In the end, Helos could not escape Eleanor’s “clutches.”
After a simple lunch at a restaurant in the central commercial district that looked incredibly expensive, Eleanor, looking radiant, dragged along a listless Helos and an equally enthusiastic Agatha to begin their “itinerary” for the afternoon.
“Let’s go, Sisi!”
Eleanor’s mood was clearly excellent. She affectionately linked arms with her younger sister, her smile as bright as spring sunshine.
“I know a great new clothing store that just opened nearby. The dress styles are beautiful!”
“Dresses?”
Helos’s footsteps instantly became heavy. She tried to pull her arm back, but Eleanor held her in a death grip.
“Sister, I think the clothes I have on are fine. There’s no need to buy more.”
“Nonsense!”
Eleanor led her forward without allowing any room for argument.
“You’re fourteen years old now. How can you spend every day in an Academy uniform or those drab clothes? A girl should dress beautifully!”
‘But…’ Helos felt a headache coming on, but she couldn’t exactly come out and say that she was actually a man on the inside.
“No buts!”
Eleanor looked back and winked at her, a hint of pleading in her voice.
“Just think of it as accompanying your sister on a walk, okay?”
Looking at her sister like that, Helos ultimately couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She sighed in resignation, allowing herself to be dragged toward that unknown “abyss.”
“I heard they recently received a batch of elven style gowns. They’re especially lovely!”
Agatha looked like she was enjoying the spectacle and even leaned toward Eleanor, asking excitedly, “Miss Eleanor, is that shop ‘Roses and Lace’?”
“Exactly! You know it too, Miss Agatha?”
As if she had found a kindred spirit, Eleanor immediately began a happy discussion with Agatha about the latest dress styles and popular color palettes.
Sandwiched between the two chattering girls, Helos felt her head spinning.
She could understand why Eleanor liked these things, but how did Agatha, a bookworm who spent every day immersed in research, know about them?
Gavi followed behind the trio, looking down silently at the large and small bundles of tools and materials in her hands. If she were capable of sighing, she probably would have let out a heavy one right now.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a clothing store decorated in an extremely gorgeous and dreamlike fashion.
The sign for “Roses and Lace” was written in flowery Elven script, and several gowns as exquisite as works of art were displayed in the windows.
“Welcome!”
A clerk dressed in a maid uniform greeted them warmly.
“I’ve brought my sister to pick out some clothes,” Eleanor said, clearly familiar with the place.
***
The next several hours were a long and painful ordeal for Helos.
She felt like a soul-less dress-up doll, pinned in the changing room by Eleanor and Agatha as they forced her into one elaborate, fancy dress after another.
“Wow! Helos, look at this one! A light blue tulle gown with silver star embroidery. It’ll look amazing on you!”
Eleanor picked up a gown that looked ethereal, her eyes practically glowing. Helos looked at the layers of tulle and the complex lace trim, her scalp tingling.
“Sister, isn’t… isn’t this a bit too much?”
“It’s not too much at all! Go try it on!”
Eleanor pushed her into the changing room without further ado.
A short while later, Helos emerged wearing the light blue starry gown. The hem was very long, nearly trailing on the ground.
The layers of gauze made her feel as if she were wrapped in a cloud. She walked with extreme caution, terrified of stepping on the hem and falling flat on her face.
Fortunately, the special training Lilith had given her included this sort of thing. Eleanor and Agatha’s eyes lit up.
“So beautiful!” Eleanor couldn’t help but praise. “Sisi, you look wonderful in this! Like an elf in the night sky!”
“Mhm, mhm!” Agatha nodded repeatedly. “With your silver hair and purple eyes, it’s absolutely perfect!”
Helos looked at the fragile, dreamlike version of herself in the mirror, feeling entirely out of place.
She instinctively straightened her back and adjusted her posture, trying to look more like the lady Teacher Lilith had taught her to be.
‘Damn it, how am I supposed to fight or do research wearing this?’
“No, no, this one is too plain—”
Eleanor quickly retracted her choice. “Your aura actually suits more vibrant colors, Helos!”
‘This was plain?!’
Before Helos could react, Eleanor picked up a fiery red off-the-shoulder gown. It was adorned with fine gold sequins and looked like a blazing fire.
“Try this one!”
Helos was pushed into the changing room once more.
When she emerged in the red gown, the light in the entire store seemed to brighten.
Unlike the previous cool and ethereal look, the red made her already fair skin look even more radiant, highlighting the elegant lines of her collarbones and shoulders.
