Chapter 24: Why… this?

The system store Melody drove us to was one that her family owned, simply named Celestria. Once we entered the giant three-story glass building with Silvia, Melody explained, “This store is where all the excess from our guild goes.”

Looking around, the store was huge, and filled with no shelves. Instead, most items, especially weapons, were either on racks or hung from those boards with holes in them, whatever they're called. The center of the first floor was filled with glass display cases protecting whatever items they sell here. Taking in the scale of the operation, I asked, “How do you have enough excess to fill a store?”

While we headed toward an elevator, right to the left of the entrance, Silvia replied, “They don't.”

“Other guilds sell items to us too,” Melody elaborated, sensing my confusion. So they’re basically a reseller. Smaller guilds need quick cash, sell, then Celestria prices items normally and waits for them to sell. The magic of having capital.

“Still seems like a lot, though.” This is just one store in one city. Three floors of merchandise? Some items like the weapons are manufactured, but others, like artifacts, can't be made. They are found during dungeon raids. It shouldn’t be possible to fill a store so easily.

“Prices are set so we always have full stock, people will buy when they need something.” That sounds like a terrible business strategy. But what would I know?

We entered the elevator and Silvia tapped the touchscreen controller, sending us to the third floor. After the short ride, we exited the compartment and Melody asked, “Where to?”

“Back there,” Silvia replied, pointing toward the far right corner of the store. Also, why didn’t we use the elevators on the right side of the store? It would’ve saved like ten minutes.

We walked toward the corner, weaving between the shelves, yes, shelves. This floor was designed more like a traditional store, with rows of items on display. Looking around, most of the items here were manufactured goods, just not weapons. The items were all system enhanced in some form or another and I saw some flashlights labeled as ‘invisible.’ No clue how that works.

Eventually, we arrived in the corner of the store, and Silvia went off on her own, picking items left and right, while Melody and I stood there.

“Should we grab a cart?” Melody asked, looking toward Silvia’s arms already filled with five boxes and still grabbing more.

She didn’t take notice, but I voiced my agreement. “Yeah…”

We definitely need a cart.

After Melody left to go grab one, Silvia turned to me realizing she couldn’t carry everything. After we stared at each other for a little, she blushed. She’s pretty cute. Blushing with her arms each holding a stack of boxes.

Silvia acts quite childish at times. She loves cute animal designs, which I do too, but I don’t flaunt it as much. She got so immersed in choosing out items as if she was in a toy store… and then when she turned to me, realizing she couldn’t carry everything, she didn’t ask for help or a cart. She just caved in, her cheeks turning rosy, as she tried to hide from the awkwardness. And yet, it’s all hidden behind her quiet demeanor.

“Melody’s getting a cart.” Silvia’s shoulders relaxed after hearing my words, and she set the boxes down, making a few stacks on the floor. Then she went straight back to the shelves, grabbing whatever captured her interest.

Some time later, Melody reappeared by my side, and we helped Silvia load all her boxes into the shopping cart. There were a total of twenty-two of varying sizes. Somehow, Silvia managed to be stubborn enough on this purchase that Melody actually conceded and let her pay the whopping two hundred eighty-seven credits.

Silvia had to leave after that. However, Melody and I did not, prompting her to ask. “Do you want to look around here?”

To no one’s surprise, my response was a weak, “Yeah.”

Surely there’s something that can help my abilities… yeah I don’t know.

We went up to the third floor again since according to my assumptions the first floor was for combat, the second defense, and the third support. Arriving at the top once again, we went toward the left side of the floor, which wasn’t all shelves, and had some white display cases with the fancier stuff in them. The first price tag I looked at was three thousand credits. What the fuck?

It looks like a damn rock. The rock was labeled “Mana Coagulation Artifact.” Does it make mana solid? “Why is this a thing?”

Melody shrugged. “It’s probably useful for some obscure ability somewhere.”

“But how would anyone afford that?” A B tier might be able to get that many credits after saving up for a while? Maybe? But definitely not C or D.

Once again, Melody shrugged, and we moved onto the next item in the row. This one actually might help my healing abilities, it was an “Ability Rate Enhancer.” The object was a small crystal gem that would supposedly slot into a necklace or bracelet. Its function was an increase in consumption and effect speed for whatever ability is used, but it also increased the cost of the ability, and had a limited number of uses.

The limited use was still five thousand, but it did seem to have a lot of downsides. A three times consumption rate for a fifty percent increase in effect speed. So I’d be able to heal… three health at a cost of three health… that’s not that bad. It sounded worse than that, I guess it is since my default rate is two to one, but in a pinch it could be helpful.

Except for the price. Forty-five hundred credits? No thanks.

