I, Viretta, Am Going to Hunt a Dragon

She wasn’t naked, but she was wearing a moderately long camisole, but this was still embarrassing enough.

Even though her thin camisole was already wet, it was difficult to comfortably expose her body.

Biretta crouched down in front of the campfire.

“Ugh… … .”

She was embarrassed to have exposed all her limbs.

But what was most embarrassing was that Iola’s body was right in front of her.

The moderately sized flames were dim and dizzy, but she could still see clearly.

Iola squeezed the moisture out of Viretta’s clothes and warmed herself in front of the fire.

The clothes were drying out little by little, and her cold body felt warm.

She was extremely embarrassed, but she couldn’t leave the campfire after warming herself up.

Even just turning her back made her cold, so she had to turn around again. Viretta couldn’t overcome the awkward atmosphere and fanned herself with her hand.

On the other hand, Iola was calm from the beginning to the end. Viretta, who couldn’t find where to look, straightened her chest a little.

“Iola-san.”

“Yes.”

“Are you okay?”

“In this situation?” she asked with her eyes.

Whether or not she understood what Viretta was saying with her eyes, Iola looked straight into Biretta’s eyes.

It was somehow embarrassing that their gazes met.

Iola opened her eyes wide as she saw Viretta’s cheeks turn red not with heat but with emotion, and her pupils roll around to avoid him.

He nodded as if he barely understood Viretta’s feelings.

“I see. Even if you’re my fiancé, it wouldn’t be a good situation if you think about your future.”

“Yes.”

“Even if you had circumstances, it wouldn’t be easy for others to understand the situation of you sitting around a campfire in your underwear.”

He didn’t want to hear such a logical explanation, but it was also difficult to deny it. Viretta nodded vaguely.

“I think it’s a medical procedure, but if you’re concerned, I’ll take responsibility.”

“I, really?”

The words “I’ll take responsibility” in a half-naked situation were heavy and thrilling.

Combined with the serious expression on Iola’s face, Viretta’s heart suddenly began to pound.

Iola neatly brushed her wet bangs back. The sight of her forehead exposed gave her a refined charm that caught Viretta’s attention.

“I’ll take responsibility and get a medical degree. Just wait three years.”

“Huh?! Why?”

“If I get a degree, this will also become a formal medical procedure.”

However, even his way of taking responsibility was different.

Viretta looked at Iola, who was good at breaking the mood, with narrow eyes.

She didn’t want to go as far as to say she was glaring, but she couldn’t help but feel a dark emotion.

She grumbled, her cheeks puffing out in discontent.

“I’m really confused. You want to get a medical degree? No one takes responsibility like that.”

“Is that so? I thought it was the best way.”

If you really think that way, it’s not a universal human thought.

However, Viretta also failed to cultivate common sense. She put her hand on her heart after hearing Iola’s confident words.

“I’m touched that you’re willing to spend four years for me… … but there’s an easier way. It’s usually dating or marriage.”

“Why?”

“Well, since you showed this kind of behavior… …? Isn’t that how it is in Saha?”

Biretta tilted her head, not expecting to hear the question, “Why?”

Iola was so calm and confident that even her common sense was shaken.

If you happened to see a refined lady’s naked body, then it would naturally be dating or marriage if you took responsibility for it.

It may be an old custom, but that was all Viretta knew about responsibility.

I thought, “Could it be that it’s not Saha?” but surprisingly, that was the right answer. Iola made a face as if she had been hit.

“… … ! I see. Ms. Viretta is a Filionian. I knew there were cultural differences, but I was mistaken. Will you forgive me?”

“It’s not difficult.”

Biretta, who put her hands on her waist and puffed out her chest, hurriedly realized her situation and crouched down.

The thin camisole in front of the fire was too revealing.

Iola calmly looked at Viretta, who was hastily covering her body.

Her face, which had been slightly excited when their bodies were close, was now as natural as looking at ordinary clothes.

“If a man in Saha says he’ll take responsibility for a woman’s body after seeing her, he’ll be treated like a crazy person.”

