[*Cultural Duty]

[A/N: * Means sensual, ** means sexy af, *** means prudes gtfo. No scene in Nightmare is created for fan service. You've been warned.

Note: there is no real sex coming up. Please read, as this is a critical part of the story.]

—

Helix laughed quietly.

"I appreciate your merciless taunting of the jelly parade.

But… you know you'd have to kiss me to prove that. Right?"

Charlotte blushed lightly.

As he said, she was mocking the over-competitive people causing him trouble.

But she was mocking them with an embarrassing topic.

Charlotte shrugged nonchalantly after recovering.

"It's not a big deal. I wouldn't treat it like a real—ow!"

Marie was glaring daggers at her.

"Jokes aside, I appreciate it, Marie." Helix said with a grateful expression.

"Not only did it save my life and speed up my recovery, but it also boosted my spirit particle count by at least 100, I'd estimate."

The two women looked at Helix with shock in their eyes.

"My Nightmare has variable spirit particle usage, and I can't control it.

Moreover, it doesn't cap my usage.

That's why I keep ending up in the hospital.

Marie, what you didn't wasn't just life-saving and extraordinary….

It will probably save my life in the future.

Thank you, I can't even express my gratitude." Helix explained while staring at the redhead with a gentle expression.

"Y-You're welcome." Marie replied shyly.

"Wait! Hold up. Save your pink space for a few minutes!"

Helix's eyes widened in confusion at her words.

Marie's face heated up, and she averted her gaze shyly.

"Are you making that up?

Not trying to question you, but if it were that easy to gain stats, harem heads must be the most powerful people in Myriad!

Without fail or falter, we must investigate this for the sake of our noble and cultured people!" Charlotte declared.

Helix had to ask for the strength from the non-Elise gods to keep from bursting into unconstrained laughter.

"Charlotte… you are a prize to our people." Helix chucked.

"Damn straight I am!" She exclaimed under her breath.

Helix gave her a gentle smile.

"Unfortunately, the technique Marie used is extremely advanced.

So I doubt there's a harem that contains so many talented, OP women or men." Helix chuckled.

"Then start one, moron." Charlotte chastised.

"Wait… what? This isn't a video game or light novel.

If fantasy harems existed with normal people in the normal world, they'd be plastered over the internet." Helix asked in bewilderment.

"Hah! Helix, are you blind? We're not normal people!

For whatever reason, these people chose socially awkward, light novel loving, RPG grinding, male and female otakus as their chosen ones.

We don't have normal social skills and don't know what normal relationships are.

But we all know harem culture and behavior.

So in a fantasy-like world ruled by mental virgins without social skills, harem relationships are the norm." Charlotte reasoned.

"That… is a shockingly good point." Helix replied while raising an eyebrow.

He was genuinely impressed by her reasoning.

"Also…. Look around you, Hellie!

Even right now, you're drowning in OP—ow!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"What's your problem, Marie? Hear me out!

Helix gets assassination attempts almost weekly because he's drowning in women.

He might as well prove them right. Don't you—ow!"

Helix gave Charlotte an awkward expression.

"I… don't know how to respond to that." Helix chuckled nervously.

"Hey! Cool it for a moment, would ya?" Charlotte snapped.

Marie was pinching Charlotte with a 270-strength stat.

So while Charlotte was a cheat character, it still hurt.

"Why do you sound so nervous, Hellie? It's okay if you don't want one, but if you're not confident, that's comical." Charlotte said with a wicked grin.

Helix gave Charlotte a mocking smile when he saw her characteristic grin.

"You make it sound like all of my powerful female friends are interested in me." Helix said while starting a trap.

"[All] is a high bar, but I'd say… eh, enough to get you murdered." She replied without a second pause.

Helix blinked twice with a wry smile plastered on his face.

"That was also a good point…." Helix chuckled to himself in bitter admiration.

"Oh? Throwing in the towel so soon, Hellie?" Charlotte taunted.

Helix gave her a mysterious smile.

