Chapter 261.2
"Hey, Walnut!"
Hu Tao stopped dancing and turned around upon hearing her new nickname; Barbara gave her this abhorrent moniker as a token of their new friendship.
"Let me ask you then, truth or dare?"
"Hmmm, truth!"
"Ah, choosing the safer option! Alright, let's see." While contemplating, she placed a finger beneath her chin and then smiled mischievously.
"Alright, here goes..."
As she was talking, Hu Tao listened carefully and nodded.
Then, Barbara got close to Hu Tao and inquired, "...How did your first time with Yum-Yum feel like? Did it feel good?"
Bringing forth the haymaker, Barbara rendered everyone speechless.
"...Eh, umm, i-it...it felt really nice? Heheh...Uhhh..." Hu Tao stuttered, slightly embarrassed by the question.
She did not anticipate the truth or dare to be that intimate!
This was like an interrogation about her private life!
Unbeknownst to her, Hu Tao's cheeks grew excessively red in front of the other girls.
The fact that everyone was staring at her and waiting patiently for her response filled her insides with shame.
Finally, she swallowed hard and looked at Barbara nervously, "Um...th-the first time we did it, I thought...I thought it was awesome..."
As she observed Hu Tao becoming increasingly ashamed, Barbara's grin intensified.
"Yes! I'm certain it was!" Barbara attempted to cheer up Hu Tao, but it didn't seem to be working.
It seemed Hu Tao had gotten too shy to continue; she and everyone else could tell.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. But, I can't say I feel bad for asking! Your response was just too cute! Alright, now you can ask someone."
"ehm..."
And now it dawned to all of the participants in this game, that choosing the truth might have not been the safest choice after all!
It was equally as dangerous as picking a dare!
"A-Alright then...um...Fishy-Fishy...truth or dare?"
"M-Me...? I don't..."
Fischl looked around nervously as she felt everyone's gaze on her.
The current attention she was receiving caused her heart to race. She used to have a social anxiety and it never completely went away...
How was she expected to respond?
Should she say the truth or the dare?
Truth could be anything...
Dare could be anything...
This was a lot more pressure than she ever thought possible.
The small, timid voice was able to capture everyone's attention by saying, "Truth..."
"Um...well...how many...children do you want to have in the future?"
At this point, the room was completely silent.
Even Hu Tao, who posed the question, did not know how to respond if she were to be asked.
"...t-two or three...I-I figure...two boys and one girl would be...lovely..."
"Aww! You're just so precious!"
Barbara didn't know whether she should burst into laughter or cry at the adorable way that Fischl answered such a question.
"Woah...that's a lot!" Hu Tao exclaimed loudly.
"It would be hard to take care of them."
Everyone agreed that caring for children was not simple, and if she wanted to have three, she would have to put in extra effort to raise them well.
"N-Now then, Ich shall giveth thou a question, Barbara!"
"Yes! I choose the truth." Barbara quickly responded.
"Art thou...interested in Starlord Yomite... romantically...? "
Everyone's eyes widened.
They all wondered why would Fischl think someone like Barbara was interested in him.
To their surprise, she answered without hesitation, "Yes, I am."
"""Eh!? Really!?"""
While some of the girls were shocked, others were not.
Fischl and Hu Tao were aware that something was going on behind the scenes with the two of them, but everyone else was kept in the dark.
"Paimon cannot believe it...he'd done it again...how many girls did he charm in our party already, four?" The little fairy grumbled as she sat on Lumine's shoulder with her legs dangling in mid-air.
Barbara replied with a chuckle, "I believe three, unless you count yourself as the fourth."
"Nyeah!"
As she crossed her arms in front of her chest, the little fae pouted.
"Pa-Paimon is not interested..." she murmured in a low voice.
"Well, then, who is it?" Barbara looked around the room and only two candidates were remaining, "Lumine or Iris?"
""...""
Both of them were quiet from the start until now.
"...Now then...let me ask you...Lumine, truth or dare?"
Lumine looked at Barbara nervously, but for some reason, she was feeling a little bit hopeful too.
Perhaps it was not too late...perhaps she still had some chance...
While staring into Barbara's eyes, she grabbed a bottle of wine and downed half of it in one go.
She finished it off in three seconds, leaving everyone in awe.
She drank it that fast?!
Lumine must have been a heavy wine enjoyer! And she was, but only Yomite was aware.
"You're really...thirsty..." Barbara muttered to herself.
Lumine wiped the corners of her mouth, then looked straight at Barbara and blurted out, "...Dare!"
Barbara flashed a sadistic grin and then said, "Hmm....you're gonna regret that~ or maybe...not."
She paused and added, "Let's see...I dare you to go to the second floor to Yum-Yum's room, and lay in his bed with him for a few minutes!"
The entire room appeared to freeze at that instant.
Did she say what they thought she did...?
Lumine's eyes grew wide as she looked at Barbara with a shocked expression.
Her heart skipped a beat at the challenge.
Was...
Was this really allowed...?
A dare like this seemed a bit too daring...Was this...fair?
Still, why was it that she was feeling excitement just imagining it..?
"Paimon doesn't believe it's a good idea to push the traveler into the lion's lair," the tiny fairy stated, expressing her displeasure.
Lumine, however, resolved herself instantly, "No, I'll do it," and began walking towards the stairs.
"Don't worry, just lie in his bed, nothing else is necessary!"
Just as Lumine left, Barbara curiously sat next to Paimon and asked her, "The fourth person you mentioned by mistake was her, wasn't it?"
Paimon initially denied it, but after being coaxed with chocolates, she chose to acknowledge the painful truth.
"Despite Paimon's warnings she never listened to me! Now the tiger will devour her! Paimon will be next! Paimon can feel it! "
"Don't worry, I'll make sure the tiger doesn't eat Paimon!" Barbara chuckled and then ran after Lumine to check whether she didn't chicken out from the dare, but it seemed that it was proceeding smoothly with Lumine successfully entering Yomite's room.
"So, Yum-Yum didn't lock his door after all? Could it be he was expecting something to happen...?"