"If I were to wear it myself, I would definitely hesitate, but I think it suits Ren-sama well. And it looks very warm."
"Thank you. But I think it loses out to Shion's fur in terms of warmth."
Ren tried hugging Shion while wearing the sweater.
The fox girl rubbed her cheek against the sweater as if checking its texture and murmured, "It's warm."
She was so adorable that Ren wanted to stay like that forever. The other members' expressions softened, and they all started stroking Shion, instantly warming the area around Ren.
Even the great sweater couldn't compete with human warmth.
Nevertheless, the item proved very useful for getting through the winter.
It would be perfect if she could lie around in a kotatsu (heated table) while eating snacks. Unfortunately, a kotatsu wasn't available, so they relaxed in front of the fireplace instead. On colder days or days with little sun, Shion also liked the spot near the fire and would nap beside Ren.
Mei, having finished her chores, also snuggled up to Ren to accumulate heat. Furi sighed at the three of them, saying, "You all have your own rooms, you know."On New Year's Eve, Ren and her companions, including Mariabelle and Aisha, spent a relaxed evening at home.
In place of toshikoshi soba (year-crossing noodles), they had pasta, and since they didn't have konjac, they had yudōfu (simmered tofu) with miso dressing. The menu was mainly bar-snack-like items, such as a gyoza-like dish made by stuffing deep-fried tofu with minced meat and green onions and fried potatoes seasoned with salt.
They drank sake, snacked on the food, and set aside any troublesome discussions to enjoy pleasant conversations. Since they had no clock, there was no need to worry about when the date changed, and without a TV, they weren't busy watching New Year's countdown programs. It was a very leisurely time.
As the night deepened, Ren called out to Shion and stood up.
"Well, I'm going to drop in over there for a bit."
"Okay, give everyone my regards~ And this is a gift for them."
"Mhm, thanks."
Bundled in warm outdoor clothes, Ren flew off, holding Shion.
With the shortcut route, traveling to the river was remarkably easy. Following the river, they found the New Year's Sunrise group midway.
As expected, they were also in a drinking mood.
They were roasting meat and cheese over a bonfire and warming themselves with strong liquor. Spotting Ren and Shion flying in, they cheered and welcomed them.
"Oh, look who's here!"
"Ren-chan and Shion-chan, come over and sit here."
"We still have plenty of booze and snacks."
"Thank you. But I can't drink too much or it'll affect tomorrow."
"Haha, tomorrow, or rather, probably today already."
"Hold off on 'Happy New Year' until we see the sunrise!"
Ren handed over the gifts (leftover dinner plus liquor) that Furi and the others had prepared, and she was offered drinks and poured drinks for others. Shion was mainly approached by the women and given plenty of sake while being cuddled.
There was quite a large number of people, and the commotion was like having a bar reserved.
Perhaps due to the alcohol, lewd stares were directed at Ren. When one man even tried to touch her, Ren lightly batted his hand away and threatened, "I'll tell your wife."
"Don't be so cold, Ren-chan. It'd be a waste not to get involved with one or two men when you're so cute."
"I appreciate the thought, but I prefer cute girls."
When Ren enthusiastically extolled the cuteness of Furi and Iris, the drunkards conceded, "Those girls are certainly cute." As men who liked beautiful women, they couldn't possibly say, "I'm better than a beautiful girl," even if their lives depended on it. The fact that they couldn't lie to themselves about that suggested they weren't bad people.
"Ren-sama, what are you talking about?"
"Ah, Shion. Well, this gentleman here was harassing me."
"...Oh? Hey, is that true?"
"Eh!? W-Wait, no. That's not right. It's because Ren-chan is too cute—"
The gentleman who harassed her was thoroughly pinched in the side by his wife before he could finish his half-hearted, contradictory excuse. Ren felt a little sorry for him, but he brought it on himself.
"Well, we should be going soon."
"Aww. Why don't you stay until sunrise?"
Ren, mostly regretted by the men, and Shion, mostly by the women, returned home.
By then, her companions had finished cleaning up and were in rest mode. Ren and Shion also took a nap for "tomorrow (today)" and woke up a little earlier than usual.
"Happy New Year!"
"Same to you. Let's make this a good year."
