LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 31 - She Put on the High Heels (7)
I Raise With In-app Purchases – 31
EP.31 She Put on the High Heels (7)
I had been troubled with strange thoughts since morning because of her. Rebecca, unaware of my struggles, was sprawled on the floor, sleeping soundly. I couldn’t get close to her. The problem was that we had drunk too much last night.
“Sigh….”
No matter how strong your tolerance, drinking like we did last night was bound to get you drunk. Rebecca and I had gotten completely wasted, leaving no room to take care of each other. As a result, the scene this morning was quite indecent.
Especially Rebecca, who was a total mess from head to toe. Not that I was in any better condition. When I came to my senses, I was only in my underwear. I must have taken off my clothes out of habit. You can imagine my shock at seeing a half-naked man and woman sprawled on the floor.
‘Pink… Ahem. Why isn’t she wearing panties?’
I should have taken care of things before it got to this point, but I wasn’t in any condition to help. My main concern was saving myself first.
‘Thank goodness I woke up before her.’
It must have been really hot because we had both stripped off our clothes. As a man, it didn’t matter if my chest was exposed, but Rebecca was a woman. And since she was wearing my oversized clothes, her state was quite precarious. The rubber band she had used to tie her clothes was long gone.
I fetched a blanket from the bedroom and covered Rebecca’s exposed body before retreating to the bathroom.
‘If I stayed there any longer, I would have shown an unsightly side of myself.’
As a man, I couldn’t help but feel tempted to look at a half-naked woman, but I suppressed the urge. I knew what would happen if I did something inappropriate—Rebecca would retaliate, and I still wanted to live.
Even though I had made soup to help with the hangover, Rebecca showed no signs of waking up, completely knocked out by the alcohol.
“Sigh.”
In the end, I had no choice but to return to where Rebecca was sleeping to wake her up. The blanket I had covered her with was now bunched up between her legs. This made her appearance even more indecent. The oversized T-shirt had ridden up, fully exposing her chest, and her pants were completely off, revealing her pale buttocks.
‘This is beyond salvageable.’
I worried that if I got too close to pull her clothes down, I might get slapped. Wasn’t this a common cliché?
‘If she slaps me without holding back, my neck could snap.’
A single mistake could change the genre to something more gruesome and bleak. Plus, there was no saving the pants that had already slipped off her body. The best I could do was to wake her up as politely as possible, using my foot to shake her.
Risking my life just to wake her up seemed like a waste of all the years I had survived through sheer determination.
– Tap, tap. –
“Wake up. It’s morning.”
“Mmm…”
“How long are you going to sleep?”
“Mmm…”
– Wriggle! Wriggle! –
Rebecca, now resembling a tangled caterpillar, wriggled around. Whether she was trying to become a butterfly or not, her movements were excessive. It was definitely due to the hangover.
“Ugh, what is it?”
“It’s morning. Wake up.”
“Morning? Yawn~”
I quickly withdrew my foot and stepped back to keep my distance from Rebecca.
“Come out when you’re fully awake. I’ve prepared breakfast.”
“Okay. Got it.”
She might not be thinking clearly now, but soon she’d realize her state. Before any misunderstandings could arise, I decided to leave the room.
====
***
====
“You’re really going to wear those?”
Rebecca, who had finally woken up and emerged much later, was now dressed normally in the T-shirt and pants, as if she had never been in such an indecent state. However, the way she glanced at me suggested she knew I had seen her.
‘Of course, she knows. I was the one who woke her up.’
Though her gaze was fierce, she didn’t make a big deal out of it and focused on the hangover soup I had prepared. Enduring a hangover without a remedy? That was out of the question. After having the soup and changing back into the clothes she wore yesterday, Rebecca said she was going to head home. The issue was that she intended to go home wearing high heels.
“Yeah. I want to get used to them quickly.”
While I had no reason to stop her, I couldn’t help but recall her expression from yesterday.
“Isn’t it a bit much to practice on the streets?”
“I can do it!”
“Why not practice at home? You might not be able to keep a straight face.”
“No! Yesterday was because I had been drinking. I was a bit warm. I fell in love at first sight and even tried them on.”
Rebecca seemed to have rationalized her behavior from yesterday. It felt odd to keep dissuading her when she was so determined. I shrugged and told her to go ahead.
“Hoo… Hoo…! I’m going to wear them, okay?”
She said she would wear them, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually do it.
“Ugh…”
It seemed she lacked the courage.
“Do I have to put them on for you?”
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
Despite her words, she couldn’t even touch the high heels. She had played with them so well yesterday, but now she was hesitating without the influence of alcohol.
“Sigh, come here.”
In the end, I squatted down, picked up the high heels, and put them on her feet.
“Ah! Don’t do that!”
“Quiet. Stop squirming. How long are you going to hesitate at the entrance?”
“Ugh!”
Since she had worn them once before, the unique equipment had already adjusted to her feet.
“There, done. Does it feel better wearing them sober? They seemed to fit well.”
“…”
Rebecca breathed heavily with a peculiar expression. She seemed startled by the forced fitting.
After calming down, Rebecca spoke.
“They feel okay for now, but I think I’ll know for sure once I start walking.”
“Do as you like.”
Rebecca slowly took a step forward. Her awkward gait gradually became more natural. Before long, she was walking normally. Throughout this process, she didn’t let out a single groan. Although her face showed she was holding something back.
“Seems okay? Not itchy?”
