—
“It’s fine. I’m also the type to think deeply and even play out scenarios while showering.”
“Alright, alright, no need to comfort ! Really… I just slipped while stomping my foot.”
“Actually, I like to sing while I shower too.”
“How co I’ve never heard you?”
“Maybe my singing frequency is beyond your hearing range—like how so dungeon bosses ignore attacks if your attack frequency is too low.”
“You’re talking about that kind of frequency?”
…
“Careful, Little Will, there’s a step up ahead.”
Will was being “escorted” by Shuna as they walked through the streets of Yawick City.
His nearsightedness…
It wasn’t debilitating, but in this slightly “retro” era, it was rare for soone to have such poor eyesight.
In fact, he felt his vision was worse than in his previous life, where he’d spent countless hours staring at a computer screen.
While he could technically walk without glasses, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t bump into sothing.
So, with Shuna accompanying him to get a new pair of glasses, she temporarily acted as his walking stick.
He couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
When he had first been injected with witch’s blood, there had been a brief mont when his vision was better than it was now.
“Where’s the glasses shop? Is it that bright spot up ahead?”
It was nightti in Yawick City, and the streets were brightly lit.
For soone with nearsightedness and a touch of astigmatism, the lights weren’t helpful. To him, they were just glowing blobs.
“That’s the food street. You should know the layout here; just walk through it.”
“Oh… so this must be… the Adventurer’s Guild.”
The area around the Adventurer’s Guild had quieted down significantly.
Even in his blurry state, Will could see that the guild had moved out old furniture and other items, leaving them by the entrance, ready to be sold off cheaply.
This was a city that had grown around the “great business opportunity” of a nearby dungeon. With the dungeon gone, the city would inevitably experience a period of decline.
The first to cut costs and reduce staff was always the Adventurer’s Guild.
With fewer guild mbers, the adventuring teams stationed here would also dwindle.
Eventually, businesses catering to adventurers, such as shops and inns, would either relocate or close down.
However, so adventurers who ca here and grew fond of the place might settle down—not as adventurers, but as farrs or hunters doing basic work.
The wind picked up on the street.
Autumn winds were usually mild, but when they stirred up fallen leaves, they felt particularly chilly.
“It’s definitely getting colder. If we’re heading north toward the capital, especially to Zymart Town, which is remote and mountainous, it’ll be even colder.”
Shuna supported Will as she spoke.
“Yeah. Speaking of which…”
Will glanced at Shuna’s outfit.
Her short jacket, which she’d worn before, seed to have been burned to ashes by Leah’s fire. Oh, right… her black stockings had also been burned. Will rembered, just before losing consciousness, seeing her legs with holes burned into her tattered stockings.
So now she was wearing…
An outfit that looked even more sumry than before.
No…
It was a crop top—one of those outfits that would make grandmothers shake their heads and mutter, “She’s going to catch a cold tomorrow.”
“We should get so autumn-appropriate clothes too. We can’t freeze to death before entering the next dungeon.”
“Hmm… It’s a bit odd hearing that from soone who’s been to the 59th floor of an ice dungeon, but…”
Shuna laughed, and her smile gave Will the distinct feeling that he was walking into a trap.
Was she trying to bait him into suggesting they buy clothes?
And then…
And then make him pay for them!
—Not that it mattered. As the “despicable capitalist youngest son of the Hysterm family,” he could easily afford to buy clothes for a woman!
“The clothing store is right here. Let’s get it over with!”
“Alright, alright… but you’ll have to guide to the mirror, up close.”
Co to think of it…
The clothes he was wearing now had been chosen for him by Leah, Treya, and Eir, one piece each.
They still looked fairly new.
But they were sumr clothes. Buying a new set now and saving these for next year seed like a good idea.
—
“Alright! This one’s perfect!”
“Wait, wait, wait… you decided that fast?!”
They had only been in the store for three minutes.
Will already heard Shuna’s triumphant “victory shout.”
Huh?
Should he say…
As expected of Shuna, who could easily pass as one of the guys?
Will had never seen a woman choose clothes so quickly.
Weren’t won supposed to try on everything in the store, shop from morning until dusk, and then pick the first thing they saw?
“Co look, co look! I think it suits perfectly.”
Shuna pulled him out from behind a rack of clothes and led him to a full-length mirror, spreading her arms so he could get a good look.
