I Reincarnated in the Hero’s Former Body and Now I’m Going to Live His Life! - I Reincarnated in the Hero’s Former Body and Now I’m Going to Live His Life! – Chapter 5

“D-do you like it?” She asked, her lips trembling as she tilted her neck, exposing the pale flesh of her bare skin.

He leaned forward, sniffing lightly. A rosy blush appeared on her cheeks. Her lips parted, and her breath quickened. He was so close to kissing her neck, that there were only centimeters apart. Could they do it here? Was that appropriate? This was a public place, after all. He pulled back nearly as quickly as he pulled forward. His perfect brown eyes met with hers. He slowly opened his mouth.

“It has no magical value whatsoever.”

Lines formed over Lana’s brow as the boy she liked completely discarded such a wonderful moment. She wanted to gnash her teeth as he turned away from her and started looking back at the ingredients. The sweet old lady behind the counter gave her a sympathetic look. Even she could tell Lana’s true feelings, so why was Aiko so clueless!

Well, at least since his accident, things had improved slightly. In the past, she could have sworn that Aiko went out of his way to avoid her. However, recently, he was perfectly fine interacting with her. This was a perfect chance for her to finally win his love. Then, they might even become boyfriend and girlfriend! She’d be Aiko’s girlfriend! Her cheeks turned red and she grabbed her cheeks, shaking her head at the thought.

Aiko was still looking at various items and ignoring her, so he didn’t see this. At that point, he lifted his head and glanced at the shopkeeper.

“Do you sell blood?” He demanded.

The woman who had been smiling and thinking things about the trials and tribulations of young love blinked in surprise as he suddenly addressed her. When she finally processed what he said, she made a slightly confused face.

“B-blood? You mean, like dragon’s blood?”

She gestured to one of the scents on the table. Lana nodded. Dragon’s blood was great for restoring vitality and improving your chakra. Aiko immediately walked to the shelf, opened the vial, sniffed, and made a face.”

“What are you calling dragon’s blood? Do think me a fool? Dragon’s blood doesn’t smell anything like this! It’s musky, filled with the lust of their intense sexual desires!”

The woman’s face grew even more confused. Was he looking for an aphrodisiac? Wait, first Aiko goes into a sex shop, and now he’s looking for aphrodisiacs? Lana started to shake. Just what did he have planned? She remembered he had been telling her to get a swimsuit too. This was all happening too fast. Lana didn’t know if she could handle the relationship developing this fast!

Would their first time hurt? She didn’t mind if it hurt a little. She wanted Aiko to be a little rough with her. Wait, where was her mind going? Why was she thinking about her first time? She slapped her cheek to try to keep herself under control.

“I’m sorry, but dragon’s blood is just a scent.” The shopkeep explained slowly.

“I need real blood. How about the blood of a virgin period?”

“Aiko!” Lana cried out.

“Child, we don’t sell things like that.” The shopkeep answered quickly, managing to maintain her cool slightly better than Lana.

“How about pig’s blood? Sheep’s blood? Can I at least find a goat?”

“Your best bet would be to speak to a butcher for that.” She answered dryly.

“A butcher…” He scratched his chin. “I see. That would be the best place. I also understand my folly. In a place with no magical creatures, how would you obtain magical blood? My apologies for making unfounded assumptions.”

“I-it’s fine?”

“In that case, I will take these items.” He began to stack various dried flowers, ointments, and sage on the table.

Lana took a breath, glad that this ordeal had passed. She had been a Wicken for two years now. She had cast a few spells, but since she had no friends to do such things with, she had never taken it too seriously. She never would have guessed that Aiko was such an over-the-top Wicken fanatic. He seemed to know his stuff and even knew exactly what things to look for. Lana had even offered him a few spellbooks, but he had waved it off, saying that all the spells he’d ever need were in his own head. She didn’t know why, but that made him sound super sexy.

However, at the moment, the thing running through her mind the most had been his odd request. It wasn’t the pig or sheep’s blood. It was a blood of a virgin period. That was something that she could get him. In fact, she was just starting it and was wearing a pad right now. If he wanted that… should she offer him some? No! How could she do that? He’d think she was a complete freak! Yet, he had said he wanted it.

Thinking about him having some part of her… no, it was gross! She was starting to sound like those girls who baked some of their hair into muffins or something like that! Lana wasn’t that bad. She still had a bit of restraint to understand the lines between appropriate and inappropriate.

“Come, Lana.” Aiko snapped as he carried the bag out the door.

He used her name. She felt ecstatic. Just as she moved to exit the door, the shopkeep lifted her hand and got her attention. She turned back to the other woman, afraid that there was some kind of problem with the order.

“That man you’ve brought today, he is truly a great man.” The woman smiled.

Lana stiffened. “R-really?”

She nodded. “I could see his aura, and he has the aura of a hero. It is clear to my experienced eyes that he is a pure and good person, well deserving of your pursuits.”

Lana blushed, dropping her head. “Is it that obvious?”

“I must warn you though, a man as… desirable as he will attract the affection of many women.”

“You think so?” Lana lifted her head again, her eyes wide.

She hadn’t thought Aiko was that popular. When he said there might be other women interested in him, she thought that it had just been his own bravado. Now that she heard the same thing from this woman, she realized that she’d have to take some of his flippant words more seriously.

The shopkeep nodded. “You’re a dear customer, so I’m looking out for your best interest. If you don’t want to lose out, you’ll need to be proactive in your pursuits.”

“Proactive,” Lana repeated to herself.

“Also, you must get him to drink this potion I’ve concocted.”

“P-potion?”

