“Hmm. El looks good in anything because of her great figure, you know.”
Now, this doll-playing is nothing new.
Of course, the fact that the doll is me is problematic, but from past experiences of being harassed, I’ve learned that quietly wearing the clothes handed to me gets the ordeal over with the fastest.
“That’s true. Both casual and formal wear suit her entirely.”
At least it’s fortunate that only Selian and Yuli keep bringing new clothes; if Anne and Linne were included, I wouldn’t even have a moment’s rest between changing outfits.
Linne stands in front of the dressing room, evaluating my outfit like an inspector, while Anne simply gapes and stares beside her.
“Try this on next. As I expected, a dress suits El the most.”
This time, the outfit Selian brought is a floating dress.
Considering the cooling weather, it’s not too thin; the beige dress falls just above the knee. There’s a dark brown ribbon tied around the waist to emphasize the waistline.
If this had been suggested half a year ago, I might have panicked, but as people adapt, it’s too late now to react.
“Of course, dresses suit her well, but pants suit El better, don’t they?”
Emerging from the dressing room and twirling at the request of my friends, Yuli emerges again with a new batch of clothes, thrusting an armful into my arms before pushing me back into the dressing room.
Examining the clothes in my hand, there’s a slightly loose blue knitted sweater and black pants made of cotton.
At a glance, I didn’t realize, but when I put it on, I noticed that the oversized sweater has a side slit exposing a bit of the waist as a design feature.
Moreover, unlike the loose top, the pants are made of snug spandex material.
Unlike the dress, I had initially liked the simplicity of the casual sweater and pants, but once worn, there was an unexpected sultry aspect.
No matter what, I’ve worn the clothes, and now it’s time for evaluation.
When I emerged, Selian had disappeared to look for new clothes, and only the three of them were waiting in front of the dressing room.
“El has such a pretty leg line, I knew this outfit would suit her. And this sweater…”
Not content with just evaluating, Yuli approached, turned me sideways, and then lifted my arms as if showing off merchandise.
Naturally, it revealed my side.
The earlier-mentioned side slit exposed my waist because of the arm lift.
“Isn’t this a great extra feature? What do you think of my eye for fashion?”
Strangely, she didn’t ask for my opinion but instead pulled a chair and sat down to ask Anne and Linne for their evaluation.
Wait, isn’t that the shape behind Anne and Linne? Aren’t they the Trio Ghosts I saw before?
What are they doing revealing themselves during the day at the mall?
Even worse, they’re gossiping in the exact manner as they did before and then lifted up placards.
Drawn on the three placards were circles.
The trio ghosts nodded, satisfied with their own decision, and then disappeared with a “POOF!”
What are you even doing?
Separate from the trio ghosts, when asked by Yuli, Anne simply nodded while staring with her mouth agape, and Linne hovered over from her seat to examine me closely.
“Still, Yuli… it’s getting chilly these days, isn’t this sweater a bit inappropriate?”
“…Is El not satisfied with the outfit I chose?”
“No, no! It’s not that! I’m just worried about catching a cold.”
“Ah, El worries too much. Someone as trained as El wouldn’t catch a cold.”
Does Yuli know it’s just an excuse or is she genuinely treating it like a joke?
Curious, but I said nothing.
“Sel, come take a look too. What do you think? Doesn’t it fit her well?”
Selian returns holding another set of clothes.
Selian, too, circled around me as if appraising before speaking.
“Indeed it suits her, but… isn’t the line on the legs and hips too exposed for a formal occasion?”
“That’s true, but earlier the dress Sel chose revealed even more leg. Isn’t this better?”
True, exposing legs isn’t easy either.
“But look at these lines. The earlier dress only showed until below the knees, but this reveals the line from the pelvis straight down…”
“HEEYA!?”
Suddenly kneeling, Selian swept her hand down from my buttocks to below the thighs, giving her opinion to Yuli.
Even though it’s the same female body, who wouldn’t feel the touch on their buttocks and thighs?
Especially since mentally I am male.
Already hypersensitive, the unexpected situation made my sensation even sharper.
“Hmm… now that Sel mentioned it, it does seem like that…”
Ignoring my exclamation, Yuli even grabbed the other thigh to evaluate my pants.
“Sel? Yuli?”
