Chapter 19

“Wow, there are so many people today.”

Miel seemed to be a woman after all, as she looked around here and there at the streets of ‘Adre,’ where pretty clothes were displayed on every corner, and enjoyed herself. Seeing her like that brought a fond smile to my lips all on its own.

Isn’t happiness precisely this?

However, my impression immediately soured at the voice that rang out.

“Phew, I hope we can finish our business and head back soon.”

Ah, it would have been perfect if it weren’t for Carusien, that punk who knew nothing of etiquette in front of these women (?). Of all things, why did Miel have to like Carusien? I still couldn’t believe it.

“Y-yess…”

Seeing Miel flush bright red at Carusien’s words, unable to even retort and bowing her head in submission, stirred feelings of both cuteness and irritation within me.

A blunt voice naturally spilled from my lips.

“No, what are you talking about when you’re several times healthier than us? Make sure you actually stick close to us today. Don’t go getting lost like a little kid and missing us. Understand?”

At my words, Miel cautiously tugged at the hem of my clothes and shook her head as if telling me not to do that. Seeing Miel take Carusien’s side in a situation like this made me feel a bit left out and my chest ached slightly.

Had I really gotten used to a woman’s body to this extent, or was I just this soft-hearted to begin with? Tears almost welled up in my eyes for no reason.

However, recalling the saying that love is won by the courageous, I mustered up my energy, grabbed Miel’s hand, and started walking forward.

“Hmph, let’s go, Miel. Keep up, Teacher.”

“Kya! Armien.”

I pulled Miel’s arm a bit roughly as I thought. Although Miel liked Carusien, it wasn’t entirely impossible to wedge myself between them. Rather, considering that [Harmiel’s] original ending ultimately paired her with Prince Fren, there might be no chance of Carusien and Miel ending up together, meaning I wouldn’t even need to be on guard.

In other words, depending on what I did from here on out, winning Miel over wasn’t entirely out of the question either.

Glancing back to make sure Carusien was following behind us properly, I asked Miel.

“Come to think of it, what about your maid? Didn’t she come along?”

Miel, wearing a kind smile, answered my question.

“Ah, she came with me, but… since Lord Carusien was here too, I just told her to rest nearby. Rachel usually suffers a lot because of me anyway. I’m a bit clumsy, you see.”

Tsk, she’s an angel. A real angel. If my mother was a demon in an angel’s mask, the Miel right before my eyes was an angel whose very blood seemed pure white.

Come to think of it, Yul also constantly sighed and went through a lot because of me, yet I hadn’t paid enough attention to her.

“What about Yul…?”

“That is fine, Young Lady.”

“…………”

Her reply was so firm that the narration of her intense determination never to leave my side seemed to echo right in my ears. I nodded.

As I realized anew every day, Yul truly seemed to be a top-tier maid who fulfilled her responsibilities to her profession.

While I was inwardly admiring Yul, Miel suddenly stopped in her tracks beside me and pointed to one side. As my gaze naturally followed her finger, a pink dress covered in an excessive, absurd amount of cute frills came into view. Just looking at it was so embarrassing that my head instinctively turned away.

There was no way I could walk outside in something like that out of sheer mortification. A laugh slipped out naturally. Miel must have pointed at it because she thought it was funny, too.

However, I quickly realized I had to modify my thoughts about Miel by 180 degrees. And I froze in place, as if welded solid.

“Doesn’t that dress look really pretty? I think it would suit Armien so well.”

“………”

No. Please tell me you’re joking!

“Do you want to try it on?”

I wanted to say I was fine, that there were plenty of other pretty dresses, but seeing Miel look up at me like a hamster with her sparkling eyes shining bright, words completely opposite to my true feelings spilled out of my mouth.

“S-shall we?”

“Yeah! Let’s go take a look.”

Just a moment ago, I had been the one dragging Miel around, but before I knew it, the roles had reversed. As I was led by her and felt the distance to that pink dress steadily closing, I felt like a condemned prisoner walking toward the guillotine of my own accord.

Oh, God. It’s hard enough to accept becoming a girl, but I can handle that. However, not this! Anything but this!

True to form, since atheists praying didn’t seem likely to get any answers, Miel had completely discarded her usual demure demeanor, dragging me by force right into the shop while Yul and Carusien followed behind with deep sighs.

Clang—!

The door opened, ringing a cheerful bell to announce a customer’s arrival. The inside of the shop was unexpectedly neat, and the interior design actually looked quite tasteful, not bad at all.

Yet, as if there was some invisible law stating that normal people could not exist in this damn world, an unusual voice echoed through the air.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my? We have three lovely young ladies, and a young master even prettier than meee?!”

At a tone of voice that made my skin crawl just hearing it, my expression twisted into a deep scowl once more. I looked toward the source of the voice, only to hastily snap my head away.

Crazy.

Standing right there was a man with rugged, sun-tanned skin and bulging muscles—someone who looked like he could punch a passing orc to death with his bare hands outside the city walls this very instant—wearing an ill-fitting pink dress covered in frills, staring right at us while blinking his eyes at a terrifying speed.

I was genuinely afraid he’d show up in my nightmares. Damn it.

And the man seemed to interpret my recoil in a completely different way.

“My, are you shy, sweetie?”

“Gk!”

At the man’s words, Carusien let out an involuntary groan and reached for the sword at his waist. To his eyes, the man’s words seemed to constitute a form of mental attack.