“Mm… if he drinks this potion, then his love will be solely focused on you! Otherwise, you may end up having to-” She stopped, looking in both directions despite the two of them being the only ones in the shop, and still leaned forward with her hand up to her mouth. “Share him with other women!”

“Sh-share!”

Share Aiko? How could she even be in a relationship like that! She immediately reached for the potion.

“Ah… it’s $39.99!” The shopkeep blocked her hand, but as she noticed Lana’s expression going white. “Oh, but since you’re such a loyal customer, I guess I could let it go for… hmmm, let’s say $19.99. I have to make back the cost of ingredients. You understand. Why I’m making almost no money off of this, it’s practically robbery.”

“Th-thank you!” Lana nodded, reaching into her sock to pull out her last $20, something she had saved for a rainy day.

If it had been $40, she wouldn’t have been able to afford it and it could have been disastrous. She might have ended up needed to share Aiko with other women! Well, that fate could still happen if she didn’t get Aiko to drink the potion somehow. She needed to find a way! After handing over her last $20, the other woman described how to complete the spell. It involved numerous steps, including some preparation, a complicated phrase, and a certain time of day, down to the minute.

“If you don’t perform all of these tasks exactly, then the potion will fail.” The woman sighed. “Sadly, nine out of ten attempts fail because of the inexperience of the castor. You are quite young…”

“N-no! I’ll get it to cast right!”

“Well, even if you can’t, you can always buy more from me!” The woman smiled and waved as Lana left the shop.

Lana stopped at the entrance and once again increased her resolve. She’d win Aiko’s heart!

Speaking of which, she looked around in confusion as she didn’t know where Aiko was. She had already lost him! She started to move from shop to shop, peering through the windows. Did he return to the adult shop? That one was blocked so she couldn’t just look into it. She also didn’t dare try to walk into it. She wasn’t half as daring as Aiko.

That’s when she remembered the last conversation he had with the shopkeeper. She had mentioned a butcher! Lana immediately recalled that a few shops down was a local butcher. She immediately headed there, opening the door and peeking her head inside. As soon as she did so, she heard a curious sound. It sounded like gasping and moaning. Frowning, she slowly entered the door, lifting her hand and preventing the bell from sounding.

She snuck into the store and followed the noises into the back. There was a small room off to the side, not quite behind the butcher display. The door was open, and she was able to peek inside. As soon as she did so, she froze, her brain turned numb in shock. There was a middle-aged woman, the butcher’s wife, standing there, and she didn’t have a blouse on. She was still wearing a thin white undershirt, but her bra showed right through it, making her look quite scandalous. Even more scandalous, Aiko had his arms wrapped around her, and his body pressed against her behind.

“Please be gentle…” She gasped.

“It will only hurt at first.”

“I-I’m ready.”

He wrapped his arms around her, and Lana finally snapped out of her daze. She immediately stepped into the room.

“Aiko!”

Aiko pulled up, and there was a large cracking noise.

“Ahhhn!” The butcher’s wife cried out.

Aiko casually let go of the woman and stepped to the side. “How is that?”

The woman lifted her arms and turned left and right. Then, she let out a cry of delight.

“I-it’s better! I’ve been having pain there for years! Y-you’re amazing.”

“Tis nothing.” Aiko waved his hand. “I simply noticed your posture as you were cutting the meat was off, and I postulated you must be experiencing some kind of pain.”

“No, really, I’ve even seen a chiropractor about it, and his remedies don’t feel half as good.”

“I recommend you raise your chopping table three inches. It will spare you from experiencing this pain again.” He responded before turning to Lana. “Did you need something? You called my name?”

“N-no.” Lana looked away, her face red.

Was it really that innocent? She was just going to ignore it, but then the butcher’s wife grabbed his hands, getting close to Aiko.

“You’ve really helped me. If there is anything I can do for you, I’m yours.”

What did she mean by that? He was a young boy! Was she offering him that? Any boy would naturally be thinking of something like that. Dozens of scenarios where Aiko asked for lewd things of the butcher’s wife, forcing her into cheating on her husband, flooded through Lana’s mind. Everything from demanding dirty pictures to carrying out a lucid affair flooded through her mind.

“I know what I want from you.” Aiko gave the butcher’s wife an intense look.

She blushed, looking away shyly. Had Lana failed already?

“Then, I am in the need of fresh blood from various livestock,” Aiko said.

“Eh?” The butcher’s wife cocked her head.

“I don’t need a ton. A few jars would be acceptable.”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened. “I can do that!”

She parted from Aiko, and then grabbed her blouse and put it back on, suddenly looking embarrassed. As she walked out, she finally glanced at Lana, but she seemed to almost be dismissive of Lana. It was true Lana was a bit fat and sweaty, while the butcher’s wife was a beauty, but she was also an older woman while Lana was young. Wait, maybe Aiko was into older women?

“Come back, any time.” The woman finished bundling the jars and then put them in Aiko’s hands as he reached for his pocket. “It’s on the house.”

Her hands touched the back of Aiko’s too, and lingered there far too long! This woman was definitely a scoundrel hitting on a teenage boy! The signs were there. The poor butcher had a wife thirsty for a young man. How could Aiko be anything but tempted?

“We may return home now,” Aiko stated as he approached Lana.

As she peddled him home, she felt extremely fired up. She had thought her biggest worry would be other high school girls. Now, she realized that opponents could come from any age group, even married women! The number of women pursuing Aiko was going to be growing exponentially. Her only chance at having him to herself was to finish this potion. She resolved herself for the long battle ahead.

She would win this fight!