My clothing purchase went quickly, but in cases like this, it usually takes women longer to choose. I guess it's no wonder, they have more options than me in the first place.
Dresses have more types and colors than men's formal wear. If you include accessories, they would probably have countless choices, so it's no wonder it takes them so long.
However, I was bored just waiting around for them, so I came to see how they were doing. The first person I noticed was Hina-chan, who was looking at several dresses with a difficult expression on her face.
[Hina-chan, you seem to be finding it difficult to choose...]
[Ahh, Kaito-senpai... Hmmm, all of them are cute and lovely but... Kaito-senpai, which one do you think would suit best out of these three?]
[Let's see….. Fumu.]
Looking at the dresses that Hina-chan found difficult to choose from, the first one has an orthodox design. It's a clean and organized outfit, or rather, it has quite the stable impression to it.
The second one, at a glance, looks neat and tidy. It has a calm and elegant design that looks quite high-class.
The third one is a pretty design with decorations that aren't too flashy. Compared to the other two though, the design seems to be unorthodox.
[...I think all of them are good, but in my opinion, I think this kind of gorgeous and cute dress suits Hina-chan.]
The one I chose was the third dress... All of them certainly are great dresses, but I felt that more glamorous designs would suit Hina-chan, who has the image of a bright and energetic kouhai, better than the more subdued designs.
[That's cute, isn't it!? Hmmm, I guess it really would be this huh...]
[I think it might be a good idea to try out different combinations with accessories?]
[I see, but I don't have many accessories though?]
[Unnn? No, you can just buy them together then.]
[Eeehhh, but it's going to cost a fortune, right?]
[Don't be shy. As I said before, you can just depend on me at times like this.]
[...Rather than times like this, I feel like I'm always depending on you though... Hmmm, if that's what Kaito-senpai says, I will do so. But, but, I will thank you again for this, okay?]
Hina-chan's smile as she said this somehow resembles the cuteness of a small animal to it. How should I say this... It's like it makes you want to pat her head or something.
After watching Hina-chan's dress and accessory selection to some extent, I decided to go and see Aoi-chan's dress as well.
Aoi-chan seemed to have already decided on her dress, and when I got there, she was in the middle of checking the condition of the dress she tried on in front of a full-length mirror.
[Aoi-chan, have you decided on that dress?]
[Kaito-san? I looked at a lot of dresses, but I think this one is the best.]
[Unnn. It has a very calming design, and I think it suits Aoi-chan well.]
[Thank you very much.]
Aoi-chan's dress is an elegant dress with a white base color, and although it's a simple design, I think it suits Aoi-chan well.
Since Aoi-chan herself is a slender and beautiful girl, I feel that a simple and calm dress suits her atmosphere better than a flashy design.
I mean, I feel like Aoi-chan herself seems to be accustomed to wearing dresses. Even when she's wearing a high-end dress, she seems to be wearing it well without feeling like she's the one being worn by the dress.
[Ahh, that's right, I already told Hina-chan this, but don't hesitate to buy accessories here too.]
[Is that alright? In that case, I'll take you up for your offer... Since you're here, can you help me pick, Kaito-san?]
[Me? I don't mind, but I don't really know much about things like this... Do you have something you'd like?]
[Let's see. I think a necklace and a brooch. I'll leave the design up to you... but it would be great if one of them had pearls on it.]
[Alright... Do you like pearls?]
[Yes... The reason's more like an association game though...]
[Unnn?]
Tilting my head at the strange phrase she said, I looked for accessories that would suit Aoi-chan in the area lined with accessories.
[I'm looking forward to seeing Kaito-san's sense of style. Your equipment coordination in that game may not be so good, but perhaps...]
[Ughh, w- well, I'm thinking more of the equipment performance there.]
[Did you know? They're now implementing a function that allows you to change an equipment's appearance.]
[Eh? Is that so? That sounds good. Even if they're the best equipment, most of them have a rough appearance, so if you can change the appearance of an equipment, it will expand your range of options.]
[There are also many other changes. Many things have changed since Kaito-san quit the game.]
[Aoi-chan had mentioned a little bit about it before, but they've implemented the Third Specialization?]
[Yes. What's interesting is that Earth-Attribute Magic has quickly become meta in the Mage line's third-tier Class.]
[Eh? Is that so?]
From my image, Earth-Attribute Magic was supposed to be pretty obscure magic... but as the circumstances change, I guess the character templates would also change, so I guess that happening isn't that strange?
[One of the Mage line's Third Specialization is the Elemental Master, which has a passive skill that gains effect depending on the total level of magic learned for each attribute.]
Passive skill is a skill that has an effect just by being learned...
[For example, Fire-Attribute Magic increases the caster's Magic Attack... while Earth-Attribute Magic allows you to ignore the opponent's Magic Defense by a percentage of its total level.]
[I see, that certainly makes it strong. If you can max out all types of Earth-Attribute Magic you can learn including those you can acquire after Second Specialization, that would allow you to ignore almost 40% Magic Defense....]
[Yes. That brought Earth-Attribute Magic into the limelight... That kinda makes me feel a little complicated though.]
[Ahh~~ For those who have liked and used them even when it was obscure, it would certainly make them feel complicated.]
[Right. Well, I'm glad they buffed it though.]
While we were choosing accessories, we talked about the online game we played back then. It might just be my imagination, but when she was talking about that game, I felt that Aoi-chan had a cuteness about her that was a little more innocent and childlike than usual.