Chapter 24: Take a Look at Yours
Having purchased the picture book, Evelia stepped out of the bookstore, holding the book with a relatively intact cover.
The shopkeeper naturally knew the content of that book, sensing it was somewhat related to the notion of “becoming a beautiful girl,” yet not entirely so. However, since the customer had already paid, there was no need for him to say anything further. He smiled politely as he bid farewell to Evelia and let out a sigh of relief once the surrounding atmosphere slowed slightly.
As for Evelia, she was somewhat familiar with the layout of the Royal City. After walking a few steps, she arrived at a fairly nice women’s clothing store nearby. Though it wasn’t luxurious, it still offered a lot more variety compared to other civilian shops.
Evelia, cradling the rather hefty lingerie catalog, entered the shop. Soon, a sweet and cute-looking girl approached her. The cream-colored, fluffy short hair resembled a delicious cream puff, and the light pink hairpin was like a small candy decoration on a cake.
Evelia looked at her and roughly understood what a sweet girl looked like.
“Excuse me, beautiful miss, what kind of clothes do you need?”
The shop assistant curtsied towards Evelia, her fluffy short hair swaying, making Evelia think of fluffy cotton candy.
“Is that outfit for sale?”
Evelia pointed to the girl’s pink-and-white Lolita dress.
“Oh dear, that’s my shop uniform; it’s not for sale.” The girl chuckled playfully. “Do you perhaps like this style of clothing?”
Evelia nodded without hesitation.
“Well… let me see, are you looking to change your style? I see you’re currently wearing a gender-neutral outfit. It’s quite bold of you; aside from riding outfits, not many girls dress so stylishly.”
The assistant led Evelia over to the customer sofa, served a plate of snacks, then studied Evelia’s outfit. Like the book seller, the girl thought it was a waste for such a spirited girl to choose something cute.
“Is it because you have pink hair that you want to choose pink clothing?”
“No.” Evelia handed the girl the book she was holding. “I just want to become a sweet beautiful girl.”
As Evelia spoke, there was no emotional fluctuation in her tone. When she uttered the word “sweet,” the shop assistant felt as if she had crashed into a cold wall.
“Oh?”
The girl, being someone who runs a clothing store, instantly recognized what kind of book Evelia was handing her just by the cover. She politely flipped through a couple of pages, then neatly placed the book on the glass coffee table.
“Are you looking to select underwear?”
“Not just underwear, but this book can be used as a reference.”
“I see, so what style do you prefer?”
“Something cute.”
“If you want cute…” The girl flipped through the sample clothing catalog in her hands and displayed a page featuring cute cat-themed lingerie to Evelia. “How about this one?”
“…”
Usually expressionless, Evelia visibly frowned this time.
She was actually going to wear that?
That… outfit with cats on it?
“Ah… it seems you’re not too keen on that one, how about—this style?”
This time it was lingerie printed with strawberries. Although it was an adult style, Evelia thought it looked like something a child would wear.
“Well… then… let’s try another one, how about this?”
The next piece was fluffy. Rather than underwear, it looked more like pajamas. Evelia resonated with this set more because it had square shorts on the bottom instead of three-quarter pants. She missed square pants dearly.
There were also designs featuring cherries, bunnies, and bears, all of which gave off a childlike vibe. It was evident that while Evelia claimed she wanted to become a cute beautiful girl, she was instinctively resisting such items.
“Then… let me ask you first, what is your intention in purchasing lingerie?”
“Intention?”
“Yes, I mean, why do you want this style of lingerie?”
“Is there even a reason for that?”
“Of course!” The assistant, looking at the confused Evelia, excitedly raised her finger to explain. “Buying lingerie is just like buying regular clothes; it could be for seasonal needs, wanting to change styles, wanting comfort, or simply following the trend. Which one are you?”
“I want to change my style.”
“Style, huh…” The assistant seemed to grasp something, her face revealing a subtle smile. “Changing styles for outerwear is one thing, but for lingerie… is it for someone special?”
“It’s not,” Evelia replied decisively. “I want to become the one he loves.”
“…?” The shop assistant, maintaining her standard smile, was perplexed as if Evelia was saying something she couldn’t comprehend.
“Isn’t that your beloved then?”
“No.”
“…Huh? But aren’t you planning to become the person that gentleman loves?”
“Yes.”
“Then isn’t that your beloved…?”
“No.”
“…?”
Evelia’s responses left the assistant momentarily unable to sort out what her relationship was with the gentleman she mentioned. After pondering for a while, she suddenly realized and slapped her forehead.
“You… you plan to… uh… seduce a man you don’t love, who also doesn’t love you…?”
“Yes.”
“…Oh my.”
Evelia’s approach was clearly a shock to the traditionally-minded assistant.
“Then why not just use…?”
But this didn’t mean she wouldn’t say something relatively bold.
Though only she and Evelia were in the shop, she still cautiously whispered this line.
“It’s still too early.”
“Huh? Too… too early?… huh… is it?”
The assistant felt as if she’d stepped into a whole different realm, her face turning red as she put away the sample catalog in her hands and pulled out a new one.
“Here… take a look at this.”
She seemed to be exchanging something contraband-like, sneakily handing over a seemingly ordinary sample catalog to Evelia. Flipping through it, Evelia discovered that the contents were far bolder than the lingerie catalog she had bought, featuring items like cow outfits and dog collars, and even a piece resembling a fabric with a hole to wear around the neck, let alone the completely transparent ones.
However, a few items could still be associated with the word “cute,” more akin to sweet-themed erotic lingerie.
“…This…?”
Yet after looking through, Evelia found it hard to regard these items as “clothes,” because any areas that needed coverage were completely exposed, with more being left uncovered than those covered by band-aids.
“Why don’t you choose from what’s in here? It should help you.”
Although the assistant’s face was still flushed, her demeanor was much more serious than before, as if they were truly engaged in some underground transaction.
