Artoria now looks young and beautiful, completely different from her armor-clad image yesterday.

Xiaosan looked at her and couldn't help but be stunned.

Altria noticed Takashi's gaze, frowned slightly, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao San came back to his senses, smiled and praised: "This outfit suits you very well."

Altria responded calmly, "Thank you."

Although her tone remained calm, Xiaosan caught a subtle sense of satisfaction in her eyes... Sweet words are a good medicine for most people, and Xiaosan's outlook on life and methodology are based on this belief.

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Next episode preview:

"It costs 100,000 yen a day. I really can't afford to eat like this. And my money is still with Yukino (tens of millions of yen seems to be only enough for Altria's food intake for a year)."

"Oh, I remember that entering a dungeon world would pause time...why not go there and think of a plan first?"

"What? I forgot to pause the time? Do I need to set the pause manually?"

Chapter 18: 018 I can’t afford to support Aho-King anymore: Escape to the world of giants and get a horse girl as a reward

McDonald's prices are relatively low in Tokyo, making it affordable. Japanese ramen in Tokyo ranges from 600 to 1200 yen, with gyudon, Sukiya, and Yoshinoya all costing similarly. Cheap Chinese and fast food options are also priced around this range. Sukiyaki, wagyu, and unagi sets, for example, cost around 4000 to 10000 yen per person at famous restaurants, and Chinese banquets are also around this price.

Although there are cheaper options, Takashi is not a petty man. Altria eats whatever she wants.

In the cake shop, Altria pressed herself against the glass window with her eyes wide open. Her gaze moved back and forth over the various cakes on the counter, from the classic Black Forest to the exquisite mousse, to the colorful macarons... Each one made her swallow her saliva.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, like a child faced with a room full of toys, both excited and overwhelmed. Her mouth parted slightly, a trickle of crystalline liquid slowly dripping down... Even the nearby shop assistants couldn't help but sweat.

This scene may seem exaggerated to others, but it is this innocent expression that makes Xiao San feel her charm.

Kouzo bent down, his lips level with Altria's neck, and leaned close to her ear to ask gently, "Have you made your choice, Saber?"

Artoria reluctantly removed her hand from the glass display case, then rested her chin on her hand and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened her eyes, looked at Takashi seriously, and said firmly, "I want to try all of these, Master."

The corners of Xiao San's mouth twitched involuntarily. He took a deep breath and tried to keep smiling: "Okay, Saber, as long as you like it."

Altria raised the corner of her mouth and nodded.

This bakery's small desserts range from 500 to 1000 yen, while a 4-inch birthday cake costs 1800 to 2400 yen. For Tokyo, this is considered quite ordinary, not luxurious, but... cake price x Altria's appetite = a price that's outrageous for the average person.

In the evening, Altria followed Xiao San on their way home, a large paper bag of snacks in her hands. Her steps were brisk and cheerful, and she would occasionally glance down at her spoils, her lips curling up unconsciously, a stark contrast to the "icy beauty" she had been yesterday, who kept people at a distance.

"Master, did you spend a lot of money today?" Altria suddenly asked.

Takashi San turned around, smiled, and said gently, "It's okay. I did it willingly." His tone was relaxed, as if he didn't care how much it cost. Although... his heart was bleeding. The 10 yen reward from the system every month was not enough for Miss Altria's daily food expenses.

The two arrived at the downstairs of the apartment building and stood in front of the elevator waiting...Altria looked up at Takashi San's back.

The elevator arrived with a ding, the door slowly opened, and the two stepped inside.

At night, after Xiaosan finished washing up, he looked at Altria who was still staring at the TV screen intently. The food program on TV was showing the preparation process of various tempting dishes.

"Then Saber, I'll rest first." Xiao San said softly.

When Altria heard Takashi's voice, she responded seriously, "Master, sleep peacefully. I will protect you and will not let you get hurt." Although her tone was serious, her eyes were fixed on the TV program, and she was obviously deeply attracted by the delicious food on the screen.

Seeing this, Takashi San smiled and shook his head. He had a nagging feeling that tomorrow's financial crisis was going to be a disaster, but... Takashi San's gaze gently fell on Altria's profile as she stared intently at the television. The light from the TV screen outlined the soft contours of a British girl, and that look reminded him of his own daughter, Ellie.

Thinking of this, Xiaosan sighed softly, but a smile of relief appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Saber." Kosan said with a smile, then turned and walked towards the bed.

Xiao San lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to quickly calculate the expenses of the day in his mind. He frowned slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the mattress.

First, breakfast was a huge amount of desserts and ramen, which cost about 4 yen; then there was the transportation fee, which cost 2000 yen for a taxi; and lunch was the famous pork cutlet rice, which also cost about 4 yen in total... Xiaosan sighed, this number was not small for him.

