Chapter 25: Shopping Is Hard for a Loser

Ruah’s mind went blank upon hearing those words.

Phrases she had heard countless times in various media, like “taking the next step” or “a woman’s precious first time,” kept popping into her head.

“Wh-Wh-What do you mean? I don’t really understand….”

“I-It’s just as I said.”

Juju fidgeted, putting her hands in and out of her hoodie pockets, embarrassed.

“I want you to… teach me.”

“Huh…?”

Ruah’s head spun.

“I-Isn’t it a bit too early for that… or I’m not ready yet… or….”

“Ugh….”

Juju bit her lip, looking frustrated.

“So… you think so too, teacher.”

“N-No, it’s not that I don’t want to….”

Finally, Juju clenched her fists and said forcefully,

“I… I want to be pretty too, as a woman!”

“…….”

“…….”

“…What?”

Juju continued, tears welling up in her eyes,

“L-Last time, at the Gate… Himari suspected me… of being a man….”

“Ah, r-right.”

“Even though I don’t like dressing up… I thought I couldn’t stay like this… so I wanted to ask for your advice….”

Ruah finally understood and smacked her forehead.

Juju was still bothered by the incident at the Gate.

‘It must have been a shock to be mistaken for a man.’

No matter how much she loved exercising and being active like a boy, Juju was still a girl. Himari’s mistake had unintentionally awakened Juju’s feminine desire to be pretty.

“Even if I can’t be like Himari or you, teacher… if I dress up a little more… with clothes or accessories or something… maybe, just maybe, someone might call me cute….”

Juju trailed off, her head hung low, her face flushed. She looked cute even now, but she didn’t seem to think so herself.

“…Okay, I understand.”

Ruah gently patted Juju’s shoulder.

“Sorry for misunderstanding. If that’s what you want, I’ll help you.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes!”

Now that Juju had asked for help, Ruah couldn’t refuse.

“But can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why did you ask me? There’s Himari, and other classmates too.”

Juju smiled brightly and replied,

“Because you’re the cutest person around me, teacher! It’s only natural!”

“……!”

Ruah covered her cheeks and turned away.

Both Himari and Juju had this habit of suddenly catching her off guard.

And so began the shopping trip to enhance Juju’s feminine charm.

They stopped in front of a directory displaying the numerous stores in the mall.

“Where should we go first?”

“Ah, that’s, of course—”

Ruah looked around the holographic directory. Juju waited patiently, trusting Ruah completely.

“Of course….”

—Gulp.

Ruah suddenly realized.

That she had overestimated herself.

‘I don’t even dress up myself, how can I help someone else…!’

She had no sense of fashion or knowledge of brands. All she had was her experience customizing game characters, which was completely useless in real life.

“Teacher? What’s wrong?”

But she couldn’t tell Juju, who was relying on her, that she was giving up.

‘I have no choice but to wing it…!’

Ruah pointed at a store on the directory that looked like a women’s fashion brand.

“O-Okay! Let’s go here!”

“Alright!”

To get to the store, they had to navigate through the crowd again. But with the goal of helping Juju in mind, Ruah mustered her courage and pushed through.

Finally, they arrived at the store.

A pleasant fragrance greeted them.

“……?”

“Where are the clothes?”

No matter how much they looked, there were no clothes, only what appeared to be cosmetics.

“Oh my, little customers! Hello!”

“Eek?!”

Before Ruah could say anything, a cheerful staff member approached and greeted them.

“Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Uh, um, w-well.”

Ruah froze, but the staff member, with a gentle smile, naturally led them inside.

“Our bath bombs are on sale today. Would you like to try one?”

Ruah now realized that she had chosen a store that sold bath products and cosmetics, not clothes. And it happened to be a brand known for its particularly enthusiastic staff.

“Teacher, you brought me here—d-does this mean… scent is important for women?”

Juju whispered. But Ruah was half out of it, overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the staff member.

“Uh… well….”

“So that’s it! I’ll choose carefully!”

Juju interpreted Ruah’s gibberish in her own way. She stepped forward confidently and dipped her hand in the water where the staff member had dissolved a bath bomb.

“Ooh… amazing. Would you like to try it too, teacher?”

Juju rolled up Ruah’s sleeve, lifted her, and helped her wash her hands. Reluctantly splashing her hands in the water, Ruah caught a whiff of the pleasant fragrance.

‘Thanks, you can put me down now.’

“Uh… well….”

Fortunately, Juju seemed to understand Ruah’s mumbling and put her down.

“Oh my, you two have such a good relationship.”

“Hehe, well….”

“Would you like to see some other products?”

Luckily for Ruah, Juju answered the staff member’s questions, lessening the burden on her.

The problem, however, was that Juju bought everything the staff member recommended. Not knowing what was good or what she needed, she ended up buying everything. Before Ruah could even stop her.