"You sound so confident. So I'll take it, you'll submit the first application?" He asked sarcastically.

"It's not out of the question if it's open for part-time—ow!" Charlotte shrugged.

The young woman glared at Marie before sporting an evil smile.

Then she stood up.

"Helix Hellsgate Margrave, I ask permission to approach the court." She announced.

"You may proceed." He replied while waving his hand dramatically.

"I'd like to provide evidence to support my claim.

Please look at Exhibit A.

Helix, Marie, Riley, and Emelia looked at Charlotte in shock.

Riley and Emelia had been awake since Charlotte woke up, but Riley was quiet by nature, and Emelia didn't like to interject between his conversations.

However, everyone was paying attention.

Charlotte crossed her hands and gracefully pulled off her light pink tank top.

The motion accentuated her extremely toned body and exposed her purple lace bra.

Helix looked at Charlotte with a panicked and confused expression.

"Exhibit A." She announced while turning around.

Marie flushed furiously when she realized Charlotte's game.

There were a dozen bright red pinch marks.

Helix's heart calmed down, and he sent Charlotte an amused expression.

"I rest my case." She announced while puffing out her chest.

After she finished, she sat back down without putting her shirt back on.

"Charlotte…." Marie whispered in excruciating embarrassment.

She could no longer pinch Charlotte, so she didn't know how to handle the situation.

Helix gave Charlotte an amused smile.

"Ooooooh la la. Charlotte presents Exhibit C under the guise of catching Marie in the act." Helix remarked with an evil grin.

Charlotte's face burned red when called out so masterfully, and she reflexively covered her C-cup breasts.

When she realized she had been hoodwinked, she puffed out her cheeks.

"Serves you right, Charlatan." Marie huffed.

"What… a masterfully executed, high-level pun. Good work." Helix commented in genuine bewilderment.

"Thank you!" Marie replied with a proud expression.

"Are you really going to keep your shirt off?" Marie asked after a minute of comfortable silence.

"Are you really going to keep yours on?" Charlotte replied with wide eyes.

Marie blushed.

"Of co… I…." Marie stuttered.

"Common, just do it. Don't you want to have fun teasing Hellie?

How often do you see him blush?" She chuckled.

Marie looked at Helix.

The second their eyes met, he averted his gaze shyly.

"You're… right. I've seen him eighteen shades of awkward, but this is the first time I've seen him blush." She commented in a trance.

Marie seemed engrossed in seeing Helix in such a vulnerable state.

"You see? This badass shit talked a person twenty times stronger than him pre-deathmatch and won an audience." Charlotte began.

"That was masterful, by the way." She commented quickly after looking at Helix.

"But he's melting after such a small gesture. Plus~" Charlotte prefaced ominously.

"Hellie's always sighing and trying to wiggle out of awkward situations.

But he's suh~spi~ciously silent at the moment~" She sang.

Marie glanced back and forth between Helix's expressions and Charlotte's provocatively puffed-out chest.

"Come on, do you need an invitation or something?" Charlotte asked Marie.

"You're the baddest bitch I know, but when you're around Hellie, you turn into a helpless kitten." She chuckled.

Helix would be lying to everything he held sacred if he said he disliked the scene playing out.

He didn't know what to say, so he relaxed and prayed for… something.

He didn't know what it was, but he'd accept anything.

He felt shameless.

There was no sigh, however.

"Ma lady, you have received a formal invitation to take off your shirt." Charlotte announced dramatically.

"If you don't, how will you know what he thinks of your body?

Don't you want to see if he turns into Tommy Tomato?"

Helix gave Charlotte a wry smile but quickly returned to his relaxed expression.

"I… ummm…." Marie stuttered nervously.

"Helix, do you mind if I take my shirt off too?" She asked with a bashful expression.

Helix sighed for the first time in a while.

—

[A/N: Thank you for reading, fellow otakus. I hope you're enjoying this book. :)

Power stones = more readers = more content. Thank you for supporting [Nightmare]!]