Being the part-time gentleman that I was, I quickly moved my head away from the beautiful sight in front of me. Hearing her pant while she was assuredly tightening her dress back on, I couldn't help but swallow as my own stupidity made me think of rather inappropriate things. I really shouldn't, but it was Guidance's own fault for making such a beautiful character design!
"I-I think I got it."
Letting out a self-deprecating sigh, I turned my head back to the princess, only to resist the urge to facepalm as the disarray still made itself apparent.
"Shizu."
"Yes?"
"Do you even know how to put your own kimono on?"
...
....
The lack of response was telling.
Shaking my head, I stood up and made my way to her. I didn't know a thing or two about putting on something as ornate as a kimono, but I'll be damned if I left her wearing what amounted to colorful bedsheets while we were doing our thing.
"Stranger?" the princess blinked at me, confusion written all over her face. "M-Moriya?"
"Come closer," I rolled my eyes. "Let's see if I can fix that for you."
"O-Oh!"
{CHIME!}
[Side Quest Accepted: Dress Up Doll]
What...
[Fix Shizu's clothes]
Seriously? This was an actual side quest?
"A-are you sure this is needed?"
"Yes," I turned my attention back to the slovenly princess, ignoring her anxious look as I moved closer. "I can't have you being distracting, Shizu."
Seeing her face morph from hesitation to determination, I already knew that she was planning something. Just from the way her body was moving, it was clear that she'd somehow make a break for it for some goddamn reason. I didn't even know why she was this hesitant!
"C'mon, Shizu. I'll just fix it for you," I reasoned out, hoping that I could still end this diplomatically. "It'll be quick, then I'll give you your food."
"Food?"
My eyes widened. Did I seriously just try to bribe her with food and it somehow got a reaction? "I ordered a few [Bento Boxes] earlier, and I was about to give you one before your clothes got, well, unclothed."
Her eyes lit up at the mention of the [Bento Box]. I wouldn't know why an Imperial Princess would care about something that was clearly meant to be cheap food, but I didn't wanna question the situation further.
"A [Bento Box]?" Shizu excitedly questioned, much to my surprise. "I've heard a few of the guards say they're good!"
I triumphantly smirked, "Well, if you don't let me fix your clothes, I won't give you one."
At my obvious threat, the nervous energy surrounding her evaporated almost instantly. She didn't even bother tucking her shoulder sleeves back in as her chest threatened to spill out from under her clothes.
"Go ahead, Stranger!" the shameless princess proudly declared. "Fix me up!"
Oh my god...
Closing the distance, I quickly grabbed the poorly-tied sash wrapped across her stomach and unraveled it. Her kimono quickly followed suit, of course, but I deftly tucked the fabric back in to preserve what little self-dignity she had left. Moving fast, I wrapped her sash back onto her stomach, making sure that it looked as flat as it could be as I fastened it tightly behind her.
"O-Ohh! That's too tight, Stranger."
Clicking my tongue, I loosened the cloth a bit to suit her demands. After making sure that the knot wouldn't be easily removed, I moved on to her shoulder sleeves, which were practically hanging loose on her arms. I mean, did she want to flash everyone with her chest for laughs?
Letting out a sigh, I spotted a small string connecting the two sides together on her back. Quickly tying them closer together, her sleeves quickly followed suit, finally protecting her modesty as her kimono tightened itself up rather nicely.
"There," I sounded out, feeling rather proud of my work. "Now you don't look as... unkempt as before." Thank god for vocabulary.
In front of me, Shizu gave herself a quick lookover before then giving me the universal look of hunger and anticipation. "Can we eat yet?"
I let out a sigh, grabbing the [Bento Box] off the ground and giving it to her. "Here. And I still have three more if you want to."
"Really?! Oh thank you kindly!"
After giving me the deepest bow I've ever seen from her yet, she quickly dropped on the ground and dug into her meal. Sitting cross-legged, one wouldn't even be remiss to think that I was with a beggar that just found a rich woman's garb in the dumpster when in fact, she actually owned the damn thing.
"So good!"
{CHIME!}
[Side Quest: Dress Up Doll COMPLETED]
[REWARD: Glamour System Unlocked]
Huh... Looking at my rewards, one would think that an actual Glamour System wouldn't be available until well after reaching end game. But nope! I managed to unlock it at level freaking 2. Truly, Guidance didn't have progression in mind when designing her game.
I didn't even have enough gear to use the damn system on.
"More, please."
I blinked. "What?"
"You said you had three more, right?" Shizu beamed, her empty box already outstretched towards me as her other hand held her chopsticks. "Please?"
"Seriously?"
"Yes, Stranger."
I let out a small smile. Opening up my inventory, I let her eat all of my [Bento Boxes]. It meant that I didn't have my own food to eat, but it wasn't like I needed it anyway. Shizu was actually a living breathing human, and she needed food to survive. Soon enough, she demolished the four boxes and was now patting her stomach in satisfaction.
"That was seriously delicious," she smiled. "Thanks, Moriya."
I scoffed, "No problem. Now how about we get to questing?"
...
...."Questing?"
Oh dear me.... Would it always be like this? "Yes? I need to take more quests to get stronger for that war you previously mentioned."
"War..... Oh right!"
I shook my head at Shizu's antics. Yeah... I supposed that I should probably get used to this kind of arrangement. And I haven't even gotten to experience actual combat yet!
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