"It really has been a while," Wise said with a smile. "If you have time, come visit the shop sometime. We just got a new batch of videotapes in."
Wise deliberately steered the conversation toward a lighter topic, and as expected, Ruby's eyes sparkled with immediate interest.
"Really?"
"Yep. And if you stop by, I'll even give you a discount."
After chatting for a little while longer, Wise noticed it was getting late and decided to end the conversation there.
Just as everyone was about to go their separate ways, he suddenly spoke up again.
"Oh, right. I'd like to borrow Ellen for a bit, if that's okay with you girls."
"Hey! Don't say it like I'm some kind of item!"
Ellen immediately protested, her cheeks turning red.
'If you'd just asked me directly, I would've gone with you anyway! Why did you have to ask Ruby and the others specifically?! Now it's even more embarrassing...'
Meanwhile, the three girls beside her waved their hands dismissively and practically shoved Ellen toward him.
"Not at all!"
"Go ahead, go ahead!"
"See you tomorrow, Ellen!"
Because of the parent-teacher conference, classes only lasted half a day today. So once everything was over, Wise left the school together with Ellen.
On the way back, Ellen's gaze remained fixed on the pair of fox ears perched atop Wise's head.
She simply couldn't help herself. They were way too eye-catching.
Naturally, Wise noticed her staring almost immediately. To avoid drawing unnecessary attention, he casually brushed a hand over his head.
The fox ears disappeared instantly.
The moment they vanished, Ellen visibly deflated with disappointment. She had just been thinking about touching them again.
Meanwhile, Wise had become especially wary of the idea. At this point, he finally understood how those cat-like Thirens felt whenever someone touched their ears.
Sure, it felt somewhat pleasant, but at the same time, it was unbelievably strange.
'Yeah... better not let this happen in public again...'
While Wise was silently thinking that to himself, Ellen was already wondering how she could convince him to bring the ears back out. After all, seeing him like that gave off a strangely fresh and attractive feeling.
"Wise, can I ask you something...?"
"No. I'm not letting you touch them for free."
Wise cut her off instantly, rejecting the idea without hesitation.
Hearing that, Ellen wasn't entirely discouraged.
Instead, she hesitated for a moment before quietly asking, "Then... what do I have to do if I want to touch them?"
"Hmm..." Wise pretended to think seriously for a moment before grinning slightly. "How about that thing I mentioned last time?"
"Last time...? That thing...?"
Ellen paused in confusion for a second. Then, as realization hit her, her entire face instantly turned bright red.
"N-No way! That place is absolutely off-limits!"
"Ah... what a shame."
Wise deliberately sighed in disappointment, looking genuinely regretful.
In truth, he hadn't expected her to agree in the first place. He'd only been teasing her.
But unexpectedly, Ellen actually looked conflicted.
"Mm... wait... can you let me think about it first?"
This time, Wise was genuinely stunned.
Seeing the conflicted look on her face, he decided not to tease her any further. Instead, he simply reached out and gently patted her head.
"Come on, let's head back to the video store first."
Ellen still had classes in the afternoon, but there was plenty of time before then. After lunch, she could always take a short nap at the shop.
Skipping ahead a bit, after lunch, the two of them returned to the upstairs room together.
Under Ellen's eager gaze, Wise finally summoned the pair of fox ears again.
Now that she'd gotten what she wanted, Ellen also decided to keep her promise.
Her face burning red, she bit her lip lightly before slowly turning around.
Then, with trembling fingers, she reached behind herself and carefully lifted her shark tail slightly.
<<>>
The lunch break passed quickly. Since Ellen still had classes in the afternoon, Wise made sure not to go too far with her.
The two stopped just before things became difficult to explain.
After seeing Ellen off, Wise headed downstairs.
"Hm? Brother, you're finally awa—eh?!"
Belle froze mid-sentence, staring at him with wide eyes. Confused, Wise looked back at her, only to see her pointing at him in complete shock.
Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, his hand instinctively moved to the top of his head.
Only then did he realize he had forgotten to dismiss the fox ears.
"...Belle, you saw nothing."
After making the ears disappear, Wise tried to act as though nothing had happened.
Unfortunately, Belle had no intention of letting him off that easily.
She immediately grabbed him and bombarded him with questions. When interrogation failed, she switched to threats. And when threats didn't work either, she shamelessly resorted to acting cute and spoiled.
In the end, Wise had no choice but to tell her the truth.
"So Ellen asked you to pretend to be her older brother for the parent-teacher conference... and you even disguised yourself as a Wolf Thiren?"
'They're fox ears, actually...' Wise silently corrected her in his mind, though there was no point saying it out loud.
Meanwhile, Belle suddenly looked like she'd pieced everything together.
"No wonder Ellen came over during lunch in the middle of a school day and rushed upstairs with you right after eating!" Belle puffed out her cheeks in indignation.
"So that's what you two were doing! How sneaky! Ugh, no fair, Brother—I want to try it too!"
As expected, she immediately became jealous.
Wise wasn't surprised in the slightest. He knew Belle's personality far too well by now.
In the end, he could only reluctantly agree. He just hoped this wouldn't spread too far.
Otherwise, Anby and the others would definitely start asking for the same thing.
Especially Koleda. That girl absolutely adored fluffy things.
"Yay! Then hurry up and show me again, Brother!"
Belle instantly lit up with excitement.
At the same time, Fairy, who had apparently been eavesdropping nearby the entire time, quietly appeared as well, clearly interested for the exact same reason.
"Seriously... it's just a pair of ears. Do you two really need to get this excited over them?"
Even while sighing helplessly, Wise activated his ability again.
The moment the fox ears appeared, Belle immediately reached out and started petting them.
"Of course it's important!" she argued confidently. "Brother, let me ask you something. When it comes to cat-like Thirens, do you prefer them with ears or without?"
"As long as it's someone I like, either is fine."
"Wooow... what a smooth answer. Honestly, that's exactly what I'd expect from you."
Even while talking, Belle's hands never stopped moving.
Meanwhile, Fairy floated nearby, carefully observing the fox ears with obvious fascination.
|"How remarkable, Master. To think your ability can even accomplish something like this... truly impressive."|
After quite a while, Belle finally seemed satisfied enough to stop petting them. Reluctantly, she pulled her hands away and prepared to leave.
Unfortunately for her, Wise immediately stopped her.
"Done touching them already? Then let's talk about the price."
"The price?" Belle blinked in confusion. "You mean like what Ellen did earlier? What exactly did she do?"
Clearly, she wasn't worried at all. After all, considering their current relationship, there honestly wasn't much left they hadn't already done together.
Seeing Belle's fearless attitude, the corners of Wise's lips slowly curled upward.
He leaned closer and whispered a few words into her ear.
Belle froze instantly. A second later, her face turned bright red—almost exactly like Ellen's reaction earlier.
"N-No way! Brother, you actually want to do that?! You're such a pervert!"
"So?" Wise asked calmly, clearly amused by her reaction. "Are you willing to pay the price?"
Hearing that, Belle immediately fell silent. For once, she looked genuinely hesitant. A faint trace of nervousness even flickered in her eyes.
"Mmm... would it hurt?"
That reaction alone was incredibly rare. Ever since getting together with Wise, Belle had hardly shown such a timid side anymore.
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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