"Sho, I expect a proper escort."
"Alter-san? Please stop causing trouble for Sho-kun."
"T-two people I've never seen before..."
"I'm sorry. My family is a bit loud."
"Oh, no, it's fine."
No, it's plenty loud. Of course, it would be with five girls! It can't be helped that people are staring. When you have five beautiful girls walking together, of course, everyone's attention is on them. And naturally, I'm getting a lot of stares for being in the middle of it all!
Due to the alteration of history, both of them (Einhart and Kirin) knew about Sakura.
The original plan was to show the two Artorias around the island. Then came the request to go shopping, and the Artorias graciously agreed.
We were at the usual shopping mall. You can find just about anything here. Food, clothing, hobbies, activities—it's all here.
"So, what are you and Einhart buying?"
"I was thinking of buying some new training clothes..."
Ah, a new size... Just kidding. I would never think of something so rude as suggesting a woman needs new clothes because her old ones are too tight.
"You're right, she was struggling to hold it in this morning..."
Einhart looked a bit sullen. She, who was once dedicated solely to fighting, now doesn't bother to hide it. I guess if you're running next to Kirin every morning, you can't help but feel a little self-conscious.
"Einhart-chan, you still have a lot of time to grow. I think you should just eat good food and sleep well, okay?"
"Y-you think so!?"
Sakura quickly offered some support. When someone of her size says it so seriously, it's easy to believe her.
"I-if it's not too much trouble... could you teach me the... tricks or secrets?"
"Uh, hmm... I can't think of anything off the top of my head... Oh! But if you come to my place and eat the same things I do—"
"Don't invite her into that den of monsters."
My house isn't full of normal people. What would you do if Einhart started having more issues than a regular girl? Mostly because of Riko.
"So, are we looking at clothes first?"
"Yeah. We should get that out of the way first."
I affirmed Artoria's question. If we let our guard down, we might get caught up in some kind of incident.
"Shall we go then?"
"O-okay, okay, okay?"
"You're sounding like a seal, Sho-kun."
That's because both of my hands are full. Sakura and Artoria naturally took my hands.
"..."
"Hmph."
Hmm... This feeling reminds me of...
"The Holy Grail War..."
Even though it was only a week or so in the past, with the two of them by my side, I'm starting to lose my sense of reality in the present.
"Right."
"The Holy Grail War."
"It reminds us of it, doesn't it?"
Why are sparks flying between them? Weren't the non-Alter Artoria and I on good terms?
"Gwah! O-Alter, st—"
"You're walking too slow. Time is limited. Walk faster."
My collar was squeezed, and I made a noise like a squashed frog. She dragged me along
---------
We arrived at a sporting goods store, and everyone was looking at whatever they wanted. I didn't need anything, so I just followed everyone around.
Surprisingly, the Artorias were also looking around with great interest. They wanted to get things for their new lives in this world, and I decided to buy whatever they wanted. After all, that was the plan for today.
"I can't believe there are so many types of these. They might not be suitable for the battlefield, but..."
"Is it that rare? Didn't you go to a store like this before you went back to the Throne?"
Alter, who had been looking at some merchandise a little way off, came back.
"Of course not. I'm a Servant. I can't just go out and about."
"Then how did you..."
How did she have such a cool outfit ready right after she was summoned? Artoria had borrowed clothes from Asuna, but Alter had her own.
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing."
Whew, that was close. I almost slipped up again.
"You're probably talking about this outfit, aren't you? I couldn't go outside, but I had a lot of free time. I just used TV and the internet as a reference."
"Oh, I see."
It was a convenient world even ten years ago.
"Then you must have known there were a lot of different kinds, right?"
"Fool. Do I look like the kind of woman who would spend so much time on clothes? This was just intuition."
She said that, but the fact that she was wearing it meant she liked it. And it suited her. It suited the cool Alter perfectly.
"Not paying attention to your clothes is unthinkable for a woman, Alter-san."
"That's right! Einhart-san, you should start paying attention, too! Let's go look after this!"
"No, but I don't really have a chance to wear them..."
The three of them came over. Sakura was especially sharp. Einhart and Kirin were also chatting happily. They might have already decided where to go next.
"You're buying too, Sakura?"
"Yes! I figured this was a good time to get new things. I've been neglecting it lately with the move and everything."
"Sakura-san gave me a lot of advice!"
Advice? Like what suits me?
"It's fine, Kirin-san. I had a hard time myself. If you push yourself too much, it can affect your future."
"But the recent ones are amazing, aren't they? The comfort level evolves every year."
"Kirin-san, you're using the latest model from this brand, too."
The two of them were getting excited.
"What are they talking about...?"
"Things related to this place, right?"
I pointed to my chest.
"Yes... chest supporters. Something I don't need..."
She didn't have to hurt herself like that. Her shoulders drooped, and her face was gloomy.
"W-well, if you really want to use one, you could try one when you become an adult..."
"It would be pathetic to have to go that far..."
