Everyone scattered, leaving me all alone, and I simply sat on the bench in front of the changing room, blankly waiting.
I was wondering how long I’d have to wait when someone emerged from one of the changing booths, pulling the curtain aside.
“Oh, we meet here.”
“Ah, Senior Mariel.”
“Seriously, every time I see you, the way you address me keeps changing, doesn’t it, junior?”
There were passersby around, so to hide Mariel’s true identity, I addressed her as “senior.”
And in response to my calling her “senior,” she replied by calling me “junior.”
Mariel usually only wore her black nun’s habit whenever we met.
However, during this shopping trip on a weekend, Mariel had adorned herself in clothes that were far more casual and youthful, rather than the plain nun’s attire.
Actually, she was wearing clothes that even most girls her age wouldn’t dare to attempt.
Her usually concealed chest was now accentuated by a shirt with two buttons undone, exposing a hint of cleavage. Instead of her usual long habit that never revealed any skin, she wore a short flared skirt that showed not just her calves but occasionally a glimpse of her thighs as she moved.
I wanted to ask the Goddess again:
Is this young lady really the Saint?
“Hmm? Hehe… Seeing me all dressed up instead of in my usual habit has made you fall for me, hasn’t it?”
“W, who said anything about falling for you!”
Certainly, I was surprised by Mariel’s glamorous appearance and couldn’t help but think she looked pretty.
But the conclusion I came to wasn’t that I had fallen for Mariel; rather, it was that I felt sympathy for the Goddess.
“Come on, there’s no need to lie. Wouldn’t it make sense for me to be a little pretty?”
“…How do you not feel embarrassed saying that yourself?”
“Eh? If it’s not a lie, what’s the problem? Saints don’t know how to lie?”
“Well… let’s just say that.”
Yes, the Saint doesn’t know how to lie, except for being somewhat, no, very greedy for money.
“By the way, I didn’t expect to see you here, given your usual image. It’s surprising.”
“…I wonder what kind of image I have in your mind. I’m also in my blooming youth and enjoy dressing up like everyone else my age.”
“Hmm… the money-loving Saint who tricks her juniors?”
An unfiltered, reflexive response popped out.
“Tricks? The top-tier holy water costs only 4 gold per bottle, that’s a great deal!”
“You eventually sold it to Selian for 2 gold each! And after finding out, free holy water is available from the shrine if the Hero requests it, right?”
“Hehe… you’ve already found that out, haven’t you? What a pity.”
As Mariel complained about her perceived injustice, she stuck out her tongue and smiled sheepishly after hearing my rebuttal.
“Anyway, what does ‘what a pity’ mean here? Could it be that you’re disappointed that you can no longer take advantage of me?”
“Hehe?”
Mariel tilted her head and replied with an adorable smile.
“Saintess Serene…”
“Ah! If you have something to say to the Goddess, you can tell me! I’ll deliver it directly!”
While watching Mariel say this, followed by ‘Of course, I’ll only take a small extra fee of a single silver coin!’, I felt her sincerity and decided against thinking further.
“…Let’s just talk about ordinary things.”
“Then, here’s a question from me to you, junior! Since you’ve fallen for me, I don’t even need to ask, but how do you like this outfit?”
Because I didn’t fall for you.
“Definitely, it suits you quite well. Just please avoid wearing something like this out in public.”
“Hmph, if my junior insists so much, I’ll have to oblige.”
And with that, Mariel returned to the fitting room, rustled around for a bit, and emerged in her usual habit.
“I wasn’t saying to not buy it; I was merely asking you to button up at least.”
I was struck with unease and guilt—had my words made her abandon a dress she liked?
However, she answered in a voice that clearly showed she wasn’t really bothered.
“I never intended to buy it anyway. There’s no point in spending a lot of money on clothes I won’t wear often. I just came out for a change of pace.”
“…Come here for a moment.”
I led her toward the cash register area.
