Chapter 219
Chapter 219
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: The Foreign Princess is Interested in Clothes (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After signaling their support, the Fixers and Anna's bodyguard, Wilhelm, quietly disappeared from view.
They were probably moving to positions where they could intercept any attackers or intruders who might recognize her.
Anna and I were left alone in the department store's VIP section, which now felt cavernously empty.
Naturally, being a complete stranger to her, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
I may not look it, but I'm actually a bit shy, a trait I usually hide behind my mask.
Without the mask I always wore, I felt antsy, and my mouth went dry.
S-So... what are we supposed to do now? Should I break into a little dance or something?
As I stood there awkwardly, trying to read the situation, Anna, who had been looking around, turned to me and spoke.
“Alright, now we can finally start choosing some clothes properly. The fashion of a metahuman city... Let's see what it's all about.”
“...”
“In that case... this might be a bit sudden, but. Yuria, come here. I think we need a little staging first.”
“Huh?”
Staging? The only kind of staging I know is from comics and movies...
Unsure of what she meant, I gently tilted my head at her.
But as if to say 'you'll see,' Anna just shrugged and took my hand, leading me somewhere.
The place she led me to was none other than a beauty care room.
‘Oh... how interesting. So a place like this exists.’
Perhaps it was because I had no idea how department stores like this operated, especially the VIP areas.
The sense of mystique from the exclusive, private space made me naturally look around.
From what I'd heard, you could receive beauty-related care from dedicated staff here.
Of course, since she had rented out the entire floor and sent all the staff away, there wasn't a soul in sight.
Deeper inside the beauty care room, we arrived at a makeup room.
She promptly sat me down in a chair facing the mirror, then rummaged through a drawer as she spoke.
“Hee hee, my governess always nags that I don't need to learn makeup skills... but I absolutely love making other people pretty. Yuria, what's your usual makeup style? Do you have any favorite brands?”
“...Nnng.”
“Wait, that reaction... Do you mind if I touch your face for a moment?”
Anna, who had been casually taking out her makeup tools, suddenly wore a serious expression at my lukewarm response.
Then, very carefully, she reached out, poked my cheek, and gently prodded it.
And from that simple action alone, she seemed to realize something. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed in disbelief.
“No makeup... This is your real skin, with nothing on it? It's like a newborn baby's!”
“Ack.”
“Brilliant! Yuria, you keep making my heart race!”
Ah, yes. Thank you. But could you please back up a little...
I reflexively leaned back, trying to distance myself from the clearly excited Anna.
But perhaps because she had me cornered in the chair with no escape.
Her jewel-like, sparkling eyes being right in front of my face was incredibly overwhelming.
More importantly, was that 'staging' thing she mentioned... really about makeup?
Mmm... I don't like putting things on my face. It's uncomfortable.
Besides, it's pointless since I usually wear a mask that covers my face anyway.
Anna seemed to effortlessly read my mixed feelings from my expression.
As if she'd expected it, she put a little distance between us and wagged her finger.
“Yuria, right now you're thinking, 'Makeup is such a hassle, I hate it. My face is already pretty enough...' Aren't you?”
“...”
“Hee hee, you're not entirely wrong. Piling clumsy makeup on a face as transparently beautiful as yours would only detract from its strengths. Well, your features are so good that it would only be like going from a beauty of 11 down to a 9, but still.”
Anna nodded as if she'd read my mind, acknowledging the possibility.
No, no, the first part was right, but the second part was wrong. I've never thought my face was already pretty.
However, it seemed that wasn't all she wanted to say.
Suddenly holding all sorts of makeup tools between her fingers, Anna exclaimed with incredible intensity.
“But the purpose of makeup isn't just to become prettier! In ancient Egypt, they applied kohl around their eyes to protect them from the sun, and Elizabeth I whitened her face to hide her aging and smallpox scars. In other words, makeup is a practical art form performed on the canvas of the face!”
“Hweh...”
“I wasn't planning on going this far, but... hee hee hee, today, I'm going to draw out another side of you. Prepare yourself!”
She looked at me, gripping her tools with a bright expression.
Her eyes, full of determination, seemed to say she was going to turn me into a completely different person.
Mmm... at this point, I don't care anymore. Just do what you want.
Half-resigned, I suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape.
After all, if it was just about putting some stuff on my face, all I had to do was empty my mind and endure it.
Besides, I wasn't so tactless as to resist unnecessarily and upset her.
About thirty minutes passed as she worked on me with her cosmetics and tools.
She wiped her brow with the back of her hand as if wiping away sweat and spoke with a look of utter satisfaction.
“And with that... it's done! Phew, Yuria. Want to take a look in the mirror?”
“...Oh.”
“What do you think? Do you like it?”
I, who had been dozing off, snapped my eyes open and stared at the mirror.
The reflection staring back at me... was somewhat unfamiliar.
My reflection in the mirror was, in a word... glamorous.
If my face, as I usually saw it in the mirror, had the feel of a transient lake...
...then now, with the deep colors on my eyes and cheeks, it had the intensity of the sun.
According to Anna, my face now had a heart-pounding sexiness to it.
But no matter how you looked at it, I had the appearance of a child. I felt like people shouldn't be feeling that way about it.
‘'Drawing out another side of you' was the perfect way to put it. Though taking a whole thirty minutes was a bit boring.’
