Shopping For Clothes

“Hey, Jin-dono. I feel like people are staring at me rather strangely…”

As we rode the escalator, Seram spoke with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

Seram had been attracting attention ever since we entered the mall, but apparently she’d only noticed now that she’d calmed down enough to observe her surroundings.

“Well, you don’t see many people who look like you around here, Seram. They’re probably just curious.”

“I-I see.”

“Besides, you’re carrying a sword.”

“My sword is as precious to me as my own life! I could never leave it behind!”

“Hey, I never said you had to leave it behind.”

Of course, that was probably part of the reason, but more accurately, people were simply captivated by Seram’s beauty.

With the increase in tourism, foreigners had become a common sight in all sorts of places, but someone as beautiful as Seram was exceedingly rare. You normally only saw women like her on television or in movies. It was only natural that she attracted attention.

“Hmm, now that I look more closely, all the young women around us are wearing such beautiful clothes. Could it be that my outfit is inappropriate for this place?”

After observing her surroundings more carefully, Seram seemed to have noticed how different she looked from everyone else.

“Those are the kinds of clothes students wear for exercise or physical work. They’re not really appropriate for going out.”

“I-I didn’t realize…”

“Well, that’s why we came here today! Let’s buy you lots of fashionable clothes!”

“Y-yes, let’s! I’m not accustomed to this sort of thing, but I’m counting on you, Kaho-dono.”

“Ahaha! You sound like a samurai!”

Kaho laughed at Seram’s formal manner of speaking.

The two seemed to get along well, so I probably didn’t have to worry about the shopping trip.

When we reached the third floor and walked along the corridor, the stores gradually became almost exclusively women’s clothing shops.

Most of the customers in this area were women, families, or couples, so I felt a little out of place as a man.

Then we arrived at what could be considered our most important destination: the lingerie store.

The sign displayed stylized English lettering designed to look fashionable. Unlike the interiors of men’s clothing stores, the shop was decorated in soft shades of pink, as though proudly declaring itself a sanctuary reserved for women.

“What’s this place?”

Seram seemed just as bewildered as I was by the store’s glamorous interior.

Perhaps they didn’t have specialized lingerie stores in Another World.

“It’s a lingerie store. We’re going to buy your underwear here, Seram-san.”

“O-oh, understood.”

Kaho entered the store, and Seram followed her inside.

“Well, I’ll wander around for a while and wait for you two.”

I was about to leave them to their shopping and go my separate way when Seram stopped me.

“You’re not coming with us, Jin-dono!?”

“It’d be awkward for a man to go inside, wouldn’t it?”

I understood that she was nervous, but that was asking a little too much.

“Apparently, it’s fine as long as men don’t wander around alone or go near the fitting rooms, but that’d still be pretty uncomfortable for Jin-san. If you’re worried, why not have him wait somewhere you can see him from inside the store?”

“Wouldn’t that make me look like some kind of suspicious creep…?”

“She’s your wife, isn’t she? You should be a little more dependable and stay with her.”

Given my current position, it was hard to argue with that.

“…I’ll be waiting right over there, so take your time and get what you need.”

“Understood.”

When I told her that, Seram smiled with relief and went into the store.

“What a cute wife you’ve got.”

Seeing our interaction, Kaho started teasing me, so I waved my hand dismissively to shoo her away.

“Shut up and get on with the shopping.”

However, instead of leaving, Kaho remained where she was and held out her hand.

“Money…”

“Didn’t I give you some on the escalator?”

I’d already put what I expected Seram’s clothes to cost into an envelope and handed it to Kaho on the way.

“You’re seriously underestimating how much women’s underwear costs. There’s no way that little amount will be enough.”

Apparently, I hadn’t given her enough money. Was women’s underwear really that expensive?

How was I supposed to know? I’d never bought women’s underwear before, much less paid attention to its price.

I took several ten-thousand-yen bills from my wallet and handed them to Kaho.

She nodded in satisfaction and finally entered the store.

An hour after we’d arrived at the lingerie store, the two of them finally emerged.

Seram wore a satisfied smile and carried a paper shopping bag bearing the store’s logo.

I’d expected them to take thirty minutes at most, so I was thoroughly exhausted from waiting.

“…Didn’t that take a little too long?”

“Women take time when they shop. We actually hurried because we were trying to be considerate of you.”

I couldn’t help complaining to Kaho, but she brushed it off without a second thought.

Come to think of it, women’s shopping trips did tend to take a long time. It had been so long since I’d gone shopping with a woman that I’d completely forgotten.

“Did you manage to get everything?”

“Indeed! These things called bras are incredible! They hold my chest firmly in place, making it so much easier to move around—”

“You don’t have to explain.”

Seram spoke excitedly while lifting her breasts with her hands.

When I stopped her, she seemed to come to her senses, and her face turned bright red.

“M-my apologies. That was terribly improper of me.”

She’d probably become so accustomed to talking with other women that she’d temporarily forgotten her sense of embarrassment.

Considering she’d just spent an entire hour discussing underwear with Kaho and the store employees, I supposed it couldn’t be helped.

At any rate, we had finally resolved the problem of her going braless, so I ought to be happy about that.

“Now that we’ve successfully bought her underwear, let’s move on to clothes she can wear outside.”

“Yeah, let’s.”

The atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, but Kaho had conveniently changed the subject, so I gladly went along with it.

Unlike a lingerie store, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable accompanying them into a regular clothing shop, which was a relief.

“What kind of clothes does she have at home?”

“Seram barely has any clothes of her own. Apparently, she couldn’t bring much luggage with her when she came here.”

“Then we’ll have to put together pretty much an entire wardrobe from scratch.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could keep the costs down…”

If we ended up spending as much as we had at the lingerie store, my savings would take a considerable hit.

I was sorry to ask, but I really wanted to avoid that.

“I know. If we tried to buy everything from designer brands, the cost would be ridiculous. I’ll make sure we get her some good-quality clothes at the lowest prices possible.”

“Kaho…!”

“That way, I can buy myself some expensive clothes without feeling guilty.”

I’d like my respect and gratitude back, please.

Still, I appreciated that she intended to keep Seram’s clothing expenses as low as possible.

“If you want good clothes at low prices, Unishiro is definitely the way to go.”

The first store we entered to put together Seram’s wardrobe was Unishiro, one of the major names in the fashion industry.

It was a clothing retailer that offered high-quality, fashionable clothes at affordable prices, making it a blessing for ordinary people’s wallets.

I shopped there quite often myself.

“Ah! They’ve got T-shirts and pants on sale over there! Seram-san, come with me!”

“O-okay!”

The moment Kaho spotted the sale racks, she grabbed Seram’s hand and pulled her over.

She picked up a T-shirt from the rack, held it against Seram’s body, and checked the size and color. Whenever they found something promising, Seram would pick it up herself and hold it against her body in front of a mirror.

Watching her shop like that, it was hard to believe Seram was someone from Another World.

“I’ll leave them to it.”

When it came to women’s shopping, it was best to leave things to the women themselves.

Seeing how well the two were getting along, I decided to wander around the store on my own.