Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Clothes For Only One Person

The blue sky and the sparkling sunlight.

And the bridge built over the river that clearly reflected such a sky.

“Hahaha.”

Merilyn, who had arrived there, jumped up from her spot and began hopping around the railing with her arms wide open.

“Hehehe~ Ahaha~”

“Merilyn, I understand you’re in a good mood, but if you fall, it will be a big problem.”

“Don’t worry~ Before playing an instrument, I first– Oh?!”

I knew it, and just as I tried to catch her wobbling body for a moment.

Soon, Merilyn, who was tilting, regained her balance and began to straighten her falling body.

“Hehe~”

“…Merilyn.”

“Oh my~ What’s the matter? Are you angry by any chance? If I provoke you too much, you might kick me later~?”

Ah, right. Come to think of it, she said her main job was a jester.

Given her unique skills, worrying might be strange. Thinking that, I burst into a light laugh and followed Merilyn into the city.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course~ It’s been two whole months. If you don’t drink water for that long, you’ll die!”

Was I more important to her than water? With that simple thought, I smiled, and Merilyn, smiling as well, began to link arms with me.

“So look forward to tonight~ I’ll squeeze out as much as I haven’t so far, and as much as I won’t be able to in the future.”

“…Haha.”

Right, she has a lot built up, so she’s going to release it all energetically.

Hinting at such a future made me unable to be entirely happy, but just being pushed like this didn’t suit my temper.

I grabbed Merilyn’s chin, which was linked to my arm, and pulled her towards me.

“…Can you handle that?”

Merilyn’s body flinched and trembled.

“H-handle?”

“I’ve also been quite busy lately, so I’ve built up quite a lot.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I’d also been physically and mentally exhausted from running around everywhere for the past two months.

I might not know it now, but when the time comes, I might not be able to restrain myself.

“I hope you can handle me going wild, Merilyn.”

“…Haha! That’s what I hope for too!”

She was full of confidence, yet her face was still red and her body, linked to my arm, was still trembling violently.

Finding that sight cute, I moved to the restaurant we had found for our meal.

After finishing the planned meal, we headed to the center of the city.

While looking around the city to kill time before nightfall, I suddenly noticed a clothing store in the middle of the street.

It seemed to mainly deal in luxury items, given its sophisticated and fancy atmosphere.

During my days as a porter, I wouldn’t have dared to look at such places for fear of being asked for compensation, but now it was different.

“Shall we take a look? If you see something you like, I’ll buy it for you.”

“Clothes, you mean?”

Merilyn stood there blankly, looking up at the clothing store.

She was looking at the dresses displayed beyond the glass window, then soon stepped into the store as if enchanted.

“Yes, well, just browsing…”

Did she find something she liked?

Whatever it was, as long as Merilyn liked it, that was enough.

Still, worried that she might buy something expensive, I asked for her understanding for a moment and hurried to the nearby bank.

To borrow a credit note that could be used lightly with just proof of identity instead of heavy coins.

“Th-this is the imperial silver badge…!”

“I think I’ll be spending a lot of money, so could you issue a credit note?”

“Ah, yes! Of course, I’ll give it to you! If you’re with the Imperial Family, of course!”

As soon as I showed the badge proving my affiliation with the Imperial Family, the banker immediately issued the credit note.

Seeing that there wasn’t even a limit written on it, I immediately understood how valuable it was to be trusted by the Imperial Family.

In modern terms… Well, it’s practically the same as an unlimited credit card.

“…Is this the taste of power?”

Of course, considering it was also the price of my life, I couldn’t just see it positively.

Still, thinking that saving it would be wasteful, I decided to spend the day luxuriously and returned to the clothing store.

“Ah, your companion is changing in the fitting room. You can look around the store in the meantime~”

It seemed Merilyn already picked out clothes.

Fortunately, the store was large, and there was plenty to see around.

As I wandered around killing time, a clerk standing nearby called me over and started smiling like a painting.

“Welcome, customer~ Would you like to see these items? Your partner will love them as a gift~”

“What do you sell here?”

“We mainly sell women’s underwear~”

“…I’ll take something in the dress category.”

“Yes, understood~ How about here? This way?”

The clerk led me, guiding me around the store energetically.

The reason her eyes seemed filled with greed was probably because she saw me get the credit note earlier.

To put it badly, it was materialistic, but… it wasn’t something to be very unpleasant about.

Desperation is felt only if there’s desire, and only with desperation can one grow.

As long as it wasn’t blatantly obvious that she was trying to take advantage of me, this attitude could actually lead to introducing better products.

“How about this dress here?”

What I encountered at the end of her introduction was a luxurious dress made of white fabric.

With its ample skirt and embroidery everywhere, it was called a ‘wedding dress’ in my world.

“Uh, I did say a dress, but…”

“Your partner will love it if you give it as a gift~”

No, giving a wedding dress as a gift to a partner was a bit much, wasn’t it?

Sure, Airi was pregnant, but since it was an unexpected child, I couldn’t just go ahead with something like this…

“…Hmm.”

The reason I couldn’t completely lose interest in the dress was that I was somewhat considering proposing to Airi.

