When Luke returned home, he had to undergo a thorough education on chastity concepts from Yerna.
However, from Luke’s perspective, it was quite an unfair situation.
In the past, when Luke had asked a question about whether he needed to wear panties since the name of this outfit was ‘pantyhose,’ he was told, “Pantyhose is not underwear, so of course, you should wear them.”
Since then, stockings had never been underwear in Luke’s mind.
Well, actually, that consciousness had always been present, so it wasn’t a problem.
But why on earth was it said that one shouldn’t take off stockings outside? Was it also considered unacceptable to take off socks outside?
Of course, he understood that showing what’s under a skirt to others was shameful, but he had no concerns in that regard. Thanks to the “Internal Protection Enchant” he had placed on his skirt, there was no way for unintended parties to see what was underneath it. No matter how strong the wind blew or how violently he moved his legs.
Moreover, at that moment, he was also wearing a coat, so there was no way he could show his underwear to others.
Rather, Luke couldn’t comprehend the chastity concepts of this age.
Honestly, when thinking logically, it didn’t make sense. Why was a shameless outfit that exposed the belly button not criticized, yet the act of removing something that wasn’t even underwear—just taking off out-of-place stockings—was condemned?
Logically, it seemed more natural to think that it was better to take them off immediately instead of enduring unnecessary gazes while wearing torn stockings.
…No matter how much Luke argued this point, he only received more scolding from Yerna.
According to Yerna, the act of putting one’s hand under a skirt outside to remove something was fundamentally problematic.
It became difficult to adhere to etiquette in strange places.
In the past, it seemed that such behavior wasn’t considered shameless at all.
In those times, both men and women would routinely wear skirts, so the thought that this action was particularly shameless never crossed anyone’s mind.
It wasn’t something done solely by women; men did it too.
Thus, making adjustments to whatever fabric or pants one was wearing underneath a skirt was completely acceptable.
Back then, weaving technology was quite poor compared to modern standards, and the commoners, who made up the majority of the population, often dealt with such inconveniences.
Moreover, the frequency of men reaching under their skirts was actually higher since their genitals were protruding from their bodies unlike women’s.
Thus, culturally, such behavior was not a major issue.
Now, it seemed that with advances in weaving technology and cultural development, perceptions had changed. Just as exposing one’s belly button was no longer viewed as shameless, it seemed that this should be accepted as a law of the current era.
“By the way, Luke, you wouldn’t do that in front of others, right?”
At Yerna’s question, Luke shook his head.
He had never had a hole in his stockings before.
In fact, there had been few times when his stockings had gotten holes, as he always shielded his body from any anticipated harm.
Rather, Luke’s stockings had suffered the most wear and tear while being washed rather than while he was wearing them.
So, it was truly rare for something like today—his stockings getting damaged while wearing them—to happen.
However, this case was a bit different.
He hadn’t expected clothing damage from that tiny puppy, and on top of that, he had been trying to avoid using unnecessary magic to maintain and stabilize the form of the sixth circle as best as possible.
Thus, in a situation where he hadn’t even considered using a shield, an unexpected incident occurred, making it a truly rare accident. Hence, there had been no natural opportunities for it to happen before.
But Luke, who had no intention of prolonging the conversation or making excuses, said nothing further.
Yerna sighed as if relieved and said, “Really? You really haven’t done anything in front of others, right?”
“Yes. I swear. That’s never happened.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
The fact that it had never happened before was indeed fortunate.
Thinking about it, Luke’s sense of chastity had been twisted from the very beginning.
If he had received any education on common sense, he would have refrained from actions like riding on a strange boy’s body or letting someone touch his chest…
This was a sensitive issue connected to Luke’s past, and he was well aware that it wouldn’t be easy to change in less than a year.
In fact, it was more worrying that he felt satisfied with just this much.
Given that, Yerna began to worry if Luke had fallen into bad ways when he was desperately trying to earn his own money in the past.
“Then, have you really not done anything unusual during this time? Like selling used underwear to someone you don’t know for an expensive price behind my back…?”
At that moment, curiosity filled Luke’s eyes upon hearing those words.
“Really? Are there people who buy used underwear for a lot of money? Why? What do they use it for?”
Seeing Luke’s reaction, Yerna slapped her forehead and reproached her own indiscretion.
“No, just forget what I said. It’s better if you haven’t done it.”
That was a catastrophic slip of the tongue.
—–
A little while later, Yerna was preparing to go out again.
“Luke, I’m going to step out for a bit.”
“Where are you going again?”
Luke tilted his head, surprised that she was planning to leave again so soon after just returning home.
She had already done some shopping on the way back, and there shouldn’t have been a reason to leave the house today.
Yerna spoke up in response.
“Yes, Sorbi and Kirke are nearby, and they want to have a meal together briefly. It’s also a bit of a personal celebration since they recently returned.”
