Customizing Time
I had briefly considered what special gift I could give to my beloved dokkaebi, but the more I thought about it, the clearer it became that the best way to take care of a person was with a gift.
I had already given her a present before, but it had been so insignificant… In truth, it had been utterly pointless. What was the point of a single flower bouquet anyway? Really, it was too trivial.
“Oh… uh…?”
“Don’t worry. Miss Batori, I’m right here. Just go about your day as usual.”
“G-Good… okay.”
So I took Batori to the department store.
There were plenty of other places I could have visited, but the real reason I brought her here was because of her clothing.
Batori usually wore nothing but hoodies and athletic wear. But the problem wasn’t just that the clothes looked a little shabby—they were all at least two sizes too big… so big that, if she pulled them even slightly, her shoulders would show.
I understood that she had to wear oversized clothes because of her ability, but seeing clothes that shabby still tugged at my heart. After all, C-class heroes didn’t get paid all that generously, did they?
“Let’s start with clothes she can wear while doing hero work. Shall we look around?”
“Ye-Yes, sir!”
“Eh, don’t get too startled, okay?”
“Ye-Yes, sir….”
Even though I was now a C-class hero receiving official costumes, I couldn’t keep dressing her in nothing but shabby outfits, could I?
So we began looking together for her.
“Let’s start with athletic wear… hoodies…”
“Wh-Why…?”
“…Never mind, let’s skip them.”
“Eek… why? Why? I thought the design was fine…? I mean, if I just get taller, it should look normal…?”
As we slowly went through the department store’s sections, one thing became painfully clear.
Batori’s clothes were truly, horribly shabby.
I already knew the reason, of course, but the moment I turned toward her after staring at the beautiful outfits on display…
“…Her face is truly beautiful, and just seeing the clothes makes her sigh.”
“E-Eh… that’s… th-that…”
“…Of course the clothes themselves are fine, but no matter how you look at them, the sizing is completely off. The fit starts out terrible, and it only gets worse. Even with your ability making you taller, you’re still small when you’re not using it.”
“…Yes.”
The way she shrank at my words felt almost painful, but I had to say it anyway.
The clothes really didn’t fit her at all right now, did they?
Even if Batori was beautiful and adorable, when the fit was that bad, it would be uncomfortable to look at no matter what, and she would feel the same when she wasn’t using her ability.
“Such a pretty face, and it’s a shame. If you just tried wearing them properly, you’d be even prettier.”
“Ye-Yes….”
“It’s not that the clothes are bad, Miss Batori. It’s not like you’re ugly at all. In fact, people like you are the ones who never get to see so often.”
“Ye-Yes…”
“Huhuhu, really. Your eyes don’t look convinced.”
“Ah… no…!”
I understood, of course.
Batori already had such low self-esteem and was so timid by nature.
She probably thought my words were meant to criticize her appearance too.
From someone who had met plenty of timid people—including Batori herself—I could tell just how easily they got hurt by even the smallest comments and how quick they were to doubt their own worth.
People like that were common, and Batori was definitely one of the more extreme cases.
“Huhuhu, Miss Batori?”
“…Y-Yes, sir.”
“Even if I manage dozens of heroes and help them, it’s only natural that I’d prefer to take care of the pretty ones over the ugly ones. And it’s only natural that I’d want to look after them even more.”
“……Eh?”
“Miss Batori is pretty, so I’m helping you on purpose. You’re adorable and pretty… huhuhu.”
“…”
“Really, it’s not because the clothes don’t fit at all. Miss Batori is incredibly beautiful.”
“I-I really am…?”
“Yes, you really are.”
So when I kept showering her with compliments, Batori would look embarrassed yet delighted at the same time.
Adorable, fun to watch—newly so. I found myself thinking that if I had a little sister, this is probably what it would feel like.
After all, she was younger than me and my sister in a way.
No, it wasn’t wrong.
“Alright, then let’s find the clothes she’ll wear most often.”
“Ye-Yes, sir…!”
We set to work choosing properly this time.
The goal was clothes that suited Batori perfectly, that wouldn’t hinder her activities, and that could handle her body growing thanks to her ability.
The requirements were tough… but I was sure we’d manage somehow.
After all, Batori wasn’t fat to begin with; her figure was actually quite toned.
“Ah, Miss Batori, this one looks the best.”
“It’s… just a plain t-shirt, right?”
“Yes, just a plain white t-shirt.”
“That… uh…?”
The very first thing I picked for her while strolling casually through the department store was simply a plain t-shirt.
It had a slight oversized, loose-fit feel. It was one size larger than her normal size, but not shabby at all.
It was literally just one size too big.
Of course the actual size I chose was small… but since Batori was small in her base state, even that was one size too large for her.
“…Isn’t this a little smaller than the clothes you’re wearing now?”
“Huhuhu, it is, but sizing is important. If I put this on Miss Batori, it’ll feel a bit looser, like an oversized fit.”
“Ye-Yes…”
“When your ability activates, it’ll become regular size… and if it gets even stronger, it’ll become a tight fit.”
I explained slowly.
In other words, 135 cm would be cute, 150 cm would be normal, and over 165 cm would feel sexy.
I thought that was the perfect balance for someone whose body changed size with her ability.
“…So when my ability is used, my figure will show completely…?”
“Huhuhu, is that what you’re worried about?”
“…Ye-Yes.”
The clothes themselves were fine, but the last time I saw her—when she had grown far more than me, up to 160 cm—her figure had been so… generous.
Soft, even. But still, I could understand why Batori would feel embarrassed about it.
After all, I didn’t have a particularly impressive figure myself, but the version of Batori that grew was definitely impressive.
But I had already calculated for that.
