Chapter 37 – Gothic Lolita

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“Aren’t you excited to see what she’ll look like?!”

“Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

“Ah, I hope it comes out soon~” 

“Me too…”

Kang Hanna, responding in a lukewarm manner to Yuika, who was slightly excited, wore a blank expression.

The two were at MEOW, a clothing store located in the northern district.

Kang Hanna knew this clothing store well. It would be strange if she didn’t, considering all the black clothes she wore were custom-made here.

Anyway, she didn’t particularly need clothes, so the reason she was at MEOW with Yuika was quite simple. And that reason cautiously parted the curtain and revealed itself.

“I-I changed.”

A girl in overalls and a blouse was shyly twirling her hair with her fingers. Yuika, who had been sitting next to her, couldn’t resist and jumped up, rushing to hug the girl.

“Cute-!”

“E-Euett?!”

“You’re so, so cute, Mari. It didn’t make sense to hide such a pretty face. Right, Ms. Miao?!”

“She is cute, but you’re going to kill her.”

As Miao said, Mari’s face, tightly embraced in Yuika’s arms, was like a blazing fire. Judging by her wandering eyes and the strange “hyuyu-” sounds she was making, she seemed to have half-lost her mind.

“What do you think, Hanna-yang? Isn’t she cute?!”

“She is cute…”

Kang Hanna wasn’t so clueless as to ask, “Yuika-ssi, why am I even here?” in this situation.

Of course, regardless of that, it was true that Mari, embraced in Yuika’s arms, was very cute. Kang Hanna gave a thumbs up in response, and Yuika rested her chin on Mari’s head, complaining.

“I wish I had my phone or a camera right now. It’s such a shame I don’t have a way to record Mari right now… Ah, that’s right. If Ms. Miao could draw her…!”

“Sorry, but that’s too much trouble for me. Just enjoy it with your eyes.”

“Oh no…!”

Seeing Yuika’s face as if she had heard the world was ending, Kang Hanna thought to herself with prejudice that Japanese people were always so dramatic. Although, Yuika was the only Japanese person she had ever met.

Anyway, was she going to be stuck here until Mari tried on all the clothes she had ordered? Kang Hanna rested her chin on her hand and sighed softly.

Kang Hanna’s original plan was to apologize to Mari and then go home to relax.

But somehow, she ended up baking pancakes, and while enjoying them with tea, the conversation shifted to Mari’s clothes, and they ended up coming here together.

Andreina had almost joined them, but she gently declined, saying she couldn’t leave the church during the day, so the three of them came.

‘I could have gotten out of it if I had refused too…’

It was hard to refuse Yuika’s offer.

She was almost the only person she talked to on the Floating Island, and since she was one of the few who sought her out, she wanted to grant her requests and favors as much as possible.

However, unlike herself, Yuika was quite outgoing. She had only met the girl named Mari recently, but now she was treating her like a long-lost younger sister.

“Heuek…”

The girl didn’t seem to have adjusted enough to enjoy that kind of relationship yet.

Kang Hanna chuckled at Mari, who was being shaken back and forth by Yuika, looking limp.

If she stayed any longer, she might faint from embarrassment. It might not be a bad idea to rescue her soon.

“Yuika-ssi, let’s try on the next outfit.”

“Finally, Hanna-yang is taking an interest in Mari’s fashion show?!”

“It’s not that, but Mari in Yuika-ssi’s arms looks like she’s about to faint.”

“Huh? Faint? Ah, Ma-Mari. Are you okay?!”

“I-I’m okay…”

“She looks like a stretched-out slime.”

Unlike her words, Mari’s limp answer prompted Miao, who had been watching them from the counter, to say a word.

Slime, like a liquid monster? If so, Kang Hanna thought that was a fitting description. A slime with a bright red face.

After taking some time to calm down, Yuika sent Mari back to the fitting room with another outfit and sat down next to Kang Hanna with a satisfied expression.

“Haa- It feels like a thorn has been removed.”

“Putting new clothes on Mari?”

“You’d have to see how Mari usually covers herself up to understand. Such a cute girl hiding from head to toe in a robe? That’s a huge loss for humanity!”

“I see.”

Mari was definitely cute, but wasn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? Kang Hanna swallowed the harsh truth rising from within and nodded.

Sometimes, appropriate empathy is more important than absolute truth. Kang Hanna had learned that truth after many trials and errors. But it seemed that truth wasn’t working this time.

Yuika stared intently at her, and Kang Hanna rolled her eyes, opening her mouth.

“…Did I say something wrong?”

“Huh? No, not at all. I was just wondering if Hanna-yang might want to buy some new clothes while we’re here.”

“New clothes?”

Kang Hanna’s eyes widened at the sudden suggestion.