She…
She had chosen a cotton hoodie, black with a hood, and paired it with thicker over-the-knee stockings that were clearly more durable than her previous ones.
She had even put the hood up.
With her hands in the hoodie’s pockets, she spun around, giving Will a full 360-degree view.
The hoodie was long enough to just barely cover the edges of her denim shorts.
As she spun, there were angles where he could glimpse her shorts, but from most perspectives, it looked like she was just wearing the hoodie with stockings, creating a perfectly balanced “absolute territory.”
—Why did this feel so much like going shopping with a girlfriend and watching her pick out clothes?
Even Will couldn’t help but internally comnt on the situation.
But…
Shuna’s outfit was indeed unique for this era and among adventurers.
With the hood up and her distinctive black hair, she exuded a strangely modern vibe, like a cool, independent street-style JK (Japanese high schooler).
He could almost imagine her standing on a street corner, phone in hand, pouting as she greeted her boyfriend with, “You’re late!”
“What do you think? I specifically chose this. Doesn’t it give off a shadowy assassin vibe? Perfect for the Tenth Demon Castle, right?”
She pulled him closer, her black eyes beneath the hood reflecting the light behind him.
Indeed…
That move…
It made her look even more like a mischievous JK showing off her cool new outfit to her boyfriend.
There was even a hint of a little devilish charm.
But…
Was it the hoodie’s modern design? Even in this sowhat ambiguous era of adventurer fashion, the outfit didn’t feel out of place.
Why…
Why did this outfit feel so familiar to Will?
Was it because he’d seen a similar style in his previous life?
“It’s great, it looks really good. How should I put it? It’s like sothing I’ve seen in a dream.”
“Perfect.”
Shuna snapped her fingers in satisfaction.
“I’ve learned sothing about picking clothes. It’s all about ‘going with your gut.’ The first thing that catches your eye, the one that gives you that perfect feeling, is usually the best choice!”
“That’s true. Once I pick mine, we’ll pay together—”
Will didn’t get to finish his “big spender” statent…
“Here, you try one too!”
Shuna grabbed him and shoved a matching hoodie into his hands—sa design, just a size larger.
“… too?”
But… wouldn’t wearing matching outfits make them look…
Like a couple of adventurers?
Their two-person team had already been mistaken for a couple multiple tis. Even Leah had probably seen that news story before…
“Of course! Doesn’t this suit our team perfectly?”
“Huh?”
Shuna pulled on her hoodie, stretching it out.
“Look at the design. See? It’s the Morning Star!”
The golden star emblem on the black hoodie was striking, especially when she stretched the fabric to show it off.
A shining golden star atop Entark’s northern snowy mountains—this was the symbol of the Morning Star in Entark, made famous by a painting of it standing atop a snowy peak.
Although the team na in the original story was “Morning Star,” seeing this design made Will wonder: Was this world actually Earth in the solar system? Could the Morning Star here also refer to Venus?
“When you gave that bookmark, it had galaxies and starlight on it. Our team’s na is Morning Star too.”
Shuna let go of the hoodie, the elastic fabric snapping back into place, making the mountain and star bounce slightly.
“You must really like stars and space, right? Everything you design or do has stars and the cosmos. Why not make this our team uniform?”
Hmm…
Will held up the hoodie.
He examined the design closely.
A mature adventuring team, especially one with a stable roster, always had a proper uniform.
It was like a trademark. For example, the Radiant Knights had a full set of outfits that looked like actual uniforms.
Even fresh graduates would buy matching outfits from a clothing store, even if they had to swap them out for heavier gear in the dungeon, just for the look.
But…
His fingers lightly brushed over the star emblem.
Because of “fate,” he had never considered that this team could survive “a year,” nor had he believed he could live past a year.
No wonder Shuna had thought of this before he did.
Because deep down… he had never believed that the “teamwork” and “bonds” of an adventuring team could truly apply to him.
But…
Since this was a ti when the protagonist had been missing for so long, when Leah had boldly confessed her love, and when Morning Star was a na he had personally co up with…
“You’re right. I’ll try it on.”
It was ti to fully embrace the experience of being part of his own adventuring team.
—
As Will entered the fitting room, Shuna fell into thought.
“Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to wear matching outfits with him, to look more like a couple of adventurers. After all, it’ll be a while before anyone else joins the team.”
“But…”
“Did he actually take it seriously?”
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