My Elder Sister

Meanwhile, Fú Nī Yà and Aila arrived at a clothing store.

The maid uniform Fú Nī Yà had been wearing was already shed, replaced by a magnificent, midnight-blue backless gown.

“Ugh… my back feels so cold…”

Fú Nī Yà hugged herself, shivering from the chill.

“You must endure, Little Nī Yà,” Aila said softly, gently stroking Fú Nī Yà’s head. “If you wish to live in the imperial palace in the future, such attire is simply unavoidable.”

“But why would I want to live in the imperial palace, Aila…”

Fú Nī Yà couldn’t help but grumble, yet Aila, with a serious expression, raised a finger to interrupt her.

“Call me Elder Sister Aila.”

“Elder Sister Aila…”

“Mm-hmm, Little Nī Yà is such a good girl~”

Aila said with satisfaction, simultaneously stroking Fú Nī Yà’s head once more.

‘Why with the head-pats again…’

Fú Nī Yà couldn’t help but mutter inwardly.

The act of head-patting always reminded her of a certain female character who could increase affection points simply by being patted every day.

“Elder Sister Aila, even if you pat all my hair off, my affection points won’t magically increase.”

“Eh? Little Nī Yà, what strange things are you saying?”

Aila asked, puzzled. In response, Fú Nī Yà merely adopted a world-weary expression.

“Just pretend I’m reminiscing about my lost youth.”

“What lost youth? Little Nī Yà, aren’t you still very young?” Aila said with a smile, while picking up another outfit from nearby. “Come, Little Nī Yà, try on this dress. The one you’re wearing can be packed by the attendant for you to take home.”

“More clothes!?”

Fú Nī Yà’s pupils dilated in shock.

“Of course! How many have we tried on so far?” Aila countered, tilting her head as she held the clothes in both hands.

“How many, you ask!?” Fú Nī Yà exclaimed loudly, pointing with her right hand at the towering pile of clothes beside them, easily twice her height. “You’ve already had me change into over a dozen outfits!”

“What’s wrong with a dozen outfits? Little Nī Yà is so adorable…”

Aila, holding the new clothes in one hand, used her other to pull Fú Nī Yà into the changing room. “If Little Nī Yà doesn’t want to change, then I’ll just have to help Little Nī Yà change.”

“Noooo! I’ll change, I’ll change, isn’t that enough!?”

“Too~ late~ now~ It’s already past that point, so let your elder sister have a good look at Little Nī Yà’s body~”

“Eek!!!!!”

Fú Nī Yà’s shriek echoed throughout the entire clothing store.

Approximately another hour passed before Fú Nī Yà, now clad in a maid uniform, emerged from the clothing store utterly exhausted.

Behind her, Aila, looking perfectly refreshed, was cheerfully providing the shop owner with a delivery address.

Their starkly contrasting appearances might have led an unknowing observer to believe they had just emerged from some rather ‘improper’ establishment.

Outside the shop, Sir Mitchell, the knight awaiting the two, couldn’t help but show a look of pity upon seeing Fú Nī Yà’s state.

“You’ve had a difficult time…”

“Barely managed,” Fú Nī Yà waved a hand, taking a gasping breath before asking, “Is Elder Sister Aila always like this?”

“The Captain (TL Note: ‘团长大人’ can be translated as ‘Commander’ or ‘Captain’, ‘Captain’ fits the more informal context with Mitchell) is always like this.”

Mitchell replied with a wry smile.

“Then it’s truly you who has the difficult time…”

Fú Nī Yà sighed.

The very next second, however, she noticed a peculiar detail in Mitchell’s words.

“You said ‘Cap—’”

“Little Nī Yà, let’s go have a grand meal! I recall there’s a particularly good tavern down the street to the left…”

“Whoa!? You don’t need to drag me, I can walk on my own!”

Fú Nī Yà cried out, lamenting as Aila pulled her along by the hand.

Watching his energetic Captain, Mitchell shrugged and slowly followed.

****

From Fú Nī Yà’s perspective, observing with the eyes of her previous life, the level of development in this otherworld seemed to be roughly equivalent to the High Middle Ages.

What did taverns look like during the High Middle Ages?

During the medieval period, people’s social lives largely revolved around taverns. As most people’s homes at the time were dark, damp, and exceedingly cramped, taverns, alongside mills and churches, served as community gathering places where people could converse, meet, entertain themselves, and relax.

Consequently, taverns became synonymous with heavy drinking, violence, and vulgarity.

Fú Nī Yà had initially expected taverns in this otherworld to be much the same—after all, her previous body had never visited one, so she wasn’t entirely sure. However, it was only now that she realized they were different.

The tavern’s layout was remarkably clean, and the air within was imbued with the aroma of barley, a fragrance characteristic only of high-quality ale. If an ordinary medieval tavern resembled a modern nightclub, then this establishment was akin to a contemporary upscale restaurant.

Everyone in the tavern was neatly dressed, speaking in hushed tones, and exuding an air of bourgeois decadence from head to toe.

‘Hmm? Bourgeoisie?’

Fú Nī Yà paused, startled. ‘Does that mean this is the Renaissance period?’

Shaking her head, the young girl dismissed these idle thoughts and settled down at a dining table.

After all, she still knew little about this world; making such sweeping judgments would be irresponsible.

She glanced at Aila, who was seated beside her… and then at the chair beneath her.

The chair had not broken.

Fú Nī Yà expressed her disappointment at this fact.

“Three schnitzels, three hash browns, one sausage, two glasses of wine, and one ale, please. Thank you.”

Having finished speaking to the server, Aila turned to Mitchell, who stood nearby.

“Mitchell, sit down.”

“No, Captain, my duty is to protect your safe—”

“Protect what? You can’t even beat me,” Aila retorted, puffing out her cheeks, her voice laced with displeasure. “I ordered three portions, and that sausage was specifically for you. Now, sit down!”

“Yes, yes…”

Mitchell, with a helpless sigh, ran a hand through his hair and took a seat opposite Fú Nī Yà.

“Come closer~”

“Men and women should not touch.” (TL Note: A traditional Chinese saying emphasizing modesty and separation between unrelated men and women.)

“You’re always like this!”

Aila pouted. Just then, the server brought their food, and Aila promptly forgot about Mitchell, redirecting her attention to another matter.

“Come, Little Nī Yà, open wide, ah…”

“No!”

“Wuwuwu… does Little Nī Yà not like her elder sister anymore?”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Fú Nī Yà, her face flushed crimson, opened her mouth and accepted Aila’s feeding.

“Ah…”

“Mm-hmm, Little Nī Yà is such a good girl~”

Aila said with a smile.

‘Why does it feel like my masculine dignity is shattering even faster with Albert’s sister than it did with Albert himself!?’

Fú Nī Yà lamented inwardly, filled with indignation.