The Expelled, Oblivious Strongest Boy Saves an S-Rank Beautiful Female Adventurer and Unknowingly Forms a Harem - 36-37

Chapter 36: Liam, Apologizes

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In order to reach the Demon Kingdom, we were on our way to Magistus, the central city of the Elf Kingdom. We were walking side by side with me in the middle. 

“I have various things I need to prepare, but if we’re going to the Demon Kingdom, that means we need to purchase winter clothing, right? Since the Demon Kingdom is located in a snowy region.”

“That’s right! I’d definitely freeze if I went there in my current outfit!”

“Indeed…. However, I would like you to refrain from wearing such revealing clothes, regardless where we are going.”

“Well~ That’s going to be difficult since I want to show my body off to Liam-kun as much as I can!~”

“Wha-?!”

“You are always like this!”

I was shocked to hear Meria-san’s usual teasing remark. Lydia-san and Meria-san then continued their usual banter until we finally arrived at a shop that sold winter clothing. We entered the store and began looking at the various winter gear when Meria-san said to me.

“Liam-kun, do you have a moment?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’m not sure which outfit suits me better. I’m torn between this one and this one, so could you come to the changing room with me?”

“…Huh?”

Cha-Changing room?!

Thinking that I might have misheard her or maybe Meria-san misspoke, I asked her for confirmation. 

“Umm… You mean you want me to tell you which outfit is better after you change into it, right?”

She nodded at my question. Just when I thought there would be no problem, she suddenly…

“That too, but I want you to watch me change, Liam-kun.”

“Hu-Huh?!?!”

The moment I realized that I hadn’t misheard or misunderstood her, I immediately let out a surprised gasp before continuing on. 

“Wh-Why do you want me to see you changing though?!”

“Well, of course it’s because I want Liam-kun to see if the outfit will suit me. Besides, if you watch me change, you will get a better sense of the whole outfit. As you can see, I’m asking you to watch me change with pure intentions─”

“In that case, I will watch you change.”

“Wha-?!”

Lydia-san smoothly stepped in between me and Meria-san, causing Meria-san gasp in surprise. 

“Good grief. You really have no restraint… If you have time to do something foolish like this, you should’ve used this time to focus on preparing for our journey. Our preparation would’ve finished much sooner if you could focus your mind on the important things.”

“Okaay~”

As she said that, Meria-san obediently took the two winter outfits with her and walked to the fitting room. Then, I turned to Lydia-san. 

“I-I’m sorry, Lydia-san. I can’t stop myself from feeling a bit flustered whenever someone talks about that kind of thing. I-I just don’t know what to say…”

I apologized and Lydia-san smiled gently before she said to me. 

“You don’t need to apologize. That’s just part of who you are after all, Liam-san.”

So Lydia-san said, but I was still feeling guilty because of how kind Lydia-san was. 

“B-But, because I’m like this… I also ended up hurting your feelings last night…”

“-!! Tha-That’s—”

“I do have to say! It’s not because I didn’t find you attractive! In fact, you are a very attractive woman to me and yet… I couldn’t respond to your feelings yesterday and I ended  up hurting you instead… I’m truly sorry for that.”

I apologized again and Lydia-san also flashed me the same gentle smile she always had. 

“It’s easy to forget that you’re younger than me given your immense power… Of course, I was upset because Liam-san didn’t accept me last night, but well, like I said before, the circumstances at that time made it hard for us to continue… It can’t be helped. Besides…”

Lydia-san held my right hand with both of her hands before continuing.

“Just being by your side, Liam-san, brings me immense happiness beyond measure… So please, from now on as well, allow me to continue supporting you.” 

“…! Of course! I’m the one who should be saying that! Thank you so much, Lydia-san!!” 

I placed my left hand on top of hers and conveyed this with all my heart and Lydia-san smiled with a look of pure joy.

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Chapter 37: Liam, Praising Each Other

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Now that we had purchased our winter gear and bought other items that seemed necessary for the journey, it was time for us to head straight to the Demon Kingdom. The Demon Kingdom was located in a snowy region, so we decided to borrow the fitting rooms in the shop to put on our winter clothes first. I was the first to finish changing into my winter gear, so I was waiting for Lydia-san and Meria-san when…

“Tada! Liam-kun, how do I look? Does it suit me?”