“Is that so?”
Yerna’s welcome back celebration as the head of the Luke Forest’s forest keepers was understandable.
After all, Sorbi, Kirke, and Daphne had always been close friends with Yerna.
But thinking back, it was strange that Daphne was not attending a gathering called a celebration.
When Luke had spent time in the Luke Forest due to the Circle issue, it seemed like the three were always together.
“Um, what about Sister Daphne? Isn’t she coming?”
“She said she has a hard time coming out.”
“Is that so?”
It wasn’t unreasonable.
Daphne, who had been Yerna’s guide, must have been handling almost all the administrative tasks in Yerna’s absence.
While it was true that Daphne had been handling many administrative tasks even when Yerna was present, there was always a difference in workload.
Taking into account the absence of the most significant force, Yerna, they would have had to completely reorganize personnel distribution and paperwork simultaneously.
Moreover, since this vacation was a long one, it would have been unavoidable for a considerable amount of work to pile up.
“Oh, Luke. Would you like to come along too? It’s been a while since you’ve seen Sorbi and Kirke.”
“Um…”
Luke pondered for a moment at Yerna’s suggestion.
Now that he had moved into the forest, and since Yerna was on vacation, there was no specific reason for him to visit the Luke Forest, so naturally, he hadn’t met with the forest keepers for several months.
As a result, there had also been a long period without seeing Sorbi and Kirke.
The most recent time he had gone to the forest was when he briefly stopped by to operate a makeshift stall to gauge the market value of the revitalization berries he had developed.
But even then, he hadn’t seen Kirke or Daphne for long.
As he thought about this, Luke eventually nodded.
“Well, I think it would be fine. I’d like to hear what others think about the new clothes I bought as well.”
It was definitely better to ask many people about opinions on clothing.
Well, although the staff had chosen things according to current fashion, he couldn’t be sure if it was truly natural clothing for a variety of people.
After all, she was in a position to sell clothes and needed favorable opinions.
There was no reason for her to say anything negative.
In Yerna’s case too, she would simply say something like “Luke looks pretty in anything,” so proper evaluations couldn’t be given. The only others at home were Pyris and Dayton, who had no knowledge of fashion, and Diana, who was still too young to know much.
So, Kirke and Daphne would be able to offer proper evaluations on clothing.
Moreover, since it had also been nice to meet Lua after a long time today, it wouldn’t be bad to at least see familiar faces.
At that moment…
-Swiiiish, thud!
“Sister, are you going to have a meal again without me! So unfair!”
Pyris rushed in and clung to Luke’s leg, shouting.
Having recently played with Diana, she was upset that she had been left out of the meal and was sulking, and now her sister was planning to go out again without her.
“Ugh, Pyris. Get down. I didn’t go out to eat without you!”
But it was quite an unfair accusation to Luke.
Pyris had clung to him after smelling the jerky scent that was coming from him, but that was something he had eaten for Denny’s snack.
…Although he nearly put it in his mouth thinking it was meant for him when Lua had handed it to Denny.
But to Pyris, such an explanation would sound like just an excuse.
Pyris tightened her grip on Luke’s leg and yelled, “Liar! How could you have gotten your legs so chubby if you didn’t eat a lot while I was gone!”
Luke reacted with disbelief.
“What? W-What do you mean? I haven’t gained weight!”
His legs hadn’t gotten chubby due to him gaining weight, but because he was wearing thick stockings that were preventing the fabric from easily slipping out.
Even if that was not the case and he had really gained weight, it was just that his thighs had developed due to growth, not because of excess fat.
“Anyway, get down! You’re wrinkling my skirt!”
But Pyris shook her head and shouted.
“I don’t want to! Take me with you! This time I’ll eat too!”
“Pyris, give it up! If you start eating out, the costs will be really unmanageable!”
“But you eat as much as I do!”
“No, this brat…”
And at that moment, Yerna, who had been quietly observing, spoke up.
“Hey, Pyris, were you really that upset that I took only your sister with me?”
Pyris nodded vigorously and shot a resentful look at Yerna.
“Yes! It’s so unfair! How can you leave me out like that! I was hurt! I felt lonely! How could you do that!”
Yerna, looking troubled, continued speaking.
“I’m sorry. I thought if you were really lonely, you could just turn into a spirit and come find your sister anytime.”
“…”
Pyris suddenly looked shocked, as if she had completely forgotten that she could do that.
Luke gazed at Pyris with a look of incredulity.
“…You didn’t really forget that you’re a spirit, did you?”
“…”
The rigid expression on Pyris’s face convinced Luke.
It seemed that spirits who had been so immersed in having a physical form and living had truly forgotten what they could do as spirits.
“Wow, that’s surprising…”
It was quite ridiculous.
Was a spirit so engrossed in their body?
