Bonus Chapter 2: Competition on the Same Level

Bonus Chapter 2:
Competition on the Same Level

 

“OH NO, DON’T, this is so embarrassing. Completely embarrassing, infinitely embarassiiiiiiing!”

Filia’s voice went on and on inside the room. Filia had uttered the word “embarrassed” like a million times already and just kept repeating it. I didn’t get it at all.

Actually, it was a little scary.

“I’m so embarrassed! I’m so embarraaaaaaassed!”

Filia stopped walking aimlessly back and forth in the room only to approach me.

“Yuri,” Filia announced, “I! Am embarrassed now.”

“Okay, what’s the matter with you all of the sudden? Is your head okay?” Had she finally lost her mind? I was getting worried.

Filia opened her palm and extended her arm. “Yuri, here! Behold!”

“Hm? What’s with this? What are you doing with your hand?”

“You must pay the embarrassment fee.”

“The…the what?”

I’d never heard of an embarrassment fee before. But Filia just brimmed with self-confidence there, standing tall in front of me.

“You don’t get to see the embarrassed face of a gorgeous girl—such as yours truly—very often. In a way, I’ve provided you with a rare service. In exchange, I demand fair wages, Yuri!”

Whoa. Her mind was a real twisty place, wasn’t it? But then again… “By that logic, you gotta pay me a muscle fee. I mean, you rarely get to see such marvelous muscles, right?”

I released my muscles and upon my command every muscle in my body—my beautiful fleshy armor—bulged and swelled. Mmhm. What wonderful allure. These muscles really just felt like muscles.

“Ha, what a—oh dear, are you serious? How sad! Why would I pay a muscle fee, Yuri? I mean really, you just show off your body to me alllll the time, and now you have the audacity to ask me for money? You’re either crazy or you think I am.”

That wasn’t exactly something I wanted to hear her say when she was the one asking for an embarrassment fee.

“Honestly, I think you are. Here, you can have your words back,” I said.

“Oh, but you can’t! No returns, no refunds.”

“What? Take them back.”

“I can barely hear you, Yuri! Look, I’ve put up a barrier. Everything’s muffled! Blah, blah, blah, muscles. It sounds like that’s what you’re saying.” Filia spread both of her arms out wide.

A barrier? Ha! How naïve!

“Barrier? My muscle magic will smash through!”

My muscle magic couldn’t be fended off by something as uncool as a barrier or whatever! But Filia didn’t look the least bit worried.

“Oh ho ho, you’re wasting your time! Why’s that, you wonder? Because this is a muscle-magic-nullifying barrier!” she said, cackling like a witch.

“Isn’t that unfair? Damn it! Well then, if that’s the way you want it…” I took a deep breath. “Then I’ll just have to use my muscle-magic-nullifying-barrier-nullifying muscle magic!”

“Your what? Okay then, fine! I’ll just have to use my muscle-magic-nullifying-barrier-nullifying-muscle-magic-nullifying-barrier-nullifying—”

This continued for a while. It was not a good use of our time.