21st Day of the Light month. The Six Kings Festival was drawing near, and today, I'm going shopping with Lilia-san.
Thinking about it, I've gone out with Lilia-san many times before, but this is the first time we've gone out alone on a date.
Also, when we stayed at the summer resort before, it felt more like we were set up...
[...I- I'm sorry to keep you waiting.]
[Ah, no... Your clothes look great on you.]
[Y- Yes, thank you.]
Instead of the easy-to-move-in clothing Lilia-san usually wore, she was currently wearing a long skirt that barely showed her feet.
However, it wasn't a fluffy dress, but a loose-fitting design, making it look more like stylish casual wear than a dress. Its cream color also matched Lilia-san's blonde hair and it looked great on her.
[Well then, shall we go?]
[Y- Yes!]
[...Would you like to hold hands?]
[H- H- Hold hands!? N- No, t- t- t- that's a bit too difficult for me... If you could wait a bit longer...]
...Lilia-san was too nervous.
She was so flustered that she was red up to her ears. It might be rude of me to say this, but this looks a bit amusing.
Well, to be honest, I was also a bit nervous... But people normally calm down when they see other people who are more nervous than they are, so the more nervous Lilia-san was, the more I feel comfortable enough to smile at her.
[Lilia-san, could you relax for a bit... Let's just take this easy and have fun.]
[Uuuu... Y- Yes. I'm so embarrassed...]
[No, it's fine if we get used to it at our own pace. Now then, shall we go?]
[Yes.]
After making a follow up with a wry smile on my face, I went out shopping with Lilia-san.
Even so, she's this flustered just by going out shopping huh... I feel like it's going to be a long time before we could hold hands on our date...
No, I think we've held hands before at a summer resort... Would it be wrong if I made her conscious of that time? Well, I'll just let her gradually get used to it.
Even though I said we're going to go shopping for clothes, it doesn't really mean that we're going around to too many stores. Lilia-san was a Duchess, so the clothes she would wear for the Six Kings Festival naturally had to be of a certain quality.
This naturally narrows down the number of stores that sell clothes suitable for the Head of a Duchess' family.
The first store we visited today was the same one I went to buy my clothes when I first came to this world... According to Lilia-san, this was where she often bought her clothes.
[Welcome... If it isn't Duchess Albert-sama. Welcome to our establishment.]
[I'd like to have some formal wear... No, something a bit more casual.]
[Understood. Please wait for a moment.]
The clothes we were buying today are the clothes we were going to wear during the Six Kings Festival.
We would certainly be attending a party on the last day of the festival, but it would be uncomfortable to spend the other six days in formal wear. On the other hand, if we were to wear clothes that were too casual, it wouldn't be good when we met other nobles.
So, we came here to buy clothes that were somewhere between casual and formal wear.
When Lilia-san expressed her request, the clerk politely thanked her and moved to the back of the store and returned with several pieces of clothing.
[This one is the latest design we have and it also has a luxurious feel. Its white color is very beautiful, so it's easy to match it with accessories...]
[Hmmm. However, it looks like it would be difficult to "swing a sword around" in this.]
That's your criteria for choosing!? No, no, why are you assuming you'll be swinging a sword at the Six Kings Festival, Lilia-san?
[For ease of movement, how about this one? It's very light and stretches well, so I can confidently recommend this if you want nimbleness in your gait.]
[...However, I don't really like pink...]
[I see. Then, how about trying on...]
Unnn. This is troubling... I couldn't keep up with what they were talking about at all.
I didn't know much about women's clothing, and even less about what a noble would wear.
As I looked at the scene, wondering what to do, Lilia-san turned to me with a smile.
[This will take a little while, so if Kaito-san doesn't mind, why don't you take a look at the clothes? They have men's clothing here, too.]
[I guess so... I guess I'll do that.]
Nodding at Lilia-san's suggestion, I moved my gaze to choose my own clothes, but at that moment, the sales clerk asked Lilia-san.
[Duchess Alber-sama, if you don't mind me asking... May I ask who this gentleman is?]
[A- Ahh, errr... He's... m- my lover.]
[Oh my! Please excuse my rudeness... It seems like I'm not very knowledgeable or thoughtful enough. But, I see. Looking closely, he certainly has the face of a high-class person, so he must be a very famous person.]
...High-class? Who is?
[My apologies. I don't often have the opportunity to see "noble-sama's" face, so please forgive me for not recognizing you.]
[...…]
...Noble? A- Ahhh, I see... She thought that since I'm the lover of Lilia-san, a Duchess, I would naturally be a noble... I was tempted to ask her what exactly noble-like did she see in me, but telling her that I'm not a noble would only prolong this topic, so I just said a few words to her and started to choose my outfit.
A different clerk came and explained the clothes to me but... To be honest, I haven't found any clothes that I like.
In a way, that might be something that's obvious... The clothes I was wearing now were made by Alice. To be honest, Alice's taste and skills are top-notch, and since the clothing I bought from her were tailored to my tastes, it would be hard for me to find something better than that.
In fact, ever since I started buying clothes at Alice's miscellaneous goods store, I can't remember buying clothes at any other store.
As I was thinking about this... out of nowhere, a familiar masked girl... Alice appeared in front of me.
Alice has a big smile on her face and a small, 30x30cm wooden board in her hand. And written on it was "Alice-chan's special handmade clothes ~~ Six Kings Festival Specifications ~~ Set of 3, one white gold coin".
In Japanese yen, that's 10 million yen... This f*cking b*stard….. She wanted to earn more even after getting a lot of money from me yesterday at her food stall. She had completely set her eyes at me.
Instead of opening her store and waiting for the customers to come to her, she went with the method of offering what I need at the right time at high prices... Frustrating it may be, but it was very effective.
A white gold coin... However, knowing her, I'm sure that the goods she made are worth more than their cost... Taking that into consideration, doesn't that mean that they should be cheap?
After some thought, I silently handed Alice a white gold coin.
Thereupon, Alice brightly smiled and disappeared as if nothing happened... With this, I'll have three outfits delivered by the day of the Six Kings Festival. I knew Alice had good taste, so I could count on her.
I feel like I've really lost though...
[...Ummm, as I thought, I'm fine with the clothes I have.]
[Yes, I have heard from Phantasmal King-sama. I've prepared some tea here, so please make yourself comfortable.]
...She's also one of Alice's subordinates huh... From the flow of things... Could it be that it was all according to Alice's calculations?
Dear Mom, Dad———— My shopping date with Lilia-san finally started, but I guess it's already standard for men to be left behind when women choose their clothes. Well, that's fine and all, seriously, this b*stard Alice——— She really came up with a good way to make money huh.