Meria-san stepped out wearing a beautiful patterned cloak in red and pink. The cloak reached out from her shoulders to below her knees. She also had matching red and pink winter clothes underneath the cloak. If she asked whether it suited her, of course, without any hesitation, the answer would be… 

“I think it looks great on you!”

“Really!? I’m so happy to hear that from you, Liam-kun! Your coat suits you too!”

“Ah, thank you!”

But still, although the clothes were in a blaring red and pink color, but the overall appearance of the outfit really suited Meria-san, who was a mage. And… Since she was wearing a winter outfit, her usual revealing clothes were hidden underneath. In a sense, I felt relieved for a while, but…

“Wha-?!”

Meria-san suddenly pulled down the collar of her winter outfits a bit, revealing the deep valley of her ample chest. 

“Me-Meria-san?!”

Surprised, I instinctively shut my eyes, and Meria-san laughed as she spoke.

“Liam-kun, your face is all red~! You were thinking you’d be safe since you couldn’t see my body with the winter gear on, weren’t you? Oh, you’re just too cute!”

“Th-that’s not…”

I wanted to deny it, but since what she said was actually true, I couldn’t deny it outright. Meria-san was enjoying my reaction when I heard the sound of the fitting room curtain being drawn open.

“Good grief… You’re always causing trouble for Liam-san.”

Lydia-san’s voice reached my ears, prompting me to look toward the source of her voice and there stood Lydia-san. She was wearing armor over her chest, shoulders and wrist with a dignified-looking white button-up shirt underneath. At first glance, she didn’t look all that different from her usual getup, but I could see the subtle differences in the details of her outfit. Particularly, the white button-up shirt under her armor. She never wore a button-up shirt before. This subtle difference gave off a refined air that made her feel a bit different than before. 

“It’s not always though!~ By the way, Lydia-chan, you don’t look as wintery as I thought you would.”

“Just like your winter gear, my winter gear also uses magic fibers sewn through with magic, so while my outfit may look thin, but it’s actually made from material resistant to the cold.”

“Ah, so that’s why!~ Well, magic fibers is one of the Elf Kingdom’s specialities after all!~ We use magic fibers even for clothes sold in regular shops like this~”

“Indeed.”

After that, both of them turned to look at me. Lydia-san said to me. 

“Liam-san, your winter coat looks very good on you. The black base with a sliver of white really suits you.”

“…! Tha-Thank you very much!”

“I thought so too!~ You look really cool, Liam-kun!”

“Yes, Liam-san always looks cool no matter what he wears though.”

“…!!”

Having been complimented by the two of them, I found my face growing warm from embarrassment. But since they had praised me, I decided to return the favor. 

“I-I also think both of you are beautiful too! You too are always beautiful no matter what you wear!”

“-?!”

“H-Huhh?!”

When I expressed my honest opinion to them, both of them blushed as well. 

“He-Hearing something like that straight from Liam-san’s mouth is..!”

“Oooh!~ Liam-kun called me beautiful! I’m so happy!~”

We all got a bit flustered after complimenting each other, but after a little while, we managed to regain our composure and made our way to the gate leading out of the Elf Kingdom. We were ready to head to the Demon Kingdom. 

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Meanwhile… 

“Aaaaaaaahhh!!”

“Yaaaaaaahhh!!”

“Waaaaaaaahhh!!”

The wind magic that Liam had cast to blow Zayn and his group away finally weakened after a long while. They eventually crashed to the ground. Under normal circumstances, they would’ve sustained serious injuries, if not death, but strangely enough, they didn’t feel any pain from hitting the ground. Yes. There was almost no pain from the impact of hitting the ground. They could only feel the pain from being blown away by the wind magic. 

“Damn it! That guy sent us flying ridiculously far! Are you all okay?”

“Ye-Yeah, somehow…”

“O-Ouch…”

After confirming the safety of his party members, Zayn placed his hand on the ground to stand up, but suddenly… 

“COLD?!?!”

Startled by the coldness of the ground, Zayn looked down at the ground. It turned out the whole ground was covered in snow. 

“So that’s why we didn’t feel the impact from falling to the ground… It’s all thanks to the snow… Wait, snow?!”

Shouting in surprise, Zayn looked around in panic only to realize that the entire area was blanketed in snow. He could only stand there, stunned by the sight.

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