“We have coats for this, don’t we?”
“Ah, then…”
“Just throw a coat over it. Especially something like a long or short coat will be very useful for Miss Batori.”
Just a coat over it—long or short—would solve everything neatly.
It was summer, so it might be a bit warm, but thin fabric like nylon would handle that just fine.
“Huhuhu…”
“Eek…”
By the time our plan was complete, I found myself looking at Batori with a pleasant smile forming.
From now on, it was the heroes’ time.
No—Black-haired baby dokkaebi Eoduksini Batori’s customizing time.
“…Miss Batori, shall we try this on too?”
“I-I don’t have any money…!”
“That’s fine. I’ll buy everything. Come on, try it on quick. The dress will look amazing on you. Just wearing the dress alone would be pretty, and with a cardigan over it… that would look even better.”
“H-Hiik…”
The department store had an endless supply of clothes, and the models were all so pretty.
I had unintentionally pressured her into it without realizing.
But… how could I refuse something beautiful?
I had always gone through my own closet at home, trying on and taking off outfits to find my style…
“This… this won’t suit me at all….”
“Whoa… wow, wow. It looks so pretty on you? Miss Batori, come here and look in the mirror right now. It suits you perfectly!”
“Hiik…”
I couldn’t miss this chance.
We bought quite a few clothes for her, and the money was gone by the end… but that was fine! I had fun!
Or so I thought.
In reality, even though I said it wasn’t all of them, we had already finished paying, so Batori couldn’t refuse anything.
Even trying to get a refund…
“O-Oh, I just bought these…”
“Your body grew and now they have wear marks? No refund.”
“Uuuuu…”
Because I kept focusing on her and praising her, Batori’s body kept growing and shrinking. In the end, I couldn’t even ask for a refund.
Luckily, I had prepared the clothes with her size changes in mind, so it wasn’t too serious. The wear came only from the chest and shoulders on top and the hips and waist on the bottom.
.
.
.
After we had bought so many clothes for Batori, it was already late evening.
While we had been shopping for a long time and Batori had looked tired, we took a break and walked around the nearby park’s bench.
“Miss Batori.”
“…Yes?”
“You bought so many clothes today. Just looking at the shopping bags… one, two, three… ah, seven.”
“I’ve never bought this many clothes in my life…”
“Huhuhu, that makes sense. You rarely get to shop like this alone and wear whatever you pick.”
So the seven shopping bags waiting for her at home would contain at least a few outfits, all bought by me.
In the middle of it, she had tried to protest how I was spending money and refused to let me add to it.
In the end, I had spent quite a bit… but I didn’t mind. After all, I lived alone, I had been saving up for a while, and my salary was secure now that I was an official Welfare Bureau staff member and the Association President had officially registered both Saran and me.
Of course I did all this for Batori because I wanted her to succeed.
Just like I had told the dokkaebi before.
It was only natural to take care of pretty people, wasn’t it?
“Huhuhu…”
“Please don’t laugh like that. I’m so embarrassed…”
“Why? You’re adorable and pretty.”
“…If I grow here too, it’ll be dangerous…”
“Ahaha.”
…In reality, I wanted to keep praising her and giving advice, but I was afraid that if I kept going, she might grow too much past the 160 cm line and my current t-shirt might become dangerous.
So for now, I calmed her down and continued our relatively normal conversation.
“Ah, tomorrow is your day with Miss Saran, right?”
“Ye-Yes. Like I mentioned last time, today it’s Miss Batori, tomorrow Miss Saran. That’s how it goes. Is there… something else you need help with?”
“Um… no. I just wondered…”
“Miss Saran isn’t much different from meeting the staff. We usually just talk a little and go our separate ways.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. That’s how it is with the staff you’re assigned to.”
Maybe that was why I was the second person she met most often in the hero world.
Batori asked anyway, but I had no other answer.
In truth, we just met, talked a little, and parted ways. Same for Saran or Batori.
“…I see…”
But even so, she seemed relieved.
After all, Batori had been influenced the most by me since she started being a hero, hadn’t she?
So if I got too busy helping Saran, she might think I would stop helping her.
“Huhuhu, don’t worry. Miss Batori and Miss Saran are both precious heroes to me the same way.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course. A good, kind, pretty person like Miss Batori—I couldn’t dislike that, could I? Like I said earlier. I want to help people like that. After all, that’s why I started working at the Welfare Bureau in the first place.”
“…”
Batori’s body was slowly shrinking back to her usual 135 cm small dokkaebi size.
It was time to wrap things up.
After all, tomorrow I had to get up early because of Saran.
I couldn’t keep spending time with her like this forever.
Well, I could take her home and talk, but I needed my own time too.
Batori would probably find staying by my side uncomfortable too.
“So, keep working hard from now on.”
“Ye-Yes, sir…!”
“The clothes I bought for Miss Batori today are both a reward and a message that I want you to keep doing well.”
“Ah…”
I smiled brightly as I said it.
After all, I had taken care of her so far.
I believed she would do even better from now on.
When I reached C-class, I could aim for B-class and beyond— I thought it would be very rewarding. I also thought Batori’s personality would become even better by then.
“Huhuhu.”
That was all I said.
Since she was such a clever dokkaebi, just doing this much would make her try even harder, I believed.
“…Y-Yes… I’ll work hard so I can be better from now on… Even though it’s still embarrassing… But… even so… since you… gave me so much…”
“Huhuhu… yes, thank you. I’m really happy you said that?”
“Uuu…”
Of course, our precious Eoduksini couldn’t finish her sentence because she was too embarrassed?
But her feelings had been conveyed, and she was still the most obedient girl who followed my words best.
I wasn’t particularly worried.