“Why?! That’s too much!”

“The part where it says a man takes responsibility for a woman is fundamentally wrong.”

“… … ?”

Isn’t that too harsh?

Biretta, who rested her chin on her tightly clasped knees, blinked and waited for Iola’s explanation.

“In Filion and other countries, the subject of marriage is the man, but in Saha, it’s the opposite.”

“Oh, the opposite?”

“In Saha, women are not beings that men can take responsibility for. We are responsible… More precisely, the right to decide on marriage belongs to women.”

Viretta took the wet clothes from Iola and covered her body.

She held the clothes with both arms and warmed them, so the clothes were dry and her body was half-covered, which made her feel better.

She listened to Iola’s story with a much more relaxed mood. It was difficult from the beginning, so she didn’t understand it well, but she liked the bright expression on Iola’s face as she talked about Saha.

“Can’t a man refuse a woman he’s going to marry?”

So did Iola decide to marry her?

When she asked the question that came to mind, Iola shook her head.

“Of course not. There are some who marry politically like me, but usually they choose the woman they marry. The same goes for women in Philian. Whether they marry for love or for conditions, it reflects their own will.”

“Um, that’s right. You can’t force them to marry.”

There are no laws in Philian that force marriage, and there are no customs that force marriage.

Marriage is always a matter of mutual agreement.

There are some who marry because they have a lot of debt or because their family is poor, but that is a matter of circumstance, not an institutional problem.

Even such people can run away before the wedding like VIretta or decide to live in poverty.

“However, in reality, one side has more power to decide. Philian marriage is usually when the woman moves into the man’s house. Since the husband’s labor and financial power are usually high in a household, marriage is when the man takes the woman he likes and lives with her.”

Of course, this is only if the woman accepts the proposal, he added.

“Since bloodline and property are inherited through the patrilineal line, the man takes the lead in marriage. So the idea of ​​‘taking responsibility and paying back’ the value that he has damaged is also possible.”

“Isn’t Saha the opposite?”

“Yes. Saha is a matriarchal society. Bloodline and property are inherited through the matrilineal line. So you can’t say ‘taking responsibility’ just because you showed your body a little bit as if you were bestowing a favor.”

“Then isn’t the woman at a disadvantage?”

It was difficult for Viretta, who had only lived in Philian, to understand Saha’s culture.

Even though Iola was explaining it with gestures, it wasn’t easy to understand.

“Should we say that there is nothing to take responsibility for in the first place? Should we say that responsibility is something that the woman takes? This part needs a little more in-depth research, but saying ‘taking responsibility’ just because you showed your body is presumptuous.”

She still didn’t understand. Viretta’s eyes rolled around.

Iola, who had sensed that she didn’t understand, smiled gently.

He had forgotten that he had just been caught by a dragon and was flying through the sky, and he had become bright.

“That’s why Saha women don’t desperately cover their bodies like Filion women do. Exposing arms and legs like this is nothing special in Saha. It’s even worse in Najin.”

“Ah~ I see! You’ve seen a lot of naked women like this?”

Viretta, who had only heard the last sentence like a ghost, clapped her hands.

When she laughed bashfully, saying, “If it’s not a big deal, then just say it’s not a big deal,” Iola responded with a cheerful laugh.

“You didn’t understand at all.”

“No, I did! Saha usually has the women decide on marriage, so you’re saying that Filion men walk around naked like that?”

“Still, you’re half right. Your future is bright.”

“So, what you’re saying is that even if I wear a short camisole like this and show my skin, I don’t feel any emotions, so don’t be embarrassed and rest assured, right?”

In short, the direction is problematic, but isn’t it a kind of comfort?

For example, ‘Hey, everyone wears short clothes like this these days. I told you this is the latest fashion?’

Finally understanding Iola’s words, Viretta nodded her head involuntarily, her heart slightly relieved.

Iola chewed on her words and then threw a bombshell.

“No. I feel a great deal of emotion, but I’m saying that it’s not something you should feel embarrassed or guilty about, Viretta.”