LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 40
“Do you think this would look good? Want to try it on?”
I received the dress hanging from the raised hand and inspected it. Gripping the shoulder straps with my thumb and index finger from both hands, I could see the entire outfit clearly as if it were still hanging on a hanger.
This time, it was a blue dress. There weren’t many decorations, but jewels resembling butterflies were attached around the chest, adding a point of interest. Since it was a private dress room, there was no separate fitting room. One could argue that the dress room itself could serve as a fitting room. Therefore, I slowly began to remove my clothes one by one in front of Yuli. Although I felt embarrassed to undress in front of Yuli, it was a situation where I was simply making myself self-conscious for no reason. I might think of it as undressing in front of the opposite gender due to my memories of being a man, but for Yuli, it was just a same-gender friend changing clothes.
I haphazardly flipped off the shirt I had worn on top and unbuttoned and unzipped the pants I had on below. With just my underwear left, my bare skin felt exposed. Feeling shy with Yuli staring intently at me, I quickly slipped into the dress. Since Yuli and I were generally similar in body shape, I didn’t feel constricted except in one area.
“Wow, this suits you too! What do you think, Elysia?”
Yuli said while looking at me in front of a mirror. Looking at the mirror, I had to admit that Yuli was right; my silver hair and the blue dress surprisingly went well together.
…To be honest, it wasn’t that the silver hair matched with the dress; it was just that my appearance seemed to pair well with it. Every time I looked in the mirror, I thought the same; if there were clothes that didn’t look good on this face, then it must be the clothes’ fault. I could even pull off a clown costume. Except for one area, my figure was quite good. In fact, that one area might be lacking compared to Yuli or Selian, but it wasn’t that small.
However, whether I should call it the side effect of TS magic, no matter how much I trained, I only felt an increase in strength without any visible muscle build-up. When I was a man, I had enough muscle to look decent, but now that I was in a woman’s body, it felt a bit awkward with only smooth skin.
“…Looks great.”
With my honest opinion, I turned to Yuli. I had already changed into the third outfit. But I knew this was far from over. I had experienced how long a fashion show for girls could take during my shopping trip with Selian.
“Alright! Now, it’s this one!”
As expected, Yuli brought out another new outfit. In fact, the expression ‘brought out’ wasn’t necessary. She could simply pick one from the clothes hanging right next to her.
It was another dress. However, it looked like something one wouldn’t wear unless at a social party. I took off the blue dress and tried on the new one. It was more extravagant, but it wasn’t overly frilly or riddled with unnecessary decorations. Even as a man, I thought it was sufficiently decent. It’s said that one sometimes wears a corset with such dresses, but it didn’t seem necessary. After all, it was just Yuli and me looking at each other, and this body definitely didn’t require a corset. If I needed to cinch it in that much, I would decline.
“Uh… Could you tie the straps for me, please?”
I had put it on, but to keep it from slipping down, it seemed I needed to tie the straps at the back. It was a bit inconvenient to tie it myself since it was at my back. Of course, I could manage alone as my body was flexible, but there was no need to struggle alone when someone was right next to me to help.
“Just a moment.”
Yuli went around to my back. I stood still, facing forward, to avoid getting in her way while she tied it. Every time Yuli’s fingers lightly brushed against my back, my body instinctively twitched, but fortunately, I managed to hold back any sound. It seemed that tying those straps was taking longer than expected, and I had a tough time holding back as Yuli’s fingers kept grazing my back.
“Done!”
When I looked into the mirror, a delicate lady stood there. Though I had only changed clothes, the vibrant feeling I had before was completely different now. I realized that the saying “clothes make the man” wasn’t just an expression.
“…Is that okay?”
It was a troublesome outfit to move in and swing a sword with, so I hesitantly spoke to Yuli to get permission to change back, but there was no response. Yuli was staring at me intently through the mirror.
“Yuli?”
I turned halfway to look at Yuli, causing the dress to flutter slightly.
