Chapter 25

——The gap between her fingers was simply too wide, making this act of covering up no different from not covering at all.

What… what *is* all this?!

Looking around, soft triangular fabrics were everywhere on the wooden racks. Under the warm-toned glow cast by the illumination magic stones, they appeared particularly dazzling—shining like treasures on display!

Layer upon layer, as long as one’s eyes were open, all they could see were extravagant sights in hues of red, orange, blue, and green.

Too flashy… far too flashy…!

And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

What was even more terrifying—

—were those outrageous, mysterious designs lit up by the cool-toned magic stones.

The amount of fabric used was terrifyingly minimal…

Sheffy truly wondered if there was even a difference between wearing that stuff and wearing nothing at all! What could it even cover?

As a proper lady, Sheffy couldn’t bear to look at such things!

So weird… maybe just one more peek…?

She pretended to cover her eyes, yet unconsciously let out strange little whimpers of “Mm… ngh…”

It was the first time Xiarette had seen Sheffy in such a shy and flustered state. Although it was quite refreshing, she still leaned in and softly reassured her.

“There, there… now that Sheffy’s a girl, shopping for underwear is the most normal thing in the world, right? Just hold your head up.”

“Oh my heavens… I can’t—I can’t! I can’t imagine there being a place more terrifying than this… Let’s get out of here, quickly…!”

“Sheffy… no running away, okay?”

“Damn it.”

Having been caught by the scruff of her collar like a kitten and dragged back, Sheffy now wanted to sink into the ground in shame.

And then, she heard the murmurs of the women shopping around them!

“Oh my… look at that little miss… so cute!”

“Out shopping for underwear with her older sister, is she? She looks so bashful~”

“……”

There’s so much underwear in this place and *you’re talking about me* instead?!

Anger flaring, Sheffy decided to stop pretending and yanked her useless hand away from her face!

The world became bright again.

The truly brave Sheffy dared to stare directly at all the luxury filling the room.

Eek!!

“Xiarette, Xiarette!!”

“Hmm?”

Xiarette thought Sheffy just couldn’t handle the atmosphere in here, so she stepped in front of her to shield her a bit.

But when she looked up after doing so, she realized the reason Sheffy had called her was because someone was approaching them.

It was the same young woman who had been at the store entrance earlier, drawing in customers.

The young lady wore one of the most stylish dark dresses currently popular in the kingdom, and her smile was perfectly professional.

Besides drawing customers, she was also tasked with helping them select underwear.

“This way, pretty miss. May I help you pick out a style? Our store definitely has the most complete selection in the Royal Capital.”

“Uh… I’ll just look around on my own, thank you.”

Xiarette turned back to check on Sheffy, who was doing her best to stay hidden. It was obvious that she was extremely reluctant about this underwear-shopping ordeal.

Xiarette crouched beside Sheffy and smiled gently, speaking in a sincere and earnest tone.

“This won’t do, Sheffy… Having well-fitting underwear is a must-learn lesson for any girl. What other girls have, your big sister won’t allow you to go without.”

“Wow… do you even hear the kind of nonsense coming out of your mouth…?!”

Ignoring Sheffy’s sugar-coated protest that sounded as sweet as honey, Xiarette stood up and picked out a few pieces of underwear from the rack for a look. Yet she mostly just shook her head lightly—none of them seemed to satisfy her.

Soon after, she turned to ask the young woman in charge of the shop.

“Excuse me, may I ask if it’s possible to try on these garments? Of course, not directly against the skin.”

“Ah… I’m sorry, miss. Even if it’s not directly worn, trying them on is still not allowed.”

The young woman gave an apologetic smile, clearly in a bit of a bind.

“Our underwear is considered luxury even here in the Royal Capital, and the prices aren’t low, so…”

“I see… Understood. Never mind, then.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

As the shop assistant walked away to greet other customers, Sheffy quickly leaned over to Xiarette.

“Hey? Did she say the prices aren’t low…? Isn’t this just underwear? There’s barely any fabric—how could something like this be expensive?”

“Not all underwear is created equal,” Xiarette replied while continuing to browse. “Most commoners would just use a random cloth in place of underwear. What you’re seeing here—intricate designs and detailed embroidery—are made for daughters of noble families, which is why they don’t allow trying them on.”

“Afraid someone might wear it and not buy it?”

“Hah… that too, I suppose. But mostly they’re worried about damage.”

“Well, I don’t need to worry about that! I wouldn’t wear this kind of thing anyway!”

“Oh really…? You sound pretty confident. Even after seeing *this*, can you still say that?”

“What… Which one… Huh?!”

Xiarette still hadn’t found a piece of underwear that suited Sheffy.

That was—until her gaze landed on a newly released design hanging in the farthest corner of the shop.

From that moment on, she lost interest in looking at anything else.