Thinking of this, Xiaosan opened his eyes and looked at the shadow on the ceiling, his heart filled with uneasiness.

Yesterday's spending: 56800 yen; Today's spending: 116324 yen; Card balance: 135864 yen. (Before leaving for the dungeon world with a resolution, Kozo gave all his money to Yukino, leaving only this amount for himself.)

Although Xiao San is gentle and kind, he is not a naive child. With forty years of life experience, he is very clear about this truth: girls don't necessarily love money, and everything that touches a girl requires money.

Takashi San gently turned sideways, squinting his eyes a little, and secretly observed the back of Altria, who sat upright on the floor watching TV. Her figure was particularly dignified, revealing a quiet beauty... Takashi San quietly admired this scene, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

"After all, she's a king. Just because she eats a lot, it's understandable that she's spending so much money," Takashi thought. Compared to the spending of other "kings" throughout history, Altria was actually quite frugal... She had no taste for luxuries, wasn't unreasonable, and was only interested in cooking.

Takashi was lying in bed, his eyes half closed, his consciousness gradually blurring, as if he was about to fall asleep. At this moment, he vaguely heard Altria murmur, "It seems to be good. Let the Master take me here tomorrow."

Xiaosan woke up instantly, opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the TV screen... An expensive Western food advertisement was playing on the screen, showing exquisite tableware, tempting food and an elegant dining environment.

Takashi's heart tightened, knowing what this meant. 'Run, run away!' This was his strongest thought and desire at that moment.

"Oh, right, once you enter a dungeon world, time in that world will freeze... Why not go there and think about a strategy? Maybe you'll find a quest reward that'll earn you a lot of money." With this thought, Takashi San opened the system interface: Dungeon Mission → Unfinished Dungeon → Attack on Titan → Continue Dungeon Mission → Confirm...

Xiao San closed his eyes, and the moment he opened them again, the scene shifted to that familiar, run-down hotel... He lay in bed, still wearing the same clothes he'd worn before his death. The darkness made Xiao San feel as if time hadn't changed.

Takashi San turned over in his bed and felt a soft body. "Strange, is that Christa? Something feels off. Maybe it's an illusion? Never mind..." He could no longer resist the weariness. His eyelids grew heavier, and his consciousness gradually blurred. Despite some doubts, he chose to let himself fall asleep.

While Xiao San was sleeping, the system voice sounded in his mind, "Ding, the host unconsciously slept with Ymir, who was secretly in love with Histria. The achievement "First Unconscious Sleeping" was completed, and the reward was "Uma Musume Drawing Ticket (?3/1 confirmed)."

Today, Christa looked for Xiaosan outside for a long time (she sneaked out at night while Ymir was asleep), and she only came back dragging her tired body at dawn.

As she reached the inn's entrance, she heard Ymir's clamorous voice... a sharp, piercing sound. Christa frowned and quickened her pace. She saw the innkeeper standing there, an impatient expression on his face.

Seeing Christa return, the hotel owner immediately came over, his tone full of dissatisfaction: "You should go and take a look. You've been making a lot of noise since a while ago. If you keep this up, you won't be able to stay here any longer today."

Christa hurriedly bowed and apologized, her movements seeming a little flustered... Her head was lowered almost to her knees, her long golden hair gently fell with the movement, covering her face, and her voice was weak, "Yes... yes, I'm really sorry, I'll take care of it right away." After saying this, she didn't dare to stay any longer and trotted towards the room.

Inside the room, Ymir's rage raged. She used every possible curse word she knew to insult Takashi. "You alkali offender! Pervert! You horny man who's gone crazy with lust for women, go to hell."

Takashi San kept explaining to her, "Listen to me, I really didn't mean it. I really didn't see it clearly last night, and I didn't do anything to you." He tried to calm Ymir's anger with words, but it seemed... it only had a certain effect.

"Do you mean that the original target was Christa?" Ymir's emotions became more and more agitated. She was about to smash something, and the object in her hand was thrown to the ground with a crisp sound of breaking... When she was about to touch more valuable items, Xiaosan, who had not yet gotten rid of the "desire for thriftiness stimulated by Altria", instinctively stopped her.

He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Ymir's wrist, and pulled her back to the bed. Because of the sudden movement, Xiaosan accidentally knelt on the bed with Ymir, and the posture was a bit awkward, with their bodies tightly pressed together.

Realizing this position wasn't right, Takashi loosened his grip and tried to stand up from the bed. However, Ymir clutched his shirt tightly, preventing him from leaving. Her eyes revealed a complex emotion. "You... you really didn't do anything to me?" Ymir's voice trembled.

Xiao San took a deep breath and tried to keep his tone calm: "I really don't have it, you can check yourself."

At this moment, Kozo and Ymir heard the sound of a door opening. They turned their heads at the same time.

