It’s awkward.
Walking side by side with Leopard, Julia had such thoughts.
This was the first time for her.
Not that Leopard had dragged her along recklessly, but that they were walking side by side as equals.
With Leopard maintaining silence, Julia also found herself at a loss for words.
‘Why is this guy acting like this? Did he eat something wrong?’
Normally, he would have made silly jokes or teased Julia to put her in an awkward position.
But there was not a hint of ease on Leopard’s face.
It looked just like the face of a first-year college student who was overly nervous about their first date.
‘Is he having a hard time lately?’
It seemed that he was going through a mentally tough time.
Julia could only think that way.
She had never once considered that the cause might be herself.
Regardless, Leopard looked so pitiful and precarious that it seemed she needed to pay a bit more attention to him today.
After all, there had been a buildup of emotions over time.
Of course, most of it was affection tinged with annoyance.
On the other hand, Leopard was…
‘Leo? Did she just call me Leo?’
He was still dazed, lost in thought, repeating the same phrase internally.
Julia had called him by a nickname.
The same Julia who had firmly rejected him.
Could it be that she finally recognized his sincerity?
Could it be that she had understood his feelings?
Just then, as if scanning Leopard’s whole body, Julia opened her mouth.
“But what is that outfit of yours?”
“What’s wrong with this outfit…?”
“It’s just a rag. Everyone thinks you’re a bum and slacker because you walk around like this. Ah, not that they’re wrong.”
“Hey.”
Julia clicked her tongue.
His completely worn-out jacket and faded pants…
It was truly a sight hard to behold.
Leopard had boasted while drunk that he was a hero more than once, but now it made sense why no one believed him.
“Is that all the clothes you have at home?”
“I have a decent suit.”
“So you don’t have any decent casual wear. Hah… This won’t do. Follow me. I’ll help you pick out some clothes.”
“Hey, hey! No! What do you know about clothes!”
“I know more than you do. Stop whining and follow me.”
Leopard’s expression twisted in frustration.
The situation was strange.
Julia was going to pick out clothes for him.
It was his first time being led in a date, rather than leading himself, and it felt incredibly unfamiliar.
“I told you, this won’t work. You said we only have 2 hours. We can just chat and part ways.”
“Two hours is more than enough! Let’s go to the department store! Hurry!”
“I don’t want to… I’m comfortable like this…”
Leopard shuffled his feet, pretending to be led by Julia.
He could have resisted with just a little effort, but he didn’t.
It wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
Seeing Julia, who usually wore a sulky and displeased expression, looking so excited made him want to savor this moment.
If he could see her that way, he could easily let go of control for today.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going in?”
“This is… a women’s clothing store, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Are you planning to pick out clothes for yourself first?”
“What are you talking about? I came to pick out clothes for you, Leopard.”
“……”
Leopard’s mouth dropped open.
Only then did he understand Julie’s bright smile.
Today, Julia planned to turn Leopard into a “girl.”
It wasn’t that he had never had a date like this before.
Among the women who had passed through Leopard’s life, many had tried to subdue him and make him their “furniture.”
However, all those attempts had failed.
No matter how strong-willed or fierce a woman was, in the end, she would just be a female dog in front of Leopard.
And now, he was being subjected to the same thing by Julia.
“I won’t wear such cumbersome clothing.”
“Why not? It looks cute. Just try it on once. If it doesn’t suit you, then we can forget it. Okay? Huh?”
“………”
He tried to refuse decisively.
But at Julia’s pleading mixed with her nasally tone, Leopard ended up squeezing his eyes shut.
It was a temptation he couldn’t resist.
But no matter what, he couldn’t just give in.
For a man who had lived his whole life identifying as male, simply wearing women’s clothing was a great shame.
“Just once…”
“Yay!”
That shame, for today, he decided to endure.
What did it matter if he felt embarrassed when the girl he liked looked so thrilled?
Leopard resolved to think that way.
Despite never having bent to anyone before, he was accommodating to Julia.
“Oh wow! You look pretty!”
“Where exactly do you see that…?”
He felt like a slave model dragged into a fashion show.
Leopard had to go in and out multiple times, trying on the clothes that Julia picked out.
With each time, the clothing became bolder.
Starting with baggy clothes barely distinguishable from men’s wear, they eventually turned into form-fitting outfits that emphasized his figure.
“How about this one?”
“Isn’t the back completely exposed…?”
“I think it’ll be pretty! Try it on! Just once! Please!”
“I won’t wear that.”
“Waaah…”
Clothes that had an open back.
It was simply too vulgar.
For a moment, Leopard felt his resolve waver at Julia’s fake crying, but he shook his head firmly again.
He couldn’t wear that outfit.
It would completely reveal the scars that adorned his back.
No meant no.
“Wow. You’ve got a tall and slim figure so everything looks good on you. I’m somewhat envious.”
“What are you talking about…?”
Leopard had been responding curtly the whole time, but occasionally his lips would twitch uncontrollably.
To be called pretty, he felt joy.
This couldn’t be happening.
Wasn’t it his specialty to make the other person acknowledge and submit to the fact that he was a man?
“This isn’t right…”
As he caught a glimpse of himself in a dress full of frills through the mirror, he felt tears welling up.
This was the legendary hero that had once terrified the demon realm.
A wave of self-loathing surged within Leopard.
“There are still plenty of clothes to try on! Hurry up! We don’t have time!”
“Alright…”
He didn’t have time to indulge in such sentiments.
