"...How is it?"
After the sound of rustling clothes, the fitting room curtain opened.
What came into view was Eve wearing a refreshing light-blue and white one-piece dress.
The hem had cute frills that emphasized a girlish, delicate charm. On her head she wore a white beret with a light-blue string ribbon... In one word, it was the kind of outfit a young lady or noble daughter would wear.
After thinking hard, I answered, "It looks like something a rich, well-bred, elegant girl
would wear."
"...Next is this one."
The next outfit Eve changed into was a slightly loose white polo shirt, a light-blue hoodie worn loosely over it, and short pants.
She had on a cap with a brim in the front, and her hair was tied up short with a hair tie. It gave off a very boyish impression.
After thinking hard again, I answered, "It feels boyish."
"...Master."
Next was a super frilly and cute maid outfit. She had a light-blue headband on, and it was really adorable.
I twisted my brain as much as possible and answered, "It's a maid."
"...Cat."
This time, Eve appeared wearing cat ears and gloves shaped like cat paws, doing a cat pose and meowing.
I answered without thinking too deeply, "You look like Aldi."
Now she was wearing a wide-brimmed black witch hat and a black gothic-style outfit.
"...Witch."
After thinking carefully, I answered, "You look like you're up to no good."
Next was something like a church sister's outfit. I answered, "Makes me want to pray....Sister.""
"......"
It was sleepwear. Or rather, pajamas. I answered, "I'm the type who doesn't wear pajamas."
"........"
A full-body bear full-body bear onesie. Her face was completely hidden, but it was a really cute costume.
I honestly told her what I thought: "It's cute." However—
"—You're definitely, definitely messing with me. Why are your answers so half-hearted with the other outfits, but this is what you say for this one? It's weird. Absolutely weird."
"Wait, hold on! Scary! It's scary when you're in that costume!"
Eve, still in the bear costume, squeezed my full-face helmet with crushing force. Her voice sounded deeper and I couldn't see her face, so it was seriously terrifying.
Also, I don't even understand why she's mad. I thought I gave the best answers after thinking really hard.
"...Never mind. Just tell me which one suited me the most."
Eve took off the bear head, gave me a slightly sharp look, and muttered in resignation.
"Hmm... the one that suited you best? ...Then the first light-blue one-piece dress."
I answered casually without thinking much about it.
"...I see. Then I'll buy this one."
Eve handed me the light-blue dress and asked, "Can you go pay for it?" Eh... Is that one really okay?
"...Is this the only one you want? I don't mind buying the others too since they're not expensive—" I just said it randomly.
"It's fine... I was only planning to have you buy me one outfit from the start."
"......For real?"
The price tag showed it was less than 10,000 Rien.
...It looks like even the original 30,000 Rien would have been more than enough. What was all my effort for? Well, I can buy magic tools with the leftover money, so I'm happy about that, but I still feel a bit unsatisfied.
I went to the register, paid, and handed Eve the paper bag with the dress. She took it and quietly said "Thanks," with a small smile on her face.
"...Was this really okay? I honestly just said it randomly—"
"It's fine. To be honest... I wasn't expecting much anyway. Plus— Reiji would probably say the same thing."
Eve said that with a somewhat nostalgic look, staring off into the distance.
...It seems like my random answers were acceptable after all. I actually tried pretty hard, so it feels a bit complicated.
"Then... is this the end? In that case, the tickets—"
I was about to say "please," when she spoke.
"...The clothes are done, but since we're already out, I want to look around the city a bit. Think of it as practice."
"Practice? ...Well, I did promise to go shopping with you, so I don't mind..."
"Yeah. ...Let's go."
Eve gently pinched the gauntlet part of my armor and pulled me out of the store. I followed quietly without saying anything.
And so — we ended up wandering around the magic-filled streets of Magicosmaia.
Sometimes we watched street performers with small audiences. When Eve watched with a completely blank face and didn't smile once, the performer ran away crying.
Another time, we went into a haunted house attraction labeled "Ghost Mansion" that was probably made for the upcoming festival. Eve walked through without getting scared at all, set a new fastest record, and got a prize.
At a shooting gallery using magic guns, she didn't miss once and kept winning prizes until the owner begged us to stop. What the hell are we even doing?
"I'm so tired..."
Right now we're resting on a bench in a nearby plaza because we got worn out from walking around so much.
"...I'm sorry."
While I was leaning back on the bench resting, Eve suddenly looked down and apologized.
I didn't understand why she was apologizing, so I asked, "Huh? For what?"
"...I think you were bored. So... I'm sorry."
"Not really. It wasn't like that."
This was actually my first time doing stuff like this with someone, so it felt pretty fresh and fun. Eve didn't need to worry. Besides—
"—Whether I had fun or not doesn't matter. More importantly... did you have fun, Eve?"
That's what's important. There's no need to worry about whether I enjoyed it.
Eve lifted her head after hearing my words and said with a slightly shy expression,
"...Yeah, I had fun."
"Then that's good enough. This whole thing is something you wanted to do, so you don't need to worry about me."
I told her exactly what I was thinking.
"I'm the host and you're the guest. So you should just do what you want. ...People are happiest when they do what they truly want."
"...Thank you."
Eve looked surprised for a moment, then looked down at the ground and answered.
"So... what do you want to do next? It's almost lunchtime and I'm getting hungry. Want to grab something to eat? ...I don't really know any good restaurants though."
I glanced at the large magic clock in the plaza and made the suggestion.
"I'm hungry too. ...I know a place, so follow me."
Eve said that and put her hand on the bench to stand up, but—
"—Ouch."
She quietly winced and held her right index finger.
Looking closely... the tip of her finger was cut a little and bleeding.
...It seemed a part of the bench had a splinter, and since it was wooden, she had cut her finger. It didn't look very deep, but it was bleeding and probably hurt.
"Heal—"
I immediately raised my hand to cast recovery magic, but
"It's fine. It's okay— don't use it."
Eve stopped me before I could cast it.
"But still—"
"It's fine... It'll heal if I just lick it."
"So manly."
Eve put her index finger in her mouth and sucked on it. Way too manly. Eve △ Triangle.
I thought it would be easier to just use recovery magic, but some white mages prefer to let minor injuries heal naturally.
She's probably one of those natural healing types. Plus, using too much recovery magic can actually be dangerous.
"...Okay. Let's go."
After a little while, Eve took her finger out of her mouth once the bleeding stopped and started walking to lead the way.
"—Huh?"
I started walking after her, but I felt a small sense of discomfort.
"...Did she use recovery magic?"
Her right index finger looked completely clean, as if the injury had never happened. Strange... I don't think I felt any magic power.
...Well, whatever. She probably used it secretly. Probably.