10 Apparently, your personality shows when you eat
Somehow, we managed to resolve Noëlle's concerns.
Of course, it wasn't as if I'd used my own body to change her physical attributes.
Simply put, she seemed to have accepted that she could create an eroge while remaining a virgin.
The way she drops bombshells with a totally straight face is terrifying...
Anyway, I needed to revise the proposal, work on the character designs, and create image boards using the footage she just took—
Which meant I had a ton of work to do. If we were aiming to finish this in three months, we seriously couldn't waste a single day.
Noëlle was also typing away on her laptop, drafting the plot while referencing the proposal.
"How's it going, Noëlle?" I asked, checking in on her. "If the plot is too much, I can help out."
"I'm fine," Noëlle replied without missing a beat. "You already helped me with the common route, and I'm half-done with the individual one."
"Got it," I nodded.
Considering our timeframe, we'd decided on a structure with a common route and a single heroine's individual route.
A commercial eroge usually had anywhere from three to five individual routes, but producing that kind of volume with just the two of us would be rough even if we had a whole year.
Besides, we could always create stories for other heroines as additional routes after the game was finished.
"I've finished the event CG specifications on my end too," I told her. "Make sure you look over those as well."
"I just remembered!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"Huh?" I jumped slightly.
Noëlle abruptly slammed her hands on the desk and stood up.
When a switch flips in her head out of nowhere, it's seriously scary.
"I know I left the CG eventspecifications entirely up to you, so I shouldn't be complaining, but..." Noëlle hesitated slightly. "May I say one thing?"
"O-Oh, is it a retake?" I stammered, caught off guard. "That's completely fine. Don't hold back."
After all, it was just the two of us working as the main staff.
Not giving input on each other's fields just because one of us wasn't a scenario expert or the other was an amateur at art would only hold us back.
An outside perspective was valuable precisely because it came from outside our specialties.
"It's a paizuri," she declared with absolute seriousness.
"Huh?" I blinked, totally lost.
"There's an H-scene in the first half of the individual route... but there's no paizuri!" Noëlle shouted, completely losing her composure.
"What the hell are you saying!?" I yelled back.
Is that a word a beautiful French girl should even be saying aloud
"The main heroine has huge breasts, so we can't afford to be stingy!" she argued passionately. "It's to the point where they could even do a paizuri right after they kiss!"
"Stop saying that word over and over!" I pleaded desperately.
"I'm the model! My breasts are large, you know!" she insisted, her voice rising in pitch.
"Hey" I panicked.
Before I could even react, Noëlle grabbed my hand and shoved it right against her chest.
She wasn't modeling today, so she wasn't wearing her blazer—just a thin, white blouse.
Through the sheer fabric, I could feel the sensation of her bra, and—a soft, squishy texture pressing against my palm.
S-She's huge...!
That 88-centimeter E-cup wasn't a lie; they were seriously massive...!
The sensation was completely different from when she hugged me before. Actually feeling them with my hand made me realize just how big they were!
Plus, they were incredibly soft. There was absolutely no way we couldn't use breasts like these to squish—
"I love paizuri scenes," Noëlle gushed, completely oblivious to my internal crisis. "That feeling of a heroine whipping out her massive breasts and sweetly servicing the protagonist is just the absolute best—"
"H-Hey, calm down!" I shouted, pulling my hand away. "I-I get it! I'll include a CG using... her breasts! We won't hold back on the first H-scene!"
"Thank you very much!" Noëlle beamed. "I'll give it my all too! I'll make sure to double-check the softness of my own breasts so I can write the ultimate paizuri—"
And with that, Noëlle's face instantly turned bright red.
Okay, it seemed like she'd finally returned to her senses.
"...Is it acceptable to use the word 'paizuri' in the scenario?" she asked meekly.
She let go of my hand, her arms hanging limply at her sides as she stared down at the floor.
"P-Probably..." I sighed. "We're going to sell it in the age-restricted category on the distribution site, so I think it should be fine. I'll check the list of banned words just in case, though..."
"Please do..." she muttered quietly.
Noëlle resettled into her chair with a swaying motion.
She might want to fix that habit of hers—becoming so absorbed she loses sight of her surroundings.
But still, that was one hell of an intense word to just let fly.
Wait, is it because she's a foreigner that she doesn't really grasp the specific nuance of such an obscene word?
Her Japanese is so perfect that I sometimes forget she's a foreigner, but... I feel like I've just seen an unexpected side of Noëlle.
"Masato-san, you mentioned you were bad at drawing erotic pictures, right?" Noëlle asked. "Do you dislike drawing a paizuri?"