“Uh, yeah!”
“It seems this one isn’t good either. I didn’t feel great in it, honestly.”
“Oh, no! It’s just that the atmosphere is so different from usual… I’m not saying it’s weird! I mean… you look so pretty! Of course, you were pretty before, but…”
For some reason, Yuli started rambling. I didn’t know why, but this was my chance. While Yuli was in a daze, I quickly finished this fashion show. I reached my hand behind my back and swiftly untied the straps, then discarded the dress. I reached out for the clothes I originally wore.
No, I was about to try.
“Elysia?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“Why that outfit?”
“Well, um… I thought I had tried on enough now… haha…”
As I reached for the clothes I originally wore, Yuli swiftly caught my hand. Despite her grip being easily brush-offable, I felt an inexplicable pressure stemming from her hand holding my wrist. Every part of my being was sounding alarms and sending warnings. Just stay still. I couldn’t ignore my sensations.
“Elysia?”
Yuli spoke with a gentle smile.
“You’ve only tried on four outfits!”
“…Only four?”
Instead of holding my wrist, Yuli reached out with her empty hand and picked up the school uniform I originally wore.
“Here, I’ll keep this, so let’s try on the next outfit?”
It must be a trick of my mind that I felt déjà vu. Yes. It’s just an illusion.
*
In the end, after many more outfit changes, it finally came to a close. Not only did Yuli end things with changing my clothes, but she also forcefully had me hold the outfits she had dressed me in. The clothes I had already tried on had been moved to my dress room by Yuli’s servants upon her orders. Even the simple design of the casual clothes I was currently wearing was the first outfit Yuli had put on me.
“Alright, I’ll come to your room shortly.”
Soon it was time for dinner with Marquis Craig. Leaving Yuli, who was changing into more comfortable clothes, I returned to my room.
When I got to my room’s dress room, the once-empty space was now somewhat filled with the clothes I had just received. The school uniform I originally wore was also hung up in one corner.
“Huh?”
However, the state of the school uniform seemed odd. Rather than odd, it was excessively well-maintained. The uniform I usually wore had several worn patches since I wore it regularly instead of casual clothes. However, the uniform in front of me looked remarkably better than the one I had originally worn.
“What’s going on?”
Knock, knock.
Lost in thought, I couldn’t provide an answer as a knocking sound echoed through the room. Maybe due to some magical effect, even while in the dress room, the knock sounded clear.
“Ready to go?”
I set down the school uniform I was holding and stepped outside the room. Yuli had changed into comfortable clothes that she usually wore. Following Yuli as we made our way to the mansion’s dining hall, I asked something I had been curious about since earlier.
“Hey, Yuli? Earlier, I thought the school uniform you brought was not mine…”
“Oh, sorry. Actually, the maid accidentally ripped your uniform while moving it earlier… So, I replaced it with one of my old uniforms…”
Yuli spoke as if she had known all along. Considering she had moved a lot of clothes, it was entirely plausible that something could have snagged and ripped. But it wasn’t a new outfit; it was one Yuli had worn before…
“Is it really that bad since it’s one I wore? Should I ask for a new one?”
“Oh no! You don’t need to! It’s actually in much better condition than mine.”
If I had been hesitant to accept second-hand clothes from the start, I should have rejected when Yuli first forced her other clothes on me. Of course, Yuli had unceremoniously thrust them upon me, without giving me the chance to refuse. And now, having already accepted so much, I couldn’t be so shameless as to ask for a new one.
“Ah! Please don’t mention this to the maid. She was just doing her job; accidents can happen.”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I won’t say a word. If anything….”
“If anything?”
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
I brought it up out of concern that the maid who had moved my clothes might get punished, but thankfully, Yuli seemed like she had no intention of punishing her.
By the way, I didn’t mind the other clothes, but the school uniform felt awkward, since it would remind me that I would be wearing Yuli’s old uniform every day during the semester.