"Elys!"
On the day of the play for which I received tickets from the class president, I arrived at the meeting spot and saw Cilly in casual clothes.
She wasn't wearing her usual academy uniform, which she often donned when we were together, but rather an outfit I rarely saw her in.
Cilly was dressed in a pink dress adorned with frills, lightly cinched at the waist to subtly show off her figure.
She was also wearing the shoes she typically avoided, saying they hindered her when running.
On her hand, which was waving at me, there was a thin bracelet swaying in time with her movements.
Seeing Cilly dressed up like this, it hit me once again that she truly was a beauty.
"Did you wait long?"
"No, I just got here as well."
"By the way, why did you ask to meet here specifically? Wouldn't it have been easier to just come together from the dorm?"
Since it was the weekend, there were no academy activities, so we could have just left the dorms together. Yet, for some reason, Cilly had arranged to meet in front of the city's fountain.
"Walking together is nice, but... there's something special about setting a time and place to meet like this."
I didn't quite understand what feeling she was referring to, but if Cilly was happy, then there was no problem.
"We still have plenty of time. How about we go to a café while we wait?"
The play didn't start until 4:00, and it was only just past 1:00. We had already eaten lunch at the student cafeteria, so going to a café seemed like a good way to pass the time.
"Hmm..."
Instead of answering, Cilly placed her hand on her chin and stared at me, deep in thought. I glanced around to make sure there wasn't something wrong with my clothes, even lifting my arms to check, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Now that I think about it, Elys, you're always wearing your uniform."
"Well... yeah."
I had commented on how Cilly always wore her uniform, but honestly, I wasn't one to talk. I always wore my uniform when going out. The only other outfits I owned were a few t-shirts and my gym clothes.
Though I had gotten used to wearing the girls' uniform, I still felt uncomfortable picking out and wearing feminine clothes. Even though I knew the day would come when I'd need casual clothes, I'd never gone shopping for any.
"Perfect! Let's go shopping for your clothes today. Come on, follow me!"
With the same determination as Annie, Cilly grabbed my arm and led me away. I hesitated briefly but only for a moment. There was no point in resisting when Cilly's grip was much stronger than mine.
* * * *
"This is a brand I shop at often. I'm sure you'll find something you like."
She led me to a women's clothing store, one that specialized in casual wear. Even I, who only knew about fashion from books, recognized the brand.
The store was spacious, filled with all kinds of clothes and accessories. Judging by the number of people browsing, it seemed to be quite popular.
I'd been to clothing stores with friends before, but I had never bought anything myself. I'd always stood back, watching them shop and giving the occasional comment like, 'That looks great'.
So, not knowing where to start, I stood awkwardly in the middle of the store, glancing around. Since Cilly had already gone off to browse, I had no choice but to check out the nearest rack.
What caught my eye was a dress similar to the one Cilly was wearing. No wonder she liked this brand—it was clear that the dress she was wearing came from here.
Feeling awkward about dresses, I moved on to the next display, which featured a collection of skirts. Some of them were shorter than the skirt I wore with my uniform, making them look like they would be a challenge to walk in. I quickly moved past those.
After browsing through several sections, I finally found something more to my liking. Naturally, given my history as an assassin, I gravitated toward a pair of long, black pants. I held them up to my waist in front of a mirror. Other than the brand logo on the back, the design was simple and unadorned.
I considered looking at a few more options, but everything seemed similar, so I decided to stick with the pants. Now I just needed to find a couple of matching tops.
"Have you found anything?"
While I was busy with the pants, Cilly returned with a flowy top in her hands.
"Yeah. You were right—there's a lot of good stuff here."
Of course, all the clothes looked the same to me, but I saw no harm in a little flattery. I casually lifted the pants I had picked to show Cilly.
However, instead of commenting, she merely glanced at the pants before holding her top up to my waist.
"I think this will look great. Why don't you try it on?"
"Wait, about the pants?"
Before I could protest, Cilly snatched the pants from my hands and placed the skirt she was holding into them instead. Then, without giving me a chance to object, she dragged me to the fitting room and shoved me inside.
Of course, I knew what she was getting at. She had clearly held the skirt up to me earlier, and I had just been pretending not to notice because I felt embarrassed about wearing a skirt. It felt different from the uniform skirt, after all.
I peeked my head out of the fitting room, trying to signal that I didn't want to wear the skirt. But Cilly just shook her head firmly, leaving me no choice.
It's better to get it over with, right?
Sighing in defeat, I unzipped my uniform skirt and let it fall to the floor. I picked it up and placed it on the shelf, then pulled on the new skirt. It felt even more airy and light than the uniform skirt, making it feel strange.
There was no mirror inside the fitting room, so I couldn't even check how it looked. Opening the curtain, I stepped out, and Cilly immediately scanned me from head to toe.
She handed me another outfit without saying a word, closed the curtain again, and left me to change once more. This time, it wasn't a skirt but a blouse. Since I felt less resistance to wearing a top, I tried it on without much fuss.
Now dressed entirely in the clothes Cilly had chosen, I opened the curtain again. Once more, she looked me up and down, but this time, she didn't push me back into the fitting room.
"Does it look weird?"
I asked, breaking the silence. Honestly, I preferred the pants I had picked earlier, so I tried giving a negative opinion. But it seemed Cilly disagreed.
"No, it looks great. Much better than those pants you chose earlier."
Even though I hadn't mentioned the pants, Cilly preemptively shut down any chance of returning to them. It seemed I had no choice but to buy the outfit she picked.
Resigned, I returned to the fitting room, changed back into my uniform, and gathered up the clothes she had chosen for me.
But when I stepped out of the fitting room, I noticed that Cilly was holding yet another outfit.
"Cilly?"
We'd already decided on the clothes, so why was she holding more? If it was for her, she could try it on in one of the other fitting rooms, right?
I glanced around and saw that plenty of fitting rooms were available.
"Here, try this one on."
She took back the outfit I was holding and handed me a new one.
"But I'm going to buy this one..."
"No, I think this will look better. Go on, try it."
What could I do? Cilly was the one with a better eye for women's fashion. If she thought this outfit would look better on me, it would be rude to refuse.
So, I went back in, changed again, and stepped out. I could swear that every time I came out of the fitting room, the pile of clothes in Cilly's arms was growing larger.
...It must be my imagination.
* * * *
After trying on outfit after outfit, Cilly finally gave her approval on a set. The end result was what I was wearing now: a plain white t-shirt paired with a flowy black skirt, topped off with an ivory cardigan. My original uniform was neatly folded in a shopping bag, which I carried in my hand.
"It's just the right time. Let's go!"
It was already past 3:30. I couldn't believe we'd spent over two hours playing dress-up. While I was exhausted from changing in and out of clothes, Cilly looked just as energetic as ever, showing no signs of fatigue despite all her trips back and forth to grab clothes.
"Yeah... okay..."
At least I wasn't wearing heels like Cilly, so I hurried after her. The theater wasn't far, and we should make it in time. That is, unless something else happens.
"Ahhh!"
Why does something always happen when I think that?