Gift to The Girls

(MC's POV)

You know, I never thought there would be a day where I would be in this position; standing just outside the changing room of a women's clothing store with an old nun.

Honestly, not the weirdest thing I could imagine.

Anyway, I think I should go back in time a little.

(-Flashback-)

After we had our fill, we left the restaurant satisfied. Aoi and Asia shared a medium pizza with half pepperoni and half seafood toppings. Much to our surprise, Asia finished her half no sweat at all and even ordered some desserts at my encouragement; meanwhile, Aoi was full after only 2 slices due to having had 'some' ice cream prior to this.

Asia volunteered to clean up Aoi's leftovers, though she became super embarrassed after she finished eating.

Sigh… Girls. Even someone as innocent and sheltered as Asia is a little insecure about gaining weight; is it something all girls have built-in in their DNA?

You know what, I'm just not gonna think about it any further. It's not important, therefore it shall be shelved for later.

What? You thought it would end there? The mystery of the creature known as 'women' is a must-solve mystery, just not now.

Moving on from the restaurant, we moved further away from the Cathedral and into less populated areas. The whole walk consists of Aoi dragging Asia around and looking at places; you know, normal friend stuff.

It was quite endearing looking on from the sideline, even the passersby had a warm expression on seeing their interaction. I don't think there's anything cuter than two adorable girls going about their thing unbothered by their surroundings; it's just plain and unadulterated innocence.

If this ain't your cup of tea, I respect your preferences, but we will definitely not get along, just saying.

Anyway, let's move to the conversation that led us all the way to this clothing store.

"Oh! Look at those clothes, they look so cute~" Aoi's gaze was on some girl's clothes on display. Her eyes continued to roam around inside the store for several seconds before she turned toward Asia.

"Asia-chan, let me get you some clothes. I'm sure as a nun, you don't have many cute clothes to wear" Aoi beamed a smile.

"N-no, I cann- can't possibly a-accept that. I already f-feel like I'm indebted to you, Aoi" Asia immediately tried refusing, but she was stopped from speaking any further by Aoi.

"Asia-chan, I thought I made this clear. We're friends, you don't need to feel indebted to me for any reason. Also, I'm doing this of my own volition, I'm not expecting anything in return for it" Aoi grabbed hold of both of Asia's hands before continuing with her speech.

"So, just accept it. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer" She then smiled sweetly while staring at Asia with serious eyes, clearly conveying she intended to get what she wants.

"B-but-" Asia seemed to still be hesitant about it so Aoi put more strength into her grip. Even so, Asia still hesitated while showing a conflicted look.

It was then that I decided to interject.

"Alright, Aoi stop, you're pressuring the poor girl" I got in between them and used the ultimate distraction technique; 'Double Head Pats'.

And it worked its magic as the two girls turned their focus to me, their tension calming down. Before they finally noticed the situation they were in.

"Mou~" Aoi pouted but didn't say anything else and stayed still, fully intended to enjoy it as much as she could.

"Uawawawa-wawaawa-aawawa-waawawaw-wawawwa" Asia.exe, on the other hand, stopped work for a second before her brain short-circuited, her face lighting up in a bright red.

However, I soon had to stop patting Asia's head because I felt her Guardian mark suddenly reacting and releasing a bit of holy power. I did it in the most natural way possible so as to not arouse any suspicion from Lucia, who was right behind me.

I layered the holy power coming out with Mana Obfuscation and spread the holy power out into her body before taking my hand off her head. She was already radiating holy power so little more wouldn't make a difference.

Then acted as naturally as I possibly could.

"Oh, sorry. I touched you without permission" I put on an apologetic look.

"N-no! It's fine, you don't n-need to apologize. I-i-i don't m-mind, it f-felt nice" Asia touched her head and lowered her face, the red now spreading even to her ears.

"Ahem, anyway back to before. How about this? You two pick out an outfit for each other and try it on, and if you like it, I'll buy it for you" With this suggestion, Asia won't feel like she owes Aoi anything.

Aoi had no problem with this idea and was even quite pumped at the thought. Asia, of course, tried to refuse after coming out of her trance, citing the same excuse but I quickly shut it down.

"Don't feel that way, think of it as a gift" I flashed a gentle smile. And with just that, she timidly agreed with a light nod and rosy cheeks.

After that, we made our way into the store. I had to take my hands off Aoi's head, as much as she was reluctant to let go of my hand, the feeling only stayed for a few seconds as she dragged Asia off to pick out some clothes.

