Chapter 173: Ordering New Bed Frames
Human World, Japan, Kuoh.
The morning after James' date with Scathach, James was sitting in the living room with his smartphone in his hands. On the screen was a shopping website. More precisely, a site that made custom bed frames. As he ticked off box after box, James noticed a presence behind him.
"James, what are you doing?" Shuna asked as she approached.
"Not much, just looking at new bed frames." James replied without looking up.
"New... Bed frames?" Shuna asked curiously.
"Yeah, Scathach's broke last night." James said, still without looking up.
After hearing that, Shuna wore a confused expression for a short while. Then, after a few moments, she realized why that would be. Immediately after coming to that realization, Shuna blushed furiously. Also at that moment, James realized who it was he was talking to and quickly looked behind him at Shuna who was blushing from her neck to her ears.
"Oops." James muttered as he watched Shuna blush and fidget awkwardly.
After a few minutes, Shuna came back to her senses. Then, she lowered her head and poked the tips of her index fingers against each other. it looked like she had something to say, yet the words seemed to be stuck in her mouth.
"Shuna, are you okay?" James asked with a smile.
'This little Oni Princess has really become cute after she dropped her princess façade.' James thought as he watched Shuna with amusement.
A moment later, Shuna raised her head and with determination in her eyes, she asked a question.
"When will you go on a date with me, too?" Shuna asked, knowing exactly what her question implied.
James was quite surprised by the implication behind Shuna's question. At first, he thought that she was just wondering about her turn for a date. But when he looked deep enough into her eyes, he knew she wanted to give James more than just her first date. After realizing this, James' smile turned mischievous.
"I wonder..." James said, trailing off at the end of his statement. Then, before Shuna could say anything, he continued. "You seem rather impatient. Is it the date you're looking forward to...? Or is it something else? Something having to do with the bed frame, maybe?"
Once again, Shuna's furious blush made its way back onto her face. However, she did not break eye contact with James. Instead, she tried to fire back.
"Maybe, may... Ahh!" Shuna began to say before biting her tongue.
And failed miserably.
"Hahahaha!" James began to laugh uproariously.
Hearing James laughter, Shuna's embarrassment increased exponentially. Then, she turned around so that James would be unable to see her face. Unfortunately, this just made James laugh even harder. Then, after a few moments, James was finally able to get his laughter under control.
"Ha... Boy... That was funny." James said as the last of his laughter fizzled out. "Anyway..."
As James began to speak without the laughter, He stood from the sofa and made his way toward Shuna. Then he walked around her and stood in front of her. Using his right hand, he gently raised Shuna's lowered head and looked into her pink eyes.
"You don't need to be impatient, Shuna." James said with a smile. "Even though we've known each other for several months, it's only been several months. I know you have feelings for me. And to be honest, I like you too. I would be lying if I said it was love at this point, though."
Hearing that, Shuna's face was adorned with an embarrassed smile. At the same time, she appreciated the fact that James was honest with her and did not claim that he loved her. However, she was a bit disappointed about the same thing.
"But if you really think you're ready for that step, I would be honored to spend that moment with you." James said as he began to gently stroke Shuna's cheek.
Once again, Shuna lowered her head.
"I... I'll think about it." Shuna stuttered out.
"Good." James said with a nod. "Remember, this is a major step in your life. Don't take it on impulse. But if you're truly ready, I'll be happy to accompany you."
Shuna nodded almost imperceptibly. Then, she took a step away from James, turned around, and bolted out of the living room. A moment later, she was in the backyard seated in the meditative position trying to calm her mind.
"Well, that was quite the show." Leona said entering the living room right after Shuna left.
"*Sigh* I'm just glad you waited till she left." James said with a smile. "You might have broken her mind if you had shown up in the middle."
"Although I like messing with you kids, I do know my limits." Leona said with a light smile.
"Like when you told Sera-Tan about Parents'' Day, huh?" James asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Geez, Sweetheart, how many times do I have to apologize for that?" Leona asked in a pitiful manner. "I know I went too far with that one. But still, you gotta admit the look on Sona's face when Sera showed up was hilarious, right?"
James could only shake his head. He knew that she was genuinely sorry about what she had done, but she in no way regretted it. Plus...
"Yeah, it was freakin' hilarious." James said as he began to chuckle.
After laughing with his mother for a few moments, James retook his seat on the sofa. Then, he continued to look at new bed frames.
"So, new bed frames, huh?" Leona said as she took a seat next to James. Then, she looked at the screen of his smart phone and continued. "So, you broke Scatti's bed last night?"
"This morning, technically." James said with a little smile. "It's probably good that we did, though. Otherwise, we would have been at it all day."
"Tch!" Leona clicked her tongue. "You don't even get embarrassed anymore. You're, so, not cute."
"Oh really?" James asked, raising his head, making eye contact with Leona. "Hey, Mizore, Mom said I'm not cute. What do you have to say about that?"
As James finished speaking, he opened his arms. An instant later, Mizore was wrapped in James formerly opened arms and sitting on his lap.
"Of course, you're cute." Mizore said excitedly, pausing to give James a good morning kiss. Then, she continued. "But it's like, a really manly kinda cute."
Hearing that, James smiled wryly. Then, he thought to himself.
'What the hell is manly cute?'
Deciding to keep that thought to himself, James continued to look at the custom bed frame site. Mizore, like Leona, also looked down at James' phone screen.
"Bed frames?" Mizore asked curiously. "Did your bed frame fall apart?"
