Chapter 133: Do You Like Red?

It has to be said, after Letia put on her underwear, her upper body really did look a bit more shapely.

If before it was, “Bro, why are you turning your back to me?” now it was, “Bro, when did you start working on your chest muscles?”

That’s pretty much the difference.

Once she was properly dressed, Letia stood on tiptoe, placed her hand on Red’s shoulder, and said with a heavy tone.

“It’s so hard to choose. Did you just try to help me pick, Red?”

“Uh… yes.”

Red suddenly had a bad feeling, and at that moment, the shop assistant spoke up.

“At times like this, you can always refer to your boyfriend’s opinion~”

“No, I’m not her boyfriend…”

But Red’s protest was weak and feeble as always—no one believed him.

“Mm-hmm, your boyfriend’s opinion is very important too,” Letia chimed in.

“So…”

She trailed off, smiling brightly at Red.

“How can I suffer alone—oh no, how can I choose all by myself?”

Letia had endured enough of those strange looks from the people earlier.

Now, if she didn’t let Red experience it too, she just couldn’t feel at ease inside!

“Yes, yes, shopping together is such a rare chance! Helping your cute girlfriend pick out a few more outfits that fit her well really earns you points~”

At a time like this, the salesgirl only put more effort into chasing her commission.

“Fine.”

Red had already been planning to do this—he didn’t want to waste any more time here.

But once he actually started, he realized… something was off.

That Letia was sitting leisurely on the store’s sofa, enjoying the cool air blown by the Magic Crystal, while he was left standing, under countless strange gazes.

Whether he picked up a lacy white bra or a plain, innocent-looking one, the looks from those around immediately shifted to “What a scumbag.”

Red’s palms grew slick with sweat from the nerves.

More importantly, he finally realized something.

The underwear he chose…

Letia would actually be wearing it.

Red glanced at the bra with the little bow in his hand, and couldn’t help but picture Letia in it.

Ignoring her face for a moment, it really did make his mouth go a bit dry.

After swallowing hard, Red finally settled on this set.

Besides, it would match with white stockings—couldn’t go wrong there.

“You’ve got a good eye! This really suits your girlfriend’s vibe.”

“Innocent, innocent, innocent—there’s nothing between us, absolutely nothing!”

Red repeated it three times, but no one cared.

Honestly, if you were brought to a place like this, how could you just be friends?

Everyone knew the truth.

After paying, the two of them left the underwear shop.

Letia was a bit drained, and Red was even more so.

Especially thinking about how many more things he might have to carry for Letia later—he couldn’t help but sigh.

But, unexpectedly, Letia just stretched out with a big yawn, then turned to Red and said,

“That’s enough for today. I’ll give you your reward later… Oh, wait,” Letia seemed to remember something and casually added, “I’ll use the set you bought me for the photo.”

After all that shopping, Letia was exhausted—she didn’t have the energy to tease Red anymore.

Like a lazy fish, she spoke languidly.

“Well then, see you next time.”

Red watched Letia’s retreating figure for a long time.

It was true that Letia would be wearing the underwear he picked out, but he never expected she’d actually use it for a photo—just for him.

…Wasn’t that even more attention-grabbing?!

Letia didn’t head back to the shop or home.

Instead, she went straight to Dawnblade’s headquarters.

No choice—she had to take photos for business.

Teasing Red was kind of like raising a pet.

Playing around was one thing, but the proper treats had to be given as well.

Letia knew perfectly well that while you could have your fun, you couldn’t skimp on the goodies.

If you only took joy without even tossing a bone now and then…

Even the most docile pet would turn rebellious, maybe even ignore you for good.

And that would be far too boring.

Letia sighed and pushed open the door.

Usually hardworking in her training, Liz was sitting on the sofa, eyes unfocused, lost in thought—or maybe doubting her whole life?

But as soon as Liz saw Letia enter, she snapped out of it and asked Letia,

“You… what’s that in your hand?”

“Underwear,” Letia replied carelessly with a yawn.

“What else would it be?”

While speaking with Liz, the script in her mind floated up again, but the plot was exactly the same as before—just showing a glimpse before fading away.

But since the script had shown up, Letia simply asked Liz directly,

“Did you find any new recruits lately? Even though you hate to admit it, Liz, I still have to say—with our current team composition, trying to reach the twenty-fourth floor without a Frontline is way too risky.”

Originally, Liz wanted to try the twenty-fourth floor with just the current team, but Letia had persuaded her otherwise, so she gave up on the idea.

Thinking it over, the Dawnblade party’s setup was really too extreme.

Desperately short of a Frontline.

With just herself, she couldn’t possibly hold all the monsters’ aggro.

Dawnblade had always planned to recruit—not just in Nightbright Town, but also using her own family’s connections and the help of that silly Monica.

But so far, no one had been willing to join Dawnblade.

“Can’t recruit anyone… not even a single applicant…”

Liz shook her head with a wry smile.

“Adventurers are mostly men, and it seems the name of our All-Girl Party has been deliberately spread far and wide—even my father and mother have heard of it.”

At that point, Liz felt a bit lost.

Was there really no other choice but to find Red?

“The All-Girl Party, huh…”

Letia could only shrug, helpless.

“Red really put a huge label on us.”

As for why the story of Dawnblade being an All-Girl Party spread so far?

Letia pretty much guessed who did it.

Otto, obviously.

He most likely did it so Liz would be forced into a corner—so even if she apologized to Red, with Dawnblade’s reputation now, they’d never be able to win him back.

Besides, Red had no intention of coming back anyway.

Listening to Letia, Liz fell silent for a while.

“Letia, do you think…”

She paused, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her voice so low it was almost a whisper, “Is Red… does he hate me now?”

As she asked, Liz actually felt a twisted sort of hope.

She would rather hear Letia’s resolute “Yes.”

Because more than being hated, what made her feel like falling into an icy abyss, what left her truly despairing, was Red’s utter indifference—as if she were a stranger to him.

“He definitely doesn’t hate you.”

Letia shook her head, then turned the question back on her.

“Look at me. I used to treat him as a free laundry worker, dumped all those… uh, personal clothes on him to wash.”

She said it without shame, even with a bit of self-mocking candor.

“And when everyone misunderstood and blamed him, I was there, but chose to stand by and watch, even… thought it was pretty funny…”

There was barely any remorse in her voice—she even smiled and went on,

“Not to mention all those endless little pranks, Liz. Ask yourself, have I really done less ‘bad things’ to Red than you have?”

Liz fell silent.

In her memory, Letia and Red had never really gotten along that well.

All those pranks Letia pulled, Red just put up with them—sometimes helplessly, sometimes tiredly.

Liz understood—not everyone likes being teased.

That kind of thing could easily plant seeds of annoyance, even resentment, in anyone’s heart.

But… why was it that after Red left the team, of all Dawnblade’s members, Letia got along with him best?

She couldn’t understand at all.

Especially after that time at the Gilded Chamber of Commerce, when she saw Red and Letia walking side by side into that underwear shop, she was even more confused.

“Whew~”

Liz took a deep breath, then looked at Letia and slowly said, “Letia, there’s no one else here, so I’ll just say it—I’ve always liked Red.”

“Oh, I know that.”

As if it was a joke, Letia could see through Liz’s feelings for Red at a glance.

It’s just that her pride and self-respect wouldn’t allow her to bow her head.

“…”

Liz hadn’t expected Letia to answer so directly, so after another moment of silence, she looked up at the black-robed girl in front of her and asked,

“Letia… do you like Red?”