Leaning closer to the mirror, I tried making various expressions.
I didn't feel like the makeup had made me prettier, but the different atmosphere was definitely interesting.
I mean, getting prettier with makeup usually involves making your eyes look bigger or your skin whiter.
Or coloring your lips red to hide flaws and accentuate strengths.
Since my eyes are already big and my skin is white and clear, it's hard to feel like I've gotten prettier.
If this is what it's like, I don't really need to learn how to do makeup myself. There's no one I want to look pretty for anyway.
As I was thinking this to myself and nodding in agreement...
...Anna, who had already put away her tools, silently approached from behind and began to fiddle with my hair.
“See? A completely different you from before, right? And if we do your hair like this...”
“...!”
Anna gathered the top section of my hair at the back and tied it up in what's commonly called a half-up style.
A person's atmosphere can change easily with just a hairstyle.
The neat and elegant vibe, combined with the intense makeup, made me feel like a young noble lady.
At a glance, you could even say I looked more like a lady than Anna, the one who's treated like a real princess.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, Anna nodded as if to say, 'I knew it.'
“Perfect, as expected. I did it myself, but I didn't think it would turn out this well. Alright, shall we get going then?”
“...Nyeh.”
“It's time to find you some nice clothes!”
Mmm... so the makeup was just the beginning.
Now I have to wander around this huge department store trying on clothes.
We hadn't even started, but I could already feel the fatigue piling up.
*
My ominous premonitions always turn out to be right.
As expected, my department store date with Anna was utterly exhausting.
Renting out an entire floor meant there were well over ten stores here.
Considering that a single store has over a hundred types of clothes, this was truly a hell made of fabric!
The only saving grace was that since I'm still short, most of the clothes I could wear were for children.
The thought that I might have had to try on every single outfit here was a tremendous relief.
“Hmm, this androgynous style wouldn't have been bad on your bare face, but it doesn't really suit you now. Still, the style is nice. It would look good on Lana. Okay, I have to buy this. Go change, Yuria.”
“Ugh...”
“Wow, this one is really nice! It's like it's tempting me to come closer. It must be because your proportions are so good... Yes, I'll get this as a gift for you!”
“Nngh!”
I-I don't need it! I wouldn't wear a dress like this even if you gave it to me.
I walked out hesitantly in an evening dress that left my shoulders completely bare, and at her offer to gift it to me, I wrapped my arms around my shoulders and shook my head vigorously.
How could I wear something this embarrassing outside?
More importantly, who even wears this stuff? The back is open too; isn't it a bit too radical for a child?
Anyway, after several hours of this process...
...when the number of outfits I'd tried on was approaching triple digits, I was finally released.
“Shall we call everyone and go get something to eat? Yuria seems to be getting tired, too...”
“...”
I'm... I'm saved. I'm finally escaping this infinite hell.
Having changed back into the maid outfit I'd first worn, I felt the joy of finally being set free.
I almost developed a trauma of department stores.
After wiping off the makeup and putting my mask back on, I grumbled inwardly as I trotted along behind Anna.
“Fixers, Wilhelm. We're done.”
“Understood, Client.”
“Yes. You've worked hard, Client.”
As Anna walked toward the entrance, the Fixers and Wilhelm, who had been waiting nearby, rejoined her.
It seemed they had plenty of stamina, as none of them looked particularly tired.
From behind them, I saw Alice make a heart shape with her hands, as if to say 'good job'.
Smiling slightly under my mask, I returned the heart gesture, relieved that it was finally over.
It had been tiring to be called out so suddenly, but I was just glad that it had ended without any incident.
“Then let's all go eat together. I've already made a reservation at a fine dining restaurant with a famous chef.”
“...!”
She's treating us to an expensive meal just for keeping her company while she shopped at the department store!
My rapidly dwindling approval rating for Anna suddenly skyrocketed.
Wow, it was a little tiring, but if she's treating us to a pricey dinner, that's a different story.
If I thought of it as a part-time job, it didn't seem so bad after all.
“Mr. Fixer, that must have been a rather burdensome request. Thank you so much for agreeing to it.”
“Not at all... You should probably thank Yuria, who willingly gave up her time.”
“Yes, that's true. Yuria, thank you so much for putting up with me today.”
“...Eheh.”
How many chances would I get to wander around a department store filled with luxury brands like that?
When I thought about it that way, today's events might not have been such a bad experience for me either.
Though from the halfway point, I'd just emptied my mind and changed clothes like a machine...
I'm just being dramatic; it wasn't exactly hard work, was it?
So, when I nodded back at Anna as if to say it was no big deal...
...she suddenly said something completely unexpected to Raven.
“If it's not too much trouble, could you accompany me again tomorrow, just like today? The truth is... I've grown very fond of Yuria.”
“Eh.”
Just... like today?
I whipped my head around to look at Anna, feeling like a hamster struck by lightning.
No, wait... You definitely said it was just for today.
As if sensing my confusion, Anna looked at me pleadingly and said.
“Yuria, you don't want to?”
“A-Ahem. Yuria...”
“...”
Of course, with Raven looking at me so apologetically, I couldn't refuse.
I feel bad for Mr. Greg, but... what the hell, I can do it.
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the weight of this connection I'd suddenly formed with a princess from Europe.
It seemed that days like today were going to continue for a while...
And just like that, four days passed.