Chapter 72: Ellie Steps Forward

-----This chapter contains a scene that isn't really lewd, but... kinda? Reader discretion is advised. Kinda-----

As soon as I returned from the dungeon I took a shower and headed to the kingdom to report everything to the Merchant.

While he doesn't care much about how much money we make, he does listen carefully to every detail of our expedition. What really grabs his attention though is how many levels everyone got.

Merchant: "Two level-ups on the first day on a new floor? That's pretty impressive... This means you can do 12 summons for me today, right?"

While I'd like to strengthen myself now that we've reached a new floor, I agreed to let the Merchant decide what the daily tickets are spent on, so I'll have to hold off on that.

Since ultimately he's trying to understand my Gift, which also benefits me, I don't feel too bad about giving him control over it for a while, but...

Miwen: "Yep. So, what do you want today? A few tables to go with the chairs from last time? Perhaps I can get you some rugs if you're trying to redecorate your home."

Out of practically infinite possibilities, the Merchant picked one of the most pointless ones and chose the [Chairs Banner] out of all his options.

And while a fancy-looking throne popped up. suffice to say, there wasn't anything worthwhile in the bunch.

I mean, while each one seemed to be made of a different material, every one of them qualified as chairs, even the ones with a strange design. But in the end, there wasn't anything special about them.

There are only two explanations that I can think of as to why the Merchant decided on this banner...

First... this banner is one of the most harmless possible no matter what is it that my Gift does.

If I'm taking things from somewhere else, then by summoning these chairs the most that could happen is a comedic scene where someone tries to sit and falls to the ground as his chair has suddenly gone missing.

On the other hand, it could be that the Merchant is simply an idiot, but I'll need more data to conclude that.

Merchant: "While that would be nice, I was thinking more along the lines of this one..."

Seriously? Every time I think I have him figured out, this guy does a 180 in the blink of an eye.

If last time he chose an unharmful banner, this time he made sure to choose one I've been purposefully avoiding.

The [Beasts Banner]... while it most likely involves summoning something alive like the [Companions Banner], the probability of a cute puppy coming out of it is basically zero.

In all likelihood, a monster will be summoned.

If it works like the [Companions Banner] said monster would be level 1, meaning there's not much point in defeating them and I'd be trading a ticket for nothing.

But... if the creature that comes out of it just happens to come out with a high level we'd have created unnecessary danger inside the kingdom.

In the end, I could never justify using this banner either, so in a sense, the Merchant's request this time keeps up the theme of things that I wouldn't waste a ticket on.

Miwen: "If something bad pops up I'm leaving you to it."

Merchant: "Eh? You won't defend me? That's so mean, I thought we were friends..."

Miwen: "Pfft... Blood will rain from the sky the day you need me to protect you."

That is to say, it's never going to happen.

And while this guy is like this, I can't deny his power, so even if a dragon were to come out, I'm pretty sure I'll be safe as long as he's on my side.

Now that I think about it, there's a bright side to all of this since I get to test out a potentially dangerous banner while being completely safe.

As such, I followed his request and used all my tickets on this banner...

Merchant: "... Again!? Where are you going?"

Miwen: "Hm? What do you mean?"

Merchant: "Last time was the same... as soon as the chairs appeared, everything about you vanished. It was for just a single moment, but your status was gone, I couldn't feel your mana or sense your presence even though you were standing right in front of me..."

... As soon as the chairs were summoned and for just a single moment.

It's most likely the same time my mind goes blank. I've grown so used to it that I don't even mind at this point but... looks like there's more to it than I thought.

Merchant: "It could've been my mistake, but I kept very close attention this time, so I'm sure something happens every time you do one of these."

Miwen: "I see... more pressing though, what will you do about this?"

As expected, twelve different creatures were summoned and they instantly started fighting each other.

A winged tiger, turtles with spikes, a dark wolf, and a cyclops, just to name a few.

Almost all of them are giants in size and as menacing as possible.

A few of them have never been recorded, so I can only assume they are creatures that dwell in floors so deep that humanity has yet to encounter them.

