"Too early…"

  When Hiromi opened her eyes, her room was still fairly dark. But it was nothing she couldn't fix with a little time to adjust to the dark.

  "At this hour the inn's baths should already be open… I think I'd better get up."

  She got out of bed and started putting on her revealing outfit, which looked more like a tight nightgown than real clothes.

  "Ugh, it's still a little damp from yesterday's laundry, but I'd rather spend my ERO on the harem outfit instead of a spare… If I leave it drying while I bathe, it'll probably be ready by the time I'm done."

  Hiromi finished getting dressed and headed to the inn's shared baths. They had changing areas, showers, and a large tub that could fit several people. In short, it was a lot like the baths in Japan, so she couldn't complain.

  "Ah! Hiromi!"

  "Ruby!"

  She stepped into the women's bath already naked and found Ruby. Her scarlet hair was wet, falling freely over her shoulders.

  "Drying your hair is going to be a pain at this hour," Hiromi commented as she sat down in the water beside her.

  "It doesn't matter, it'll dry anyway once we start training," Ruby said with a grin. "So? Have you decided to forgive me yet?"

  Hiromi let out a tired sigh, remembering yesterday's frustration, all that shame for nothing…

  "You were trying to protect me, and you didn't know about my quest, so it's not your fault after all… What about you? What are you going to do now?"

  "Well, I already took the loan. After this bath, I'm meeting up with the others to improve our equipment, and we'll try some of the harder quests…"

  "Your quests have to be way harder than mine… Are you sure everything will be fine…?"

  "Not at all!" Ruby burst out laughing. "But hey, worst case, I'll join your line of work. You'll be my senpai in the harem!"

  Hiromi looked over Ruby's body. Her breasts were noticeably larger than hers, and so were her hips. She was also very athletic without being overly muscular. A perfect blend of softness and firmness.

  "I think I lost…"

  "What?"

  "Nothing," Hiromi replied, puffing out her cheeks. "Anyway, no matter what happens, take care."

  "Hahaha, don't worry. We won't be the strongest party, but… that's exactly why we know when to pull back if things aren't going our way."

  Ruby stood up, showing off her plump butt, and gathered her long hair. It hung almost all the way down to where the cleft began. She wrung it out as much as she could and climbed out of the big bath.

  "Expect good news, Hiromi! Have a great day!"

  They waved goodbye with a smile, but Hiromi couldn't help feeling worried about her friend.

  Once both she and her clothes were dry, Hiromi peeked out the inn's window, set just outside the bathhouse door. The streets were starting to stir everywhere.

  "Still early, but the city is already starting its day. If I'm going to do something about the ERO points I'm missing, this might be the best time… Not that I'm thrilled about it…"

  ***

  [-----------------STATUS--------------]

  [NAME: ------- Shirakiyo Hiromi]

  [ALLURE: -----------------------500]

  [TRAITS: ----Exhibitionist Lv. 6]

  [TITLES: ----------------------None]

  [ERO POINTS: ---------------1500]

  "The last quest that popped up out of nowhere was a fiasco, but I'm still only five hundred ERO points short of buying the harem outfit. I need to stay positive…"

  Hiromi was once again exploring one of the bustling main avenues in the city of Alasta.

  She walked with more ease now, not because she'd stopped worrying about how short her dress was, but because she'd spent hours in front of the mirror making sure she knew which positions to avoid so no one could see her panties.

  "But showing my panties is nothing compared to this quest…" Hiromi sighed, staring at the open screen on her ERO System.

  [ERO QUEST: Be Touched! The Revenge!]

  [OBJECTIVE: Find someone to massage your breasts!]

  [REWARD: +500 ERO points]

  "At least there aren't any hidden conditions this time. I always end up fulfilling them, and they're never anything good… Though it's true they've helped me get points faster, so I can't complain too much."

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The world around her kept moving through its usual routine. It was still early, so the bazaar stalls were sorting inventory and setting out the goods they planned to sell.

  But Hiromi's eyes fixed on a particularly spacious stall that sold fruits and vegetables.

  It was being run by a gigantic, potbellied, very hairy man, the kind who looked like he didn't have much luck with women.

  Hiromi swallowed, a little scared. That man's hands were almost as big as her head.

  "What would happen if someone like that touched my… He wouldn't hurt me, right…?"

  She started backing away slowly, but after a few seconds she stopped dead. She stood still for a moment, then finally turned back toward the big man's stall.

  "This isn't the time to chicken out. That guy probably hasn't seen a naked woman in his life… I'm sure he won't have any problem touching my… Helping me with my quest!"

  Hiromi gathered her courage and started walking toward the awning that cast shade over the produce beneath it.

  ***

  "Hello!"

  Hiromi approached the gigantic fat man, who was stacking crates of tomatoes in the corner of his stall.

  "Good morning, miss. How can I help you?"

  "Um… My name is Hiromi… Could I ask yours?"

  The fat man looked at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

  "My name's Bushama… So? Are you looking for tomatoes? Lettuce?"

  Hiromi's cheeks were as red as the tomatoes. She kept her head down and fidgeted with her hands behind her back.

  "Mr. Bushama… how's work going… everything okay?"

  "It'd go better if you bought something, miss… How about some carrots?"

