While I was astounded by Alice's appearance just about everywhere, I
continued to look around the festival with Isis-san.
We enjoyed a leisurely date, we played ring toss (ring target) together
and checked out a store that sold secondhand books.
[Hehh… They were selling clothes here huh. Does this mean these are
secondhand?]
[…No… They're probably… new… This street… attracts a lot… of
amateur designers.]
[I see, so that's why there are a lot of clothes with designs I've never
seen before.]
This street was apparently filled with amateur designers who were
trying to make a name for themselves. I guess it's understandable why.
The guests invited to the Six Kings Festival were all people who gained
a certain level of recognition from the Six Kings… So, many of them
should have high social status and financial power.
Not only would this be a good way to make connections, but many of
the people with that amount of money and status would also like
unusual things. That's why this street was a good place for new
designers.
And thus, it was inevitable that the products here took a lot of effort to
make, especially the clothes that were used only for one party, such as
luxurious suits and dresses.
[Speaking of which, you're quite fashionable, aren't you, Isis-san?]
[…Really?]
Isis-san liked to wear gothic-styled clothing with lots of frills, but I
think that what she wears still has quite the variety.
The dresses that I've most commonly seen her wear were her light blue
and blue-colored ones, but I also remember seeing her wear other
gothic dresses in several other colors.
Not only were the colors different, but the designs were different as
well. This gave me the impression that she was very particular about
her clothes.
[Yes, you wear a lot of pretty clothes… Do you have a favorite clothing
store you go to, Isis-san?]
[…No… I don't buy them… Just like Kuromueina… my clothes
are…"made with magic power".]
[…Just like Kuro's clothes? Are you talking about her long coat that can
change at will?]
[…Unnn… Materializing it with magic power… Also lets me freely…
change the color and appearance… so it's convenient.]
I see, just like how Kuro's interesting long coat could turn into wings
and tatami mats, Isis-san was materializing her magic power and
turning them into her clothes…
That would certainly let her change its appearance as much as she
wanted, and the fact that it was a mass of magic power made it
excellent in terms of defense and mobility.
I heard from Kuro before that it was quite difficult to materialize magic
power though. Unnn, well, let's just obediently buy our clothes from
Alice.
[…Just… like this.]
[O- Ohh!?]
As Isis-san said this, she showed me how she changed the color of her
dress from blue to white and added more frills to it.
Hmmm. White colors… also look great on Isis-san huh… Dressed in a
white frilly dress, she unmistakably looked like an angel.
[…Kaito… What color… of clothing… do you think would look good on
me?]
[Hmmm. I personally like wearing black clothes but… I think a fleeting
light blue, or rather, I feel like clothes with lighter shades of color would
look good on Isis-san.]
Somehow, I felt that snow-like clothes would suit her. When she wore a
fleeting light blue dress, she looked very lovely, just like a really cute
snow fairy.
[…This color?]
[Yes, it looks good on you… Errr, you look really lovely.]
[…Thank you… Kaito telling me that… makes me… really happy.]
When I sent her generous words of praise, Isis-san gave me a beaming
smile.
Seeing her pure, adorable smile, I suddenly felt embarrassed and
hurriedly turned my gaze away.
[…Ah, Isis-san. There's an ice cream stand over there! How about we
take a break for the moment and have some ice cream?]
[…Unnn.]
[W- Well then, I'll go get us some. What flavor do you want, Isis-san?]
[…Then… I will have chocolate.]
[Alright. Please wait for a bit, okay!?]
Even though I had somehow forced the conversation, I headed for an ice
cream stall a short distance away.
The food stall I arrived at seemed to have reasonably excellent options,
and they had the chocolate flavor that Isis-san had requested.
Personally, I thought matcha was the best ice cream flavor but…
Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be selling matcha flavor, so I decided
to buy strawberry ice cream instead.
(T/N: Matcha flavor is the green tea flavor you could find in boba tea
shops.)
However, after I gave my order and was about to pay the bill… I realized
a very important fact.
Ah, sh*t. While we were looking around before coming here, I had used
up all the silver coins I had, along with the coins of lesser value. All I
had now were gold coins and white gold coins.
I didn't really think it was a good idea to pay with a gold coin just for
two ice creams that cost 1R each… That's already on the level of
harassment.
However, Isis-san also didn't have any coins smaller than white gold
coins. That means… I guess it can't be helped. It's my fault for not
keeping some change in stock, I'll just pay with a gold coin and say that
she can keep the change.
I think it's a waste of money but… To be honest, I've always wanted to
try saying it…
[Yes, you've paid the exact amount. Thank you for your patronage.]
[…Eh? Arehh?]
As if to interrupt my thoughts of paying with a gold coin, I heard the
shopkeeper's voice. When I turned to her… I saw the shopkeeper with
her head tilted, handing me two scoops of ice cream.
[…U- Ummm, I haven't… paid you yet, remember?]
[Eh? But "it was paid for by your companion over there" though?]
[…Eh? Companion—— Wha!?]
I didn't think that Isis-san had a 1R coin, but when she said
"companion", I reflexively moved my gaze… and my thoughts
completely stopped.
In the direction where I looked, she was there, standing next to me
before I knew it… was a petite woman with light brown semi-long hair.
She looked at me for a moment, gave me a quick wink, and turned away
without saying a single word.
From the moment I saw her, I was so shaken that I couldn't feel my
voice coming out of my throat. My mind went blank, my heart was
beating frighteningly fast, and I could feel sweat dripping all over my
body… As if I was petrified, my body didn't move an inch.
That's impossible… It can't be… after all… Eh? No, why…
[…Mom?]
When I could finally feel my voice coming out of my mouth… The
woman had already disappeared into the crowd.
Dear Mom, Dad—— I knew that who I met was another person. I've
heard from someone that there are at least three people in the world
who look like me. But even though I knew this, I couldn't help but feel
shaken… for the woman I just saw—— looked exactly like my mother