Carry it himself.

Despite his words to the merchant, Shiroe carried his own bag of rope, for now. Partly because he wanted to give Niki time to recover from her ordeal. Partly because if she came up with the idea herself and volunteered to carry it, it might make her feel more useful in the long term. But mostly as a self-imposed penance.

He'd screwed up.

Not that there was any way he could have realized that Niki found tickling to be a sexual experience. Nor was there any way he could have known just how far Fang would push things when Niki was at her mercy. Even so, it had happened on his watch.

In his arrogance, he had tried to teach Niki a lesson. As a consequence, a local bully had driven her to an orgasm she didn't ask for. He was pretty sure neither one of them would call it ****, but that didn't make him feel any better about it.

This wasn't Earth. It wasn't even the world of Elder Tale. Was it wrong for him to impose his modern ideals on a medieval society?

No. And he should never ask that question again.

The purpose of society was to make life more bearable for the living.

The purpose of ideals was to give society goals worth striving for.

His ideals were not the problem.

But perhaps he would benefit from broadening his perspective.

"Hey," Niki said, "They're selling spit-roasted meat. Can we get some?"

Shiroe turned and looked at Niki. She'd already bounced back as if it had never happened.

"We can't afford it right now. Maybe in a couple of days, if they're still selling it." Niki pouted, but Shiroe waved his fingers in the pattern he'd used when conjuring Muffins, and she immediately perked up.

"Let's get back to our room. We need to talk."

"If you think you can seduce me with a couple of muffins..."

"In your dreams. And carry this bag of rope."

Niki didn't even need to use both hands. "What's the rope for? If you're thinking of tying me up--"

"We both know the easiest way to incapacitate you isn't with rope."

That got Niki to blush, but she didn't complain. In fact, she started to sway her hips with every step. By the time they were climbing the stairs to their room, Niki was practically sashaying.

At long last, the door to their room clicked shut. Their armor and gear came off, leaving only their clothes.