(-End of Flashback-)

Anyway, back to the present time. I have something on my mind right now; about the part where Asia just straight up and agreed to accept my gift without any resistance whatsoever.

I didn't think about it much before since it was so insignificant, but now, it seems rather odd to me. Asia made quite an effort to refuse Aoi's proposal, but when I proposed it, she just timidly accepts it, no nothing, just a nod.

I can't seem to figure out the cause for this change in her behavior- wait.

.

.

.

Is it my [Charisma] 3? Well, 3.3 now because of 『Soul Blaze』 but that's not important, or is it?

I mean, I know how much an increase of 1 level can do to a stat with only 10 levels max. Stats grow at an exponential rate, just the difference from Culture 10 to 11 gain me a glimpse into the truth of all things cultured, even by the standards of the higher realm.

And no, I'm not joking, it's real. Why do you think I almost became the worst kind of degenerate? If you still don't get it, look into Greek Mythology.

Back on topic, my [Charisma]; even that 0.3 can make a difference so, yes it does matter. Now, even though it pains me to think about it, I can't simply turn away from the truth as someone who is a [Truth Seeker].

The reason why Asia just accepted my gift, was because of my [Charisma]. Damn, I sound like a narcissist right now, but it's true; it has to be, even [Instinct-chan] agrees with me.

So, I've….become the very being I swore to destroy. I have betrayed all my fellow weebs.

From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry.

.

Moving on, I should be careful from now on. Before, I was just a little above average, but now I have APP aka Attractive People Privilege, an acronym I just made up but the meaning is the same as Pretty Privilege.

(A/N: For obvious reasons, I chose not to turn that one into an acronym)

Basically, I have more influence just because I have a pretty/good-looking face. A pretty fucked up thing but it's real and you can't deny it. I have to make sure I don't abuse it or else I would really become the kind of people I despise the most.

Not saying I'm not going to use it, it's a useful asset, and useful things have to be used or else it'd be considered a waste, I will just not rely on it too much.

I've lived my entire 17 years without it so, why would I need to rely on it now? It's just completely illogical.

"What are you thinking about, Roger?" Lucia's voice pulled me from my thoughts, I guess I have been spacing out for about a minute now.

"It's just some trivial things" I shrugged.

"Hmm… This might just be me, but I feel like this thing you classify as 'trivial' would be considered otherwise by us normal folks" I thought about her words for a bit, and…

She's technically not wrong. To me, it is just a trivial thing, but if I were to talk about it to someone in this world, they would think otherwise.

"Well, you're not wrong. To me it's trivial but not to others, I guess it's about perspective" I said, gaining a nod from her.

"Yes, it's important to look at life from many perspectives, or you will be a person who is very narrowminded. Not a quality I would recommend having" Lucia has a saddened look while saying this. Although I was curious, I didn't ask about it.

"Thank you, I'll take that to heart" Just smile and evade the topic. And, right on cue, Aoi and Asia both came out of changing room together.

Lucia's expression instantly changed at the sound of the rolling curtains.

When the two came out, I was pretty mesmerized by the sight.

Asia was wearing a long-sleeve beige sweater that reaches down to cover her upper thighs, she also has a pair of black pantyhose on that hugged her legs and thighs. Then as if in a pitiful attempt to cover up, she was pulling down the hem of her sweater with a flushed face.

This is truly a blessed sight for this cultured man, I shall burn this image into my mind and cherish it for the rest of my life.

Unlike the shy and timid Asia, Aoi stood confident while wearing a two-piece light blue short-sleeve dress with black tread linings, the skirt was reasonably short and not too revealing, only showcasing a part of her thighs that were covered by a pair of fitting pantyhose much like Asia.

Just from that, you can tell who picked out what clothes.

"So, how do we look, Master~?" Aoi leaned forward with both hands behind her back, revealing some cleavage. Alright, I'm convinced she's doing this on purpose.

"Ahem, you two look very lovely and cute"

"Hehehe~" Aoi did a twirl and her skirt fluttered, and by the laws of the anime world, her skirt didn't flip over and flash me her panties.

I turn my eyes to Asia who was holding her cheeks with a deep red blush and a slight smile, seeming to be too preoccupied with something else to try her pitiful attempt at covering up again.

I take it that they're both happy with their outfit.

----------------------

A/N: So, I have decided to move the poll thing further back at the end of volume 2. This way, you will see all 6 potential haram candidates.