Chapter 40: The Unspoken Dress Code

“Do you think this will look good on you? Want to try it on?”

I received the dress hanging from her raised hand and checked it.

Grabbing the shoulder straps with my index and thumb, and using both my left and right hands, I held it as if it were still on the hanger, allowing me to see the full shape of it.

This time, it was a blue-colored dress. It wasn’t heavily adorned, but there were some gem-like pieces in the shape of butterflies on the chest area, giving it a point of interest.

Since it was a private dressing room, there was no separate fitting room. If I had to be precise, the dressing room itself could be considered one large fitting room.

Therefore, with no other choice, I slowly started removing my current clothes in front of Yuri.

It was embarrassing to be undressing in front of her, but of course, it was an awkward situation I was unnecessarily making for myself.

From my perspective, I was thinking about it as a man undressing in front of a woman, but to Yuri, it was just a friend changing clothes.

I hastily threw the shirt I was wearing over my shoulders and undid the buttons and zipper on the pants I was wearing. Only my underwear remained, and I felt naked with so much exposed skin.

I could feel Yuri’s gaze on me, so I quickly slipped into the dress. Since Yuri and I had similar body shapes, there wasn’t anything particularly tight, except for one small area where I felt a little extra space.

“Wow, this suits you too! What do you think, El?”

Yuri looked at me from a mirror on the side. When I gazed into the mirror, I noticed that the silver hair and blue dress actually seemed to match well, as Yuri had said.

To be honest, it wasn’t just the silver hair that worked well, but the overall appearance.

Every time I looked in the mirror, I always thought that if there was ever an outfit that didn’t suit this face, it would be the clothes’ fault. Even if I were wearing a clown outfit, it probably wouldn’t be a good match.

Except for one small flaw, my body looked good as well. In fact, even that one flaw wasn’t significant; it was just slightly smaller compared to Yuri or Celian.

But maybe it was the effect of the TS magic—or perhaps the side effects—but no matter how much I trained, I could only feel that my strength increased. There was no outward sign of muscle growth.

When I was a man, I had some visible muscle, though not too bulky, but now in a woman’s body, I felt awkward because my skin was smooth, and there were no noticeable muscles.

“…It looks great,” I said, honestly, while turning to look at Yuri. This was the third time I had changed clothes, but I knew this wasn’t the end of it. After all, I had already experienced how long a fashion show for women could take during my shopping trip with Celian.

“Alright! This one next!”

As expected, Yuri had already brought a new outfit. Honestly, I didn’t even need to say she brought it; she just grabbed one of the dresses hanging right next to her.

This time, it was another dress, but it looked like it wouldn’t be suitable for movement. It was clearly something meant for a social party. After removing the blue dress, I tried on the new one.

While this dress was more glamorous than the last one, it wasn’t excessively adorned with frills or unnecessary decorations. Even I, as a man, thought, “Well, this one is good enough…”

Sometimes, when wearing a dress like this, a corset is used, but it didn’t seem necessary. Since it was just Yuri and me here, and since my body didn’t require a corset, there was no need to tighten it further.

“Hmm… Could you help me tie this string in the back?”

Although I had put it on, I needed help tying the string in the back to prevent it from slipping. It seemed a bit inconvenient to do alone since it was in the back, and I didn’t want to struggle with it when there was someone here to help.

“Wait a moment.”

Yuri went around to my back. I stood still, facing forward, trying not to move as her fingers brushed lightly across my back. Every time her fingers grazed my back, my body instinctively twitched, but thankfully, I managed to hold back any sound.

It took longer than I expected for her to tie the string, and I found myself struggling to resist the feeling of her fingers constantly brushing against my back.

“Alright, it’s done!”

When I looked into the mirror, I saw a slender woman standing there. Despite only changing clothes, the vibrant feeling from earlier had vanished, replaced by a more delicate and elegant aura. I could understand why the saying “Clothes make the man” was popular.

“…Is it done?”

