Chapter 1 - Part 1
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***
Perhaps because she fell asleep while anxious, Lelia opened her eyes early in the morning. Outside the window came the clear sound of birds chirping.
After washing up, she went to the closet without eating the food the servant had brought her.
[Come to think of it, I don’t have enough men’s clothing…]
Originally, she planned to leave the palace straight away after finding the ingredient in the cabin. However, to complete the sub-quest and obtain the sacred object, she had to stay for a while longer.
[I’ll have to buy some clothes first.]
After coming to a decision, Lelia put on a new pair of clothes and struggled to put on a cravat.
After that, she visited Romeo’s room.
She was going to ask Romeo to go to the men’s clothing store together to pick out some clothes.
Romeo wore colorful clothing every time she saw him.
At least it was better than asking Kalix, who always wears dark clothing.
***
“What? We’re going to go buy some clothes and you want me to pick them for you? Are you kidding me? Am I your servant?”
Upon hearing Lelia’s request, Romeo immediately lost his temper. He sat arrogantly on the sofa in his parlor room and turned his head away.
Lelia stood awkwardly and rolled her eyes while making excuses.
“But I don’t know much about men’s clothing… So Romeo is the only one I can ask for help.”
“Isn’t there Kalix? Ask him to do these annoying things.”
“But… Romeo has much better taste in clothes, right?”
“…….”
Romeo, who was looking at the book, raised his head and looked at Lelia.
[This is it.]
Looking at Romeo’s eyes, Lelia was sure.
She could read his mind just from his expression.
[Romeo is flawless at hiding his thoughts… but she still has an eye for it.]
Lelia seemed to know how to convince Romeo.
[My pride was hurt by flattery, but it couldn’t be helped.]
[I really don’t know anything about men’s clothes.]
It’s possible that she could be caught going to the men’s clothing store alone. However, it was difficult to call a designer to the palace. Lelia wanted to stay as inconspicuous as possible while in the Imperial Palace.
“Romeo always dresses really nicely. All your clothes are colorful, so I can’t help but look at them.”
“Well, that’s the way it is… I will help.”
“I only brought two men’s suits. I think I need to buy more clothes because I have to stay here longer. I don’t think anyone will doubt me if Romeo helps me..”
“Why…?”
[Is this not enough?]
Lelia continued with her clenched fist hidden behind her back.
“If I wore the clothes Romeo chooses for me… Wouldn’t I look like a handsome gentleman, just like Romeo. Right? Of course, not as handsome as Romeo.”
“…….”
Soon he raised the corners of his mouth a little as if he were satisfied.
“Well, well, Kalix would be in the way… Yeah, he is more comfortable naked than wearing clothes. Like some beast.”
At the end of the remark, Romeo jumped up and closed the book he was reading.
Lelia’s flattery seemed to have worked.
Suddenly
Ring!
A quest window appeared with a cheerful sound.
- Romeo, the most handsome, has a lot of ups and downs. (ꐦ°꒫°)!!! Let’s give him the best day ever!
Quest story progress: 0%
<Accept> <Reject>
Below it was a list of rewards.
<Compensation Item>
1 ticket for Confirmation of Favorability
1 Special Recipe Puzzle Piece
1 Lv.1 One Random Gift Box[?]
1 Alchemy Lottery ticket
The reward list was the same as Kalix’s first quest.
It’s just that…
What kind of quest is this?
She couldn’t believe she was giving Romeo a ‘best day’ as part of a quest. She was already tired.
While true, she was more dumbfounded that the quest came up at this moment in the first place.
[You’re saying that I complimented him and the favorability increased to a positive number?]
It was true.
Lelia was dumbfounded and touched the side of her head.
Meanwhile, Romeo hummed and headed to the inner room to change his clothes.
Lelia liked Romeo , who hadn’t changed much since they were children.
***
Romeo reappeared, having changed into elegant clothes with colorful embroidery.
Because of his good physique, he looked great. Lelia’s clothes were much duller in comparison to his, so when she stood next to him, she felt like Romeo’s servant.
Romeo took Lelia to Kalix’s room.
It was right across the hall.
Romeo opened the door without knocking. Lelia was very surprised but soon stumbled in. When she thoughtlessly walked past the drawing room and followed Romeo to the bedroom, she paused.
1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds.
Exactly three seconds later, Lelia belatedly came to her senses and turned her back.
On the bed was Kalix, who was sleeping on his stomach while shirtless.
“…….”
Lelia hurried to the drawing room. She felt dazed.
It was the first time she actually saw an adult man’s naked back. It’s like a stone statue from a temple. She had seen similar ones in the estate, but….
Anyway, there were a lot of old-looking wounds on Kalix’s back.
[It’s because you’ve been through a lot on the battlefield.]