The rest of the store was mostly the same, there were a few good items, but everything was way too expensive for right now. I’m sure Melody would pay for anything I grab, but I don’t want to abuse her. There is no way I’m letting her pay for anything more than like five credits… unless she… lets me… orgasm… or something…

Melody and I left the store and moved on to our next destination. Silvia said she’d drop off all our other items at our dorm for us so we had plenty of room to buy whatever small trinkets Melody would manage to find.

Initially, I thought we’d go to a car dealership first, since Melody did say she’d help me find a car… but we drove past all the ones I knew of. And ended up… pretty far from the city center. Like thirty minutes away. “Where the hell are we going?”

“A very special store,” Melody replied without looking at me, which is good since she was driving.

“Why won't you tell me?” Just tell me already! We're not going to some place I hate, right? What would I even hate? It's just a store. How bad can it be?

“We’re almost there. Patience, young one.” Shut up. Dumb dumb. I am patient, but thirty minutes driving to the middle of nowhere? How am I not supposed to be curious?

Melody refused to tell me. I realized why the moment we entered the parking lot. It’s a fucking sex toy store. Melody was onto the cosplay portion of our list.

“Why are we here!?” I whined as Melody opened her door, then walked around to open mine like usual.

“Because kitties need toys to play with.” Oh my god, Melody. I need to cum… I don’t need more things to make me horny! Melody tugged my hand and began heading toward the medium-sized one-story building. “Come on.”

I always wondered how stores like these manage to have physical locations, but there were a handful of cars in the parking lot. Not many, but enough to make it seem feasible. Walking into the building, it looked like a fairly normal store. Minus the sex toy part.

Right at the entrance there was a mannequin wearing lace stockings, a garter belt, a strappy bra that isn’t a bra at all, more like an outline of a bra, and nothing else. It was a mannequin though, so it didn’t look very realistic. The nipples and vagina didn’t exist. Sad.

Melody dragged me over to a shelf, and… “Choose one.”

It was full of leashes. There was also one other person there. You know, this aisle felt like a pet shop.

How the fuck do I choose one?!

There was a whole array of colors for both leather and fabric leashes, and then some not-really-leash leashes that were just unfurled ropes of various sizes. I don’t even know where to begin. All I could think of was crawling on the floor behind Melody while she dragged me along with a leash… any leash.

I guess I should just pick something pink. A pink leather leash. I grabbed the first one I could find, which was… a couple meters long? The texture felt like leather. Like a leather belt. Oh, god. Will Melody whip me with this? Maybe I should choose a softer fabric… would that even help?

Eek. I should’ve paid more attention in school! If they ever taught… uh… materials? It was probably in some science class somewhere…

Okay, whatever. Let’s just go with this. I grabbed the leash and walked over to Melody, presenting it to her with my palms up.

Melody smiled, then grabbed the leash… and thank fuck. I really thought she would clip me then and there… in public… in a sex toy shop. I do not want to walk around leashed in a sex toy store. That’s like begging for attention… bad attention.

Holding the leash in her hand, Melody took my hand again and led me to a different aisle, once more asking, “Choose one.”

There were cat ears. Why is this even in a sex store? It’s nothing sexual, just cat ears! Ugh… kill me… I guess pink ears would match the theme? Actually… Melody likes black. And it’s a good contrast with pink. And it matches my hair. Yea, I’ll grab black cat ears.

I brought them over to Melody and she grinned at me, thankfully, she didn’t make we wear them either… although I kind of want to. Cat ears are… more normal than a leash… and cute… and I’m too horny.

As I was suffering, Melody once more brought me to a different aisle. This time, with a lovely invention known as a butt plug. Ugh… she’s not going to make me choose is she? I don’t know how big my… butt hole is… I can’t stop thinking of Melody cramming shit up my ass! Dumb stupid brain, stop stop stop. I need to be serious…

In a sex toy store. Yeah, serious isn’t going to be possible.

Melody walked through the aisle, dragging me along, before stopping in front of some black tail plugs. “I guess we should buy one of each size. So you can practice.”

“Uh…” How the hell do I respond? Melody wants to make my ass bigger… little by little… if that even works. “...okay.”

What am I doing?

Melody grabbed one of every black tail plug in sight, her hands were starting to get full, so she handed all the plugs to me. Thank you, Melody. I love carrying butt plugs around. And I can’t stop imagining you cramming the biggest one into my tiny hole…

The next stop was a bunch of blindfolds, then a host of gags from ball gags to ring gags to dildo gags. Will that stuff even fit in my mouth? Why are we buying so much?! Finally, we stopped by our final aisle, vibrators.

My arms were filled with all the items Melody had grabbed, so she took charge of choosing the vibrators. Melody basically bought every single pink one she could find. From small ones, to eggs, to dildos, to like fricken toothbrush things to I don’t even know what else. And finally, we walked to the counter to pay for all this crap.

As we placed all the items on the counter, Melody whispered into my ear, “Since you’ve been begging all day, I’ll let you pay for these.”

Seriously?