Ch.8Change – 2

The next morning, Priscilla was waiting for me, dressed in her school uniform.

“Why are you wearing your uniform?”

“Because I don’t have any other clothes. I’ve only been able to wear my uniform all this time…”

“Weren’t there any episodes in the original story where you wore casual clothes?”

“Not yet. I only get to wear casual clothes when I become a third-year and leave this place with the hero. Priscilla Agnes is a woman who only knows studying. She didn’t bring anything else because she thought a school uniform was sufficient clothing for a student.”

Perhaps because she was a character designed to make the protagonist look better, the original Priscilla Agnes seemed to have a rather rigid personality in many ways.

Having to follow such a character’s behavior exactly, she probably had no reason to value clothes, nor could she afford to. While I was feeling bitter about this, Priscilla fidgeted with her fingers and looked up at me.

“So… if it’s okay with you, I’d like to borrow some of your clothes.”

“My clothes?”

“Y-yes. I’m not asking for much. Just a t-shirt would be fine. I can keep wearing my skirt.”

Priscilla was barely tall enough to reach my shoulders, so there was no way my t-shirt would fit her properly. Maybe if it were Brunhilde, who was quite tall for a girl.

She must know this fact, yet she still brought it up? Her intentions were transparent.

“I don’t think that will work. Just looking at us, you can tell the sizes won’t match. I’ll buy you some clothes of your own while we’re out, so just bear with it a little longer. Let’s come back wearing new clothes.”

But I decided to pretend I didn’t notice. A transparent lie like that could be seen as endearing.

“…Okay.”

Priscilla nodded with a slightly dejected expression despite my offer to buy her new clothes. Seeing that expression, I was certain. The borrowing was just an excuse; she simply wanted my clothes.

“Miss Mira! Senior Agnes! Over here!”

“Miss Mira…?”

As we headed toward the school gate, Aria greeted us with a bright smile. I heard a small voice beside me muttering the way Aria had just addressed me.

Unlike Priscilla, who was forced to wear her uniform due to her original character’s personality, the other two were dressed in casual clothes.

Aria wore a light blue sleeveless dress that was thin enough to slightly reveal her knees and thighs, while Brunhilde wore knee-length jeans and a crop top that came just below her sternum.

“Is that appropriate attire for someone who’s supposed to be a hero?”

“If you didn’t like how I dress, you shouldn’t have made me a hero. The most restrictive clothing I’m willing to wear is the academy uniform.”

To summarize Brunhilde’s personality since we became close—she’s much more easygoing than I initially thought. It’s hard to believe she’s the same person I first met.

“We’re taking the dimensional gate, right?”

“Of course. If we took a carriage, we’d be on the road for at least two hours.”

We naturally stood in front of the dimensional gate that led to the center of the capital. Located near the main entrance, it had good accessibility and, befitting Bellium Academy, connected to most areas of the imperial capital.

‘They turned it off during the entrance ceremony to prevent unauthorized entry.’

After scanning our student IDs and hearing the announcement that return trips within eight hours would be free, we set the coordinates for the dimensional gate closest to the department store.

With a sensation of floating and then sinking, our four bodies instantly emerged from a dimensional gate in a bustling area.

“Wow…”

“…Still disgustingly crowded as ever.”

Aria looked around with sparkling eyes, while Brunhilde frowned slightly as if recalling unpleasant memories and stayed close to Aria’s side.

I took advantage of the moment when those two walked ahead to ask:

“Have you been here before, Priscilla?”

Priscilla shook her head.

“Never. On weekdays, I’d shut myself in my room to study, on weekends I’d shut myself in the laboratory for magic experiments, and when I went back home, I’d shut myself in the workshop for research.”

“So this is what the world looks like,” Priscilla said in a slightly trembling voice as she took in the surroundings. Her profile looked quite pitiful.

I reached out my hand again, which I had briefly let go of while crossing the dimensional gate. Priscilla took it with a happy smile, interlacing our fingers.

As she rubbed my hand against her cheek to feel its warmth, Aria and Brunhilde, who had returned, were watching us with eyes full of emotion.

“Um, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”

“What is it?”

“Are you dating Senior Agnes?”

I figured this question would come eventually. It was obvious how my relationship with Priscilla might appear to others.

“No. We’re not dating.”

I was hesitating to answer, worried about hurting her feelings, when unexpectedly, Priscilla spoke up first. Aria and Brunhilde’s faces showed clear surprise.

“R-really? But why…”

“Because our relationship is much deeper than that.”

“Oh.”

Brunhilde let out an exclamation of surprise. Aria was also covering her slightly open mouth with her palm in shock.

“We can’t reveal that we’re possessed, right?”

Priscilla whispered so quietly that only I could hear, then proudly puffed out her chest.