Lelia bit her lips in sorrow.
However, it is true that the muscles were more noticeable than the wounds.
Kalix didn’t look that thick when he was dressed, but as he was lying down, she realized how strong his body was. She stared blankly out of the window to think about something else, but a little scuffle came from inside.
“I’m not going, I’m not going!”
She could hear the whining voice of Kalix and the chuckling Romeo.
Soon Romeo, with a bright face, came out of the bedroom.
He looked somehow refreshed.
[Is he waking up in the morning and harassing Kalix to start the day?]
Lelia thought so and escaped from the palace with Romeo.
***
The place they arrived at by carriage was in the downtown area of the Imperial Capital. It was a street frequented mainly by aristocrats. Just by looking at the bricks used by the buildings on the road, she could tell that this was a street frequented by the upper class.
Lelia stood still, looking at the luxurious shops lined up on either side of her, then she entered the store in front of her when Romeo told her to come quickly.
Before she went in, she glanced around and saw that this was a men’s clothing store.
There was something she was hiding, so there was a rush of apprehension.
[It will be fine, I’m with Romeo.]
Fortunately, there were no customers in the store. It was still too early for the shop to be open. However, the store owner showed a very friendly smile as if time didn’t matter.
“Would you mind picking out some clothes that would suit this gentleman?”
At Romeo’s words, the man nodded and approached Lelia.
“…!”
As Lelia’s and the man’s eyes met, the owner looked her up and down in surprise.
It wasn’t a look of disrespect, it was a curious expression.
“What?”
When Romeo asked with a wrinkled brow. The man waved his hand and said nevermind.
Then he expertly took some clothes from the racks and hung them on a wooden mannequin to show them off.
There were a total of seven outfits that the man picked out.
Each one was bright and colorful with beautiful embroidery.
Romeo looked at the clothes attentively and nodded his head as if they were okay.
[I did a good job in flattering Romeo.]
Romeo’s attitude was reassuring because Lelia didn’t know anything about men’s clothing, or women’s clothing.
“I think a different cravat would be better for this outfit.”
As Romeo said so, the owner quickly brought a wooden tray with cravats on it.
“This and this. Oh, and cufflinks with this one.”
As Romeo ordered this and that, a few more men busily ran around at the orders of the owner.
“It’s done.”
Lelia looked at the clothes Romeo had chosen. She really liked them all, but…
He’d added cufflinks, and other things like the cravat, so the cost seemed to be considerable.
[How much money would she have left after paying for all of this?]
While Lelia was contemplating this, Romeo pulled something out of his pocket and held it to the man.
[Huh?]
Upon closer inspection, it was the currency issued by the temple.
Along with the five empires on the continent, the currencies used by the neighboring countries were all different. As a result, the temple in the center of the five empires also played a role in creating and exchanging common currency for active trade, and that was the currency Romeo handed over.
[Are you going to buy it all?]
Lelia asked with her eyes, but Romeo had an indifferent face.
It looked like he was really going to buy it all.
[I did a really good job of flattering him.]
Lelia thought to herself, and laughed.
Just then, a man approached her and hesitated.
“I have to measure now, but…”
“Oh.”
The man pointed to one of the spacious changing rooms. It meant she had to go over there and get measured. After Lelia hesitated, Romeo considered for a moment, then took the tape measure the man was holding.
“I’ll measure him myself.”
“Oh, yes. All right.”
Romeo took Lelia by the arm and entered the dressing room where the man had guided them. As soon as the salesman drew the curtains, Romeo and Lelia were alone in the change room.
“You can measure the chest and waist yourself…”
“Ah yes.”
Lelia took the tape measure that Romeo had offered, and looked in the mirrors with a bewildered face. The changing room was quite large with mirrors on all three sides. It was made so it would be easier for staff to change the customers’ clothes.
Romeo turned his back and stood facing the curtain.
If the man had taken her measurements, he would’ve had to touch Lelia’s chest and he might have figured out that she was a woman.
At the thought that Romeo had taken care of that, Lelia felt grateful to have her friend with her.
Lelia measured her waist and chest. When she was done, she called over Romeo. He took the tape measure from her.
“Shoulders, upper body and legs will be measured by me.”
That part was difficult to measure alone, so Lelia nodded her head.
Romeo took the tape measure and moved closer to Lelia’s side. He measured the length of her legs from Lelia’s waist, the length from her hip to her shoulders, and the length of her arms. Even if it was his first time doing it, his movements were smooth, and his attitude was cautious without touching her.
But when he measured her shoulder, she could feel his fingertips touching her.
As Romeo’s fingertips touched her left and right shoulder, she suddenly felt breathless and cramped.
“….”
At that moment, Lelia looked at the mirror and her gaze met Romeo’s.
***
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