Changing How We Address Each Other!

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Two weeks had passed since Physique officially joined our party.

The activities of us, who went from the Strongest Combo to the Strongest Trio, were truly flourishing!

Luna-noona and I would take down the small fry monsters with our formation, while monsters boasting high endurance would be finished by Physique’s Holy Punch!

If there were more such monsters, we would go boom boom boom! in succession, completing quests one after another.

Our party was progressing well without any problems.

The priest brothers and sisters from the same temple as Physique would greet us warmly whenever they saw us.

By the way, after I treated their athlete’s foot, those brothers and sisters became very friendly towards me, greeting me with smiles.

They must have suffered quite a bit from athlete’s foot.

Incidentally, thanks to their promotion…

“Hey, I heard you can cure even malignant athlete’s foot right away! Treat me too! Money…! I have money! I’m going to say goodbye to this insufferable athlete’s foot!”

“Me too! Me too! I’ve been fighting this damn athlete’s foot for over 10 years! But I’ve lost! You… are my only hope!”

“Athlete’s Foot Treatment Man! Help me!!! Oh, here’s the treatment fee.”

Strangely, I who was called a quack healer in Kellion.

Was now being called the Athlete’s Foot Treatment Man here.

By the way.

“Customer Jin-sang! You can treat athlete’s foot too!?”

“Benefactor Jin-sang! You can treat athlete’s foot!?”

After hearing the rumors, Ferguls and Jelbon.

No, not just those two, but other dwarves as well gathered around and received athlete’s foot treatment from me.

I never knew blacksmiths… had so much athlete’s foot.

And so.

The treatment fees I earned as Gallio’s Athlete’s Foot Treatment Man exceeded the quest rewards except for the Iron Golem quests.

“At this rate, I could quit being an adventurer and make a living just from this.”

I laughed at my situation and made such a joke.

“What!?”

“Huh?!”

“B-Brother Jin-sang! Surely you’re not thinking of quitting being an adventurer!”

“J-Jin-sang! A-are you g-g-g-going to q-quit being an a-adventurer?”

Physique and Luna-noona asked in surprise at my joke.

“Huh? No, that was just a joke. I’m not going to quit being an adventurer.”

I need to help the hero defeat the Demon King and gain the ability to travel back and forth between worlds.

“Besides, our Strongest~ Trio’s activities are just beginning, why would I quit now!”

“T-thank goodness!”

“R-right! You’re not quitting!”

“Of course not!”

Hmm~ But I shouldn’t make such jokes next time.

Both Physique and Luna-noona can’t really manage as adventurers without me.

If they can’t work as adventurers, they can’t make a proper living…

No, I would take full responsibility if it came to that!

To be completely honest!

My principles are important, you know!

Besides the content of those principles… it’s for a proper happy life!

You can’t just rush in recklessly!

I’m not some dense light novel protagonist.

I can tell that Luna-noona and Physique have feelings for me.

Not as colleagues… but romantically.

Of course, I feel the same!

Otherwise, would I use them every night… ahem.

As material for happy time!

I’m a man too.

I have principles, but those principles have been becoming more flexible as I live in this other world.

That’s why my current goal is… when I defeat the Demon King and gain the power to freely travel between worlds!

To build a harem with the people I like, that’s what I mean!

Defeating the Demon King will give me power!

By then, my reputation will be huge~ and many patients will come to be treated!

Then I’ll be filthy rich, that’s what I’m saying.

With a lot of money, I can take responsibility for many women, that’s what I mean!

And it will be the same when I return to the modern world!

With my magic, I’ll definitely make a fortune in the modern world as well!

When that happens, whether it’s Luna-noona or Physique or Celine or Miriana-noona!

Heh, heheh.

Wouldn’t it be nice to make them all part of my harem and live a lovey-dovey bourgeois life in the modern world!

Well, this is just my wishful thinking.

They say dream big!

That’s why I couldn’t act rashly in that direction? for my grand~ dream.

Because.

If I cross that line once… my determination to defeat the Demon King would likely weaken in many ways!

I had that intuition.

That’s why I still couldn’t! cross that most important line yet.

“Brother Jin-sang! Sister Luna! I love~ you!”

Recently, frequent crisis situations had been occurring for me.

That is, Physique’s fervent skinship!

The usually bright Physique would often, after training hard together or completing quests.

Or when we were all eating together.

Hug both Luna-noona and me at the same time, pressing her body against us and rubbing her cheeks.

