Chapter 50: The Palace of Scoundrels
In the scorching summer sun, Nagi is in front of the mirror, arranging her outfit prepared for today.
It took her a lot of determination and courage.
In a sense, this is her first time wearing a “dress.”
The school’s uniform skirt can only be categorized as part of the uniform.
The skirt she wore as a child star was also a costume.
When she was younger, she had been dressed in little skirts by her family like a dress-up doll, which were children’s clothes.
Although Nagi’s loungewear is very cool, it is also shorts.
On normal days, she always wears pants on her lower half.
But today, the figure reflected in the mirror—
A light, flowing pure white dress, the fabric reveals a quality like that of fine silk under the light, the waist-hugging design makes the fabric cling to her skin, outlining a figure that is noticeably more mature than her peers.
The short sleeves, puffy and tied with butterfly ribbons, are accented at the cuffs and hem with a lovely lace trim.
The length of the dress barely covers her knees, revealing her delicate, fair calves and black little shoes.
Nagi looks like a little princess stepped right out of a fairy tale.
Pure and cute yet dignified and elegant… and with a hint of allure that even such a pure outfit can’t conceal.
This light, flowing dress is a gift from her sister, “Hoshimiya Sayaka.”
The moment Sayaka heard that her younger sister would be holding a movie night with Kanade today, she eagerly urged Nagi to wear this outfit.
She even helped Nagi with light makeup.
This added a bit more charming allure to her already beautiful and adorable face as she transitions from girlhood to womanhood.
“It’s fine, this isn’t what I want to wear, just think of it like the boss suddenly throwing a job that doesn’t belong to you onto your lap…”
Nagi muttered to herself in the mirror as a form of self-hypnosis.
Then she raised her head, and countless stars appeared in her bright eyes.
The reflection of Nagi in the mirror showed a joyful expression, as if she were a little girl longing to grow up, experiencing the charm of her appearance for the first time.
“It’s time to head out; I can’t keep Kanade waiting too long~”
Although today’s plan was to hold the movie night at Nagi’s house,
Considering that horror movies need the right atmosphere at night, the members of the research group decided to first gather outside in the morning to explore the mall for a while.
They would visit Nagi’s house together in the afternoon.
Since the big mall they intended to go to was in an awkward location, everyone’s routes didn’t align.
So, Nagi and the others agreed to meet at the train station near the mall.
Nagi also declined Kanade’s proposal to come pick her up.
After all, it was a rare chance to dress up, so she wanted to create a “date” atmosphere.
Let him feel that eager and excited feeling of going on a date with his girlfriend in advance~
…..
….
At the train station.
Kanade arrived an hour early before the agreed time.
After all, he knew how captivating his childhood friend’s appearance was and also understood her personality would make her arrive early at the meeting place.
Her cute demeanor would surely attract men to approach her.
He knew she was a naive and defenseless girl; if she caught the eye of men with ulterior motives and they discovered her innocence…
Thinking of this made Kanade’s heart chill.
So, he rushed to the agreed location as fast as he could.
“Nagi, you’ve been waiting long~?”
Not having waited long, Kanade heard a clear, sweet voice calling his name from the side.
He turned in the direction of the voice.
In the next moment, he froze at the sight before him.
Nagi adorned in a pure, beautiful dress, holding a fashionable sun umbrella.
It was his first time seeing Nagi in this style, yet it felt incredibly fitting.
This white, pristine dress seemed tailor-made for her.
It made Kanade realize again that sunny and cheerful Nagi was actually a dignified and elegant young lady.
Nagi’s pure and elegant outfit, combined with her early maturing tall figure, completely belied her status as a junior high school student.
She could easily claim to be a high school student without raising any suspicions.
“N-No, I just got here too…”
After a moment, Kanade snapped back to reality.
Inside, he also felt delighted at the couple-like conversation they were having.
“By the way… What do you think, Kanade?”
Nagi displayed a shy expression, her long fingers unconsciously wrapping around the dark strands of hair in front of her shoulders, her dignified face slightly blushing.
“It’s very, very cute; I think it really suits you, Nagi…”
Kanade mustered the courage to honestly compliment her.
Seeing Nagi’s joyful expression in response to his praise made his heart race.
The thought that a single statement could make his cherished childhood friend exuberantly happy filled him with a sense of superiority.
It also sparked his curiosity about “if he kept complimenting her, what kind of adorable expressions would she show.”
This moment of just the two of them together soon passed.
Before long, the other members of the research group began to arrive.
First came Rin, then Chika, and finally Alice arrived right on time.
But Rin couldn’t help but notice—
“Why is everyone wearing uniforms?”
As the only one who, like Nagi, was dressed casually, Rin asked involuntarily.
Meanwhile, Kanade, Chika, and Alice were all wearing summer school uniforms.
“Uh, because I really didn’t know what to wear out…” Kanade shyly scratched his head in response.
Chika immediately nodded in agreement, seemingly sharing the sentiments as a fellow “casual” wearer.
Alice was only able to wear her school uniform; otherwise, she’d have to wear a narrow skirt OL uniform.
Kanade’s answer made Rin let out a sigh.
“But, but I think you look really cool in a uniform, Kanade!”
At this moment, Nagi raised her little hand in support of Kanade.
This made him shyly lower his head.
“Kanade… you need to wake up; if you keep this up, Nagi will turn you into a useless person…”
Rin lightly patted Kanade’s shoulder and said seriously.
After the group gathered, they started heading towards the mall.
Kanade and Rin walked in front, while the three girls walked closely together beneath Nagi’s sun umbrella.
Along the way,
This slightly unusual group of five attracted the attention of passersby.
Part of the reason was that it was still summer vacation, allowing students in school uniforms to be seen.
But more so, the members in the group, apart from Kanade, were simply too eye-catching.
Nagi, beautiful as if she’d walked out of a fairy tale, goes without saying.
Alice’s blonde hair and blue eyes were also quite striking.
As for Rin, her neutral T-shirt and jeans matched with her cute doll-like face would likely lead ignorant passersby to mistake her for a beautiful girl.
Even Chika, with round glasses and braided pigtails, despite not showcasing much in the way of looks, had a very noticeable figure presented beneath the light summer uniform.
So, in the eyes of passersby, this was a—
One male and four female harem group.
The male looked rather unremarkable, but the quality of the females was extremely high.
Many envious glances were cast by passing boys.
Especially seeing the “cute beautiful girl” with chestnut-colored hair cozying up against that dark-haired boy.
“Um, Rin, could you let go of me? I feel like the looks from around us are kind of… off—”