“Hanna-yang always wears the same clothes. Shirts and pants, all black, top and bottom.”

“It’s not the same clothes, I just have several similar outfits.”

She had two or three spare sets in her inventory and about ten sets in her closet at home.

When she ordered them from Miao, she had been told, “Wouldn’t it be better to just buy them from the store window?” but it couldn’t be helped.

The ones sold in the store window weren’t quite as dark. To put it, it was like the night when a full moon was out without a single cloud.

The darkness Kang Hanna wanted was a darkness without any light. And Miao had perfectly matched the order.

Although she grumbled that she would never make something like that again. Anyway, at Kang Hanna’s words, Yuika asked with a strange expression.

“You don’t only have those kinds of clothes, do you?”

“…There’s no particular need for other clothes.”

Kang Hanna mumbled, averting her gaze slightly.

Her all-black attire was related to her unique skill, but fundamentally, she wasn’t very interested in fashion. Before coming to the Floating Island, hoodies and sweatpants were her default.

If Kang Hanna had been a man, Yuika would have listened to those words, contemplated them, nodded, and backed down. However, she was not a man, and Yuika thought it was a sin for a beautiful girl not to dress up.

Therefore, instead of backing down, Yuika grabbed Kang Hanna’s hand and said,

“What do you mean, ‘no need’? You need to separate your outfits for when you’re resting and when you’re going down to the dungeon to truly relax! And it would be great to enhance that shining beauty as well!”

“Et, ah, I, uh…”

Kang Hanna was flustered by the sudden skinship. She was quiet and reserved, so it wasn’t obvious, but she was actually in the same category as Mari.

She was just a little more mature than Mari. And Yuika, who had known Kang Hanna for a while, knew this well and pushed her closer.

“So, just buy one! Something bright, like a dress, or maybe an office look! It would definitely suit Hanna-yang!”

“R-Really?”

“Of course! Ms. Miao!”

“Yeah, yeah. I already know her measurements, so I’ll make something roughly.”

What a master manipulator, that person. Miao chuckled and, after looking at Kang Hanna, whose cheeks were flushed, turned around and went inside with a quickly completed sketch.

“Ah.”

Kang Hanna, realizing that the order had been placed before she could stop it, belatedly sighed. Instead, she puffed out her cheeks slightly and grumbled softly at Yuika.

“Yuika-ssi…”

“I’m sorry. But if I didn’t do this, Hanna-yang would never wear those kinds of clothes.”

After saying that, Yuika glanced around, muttering.

“Was it unnecessary meddling…?”

It was unnecessary meddling. Deciding what to wear was ultimately up to Kang Hanna herself. Wearing such stuffy clothes, and stubbornly sticking to them, was her choice.

But such unnecessary meddling changes depending on who does it. Kang Hanna looked away, tucked her hair behind her ear, and said softly,

“…It’s not that, though.”

“That’s a relief…”

Kang Hanna smiled faintly at Yuika, who was quietly relieved. After all, she was the only one who cared about her-

“U-Um, excuse me…”

“Waa-! Cute~!”

-But before she could even finish that thought, Yuika ran towards Mari, who had changed clothes and revealed herself, and the smile on her face turned cold.

“Heuek…?!”

Mari, wearing a blouse, skirt, and a light cardigan that maximized her delicate appearance, trembled at the sudden, cold gaze.

Mari, still in Yuika’s arms, turned her head to look in the direction of the gaze, but all she saw was Kang Hanna, who had pouted her lips slightly and turned her head away.

***

“…Um, Ms. Miao? Yuika? I thought you weren’t going to make this? But why…”

“See? I told you it would suit you.”

“You can’t beat the aesthetic sense of someone who makes clothes.”

You two aren’t listening to me at all.

Seeing Miao and Yuika nodding and looking at her, Mari sighed and looked in the mirror.

A girl in a so-called Gothic Lolita style was there.

A small silk hat decorated with purple flowers and a voluminous black and white dress. Fortunately, she didn’t have a parasol because they couldn’t figure out how to make one, but this alone was enough, enough to be too much.

It felt like she had to say something with synapse-like lines any moment now.

As she was about to strike a pose, she met eyes with Yuika, who was grinning in the mirror.

Her face flushed instantly, and she turned her head sharply, shouting at Yuika.

“…I’m not doing it!”

“Ehh~ You’re not doing it?”

“Not doing what?”

Unlike Yuika, who seemed to have a knack for that kind of thing, Ms. Miao tilted her head, seemingly not understanding.

“That might be okay…”

In the midst of all that, Hanna muttered quietly.

What are you talking about again…

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
The day suddenly got cold during the morning and evening…

Watch out for the cold…!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Nothing to say other than to beat up the girlfailure!

And the lewd saintess too!