Vol 2 Chapter 17 – I Have a Favor to Ask【Vol 2: The Cat-Eared Girl, Eclair】

“Haaah… I really almost died there.”

The next day, I went out to the city to shop. Just remembering yesterday sent chills down my spine. I’d explored plenty of dungeons before, but nothing compared to how close to death I’d felt then.

Still, though—

That was the first time I’ve ever seen a girl doing… that…

The image of Eclair pleasuring herself was burned into my mind. Her legs spread boldly, her fingers working at her most sensitive place as her body writhed. The sweet sounds she couldn’t quite suppress escaping her lips—it had been impossibly obscene. More than anything, the guilt of witnessing something she absolutely never wanted anyone to see made it even more—

Agh, no, no, no! I need to stop these fantasies!

I shook my head violently and refocused on my shopping. Bag in hand, I walked through the marketplace. The bustling street overflowed with people.

By the way, I wasn’t living with Milfy anymore. She’d invited me to stay longer, but that would’ve been bad for appearances. Besides, I got the feeling she just wanted someone to cook for her. She was pretty hopeless with daily life stuff.

Hm?

Near the edge of the marketplace stood a single tree, and from behind it, a familiar tail stuck out.

Could that be…?

As I approached, sure enough—there was the violet-haired girl with cat ears. Eclair.

She hadn’t noticed me yet. With a troubled expression, she peered at the marketplace from the shade, repeatedly starting to emerge before retreating again.

Is she planning to attack someone…? No, that can’t be it.

“Ugh, uuugh…”

The way she groaned with furrowed brows made her look clearly distressed. I thought about just walking past, but somehow I couldn’t leave her alone.

“Um, Eclair?”

“Fwah?!”

The moment I called out, her tail shot straight up as she leaped into the air. That’s a bit much of a reaction…

“Y-you perverted monkey!”

“Please stop calling me that… What are you doing here?”

“N-nothing! Mind your own business!”

“But you’ve been trying to go into the marketplace and stopping yourself.”

“You were watching the whole time?! You really are a pervert!”

“That’s a bit harsh…”

Just as I started to regret calling out to her, I noticed something.

She was holding a shopping bag. And her breathing was ragged, her cheeks flushed.

—I see.

She’d come shopping but was too afraid of going into heat to go through with it.

Yesterday, just catching my scent had sent her into that state. If she went into a crowded marketplace, what would happen? That’s why she couldn’t commit—

“Wh-what?”

Facing her wariness, I thought for a moment, then asked:

“…What do you need to buy?”

“Huh?”

“You came here to shop, right? Tell me what you want to buy.”

“Wh-why should I tell you?”

“Just please tell me.”

When I pressed the point, Eclair answered hesitantly.

“Um… bread and potatoes, cabbage and… dried fish.”

“What else?”

“S-strawberries.”

“Got it. Then can I borrow that?”

I snatched the shopping bag from Eclair’s hands.

“H-hey, wait!”

“Just wait there.”

Leaving the bewildered Eclair behind, I headed into the marketplace.

※※※

“Here you go.”

When I held out the now-full shopping bag, Eclair looked completely stunned.

“Why…?”

“You seemed unwell. I was here shopping anyway, so it was no trouble.”

She’d tried to kill me, but she was still Milfy’s friend. I couldn’t just pretend I hadn’t seen her struggling.

Eclair measured the distance between us like a wary cat, then hesitantly spoke:

“Th…thanks.”

Along with her thanks, she handed me the payment. Good. It seemed I hadn’t been meddling after all.

“Ah. If you’d like, I could carry that home for you? It’s pretty heavy.”

“…No. I don’t need that.”

That was apparently too much meddling. Well, that makes sense. If male scents were bad enough that she couldn’t shop, having me come to her house would defeat the purpose.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Just as I turned to leave—

“…Wait.”

A voice called to my back.

“Yes?”

“A-actually… please take it to my house.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

I couldn’t help but ask. Eclair nodded—then said something even more unexpected.

“And also… um, th-there’s something I want to ask you.”

Vol 2 Chapter 18 – Tie Me Up With This【Vol 2: The Cat-Eared Girl, Eclair】

The moment we arrived at her house, Eclair got straight to the point.

“I want you to investigate how to break my curse.”

“Huh? But you got the same curse as Milfy, right? Wouldn’t the cure method be the same?”

In other words, the only option was injecting body fluids. Wasn’t that why she’d rejected me?

“Maybe. But I heard curses don’t always have just one way to break them.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hearing that, I was secretly impressed.

For someone who wasn’t a curse remover to know that much… As her curse progressed, she must have researched on her own, thought things through, and desperately tried to find another path.

“So I’m swallowing my pride to ask you. You deciphered Sis’s curse too, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Then do it for me too.”

“I mean, I can, but… you heard from Milfy, right? To investigate the method, I need to… um…”

“…Touch the curse mark, right?”

Eclair’s face turned red. Her violet cat tail curled up bashfully. She obviously knew from experience that the curse mark was an erogenous zone.

“It’s fine… I-I’m prepared.”

“Are you really sure about this?”

“No, I’m not, but what choice do I have?! I don’t want to ask you either—I really, really don’t!”

“You didn’t need to say it twice…”

Still, yesterday she’d insisted she absolutely wouldn’t rely on me… What changed her mind?

“Well, all right. Then let’s get started…”

“W-wait!”

Eclair shouted to stop me and rushed to the corner of the room. She rummaged around and pulled something out.

“Before that… I want you to wear these.”

“What are these?”

Bandages and what looked like two wooden corks.

“Isn’t it obvious? A blindfold and earplugs.”

“Ah, I see. …Wait, why am I putting these on?”

“Because I don’t want a perverted monkey like you seeing or hearing me when I’m in that state.”

I let out a heavy sigh. I couldn’t tell if she trusted me or not…

“…Fine. But I have a condition too, if that’s okay?”

“What?”

“No matter what happens, don’t attack me. I can’t handle getting clawed because you got embarrassed.”

“I-I’ll be careful, but… I might not be able to stop myself from reacting reflexively.”

“…”

“O-okay! Then I’ll do this!”

She pulled something else from the corner of the room.

“A rope?”

“Not just any rope. It’s a binding magic tool. Only the person who ties it can untie it.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of those. The ones used to capture small monsters, right?”

“Exactly. I use it when I get capture requests. Tie me up with this.”

“That’s a bit extreme…”

“You’re the one who said no attacking. If we’re doing this, make sure I absolutely can’t move. …But if you try anything weird, I’ll kill you no matter what it takes.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

This is turning into something really strange…