“Have you arrived, El?”
On the day of the play for which the class president had distributed tickets, as I arrived at the designated meeting place, Selian dressed in casual clothes caught my eye. Selian wasn’t wearing the school uniform she often wore during our time together but instead was in casual attire, which I rarely saw. The pink dress with frills that Selian was wearing was gently cinched at the waist with a belt, subtly revealing her figure, and she was wearing heels, which she usually avoided due to the hindrance to running. There was even a delicate bracelet on her hand that swayed as she waved at me.
Seeing Selian so dressed up, I was once again reminded of just how beautiful she was.
“Did you wait long?”
“No, I just arrived as well.”
“Still, why did you insist on meeting here? We could’ve just come together from the dormitory.”
Since it was the weekend, and there were no fixed schedules at the academy, we could’ve left together from the dormitory. For some reason, however, Selian had made plans to meet in front of the fountain in town.
“Well, walking together is nice, but there’s also something special about meeting at a designated time and place.”
Though I wasn’t sure what she meant by “special,” it seemed Selian was satisfied with this arrangement, so there was no real issue.
“Since we have plenty of time left, why don’t we go to a café while we wait?”
The play was scheduled to start at 4 PM, yet it was just past 1 PM. We had already eaten lunch at the student cafeteria, so I suggested a café as a good way to pass the time.
“Hmm…”
However, instead of replying to my suggestion, Selian rested her finger on her chin and stared at me intently, apparently lost in deep thought. I even checked my outfit to see if I had any stains, but everything seemed fine.
“Come to think of it, El always wears the school uniform.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
Even as I commented on Selian frequently wearing her uniform while I rarely saw her in casual clothes, I realized I didn’t really have the right to say that. After all, I always wore my uniform when going out, and apart from a few T-shirts and gym uniforms, I had little else.
Though I’ve grown somewhat accustomed to wearing the girls’ uniform now, I still feel some resistance when it comes to personally choosing and wearing women’s clothes. Consequently, even though I knew there might come a time when I’d need casual clothes, I had never gone shopping to buy them myself.
“Okay! Let’s go shopping for El’s clothes today. Come along!”
With an energetic burst that reminded me of Anne, she grabbed my arm and led the way. I briefly considered whether I should follow Selian, but it was a fleeting thought since there was no real choice—Selian’s grip was stronger than mine.
“This is the brand where I often buy clothes. I’m sure there’ll be something El will like.”
She led me to one of the stores specializing in women’s clothing, a familiar brand even to me, though I had only read about it.
The inside of the store was spacious, offering an array of clothing styles as well as accessories. It seemed popular, as many customers were browsing the selection.
While I’d accompanied others to clothes shopping before, I’d never purchased anything for myself. I usually hung back and simply commented on others’ choices, saying things like “That looks nice,” or “It’s pretty.”
Thus, I found myself standing in the middle of the store unsure of where to look. Selian had gone off to browse, leaving me to explore the closest displays. The first thing I noticed was the same pink dress Selian was wearing. It seemed this was her favorite brand.
Next to it, I found fluttering skirts on another rack. Some of them appeared even shorter than the skirts on the school uniform, seemingly requiring careful walking. Naturally, I gave the skirts a pass.
After moving around several displays, I finally found some clothes that met my standards—black pants. Perhaps because I often wore dark clothes as an assassin, my hand naturally gravitated toward a pair of long, black pants. I held them up to my waist in front of a mirror. Apart from the brand logo near the hips, the black pants had a simple design.
After checking out several other items, I concluded that these pants were sufficient. All I needed now was to pick up a few T-shirts to match.
“Did you find any clothes?”
While I was choosing the pants, Selian found what seemed to be a suitable outfit, holding a piece of clothing with a flowy material.
“Yeah. As Selian said, there were some decent choices.”
Although by my standards all the clothes looked alike to me, it didn’t cost anything to indulge in a little flattery, so there was no reason to be stingy. I casually held up the pants I had picked to show Selian.