"You really have no problem saying that word, huh," I sighed. "It's not so much that I'm bad at it, it's just, you know, my old man used to make eroge."
"Right," she murmured.
I have no choice... It's a stupid reason, but it's a fact that I'm bad at it, so I guess I should explain.
"When I was a kid, I went into my old man's room and found a mountain of eroge original art," I explained. "And, well, you could say I was full of curiosity back then."
"Ah, I suppose a child would end up looking at them," she nodded.
"And because of that, well... I was at an age where I could faintly grasp what those pictures were depicting. I guess... The sheer eroticism of it was just too much of a shock for me."
"You were quite delicate back then, weren't you, Masato-san," Noëlle observed.
"Don't make it sound like I'm completely insensitive now," I retorted. "That's all there is to it. I like drawing, but I just somehow became bad at drawing that kind of stuff myself, I guess."
"I see..." she murmured. "So it's not that you dislike the female body?"
"Of course I love it! I'm a first-year high school boy!" I shouted. "Even Noëlle's—"
Oh, that was close...! I almost said something completely outrageous just now.
There's hardly a high school boy alive who wouldn't get excited looking at Noëlle's curvy body.
But I certainly don't have the guts to say that right to her face.
"My... what?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing," I quickly deflected. "It's just that I haven't drawn any erotic pictures at all, so it's hard to just wing it by imitating what I've seen. It's a technical issue."
"In other words, in order to draw a paizuri..." Noëlle trailed off thoughtfully. "Does that mean you'd actually like to use my breasts?"
"There's no way I'd demand something like that!"
It's not like I absolutely need a model for every little thing to be able to draw.
I can tell the size of Noëlle's breasts even through her uniform anyway... Just looking at them is enough to get my imagination running wild.
If it's just staring at her boobs... Noëlle would probably forgive me for that much easily.
"What is it?" she asked.
"N-Nothing."
I gripped my tablet pen and began sketching furiously.
"Ah, whether it's fully naked or a paizuri, I'll draw anything!"
That's leaving it a bit too much up to momentum, but if I don't go that far, I'll never overcome my weakness.
The conversation definitely went in a weird direction thanks to that outrageous word coming out of Noëlle's mouth, but this might actually be a good opportunity.
Just like how you eventually get used to foods you hate if you force yourself to eat them, the same goes for erotic drawings—
"Oh..."
My smartphone vibrated as a message arrived.
When I checked it, it was a message from Ayari saying she was going to eat dinner with her friends.
This happens from time to time, so she's probably at a family restaurant or karaoke.
Kinu-san apparently had some errands to run today too, so she'll be home late.
That stepmother of mine is the owner of the Ota Building and the manager of Vierge, but it seems she has other jobs as well.
It doesn't look like she's in the Ota Building right now, either.
"Ah."
A loud growl rumbled from a stomach.
From the seat right next to me.
"...Excuse me," Noëlle muttered, looking slightly embarrassed.
"N-No worries."
Come to think of it, I'd like to get some food and calm down for a bit too.
I feel like I'm a little too excited thanks to that "paizuri" word flying out of Noëlle's mouth.
"I'm hungry, too," I said. "Ayari, my mom, and my old man aren't home anyway, so do you want to eat out around here?"
"Around here... you say?" Noëlle tilted her head.
"In Akihabara, of course."
Noëlle and I left the Ota Building together and started walking through the darkening streets of Akihabara.
As always, there was still a huge crowd in Akihabara, even though it was evening.
"There sure are a lot of restaurants in Akihabara," Noëlle noted.
"Well, you definitely won't go hungry here,"
Noëlle was looking all around her with wide eyes.
It seemed she had forgotten about her shocking declaration from earlier.
Which I was completely fine with...
"According to the staff at Viju, Akihabara is apparently a highly competitive area for restaurants," I told her.
"Japanese manga is favored a lot in France, you know. In a famous gourmet manga, it said that 'Akihabara is completely devoid of appetite'," she added.
"Haha, that was true decades ago."
I had read that manga too, but it was a work written long before we were even born.
Akihabara back then really was an "Electric Town," just like they used to say.
It was an era where there weren't even many otaku-oriented shops, let alone restaurants.
For some reason, there was even a basketball court right in front of the station. Talk about a place where people who don't play basketball would gather.
"Still, it's surprising," she remarked.
"You think so? It's only natural for restaurants to increase when people gather—"
"That's not it. You were working so passionately, Masato-san, so I thought you just made do with convenience store food, or maybe even those jelly packets."
"I'm not that much of a workaholic."
