Marsha's Feelings
Translated by GXYRU
Edited by GXYRU
The food at the restaurant where Jessica and I are having lunch is all delicious.
“Here you go. Your drinks.”
A single glass is brought over with two straws in it.
“Huh? W-Why is there only one drink?”
Jessica’s words come out awkwardly, and Marsha is smirking. This must be another one of Marsha’s schemes.
“Well, let’s just drink it.”
“Huh…”
It’s not a big deal; the straws are separate. Jessica’s face is beet red, though. She shouldn’t be embarrassed when she did it herself.
We have dessert and settle the bill.
“Um… will this be okay as well?”
The confused waiter presents the bill for Marsha and her friends’ lunch too.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
I’ll just pay for it now. I can make Marsha pay me back later.
In the afternoon, Jessica and I continue visiting different shops. We check out clothing stores, hat shops, shoe stores, and even jewelry stores.
“Hey, Arius… how does this look?”
Jessica slowly opens the curtain in the fitting room, dressed in a see-through blouse that accentuates her chest and a mini-skirt that’s about 10 cm above her knees.
“I think it suits you.”
In my previous life, I remember being told to compliment girls’ clothes, and I genuinely think it suits Jessica. However, this seems a bit bolder for her. It’s probably Marsha’s doing.
Today, we’re unusually close, and Jessica occasionally touches my hand or shoulder casually. She blushes every time, so it’s pretty obvious what’s going on.
Marsha and Alan have been following us even after lunch. They’re really going too far. But Marsha, things won’t go your way.
“Hey, Jessica. How about we visit a weapons or armor shop?”
“Huh… but today, we weren’t planning on going to places like that…”
Jessica tries to object, but I can tell she’s actually interested. She’s an adventurer, so she can’t not be curious about equipment.
Today, Jessica has been deliberately avoiding the kind of shops adventurers usually visit. Marsha probably told her not to go to places where she can’t show off her femininity.
“Well, let’s not worry about that. I want to look at swords.”
“Huh… wait, Arius!”
I grab her hand and start walking. Jessica’s face turns completely red.
Marsha and Alan follow behind, but I ignore them.
We enter a nearby weapons shop. Other customers, as expected, look like adventurers, but Jessica stands out with her V-neck sweater and skirt. But I shouldn’t really be concerned about that.
“Hey, Jessica. You’ve been using a bastard sword for a while now. Is it because it’s versatile?”
“Huh… well, yeah. It’s convenient since I can use it with one or both hands, depending on the opponent and situation.”
“Well, I think I’ll give it a try. I’m planning to visit a low-level dungeon soon, something I don’t usually do, so I thought I’d experiment a bit.”
“If that’s the case, I guess I can’t complain. I’ll help you pick a sword that’s easy for someone inexperienced to use.”
Jessica seems more excited about choosing weapons than she was about choosing clothes.
“Hmm… the swords in this shop aren’t bad, but I think they might feel lacking for you, Arius. How about we go to my usual shop? It’s nearby. Would you like to go?”
“Yeah, Jessica, lead the way.”
From there, Jessica and I discuss swords and equipment while visiting five different weapon shops. Our equipment and combat styles may be different, but Jessica is an S-class adventurer, so her choices are sensible, tailored to her fighting style.
Come to think of it, I’ve only had these kinds of conversations with Gray and Serena. They know everything about adventurers and their equipment. I’ve been figuring things out on my own, but talking to Jessica gives me a fresh perspective and useful insights.
“Well… this is the best this store has to offer. But I think it might be a bit light for you, Arius.”
Jessica, who’s attached to the bastard sword, returns to the third weapon shop and selects a sword for me. But it seems like she’s still not entirely satisfied.
“Well, it’s a low-level dungeon, so this sword should be sufficient.”
“But since you’re going to use it, Arius… hey, how about trying out my spare sword?”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll use the sword you picked out for me this time.”
Using a bastard sword is a first for me, so I thought I’d try a simple store-bought one.
“Then… I’ll give you this sword as a present, Arius.”
Since today was a promise to spend the day with Jessica, it feels a bit different for her to buy it for me. Nevertheless, I decided to accept it gratefully.
“Yeah, Jessica. Thanks.”
“Um… you’re welcome.”
Jessica’s face turns red. Well, it’s natural to feel embarrassed when someone thanks you sincerely.
As dusk settles over the city of Carnel, Jessica and I walk together.
“Hey, Jessica. I wanted to visit these shops since I suggested it. But we ended up going to adventurer-like places all the way. Were you more interested in looking at clothes or something?”
“No, not really. To be honest, I enjoyed looking at swords more. I wanted to be more girly since I was going out with you, but I guess I’m just a rough adventurer after all.”
Well, I don’t think using swords and being rough are the same thing. Jessica seems plenty feminine to me. I enjoyed being with Jessica today, so it’s all good.
“Arius… Yeah! I had fun shopping with you too!”
Jessica smiles broadly. Just as I thought, Jessica’s smile is the best.
We have a simple dinner together before I part ways with Jessica.
“Seems like you guys had a good time today.”
Since they were tailing me the whole time, I used short-range teleportation to appear right in front of Marsha and Alan.
“Arius-san…”
Alan looks away, and Marsha smirks.
“You ruined my plans with your interference, Arius-kun. But I guess it’s a pass for a coward like Jessica. Sheesh.”
Despite acting all obvious, Marsha doesn’t seem to care and keeps grinning.
Well, Marsha does seem to go too far with her pranks sometimes.
“She acts like she thinks I don’t notice, but she’s just pretending to mess around. She’s actually really worried about Jessica.”
“What… is Arius-kun talking about? I don’t understand.”
Marsha seems unusually flustered.
“Well, there’s no point in trying to hide it. Your fur’s all puffed up, and it’s so obvious. You keep teasing Jessica a lot, but I guess it’s because you can’t just leave her alone.”
Marsha really cares about Jessica, in the sense of being a precious companion.
Her attempts to get Jessica and me closer are also because of her concern for Jessica.
But since she’s not straightforward, she quickly hides her concern behind her pranks.
“That’s just… Arius-kun, you’re just saying whatever comes to your mind, right?”
“Yeah. But I think there are others who share my opinion. For example… Hey, Alan. You accompanied Marsha today because you care about Jessica, right?”
I don’t think Alan would just go along with Marsha’s pranks.
“I… well, Arius-san, I thought you could take care of Jessica. So, together with Marsha, I wanted to support Jessica…”
Alan, sorry. I guess you’ve had feelings for Jessica for a while.
“Alan, what nonsense are you spouting? I’m not planning to support Jessica or anything!”
Marsha desperately denies it, but she’s not fooling anyone.
Hey, Marsha. Your face is all red, you know.
“Listen, Marsha. It’s not that I don’t understand your feelings. But could you leave Jessica and me alone? I think of Jessica as a valuable companion too. So, I don’t want you to do anything that might provoke Jessica in a weird way. This is between Jessica and me.”
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