Is it finally coming to an end?
After picking up the few little dresses that Elise had carefully selected, Yuuri brought along the undergarments she had chosen earlier and went to the counter to pay.
Just like that, the moment she left the clothing store with bags in both hands, Yuuri was suddenly struck by a sense of unreality.
Just a few days ago, she was still a boy single-mindedly focused on survival, even going so far as to trust the rumors of the Secret Treasure and venture into the Withered Mountains in search of it. In the blink of an eye, she had become a girl forced to enter a clothing store, buying all sorts of pretty, lightweight dresses and even putting them on herself.
In a daze, it almost felt like everything she was experiencing now was nothing but a dream, and that the real her, unable to find the Secret Treasure and suffering the outbreak of the curse, had already collapsed inside that tomb.
“Hey, hey, Yuuri-chan, what are you spacing out for?”
Elise’s voice instantly snapped her back to consciousness, pulling her drifting thoughts to the present.
She actually understood. Everything she was experiencing now was real. Whether it was failing to find the Secret Treasure and releasing Elise, or now standing in front of a clothing store after enduring a dressing nightmare—none of it was a dream.
She lowered her gaze, taking in her current appearance.
She was dressed in a skirt that was easy to move in. On her upper body, she wore a comfortable, soft white shirt paired with a fitted black vest. On her lower half, she had a black knee-length skirt, and her fair legs were covered with a pair of black over-the-knee socks.
When she first got her hands on those over-the-knee socks, Yuuri really didn’t know how to put them on. She could only tug and pull at them, earning a glare and a “dummy” from Elise. After some instruction, she finally learned the proper way to wear them.
To be honest, once she had them on, they really were more comfortable than she had imagined. She wouldn’t say she liked them, but she didn’t dislike them either. Of course, more than anything, she felt embarrassed. After all, she had never worn anything like this before.
She subconsciously reached out her hand—the slippery feel was unexpectedly addictive. Then she met Elise’s smirking gaze. Hm… She was just curious about the texture! It’s not like she was doing anything weird!
Besides the over-the-knee socks, she had also picked out several pairs of stockings—white, black, long, short, all sorts of types. For something that’s just worn on your feet, there sure were a lot of kinds. Compared to the socks she wore as a boy, the sheer variety of girls’ socks seemed a bit overwhelming.
Compared to the over-the-knee socks, the stockings seemed to feel even better to the touch.
She couldn’t help but want to put them on and savor the brand new sensation she’d never felt before.
No, no.
The moment she realized where her thoughts were heading, Yuuri smacked her burning cheeks hard.
No, no, she couldn’t let her mind wander any further. If she did, she felt like her whole heart and soul would get sucked in.
Ugh… At this rate, before long, her mind would probably fully turn into that of a girl’s.
Staring at the pair of brand new black leather boots on her feet, Yuuri couldn’t help but sigh.
Maybe she should distract herself by thinking about how much money she just spent at the counter. But just recalling it made her heart ache.
She had actually spent over ten silver coins! For someone as thrifty as Yuuri, this was practically a hemorrhage.
“Alright, cheer up! You spent money to buy what you needed, so shouldn’t you be happy? Otherwise, it’s just money wasted!”
Hearing Elise’s voice in her ear, Yuuri let out a sigh. She was right—after all, what was done was done.
Just treat it as getting a new outfit and helping herself adjust to her new body.
She’d just have to save money elsewhere next time.
As she walked down the bustling streets of Anvil City in the afternoon, feeling the gazes of the passersby, Yuuri couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Her skirt swayed lightly with her steps, the fabric brushing against her legs with a novel, unfamiliar sensation. The over-the-knee socks hugged her legs tightly; maybe she had bought them a bit too small, since the tops felt a little tight and itchy.
If it were only that, she could endure. But now, walking down the street dressed like this, she felt like everyone’s eyes were landing on her. For Yuuri, who didn’t want to attract attention, it was a little unbearable.
And every time a breeze swept by, she would instinctively clamp her legs together and clutch the hem of her skirt tightly, terrified that the next moment the wind would flip it up and expose everything underneath.
If that really happened, she’d probably just want to dig a hole and hide in it.
“Relax! With you jumping at every little thing like that, of course people are going to look at you!”
“But, there’s wind…”
“This little breeze? Dummy Yuuri, let go already. Relax, a little wind like this isn’t going to blow your skirt up.
Relax a bit, walk naturally, and no one will pay attention to you.”
Ugh…
Slowly, she loosened her grip on her skirt, took several deep breaths, and then tried to walk as naturally as possible down the street.
And sure enough, she did get fewer stares.
Seeing that it actually worked, Yuuri took a few deep breaths, gradually relaxed, and kept walking as naturally as before, finally leaving the shopping street behind.
Behind her, Elise let out a soft sigh.
“She’s really a whole different person from usual. It’s just a skirt, after all.”
Honestly, it almost seemed like she’d changed genders.
Well, it’s just that now she could enjoy watching her squirm a little more. Once Yuuri got used to it, she wouldn’t be so shy anymore.
The next time she gets this flustered will probably be… in bed, I suppose.
Hehehe~
After looking around for a while, Yuuri found an inn with a pretty nice environment and, wincing at the cost, spent a silver coin to book a room.
She got her key, went up to the second floor, found her room, and settled her things before heading back downstairs.
There was a restaurant in the lobby, and as long as you had a room, you could eat for free.
Thinking about it that way, a silver coin for a night’s stay wasn’t so bad after all.
With her stomach growling, Yuuri went to the counter and ordered a braised meat set meal, then found a spot in the corner to sit down.
Before long, a server brought over a tray.
The main course was several slices of toasted bread, served with a big bowl of braised meat stew and a mug of wheat beer.
The meat was tender and fell apart easily. The moment she took a bite, the rich juices burst across her tongue, and the savory sweetness instantly won over her taste buds. Besides the soft, juicy chunks of meat, the stew also had several types of vegetables in it—it tasted great.
As for the wheat beer, even when she was still Hiry, she couldn’t handle alcohol. Now that she was Yuuri, it was probably even less likely.
As she was wolfing down her meal, a nearby conversation between two diners drifted over to her ears in bits and pieces.
“Did you notice? The knights from the Lord’s Manor have been making a bigger and bigger fuss lately.”
Yuuri set down her spoon, swallowed the food in her mouth, and started paying attention to the conversation.
“Yeah, looks like they’re trying to catch someone or something, turning the place upside down.”
Catch someone?
Yuuri bit into her bread and focused on listening to their exchange.
“I’m telling you, I heard it straight from my cousin who works at the Lord’s Manor.”
“What, what?”
“The person they’re after is a real big shot—someone absolutely notorious.”
Absolutely notorious?
An image surfaced in her mind—when she had bought the black bread, she’d seen the knights chasing after someone and failing. Could it be that the person they were searching for was this ‘absolutely notorious’ figure they were talking about?
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