"That's true."
The means and the end have become completely opposite.
"So, where's Artoria?"
I couldn't see her anywhere. Did we get separated? Did she get lured away by a delicious smell?
"That's not it."
"She's trying something on, Senpai. Let's go see."
Curious, I headed toward the dressing rooms. The curtains for the right and center dressing rooms were closed.
"Artoria-san! How does it look?"
"Sakura?"
A voice came back from the middle dressing room.
"What do you think... I tried it on, but it's my first time wearing something like this..."
"May I open it?"
"Yes. I'd like to hear what you think."
As she said that, the curtain was opened from the other side.
"Ah, wha, why is Sho here!?"
"Why? We came to this store together, didn't we?"
"Sakura! Why didn't you tell me!?"
"Uh, well, it's sportswear, so..."
"~~~!!"
Artoria closed the curtain at lightning speed. W-was she really that shy? Sakura and I looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
"This doesn't suit my image at all! A king shouldn't be skipping around like a little girl...!"
She was muttering something. But what about her "image"? She was skipping around holding my hand, laughing—she was acting exactly like a young girl. I'm sure every guy around us was thinking, "Just explode already, you normie!"
Maybe Artoria didn't like it. But I think she's cute either way. The dignified Artoria as the King of Knights, and the one who acts like a girl. But I suppose it's not the time to say that.
(Pitiful woman, you Blue one.)
(There's no need to try so hard now, King.)
(King...?)
(That person is a king? Now that I think about it, I remember reading about it in an old history book...)
It seems we all had things we wanted to say. But even if we stayed here, I didn't think the situation would get any better.
"I'll wait outside. Bring her out when she's ready."
"Got it..."
All we could do was wait for her to calm down. I slowly left the area.
---------
"Wow, we bought a lot."
"I've spent a fortune..."
"It's my first time spending this much money on clothes, too."
After we finished shopping, we went into a family restaurant to take a break. There were a bunch of shopping bags on our table. There were six in total, large and small. There were also makeup tools inside. I felt like they weren't necessary yet, but I don't really understand women's needs.
"That's not true! Skin care is important! If you're not careful, it can get dry or get spots! It's always better to start early!"
Sakura was very passionate about this. I see, thinking it's "still okay" is a dangerous mindset.
"Chew, chew. So, chew, chew, you even have to calculate the calories, chew, chew, that must be tough."
"Senpai, it's mean to eat while showing off..."
Kirin looked at me with a resentful expression. But I can't help it. I asked her properly. She was the one who said she didn't want any when we ordered.
The "Ultra Jumbo Mixed Miracle Fruit Parfait" lived up to its name. If I said it was big enough to completely hide my face when I was sitting down, you would understand its monstrous size.
I was sharing it with the two Artorias who didn't need to worry about calories, but I might have gotten a little carried away. There was too much. I wanted everyone to help me, or rather, I wanted to just give it to them.
"Einhart doesn't seem very interested."
"No. I've never had something like this before. My training app tells me what to eat, and I don't really have snacks."
This girl really did dedicate everything to Haoh-style martial arts.
"I'm getting full, so I'd appreciate it if you could help me out."
"Then, let me help you with those two..."
"Here, open up."
"What?!"
I pointed a long spoon at Einhart. You know what I meant. The legendary act that loving couples do—"Ahhn." Einhart and I aren't a couple or anything, though.
I don't think Einhart is completely uninterested. But if I didn't do this, she would never eat it. It's a bit of a shock therapy.
The people around us... Well, you know. It was what it was.
"N-no, I..."
"Ahhn!"
"That sounds a little irritating...!"
No, it's not your imagination.
"Stop complaining. Just one bite is fine."
I was in full-on harassment mode.
"Okay... then..."
Einhart seemed to have given in. She blushed and opened her mouth. But you didn't need to close your eyes, too. Well, if they were open, it might have been awkward. And now, the stares from the other women were starting to hurt.
"Here you go."
"Munch..."
As a coward, I quickly shoved the spoon into her mouth, hoping to get it over with. The unique shape of the parfait spoon conveyed the pressure of Einhart's lips. As I slowly pulled it out, only the cream on the spoon remained in her mouth.
"Was it good?"
"...Yes. It's delicious."
"I'm glad."
Her tone was blunt, but her lips were smiling. It made me happy to see that she enjoyed it. Then Kirin, also blushing, started whispering something to Einhart.
"E-Einhart-san! That was, with Senpai, an indirect kiss!"
"What?! Uh, I, that's not what I intended...!"
"Senpai seems completely fine with it, so he must be used to it."
"I wonder. Maybe he just didn't think about it, like me?"
"Don't you get embarrassed if you don't think about it?"
"N-no! It's not like that...!"
They were mumbling, so I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't lean in to listen, so I decided to pretend I didn't hear them.
Right now, more importantly...
"Sho?"
"Of course, I'll do it for all of you, too."
I knew this would happen.
--------------------------------------------
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