Belle still looked a little worried. Unlike Ellen, she didn't possess that kind of physical stamina, and with Wise's size and strength, she would almost certainly end up injured.
"In that case, let's extend the payment deadline a bit."
Wise chose to be lenient. Even though he had ways to heal her afterward, he wasn't the kind of person who would push someone if it meant injuring them.
Hearing that, Belle finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, Fairy, who had been standing nearby the whole time, suddenly raised her tiny hand.
|"If Assistant No. 2 is unable to perform the task, I can take her place, Master."|
Fairy's current body had been obtained through a system reward. It was even sturdier than Qingyi's, so there was no need to worry about those kinds of issues.
For the time being, the matter was set aside.
<<>>
A few days later, Lucy arrived at the video store looking thoroughly annoyed.
She was holding a videotape in one hand, and when Wise walked over to ask what had happened, she didn't bother hiding it.
"Yesterday, while I was on vacation, Caesar and Burnice made some ridiculous bet. I seriously don't understand what goes through their heads. How do you even manage to punch a hole through a TV screen?"
'...Maybe they were betting on whether you'd lose your temper when you saw it.'
Wise kept that thought to himself. Instead, he calmly tried to comfort her.
"Since you're already here, why not watch the tape at the store?" he suggested.
"If it won't get in the way of business... then sure. Thanks."
Lucy accepted the invitation, and the two of them ended up watching a heartwarming animated movie called "The Karl Family" together in the video store.
As the film played, Wise caught a faint trace of nostalgia in Lucy's expression.
"The Bangboo in the story... really grew up."
Lucy spoke softly, almost absentmindedly, but Wise still caught every word from beside her.
The nostalgic note in her voice immediately piqued his curiosity.
"Did you watch 'The Karl Family' a lot when you were younger too?"
"Yeah. Is that weird? It's a long-running series. Pretty much every kid in New Eridu grew up watching it."
As she spoke, the nostalgic look in Lucy's eyes deepened slightly.
"When I was little, I used to think the story was stupid and unrealistic. Like, how could there possibly be a dad dumb enough to abandon an important company project just to stay by his kid's side at summer camp?"
Back then, she simply couldn't understand something like that.
Just like she couldn't imagine herself riding motorcycles around the outskirts of the city with people she'd only met through charity galas.
"Well, if you want, I could take you out for a ride sometime."
"...I-I don't want to end up like that goofy Bangboo from 'The Karl Family,' bobbing my head around while singing old songs in your car."
Lucy paused for a moment before hurriedly adding,
"And if we're going riding, it'll be on my motorcycle!"
She tried to sound stubborn about it, but the truth was obvious.
In truth, she really wanted to go.
Wise didn't call out her obvious tsundere behavior. Instead, he simply nodded and put on a deliberately thoughtful expression.
"Alright then. But if that's the case, I'll probably have to hold onto you."
"W-What? H-Hold onto me?!"
The moment she heard those words, Lucy instinctively imagined the scene in her head: her driving in front while Wise wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
The clearer the image became in her mind, the hotter her face grew. In the end, she couldn't help lowering her head slightly.
Meanwhile, Wise continued as though he hadn't noticed her reaction at all.
"So... are we going or not?"
"Go? O-Of course we're going. I've already agreed, haven't I? Besides, it's just holding my waist. As long as you don't start touching random places, it's... it's not a big deal."
Lucy tried her best to sound calm and indifferent, but the blush spreading across her cheeks and the slight tremble in her voice betrayed her completely.
Before long, the two arrived at the parking lot behind the video store, where Lucy's motorcycle was parked.
"Alright, hurry up and get on. And hold tight, okay? Don't blame me if I accidentally throw you off later."
Lucy climbed onto the motorcycle first and gave her warning without turning around. Though she tried to sound confident, it only made her nerves more obvious.
"Okay, I'm getting on. Lucy, be ready."
"Mm, I'm ready, so just... Wait! Don't trick me into saying weird things!"
Lucy immediately realized what she had just said and hurriedly tried to turn around and glare at him.
Unfortunately for her, Wise had already climbed onto the motorcycle.
A second later, his arms slid around her waist from both sides, his hands gently resting against her lower abdomen.
Her waist was slimmer than he had expected. Combined with the softness of her skin and the firmness beneath it, the sensation against his palms was unexpectedly pleasant.
And the instant his hands touched her, Lucy's abdomen visibly tensed.
"Nervous?" Wise asked casually.
"N-No! Why would I be nervous? Even if this is my first time carrying someone, there's no way I'd get nervous! You should be the nervous one instead! I'm about to start driving, so... so keep your hands where they are."
Lucy deliberately emphasized the last sentence. She was terrified that if Wise actually started messing around, she'd lose focus while driving.
Even now, simply feeling the warmth of his hands against her stomach was enough to throw her thoughts into complete disarray.
As the motorcycle left the city streets behind, Lucy gradually picked up speed.
Still, for Wise, who had once traveled at terrifying speeds out of necessity, this level of acceleration barely felt intense.
Even so, almost instinctively, he tightened his hold around her waist slightly.
The moment he did, the motorcycle visibly swayed.
Lucy quickly steadied the bike before immediately slowing down. Without turning around, she spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Didn't we agree you wouldn't move around?"
"Sorry. The sudden acceleration caught me off guard a little."
Wise looked genuinely embarrassed. His reflexive reaction had clearly startled her.
Lucy, however, sounded more surprised than annoyed.
"Huh? I didn't think that would scare you. Well... fine, then. I won't blame you for it. If you need to, you can hold on tighter."
She genuinely hadn't expected someone as strong as Wise, whose physical ability rivaled Caesar's, to struggle with that kind of speed.
'No helping it. I guess I'll have to protect him a little.'
Thinking that to herself, Lucy unconsciously slowed the motorcycle down even more.
Partway through the ride, Wise suddenly spoke up.
"Can I try driving for a bit?"
Lucy blinked in surprise and asked, "You know how to ride a motorcycle?"
"Mm."
Seeing the confidence in his expression, Lucy eventually agreed and pulled over somewhere safe.
"Just be careful."
Even after watching Wise mount the motorcycle with smooth, practiced movements, she still couldn't help reminding him.
Once he settled into the driver's seat, Lucy climbed on behind him.
She hesitated briefly. But in the end, she still reached forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, just like he had done to her earlier.
Her hands rested lightly against his abdomen.
'Hmm... Wise's body is actually really nice...'
The thought slipped into her mind before she had the chance to stop it.
'W-Wait, what am I even thinking?! Forget it! Forget it right now!'
Even as panic flared inside her, her fingers continued to brush lightly across his abdomen without conscious thought.
+- - -+
-[ AD ]-
+- - -+
+- - -+
Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
+- - -+
✨ 40+ Advance Chapters • Early Access ✨
📚 Read Ahead Here:
[- p - a - t - r - e - o - n . com / DysFiction -]
💖 Enjoying the Story? Support My Work:
[ ko - fi . com / dysfiction ]
+- - -+
📖 Available Novels
🔹 Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
↳ (Translation)
🔹 Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives!
↳ (Translation)
🔹 Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White
↳ (Original Story — Exclusive Until Chapter 30)
+- - -+