And as for me…

Urrp, uuuuuaaak.

Even as dark thoughts crossed my mind—wondering if I should have just been a Sword Master so I could slice that gabbing mouth right off—I simultaneously felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.

Yet Miel seemed entirely unfazed by this crazy bastard, or perhaps she was so captivated by that absurd dress that she paid no mind to her surroundings. She stared straight into his eyes and spoke.

“May I try this on?”

The shop owner followed Miel’s finger to see what she was pointing at, spotted the heavily frilly pink dress, and suddenly tensed his entire body, beginning to twist and writhe. His rugged muscles rippled as if they were alive.

“Keuk!”

With another groan from Carusien, I barely managed to keep myself from actually vomiting.

And then, that crazy bastard shouted with both arms wide open.

“Ec-ec-ecstasy!!”

Hearing that, I instinctively took a step back, and Carusien’s sword was already halfway out of its scabbard.

He was nuts. This guy was a genuine lunatic. The man was already shedding tears, looking for all the world like a hardcore drug addict.

Feeling a bad omen, I tried to take Miel and run, but the crazy bastard let tears stream down his face and opened his mouth.

“Hick, it’s already been 17 years since I opened this shop! Until now, not a single wonderful woman understood the true value of that dress, but to think I’d meet her like this! La Destin! This is destiny!”

Now was the time. There was no other chance to run. That was what I thought.

If I stayed with this crazy bastard even a second longer, I felt like I’d be carted off to a mental hospital as a certified madman.

Yet Miel’s gaze didn’t waver in the least, even in this situation.

The crazy bastard winked at her.

“Give it a try, cute girl!”

At his words, Miel shook her head slowly—slowly enough to make the watcher feel a sense of regret.

“It’s a pity, but I’m not the one who’s going to wear that dress.”

No. Miel. Don’t do this.

“The one who’s going to wear that dress is my friend, Armien.”

Did I really have to accept this twisted fate? My heart grew weaker and weaker. Right around then, I caught sight of Miel clutching tightly at her skirt hem.

The moment I saw that sight, a good idea struck me. I decided that now was the time to show off the absolute peak of my newly sharpened acting skills.

“No, Miel!”

“Armien?”

“That dress is calling out for you! Not me, but you!”

At my words, the crazy bastard of a shop owner and Miel covered their mouths in surprise at the same time. Then, trembling, they spoke.

“C-could it be, Armien, you heard it too?”

Huh?

I had no idea what Miel was talking about. But at the crazy bastard’s words, my jaw dropped open of its own accord.

“The young lady can hear the voice of that dress as well!”

No, what kind of bullshit is this. Clothes can’t talk.

Miel still muttered, covering her mouth as if she couldn’t believe it.

“To think Armien could hear it, too.”

Miel, no. That’s an early symptom of mental illness. It’s an auditory hallucination.

‘Wait, hold on a second?’

Thinking about it, this felt like an opportunity, so I decided to play along with their act.

“That’s right. That dress is speaking. To Miel! Asking to be worn by her!”

Good grief, this was the first time in my life I’d ever told a lie about clothes talking.

Yet I spat out the falsehood boldly.

Why?

Because wearing that dress was even more repulsive than dying.

At my earnest words, Miel finally nodded.

“Alright. If Armien says it that much, I’ll wear it.”

At her words, I let out a bright smile while inwardly sighing with relief.

Damn it, thank you.

And the truly fortunate part was that the dress didn’t fit Miel’s body, so we ended up not buying it after all.

It was a bit of a shame, but since the size didn’t fit, there was nothing to be done, so Miel cleanly gave up. After running into that crazy bastard, we were thankfully able to visit only stores run by normal people. Since shopping with Miel was fun, I enjoyed it with her without even realizing how the time was flying.

Actually, it got a bit tiring halfway through, but I tried my best because I didn’t want to show such a weak side in front of Carusien.

And once again, I could realize that I wasn’t truly a woman. Women’s shopping really was… amazing in its own way.

In the distance, the sun began to gradually conceal its form.

“It’s already this late. What should we do?”

At Miel’s words, wanting to spend a little more time with her, I spoke up.

“Since it’s come to this, let’s eat dinner here before we go.”

At my words, Miel glanced secretly at Carusien and nodded.

My heart ached whenever I saw her do that, but the fact that I could spend more time with Miel made me happier, allowing me to smile.

“Come to think of it, what about your maid?”

“Ah right, by now she’s probably waiting in front of a shop called ‘Labisians’.”

Hearing the somewhat impressive-sounding name, I quietly asked Yul.

“What kind of shop is Labisians?”

At my words, Yul answered quietly right by my ear.

“As far as I know, it is a well-known restaurant in the shopping city. How about having dinner there?”

“Thank you.”

After offering a small expression of gratitude, I stopped Miel, who looked ready to go fetch her maid Rachel right away.

“Labisians is a great place to grab dinner. Instead of running back and forth, let’s just head over there ourselves.”

At my words, Miel broke into a happy smile.

If I could get to see this smile, I could walk all I wanted.

As we chatted while watching the sunset and the streetlamps—still bright, but already turning on one by one—we quickly arrived in front of the shop called ‘Labisians’. The moment we got there, a sharp voice rang out, and Miel’s expression stiffened rigidly.

“Ha, how dare a mere maid talk back to me?!”

It was the sound of a peaceful atmosphere shattering.