She stood there like a rose blooming in silence, carrying a dangerous aura.
“This is great too!” Agatha couldn’t help but whistle. “Sisi, you’re a natural model! Everything looks good on you!”
Helos’s lip twitched as she turned her gaze toward the mirror. She had to admit, perhaps due to good genes, that she and Eleanor were indeed very good-looking.
Especially Eleanor—judging by her temperament alone, no one would believe she was only fourteen.
Eleanor nodded with satisfaction. However, she quickly picked up a black retro-style lace dress. Helos felt like she was about to collapse.
“This one suits you too! Mysterious and elegant!”
“And this one! Primrose yellow! It makes you look very lively!”
“This green one isn’t bad either! It has a real forest vibe!”
That afternoon, she tried on no fewer than nineteen or twenty dresses. Lace trim, puff sleeves, bows… all sorts of elements she had only ever seen in magazines were forced upon her.
What frustrated her even more was that Eleanor and Agatha’s enthusiasm showed no signs of waning.
The two huddled together, excitedly discussing which fabrics best showed off a figure and which accessories complemented an aura, treating her entirely like a doll they could dress up as they pleased.
In contrast, Gavi, who was responsible for helping, remained efficient. She folded each selected garment and handed them to the clerk for packaging.
Soon, her previously empty shoulders were draped with shopping bags of all sizes. Her face showed no expression—or rather, it never had one to begin with.
“Sister… Agatha… I really can’t go on…”
Helos leaned weakly against the changing room doorframe, her voice faint. “Can we go back now?”
She felt as though her legs couldn’t support her anymore. If she hadn’t forgotten to bring her vigor potions today, she would have downed several bottles by now.
She had even secretly used physical enhancement, and yet she was still this exhausted.
“Oh, don’t be in such a hurry—” Eleanor said, her thirst for shopping unquenched.
“There’s one last shop! I ordered a pair of crystal shoes to go with your gowns. They should be ready. We’ll pick them up and then go back!”
Helos’s vision went dark, and she nearly fainted on the spot.
‘When did you order those?! How did I not know about this?!’
As for Agatha, the moment she heard the “makeover” wasn’t over, she regained her energy and enthusiastically joined Eleanor’s camp.
The two held hands again, discussing what kind of crystal shoes would best match the red dress from earlier.
Helos looked at those two “devils” in despair, then glanced at Gavi, who was silently enduring everything by her side. A sense of tragic kinship welled up in her heart.
***
Finally, as the sun began to set, the long “dress-up hell” came to an end. Eleanor was satisfied as she collected the crystal shoes she had custom-ordered for Helos.
In addition to the various tools and materials bought in the morning, Gavi’s person was now covered in at least a dozen large and small clothing bags.
And that wasn’t even the end of it—since she couldn’t carry any more, quite a few of the clothes Eleanor “liked” had to be sent directly to the Academy dormitory by the Merchant Guild.
Helos felt exhausted to the point of collapse, wanting nothing more than a bed to lie in.
The group dragged their weary bodies to the Windrunner Beast Station and began their journey back to the Academy.
By the time the carriage stopped at the Academy gates, the sky was completely dark.
Soft magic lamps lit up across the campus, reflecting the evening glow on the horizon. To be fair, the person who was truly exhausted was mostly Helos herself.
“Then I’ll head back first.”
Eleanor gave Helos a gentle hug and whispered in her ear, “See you tomorrow, sister.”
“Mhm… see you tomorrow, sister.”
Eleanor had to return to the dorms on the divine magic academy side, so she departed first.
“I want to go to the Archives to check some data and grab dinner at the cafeteria while I’m at it,” Agatha said with a wave, still seemingly obsessed with her research. “I’ll head back to the dorm later!”
Thus, only Helos and Gavi were left. Gavi carried the many bags and followed Helos toward the comprehensive research academy’s dormitory building.
The night breeze was slightly cool, brushing away the fatigue of the day and dissipating much of the gloom in her heart.
‘I suppose… it was actually quite fun?’
Though the process was painful, her sister and Agatha…
She reflected on it for a rare moment, but the conclusion she reached was a bit skewed.
‘As I thought, my happiness is built upon the suffering of others.’
Just as they were passing through a quiet grove of trees with the dormitory building in sight, Helos’s footsteps suddenly came to a halt.
Her gaze fell on a figure not far ahead, hurrying toward the Academy’s main building.
Wait… that gait and that silhouette…