  "Y, yes… of course. I've been eating out nonstop, it wouldn't hurt to cook once in a while… But first… I wanted to ask if you have a bit of time right now, Mr. Bushama…"

  Now her entire head looked like a ripe tomato. She wanted to be more direct, but embarrassment kept making her beat around the bush.

  Bushama, on the other hand, was frowning now.

  "Look, young lady, forgive me if I'm wrong, but maybe you need to buy a cucumber. I've got some really thin ones… though if you're that desperate, you might prefer an eggplant."

  "Cucumber? Eggplant? I'm not really following… But, Mr. Bushama, could we step away from the vegetables for a moment?"

  Bushama glanced around.

  "This is a greengrocer's shop, miss…"

  "No, no. I mean in the conversation… let's stop talking about vegetables."

  "Well, I sell fruit too… Maybe what you're looking for is a banana?"

  "Banana? No, no, I don't want to talk about fruit or vegetables."

  "Then what did you come to the greengrocer's to do, miss?" Bushama asked, crossing his arms.

  "T, to talk… with you…" she managed to say, mortified with embarrassment.

  "Talk about what? I'm a bit busy, so if you need something, I'd appreciate it if you told me once and for all."

  Hiromi swallowed and hooked her fingers under the elastic of the top of her dress, which barely covered half her breasts. She looked around, then positioned herself with her back to the street so only Bushama could see her.

  "Would you be interested in touching them?"

  She felt like she was going to melt from the humiliation, but she still tugged the elastic down, baring herself to the open air.

  "That's a pretty abrupt way to look for customers… going straight to someone's workplace so they can't just ignore the offer and keep walking. As a fellow merchant, I can't deny I'm impressed by your audacity," Bushama said, scratching at his double chin.

  "This isn't that!" Hiromi tried to defend herself, holding back tears of shame.

  "It isn't?"

  "No… this is… free…"

  "Ah, I see… you're one of those perverts who goes around flashing unsuspecting people in the street…"

  "Not at all! I'm not a pervert!" she exclaimed.

  Bushama studied Hiromi's face, then dropped his gaze to her exposed chest, then met her eyes again with a raised brow.

  "I'm not convinced you aren't one…"

  "Look! Let's just get this over with! Don't you want to touch them? Go ahead!" Hiromi insisted, doing her best to finish the quest as fast as possible.

  She stepped closer to the gigantic potbellied man. With her eyes closed, she pushed her chest forward, offering herself completely.

  "This has to be some kind of sexual harassment… Look, miss. Thank you very much, but I'm not interested… If you're that desperate, I can give you the banana for free, honestly…"

  "You… you don't want to?" Hiromi asked, deflating on the spot.

  "Pinti wants!"

  A little man in a green bodysuit appeared behind them without any warning, making Hiromi cover her breasts at the speed of light.

  "Ah, but Pinti has to be somewhere right now… Next time!"

  Just like that, the little man kept walking down the main street, which was getting more and more crowded that morning.

  Bushama and Hiromi looked at each other and silently agreed to ignore what had happened.

  "Listen, miss, customers are going to start showing up. Take this banana and please leave."

  She accepted the banana without knowing why she was being given it. All she could think about was shame and disappointment. It almost felt like she'd just been rejected after a love confession.

  "Wh… why not? Am I that ugly?" she finally managed to blurt out through sobs.

  "No, no, not at all. You're really quite an attractive young lady… perverted, but attractive," Bushama said, feeling a bit of pity for her. "It's just that I already have five wives, I get plenty of breasts in my life."

  "I'm not a pervert! I just act like one… but not because I want to!... Wait, five wives?!"

  "You're a busy one, huh… yeah, I've got five wives. On top of that, a friend in important circles gifted me a yearly membership to Alasta's Harem."

  "There's a membership?! Uuuuuu, what am I getting myself into…"

  "Anyway, as you can see, I don't need to go grabbing street tits."

  "Street tits… But how can a greengrocer have five wives and a membership for the castle's harem? I know it's like a brot… brothel, or whatever, but still…"

  ***

  Hiromi sat on a bench in the plaza with her face buried in her hands. She had already run out of breath from sighing so much.

  "I don't think I have the guts to do something like that again… How am I supposed to get someone to touch my breasts now?"

  She pulled her hands away from her face and found herself staring straight at a girl with long golden hair and lilac eyes.

  The girl was eating an ice cream cone, but her blank, expressionless gaze was fixed on Hiromi.

  "Did you hear… did you hear that?"

  The question was completely ignored. Instead, the girl, who looked more like a living doll than a human, walked up to Hiromi with the ice cream still between her lips.

  Hiromi sat up straight, not understanding what was happening, but before she could react, the blonde girl's hand was already grabbing her right breast.

  …

  …

  Neither of them said anything. Hiromi was in shock and did not know what to say, while the blonde girl silently massaged it, molding Hiromi's breast into different shapes between her fingers.

  After a few moments that felt like an eternity, the blonde girl stepped away.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk…" she clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disapproval, then walked off.

  …

  Hiromi was left completely alone in that part of the park. A single bird made a sound similar to a crow's somewhere above her head.

  "What the hell is her problem?!"

  [+200 ERO points]

  The system screen popped up on its own, startling her, but she did not take long to react to the message.

  "What?! That worked? I cleared the quest? Wait… wasn't the reward five hundred ERO points?"

  [CLARIFICATION: These are pity points]

  …

  [...]

  …

  [These are pity points…]

  "You don't need to repeat it!"