Noëlle genuinely looked confused, so I couldn't help but laugh.
My old man was seriously that much of an idiot when it came to his job, but I hadn't quite reached that level.
"When you're making games, food is actually super important," I told her.
"For a change of pace?"
"Yeah. Apparently, you can't do good work if you're just glued to your desk."
I'd heard that from one of my dad's subordinates when he came over to our house.
"Sitting down all the time is bad for your health too, but that doesn't really apply to high schoolers like us. We're still young, after all."
"That's true. It's not like we're at an age where we have to worry about back pain or anything."
I'd probably look back on this conversation fondly in a few years. While writhing in back pain, naturally.
"Oh right, Noëlle, is there anything you want to eat? Or anything you can't eat, for that matter?"
"I don't have any particular dislikes. I can even eat natto and octopus."
"That's good to hear. I can pretty much eat anything too... Ah, but I might not be a huge fan of escargot."
"Not everyone in France eats it either, you know."
"Oh, really?"
Though, I didn't actually think every French person ate sole meunière or whatever typical French food on a daily basis.
It was the same as how Japanese people didn't eat rice, miso soup, and grilled fish every single day.
"But since we're here, I'd like to try a dish that Akihabara is famous for," Noëlle said. "Like beef bowls, perhaps?"
"They know about those in France too?"
There was a famous beef bowl chain in Akihabara, and it had appeared in popular anime, so maybe it was known worldwide.
"Beef bowls are fine, but... Oh, there's no line today. Lucky us. How about that place?"
"What is it?"
I pointed at a certain restaurant I had just noticed, and Noëlle tilted her head.
Even with her extensive knowledge of Japan, she apparently didn't know this place.
"This is a famous spot too. There's usually a huge line every day, but it's rare to see it empty like this," I explained.
"Is it a Chinese restaurant? I can do Chinese."
"Nah, even if you couldn't, I'd force-feed it to you. The fried rice here is seriously amazing."
"Are we establishing a hierarchy here...?"
"I'm just kidding."
Since there was no line outside, we stepped into the crowded restaurant and took our seats.
"Whoa, a blonde... A beautiful, busty blonde high school girl in a uniform..."
"Do girls like that actually exist outside of light novels...?"
"And she's dragging along some unremarkable guy too... It really is a light novel..."
The customers in the restaurant are already starting to make a fuss.
I get that praising Noëlle is only natural, but could they stop badmouthing me?
"This is my first time coming to a place like this," Noëlle said, looking around. "I still have very little experience eating out in Japan."
"That's a shame," I replied. "There are tons of great restaurants outside of Akihabara too."
"Eating alone in a foreign country is a pretty high hurdle."
"Yeah, I guess so."
She's a girl, and a slightly erotic, blonde, uniform-wearing beautiful high schooler who looks like she stepped right out of a light novel, to boot.
She's got huge boobs, too. Big enough for a paizuri—
"Are you thinking about something weird?" she asked suspiciously.
"I'm always thinking about games," I deadpanned.
I can lie when it comes to things outside of work.
Anyway, I can understand why it'd be hard for a beautiful girl like Noëlle, who isn't even used to Japan yet, to just walk into a restaurant.
"Um, could I ask you to order for us, Masato-san?" she asked. "I'd like your recommendation."
"You're surprisingly shy, huh..." I muttered.
"No, I'm just not confident I can order properly in Japanese."
"You're so fluent it's almost too much."
This place has a friendly vibe, but maybe it's so friendly it feels like it's exclusively for regulars.
"Ah, excuse me. A Beef Ankake Fried Rice set, please."
I placed our order with a passing staff member.
"Beef Ankake..." Noëlle murmured. "How wonderfully mysterious."
"It's really not that unusual."
Neither beef nor ankake should be that rare.
But that combination is exactly what makes it so good.
Feeling the lingering attention on Noëlle, I spent the time talking to her about the food scene in Akihabara until...
"Oh, here it comes."
The staff member brought over two plates of fried rice.
Steaming hot fried rice was set down in front of Noëlle and me.
"This is quite different from what I imagined..." she said, staring at her plate.
"It's delicious, so just trust me and take a bite," I urged.
Noëlle gave a small nod, politely said, "Itadakimasu," and started eating.
"Wow, it's delicious!" she exclaimed. "It's rich, but... I could just keep eating and eating."
"Right?"
I was glad it suited her French palate.
"What is this egg?" she asked.
"It's an onsen tamago," I explained. "Hmm, how do I describe it... Basically a soft, runny egg."
"Runny..." She paused, a blush dusting her cheeks. "H-How lewd."
