After leaving the adventurers’ guild, Misako and I went into an open-air cafe nearby.
Seeing that everyone was just sitting wherever they liked, I found an empty terrace seat in the same way and pulled back the back of the chair for Misako to sit.
“Hehe, thanks for the escort, Ren.”
“You’re welcome.”
At the same time we sat down, I raised my hand and called the waiter.
“Misako, is coffee fine?”
“Yes… I’m fine with the same thing as Ren.”
“Two coffees.”
I finished the order briefly and waited for them to be brought over.
◆◆◆
Even before the coffee arrived, Misako happily took out her adventurer plate from her pocket and looked at it with delight.
Engraved on it was “HUSBAND REN.”
As if led by her, I took out my own plate, and the matching words were firmly engraved on it.
“WIFE MISAKO.”
“We really did get married, didn’t we?”
Misako stared at me with a mischievous yet truly happy smile.
As for me, my eyes were stolen by the deep cleavage peeking from the collar of her thin blouse.
And the supple, crossed legs extending from the slit of her tight skirt.
That captivating figure completely caught my eye.
Misako slowly crossed her legs the other way.
At that moment, deep past her fleshy thighs, a beige, upside-down triangular piece of cloth entered my vision.
“—Ah.”
I hurriedly took a sip of the coffee that had been brought over at some point.
The hot liquid burned my throat.
“Turning your face red. You’re really so cute.”
Paying no mind to my gaze, Misako crossed her legs again.
Was she doing that on purpose…?
“…By any chance, are you teasing me?”
“A little bit. But is there any need to stare at me so intensely? We are already husband and wife. When night comes, this body is yours to do with as you please, no matter what. Of course, I’ll do plenty of things that make you happy, too.”
Misako licked her lips with her tongue and stared at me with moist eyes.
“As I thought, you’re teasing me.”
“Well, that’s part of it, but I’m just happy. It’s so unbearably adorable how you want me like that…”
“If you’re a beauty like Misako, men must flock to you no matter how many there are.”
At those words, the depths of Misako’s eyes seemed to cloud over for just a second.
“As a one-night partner, sure. Though I say it myself, I’m somewhat pretty, and I could probably have casual flings as much as I want. If I call out in the street, men will follow me easily, I think.”
“See, just as I thought.”
“But who would seriously want to date a 38-year-old single mother? Especially since my child is that Tetsuya. Don’t you think there are way too many handicaps?”
“That is…”
I know firsthand just how twisted and bad Tetsuya’s personality is.
“Generally speaking, any man who comes up to me saying ‘Even so, that’s fine’ is just a good-for-nothing whose eyes are set on my money or my title as president.”
“Is that how it is? To me, Misako looks like the ultimate woman.”
“No matter how good you look on the outside, the reality for a woman past thirty is just like that. Tetsuyaji—ah, Tetsuya’s father, I mean. The moment I gave birth to Tetsuya, he got sick of me and wouldn’t even touch me anymore. Those were days where I had to desperately invite him, and he would only deal with me as if doing me a favor. To make you laugh, it didn’t even take thirty minutes per time! It was crystal clear that he was dealing with me reluctantly.”
I don’t know what I should say.
“…”
“During it all, Tetsuyaji always closed his eyes. He was probably reminiscing about someone else’s body anyway. I couldn’t help feeling like I was being made a fool of. When I grew suspicious of his overly cold attitude and looked into it, as expected, he was cheating on me. The outcome after that is just as I told Ren.”
“The first time, you threw a pot of boiling water at him. The second time—you stabbed him with a kitchen knife, right?”
“That’s right. During the second time. Because of societal appearances, it wasn’t turned into a criminal case and we didn’t divorce either, but Tetsuyaji ran away leaving me and Tetsuya behind. Afterward, despite being my husband, he even had a lawyer issue a ‘restraining order’ against me. How about it? Am I quite the ticking time bomb of a woman?”
A probing, or perhaps self-deprecating, gaze pierced through me.
I set down my coffee cup and gazed straight back into Misako’s eyes.
“I’ve never had a proper girlfriend, so I can’t say anything high and mighty. But if I were betrayed by someone I love, I think it would hurt enough to drive me crazy. What Misako did might be a little extreme but the feeling at that time hurts so much I understand it.”
“I thought you’d say that, Ren.”
Misako’s expression softened, then turned into a sultry, heat-laden smile.
“And you know, Ren… to tell the truth, I’m extremely lewd. I wouldn’t even mind if you called me a nympho.”
“Are you teasing me again? You said you were a woman of virtue.”
“That’s right, I’m virtuous, jealous, and possessive. Because of that, the target of my affection naturally becomes just one person. The only people I’ve shared my body with are two, including you. My previous husband, and you, Ren, just you. I won’t let anyone else touch me by even a single finger, aside from the person I acknowledge as my husband. But toward that single person, I become endlessly lewd. To the point where my previous husband pushed me away, saying, ‘You’re too much to handle, you’re way too lewd.’ You’ll accept this kind of me, won’t you, Ren?”
I unconsciously swallowed a lump of saliva deep down in my throat.
“To me, who loves Misako, that’s nothing more than a reward.”
“Yes, I believed Ren would say that. —Well then, shall we head to an inn right now? It’s still daytime, but let’s thoroughly enjoy our time of husband-and-wife love.”
“I’m happy, but…”
A moment of hesitation. Not missing it, the atmosphere Misako was wrapped in changed completely.
“…What? Don’t tell me, after hearing what I just said—did you grow to hate me?”
A voice that felt like it came from the depths of winter. Misako’s expression transformed into that of an ogre in an instant.
The fingertips gripping her coffee cup tightened so strongly they turned white.
Oh no, this is one step away from completely stepping on a landmine.
“No, that’s wrong! I love Misako. That’s absolute!”
“Is that so…? Hehe, I’m sorry. I misunderstood again. So, what is it?”
A cold sweat ran down my back at how Misako instantly returned to her gentle smile.
As expected, it’s better to talk about it now.
“Just like Misako told me about her past, there’s something I need to tell Misako as well.”
“I understand. I’ll listen properly… talk to me.”
—To make sure no irreparable distortion is born later.
I resolved that I must reveal everything at this very moment.