Until now, we had both been in difficult situations and delayed it, but now it was too late to turn back, so I should consider just going for it in a fit of rage.

So when the time would come, I should consider marrying her.

Airi wearing a wedding dress like the one in front of me, receiving everyone’s blessings as we get married…

“…Customer?”

“Ahem!”

I cleared the blissful thoughts with a cough and quickly turned my back.

Calm down. Such things could be considered after the expedition was over.

Still, as I turned away from the dress that made me imagine unnecessary things, I saw the curtain of the fitting room being drawn.

It must be that Merilyn had finished changing.

With that thought, my steps, which had been moving forward, froze as I saw the woman coming out of the fitting room.

-Tok, tok.

No, it wasn’t just me.

The people around also closed their chattering mouths and began focusing their attention one by one on that spot.

In the silence that came, the woman who came out of the fitting room began to navigate the inside of the store, holding the skirt.

Using the bright sunlight streaming through the curtains as a spotlight, and the scent of herbs purifying the store’s air as a companion.

-Whoosh.

At that moment, the wind blowing through the door opened by a visiting customer made her hair and clothes flutter, and the scent wafting in began to cover her surroundings like petals.

As if the world was blessing her at this moment.

Yes, the one who created such an image appeared here at this moment.

Cultivating beauty solely for one person…

The woman wearing clothes solely for one person, in front of me.

“…Hyo-sung.”

When I realized that, she looked up at me from that spot.

In her gradually revealed amber eyes, only my figure was clearly reflected.

“So, how do I look?”

The shy question that followed taught me that her current appearance could not be pure temptation.

Because it was the first time she looked like this, she was scared, and because she was scared, she was anxious…

“Merilyn, that outfit…”

“When we first met.”

When I vaguely read those feelings, she soon lowered her gaze with her hand on her chest.

“Do you remember when we first met and stopped by a street stall?”

“…”

“…I remembered wearing something like this back then, so I tried it on.”

Swish, Merilyn covered her face with the veil on her head.

From that action, memories of when I first met her began to surface.

Meeting her at the spot according to the prophecy, and the scene where she covered her face with a veil at the stall where I stopped by to buy a mask…

“Does… does it look okay?”

And the person I thought I would never see again was whispering to me in the same appearance at this moment.

This current appearance.

Asking if the future of getting married with me was truly allowed for her.

“…Yes.”

In response to the question with such a meaning, I calmed my pounding heart and spoke quietly.

“It really suits you.”

Feeling connected to such a beautiful woman who did so much for me.

Feeling regret that I couldn’t consider her as the first.

After exploring the city for a while, it was time for the sunset to come.

To have an after-party, I sat on a bench near the fountain with Merilyn and shared a snack.

“Did you only buy one?”

“Because the quantity is large.”

“Uh-huh~ Then it can’t be helped. Here, ah~”

Merilyn was about to give me a piece of bread.

I casually accepted the bread, then pulled it out halfway and brought it to her mouth.

“Uh, there—hmmpf!”

A bit of hesitation only created an opening.

As soon as I put the piece of bread in her open mouth and kissed her, her body lightly trembled and her cheeks started to redden.

“…Th-that’s sneaky. This kind of thing.”

“If you’re upset, you can get revenge.”

“H-ha! Who says I can’t?! Just wait a bit. When we get to bed later…!”

Merilyn, boasting, stuffed the bread into her mouth. Seeing her swallow it whole, it seemed she couldn’t even think of getting revenge on me immediately.

With this, she couldn’t even dream of revenge in bed.

I let out a chuckle and leaned back against the bench, looking up at the sky.

It was truly a leisurely and peaceful day.

Beyond that, it was a day that was rich and joyful… It was ironic that the Empire was the only place where you could enjoy such things even with money.

I hope these days continue in the future.

“I hope these days continue in the future.”

Merilyn, who voiced the same thought, began to hum a tune while giving the remaining bread pieces to the birds gathered at the fountain.

That carefree appearance looked very pleasing.

Her innocent appearance and her naive actions.

“…You’ve changed a lot.”

She, who couldn’t be considered a demon, showed an endlessly human-like appearance in front of me.

“…Changed, you say?”

“Well, how should I put it? When I first saw you, I thought you were very mysterious and dignified, but now you feel very familiar, should I say?”

“What is that? That evaluation. So, now you mean I’m a tomboy with no seriousness?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way…”

Thinking about it again, it didn’t seem entirely wrong, but still, wasn’t it rude to say it out loud?

“…Well, it’s not a wrong evaluation.”

In front of me, trying to gloss over it, she nonchalantly brushed off her previous words and began to scatter the remaining pieces of bread.

With an extremely relaxed and somewhat relieved attitude, as if expressing her feelings.

“Not wrong, what do you mean by that?”

“Well, now there’s no need to act like a loyal retainer anymore.”

-Flap.

The pigeons, having eaten all the bread pieces, flew away.

Merilyn, staring at the empty spot, grasped her hand on her chest and spoke in a bitter voice.

“It must have been like this, back when I was just serving my old lord.”

“…”