Once he was alone, Souta wet his throat with the beer Mio brought him, then slowly looked around the shop again.
It wasn’t a stretch to say it was like another world.
Cast members who looked like all kinds of races, or monsters turned into people, walked around freely-elves and centaurs, a mermaid in a tank on a cart, helped along by other cast members.
He took in the fancy staging and felt again that coming here was a good thing.
He really loved this kind of place – what people call a fantasy world.
The entry fee wasn’t cheap, and for a guy living off part-time work it was a painful hit to his wallet.
But instead of regret, he was enjoying the vibe more than enough.
He’d only seen a tiny part of this shop so far, but he felt like this was the most fun he’d had in his whole life.
While he was lost in those feelings, a new cast member came up to him.
”…So-chan, u..sshi, Tsubaki… nice to… meet ya…,” she mumbled.
Souta looked at the one mumbling in a tiny voice, and got the biggest surprise of the day.
Like the other cast members, she wore a swimsuit that barely covered her chest – just a tiny scrap of cloth.
And her lower body wasn’t bare… no, it was covered in feathers, a strange shape.
Not just her lower body – her arms weren’t human either.
They were wings shaped like a bird’s.
From her shoulders down there was no weird seam at all, like special makeup – just big white wings, and she moved them like they were her own arms.
And like the usual flow, the woman who called herself Tsubaki–shared a weird hug with Souta.
Hugging is something humans do with each other, but hugging a creature whose arms are wings was a first in his life.
Those wings were soft and warm like the real thing, giving him the illusion of being wrapped in a feather comforter – that’s how real they felt.
They pressed cheeks like it was nothing, but through her skin he could feel she was more nervous than he was, and he was the first-timer.
”You nervous?”
”Ah… y-yes… a lot,” Tsubaki stammered.
Tsubaki’s face went red fast as she looked down, but she still stared up at Souta.
”Is today your first time?”
”N-no… it’s not, but I’m… bad at dis…,” she admitted.
For the first time since entering the shop, Souta felt a little bit above someone else, and he kept asking questions.
”Bad at it? Like, talking to people?” Souta asked.
”Y-yeah… ah, no. I mean… yest,” Tsubaki squeaked.
”Hey, hey, you don’t have to push yourself.”
Wondering how someone so shy could do this job, he put his hand on her head and patted it.
At his touch, Tsubaki’s cheeks turned even redder and she looked down again.
But then the hand on her head was held back by some kind of force, and just like that Souta lost the use of his arm, and his body spun around.
When he turned, there was another woman there.
One after another, they kept coming to say hello – that’s when Souta started to get how this shop worked.
In a way, for a first-time customer it’s one of the fun times, a chance to touch and talk with lots of female cast members.
Looking at the crowd in the shop, there were more cast members than customers, so that’s why this “greeting time” exists.
Back to the story – Souta’s next partner, like Tsubaki in front of him, had a strange lower body.
The rough, unique feel of something wrapped around his hand – he finally understood what it was when he saw it.
The force holding his hand wasn’t a human hand – it was a snake’s tail wrapped around it, and a woman with huge breasts about the same size as Tsubaki’s stared at him with a strange look.
From her lower belly down she was like a snake, and the tip was wrapped around his arm.
Her sharp eyes seemed to be deciding whether he was worth eating.
”Sou, I’m Iku. You look real tasty,” Iku purred.
”Aha, ahaha,” Souta laughed nervously.
Feeling like a frog stared down by a snake, Souta took Iku’s hug and cheek press.
In that state, he felt something wriggling along his ear.
Iku’s thin, long tongue moved in a weird way.
The tip of her tongue was split in two, and as it pushed into his ear hole, a chill ran down his spine again.
Souta panicked and pulled away from Iku’s body to escape.
This was the first time that day he couldn’t take a hug until the other person let go.
Souta felt like he’d lost something, but he said he felt more alive than anything.
Turning her head, “Hey, Tsubaki. Time’s up-go get ready for your turn.”
”Ah… mm…,” Tsubaki murmured.
Feeling the rough snake skin on his body, but also the softness of her big chest, Souta listened to Iku and Tsubaki talk while feeling the leftovers of heaven and hell.
Tsubaki nodded at Iku’s words and left the table.
Iku also finished her greeting with Souta, leaving a small smile at the edge of her mouth as she left the table.
Before he knew it, more customers had slowly filled the shop, and he noticed there were about twice as many people as when he came in.
In fact, Souta, who had come in early, realized he’d been led to-a really good seat where he could see the stage well.
With this many customers, the number of customers and cast members became equal, and he could see some cast members staying with certain customers.
Trivia:
- Souta calls Tsubaki by the nickname “Tsubaki” but she calls him “So-chan” with a stutter, hinting she may be more comfortable with him than she lets on.
- Iku’s split tongue and snake lower body mean her hug is literally a predatory act, and Souta escaping early is the first time he breaks the shop’s greeting ritual.
- The shop’s “greeting time” exists because cast members outnumber customers, which means the whole experience is engineered to make customers feel special.