LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 138
138. So, He Does Like Me, Isn’t It?
“Sis. This.”
My second sister, Camille, holds a fluttery dress up against my body.
Her face is expressionless as usual, but her movements are even quicker than normal.
A light blue frilly dress.
It couldn’t be more unfitting for me.
“Sis, this would look good on you too~”
The one holding up a silk one-piece dress is my third sister, Marilyn.
Even lighter than Camille’s choice, this dress shows off the body’s lines.
“Wait, no way.”
The two are overly enthusiastic, so it’s hard to cut in, but that dress is just too inappropriate.
I mean, I’m only going out for a meal with a colleague, so why do I have to go all out?
It’s all because last night, that guy left saying something like, “You should hurry back and get ready for tomorrow, right?” before disappearing.
On top of that, the meeting spot is the central fountain.
Nearby are a bunch of fancy restaurants, in Golden Dawn’s prime date spot.
I must have been careless.
I never imagined that alchemist had any interest in me at all.
But with this blatant of an invitation, there’s no mistaking it.
I told him I’d treat him, and he used that against me.
“He’s quite the strategist, isn’t he…”
I have Raidoc-sama, so I’ll turn him down, but since I did, for better or worse, agree to the date, I have to at least look decent so he isn’t embarrassed.
That’s what Marilyn lectured me on.
It took me too long to realize it was a date.
Living here has made it clear, Golden Dawn is safe. It’s hard to believe with all the immigrants and refugees pouring in every day, but it’s really safe.
Now that Kyle-sama became the Count of Elixir, the kingdom officially granted us a military force, turning private soldiers into proper troops, and even a Holy Knights’ Order was formed.
With the addition of regular patrols to the adventurers who used to be the only ones doing it, crime has practically disappeared.
….
Even if the alchemist tried to pull me into some deserted alley, if I screamed, soldiers or adventurers would rush over.
What am I even worried about?
“Sigh.”
As I become a mannequin for Camille and Marilyn, I let out a deep sigh.
There’s no way that awkward alchemist would do anything so outrageous.
Whether he realizes it or not, the women around him must like him to some degree.
It’s not just them. Female adventurers, the daughters of wealthy merchants, and even village girls (well, former village girls turned city girls) are all after him.
In this, he’s like Raidoc-sama, admired by many.
I doubt a guy who doesn’t lack female attention would take interest in a rootless, penniless mage with neither family nor status.
Yet, the fact remains: he clearly asked me out on a date.
“Ugh…”
As I’m lost in thought, they make me try on outfit after outfit, and I’m getting quite tired.
Ignoring their inappropriate choices, I ask the shopkeeper for help.
She suggests something that looks like what a wealthy merchant’s daughter might wear—nice but not too noble.
I have no idea which restaurant the alchemist plans to take me to, but with this young lady outfit, even a fancy restaurant should be fine.
Once I’ve settled on an outfit, the shopkeeper gives me a wide-brimmed, pure white straw hat as a freebie.
Thanks to my usual wide-brimmed pointy wizard hat, I accepted it without thinking, but in reality, my young lady aura had skyrocketed without me noticing.
◆
I’m running quite late for our meeting.
I hadn’t realized how much time choosing an outfit took.
“Men should be kept waiting.”
Camille, who supposedly has no experience with men, puffs out her chest and declares.
It seems she was aware of the time all along and was just acting deliberately.
After flicking her forehead, I head toward the central fountain.
If he’s left, that’s fine by me.
Honestly, I’d prefer it if he weren’t there. Glancing around the fountain area, I see a lot of couples, but there are also plenty of friends meeting up.
I get some familiar stares—people checking me out, but there seem to be more than usual today?
“Eva?”
Suddenly, someone calls my name from the side, making me jump.
“Huh!?”
Turning around, I find Craft, my date for today, but I’m caught completely off guard.
I was convinced he’d show up in his usual robe, but he’s dressed in a stylish, semi-formal casual suit.
In other words, we’re matching.
Not too common, not too extravagant.
“Good, I guessed right. I was worried I might’ve called out to the wrong person.”
Craft approaches me, looking relieved.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought for sure you’d show up in your usual robe. You caught me off guard, but, uh… it suits you.”
“Wha—!?”
Inside, I screamed, “He got me!”
Now it looks like I’m the one who put in the effort to dress up!
Caught in a mild panic, I didn’t quite catch his muttered, “Man, Ryuuko was right. That was a close call.”
“I’ve got a dinner reservation, but we’ve still got time before that.”
If we were adventurers, we’d have already started dinner, but I guess restaurants run a bit later.
Knowing this guy, his next words will be something like, “Eva, is there anything you’d like to do?”
Men who don’t think for themselves always push the responsibility onto the woman.
“Eva, this way.”
As expected, Craft… Wait?
He’s not passing the decision on to me.
In fact, he starts moving without even waiting for a reply.
Hey!
At least ask for my opinion!
Because of my unfamiliar young lady outfit, I can’t weave through the crowd, so I struggle to keep up.
Then, the alchemist apologizes, “My bad, my bad,” and grabs my hand to pull me along.
Huh!?
This is bad.
I’m not sure why, but this is bad!
My face is burning up!
It can’t be helped! I haven’t been touched by a man in ages!
Pulling my hand away would be easy.
But doing so would probably make me trip. As an adventurer, that’d be embarrassing.
“Ugh…”
Letting out a groan, I resign myself to being led by the hand.
It’s fine. My heart belongs to Raidoc-sama!
Pressing down on my wildly pounding heart, we finally arrive at… a jewelry store.