Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Something Seems to Be Going Wrong (2)
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It was definitely a good thing.
After being invited by Raven to accompany him to a party hosted by Nemesis.
At least, until I started picturing the complete Fixer Agency in my mind.
But I guess there's no such thing as free happiness in this world.
I soon found myself facing an ordeal that made me break out in a cold sweat.
"A dress code?"
Alice's eyes widened as she looked at Raven on the other side of the sofa.
She reacted as if she'd heard the term for the very first time.
"Yeah. Guess they're a big corporation, after all. They're asking guests to adhere to a minimum dress code. Suits for men, dresses for women. Something like that."
"Oh... a d-dress, you say..."
"Don't you have something suitable for an occasion like this?"
"Hmm, well... I do have some things. But they're all in a traditional Japanese style. Would that be okay?"
"Japanese style? Ah, you mean traditional Japanese wear. Hmm... I don't know."
Raven stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
Usually, parties like this didn't reject traditional attire.
Especially if the atmosphere was casual enough to invite someone like Raven, who had little connection to the company, it would be even more acceptable.
In the end, the important thing about a dress code was showing a certain level of courtesy and formality.
In that sense, traditional formalwear, while a bit conspicuous, didn't stray far from the intended purpose.
Of course, wearing a kimono when everyone else was in dresses and suits would make her stand out.
*Doesn't really matter to me, does it?* The thought crossed my mind.
Buying an expensive dress just to attend one party seemed a bit much.
"Well, it'll probably be fine. I'll ask the hosts just in case. But no wearing that outfit where your panty straps look like they're about to show."
"Ugh! P-p-panty straps?! They don't show! That's sexual harassment! Seriously!"
Alice's face turned beet red as she fumed at Raven's words.
*Huh, now that I think about it, that's true. If the slit is that high, wouldn't the strap be visible?*
*Why have I never seen Alice's panty straps?*
As I pondered this mysterious phenomenon, trying to figure it out...
Alice, her face as red as a boiled octopus, suddenly pulled me into her arms and shouted.
"W-well, never mind me! What about Yuria?"
"Hm? Oh, right. The part-timer probably doesn't have anything to wear."
*Why is the fire suddenly jumping to me? I was just sitting here quietly.*
But then again... she wasn't wrong.
Having to meet the dress code to attend the party.
For me, who only owned pajamas and a maid outfit, it was indeed a problem.
And clothes suitable for such an occasion were usually expensive.
Since I was a penniless beggar, buying one would be difficult.
"Alice. Don't you have any clothes from when you were little?"
"Those are all at my family's home. Besides, I grew tall pretty quickly as a child..."
"Hmm, I think I know what you mean."
"H-hey, where are you looking right now!"
*Thwack!*
Alice's foot whipped through the air and struck Raven's thigh.
Being held in her arms, I could understand the attack.
I could tell where Raven's gaze had momentarily stopped. Alice was indeed... well-endowed.
Of course, it was an awkward position to generate much power from, but perhaps because she was so strong...
He rubbed the spot where he was hit and nonchalantly proposed another idea.
"Then how about we rent a suitable dress? It'll be much cheaper than buying one."
"Is that okay? It'll still be quite expensive. And you don't have any money, Jin."
"I've saved up a little for times like this. Let's just call it an employee benefit."
Raven's choice was not to buy, but to rent.
Clothes worn only on special occasions are always a bit of a burden for an individual to purchase.
A wedding dress, for example. You only wear it when you get married, so spending tens of thousands of dollars on one seems like a waste, right?
Thus, to cater to this demand, there were businesses that rented out clothes for a much cheaper price—so-called rental shops.
It seemed Raven had decided to go that route.
*But... I don't really want to wear a dress...*
"When should we go? Considering the schedule, the sooner the better."
"Let's go today! You're free anyway, right?"
"Well, yeah, but her opinion is more important. What do you think, part-timer?"
"Yuria, are you busy this evening? Want to go look at clothes with me?"
"..."