*This was it!* The most perfect design for Sheffy!

Sheffy followed along to take a look, her wide eyes filled with even wider shock.

Pure white base, made from soft cotton.

The most *soulful* feature… was the adorable baby Snowfield Demon Bear face printed right in the center!

This… this…

“Isn’t this the kind of thing *only little kids* wear?! Just you wait, I’m going to have a word with the shop!”

“Sheffy?!”

Sheffy had come prepared.

She darted straight to the front counter and slammed a set of drawings she’d been hiding in her pocket down onto it.

Given her height, only her head peeked out above the counter. The sight made the young woman behind it practically melt on the spot.

By the time Xiarette caught up, she was greeted by a peculiar scene…

Sheffy was pushing her set of designs toward the shop assistant inside the counter, frantically waving both arms like she was making a grand offering to the world!

“This…! I drew this! If you ever get the chance, please hand it over to a textile shop! Don’t think I’m joking—this is a grand cause that could benefit the public! Do you see these wide, loose four corners…?! If this could exist one day, if it could be widely adopted in the future, I’d name it—Safety Shorts! That’s right! If you don’t treat this as a joke, I guarantee you’ll definitely prosper in the future! Good luck, my friend!”

“Ah… little miss, you’re so cute. Is this a game?”

“You’re about to miss the chance to prosper, my friend!!”

“……”

Naturally, it didn’t take long for Xiarette to take responsibility and lead Sheffy away.

I mean, Sheffy…

The way you struggled so hard to reclaim some semblance of your past dignity—was honestly pretty cool, you know?

………………………………

Despite all the complaints, in the end, Xiarette and Sheffy still bought that childish, snow-white underwear.

Did Sheffy have any other choice?

No.

If she had to choose from any of the other designs, she might as well cut her old boxers into triangles—it’d be cheaper, at least.

The two had already left the store and returned to the street. As they exited, Xiarette carefully stored the purchased underwear using storage magic.

Though it was Sheffy who had received new underwear…

Xiarette, the one who paid, actually seemed *even happier*!

Even the Holy Sword *Sylatrella* hanging at her waist appeared unusually lively, faintly glowing with a golden shimmer while still invisible.

Xiarette counted on her slender fingers as she planned out their wonderful return home.

“For a top, Sheffy can just wear a bustier, right…? You still can’t wear the ones from the shop. As for this underwear, let’s try it on once we’re back! The store doesn’t allow try-ons, but at home we can!”

“I’m going to ignore the second half of what you said for now… but the first half… did you just say something incredibly rude, Xiarette…?”

“Not at all. I meant to say, Sheffy still has *so much* growth potential.”

—*Social EQ*.

Ugh!

Just thinking about how Xiarette had basically emptied her wallet at checkout to buy this luxury undergarment made Sheffy’s heart ache.

So much money for *this thing*… That same amount could’ve bought *so many roasted bird legs from the Abyss Mountains*!

Xiarette really didn’t know how to live frugally.

Sheffy was in the middle of mourning all those delicious roasted bird legs she could’ve had, but were now lost forever—

—when her steps suddenly came to a halt.

Xiarette did the same, stopping right alongside her.

With practiced instinct, they both turned their gaze toward the far end of the street.

From around the corner of the wide avenue—

A commotion was growing louder, approaching rapidly.

**25. What Have You Been Protecting!**

The noise came before the source could be seen, and already people near the corner were beginning to dodge in panic.

Xiarette instinctively stepped in front of Sheffy and gripped the hilt of her invisible sword, ready to draw.

“Whoa…! Xiarette, that move was so cool!”

“R-Really…! Ahem, stay alert. It’s coming.”

“Got it, got it~”

Compared to responding to danger, Sheffy looked more like someone gleefully anticipating some fun, her tiny fists clenched in excitement.

Finally, when the sound reached its peak, the full picture of the event appeared from the end of the street.

A scruffy, unshaven middle-aged man came charging through the crowd, head lowered under a worn-out straw hat, clutching a sleek leather bag that clearly didn’t match his attire. He stumbled forward in a chaotic rush, plowing through people as if nothing else mattered—charging ahead like a rabid dog!

Crashing, shoving—chaos erupted around him.

The man’s sharp yelling was full of desperation, like he was in a race against reincarnation.

“Out of the way! Everyone, get out of my way! Move! If you don’t want to die, don’t block me! Move!!”

“Thief! Someone stop him! Catch that thief… huff…! In broad daylight—this is the Royal Capital! Has even the law disappeared from here?!”

At times like this, the one yelling “thief” was almost certainly the unlucky victim.

And sure enough, not far behind the man came a slightly plump, well-dressed noblewoman, gasping for breath as she pointed at him in pursuit. It was clear that the bag must’ve contained a significant amount of her belongings.

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