Either that or no one managed to survive an encounter to tell the story.

Thankfully I could confirm that all of them were level 1, but even then, any of these creatures at level one should be way more powerful than a normal human at the same level.

Merchant: "I think we should divide them... I'll take the ones on the-"

Miwen: "Elf or not, it doesn't matter, you've earned the trust and respect of each one of us. You're helpful in everyday life, you're always an immense help in fights and you're often willing to listen to others. You might not know it, but everyone in here really likes you."

A quiet girl who is often swayed by the motions, trying her best to not trouble anyone. Whatever you are doing, if she's capable of helping you, she'll offer a hand.

When she's so nice and reliable, it's obvious that she'd be liked by everyone.

Licia and Claire always comment about her, and I always feel the same whenever I interrupt her training and instead of getting mad, she starts teaching me stuff about archery.

Miwen: "Ellie... No one blames you for what happened there, and even now I don't think it's your fault nor do I think you should blame yourself. If it happens a thousand times, my answer will remain the same. Not just because I like you, but also because I'll always be grateful and protect your decision to live with us."

Ellie: "...To think I'd find it only after dying... It's unfair for you to be like this..."

Miwen: "Did I say something wr-"

Ellie: "You said too much."

She hurriedly cut me off before I could finish and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.

It obviously took me by surprise, but before I could even react or process what had just happened, she had already hidden her face away from me.

Ellie: "These things take time for me so... don't expect more than that for a while. Also, please accept my request now."

She did her best to hide from me, but as I looked from above, her small figure as she used her hands and legs to cover as much as possible from my sight could only be described as cute.

I noticed her face getting more red with each second that passed, so I purposefully delayed accepting her request until she started squirming and trying to say something.

Ellie: "...P-Please..."

Miwen: "I'm not finding it~"

Ellie: "...pretty please..."

Miwen: "And you say I'm unfair..."

After that, I couldn't really resist, and I had already gotten my fill too, so I ended up letting her go.

The only problem now was Licia and Claire.

Both of them had already an agreement when it came to our relationship, so there wasn't much to argue about on that front.

As for the deal with Anna... well, they were okay with it, but to me, the important factor was that I asked for permission first on that case.

Now with Ellie, I couldn't ask them anything since I wasn't expecting something to happen in the first place, and while nothing major happened, I can't say for sure it won't in the future, so I wonder how they'll react...

I headed towards the bedroom, my mind filled with such thoughts.

Upon entering, I saw both of them giving each other a pretty intense kiss that looked like night and day compared to Ellie's.

Claire: "Oh, you're back. Wanna join?"

Seems like Licia was on the receiving end, so Claire was the one who stopped so we could talk.

Miwen: "Nah, I've already got one from Ellie."

Licia and Claire: "Eh?"

Nothing beats honesty, and while they were quite surprised, I thought that given their reaction it might be fine.

Of course, I had to explain everything in minute detail though...

Claire: "...And that's it?"

Miwen: "Yeah..."

I ended up talking about what Ellie said to me too since it felt right to share it with the girls since I know they appreciate Ellie as much as I do. What's more in case something like this happens while I'm not around, I can count on them to act on her behalf.

Of course, I went at it chronologically, so in the end I also told them about the kiss on the cheek.

Licia: "Oh. my. gosh. That's so adorable. She's so adorable."

It wasn't quite the expected reaction, but alright, I'll take it any time.

Claire: "But... You really did nothing else?

Miwen: "Yeah, I'm not lying. I let her go back. I would tell you if we had done more than that."

I thought Claire wasn't believing me or had complaints about what happened, but in reality, she had a problem with what didn't happen.

And it wasn't just her...

Licia: "Wait, seriously? You didn't like... reciprocate? Or touched her? Or... Nnoooo...."

Claire: "She took the initiative, you need to...! Argh! What's your problem?"

It felt like I would never hear the end of it as my girlfriends complained through the entire night that I should've been more assertive and actually go all the way with another girl.