The door had been opened, and standing at the door was none other than Christa... She stood there with her eyes wide open, obviously stunned by the scene before her, her lips trembling slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Ymir's face turned pale when she saw Christa appear. She quickly pushed Xiao San away, stood up in a panic, and tried to explain, "Christa, listen to me, I absolutely did not betray you... This guy, it was this guy..."

Christa ignored Ymir's approach, trotting past her and throwing herself into Takashi's arms. To her, Takashi's body was a safe haven. "Takashi, it's great to have you back. I thought... I thought you didn't want me anymore." Her voice was choked with emotion, clearly overwhelmed.

Ymir was petrified on the spot, her expression frozen in shock. She looked back at Christa and Kouzo hugging each other tightly, feeling particularly redundant.

Looking at Christa crying in his arms, Xiao San was a little overwhelmed. Although he didn't know what was going on... he still gently stroked Christa's soft hair, trying to comfort her with this action. "Okay, okay, haven't I always been here?"

However, despite Xiao San's comforting words, Christa's emotions did not calm down. She continued to sob, burying her head deeper, and her tears soaked Xiao San's clothes.

Ymir leaned against the door frame, her arms folded across her chest. With a hint of sarcasm, she said with a smile, "You've been missing for two days. Tell me the truth. Where have you been these past two days? Did you end up in the arms of some woman?"

Kou San could clearly feel Christa's arms tightening around him, and could sense Christa's nervousness and uneasiness... Kou San gently patted Christa's back, "Don't listen to her nonsense." Kou San turned to Ymir and explained seriously, "How could I possibly do such a thing?"

Ymir spread her hands and teased, "That's hard to say! Every man says the same thing. Oh, if I had known earlier, I should have gone to the brothel to find you." She was obviously deliberately trying to sow discord between Christa and Kozo.

Takashi San continued to explain, "That's impossible. All my money is deposited with Christa. Even if I wanted to go, I don't have the money."

When Xiao San said this, he saw Ymir's mouth curl up, as if her plan had succeeded. "Ah, it seems you want to go? Sure enough, all men are like this. But men do have dirty needs in this regard!"

Christa raised his head and looked at Xiaosan with tears in his eyes.

Chapter 19: 019 Christa, believe me, I really didn’t go to the brothel

Takashi San looked at Christa's tearful face and gently stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. "Christa, listen to me, I really haven't been to that kind of place. Don't listen to her nonsense." Takashi San's voice was full of sincerity. "You know me well. How could I do such a thing?" Takashi San gently held Christa's hand.

Christa's tears slowly stopped, and she looked into Xiaosan's eyes. Xiaosan looked at her firmly, his eyes clear, without a trace of avoidance.

"I believe you, Xiaosan." Christa finally spoke. Although his voice was weak, it was full of trust.

Takashi breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you for believing in me, Christa."

Although Xiaosan has only not been to "this life".

Japan, a country with a well-developed sex industry, has a widespread belief that men visiting sex shops aren't considered cheating. While not as exaggerated as the online rumors of "100% or even 90% support," it's pretty close. Even Haruno occasionally half-jokingly teases Kozo about whether he might secretly visit sex shops.

Is this "when all men turn bad, the female community gives in to the male community"? It seems so.

"Sex is considered a basic human right in the Netherlands. Everyone should enjoy it, and it is beneficial to human physical and mental health." This is the concept of the Dutch government, and their social welfare will also give men who receive minimum security the number of times they can enter custom shops.

Many American economists have argued for the origins of the sex industry from an economic perspective, arguing that the sexual trade of free women is an inevitable product of the emergence of employment relationships (private property). Engels, a prominent figure in the United States, reached a similar conclusion regarding marriage and family. This is the rational view that Xiaosan prefers.

Although Xiaosan is a lucky man who was born in the greenhouse environment of a developed country, in the final analysis, his soul is not that kind of little boy of fifteen or sixteen, nor is he a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five who has just entered the society not long ago after graduating from school... After all, in his previous life, he was a social animal who had been struggling in the society for a long time, and he also had to participate in social activities and saw many people and things.

You can often hear this kind of joke in social gatherings: Don’t ask how many powerful men in history have been to brothels, but ask how many powerful men in history have not been to brothels.

Japan's "discrimination against virginity" is also well known.

This is the history of the changing concept of chastity in Japan:

Catering to the wave of female sexual liberation that began in the 1971s, the bimonthly women's magazine "Smile" was launched in . Since the s, Japan's female higher education enrollment rate has increased significantly, and women's social status and self-awareness have become stronger. "Smile" capitalized on women's shyness yet curiosity about sex, becoming a popular publication in places where women gather, such as beauty salons and barbershops. Surveys on sexual attitudes and guidance on sexual behavior became a key component of the magazine's "in-the-know" style of entertainment gossip, emotional anecdotes, and life tips.

