New Clothes? Really Great!
As soon as the message popped up that the clothes I had ordered yesterday from Rocket Delivery Topping had arrived right in front of the front door, I almost reflexively sprinted over.
“Here I am.”
I opened the door and snatched up the two boxes sitting right beside it.
The weight that enveloped me felt just right—comfortably heavy—and it made me feel good for no reason at all.
I gently patted the boxes for a moment, glanced around the room, then set them on the living room table and carefully opened them with a cutter knife.
The instant the tape tore away, a faint, cozy fabric scent drifted out from inside the box.
I carefully pulled them out one by one, making sure not to damage anything.
If the size was off or I didn’t like them, I’d have to return them!
Cream-colored letterman sweater. I rubbed the fabric between my fingertips.
“Oh ho… It’s incredibly soft.”
The outside had a light fluff, the inside was fleece. When I lightly pressed it against my palm, it gave a satisfying rebound.
Of course it was incomparable to the white t-shirt I was wearing now, and far more appealing than any of the clothes I’d worn before becoming an Elder Lich in another world.
After confirming the sweater, I moved on to the lavender cardigan beside it.
The ribbon-shaped buttons were delicately placed.
It had a subtle sheen that only appeared when light caught it.
Not cheap at all.
“…Hmm, this one is pretty good too, right?”
Ivory pleated skirt.
When I lifted the side and gave it a light shake, the wrinkles naturally relaxed and then settled back into place.
Excellent quality. Cheap clothes never did this, hmm.
Next… the hairpin set.
A pair of crescent moons with pearl accents.
It would look nice with my hair color.
I casually, yet with my mouth corners lifting ever so slightly, gathered the clothes.
“Since there’s nothing else to do, shall I try them on?”
Lavender cardigan + ivory pleated skirt.
I draped the cardigan over my shoulders and lightly folded the sleeve ends twice to adjust the fit.
Then I stood in front of the full-length mirror.
“…Oh.”
It matched far better than I’d expected—really, much better.
I wasn’t particularly thrilled.
No.
Definitely not.
Outwardly a beautiful girl, inwardly a tetonam and shitangnam who had once commanded the Barzena continent as an Elder Lich.
Still…
“Hah… Not bad at all, really. Um.”
My ears felt warm.
Feeling awkward, I straightened my collar with my hand.
I shook the skirt lightly to check the hem.
I tapped the floor with my toes to the rhythm,
and a soft snort escaped.
“Hah, I like it!”
At that moment.
Without knowing when she had appeared, Ibella had stealthily approached from behind and silently stared at me in the mirror.
“Master… You’re too cute!”
“Waaahhh!! What the hell?!”
Startled by the sudden voice, I instinctively summoned a Dokkaebi Club with pitch-black mana before even thinking about its owner.
Without confirming the voice, I immediately struck Ibella.
Kwaaang—!
“Kyuk!!”
Ibella slammed into the wall from head to shoulder with a short scream.
“What the hell!! Ibella!! No!! You can’t die yet!!”
Only after swinging the cudgel did I realize I had beaten my precious Ibella, not Alkerniman.
I quickly pulled her from the wall where she slumped, laid her on the floor.
“Ugh…”
“What the hell!! Hey!! Put your tongue in!! Don’t drool!! Please don’t die!! You still have so much use!!!!”
My hand that had been holding the sleeve of the lavender cardigan and cheering a moment ago began to tremble.
“…Ah, damn— Ibella, please don’t…”
I knelt urgently and supported her.
Her breathing came out in faint gasps.
“Ugh… Hah… Master… Re, really… too… cute…”
“Nooo!! Ibella!! Ibella!! Please don’t leave me!!! Without you, I’ll have to beat Alkerniman again!!!”
Alkerniman and Mordane, who had come out to check the noisy commotion outside the gate and discovered the master’s melodrama, faced each other and spoke.
“Mordane… Did losing three billion really count as such a big sin? Being treated like this by Master?”
“Well… Since you’re the reason I’m living in the S-rank slime’s house and complaining, it’s enough.”
“Then… If Ibella really dies over there, it’s like I’m dead too, right?”
“I suppose so.”
“Ibella!!! You can’t die yet!!!”
Alkerniman, who had figured out the situation, sat there and started reaching out, screaming.
“Ibella!! I’ll save you… Just hang on a little.”
After screaming as if I had lost my parents, I gathered a bit of pitch-black mana on my palm.
And slowly poured it into Ibella’s body.
“Here, breathe in— Just hang on.”
Black mana extended from my fingertips, wrapped around Ibella’s chest, and slowly seeped into the skin inside.
Thud—
Thud—
The heartbeat gradually stabilized.
Soon, her eyes slowly opened again.
“… Master…”
“Yeah, it’s me. Feeling better?”
“Um… Are you alive…?”
“Yeah, alive. And from now on, be careful not to pop up unexpectedly. My heart almost stopped. You almost died too.”
Ibella slowly stood up.
And without any sign of remorse, she looked at me again.
The gaze was… even brighter than before.
“But… really… really… Master is too cute… That expression a while ago… Do it again…?”
“You bastard!”
I heated up my cheeks and stood straight.
But when I checked my reflection in the mirror, my cheeks were really flushed.
Lavender cardigan.
Ivory pleated skirt.
Slightly lowered bangs. The look when I had hummed just now.
“Ah… damn.”
A huge sense of reality hit me belatedly.
The Elder Lich’s pride inside me was stomping its feet.
“This is just… Because the clothes are to my liking, so I feel cute… No, it’s because I can’t adapt to this female body yet.”
“No. The clothes are following Master. Because Master is cute, the design is aligned to the cute side.”
“… What kind of nonsense is that.”
“Fact.”
I, outwardly complaining but unable to hide the rising mouth corners, picked up the hairpin set.
Crescent moon + pearl.
I carefully inserted it into the left side of my hair in front of the mirror.
Click—
“…”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and because the clothes matched too well, I almost made a really cute expression.
Seeing that, Ibella covered her mouth with both hands and twisted her body.
“Huaaaaa Master right now! Right now I almost smiled!! Right now!!! Right now too— heek!!! Because it’s so cute it’s going to die—”
“Damn, these undead bastards all came to Earth and gone crazy?”
I summoned an even larger and bigger Dokkaebi Club than before and pointed it at Ibella’s head.
“Shall we play?”
“… Sorry. Please continue.”
“Hah.”
I cleared my throat twice and unfolded the next outfit.
Cream-colored letterman sweater.
This time, instead of the skirt, I chose comfortable black jogger pants.
When I tried them on—
“Oh, this… It’s so comfortable?”
Completely different atmosphere from the lavender cardigan.
More comfort, laziness than cuteness.
I stretched my arms wide in front of the sofa and stretched.
“This is good to wear at home. Hmm.”
At this sight, Ibella said with an expression that didn’t even breathe.
“Last time… When raising arms, the clothes followed the sleeve… Too vulnerable… Too… human… Too…”
“… Do you want to faint again?”
“No!! Master is the best!! Too cool and cute and lovable and majestic—”
“Enough. Stop. That’s it.”
I changed back to the lavender cardigan outfit and stood in front of the mirror with the hairpin still inserted.
And…
Slightly.
Really, very slightly.
I hummed while looking at my appearance in the mirror.
“Huhehe…”
Ibella whispered from the side.
“Master. Can I record this expression right now…?”
“… Save it. Send just one to me.”
Click— System camera shutter sound.
The room had an unbelievably cozy, but somehow funny… strangely peaceful air.
“… I bought clothes well.”
After that, I spent a long time making a fool of myself in front of the mirror, then eventually connected to the community.
“What the hell.”