“It wasn’t itchy to begin with…”
“Oh, you said it felt good?”
“Ahem! It still feels good. They cling to my feet so well that it feels like I’m walking on air, not the ground. With these, even a 1,000 km march would be a breeze.”
I frowned at the mention of a march.
“Why exaggerate so much?”
“Pfft, really? But I genuinely like them a lot. I think I can bear it.”
Her cheeks were still flushed, indicating she wasn’t completely used to them yet.
“I’m off! Thanks. See you tomorrow! I’m skipping the training ground today!”
Just as she seemed to have gotten used to them, Rebecca waved and left. I wanted to see her off, but she dashed out before I could.
“…..”
I stared at the spot where Rebecca had been moments ago.
“Let’s get back to business.”
I decided to go about my usual routine.
====
***
====
I opened the general store. And then, a wild youngster 1 appeared. It was the first-time youngster 1 had come to the store alone, which was surprising. It seemed he had been waiting for our store to open.
“Mister!”
“Why do you come here so often during your vacation?”
“Hehe.”
He took it as a compliment, even though it wasn’t.
“Mister, do you have this?”
Youngster 1 handed me a piece of paper. I checked what was written on it and asked,
“Why do you need this?”
It was a scroll typically used in contaminated zones.
The items listed were consumables that weren’t sold at our city’s general store, the kind I had given to Shine. It made no sense for a youngster to use these. As I looked at him suspiciously, the youngster explained.
“My sister just graduated.”
“Oh.”
“She’s enlisting soon, and I wanted to give her something useful with the allowance I’ve saved up. I heard these are really good.”
“Yeah, they’re really good. But how do you expect to find such good stuff here? This is just a neighborhood general store.”
As I mentioned before, these items were only distributed through the military.
“Tch, can’t you get them either? Well, if Ash’s general store doesn’t have them, there’s no way you would.”
The youngster tried to hide his disappointment, even though he had expected this outcome. So, he had already been to Ash’s general store? I thought he was a regular at our store, but it seemed he was playing both sides. Feeling a bit petty, I asked,
“Do you even have the money to buy this?”
“I do! I told you I saved up my allowance, Mister!”
“Don’t be so cheeky. Show me how much you have.”
“You talk down to me too! Here! And why do you want to see my money if you don’t have the items?”
“I never said I didn’t have them.”
“What? So, you do have them?”
This youngster was really cheeky.
“Yeah, I do. So, show me your money. I need to see if you have enough to pay for it. This stuff is really expensive, and your allowance might not be enough.”
“Ha! You shouldn’t underestimate me!”
The youngster, feeling provoked, handed over his money pouch with a huff.
– Clink! Clink! –
“Here! I can buy it, right? There’s no way I don’t have enough.”
…The money pouch was indeed quite heavy. Just how much allowance did this youngster get? My earlier assumption that he wouldn’t have enough money seemed unfounded.
“Should I give you exactly what you need, or leave some change?”
“Use it all!”
“You’re pretty cool, huh?”
“Hehe. Once the school term starts, I’ll get more allowance from Mom.”
So, this amount of allowance was nothing to him. Despite being young, he was sacrificing his allowance for his sister. It was quite admirable. No matter how much money one has, spending it on family isn’t an easy decision. Especially since siblings, particularly sisters, tend to fight often.
“Let’s see…”
To ensure this youngster wouldn’t come crying one day saying his sister had died, I decided to pack items that would help her survive. When she first enlisted, she wouldn’t be able to buy these items even if she wanted to, as they wouldn’t be available to her yet.
“This should be just right.”
No discounts for this youngster. I packed items that matched the exact value of his allowance.
When he gave this to his sister, she might get a bit mad, wondering where he got such valuable items.
“Wow~! Is this for real?”
“Why, do you doubt it?”
“No! I know you’re an honest merchant, Mister. I’m just happy.”
“But before I sell this to you, we need to make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“If you don’t agree, I won’t sell it.”
“That’s not fair! If I pay, you should sell it!”
“Well, it’s fair here. I have no problem not selling this to you.”
“Ugh.”
The youngster clenched his small fists in frustration, trembling slightly. Then, crossing his arms and glaring at me, he asked,
“What kind of deal? I’ll decide after I hear it.”
Quite assertive, isn’t he?
“I’m going to wrap this up for you. Keep it a secret from your sister until she leaves. Give it to her at the last moment and tell her to open it on the way.”
“Why do I have to do that?”
“If you give it to her right away, she’ll probably spank you, asking where you got it.”
“…Spank me? Why?”
“Those are items a youngster like you can’t get. Only someone like me can.”
The youngster wasn’t easily swayed.
“Then I can just say I got them from you!”
“Do you think your parents will be happy knowing you came to this secluded alley? And if your parents start bothering me, I’ll never sell you anything again.”
“Gasp!”
The youngster’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly not having considered that. Even though it was near the academy, the alley was problematic for a child to frequent. Given his mischievous nature, he wouldn’t want to get scolded by his parents.
“If you keep our deal, I’ll keep selling you stuff.”
“You know how good our store’s items are. As long as you keep the promise, there’s no reason I wouldn’t sell to you.”
“Umm… Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Good. Deal.”
“Deal!”
– Clap! –
We slapped our palms together. Thus, I obtained the youngster’s allowance, and he obtained a gift for his sister. I hoped the items I sold would be helpful to his sister. Of course, the best outcome would be that she never had to use the scrolls in a dangerous situation.