Chapter 255 - Girl Collector
Having succeeded in taming Mano-chan, I offered to step outside for a bit to buy a change of underwear.
"Well, hold down the fort for me."
I picked up the room phone and called the front desk.
Since this was a sleazy love hotel that allowed minors, I figured I'd get connected to some yakuza-type, but instead, a gentle older woman's voice came from the other end of the receiver.
'Certainly, please hold for a moment.'
Several dozen seconds later.
After confirming the lock was released, I quickly left the room.
All that was left was to buy Mano-chan's underwear, but... I was pretty sure places like this had a vending machine corner with all sorts of stuff.
I hurried down the hallway at a brisk pace, rushing to my destination.
"Oh."
My prediction was right.
Alongside contraceptives and drinks, I found women's lingerie for sale.
Thankfully, there were even cosplay costumes, and they even had a "Can Be Purchased" sticker on them.
The price was a bit high, but this completely solved the change of clothes problem.
"..."
No, that's wrong.
Sure, the initial problem was solved, but now a new problem had arisen.
--Probably because of the location, only underwear with risqué designs was being sold.
And on top of that, the cosplay costume selection was pointlessly abundant.
Deciding which one to buy was extremely troublesome...!
First, I tried choosing from the panties, but...
"Play it safe with pink?"
But this one was so small in surface area that making a middle school girl wear it felt like it'd land me in prison.
Then again, that white one over there was as see-through as Angelica's shrine maiden outfit. That felt more like a fine.
If that's the case, the black panties in the middle had the most modest design... wait, looking closely, the crotch area was completely open, dude. If I gave something like this to a minor, I'd get deported.
The one with the most room for leniency here was probably the first pink pair.
It might be a bit revealing, but it was better than making her wear something you could see through.
Hmm, decision made.
Next up was the costume selection, but the lineup was: a sailor uniform, an idol-style tartan check, gym clothes & bloomers, a cheongsam, a policewoman outfit, a nurse outfit, and a maid outfit—all of which seemed impossible to wear outside.
Still, I was only using the bottom half, so I could just ignore the top half's design.
Well... I'll just buy this policewoman outfit. The bottom part kind of looked like a plain black miniskirt.
Feeling relieved at my considerate choice, I inserted some coins.
And so, I ended up buying the pure white see-through panties, the gym clothes, and the bloomers.
...Huh?
Wait, why!?
Sure, I thought this combination would best emphasize Mano-chan's youthfulness while making her erotically cute, but was it really such a brilliant idea that my fingers moved on their own!?
...Maybe the urge to dress girls in cute clothes comes from a place completely unrelated to sexual desire. I mean, I just picked the best outfit even while in full-on Sage Mode, so perhaps humans are born with an instinct to turn beautiful girls into dress-up dolls.
So maybe it's not my fault.
I ended up buying the nurse outfit and the crotchless black panties too, but that's probably not my fault either.
Before I knew it, I had achieved the great feat of collecting every single piece of underwear and costume available in the vending machine.
"...What the hell am I supposed to do with this..."
Having many options might be a good thing, but wouldn't she be totally creeped out, thinking, "This old guy is gross, is he planning to use me for cosplay play?"
Maybe having a clean break without any weird attachments would be better than being clung to awkwardly.
As I was thinking about this and returned to the room, Mano-chan gleefully hugged me, shouting, "Wow, cute clothes!" and a system message appeared: [Mano Suzuki's Affection Level has increased by 500].
"They're all kinda sexy outfits, is that okay? I mean, I thought it was weird too, but this is all they had."
"It's totally okay. It's my boyfriend's preference, so it's only natural for me to match that, right?"
"Haha. So you're the devoted type. Wait, boyfriend?"
"Huh? So me and Nakamoto-san are dating now, right?"
"Huh?"
What the hell is this fourteen-year-old saying?
Me and this girl are just in a relationship where we entered a love hotel, groped her tits, and had a deep kiss. That's not nearly enough to call us lovers... huh? It is, isn't it?
I really can't talk my way out of this one, can I?
"Which one should I wear~"
I could only stare blankly at the girl gleefully choosing her outfit.
...Sorry, Mano-chan. I probably can't reciprocate your feelings.
Because I already have women I've decided to protect.
Angelica, who saved me from hell.
Rio, who heals me with her resemblance to Elsa.
Ayako-chan, who supports me with her home cooking.
Philia, who has become my strongest ally.
Erin, my reliable strategist and body pillow.
Chloe, my clingy yet gallant biological daughter.
Emily, the half-Japanese child actress who grew close to me while I looked after her on the show, and confessed to me the other day.
Juri, the idol who clings to me like a little sister when we share a dressing room.
Sakura, the idol who, despite belonging to a group with a love ban, kissed me at the inn during a location shoot.
Takako, the gravure idol who's been overly familiar with me ever since she touched my muscles on a variety show.
Minami, Takako's junior, who started acting like my girlfriend after I pinned her down as a joke in the dressing room.
Hitomi, the announcer I've been dating occasionally since we co-starred recently.
Mizuho-chan, Aina-chan, and Midori-chan, ordinary fans who follow me around.
Misato-chan, the AD... Yoshiura-san... and the policewoman duo of Hayasaka-san and Kato-san are about to fall too... and I've been exchanging emails with Rio's mother lately too...
Yeah.
Thinking about it calmly, adding one more person at this point wouldn't really change much, would it?
So, I decided to accept Mano-chan's affection.
Given her age, I can't lay a hand on her, so I'll just register her as a subordinate under the training slot.