“They seem to have chosen a good material at least. It won’t irritate the skin.”
“The spandex allows the pants to stretch, giving it good mobility too?”
Selian touched the pants to check the fabric, while Yuli pinched and adjusted the material on my thighs.
“Indeed, they stretch well. This wouldn’t be bad. But not for formal events.”
“They didn’t focus much on the material, but the feel is indeed good as Sel said.”
Now Selian pinched, while Yuli started caressing.
“Please, stop…”
Though I wanted to actively step away, Selian and Yuli are just trying to help check fit.
If I raised my voice or looked angry, I might make them feel uncomfortable for trying to help.
Hence, the only resistance available to me is to softly plead in a voice that only nearby people could hear.
But even in a soft voice, it should be enough for the close two to hear, yet they seemed oblivious as they continued exchanging opinions.
Eventually, after quite some time passed, when freed from the two, my face had turned as red as a perfectly ripe tomato.
*
The continuing fashion show and their comments were enough to take away my spirit.
In this embarrassing situation, I chose to simply lose consciousness. It was essentially an escape.
Though I feel sorry for the two who are trying their best for me, it was a necessary choice to protect my sanity.
The noodles I ate for lunch were delicious. What was the menu for tonight at the dormitory? Fried fish, right? Cats love fish don’t they? And speaking of cats, isn’t Meow the cutest?
Meow, meow, our adorable Meow. What are you doing?
Big bro…no, big sis misses you.
While deep in random thoughts, I realized that Selian and Yuli were now dressing me without me being aware.
In the meantime, my body has followed their commands instinctively; lifting arms when Selian said ‘arm,’ and putting legs into pants when Yuli said ‘leg.’
…Let’s retreat to the mental world again. The real world isn’t a place I can endure right now.
Meow…
“NYAA.”
?
“Meow?”
“NYONG.”
Even in the mental world, why does it seem like I hear Meow’s real voice?
Out of curiosity, I briefly returned to the real world.
While my body was being dressed by the two, Meow had slipped under the dressing room curtain, jumping onto Selian and Yuli before climbing onto my shoulder.
“Meow!”
“NYAA!”
What a surprise to see Meow here.
Meow seemed happy too, rubbing her head against my cheek.
“El? Can you lift Meow for a moment please, I need to fix the shoulder strap?”
Lifting Meow with one hand, I adjusted the shoulder strap, and swapped arms to adjust the other when instructed.
Looking down, I realized this outfit was a party dress.
Even my feet were somehow already in high heels.
…We weren’t shopping for the Celestial Festival, were we?
Before I could think or say more, Selian and Yuli dragged the dressed-up me out of the dressing room.
Outside, Anne, Linne, and even the Ghost Trio were still present.
“Hiiing, Meow avoided my hand.”
Apparently, Anne tried to grab Meow entering the dressing room, resulting in a slightly sullen expression.
That’s what you get for teasing Meow too much.
“NYAA.”
Meow agreed with my thoughts.
Wait? Did I voice my opinion? And how do I understand Meow’s language…
Oh, that’s right. Boss Presia connected our minds thanks to a previous contract.
Now I remember why Meow found me – I had forgotten our contract made back then.
You came at my call.
“Anyway, hasn’t it been quite a while already?”
Recovering my senses, I glanced at the store clock, noticing it was well past four.
We had arrived shortly after an early lunch, which meant we’ve been here for a few hours.
Also, I was absent-minded for quite a long time.
“But there are still a lot of clothes we haven’t seen…”
“Especially the armor section, we haven’t even glanced at it.”
Even after so many hours of trying on clothes, the two were still yearning.
Anne presented a new proposal.
“Why don’t we each select items we want to dress El in? We can filter and bring back a reasonable amount to avoid taking more time.”
– Me too! I want to choose as well!
“NYA-YONG.”
“Let’s see…how about we meet back here in 15 minutes? El has to stay here? And don’t follow anyone who says they’ll buy you something tasty?”
Selian lectures like it’s to a child.
Selian’s overthinking is sometimes too much, truly.
“Hahaha, I gotta get that dress I saw earlier.”
“Linne, tell me if you see anything interesting. I’ll bring it to avoid frightening others.”
-Yessir!
Excited, the three of them and one ghost, a cat, scattered in different directions.
…Why does their scattering feel so ominous?