In 1972, Smile magazine published a survey on male sexual attitudes, the results of which showed that "virgins give people a bad overall impression." Virginity is associated with poverty, rusticity, ugliness and even vulgarity. Virginity is also associated with the Oedipus complex, sexual dysfunction and even frustration in life... Male shame spreads from the mind to the body, virginity becomes a "visual" stigma of losers, and lack of confidence in facing women, rusticity and ugliness become common options in the guide to identifying virgins.

Since then, Japanese men's thoughts and actions have been driven by the "female gaze" (the idea that men will try to attract women by making them desirable). The male mindset has shifted from "virginity is precious" to "virgins are sexually repressed," "virgins are like powder kegs, easily ignited and potentially dangerous," and "this extreme mindset is probably a virgin who has never had sex with a woman (laughs)."

Compared to physical chastity, women are more concerned with other aspects of a man (power, money, looks, body, personality compatibility, whether they feel attracted to him, whether they experience pleasure during the relationship, etc.). If a man is a virgin, it's likely that he's a worthless piece of shit, someone no woman wants. Even if that's not the case, they'll likely still think, "A real relationship would be incredibly troublesome," or "He's inexperienced and doesn't know anything, so he's a waste of time."

Virgins are pitiful creatures who are difficult to get along with: their ambitions are as high as the sky, but their lives are as fragile as paper... They always think about unrealistic things, their thoughts are easily extreme, and their personalities are also awkward.

Takashi San is a complete modern person, always treating women with peace of mind, gentleness, friendliness, and ease...It seems that we can understand it this way: people who have enough food don't have such a strong appetite, and happy people don't have so many complaints. If you play games a lot, you will naturally understand all the skills.

After confirming from his conversation with Christa that he had disappeared for two days, Kozo was confused. "Strange, shouldn't time in this world have stopped?"

The gazes of Ymir and Christa made Xiaosan feel pressured, and he knew he had to give a reasonable explanation.

"So...where have you been these two days?" Ymir asked in a questioning tone.

Christa also looked at Xiaosan expectantly, waiting for his answer.

Xiaosan hesitated, obviously hesitating whether to tell the truth.

Christa said gently, "It's okay. If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. I won't ask."

Ymir disagreed. She said coldly, "Hrista, you spoil him too much."

But...Christa completely ignored her and just immersed himself in the warm embrace of this young man.

Ymir stood aside, watching with a complex gaze as Christa's tears turned into laughter in Takashi's arms. Her eyes were filled with both relief that Christa was no longer heartbroken, and an indescribable sense of helplessness and oppression... Ymir felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on her heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Finally, she couldn't help but interrupt this "show of affection" scene with obvious impatience in her tone: "Enough, enough, this is so corny." As she said that, she took a few steps forward and pulled Christa out of Xiaosan's arms. Although the action was rough, it did not cause any harm.

After taking Christa aside, Ymir began to lecture her seriously: "You know what? As a girl, you should stay away from men and maintain your dignity. If you throw yourself at men like you, they will be less likely to cherish you."

"Is that so?" Christa was confused and looked at Ymir in confusion.

"How would I know?" Ymir wanted to say. After all, she had no experience with relationships, no experience with men. All she had was hearsay and the "experience" she'd gained from being a bystander. But more than that... Ymir just wanted an excuse to tear Christa away from that guy.

Ymir clearly wanted to quickly end the current topic. She turned her head and looked directly at Takashi, her tone filled with unquestionable determination: "Hey, you want to join the training corps, right?"

Xiao San was slightly stunned, then nodded to confirm.

"Then do you have any identification?" Ymir asked immediately, frowning slightly, as if she felt a little troubled by what was going to happen next.

Xiao San shook his head, an awkward smile on his face: "Not yet."

Ymir sighed helplessly, "Then hurry up and get dressed and follow me."

After saying that, Ymir turned and walked out the door, leaving Kouzo and Hrista looking at each other in confusion.

After that, Ymir took Kozo and Christa, and the three of them crossed the streets and finally came to a very remote alley.

There was a mysterious atmosphere in the alley, and under the dim light, their figures looked particularly lonely.

At the end of the alley stood a middle-aged man in a black robe. Everyone called him Albert, but it wasn't clear if that was his real name... probably not. Ymir approached and, after a few words with Albert, signaled to Kozo and Christa to follow.

Albert looked at them carefully, then nodded in satisfaction... He took out a small notebook from his pocket, wrote something on it, and then handed the certificate he had prepared in advance to Xiaosan.

Xiao San took the certificate and glanced at the information on it... Name: Xiao San Lance, hometown is...

Albert glanced at him and Christa. "Brother and sister, is there any problem?" Then he added impatiently: "Even if there is a problem, it can't be changed. That's it."

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