#52: Marie’s Gift — It Seems that I was Reincarnated into the World of a School Otome Game, but I was a Background Male Student with Cheats (WN)

On Saturday morning, I woke up.

Beside me, Caro was still asleep. She must have been tired yesterday, because as soon as she got into bed, she started breathing softly and fell asleep.

(Today’s a day off from both work and school. I’ll let her sleep without waking her.)

Thinking that, I quietly got out of bed without waking Caro and headed to the living room. Normally on weekends, my sister Akane would be here eating breakfast with us, but today she had some errands and wasn’t coming.

“Good morning, Onii-chan.”

“Morning, Catherine. Where’s Marie-san?”

“She’s still asleep. Should I wake her up soon?”

“This week was pretty hectic, so maybe it’s better to let her sleep a bit longer.”

“Okay. Then let’s eat first.”

Catherine had already prepared breakfast, and on the table there was a plate piled with a black object.

“Onii-chan, it’s our day off today, but do you have any plans?”

“Hm? Not really.”

While we were eating together, Catherine asked me that.

“I was thinking we could invite Caro-oneechan and go out together in the afternoon. Is that okay?”

“I think that should be fine.”

“Good. Mom was supposed to ask you, but she’s still asleep.”

In the end, Caro and Marie woke up just before noon, and until then Catherine and I spent our time relaxing in the living room.

“Good morning. Sorry, I overslept.”

“Morning. You’re all up early.”

Once Caro and Marie were up, it was time for lunch. Since we had time, I made lunch and got everything ready.

““““Let’s eat.””””

With all four of us together, we started eating.

“Kent-san, Caro-chan, I was thinking we could go out together this afternoon. Do you have time?”

“Ah, Catherine already told me, so I’m fine.”

“I’m fine as well.”

“Really? That’s great. There’s somewhere I want you two to come with me.”

After finishing the meal and getting ready to go out, we left the house. It seemed we were heading to the commercial district.

“Hey, hey, isn’t that Rachel-oneechan?”

As soon as we entered the commercial district, Catherine spotted Rachel. Walking with her was… Mark. In the game, he was one of Rachel’s romance targets, known as the knight commander’s son. Recently, though, Rachel herself didn’t seem interested and had been distant from him. I immediately guessed that this must be the price she paid for calling in the Knight Order.

But aside from Caro, who was cautious, Marie and Catherine simply thought it was a normal date and spoke to Rachel.

“Oh? Isn’t that Rachel-chan? Oh my, is it a date?”

“Wow, Rachel-oneechan is on a date with a handsome guy!”

I regretted not stopping them.

“Uh, um…”

(Akane—no, Rachel—looks completely shocked. How do I get us out of this…?)

“Isn’t that Caroline-san? Are you shopping?”

Mark noticed Caro, whom he already knew, and spoke to her.

“Kent-san, leave this to me.”

Caro whispered that to me, having grasped the situation.

“Good day, Mark-sama. Yes, the four of us came to the commercial district to do some shopping. I’m sorry—although they didn’t know, my companions seem to have interrupted you.”

Caro replied politely.

(She read the situation instantly… as expected of Caro-san.)

At that moment, I had no idea that my sister was thinking the exact same thing. Following Caro’s lead, I spoke to Mark.

“We have somewhere to go now, so please excuse us.”

I led the three of them away from Rachel.

“Onii-chan, the guy Rachel-oneechan was with was really handsome.”

“He really was. I was surprised—he looked like a young master from a good family.”

Catherine and Marie shared their impressions of the man Rachel had been with.

“Caro-san, thank you.”

“No, if it’s something that benefits you, Kent-san, I’ll do anything.”

““???””

Marie and Catherine still didn’t seem to understand what was going on.

“We’re here.”

The place Marie led us to was a clothing shop that sold clothes for commoners.

“Welcome!”

As soon as we entered, we were greeted with an energetic voice. Honestly, it was so bright it felt refreshing. From the looks of it, this was a custom-made shop where clothes were tailored after taking measurements. The shop itself was small, probably family-run.

“Is the item I ordered ready?”

“Yes, the one you ordered, Marie-san. It’s already finished.”

The clerk answered Marie cheerfully.

