Love for Sale (Episodes 1 and 2)

This is Orchard Village, where various fruit fairies live. They sell fruit to travelers and receive a small amount of their life force in return.
Pom is a girl apple fairy. Pom's apple is not yet ripe and not very sweet.
"How can I get travelers to buy it?"
Without the traveler's share of life force, Pom will wither and die.
I asked a grape spirit named Shion. For some reason, Shion's grapes attract travelers, and they all flock to offer their life force.
"I'll give you the scent of love."
Shion told me.
love.
Pom thought hard. What is love?
Pom, who has never been in love, has no idea what it smells like.
I collected various wildflowers blooming in the village and created a pleasant fragrance.
"Is this okay?"
A traveler approaches Pom and seems interested in his apple.
"Traveler, how about some delicious apples? I'll scent them with the scent of love that I've made with all my heart."
The traveler sniffed Pom's love interest and said,
"This isn't real love. It's just the artificial scent of wildflowers."
And the traveller left Pomme, leaving only a little of his vitality behind.
Pom became sad.
This little bit of vitality is not enough for Pom.
"I wonder if I'll just wither away like this"
Pom burst into tears.
A drop of that tear fell into the extract of the love fragrance made from wild flowers.
Suddenly, a different scent filled the air.
The scent must have changed due to Pom's tears.
Perhaps attracted by the scent, another traveler became interested in Pomme's apples and approached.
"It smells delicious. Can I have one of your apples?"
"Yes. Thank you."
Pom was able to get enough life energy from the satisfied traveler to survive for the time being.
This is the story of Pom's first love affair.

 

Now, continuing from last time.

Aimi told a friend with a high ability to recognize faces how happy she was that she could vividly remember her boyfriend's face and expressions. "This might be love!" she said.

Friend: "Well, that's half true, but half wrong. The reason is that I have an extremely strong interest in people's faces, so I recognize them. Neither Aimi nor Mr./Ms. X (me) are as interested in faces as I am, so they don't stick in my memory. But the fact that Aimi remembered her boyfriend's face and expressions means that her interest in him grew, and as part of that, it extended to his face."

Me: "I see. So, what does love feel like to you (your friend)?"

Friend: "That's true. For me, the feelings I have after sex are different. After having sex with a girl who's just there to satisfy my sexual desire and I'm not really into it, I feel a bit drained, but after having sex with a girl I like, I feel happy. It's like we've gotten closer."

Me: "Oh."

Friend: "So, for me, sex is actually a hindrance to romance. It's not necessary."

Me: "I guess it's like they feel like sexual desire is just an eyesore, nothing more than noise when it comes to enjoying romantic feelings. That's not the case for me. In fact, it's only once we've had a physical relationship that I can finally feel at ease and love the woman. This has been the case ever since I was young, even before I started sugar dating. I'm not at all attracted to women I haven't had a physical relationship with."

Friend: "It's different for each person. I think that's fine. Speaking of love, I've recently realized that obsession and romantic feelings are two different things."

I said, "That sounds interesting."

Friend: "About four years ago, I was crazy about you. You were the kind of girl who accepted all my sexual preferences and was okay with anything."

Me: "Here he is, he suddenly disappeared one day. After that, Mr. △ was really depressed."

Friend: "Now that I think about it, it wasn't romantic feelings, it was more like 'obsession'."

Me: "From my perspective, it seemed like she was in love."

Friend: "I don't think that was the case now. I felt a real sense of loss when she left. In a way, it was like a part of me had been taken away. But I think that was because she had taken on all of my desire to dominate, which went beyond my sexual desire, or rather, I was forcing it upon her. I don't think I was in love with her."

I think I understand what my friend is saying.

This is because I too have had similar experiences with sugar daddy relationships more than once.

A relationship in which paying money means that a large part of your sexual preferences, or in other words, your selfishness, is accepted. Even if you think you are on equal footing, you may have been forcing a burden on the other person somewhere. One day, you may find yourself losing contact with them.

At that moment, I felt as if I had been suddenly dropped into a deep well. I had no idea why this had happened.

And then he realizes how much he needed her.

Huh? Is this love?

Had he suddenly fallen in love with her?

