Chapter 76

With the help of Ostro and the inn’s maidservants, we tried on the armaments for our quiet battle with the Bax Company.

In this world, luxurious clothing was apparently easy to understand: simply a lot of cloth, then embroidery with gold thread and silver thread. Competing through design seemed to be something reserved only for very culturally advanced large cities.

And I could tell from Ostro and the others’ reactions that the skills of Jirenu Territory’s tailors were apparently not too bad either.

“It’s hard to move…”

“Hehe, Kururu, you really are cute when you dress properly too.”

“Forget about me. Please do something about Yorinobu. Why does he look so unimpressive?”

Kururu, who looked like a tomboy princess wearing a dress for an evening party for the first time, pointed at me.

“It is strange, isn’t it? He’s fairly tall too. Maybe it’s because his back tends to hunch?”

“It’s because I’m a commoner to the bone.”

When I said that somewhat sulkily, the two glittering girls giggled.

“I’m joking. It suits you well enough.”

“Well enough, yes.”

Because their skirts used a lot of cloth, the two of them were hiding their tails, but I could somehow tell that they were swaying happily.

However, trying to hide their beast ears seemed like it would only make things look stranger, so they were left as they were.

In Roran, where the slave trade of beastfolk flourished, having these two attend a drinking party held by the Bax Company, which was probably involved in that trade as well, left me somewhat uneasy.

But surely the two of them would be fine.

“Still, Kururu, your accessories are quite bulky.”

“Are they…? I didn’t think so when we ordered them.”

It meant that trying things on was important, I suppose. Kururu was wearing earrings, a necklace, and bracelets, but as Iiria said, they were somewhat rugged.

Ostro, who had been watching the situation with a smile, spoke up.

“Recently, accessories with a strong presence have also been favored. The craftsman must have made them larger out of consideration.”

Kururu had looked somewhat uneasy at Iiria’s comment, but after Ostro said that, she nodded.

“Then… can I take this off?”

Iiria lightly patted Kururu’s back as she twisted her body like a cat having a harness put on it for the first time.

“You’re going to practice walking while wearing that.”

When Kururu turned a shocked face toward Iiria, Iiria, who was always scolded at the mansion for being lazy, smiled.

“Just imitate me. I’m still a noble, after all, so I was taught a decent amount of etiquette long ago. Ostro-san, please.”

“Certainly.”

“…”

Kururu looked at me with her back tending to hunch, utterly fed up.

Iiria, who said she had learned the basics of court etiquette when she was young, was awkward at first but quickly got used to it. Kururu mastered it after some difficulty, and by the time I received a barely passing grade as a commoner, a messenger from the Bax Company came.

The messenger reverently offered a letter placed on a cushion that looked like an even smaller version of the footrest Iiria had mistaken for a chair and sat on.

It was sealed with wax and infused with fragrance, and both Iiria and Kururu were sniffing at it with great interest.

If I were to take a photo, the title would probably be, Girls Fascinated by the Scent of the City.

“The dinner is tomorrow night. That’s a relief.”

“They probably couldn’t stand it if they invited us on the same day we were rocked around on the ship and someone vomited.”

Kururu looked displeased, but Iiria giggled.

“Then can I finally take this off?”

This time, Iiria did not object either.

After changing and becoming lighter, Kururu looked truly refreshed.

“Ah, that feels better.”

As she stretched her body, her slender outline looked truly healthy.

Moreover, instead of the uniform she wore at the mansion, she was dressed in men’s clothing like when she disguised herself as Dorasuteru, so her gender became a little ambiguous.

“Lady Iiria, are you going into town?”

“I really can’t today… Why are you so energetic?”

Gerario also laughed at Iiria, who looked half-exasperated.

“I think I’ll have a smoke too. Iiria-chan, do you smoke?”

Kururu seemed like she would suit sitting in an alley and smoking with dead eyes, but Iiria seemed like she would suit holding a gold pipe in her mouth with dead eyes inside a luxurious mansion.

In a room exactly like this one.

“Lady Iiria, you mustn’t.”

After Kururu warned her, Iiria shrugged.

It seemed that even in this world, luxury goods had a somewhat bad image.

“I know.”

Gerario probably had no intention of letting her smoke either, but he laughed at their exchange.

“All right, Yorinobu. Let’s go do some work while we’re sightseeing.”

Kururu tied up her hair, and lastly, she put on the same rugged cloak as when she disguised herself as Dorasuteru, then pulled the hood low over her eyes. It hid both her ears and tail, and she looked like a traveling boy.

“Dinner will be another training session in table manners here, all right? Don’t snack outside.”

Iiria warned her as if getting revenge for the tobacco, and after pouting her lips, Kururu answered like a child.