Chapter 73

The schedule in Germany is already over.

If you can even call it a schedule, but anyway, it’s done.

Except for the slight aversion to the food, it was enjoyable.

Sausages, beer, this and that, and surprisingly delicious German food despite the mixed reviews. Then, out of nowhere, a Magician appears, and suddenly, the Third Ability blooms… I think I’ve seen all the fun there is to see.

At this point, I guess you could call it a fulfilling week in Germany.

“I’m back.”

“Rampage~!”

Returning home after a week.

It feels a bit awkward, but I’ll get used to it soon.

So, as usual, I caught the chubby one flying towards me, placed her on the table, and opened the fridge to crack open a beer first.

“Ah~…”

“Starting with beer as soon as you get back…”

Hmm… Compared to the beer in Germany, this tastes inferior.

But still, it’s beer, so it’s good.

More importantly… Yura and Diamond Dust aren’t here because it’s a weekday, right?

“…Should I play some games after a long time?”

I have nothing to do and I’m bored, so I might as well drink beer and play games.

Then where… Huh? Wait, what’s in my room?

…A full-length mirror? …Hmm, hmm…

“Rampage~! …Huh? Rampage?”

“What?”

“What are you doing in front of the full-length mirror?”

“…Nothing.”

Oops… I unconsciously struck a pose in front of the mirror.

I wasn’t interested in this kind of thing before, right?

It feels like more and more feminine things are being added…

Ugh, let’s just strip off all the clothes! I’ll just wear a T-shirt and underwear!

“……”

Damn… I thought this might happen someday since I started living like this.

But seeing myself subtly caring about fashion and checking if things suit me in the mirror, it feels like…

…I guess it’s something you can’t easily give up or accept.

I was prepared to accept changes at any time, but even with that preparation, it’s hard to change as a person.

“…Ah, let’s just play games.”

Whatever it is, worrying about this any longer is just stupid.

Let’s just forget about it by playing games.

It’s better to quickly forget these complicated feelings and adapt.

Thinking too much about it just makes me annoyed.

“I’m back.”

After playing games for a while, it’s already Diamond Dust’s time to come home from school.

Has it already gotten this late…

Then I should turn off the game soon.

“Yeah, you’re back?”

“Ah, you’re back.”

“…Why are you staring at me?”

“You seem to be flaunting your good looks.”

“…? What?”

“Won’t you wear some cute clothes at home too?”

“Get lost.”

“There are comfortable and nice clothes…”

“Shut up.”

What’s with this kid? Why is she suddenly acting like this towards me as soon as she comes back? Did she eat something wrong today?

Or did Yura secretly persuade her to do something?

Anyway, something smells fishy…

“I’m tired… Food…”

“Oh, Yura’s back?”

“Ah, sis is here?”

Coming in around 6… So she gets off work around 5?

Seeing how she leaves right on time, it seems like a decent workplace.

“But what are those shopping bags?”

“This? Clothes for you to wear at home.”

“…Get lost.”

“Ah, why~! You have such a good figure, let’s try on some cute clothes~!”

“You… Ayun was saying weird things, so it was you who persuaded her, huh?!”

“So wear them!”

“No!”

“Wear them~! I spent a lot of money on these~!”

“They’ll look really good on you.”

“……”

Sigh… These kids, I can’t even hit them…

I don’t know why they’re suddenly acting like this towards me.

“…Let’s eat first. Put that stuff away.”

“You’ll wear them after eating, right?”

“You’ll wear them, right?”

“…Sigh, fine! I got it, so stop already!”

“Yay~!”

“Yay~.”

These kids… It seems like they’ve formed some strange alliance during the week, and they’ll probably keep this up until I wear the clothes.

It’s easier to just give up and go along with what they want, so I’ll just do as they say.

So after finishing dinner, I was dragged helplessly by Yura and Diamond Dust to my room.

Everyone else dresses comfortably at home, so why are they only doing this to me?

If I think about it, it’s probably just to satisfy themselves by dressing me up… Sigh, I’ll just give in.

“…But why are these all kids’ clothes?”

“Cute and small, right? Isn’t that good?”

“Looking younger is good, right?”

“Do you think I’d like that kind of thing…?”

“No?”

“No?”

“Then why are you asking…?”

If you’re going to buy clothes, at least get adult designs…

But still… At least they’re not at the level of elementary school kids’ clothes.

And you can tell they put some thought into the designs, so they must have picked them carefully.

The problem is that they’re all dresses or clothes that scream “typical girl.”

Well, my magical girl outfit is also a dress under a jacket-like thing, but it’s quite thick and it’s a “transformation outfit,” so it’s fine.

But these… They really give off a “girly” vibe…

“……”

“Wow~! So cute~!”

“I wish I had a younger sister like this.”

“Shut up.”

Sigh… This is the second time I’ve become a dress-up doll…

The first time was when Pretty Heart went on a rampage.

But Pretty Heart’s clothes were casual and something an adult wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear, but these kids’ clothes are all about cuteness.

They’re clearly filled with the intention of “I want to make you cute!”

“Next, this one!”

“Sigh~…”

…But still, my magical girl body was carefully crafted by those mascots, so it’s quite cute and pretty.

If I just do a little cute act, they’ll probably fall for it.

Like… this?

“Kyaa~!”