"Not mine, but Master's." James replied.
Mizore then immediately put two and two together.
"You broke the bed last night?" Mizore asked incredulously.
"This morning, technically." James replied without raising his head. "About three hours ago, actually."
"And how is Scatti?" Leona asked curiously. "Is she still asleep?"
"Nope, she's awake." James answered. "She asked me to 'ravage her' so that she would be unable to walk in the morning. So..."
Leona and Mizore looked at James with disbelief on their faces.
'I truly do enjoy seeing Mom with that speechless look on her face.' James thought as he looked at Leona and Mizore out of the corner of his eyes. 'It's too bad I have to turn my shamelessness up to eleven to see it. No matter how much I pretend, it's still embarrassing as fuck talking about my sex life with my mother. But letting her see my embarrassment is like bleeding in front of a shark. She would go in for the kill immediately.'
Shortly after James finished that thought, Leona, having processed what James said, stood up quickly.
"I need to speak to Scatti." Leona said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Then, she dashed up the stairs with a [Flash Step].
"I swear, she only uses the [Flash Step] for pointless things like this." James said while shaking his head.
A moment later, Mizore also came back to her senses. However, unlike Leona, she was not excited. Instead, she pouted.
"What's wrong, Mizore?" James asked curiously.
"You like Master Scathach better than me, don't you?" Mizore asked in a sad tone.
James was thoroughly confused by Mizore's question. However, after seeing the look in her eyes, he knew that she was asking seriously. So, instead of joking like he usually would, he answered her just as seriously.
"Something tells me there is a massive misunderstanding at play here." James said while stroking Mizore's pretty, purple hair. "But what makes you think that?"
"Because you've never made love to me like that." Mizore said with her eyes beginning to fill with tears.
James could only sigh in response. Then, he used the index finger of his right hand to flick Mizore on the forehead.
"Ow!" Mizore exclaimed while covering her forehead with her hands and looking at James with an aggrieved glare. "What the hell was that for?"
"For saying something stupid." James replied with a smile. "You do realize that if I did you like I did Master last night, you would, literally, be ripped in half? The body of a minor god-ranked being is no joke."
At that moment, the light of realization shined in Mizore's eyes. Then, she smiled bashfully, embarrassed that she would ask such a silly question.
"I can't claim that I love all my women the same." James said while cupping Mizore's face in his hands. "But the amount of love I have for all of you is equal, and growing day by day."
Then, James kissed Mizore lovingly. After the kiss ended, James thought that he could see hearts in Mizore's pupils for an instant. Before he could consider what he just saw, though, Mizore spoke.
"That was so cringe." Mizore said with a smile.
James felt as if an arrow pierced his heart. Before he could recover, however, Mizore stood from her seat on his lap. Then, she skipped away and spoke as she was leaving.
"I'll go make breakfast~." Mizore said in a sing-song tone. She stopped for an instant before leaving the room, though, and spoke once more. "I love you too, James."
After that, Mizore wasted no more time heading to the kitchen. At the same time, James recovered from Mizore's verbal attack.
'She got me good that time.' James thought as he returned to the custom bed frame site.
A few minutes later, James had finally picked out all the options he wanted for his and Scathach's new bed frames. Sighing in satisfaction, James spoke to the person who had been watching him over his shoulder for the last minute or so.
"Good morning, how was your date last night, Lancer?" James said without looking back.
Cu Chulainn who was standing behind the sofa and watching James' shopping for bed frames, answered casually.
"It was good." Cu Chulainn said before walking around the sofa and taking a seat on the sofa opposite the one James was sitting on. "And I heard that your date with Master was good, too."
"I guess you heard from Tsubaki, huh?" James replied as he completed his order. "And to be honest, I have some really serious mixed feelings about the date."
Cu Chulainn gave James a look that said: "Go on."
"Well, I really enjoyed my time with Master, that's the absolute truth." James said with a smile.
"But?" Cu Chulainn said, hurrying James with his eyes.
"But she puts every other woman to shame in terms of shopping prowess." James said with a bitter smile on his face. "There were a few times that I thought going through Master's most intense training would be better than that."
Taking a few moments to process what James had said, Cu Chulainn began to laugh uproariously after he realized what James was getting at.
"Ahahaha! She really is the shopping demon lord, isn't she?" Cu Chulainn said while laughing.
James only looked at him with pity. Anyone with half a brain could tell that when Scathach could walk again, he would be in for a true training session from hell.
A few minutes later, Cu Chulainn got his laughter under control. Then, he asked the next thing that was on his mind.
"Anyway..." Cu Chulainn said as he dispelled the last of his laughter. "What was up with the bed frames?"
"Oh, that's right." James said while moving back into the sofa as if he was trying to escape from Cu Chulainn. "You were looking over my shoulder like a creeper."
Cu Chulainn rolled his eyes in response. Then, with his gaze, he urged James to answer. Shrugging his shoulders and relaxing in his seat, James did as Cu Chulainn wished.
"Master and I got a little carried away last night and this morning." James said as he stood up. "We kinda broke her bed in the process. Oh, it smells like Mizore is done with breakfast."
Just like that, James walked out of the living room, leaving Cu Chulainn sitting there totally flabbergasted.
'Did he just say that he fucked Master until the bed broke.' Cu Chulainn thought as he stared at the spot on the sofa James was just sitting on.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SixthSense1029
SixthSense1029 The First of two for today.
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