Since this outfit was not easy to move around in and felt restrictive, I wanted to change quickly. However, when I turned to speak to Yuri, asking if I could change into something more comfortable, I received no reply. Yuri was staring at me through the mirror, completely engrossed in looking at me.

“Yuri?”

I turned my body halfway and looked at Yuri. As I turned, the dress fluttered slightly.

“Uh, yeah!”

“I guess this one doesn’t suit me either. I didn’t really like it much.”

“No, no! It’s just that it’s such a different vibe from usual… I didn’t mean it’s weird! I mean… it’s really beautiful! Of course, you’re always beautiful, but…”

For some reason, Yuri started to ramble. I didn’t know why, but I figured now was the chance. While Yuri was distracted, I quickly decided to finish this fashion show. I reached behind my back, swiftly untied the strings, and took off the dress. I then reached for the clothes I had originally worn.

Well, I tried to.

“El?”

“Uh… yeah?”

“Why that outfit?”

“Well… I thought I’d already tried on enough different clothes… haha… ha…”

As I reached for my original clothes, Yuri grabbed my hand before I could. Despite her grip being weak enough to easily shake off, I could feel an unexplained pressure, as if there was some force or atmosphere I couldn’t describe. My senses were sending alarm bells, warning me to stay still. I couldn’t ignore that feeling.

“El?”

Yuri smiled at me as she spoke.

“You’ve only tried on one set of clothes so far, haven’t you?”

“…Only one set?”

Instead of holding onto my wrist, Yuri reached for my school uniform that I had originally worn.

“Here, I’ll keep this, and let’s try on the next one, shall we?”

It felt like déjà vu. Or maybe it was just my imagination.

Eventually, after changing several more times, it was finally over. But Yuri didn’t stop at just dressing me; she forced the clothes I had tried on into my hands.

The dresses I had worn earlier were already moved to my dress room by Yuri’s servants. Even the simple outfit I was wearing now was the one Yuri had first dressed me in.

“I’ll come to your room in a bit.”

It was almost time for the dinner I had promised to Craig Marquis. I left to return to my room while Yuri changed into more comfortable clothes.

When I arrived at my room’s dress room, the space, which had been empty, was now filled with the clothes I had just received. Even my original school uniform was hanging to one side.

“Huh?”

But something seemed odd about the uniform. Not so much odd as… it was in perfect condition. Normally, my school uniform had worn out a bit since I wore it all the time instead of casual clothes. But the uniform in front of me was in remarkably good condition, as if it were brand new.

“What’s going on?”

Knock knock.

While I was deep in thought, a knock echoed in the room. It sounded so clear that it seemed to come through the magical barrier, even though I was in the dress room.

“Shall we go?”

I put the uniform down and stepped out of the room. Yuri had already changed into more comfortable clothes. As we walked towards the mansion’s dining room, I decided to ask what had been on my mind earlier.

“By the way, Yuri? I noticed the uniform you put in my room… it didn’t seem like mine.”

“Oh, sorry. Actually, the maid accidentally ripped your uniform while moving it… so I replaced it with one of my old uniforms instead…”

Yuri spoke as if she already knew what I was referring to. It made sense that it could have ripped while being moved, with all the clothes she had carried. But the fact that it wasn’t a new one, and it was Yuri’s…?

“Is it that bad, wearing my old clothes…? Should I ask for a new one?”

“No! There’s no need for that. It’s actually in better condition than my own clothes.”

If I had minded secondhand clothes, I should have refused Yuri’s other clothes from the start. Of course, she hadn’t given me a chance to refuse and just shoved them into my hands. At this point, I couldn’t exactly ask for new ones.

“Oh! And don’t say anything to the maid about it. She might have made a mistake, but it was during her work, so accidents happen.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I won’t say anything. Actually…”

“Actually?”

“It’s nothing, really!”

I was about to bring up the possibility of the maid being punished, but fortunately, Yuri didn’t seem to intend to punish her.

Anyway, it was fine to wear other clothes occasionally, but thinking about wearing Yuri’s uniform every day during the semester felt a bit awkward. It was a strange feeling.