“Thank you! Come again!”

When Ruah came to her senses, she was holding bags full of bath bombs and sprays.

“Um… Juju, your budget….”

“I-It’s fine. This much is nothing to become a charming woman…!”

“I-Is that so?”

“…….”

Juju’s lips trembled as she checked her bank account balance on her phone.

“I guess… I should be more careful when choosing clothes….”

“Oh, it’s this late already…!”

Himari, who had been enjoying her conversation with Suah, suddenly looked at the clock in the cafe and came to her senses.

The hour she had promised Ruah was almost up.

“Senior, I apologize, but I should go back to the teacher now.”

“That’s too bad. I was enjoying our conversation.”

Their conversation had mostly been about Ruah.

“Let’s go together. The teacher will be happy to see you too.”

“But….”

“It’s fine.”

Himari stood up and offered Suah her hand.

“It would be good for the teacher to have another person like me, who cares about her, by her side, wouldn’t it?”

“……!”

Suah’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yes, thank you, Ms. Hoshikawa.”

“You can call me Himari.”

The two had become close.

—Buzz, buzz….

Just then, Himari’s phone, which she had placed on the table, vibrated. The caller ID was <Teacher Han Ruah>.

“Hello, teacher, it’s Himari. I’ll be there soon.”

“Himari….”

Hearing Ruah’s strained voice, Himari’s eyes sharpened.

“Teacher?! Where are you? What’s wrong?”

“H-Help… third floor, women’s clothing store….”

—Click.

The call ended. Himari and Suah exchanged glances and rushed out of the cafe.

“I don’t know what happened, but it sounds like an emergency!”

“What if a Gate appeared nearby…!”

Himari placed her hand on the hilt of her katana, and Suah unfolded her staff, which she had folded and put in her pocket, ready to use it.

They rushed to the third floor.

—Halt.

They stopped and looked around, and Suah pointed to a corner of a store.

“There!”

“?!”

There was Ruah, sitting on a customer chair, looking like she was about to melt.

“…….”

“…It doesn’t seem like an emergency.”

Suah sighed in relief and put away her staff. Himari rushed to Ruah and supported her back.

“Teacher, what happened?”

“Well… we came to choose clothes for Juju… but we can’t decide… and my stamina….”

Turning her head, Himari saw Juju scratching her head, looking through clothes. A pile of clothes she had tried on was next to her, suggesting she hadn’t found anything she liked.

“We bought a lot of bath bombs and sprays earlier, so we decided to be careful with clothes.”

As Ruah said, there seemed to be a difference of opinion between Juju and the staff member.

“You look good in boyish clothes.”

“But there’s no rule that says I can only wear those….”

“Embrace your charm!”

Juju, lacking confidence and unsure of what looked good on her, had encountered a particularly stubborn staff member, leading to a stalemate. Ruah, caught in the middle, was suffering.

“Sis, what’s going on?”

“Huh? Suah? What are you doing here?”

Suah scratched her cheek, looking slightly guilty.

“Well… I ran into Himari. She said she was here with you, so I came to say hello….”

“That’s great. Help us.”

Ruah clung to Suah’s clothes. After hearing her sister’s explanation, Suah nodded.

“Sure, that’s easy.”

Suah approached Juju.

“Hello, Junior Juju.”

“Huh? Who are you?”

“I’m Han Ruah’s younger sister, Han Suah. Nice to meet you.”

The two shook hands awkwardly.

“N-Nice to meet you….”

“Having trouble choosing clothes?”

Suah looked through the pile of clothes, quickly mixing and matching tops and bottoms, holding them up against Juju’s body, and carefully selecting a few items.

“Yeah, this might work.”

“R-Really?”

Juju’s face brightened.

Suah had chosen a flowing knee-length skirt, a lace top, and a denim jacket.

“Do you really think… this will suit me?”

“Trust me, junior.”

Juju headed to the fitting room, still doubtful. Honestly, Ruah was also a bit skeptical, but when she saw Juju in the outfit, she couldn’t help but acknowledge Suah’s sense of fashion.

Juju’s usual boyish look was gone, replaced by a shy, beautiful girl.

“Wow, you look beautiful!”

“Yes, it suits you.”

As Ruah and Himari gave their thumbs up, Juju, who had been looking awkward, finally smiled.

“R-Really? Hehe.”

Meanwhile, Suah handed her card to the staff member.

“She’ll wear this, so please pack the clothes she was wearing.”

“Oh! Senior! No! These are my clothes, so I should pay….”

“No, no. This is a gift for you, junior.”

Stopping Juju from taking out her wallet, Suah whispered in her ear,

“And also a bribe for taking good care of our Ruah.”

“……!”

Juju looked at Suah in surprise, then bowed deeply.

“Thank you, sis!”