While not technically wrong, when someone says their relationship is much deeper than dating, people usually think of engagement. I was about to point this out but decided against it. Priscilla looked too pleased with herself.

Well, those two aren’t the type to spread rumors, so it should be fine. Any misunderstandings can be cleared up later.

“So when you were holding hands or hugging each other…”

To Aria’s cautious question, Priscilla answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“It’s warm.”

This time, both of their expressions became puzzled. It was a response that could only be understood by someone who knew Priscilla’s past.

“Um… okay?”

“Yes.”

With that, Priscilla went back to happily fiddling with my hand. The two looked at me with confused expressions. I just smiled vaguely.

After this small incident, as we headed back toward the department store, a group of women passed by us, grumbling.

“Isn’t it ridiculous that the department store is closed today?”

“I know, right? I made a special trip here, and why did it have to be today of all days?”

“I heard it’s been like that since yesterday evening.”

Except for Priscilla, who was too focused on my warmth to pay attention to anything else, the three of us immediately looked at each other upon hearing those words. There was only one department store in that direction.

The place we were heading to.

“They say the department store is closed? What’s going on, Mira?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t notified of anything. I was just told we could go there.”

Beatrice had contacted me just this morning, saying they were expecting us and we just needed to show up with my friends. If the department store was closed, she wouldn’t have said that—

‘Wait.’

A thought occurred to me. It was a possibility I didn’t want to consider, but paradoxically, it was the most likely one.

“…Let’s just go and see. It’ll be fine. Probably.”

“Your face doesn’t look fine at all, Miss Mira.”

“That’s for a different reason, so don’t worry.”

I tried to suppress my anxiety as we moved toward the department store, and…

“It is an honor to receive you, Young Master Crate. And your esteemed friends.”

“It is an honor to receive you!”

I quietly sighed at the scene that matched my prediction perfectly.

I had a bad feeling when someone who looked like a high-ranking employee greeted us at the entrance, but when we went inside, all the staff were lined up to greet us.

“Wow…”

“Wow…”

Aria and Brunhilde, who had obviously never experienced anything like this before, gaped in amazement. Even Priscilla, a duke’s daughter, seemed visibly impressed.

“Welcome, Young Master.”

At the center of it all was Beatrice. I felt a slight stiffness in my neck as I approached her and whispered:

“What is all this?”

“Didn’t you request this, Young Master?”

“Me?”

“…You didn’t?”

Only after my question did Beatrice seem to realize something had gone wrong.

“Of course not. I just meant to give you a heads-up that we’d be coming today so you wouldn’t make a fuss.”

While I barely know any members of the merchant guild, conversely, every member of the guild knows the faces of the Crate family. This is to ensure they can properly attend to them whenever and wherever they might appear.

But I have no interest in watching employees scramble when I show up.

“…I apologize, Young Master. I misunderstood your intentions. I will accept any punishment. I am truly sorry.”

Beatrice bowed her head with a dejected expression.

“Forget about punishment. Just be more careful next time.”

I told her that since things had turned out this way, she should just help us choose items, and Beatrice enthusiastically replied that they had just started a special event with 99% discounts on all items in the department store.

As soon as she finished speaking, Beatrice snapped her fingers lightly. Staff members rushed in, surrounding Aria and Brunhilde almost like an escort, and headed somewhere.

The two looked at me in confusion before being swept away by the employees. The rest of the staff dispersed in all directions, leaving only me, Beatrice, and Priscilla.

Priscilla was clinging tightly to my arm with no intention of letting go. Seeing us, Beatrice smiled warmly and nodded.

“The daughter of Duke Agnes. She is a woman worthy of standing by your side, Young Master. I, Beatrice, would consider it the greatest honor as a servant to care for your children with the same love I have for you…”

“Let’s stop with the strange talk, shall we? First, let’s get some new clothes—”

Just as I was about to suggest choosing clothes first, Beatrice and I simultaneously felt an eerie sensation and drew upon our mana. Priscilla tugged at my sleeve from beside me.

“What, what is it?”

“I felt something. Beatrice, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Without a doubt. This is definitely the presence of a magical beast. But how could such a creature appear in the heart of the imperial capital…?”

Before Beatrice could fully articulate her question, a sharp scream came from outside. It was coming from outside.

“It’s nearby.”

“It would be faster if we handled it, right?”

“Of course, Young Master.”

Just as we exchanged glances and were about to head outside, Priscilla pulled at my sleeve.

“I know about this. What’s happening.”

I stopped in my tracks. This meant she had experienced this situation in her regression, and that this was one of the events from the original story.

But if she truly knew about it, she would have mentioned it before we came here, which suggested that the timing of the event itself had changed due to the alterations in the original story.

“Let me handle it. I can catch it.”

Priscilla, with extremely turbid eyes, gave me a sticky smile.

“So, just lend me a staff.”

Those eyes weren’t smiling at all.