Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)

Absolutely. Its my treat, so dont hold yourself back and go a little wild if you want.

Is that so? Then thank you very much, I will be sure to do just that.

Despite her initial reservations, Roxanne bowed to me thankfully and proceeded to chose a coat for herself. For some reason, this whole situation reminded me of when mother took me with her when she went shopping to all the brand shops in Akasaka and Hiro-o. The details are kinda blurry since I was nothing but a small kid back then, but I vaguely remember them to be some nice-looking shops at the 2ndor 3rdfloor of some building, most likely a shopping mall. It also had those big windows where you could see all the cars speeding through the highway outside. It was a particularily shiny day, so the cars would reflect the rays of sunlight, hurting my eyes if I looked at them for too long. Why did I look at them in the first place, you ask? Well, the reason behind that should be obvious, right? Because I was bored out of my ass and I had nothing else to do. In case you didnt know, its quite difficult for young boys to enjoy such a dull activity as shopping the way their mothers do. I think I also complained a lot, which earned me a slap on the wrist. That was the first-time mother took me with her when she was going shopping, and yet there she was, disciplining me for not enjoying it. Even now, I sometimes wonder what was she planning to accomplish by having me tag along on that day? Was there something more to it, or did she simply wanted to spend some quality time with her child?

That was both the first, and the last time she ever took me with her before she died. Sometimes, when my mood was especially foul, I wondered if there was anything I could have done to make that day more enjoyable for her? And then she died so suddenly that I never got the chance to make it up to her for that. That was the first out of many cruel pranks that fate would pull on me.

I had the knowledge that women enjoy shopping ever since I was a kid, but I never had the chance to actually put that knowledge to good use. Until today.

Now, thanks to my suggestion to pick whichever cloak she liked the most, Roxanne was going through all of them with a big smile on her face. Actually, she was so into it that I felt like she is going to go through all the items in the store in a manner of minutes. I mean seriously, the speed at which she is flipping through everything is nothing short of terrifying. Shes like, taking the cloak, has a thorough look at it, tries it on, checks if the sleeves are not too long or too short and if the collar and the hem are done properly, puts it back and takes out another cloak, all of that in a matter of seconds. There are no exceptions to that. She even takes into consideration the color of each and every cloak and how it combines with the rest of her clothing. This is one of those situations where even if I wanted to comment on it in any way I wouldnt have been able to find the appropriate words to do so.

The shopkeeper does not say anything and just watches her patiently. I dont know if hes actually enjoying that little spectacle or if hes just not able to hasten the clients even if theyre trying something for too long. And besides, in Roxannes case it looks like asking things like Do you need help with something? would be an entirely futile endeavour, because she would have most likely replied with Thank you, show me everything youve got!. So, mister shopkeeper? What are you going to do now?

Maam, if I may, I recommend this one here. I have no doubt it would look great on you.

Ohh, so the absolute madman actually recommended something to her, huh? Hes got balls of steel, Ill give him that.

Uwaaah!

Hey, whats up with that super girly, overly cute reaction?! Dont tell me!

This is it!

Yup, the cloak that the shopkeeper presented to her seems to be Roxannes favorite one out of all the ones she looked through so far. And, well, I have to say that this time the guy was spot on. Granted, the one he presented Roxanne with is a little expensive, but I cannot deny the fact that it combines greatly with all of her best features. She looks outstanding, and I mean it in a non-ironic way. My gut feeling is telling me that shes ultimately going to buy that one, but for the time being she returned to flipping through the rest of the cloaks the store had to offer.

As for the shopkeeper, he moved towards the other customers who entered the shop. As far as he is concerned, he secured another purchase, and since its going to be added to the one I decided to make, its that much more of a win to him. And as for me, I will just lean against the wall and continue to quietly observe Roxannes shopping spree. Now that I am older and (supposedly) wiser, I have to make sure not to repeat the blunder I did when I was shopping with mother. So I just have to watch her without complaining and everything should be fine. At least now I can be sure that I wont get bored with just watching, because I have something beautiful to feast my eyes upon. But the true curve ball came upon me at the end, when Roxanne approached me with the cloak she ended up choosing (the one the shopkeeper recommended, as expected) and asked What do you think about it, master?. This question is a taboo topic to somebody like me, who has no fashion sense whatsoever. I desperately tried to find some words that wouldnt sound too forced, but the only one that came to my mind were It really suits you I guess?. And judging by her happy reaction, at the very least I managed to prevent a tragedy from occurring. I hope so. Man, I really should think about some ways of improving my ability to communicate with the opposite sex. Since Roxanne and I will be inseparable from now on, it might as well turn out that I will be dragged in those kinds of situations and conversations more and more often. Also, it turns out that I was mistaken about one thing: Roxanne wasnt done with the shopping after she saw the cloak the shopkeeper showed her.

At this point, she narrowed her selection down to two possible choices. The candidates were: in her left hand was the shopkeepers recommended cloak, and in her right was one of the ones she found at the end of her spree. Both of them were in really similar colors.

Which of them do you think is better, master?

She turned to me, expecting to choose on of them for her. I looked at the cloak in her right hand and then at the cloak in her left, and continued to alter my gaze between the two of them for a solid minute. If you asked me for my casual opinion, then my answer would have been 6:4 in favor of the one that the shopkeeper recommended to her. She should just pick that one so that we could be done with it, but what if she actually wants me to pick the other one? If I fail here, if I will make the wrong choice then all the progress I made with Roxanne will be lost! For example, if I tell her to get the cheaper one, I will be 100% done for since that is an all-to-obvious landmine, even though personally I do think that cheaper is better.

Now let me think the cloak shes keeping on her left arm is the one from the shopkeeper, so that would mean that she kept it because she really liked it. If that is a hint, then the cloak on her left arm is the correct choice here.

When I was a kid I wasnt able to take the hint, but not today. Today, I will definitely make the right choice!