After greetings, they had a simple breakfast of ozōni (New Year's soup).
After finishing quickly, they immediately began preparations. They changed clothes and, carrying their belongings, headed toward the shrine. Since many people were probably still sleeping, they moved as slowly as possible, trying not to make any noise. It was convenient to walk smoothly once the luggage was put into Storage.
"I wonder if we'll have any visitors."
"Well, if no one comes, we can just relax."
Contrary to their expectations, quite a few visitors showed up.
"Hello there... Wow, Ren-san, you're cute!"
"O-Oh, do you think so? Thank you."
Ren and the others were all dressed in matching miko (shrine maiden) outfits.
Ren's outfit had slits in the back and hips, making her look somewhat like a cult member, but they decided not to worry about that too much.
The number of people in the small shrine was clearly excessive, but there was a reason: they were serving food and drinks to the guests. The liquor was purchased at a low price thanks to the generosity of the distiller, the soup was homemade by Furi, and they also had skewers of game meat that Ren had hunted and Iris had prepared.
"This makes me want plain white rice..."
"If mochi (rice cakes) are acceptable, we can grill them for you here."
Of course, they didn't have a gas stove, but they had a shichirin (portable charcoal grill). They could do a little cooking outdoors using that.
And surprisingly, everything was free.
"Wait, we don't have to pay for this?"
"Nope. It's our way of saying thank you for your support, and it's a festival!"
Everything they prepared would be available until it ran out.
Although they made a generous amount, thinking they could eat the leftovers themselves, it disappeared much faster than expected.
This was thanks to the steady stream of acquaintances visiting for Hatsumōde (first shrine visit of the year), including neighborhood girls, Ren's homeroom teacher, Iris's family (excluding her father), and the ladies from the brothel.
They heard that people were also going (or had gone) to the temple, but they figured they would visit the shrine since it was there. Since no one could enter the dungeon today, everyone was relatively free.
"By the way, do you have omikuji (paper fortunes)?"
"We have a simple version ready."
It was a system where inserting a coin produced a random card with a thin sheet of paper glued to a small wooden board, not just paper. Since they couldn't prepare many, they used a system where the drawn card was returned to the box for reuse.
Although the content itself was carefully created through group discussion, and the handwriting was as neat as possible, it was undeniably cheap. Still, everyone happily drew a fortune.
Mei managed the omikuji, and she stood there with the box, expressionless, drawing attention. When people stared, wondering if she would move, she would suddenly speak, "Can I help you?" which startled them.
"Alright, I'm putting in a larger offering."
"We did get to eat delicious food for free."
Some people generously gave offerings to compensate for the cost of the food and drinks.
"I'm really happy about this."
"Yes. It was worth the effort."
Shion, who murmured happily, was also very popular with the visitors. Everyone fondled and rubbed her fluffy fur, either because she was cute or to gain some of her divine favor.
As a result, she looked quite tired by the time the food and drink ran out.
"Thanks for your hard work, Shion."
"Thank you. ...It's quite a new feeling to meet so many people in this world."
"Yeah. New Year's events are kind of nice."
Ren and the others were also somewhat tired, leading to the feeling that "maybe we don't need to go to the temple..."
They felt they had met most of the people they wanted to see without going there, but then,
"Oh, wait, if you think about it, the trip there is instant."
"Ah, you're right."
Using the portal, the trip to the temple was instantaneous. When she thought of the journey being halved, Ren thought, "Maybe we should go." After finishing the cleanup, they all decided to step through the portal, thinking, "Since we're here."
Fortunately, the transfer destination wasn't completely filled with people, and they arrived at the temple.
"Oh, you all came, too."
"Ah, I guess we hadn't seen the old man yet."
"Am I not being treated worse and worse? ...Well, no matter, I'm less busy this year than usual, so the timing is perfect."
"Huh, you're not busy, Sage? Why?"
"Because you all created a new place of worship, of course."
Even if many people visited both, the time spent at the temple would decrease. This, in turn, lowered the density of people there.
"Also, go and greet everyone. You might need their help in the future."
"Huh, we were just planning to quickly leave, though..."
In the end, Ren and the others spent a considerable amount of time greeting people they hadn't seen yet.
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