Chapter 257 The Date Continues

"How fascinating… So the smell of cookies can get someone to become like this…"

"No, no… I can assure you that this is unique to her… Don't take her reaction as something normal."

"Hmm… I see, I see. So such cases exist as well."

I think I heard Lisa and the stall owner saying something but I was too absorbed in the cookies Katsuki had brought for me to notice.

"Mistress, this one is made using frozen strawberry bits baked into the dough, please give it a try."

Katsuki presented a piece of the cookie to me.

"Ahhh~ So sweet~ Nom~"

This is bliss~

"Mistress, please try this one as well, this one has honey on it."

Ehehe~ It's even nicer that Katsuki's feeding me the cookies~ Nom~

"How fascinating indeed… Forgive me, miss maid… But could I--"

"Touch any of the cookies and I'm afraid I cannot guarantee that hand of yours could be used anymore."

"Oh my. I see, please forgive my rudeness and continue."

"Mistress. This one is made with vanilla cream with bits of chocolate chips."

Ahhhh~ I can certainly taste the sweet blend of it~ Nom~

Mmm… Did Katsuki say something to the stall owner just now? Eh… It must not have been important.

Ehehe~ Cookies~

Nom~ Nom~

Unfortunately, all the cookies were finished all too soon…

I looked up at my audience after I had finished licking off the bits of cookie crumbs on my fingers, only to see Lisa, Katsuki and Yui staring at me intently.

"What? Do I still have crumbs on my face?" I asked.

"Mnn… Please hold still, Mistress," Katsuki requested, taking out a handkerchief to wipe at my mouth.

I bent down slightly to give her easier access to me, seeing that I was still taller than her.

Yui seemed to look at Katsuki thoughtfully, "Could it be… Oh? I see, I see. This is really interesting~ It seems like I've gotten quite a lot of research materials today!"

Lisa gave her a look, "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just talking to myself. Speaking of which, would you like to purchase any of my perfumes for yourselves?"

That reminds me… Those bottles of perfume displayed on the counter were actual legitimate perfumes and not the enchanted ones, which means this woman was actually a skilled perfumer as well and not just relying on her enchantment skill to create them.

"That's something I wanted to ask as well. Since you've got that enchanted bottle, why do you still bother making those perfumes too?" I asked.

She smiled at me, "I'm sure your companion over there knows the feeling of surrounding yourself with a scent that you like, yes?"

I realised she was talking about Katsuki and I turned to look at my maid, only to see her staring at the stall owner with an expressionless face.

"Do not presume to know me when this is the first time we've met."

"Ahahaha, my apologies. Ahem, in that case, allow me to explain that as Inugamis, our sense of smell is quite sensitive you see. Thus, I realised that it was also quite profitable of me to use that skill to find and make scents that other races have trouble blending together to create my own specialty perfumes. Not to mention, this also helps me further my research and also allows me to create scents that I would like to surround myself with as well. Plus, this actually helps me learn alchemy too, so there's no cons to that, is there?"

I turned to Lisa who was the better alchemist and more widely travelled amongst the three of us to gauge her reaction.

The Infrid actually smiled at her, "Ehehe~ I see you're also interested in alchemy! Isn't it an interesting study?"

"Oh it certainly is! Before this I've only been interested in enchantments but now that I know that alchemy is also just as diverse, I regretted not learning about it sooner!"

Huh, I didn't know Lisa was that passionate about alchemy…

Lisa then picked up a few of the bottles from the counter and left a stack of coins in their place, "In that case, I shall take these."

Yui raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you not going to test them first? I have some samples over here."

The Infrid shook her head, "Oh no need, I've already gone through them while you were distracted with watching my… Ehehehe… My soulmate eat her cookies~"

"Wait what? I didn't even… Ah… I see. I shall pay more attention in the future, thank you for that."

Eh? What's with that conversation?

"Miss Lisa is informing her that she was so distracted with us that she had the time to rummage through her belongings, Mistress," Katsuki explained to me helpfully.