"Are you in middle school or something!?" I retorted.
Don't go finding eros in completely normal things.
"N-No, please just forget what I just said," she stammered, recovering quickly. "How am I supposed to eat this?"
"You can eat it however you want, but I'd suggest eating about half normally, then using your spoon to break the onsen tamago and mixing it in with the ankake and fried rice. It'll change up the flavor."
"I see, it's quite deep."
Noëlle nodded again and gracefully continued eating her fried rice.
If anything, this is the kind of grub a bunch of sweaty dudes would eat, but when Noëlle eats it, it looks like she's having an elegant pilaf at a high-end restaurant.
It's probably not just because she was raised in France, but her table manners are definitely top-notch.
"...This is quite a large portion," she noted after a while.
"Hm? Ah, was it a bit too much for a girl?"
It's a regular portion, but with all that beef, it might be comparable to a large serving at a normal restaurant.
I thought she was starving since her stomach was growling earlier, but I guess it was still a lot.
"Hmm, if I was with another guy I'd just eat the leftovers, but with you it's a bit much..."
"Huh?" She blinked. "Is there a problem with it being a girl?"
"............"
She seriously looks genuinely confused right now.
"No, no, taking a girl's leftovers is just, how should I put it... creepy," I said, trying to explain.
"Huh, is that how it is?" Noëlle replied, tilting her head. "I suppose if we were sharing from the start, I wouldn't mind doing it normally, but maybe sharing leftovers is a bit much."
"Right?" I nodded eagerly.
Thank god she actually gets it.
I wonder if Noëlle is becoming a bit too oddly accommodating in her attempts to adapt to Japanese culture.
"It would have been better if we had split it from the beginning, but... ah, right!" Noëlle exclaimed, stopping mid-sentence.
"Hmm?" I asked.
For once, Noëlle's face suddenly lit up with bright realization.
"This is a classic event in eroge, isn't it?" she declared proudly.
"Nngh" I choked out in shock.
Noëlle scooped up some of her fried rice with a Chinese spoon and held it out toward me.
Th-This is, without a doubt... !
"A-Ahn... Did I say that right?" Noëlle asked, holding the spoon steady.
"You said it right, but this is all wrong!"
The timing to do that right here, right now is completely messed up!
As if we weren't already drawing enough crazy attention!
If she feeds me fried rice with an 'ahn' here, we're just going to look like some obnoxiously flirty couple.
"I-Is it no good?" Noëlle asked, her eyes wavering slightly.
"I get it. I totally get it. We're doing this for reference for an eroge event, right?"
"Yes, of course," she answered without missing a beat.
Noëlle nodded forcefully, full of conviction.
She's seriously trying to do this for game production reference, so it'd be weird for me to reject her.
Ugh, seriously... !
"Th-Then I guess I'll have a bite..." I relented awkwardly.
"Yes. Ahn..." Noëlle repeated, inching the spoon closer.
"......" I quietly leaned in.
I snapped up the fried rice from the spoon Noëlle held out to me.
Oh wow, the rich flavor of the fried rice is somehow mixed with a faint sweetness—wait, doing a food review right now is super creepy!
"Ah, should we do the reverse pattern too?" Noëlle suggested eagerly.
"Huh" I sputtered.
On top of all this, she wants me to act like a high-level pervert
But somehow, Noëlle is waiting with sparkling eyes for me to pick up my spoon.
"W-Well then, Noëlle... A-Ahn," I said, shakily offering a spoonful.
"Ahn," Noëlle replied innocently.
Saying it so innocently, Noëlle leaned forward, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear as she eagerly ate the fried rice from my spoon.
"Mmm... Mmmm... That's delicious. But..." Noëlle murmured, chewing thoughtfully.
"But what?" I asked.
"It's a little embarrassing... I'm starting to get scared by the lack of shame eroge heroines have to be able to pull this off," she admitted, her cheeks tinged pink.
"Hey, didn't you literally just do the exact same thing?" I pointed out wryly.
I mean, it's exactly because she gets embarrassed doing the 'ahn' thing that makes it cute.
There are definitely patterns where they just do it innocently too, but still.
"Japanese culture is truly fearsome. Ah, I'll give you the rest normally. Can you eat it?" Noëlle asked, pushing her plate toward me.
"...Yeah, I'll eat it,"
After pulling off such an embarrassing stunt, taking her leftovers is absolutely nothing.
Besides, the fried rice here is so good it'd be a waste to leave any behind.
It's not like I'm a germaphobe either.
A blonde, beautiful high school girl's leftover fried rice... Let's just shut off my brain and eat without overthinking it.
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