Chapter 50: The Little Shopkeeper and the Dragon’s Dilemma

Eileen lifted Xiaoke by her clothes, much like one might pick up a kitten.

Ghosts, by nature, lacked physical form. This made it impossible for them to assist others, leading them to choose possession as a means.

Perhaps the reason she had possessed this particular doll was because it had been her most cherished possession in life.

“Grandma has gone to sleep, and Xiaoke is managing the shop all by herself. That’s truly impressive,” Eileen praised.

“Don’t! Don’t think for a second that your compliments will make me happy!” Xiaoke’s purple twin-tails bounced twice, punctuating her defiance.

This one, just like Eileen, saw right through her.

“It seems we’ve arrived at an inconvenient time.”

“You two, you’re really not here to cause trouble?” Xiaoke eyed them both with suspicion.

“We truly just came to buy clothes. However, if Grandma is resting, we won’t disturb her. We can always come back another time,” Eileen stated.

“Since you really are here to buy clothes… then go ahead and look around. I can manage just fine on my own; don’t you dare look down on me, you brats!” Xiaoke declared.

“Brats…?” Setia murmured, observing Xiaoke’s diminutive stature. Even as the soul of the deceased, she couldn’t possibly be older than Eileen, who was a dragon.

Yet, Eileen hadn’t always been a dragon. Counting her previous existence and her current five years, she was only twenty-five.

This age, within the dragon race, was considered… a hatchling.

Which meant Eileen was actually…

She couldn’t say any more! If that were to be known, she would surely be locked away in a dragon prison!

“Is that so? It seems I underestimated you.” Eileen played along with Xiaoke’s words.

Having met before, Eileen knew Xiaoke’s temperament to some extent; she only *appeared* fierce.

“Hmph!” Xiaoke snorted, her twin-tails twitching again. “What’s your name?”

“Eileen.”

“Just tell me what kind of clothes you need, and I can help you find them.” Evidently, Eileen’s words had pleased Xiaoke greatly.

She found this newcomer, whom she had just met, quite agreeable—far better than a certain clumsy individual who had once claimed to be the strongest dragon slayer.

Fortunately, this thought remained unspoken in Xiaoke’s mind. Otherwise, Eileen would have had to… defend her past self, no matter what.

“No need to trouble you with that. We can manage ourselves,” Eileen replied.

“Alright then. However, if you find suitable clothes but not the right size, you can come to me. I can alter them for you.” Having finished speaking, Xiaoke transformed back into a doll, sitting motionless on the table, awaiting her next ‘prey.’

Was this, then, the legendary social butterfly?

Setia, standing beside Eileen, was utterly bewildered. The fiery-tempered Xiaoke had just been appeased by Eileen with only a few sentences.

“That little one just now…”

“Who are you calling a ‘little one’! You rude brat!” Xiaoke sprang up.

“No, no, my friend was talking about a little kitten we saw outside earlier. She was wondering if we should bring it something to eat later. Besides, Xiaoke is so amazing, managing such a large shop all by herself and possessing such incredible craftsmanship. How could she possibly be a ‘little one’?” Eileen quickly interjected with an emergency correction.

“It seems I misunderstood you two.”

“It’s perfectly normal to have some misunderstandings. It’s best to just talk them out,” Eileen said with a smile, refraining from further mindless flattery.

Moderation was key.

“Shall we go look around then?”

“Mhm. But don’t just throw clothes around; it’s a hassle for me to tidy up alone,” Xiaoke instructed.

“Got it~” Eileen drew out the sound, leading Setia to browse elsewhere.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Setia exclaimed, having almost made a terrible mistake.

“Sorry for what?” Eileen inquired.

“I almost messed things up again!” Setia confessed.

“It’s nothing. When you meet her for the first time, it’s certainly difficult to understand her thoughts.”

“Eileen, you seem quite familiar with her. Did something interesting happen before?” Setia asked.

‘Interesting? Not really.’

When Eileen first met Xiaoke, she had been quite vexed, almost coming to blows. Fortunately, Miss Liana had passed by then, successfully averting an unnecessary conflict.

“Let’s focus on choosing clothes first.” Eileen deftly sidestepped the topic, leaving Setia itching with curiosity.

‘I really want to throw those three band-aids at you!’

Setia withdrew the band-aids.

Faltis withdrew her like.

“Although all the clothes here are beautiful, there are very few suitable for Eileen,” Setia remarked.

“Right? I told you, choosing clothes is such a hassle, which is why I didn’t want to pick any,” Eileen replied.

“No, no, no! That’s not what I meant,” Setia clarified.

“Oh? Then what *did* you mean?”

Setia gestured twice at Eileen’s chest, her meaning abundantly clear.

Eileen’s face flushed slightly. “It’s… it’s not that exaggerated, is it?”

“Well, that’s true. Perhaps this shop just has limited sizes.” Setia stared at Eileen’s chest, now having a perfectly good reason to do so.

While Eileen was well-endowed, it wasn’t to an exaggerated degree; one hand could comfortably cup her. And indeed, this shop truly had a limited range of sizes.

There were many types of clothing, but almost all sizes were restricted to one or two options.

However, because Xiaoke could quickly alter sizes, it wasn’t a significant problem. Later, Eileen casually mentioned it and learned that these clothes were actually the sizes of a previous customer, specially altered by Xiaoke, who then simply put them back, too lazy to change them again.

“Eileen, are you really only trying on one piece?” Setia asked.

With so many beautiful clothes, trying on just one seemed like a terrible waste.

“These clothes aren’t quite my size, and it wouldn’t be right to trouble Xiaoke with alterations,” Eileen explained.

Setia seized upon the loophole in Eileen’s words. “So, if there *were* clothes in Eileen’s size, you *would* wear them, wouldn’t you?”

“Uh…” Eileen vaguely recalled not having said anything of the sort.

“Right? Right?”

“Al… alright.” Eileen had no effective way to resist Setia’s cajoling.

She could only hope there weren’t many sizes here that would fit Eileen. “Hey, wait!”

“What’s wrong? You can’t go back on your word!” Setia feared Eileen would renege.

“That’s not what I meant! I mean, these clothes, while not suitable for me, aren’t they just perfect for *you*?” Eileen declared.

Hmph, Eileen, you truly are a conversational genius.

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