Ah…

Lisa waved at Yui nonchalantly, "Kukuku~ No need for thanks~ In that case, we shall take our leave."

"Yes, thank you for your patronage."

Lisa then took me by the hand and brought me away from the stall, a relatively smug look plastered on her face.

I thought that she would be guiding me back to the main street of the city but she suddenly stopped right before it and pulled me towards the side, planting me against the wall of the building beside the street.

"Lisa?" I asked, wondering what she was trying to do.

"Ehehe~ Sorry, but let me try and put this on you~ That woman is right about wanting to surround yourself with the scent you like though~"

She pulled out one of the bottles she had bought from Yui and uncapped it, allowing a fragrant scent to waft from the opening and tickling my nose.

The smell reminded me of light summer rain in an open field in the middle of the day, giving me a warm and calming feeling.

She let a drop of it drip on each of her arms near her wrists before handing the bottles to Katsuki, my maid receiving them as though already expecting such a thing to happen.

Lisa then reached up to me as though for a hug, except she wasn't going for one but instead, she was applying the perfume on my neck and behind my ears.

She then pulled back and nodded at me, satisfied.

I was just about to ask her what she did that for when she actually reached forward for a hug this time, pulling me in while her arms wrapped around my back. I felt her breathe in deeply as her nose pressed itself against my neck, sending a shiver down my spine as her breath tickled me.

"Nngghh~ You smell so nice, Aster… It makes me feel all tingly down there~ If you want to… We can find somewhere to have sex if you want~" She whispered sultrily in my ear.

She pulled away just as quickly as she had hugged me, giving me a coy smile to let me know that she was serious about her proposal just now.

Umm… I'll just pretend like I didn't hear anything for now…

Lisa then turned to Katsuki, "What do you think, Katsuki? Doesn't Aster smell nice now?"

Katsuki did not even hesitate in her answer, "Mistress always smells nice, Miss Lisa."

"Oh but you can't deny the fact that it adds more to her charm, yes?"

"I suppose you can see it that way, or in this case… Smell."

"Kukuku~ In that case, we can't stop here! We need to make you even prettier, Aster! Let's find some clothes for you!!"

She then dragged me out onto the main street before heading in the direction of the restaurant we had eaten at yesterday.

I remembered we had passed by several boutiques while we were headed there yesterday so I'm pretty sure that was her aim.

As we reached that particular part of the street, Lisa suddenly stopped at a particular store that had white roman columns decorating its store front.

She was looking at the store with a rather intense gaze, something that went beyond simply trying to decide if this store was suitable for us to be shopping at.

My Infrid then seemed to make up her mind and guided me towards the store, stepping inside without hesitation.

The store was clearly there to serve higher class clientele seeing that everyone was dressed immaculately with their expensive dresses and suits. Not to mention the fact that the ladies were all adorned with various pieces of jewellery that were no doubt worth a lot more money than what a commoner family might earn in a year.

That meant that compared to everyone else inside the shop, the three of us really stood out like a sore thumb.

Actually, that was incorrect because quite a number of the customers also brought along their own servants so Katsuki actually fit right in. It was just myself and Lisa who didn't look like we belonged here.

Now, my dress was by no means cheap, but unless you knew about its value or at least spent some time scrutinising it, it would appear like a normal everyday dress instead of the enchanted piece of clothing it actually was.

Even though this dress might be passable as everyday wear for a noble, the people in here were dressed like they were attending a ball or something.

Plus the fact that I had this dress altered to be more practical than showy… It made me look as though I was simply some clueless person who wandered into a place she did not belong.

Thus, it wasn't a surprise that the staff inside the shop paid no attention to us even though it was clear that the store had a staff attending to every group of customer within the shop. No doubt all of them thought we did not have the financial ability to afford anything inside the shop.

I don't blame them either, especially since I did not even know whether I could afford anything here either.

But apparently, that sentiment was not shared by my companion here.

"Hey?! We're waiting here!!" Lisa called out to the idle staff, visibly displeased and causing everyone in the shop to look in our direction.

Eh? I never thought I would see Lisa act out like this… What's going on?