In front of the cash register were some items of jewelry that took up less space and were reasonably priced compared to the clothes.
I inspected the displayed accessories for a short while, picked out a headband, and paid for it right away.
“Junior?”
And then I placed the headband on Mariel’s head.
Though it was cheap, the headband embellished with floral designs suited her quite well.
Honestly, I couldn’t imagine anything not suiting her beauty.
“It’s a gift. Since you can’t wear different clothes with your nun’s attire, accessories like this should be okay, right? If anyone says anything, just use the name of the Goddess as you always do.”
The girl who loved dressing up, despite being in her prime, couldn’t wear the clothes she wanted—how could that not bother her?
Mariel’s voice had been calm when she talked about her shopping trip as just a casual outing, but her gaze lingered with longing on the clothes she was holding.
Mariel looked away from the mirror and instead touched the floral designs on the headband on her head, as if committing the moment to memory.
“Junior…”
The silent Mariel called my name softly while touching the headband.
“I mean, it won’t even show much when I wear a veil…”
Ah. I hadn’t considered that part.
Since she wasn’t wearing anything on her head right now, I’d overlooked it, but Mariel always wore a veil at the Academy or the Shrine.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that… But the purchase was just now, so it should be returnable.”
As I moved to take back the headband from her head in a flustered manner, she stepped back and avoided my hand.
“Buuh. I’ve already given it as a gift; it’s final. This headband is mine now?”
Thinking I might take it back, Mariel grabbed the headband with both hands and stuck out her tongue at me.
–It wasn’t that I wanted to take it back, but to return it and exchange it for something else…
“Hahh… Since you’ve given me a present, I can’t just stay idle, can I?”
With those words, Mariel picked out a hair tie from the same display stand where I had chosen the headband, and paid for it immediately.
Then she came behind me, played with my hair a few times with one hand, and tied it up using the hair tie she bought.
“This is my present! Use this when you tie your hair from now on!”
Glancing at the mirror, I saw a small floral pattern drawn on a black background.
It must have been from the same brand as the one I picked, because the floral design matched the one on her headband.
When not tying my hair, it seemed like I could wear it as a bracelet on my wrist.
“…I didn’t expect to receive a gift from the senior.”
In place of a heartfelt “thank you,” I blurted out a teasing remark due to embarrassment.
“What do you really think of me, junior?”
The same question as before.
Thus, I gave the same answer as before.
“…Miser.”
“I, I know how to spend money when needed!”
Well, hard to believe considering how she normally acts… but receiving this gift, it might be okay to trust her a bit.
However, we both knew it was all in jest, and so we smiled at each other.
“Anyway, it’s time to really go back now. I’ll go ahead since I need to take care of the headband. And junior, take care of that hair tie too?”
“Don’t worry. Actually, I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, but thank you for the gift. I really like it. Please have a safe trip home.”
She seemed to like it too, as she was still touching the headband with one hand while heading out through the shop door.
Her happiness made me equally joyful for having given her the gift.
Mariel was gone, and I was about to head back to the fitting room.
However, before I reached my destination, the friends I had gone to choose clothes with had already returned.
In front of the changing room stood three people, each holding something, a ghost, and a cat.
But the mannequin, i.e., me, wasn’t there, so they were looking around.
“El!”
Among them, Selian spotted me first and ran over.
I was planning to go back anyway, but it was unnecessary for her to rush over like that…
“Didn’t I tell you not to go with strangers who offer you treats!”
Were you serious about that…? Was it really not a joke?
Besides, it wasn’t a stranger, and I had left the seat to actually buy something for her.
“Where did you go, anyway?”
“Ah, just went to buy an accessory…”
The word “accessory” drew Selian’s attention to the hair tie tied around my head.
To be precise, I had bought a headband for Mariel, and this hair tie was from her, but there’s no real need to explain all that in detail, right?
Fortunately, Selian didn’t pursue the matter any further, just took my hand and led me back to the changing room.
