Chapter 70: An Awkward Encounter

After planning her actions for the next two days, Lovelenica decided to first purchase a set of more fitting undergarments and a few pieces of wearable everyday clothes today.

In Lovelenica’s memories, her original body had seemingly never paid serious attention to undergarment sizes. She simply didn’t care about such matters; as long as they could be worn, the feeling of wearing them was utterly irrelevant.

The original body had been solely focused on completing missions, utterly indifferent to the trivialities of daily life. The undergarments in her wardrobe were either too tight, constricting uncomfortably, or too loose, offering no support. Almost nothing fit her properly.

Fortunately, the undergarments Lovelenica had brought to Cariso City for her missions were all slightly snug. While a bit constricting, they were ultimately acceptable. Had she worn a larger size, the swaying peaks during her movements would likely have caused her shoulders considerable pain.

Similarly, the number of well-fitting clothes in her wardrobe was pitifully sparse. Only the nun’s habit, custom-made by the church, truly fit her. Aside from the delicate, exquisite Gothic dress Liliana had ordered the Crimson Family to tailor for her upon her initial arrival in the Royal City, the Crimson Family had never provided Lovelenica with any new clothing.

Even her everyday casual clothes had been bought haphazardly by Lovelenica using the stipend provided by the church. She hadn’t bothered with sizes then either; as long as they could be worn, it was fine.

Now, that Gothic dress had been torn to shreds during her battle with Rachel. Consequently, Lovelenica currently possessed no other well-fitting attire apart from her nun’s habit.

Lovelenica had no intention of asking the Crimson Family to tailor new clothes for her. They held no regard for Lovelenica, and she, in turn, felt the same about them. She was also reluctant to seek Elena’s help. While Elena was genuinely kind to her and would likely fulfill her request for new clothes, Elena was still a member of the Crimson Family, and Lovelenica felt it was best to handle such matters herself.

Therefore, Lovelenica decided to browse the nearby market first. She had her own funds, thanks to the stipend from the church, and wasn’t seeking anything particularly extravagant—just clothes that fit well.

And so, clad in her nun’s habit, Lovelenica arrived in one of the Royal City’s more bustling districts.

This was the South Inner District of the Royal City, one of its larger commercial centers.

After a casual stroll, Lovelenica selected a shop that seemed appealing.

However, the moment Lovelenica reached the shop’s entrance, glancing at the dazzling array of undergarments and the mannequins adorned in them, a strong urge to retreat seized her.

Before her transmigration, she had never once stepped into a shop specializing in women’s undergarments. This made her understandably nervous.

Although she was currently wearing such undergarments, and had many in her wardrobe, the feeling was entirely different. The items in her own room were private possessions, and seeing them didn’t cause her embarrassment. Yet, the ones in the shop were another matter entirely, and browsing them herself felt rather daunting to Lovelenica.

Furthermore, she didn’t know how to take measurements. To purchase suitable undergarments, she would undoubtedly need a store clerk to assist her.

Lovelenica, however, had no desire for these clerks to touch her body.

‘Perhaps… I should just skip changing my undergarments for now and simply buy a few sets of fitting regular clothes,’ she mused.

“Sister, would you like to come in and have a look?”

The sales assistant inside the shop, noticing Lovelenica hesitating at the entrance, actually stepped out to greet her, intending to lead her inside.

The sales assistant’s enthusiastic invitation immediately sent Lovelenica’s nerves taut. She instinctively took half a step back, her refusal spilling out.

“No, no! I have no intention of entering!”

“Alright, I apologize for disturbing you, Sister.”

Seeing Lovelenica’s sharp refusal, the sales assistant didn’t take offense. She offered an apology to Lovelenica before retreating back into the shop.

‘This isn’t good,’ Lovelenica thought to herself. ‘I had only been hesitating about whether to enter, but startled by the clerk, my refusal had burst out. Now, even if I mentally prepared myself and went in, wouldn’t the clerk just consider me a strange person with a screw loose?’

‘Forget it. Next time, for sure…’

Just as Lovelenica was about to give up, a slightly surprised voice reached her ears. Lovelenica found the voice incredibly familiar, and upon turning, discovered it was Lucia.

“Teacher? What are you doing here?”

Seeing Lucia’s astonished expression, and Imeline beside her with a displeased look, Lovelenica’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

‘How is it that I run into them even here!’

“It’s my days off, isn’t it? So I was just wandering around. I didn’t expect to run into you two here.”

Lovelenica chatted casually with Lucia, feigning composure. She certainly didn’t tell Lucia that she was standing dumbfounded at the entrance because she was too timid to enter the undergarment shop. If Lucia knew she was too scared to go in alone, wouldn’t her authority in Lucia’s eyes diminish even further?

“What about you two? Are you here to buy something?”

Lovelenica asked casually, yet to her surprise, Lucia’s cheeks flushed a faint red upon hearing her question.

“Um… Teacher, actually, last time during the battle with that Bloodkin, I felt my chest was a bit tight, so I wanted to buy some new ones…”

“Hey! Lucia, you shouldn’t just blurt out things like that!”

Before Lucia could finish speaking, Imeline immediately interjected to stop her. How could one casually discuss the development of their own body with others?

Especially not with this woman, who clearly had ulterior motives!

After lecturing Lucia, Imeline then pointed at Lovelenica and admonished her.

“Lovelenica! Don’t go around prying into other people’s physical conditions! It’s incredibly rude!”

‘…I clearly didn’t ask anything, did I?’

Watching Imeline’s angered expression, Lovelenica helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. She had merely asked a casual question; how was she to know Lucia would blurt everything out in a rush?

Lovelenica now realized that Lucia seemed to share her predicament. Their purpose was the same: to purchase new, better-fitting undergarments.

‘Wait a moment…’

Lovelenica paused, a realization dawning on her. Since Lucia was also here to buy undergarments, why not let her lead the way? Wouldn’t that alleviate the awkwardness and uncertainty of entering an undergarment shop alone?

With that thought, Lovelenica cleared her throat and slowly began to speak.

“Ahem… Lucia, it’s actually the same for me. During that battle the other day, things felt a bit tight. So, I took advantage of the break to come out and buy some new clothes. However, I’m not very familiar with these shops. How about you show me around?”