Selian, however, merely took a quick glance at my pants without any comment. Instead, she took out the outfit in her hands and placed it against my waist.
“It might work. Would you mind trying it on?”
“Huh? You mean the pants?”
In response to my question, Selian snatched the pants from my hand, replaced them with a skirt, and placed it into mine. Seeing I was still standing frozen, Selian pulled me to the fitting room and essentially shoved me in.
Of course, I understood what Selian was trying to say. She was pretty clear in holding the skirt in front of me, but I pretended not to notice because of the embarrassment. Though they’re both skirts, there was a difference in how a school uniform skirt and casual clothes felt.
I slightly opened the curtain of the fitting room, peeking out to catch Selian’s eye. I subtly shook my head to indicate I couldn’t wear it, but Selian also shook her head, signaling I had no choice.
Alright. Rather than enduring her coaxing, I decided to close my eyes, put the skirt on, and get it over with.
After giving up, I undone the zipper of my uniform skirt which fell to the floor. Taking a few steps, I placed it on the shelf and tried on the skirt Selian had provided. It felt much airier than the school uniform, which made it feel awkward.
Without being able to check myself in a mirror, I opened the curtain to find Selian observing me.
She then handed me another piece of clothing, pushing me back into the fitting room. Although I only remembered her holding a skirt before, it seemed there were more hidden options.
Upon inspection, this time it was a blouse rather than a skirt. I changed into it with less hesitation compared to trying on the skirt.
Now dressed entirely in the outfit selected by Selian, I emerged again. Selian stood quietly and surveyed me from head to toe.
“Is it weird?”
Finally, I broke the silence. Though my preference was for the pants I’d chosen earlier, I decided to voice a dissenting opinion, sensing that Selian’s opinion would differ.
“No, it looks very good on you. Much better than the pants you chose earlier.”
Not that she mentioned the pants specifically, but somehow Selian had preemptively shut down my line of thinking. This was a losing battle; it seemed I would end up buying this outfit.
“Maybe we should try one more…”
“No, this outfit is much prettier.”
Selian’s reply was firm, leaving no room for argument about the pants. With no way out, it seemed I would have to purchase these clothes.
Resigned, I went back to the fitting room, changed back into my uniform, and came out with the outfit Selian had chosen.
However, upon emerging from the fitting room, there was another outfit in Selian’s hands.
“Selian?”
We had already decided on the outfit, so why was Selian holding more clothes? Unless she intended to try them on herself, there were still plenty of fitting rooms available.
I glanced around to check, but there were several empty fitting rooms.
“Try this one on.”
She retrieved my outfit from earlier and swapped it with another one she had in her hands.
“But I’m buying—”
“No, this should suit you better. Try it on quickly.”
Since Selian insisted, what could I do? As a man who didn’t specialize in women’s fashion anyway, I conceded that Selian, being a woman, knew better. She went through the trouble of picking these clothes, so it seemed rude to refuse.
So, I went back into the fitting room again and changed into the outfit she had given me. Each trip into and out of the fitting room seemed to increase the number of clothes in Selian’s hands.
…Probably just my imagination, right?
Eventually, after changing into several sets of clothes that Selian brought, we settled on a final outfit: a plain white T-shirt, a flowy black skirt, and an ivory cardigan worn over it. My originally worn uniform was now folded neatly in a shopping bag in my hands.
“We should leave now—it’s about the right time.”
It was already 3:30 PM, and I couldn’t believe we spent over two hours on what was essentially a fashion show. While I felt exhausted from all the changing, Selian still appeared fresh and energetic. Despite carrying and fetching clothes repeatedly, she showed no signs of tiring.
“Uhh, yeah…”
At least I was fortunate not to be wearing heels like Selian, which allowed me to keep up with her. The theater wasn’t far away, so we would arrive in ample time. That is, if nothing else happened.
“Ahhhh!”
Sure enough, as soon as I thought that something would happen…