Of course, heh, heheheh.

That feels really good.

The fragrant scent of Physique, along with the sensation of her chest pressing against me when we’re close!

And the softness of her cheeks were constantly testing my principles.

Nooooo!

Somehow when this natural skinship happens, I feel like I could fall for her enough to want to cross the line!

Those feelings came moment by moment.

Of course, I’m dealing with those urges ahem ahem in other ways!

Besides the regular method, I would feel content by touching Luna-noona’s ears.

Or when I was feeling strangely tired, I would go to the temple on holidays and ask Physique to let me nap while hugging her hair.

“N-no! That… that!”

Of course, Physique tends to be somewhat embarrassed about her hair, so she would refuse with a red face.

But by pushing forward with my personal revenge against Physique for constantly tormenting my principles, I could also get revenge by hugging the embarrassed Physique’s hair while sleeping.

For some reason, the next day Luna-noona would emphasize that I could touch her ears.

Has Luna-noona also fallen for my touch?

Anyway, one day while living such peaceful days that were both mundane yet somehow quite profitable.

When I was having lunch with Luna-noona and Physique.

A thought suddenly occurred to me and I said.

“By the way, don’t you think we could start addressing each other differently?”

“Munch munch… addressing?”

“What do you mean, Brother Jin-sang! Nom nom nom.”

Luna-noona and Physique asked while eating.

I paused eating and said.

“We’re an official party now.”

“That’s right! We’re the Strongest Trio!”

“Y-yes.”

“Besides, I think we’ve become quite close through all the quests we’ve done.”

“That’s right! I think I’ve become very close with Brother Jin-sang and Sister Luna! I now know that Sister Luna really really loves carrots!”

“I-I know that P-Physique likes m-most things made with m-milk too…”

“And I know that Brother Jin-sang! Really likes breasts and buttocks!”

Huh?!

“Ahem ahem! P-Physique! All m-men like those things!”

“Brother Jin-sang seems to like them especially!”

“P-Physique. I-it’s true but you sh-shouldn’t say such things in f-front of p-people…”

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

So Luna-noona also thinks I like breasts and buttocks…

Well, I do like them!

I really like them!

No, that’s not the important thing right now.

“What I want to say is! Now that we’ve become so close, I think we don’t need to keep using formal terms like ‘Physique-ssi’ and can be more comfortable with each other.”

“Ah! So that’s what you mean!”

“Y-you mean we should t-talk more casually?”

“Yes, that’s right. Luna-noona, don’t you think it would be better if you didn’t call her ‘Physique-ssi’ and just comfortably called her ‘Physique’?”

“I agree! Sister Luna! Please call me comfortably!”

“U-um, o-okay. P-Physique.”

“Very good!”

“Physique, why don’t you also call Luna-noona just ‘Luna’ instead of ‘Sister Luna’?”

“Hmm… I usually call the brothers and sisters as ‘Brother/Sister’… but I’ll try! Luna!”

“Y-yes.”

“Ooh! It feels new!”

Physique looked at me and said.

“Then Brother Jin-sang! Should I call you Jin-sang?”

“Yes, I’d like that too.”

“Hmm, but Jin-sang is still formal speech! You can speak casually too!”

“No, but this isn’t distant formality, it’s because Physique is older than me. It’s the same as with Luna-noona.”

It’s the same logic as Physique continuing to use formal endings in her speech.

“It’s not Physique-ssi anymore!”

“Ah, you’re right. Then… ahem.”

This time, to properly establish our closer relationship, I corrected the way I addressed her.

“Physique-noona. I use honorifics with Physique-noona because you’re an older sister figure.”

“Eek…!?”

At that moment, Physique suddenly placed her hands on her chest and closed her eyes tightly.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“N-no! Being called ‘noona’ by Jin-sang! Somehow… somehow makes my chest tingle!”

Does she mean it gives her goosebumps or makes her shy?

“Umm… if it’s uncomfortable, we can stick with Physique-ssi as before…”

“Please call me noona!”

“O-okay. Physique-noona.”

When I called her noona again, Physique had a very satisfied expression.

“J-Jin-sang! I’m, I’m your n-noona too…?”

“Huh? Why suddenly ask something so obvious…”

“N-nothing! Heh, hehe.”

And so we became even closer with Physique-noona through our changed forms of address.

A few days later.

“Everyone! How about taking the rank promotion exam?”

The suggestion of a rank promotion exam came from Dendeli.