Leopard, unable to resist Julia’s urging, wiped his nose and stepped out of the changing room.
He had started in unisex clothing, but before he knew it, he was dressed like a southern noble young lady.
Julia’s face lit up at the sight.
After always playing with little Tia, now she had a large dress-up doll, and it was utterly enjoyable.
It seemed as if she had trapped a mischievous young lady and dressed her for a ball.
From her sulky expression to her wandering hands not knowing where to put them due to the unfamiliarity of the skirt, it was all the same.
“Is this fun? Dressing someone who doesn’t suit those frilly clothes…”
“You still don’t realize how pretty you are. Follow me.”
“Huh? Where are we going again?”
“Now we have to fix your hair and apply makeup.”
“……!”
Makeup.
Julia, holding Leopard’s wrist, pulled him out of the shop, knitting his brow.
No matter how much he could wear women’s clothing, to apply makeup would be tantamount to declaring himself a female.
Even though he was giving the reins to Julia for today and following her lead, he had his last shred of pride that he couldn’t give up.
Leopard, who was about to stand there and yell, suddenly…
“Ouch…”
Only then did he recall his ridiculous outfit and his face turned red.
Here he was, a woman in a loud dress, throwing a tantrum in the middle of a department store about not wanting makeup.
Just imagining it made him feel utterly embarrassed.
“What’s wrong? I’ll make your makeup pretty. Let’s go.”
“Damn it…”
There were no other options left.
Now that he had come this far, he could only carry on to the end.
Leopard followed Julia, with tears in his eyes, where she led him.
‘So cute…’
With his lips tightly sealed and a pouty glare.
Glancing back at her, Julia struggled to suppress her laughter.
Had Leopard always been this cute?
“Ahahaha! Your formerly terrible haircut has turned into a cute short cut!”
“What’s a terrible haircut…?”
“Such a thing exists. Hehe.”
After that, Leopard continued to be dragged around by Julia.
She tidied his unkempt hair.
“How about it? Just a little makeup brings out your features, right? Doesn’t it?”
“Uh, umm. I don’t really know…”
He applied just a hint of makeup.
Pretending not to know while glancing at the mirror, Leopard desperately tried to hold back a smile.
He had never found feminine charm in his face over his lifetime.
With Julia constantly praising him, calling him pretty, it actually seemed like he looked good.
“What, what is this…?”
“Strawberry frappe. It looks delicious, right?”
“What sort of a drink has cream and fruit slathered onto coffee…”
“That’s what makes it delicious. Just take a sip. Aah.”
“Get away! I’ll eat it myself!”
“You’d make a big fuss over wanting me to feed you at the villa.”
He also encountered a shocking drink.
Just one cup seemed like it would fill him up all day.
Initially, Leopard had recoiled from the idea, but upon tasting it, his eyes widened in surprise.
Just as its appearance was violent, so was its flavor.
‘There are so many new experiences today…’
Everything was new.
He had often picked out clothes for women and bought them, but trying them on himself was a first.
Sitting in a café that was clearly meant for girls, leisurely sipping a drink or something that could hardly be called a cake was also a first.
All of it was humiliating, but strangely, it didn’t feel bad at all.
Perhaps it was because it was with Julia.
Leopard paused sucking through a straw and looked up to meet Julia’s gaze.
Julia seemed amused, looking at his face, smiling openly.
“You’ve got some cream on your mouth. So clumsy.”
“Uh…”
Julia wiped the cream off the corner of Leopard’s mouth and smiled softly.
Whenever Leopard’s story came up, Tia would often say as a habit that Leopard was pretty.
At that time, he couldn’t relate at all, but now he thought he understood.
He had thrown away all pride and dressed up, yet he looked this good.
Was this really the face of a grandmother over fifty years old?
It felt a bit like a cognitive dissonance was creeping in.
“You look just like a mysterious princess from the Middle East.”
“What are you saying? This is only for today. I won’t do it again.”
“Eh? Are you going to let all that you bought go to waste? At least wear it when you meet me.”
“Are you going to meet me again like this?”
“Only if you promise to wear this outfit.”
“……”
As Leopard silently glared, Julia nearly burst into laughter again.
Today, Leopard was incredibly strange.
It made him wonder if he had eaten something wrong.
But Julia wished each day could be like today.
The Leopard, who wasn’t putting on airs and was behaving comfortably, was that much cuter and more human.
He seemed a completely different person from the crazy psycho lesbian who had been throwing tantrums all this time.
‘Just earlier, Leo said it would have been great if I were born as his daughter…’
Perhaps Leopard needed a mother.
Was he unconsciously yearning for maternal love?
Such thoughts crossed her mind.
The comments made at the villa earlier, and the behavior shown at the department store today, both seemed to indicate that.
It felt like they were simply taking a big daughter out for a walk rather than going on a date.
If Leopard needed it, she could certainly play the role of a mother.
While Julia was contemplating such thoughts, Leopard…
‘Oh god, I really want to eat this up…’
Swallowed hard, thinking completely different thoughts.
It was the first time he had to wear such humiliating clothing because of someone else.
It was the first time a woman had made him submit so thoroughly.
Once again, he confirmed that Julia was the best woman.
Just then, a low voice from the side caused both Julia and Leopard to turn.
“Hero…?”
“Oh.”
“Eh.”
There stood a man in a black clerical robe wearing glasses.
As a hero of humanity and an idol for everyone, Alexander stood frozen, unsure how to process the fact that the hero had a penchant for cross-dressing.