Alice's fervent gaze seemed to say, *Of course you're coming, right?*
And Raven's calm expression seemed to say, *Don't worry about the money.*
It was not an atmosphere where I could refuse.
I mean, what would happen if I did refuse?
*Am I not going to the party? Am I going to miss the moment the Fixer Agency becomes complete?*
*Ugh, ugh... I-I'll just try to pick the most plain one...*
I buried my head in Alice's embrace, which was slowly starting to feel familiar.
To think I'd end up wearing a dress in my life.
A sense of self-loathing, wondering if this was right, suddenly reared its head.
*
The rental shop we needed was located in a bustling downtown area.
According to Raven's research, it seemed to be one of the cheapest children's clothing rental shops in the area.
*Wait, do I really have to wear children's clothes? A dress, no less?*
The treatment was so sad it almost brought tears to my eyes.
"Welcome~ Oh my, are you a married couple?"
"No! We're really not!"
"I'm the one who called earlier. We're looking for a children's dress. And we're not a couple."
"Oh, my! I'm so sorry. You two just looked so good together, I couldn't help myself. Ahem, the children's clothes are this way."
The shop owner chuckled good-naturedly and led our group deeper into the store.
Looking around, it was clearly a store specializing in children's clothes; everything was adorably small.
*Wow, this is... no, uh... hmm...*
And the designs of the clothes on display naturally horrified me.
White dresses, blue dresses, red dresses, purple dresses...
Every single one was covered in frills, and some were even adorned with large ribbons or artificial flowers.
It was a veritable festival of dresses that a little girl would love, a collection that brought princesses to mind.
I thought I had mentally prepared myself before leaving the agency.
But now that I was here, imagining myself wearing one of those, I could feel my neck flush with shame.
"Oh, this one is nice. Yuria has white hair and fair skin. How about a deep red?"
"Hmm, well... looks fine, doesn't it?"
"Wow, this one's great too. Yuria would look like a total fairy in this!"
"Yeah, it's nice."
"Hey. Jin, what was that? Aren't you being a little too emotionless?"
While I was spacing out, lost in my cruel fate...
I suddenly heard the voices of Alice and Raven, who were looking at clothes and chatting.
I glanced toward Alice to see what they'd found, and there was a deep raspberry-colored dress and a pastel-toned one.
I didn't exactly have an eye for dresses, so I couldn't tell if they were good or bad.
But one thing was certain: the thought of wearing one of them and walking around outside...
Made a cold sweat run down my back and my heart pound uncomfortably.
*I really have to wear one, don't I...*
To be honest, I didn't really want to.
After all, those were a different breed from the maid outfit I was currently wearing.
This could at least be considered a type of uniform, something I wear for work.
But those things were basically screaming, *I'm a little girl~!*
Physically, well, that wasn't exactly wrong, but!
I still wasn't fully prepared to accept that fact just yet.
*Ugh... b-but, if it's for the sake of watching the original story unfold...!*
Of course, I could just refuse to wear it and not go to the party.
No one was holding a knife to my throat, and Raven wasn't going to force me to go.
But when I weighed my trivial shame against my desire to see a major scene from the original story firsthand...
The scales inevitably tipped toward the latter.
*You're going to pass this up just because you don't want to wear a dress? Are you an idiot?*
*You're wearing a mask anyway, so what's there to be so embarrassed about?*
"Is it for the young lady over there? Then... please pick one from these. This section should be just the right size."
"Yuria. Pick one."
"..."
*Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll just wear it.*
Having made my decision, I looked around with a rather serious attitude.
I picked out the plainest, most modest blue dress that showed the least skin and held it up high, like a certain monkey holding up a lion cub.
*This one will do. Nothing more to see here, let's wrap this up.*
Since I couldn't speak, my gesture roughly conveyed that meaning.
"Oh, you've chosen a rather classic one, haven't you? Would you like to try it on?"
"Is that allowed?"
"Of course. You can't choose clothes without trying them on first."
"Great! Go try it on, Yuria."
*Huh? Try it on? Here?*
Blinking in bewilderment, I was pushed into the fitting room with the dress.
All that was left was a mirror taller than me and the plain dress in my arms.