“So cute…!”

“……”

Ah, no… What did I just do…?

Why did I strike a pose and act like that…?!

…Ah, I should just kill myself.

“Ah, sis! Snap out of it!”

“Huh…! What should we do?”

“Ah…”

“In times like this, do this. It’s a method my mom used… Yap.”

Ah, something warm on my back…

Sigh… It feels so comfortable…

“…Ah, Yura?”

“What?”

“…Get that away.”

Why is this kid suddenly hugging me and acting up…

Does she need more allowance?

I’m pretty sure I gave her plenty…

“Sis. Let’s try on more clothes now!”

“Clothes? …Fine. Let’s call it adaptation training.”

“It feels like it happened in an instant…”

Ah~ Well, I feel a bit calmer after snapping out of it.

…But I shouldn’t get swept away.

I need to maintain my own identity.

More importantly, is the dress-up session almost over?

There’s only one outfit left.

“Last one!”

“Okay…”

Alright, let’s focus and finish this last one, then throw it off.

I’m not going to wear it anyway, right?

…Wait, what is this?

The last outfit isn’t even loungewear, it’s like…

“…Hey.”

“Hehe, I picked it because it looked cute…”

“This is as far as I’ll go along with your antics, you brat.”

“Kyaa?! W-wait! My ear! My ear!! Ouch!!”

“Ayun. Would you wear this?”

“…No. Even for me, an overly flashy and childish magical girl outfit is a bit…”

“Right? You hear that?”

“…Yeah, I heard. Ouch?!”

“If you act like this again, I’ll cut your allowance in half.”

“Sorry~!”

Even for me, this is crossing the line…

…More importantly, is this what I think it is?

My old magical girl outfit before it changed?

“Sigh… Why are they selling something like this…”

“That’s your old outfit, right? There are a lot of kids cosplaying as you.”

“…Really? Why is that popular?”

“Well, it’s because you’re popular. But your current magical girl outfit is a bit too much to call it a magical girl outfit…”

“Ah…”

So I’m popular with kids in places I don’t know about…

Looking at it now, it is a cute outfit.

But I don’t want to wear it.

“But why did your outfit change, sis?”

“I don’t know. It changed after my Third Ability bloomed.”

Now that I think about it, I don’t know why my outfit changed either.

Is blooming the Third Ability a condition?

But Senior and Magician’s outfits didn’t change…

Why did only mine change? I really have no idea.

Did the Crystal Stone decide that this outfit no longer suits the changed atmosphere?

Hmm… Well, it’s not really important, so I don’t need to worry about it.

“Sigh, let’s just take this off first.”

“Ah! No! That’s loungewear, why are you taking it off?!”

“It’s uncomfortable.”

“Liar!”

“Mentally uncomfortable.”

Well, it’s more comfortable than I thought for clothes, but still, is it better than just a T-shirt and underwear?

And I don’t want to keep living in clothes like that.

…Huh? Diamond Dust’s monster signal is going off.

“Hey, Ayun. It’s your monster signal.”

“Ah, Marquis-Class… I’ll be back.”

“Alright, finish it quickly.”

By the way, where did Katanu go again?

Is he playing games with Chubby in the room and forgot?

“……”

Yep, that’s the answer.

This damn brat… As the Responsible Mascot, aren’t you supposed to do your job properly…?

“Hey, Katanu.”

“Oops?!”

“Hey, you damn brat. The Marquis-Class monster signal is going off, and you’re here playing games? Aren’t you supposed to keep an eye on the signal?”

“S-s-sorry!!”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it! If people die because of the Marquis-Class monster, are you going to take responsibility? Can’t you get your act together? You have one job, and you can’t even do that right? Even that lazy Chubby is strict about this, what are you doing?”

“Sorry!! I’ll make sure this never happens again!!”

“…If this happens one more time, I’ll kill you. Got it?”

“Yes!”

At least Chubby is thorough about this, but Katanu, this brat, is really…

…Ah, seeing this brat reminds me of something I forgot.

That hole-punched notebook the monster dropped.

I was going to ask the Fairy Queen about it.

Hmm… I’ll just bring it tomorrow.

“Chubby.”

“Yes?”

“You have a job as the senior mascot. Straighten this brat out.”

“Understood!”

Chubby is a seasoned mascot, so she’ll handle Katanu’s discipline well.

More importantly… Should I ban these kids from games for a while?

They’ve both been too absorbed in games lately.

But Chubby at least doesn’t neglect her duties, but Katanu…

…I gave him a chance, but taking it away immediately feels a bit harsh.

“Sis~!”

“What?”

“Let’s try this one on!”

“…Do you really want to die?”

“No?”

“Then put it away. Before your allowance disappears.”

“Ah.”

One word about allowance, and she backs off immediately.

I’m starting to get a feel for how to handle Yura.

Threatening her with allowance works well.

“……”

But I never thought I’d see my old outfit again.

Even if it’s just a cosplay outfit.

Honestly, I don’t want to remember it.

…Yura and Diamond Dust didn’t hear about those times, so it’s better to let it go.

I’ll never wear it, though.

“Sigh…”

By the way, seeing that reminds me of the old days.

There were quite a few comrades who died back then.

Especially those two, they were as talented as me…

…I’ll just slowly drink my beer and unwind.