No, according to my friend, it's not romantic feelings but "obsession."

It makes sense when you point it out, because the sense of loss I felt at that time was like a child crying because they had broken their favorite toy.

That can't be called a broken heart. Even someone like me with little experience in love can make that judgment.

Me: "I don't have much experience in love, so I can't say anything arrogant, but I think I understand what you're saying about the difference between love and obsession. I think love is probably something that exists on the basis of a more equal relationship, I'm sure."

Friend: "That's right. When you exercise the power of money, it creates obsession. I think a lot of men become dependent on the sweet relationships that are born from it and mistake it for love."

Hmmm.

With this, there is no way that a beautiful love story can be born from "Love for Sale."

I'm starting to get a little confused about what love is, so I asked the AI, "What is love?"

[What is love?]

Love is a special emotion that you have for a particular person, and it can be interpreted from many different perspectives. Below are some of the main interpretations.

<Psychological Perspective>

In psychology, love is seen as a complex mix of emotions and behaviors made up of many different elements.
The difference between "love" and "romance": "Love" is temporary and often focuses on one's own emotions (excitement and happiness), whereas "love" is a devoted feeling that wishes for the other person's happiness and is cultivated over time.
Three Principles: Some say that romantic love is comprised of three main principles: attachment, caring, and intimacy.
Selfish or devoted: "Like" is a selfish emotion that wishes for one's own happiness, while "I love you" is said to include a devoted feeling that puts the other person's happiness first.

Sociological Perspective

In sociology, love is considered to be shaped not only by individual emotions, but also by social structures and culture.
Diverse Relationships: In today's world, diverse intimate relationships have emerged, and the nature of romance is changing.
Social constraints and changes: The way relationships begin and develop varies depending on the era and culture, and sometimes even acts like confessing your feelings can be a major hurdle.

<Personal experiential perspective>

Love is perceived differently depending on each person's experiences and values.
Joy and pain: While it can bring thrilling feelings of elation and happiness, it can also be accompanied by pain and sadness when things don't go as planned.
Opportunity for growth: Romance can be an opportunity for personal growth, as it teaches us how to treat ourselves and others.

<Summary>

Romance is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that, while scientifically explained, is also heavily influenced by the subjective experience of the individual. For some, it is a fleeting moment, while for others it is a lifelong bond; there is no single definition of romantic love.

No, I see.

In that case, romance is a set of love = excitement and happiness, and love = feelings of devotion.

In sugar dating, devotion equals money, and while in a normal romantic relationship, both the man and the woman cultivate love and affection on an equal footing, in sugar dating, it is the man who cultivates love and affection unilaterally (or rather, is made to do so by the woman), which is what makes it different.

Let me write more.

Pom often visited Shion's sister.
I wanted to know why my sister's love attracted so many travelers.
"Shion-san is so lovely. I want to have a love like Shion-san's. I'm sure you've had many wonderful relationships."
Shion smiled and replied.
"Pom-chan, the scent of love isn't something that comes from falling in love. It's something that you draw out from the other person."
"From the traveller?"
"That's right. That's not our scent, but a scent that lies dormant deep within the traveler's heart. We can help bring it out."
"Really? Come to think of it, the first love I ever sold came from my own tears. It was strange because tears have no scent."
Shion silently unwrapped the bandages around his left arm.
"Pom-chan, this is the secret of my love."
There was a painful, raw wound there.
Shion's love was scented by the blood dripping from his arm.
"Travelers don't just love our beauty, they love our weaknesses and pain. When they see these things, love is born within them. The scent fills the air, giving the illusion that it is the scent of our grapes and apples. That is the love we sell."
Pom was surprised.
But then I understood. I see, so that's how the essence of love was born from those scentless tears. My sadness brought out the traveler's love.
A few days later, Shion-san disappeared.
It happened so suddenly, without any warning.
This is a common occurrence in this village. One day, someone suddenly disappears.
Maybe he was tired of cutting his arm and letting blood flow to scent his love.
But no one really knows.
The travelers who had paid Shion-san's life force to win her affection looked at a loss.
But after a while they found new fruit spirits and each one had his favorite dream.
That's everyday life in Orchard Village.