Suddenly forced to change, I stared blankly at my reflection in confusion.
*...Right, I should at least try it on. I'm going to wear it at the party anyway.*
I checked to make sure the fitting room door was properly locked.
Then, I hung the dress to one side and hesitantly took off my clothes.
I shed the maid outfit I could now change into with my eyes closed and slipped on the dress, which had a simpler structure than I'd expected.
And when I thought I was done, I glanced at the mirror.
There stood a girl in a dress, wearing a fox mask, with an unreal charm... hmm, this is a bit embarrassing.
*Ah, no way.*
I quickly changed out of the dress and back into my original maid outfit.
No one was watching, but I just couldn't handle the ultimate cuteness, a flawlessness you couldn't find even if you tried.
*It would have been better if it didn't suit me!*
Faced with a wave of emotion that overwhelmingly crushed my reason, I had no choice but to surrender.
"Hm? Yuria, what's wrong? Is there a problem with the dress?"
"..."
"S-should I bring you another one?"
"..."
*Shake, shake, shake.*
Clutching the dress, I trudged out of the fitting room and simply shook my head at Alice's question.
She probably thought there was some issue with the dress.
But for me, whose only reason was being too embarrassed to wear it, I had no face to answer her.
*I'm sorry for being like this. I'll just... not go to the party...*
As I, completely dejected, returned the dress to the shop owner and hung my head, Raven, who had been quietly observing from the back, spoke up.
"Would something other than a dress be okay?"
"Huh? Jin, what are you suddenly...?"
"I'm asking if clothes other than a dress would be fine. Part-timer."
*How did he know I didn't want to wear a dress?*
I looked at him with surprise, wondering if I had used telepathy.
Raven clicked his tongue, strode over, and spoke to the shop owner.
"You have things like children's suits, right? Please show us to the section with something she can wear."
"Uh... but."
"Even though she's a girl, there isn't much difference from a boy at this age. It won't look too strange."
Was it just my imagination?
As he said that, his eyes looked strangely sad.
"Yuria, are you okay with not wearing a dress?"
"...!"
Well, I was fine with it.
Not wearing an embarrassing dress was actually a good thing.
*I don't know what he's misunderstanding, but since things have turned out this way, I'll gladly take advantage of it.*
I cackled inwardly like a sinister mastermind and confidently gave a thumbs-up.
After that, everything went smoothly.
Perhaps because a children's suit wasn't nearly as embarrassing as a dress...
I was able to try them on one by one, as if in a fashion show, and engage in a deep discussion with Alice about which one suited me best.
On top of that, for a child, I had long arms and legs—a model's physique in the world of children.
In fact, the suit seemed to suit me even better than the dress. Though that was just my personal opinion.
*Click! Click!*
"Aah! So cute! What is this androgynous charm! I have to take pictures, pictures...!"
"..."
"If you take a picture every time she changes, when are we ever going to finish? Let's wrap it up and go."
Of course, this appearance of mine must have triggered Alice's cuteness sensor. Her endless shutter barrage began as she went into a half-frenzy.
But after I had changed more than ten times, Raven's patience ran out, and his physical intervention thankfully brought it to an end.
Fortunately, I was able to choose a suit I liked in the meantime, so I successfully met the party's dress code.
And after all the preparations were complete, time flew by in an instant, and four days later...
We were gathered in front of the building where Nemesis's launch party, 'Beyond the Metafuture,' was being held.
"Alright. We're just simple outside guests. No causing trouble. We eat, look around, and leave. Okay?"
"Okay!"
"...!"
Alice and I vigorously raised our arms as if to promise we'd heed Raven's warning.
Of course, for me, who knew what was about to happen, it was just an act to go along with the mood!
I held Alice's hand tightly so I wouldn't get lost, when a small question suddenly crossed my mind.
*Hmm? Come to think of it, isn't something... missing? Something that should be here.*
Something not that important, but something that should definitely be here.
I tilted my head, unable to recall what it was, and entered the building with the others.
It was the beginning of an original story event that made my heart pound.