“Kent-san, their customer service is so lively. We should learn from this.”

“Yeah, it really is pleasant service… hm?”

I noticed something behind the clerk.

“Wings…”

“Wings?”

Caro asked back at my muttering.

“Um… sir, can you see what’s behind me?”

The clerk noticed my gaze and asked cautiously. I nodded repeatedly.

“Marie-san, sorry, but may I borrow your companion for a moment?”

Saying that, the clerk grabbed me and pulled me toward the back of the shop.

““???””

Caro vaguely understood from my words, but Marie and Catherine were shocked by the clerk’s sudden change.

“Um… you can see the wings on my back, right?”

The clerk asked while carefully watching my reaction.

“Well, I can see them. You’re a shop-bound fairy, aren’t you?”

“So you do know about our existence. This shop is a small operation run by the owner, his wife, and me. If it were discovered that I’m a shop-bound fairy, ignorant nobles would come trying to enclose the shop. If they were benevolent nobles, it would be fine, but if they acted out of self-interest, it would place a heavy burden on the owner and the shop might not survive. So I’d really appreciate it if you could keep this secret…”

“I see. I understand. So it’s dangerous if people know about shop-bound fairies?”

I recalled my interactions with Emily, another shop-bound fairy, but I didn’t remember her explaining it like this.

“It depends on the situation. Prosperous shops with strong influence, or shops already protected by benevolent nobles, are fine. But small, privately run shops are especially vulnerable to powerful people using them for their own ends, so we must be very careful. I’m sorry for only asking for your discretion.”

“It’s fine. I won’t tell anyone, so don’t worry.”

“Then, as hush money… mwah.”

I suddenly got kissed.

“Is that not enough? Then maybe…”

The fairy clerk started taking off her clothes.

“I said I won’t tell anyone, so please trust me.”

I hurriedly stopped her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The fairy clerk and I returned to where Marie and the others were.

“Sniff, sniff… Kent-san? What were you doing back there?”

Caro stepped close to me, sniffed, and—rarely—looked angry.

“Uh… talking?”

“Oh really? There’s the clerk’s scent around your mouth. You kissed her, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry… that was me…”

Startled by Caro’s sudden change, the fairy clerk had no choice but to explain everything to everyone.

“I see. So that’s what happened. I let myself get a little carried away.”

Caro calmed down.

“Huh? You’re not surprised?”

The fairy clerk asked, puzzled, after finishing her explanation.

“We have a shop-bound fairy at our place too.”

“That would be Emily.”

Marie and Catherine replied casually.

“Maybe I could recognize you because I’m the master of a shop-bound fairy.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense. My mistake.”

Once I explained why I could see her, the fairy clerk nodded in understanding.

“Now then, about the item you ordered…”

Marie, feeling bad about interrupting, spoke up.

“Oh, right, right. Sorry. I’ll get it now.”

The fairy clerk took two sets of clothes from the shelf.

“Um, one men’s outfit and one women’s outfit. Please take a look.”

Switching fully into work mode, she laid the clothes out.

“These are a thank-you gift for Kent-san and Caro-chan for always helping us. You two didn’t really have clothes to wear outside, right? I’d be happy if you accepted them. I measured you at night, so the sizes should be fine.”

Apparently, while the three of us were spending the night together on the bed, Marie had secretly taken our measurements.

“They fit surprisingly perfectly.”

“They really do. I’m amazed.”

When Caro and I tried them on, they fit perfectly, even though we hadn’t been measured directly in the shop.

“I was a bit worried about making them based on the measurements Marie-san gave me, but I’m glad they fit perfectly. It doesn’t look like any alterations are needed.”

The fairy clerk checked our clothes and said so.

After that, we took the clothes off, and the fairy clerk carefully wrapped them.

“Here you go.”

She handed the wrapped clothes to Marie.

“Then, Kent-san, here you are.”

“Thank you, Marie-san.”

I accepted the wrapped clothes.

“Next is Caro-chan’s. Thank you for everything, always.”

“Th-thank you so much… really, thank you… truly…”

As soon as Caro received her wrapped clothes, she started crying.

“M-Miss? Is something wrong?”

The fairy clerk asked Caro in a panic.