Chapter 93: A Saint’s Fashion and a Small Gift

Since everyone scattered, I was left alone, just sitting on the waiting chair in front of the fitting room, staring blankly as I waited.

I wondered how long I would have to wait when someone pulled back the curtain from one of the fitting room stalls and stepped out.

“Oh? Fancy meeting you here.”

“Ah, Mariel-senpai.”

“You always change how you address me every time we meet, don’t you?”

Since there were passersby around, I called her ‘senpai’ to conceal her true identity.

Mariel, in turn, followed my lead and called me ‘junior.’

Normally, whenever I met Mariel, she was always dressed in a black nun’s habit.

However, today, during our weekend shopping trip, she had traded in her usual plain attire for an outfit that was much more fitting for a girl her age.

No—rather, she was wearing clothes that even most girls her age would hesitate to try.

Her chest, which her nun’s habit could never fully conceal, was now accentuated by a shirt with two buttons undone, revealing her cleavage.

Instead of the long habit skirt that never showed an inch of bare skin, she now wore a short flared skirt, exposing not only her calves but also a glimpse of her thighs with every movement.

I wanted to ask the goddess once more—

Is this girl truly a saint?

“Hmm? Hehe… Are you falling for me now that you see me all dressed up instead of in my usual habit?”

“W-Who’s falling for you?!”

Of course, seeing Mariel all dolled up surprised me, and I did think she looked beautiful.

But my conclusion wasn’t that I was falling for her—it was pitying the goddess.

“Aww, no need to lie. This big sister is quite the beauty, after all.”

“…Do you not feel embarrassed saying that about yourself?”

“Oh my? But it’s true, isn’t it? A saint doesn’t lie, you know?”

“…Sure, let’s go with that.”

Yes. A saint doesn’t lie.

She just happens to be… extremely money-hungry.

“Still, I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this, given your usual image. It’s surprising.”

“…Now I’m curious. Just what kind of image do you have of me? I’m at the prime age to enjoy dressing up, just like any other girl.”

“Hmm… A money-loving saint who scams juniors?”

I blurted it out without even filtering my thoughts.

“Scam?! The highest-grade holy water only costs 4 gold each! That’s super cheap!”

“But you ended up selling it to Celie for 2 gold each. And turns out, heroes can request as much holy water as they need for free from the temple.”

“Hehe… You figured it all out already. What a shame.”

Mariel, who had been protesting indignantly, stuck out her tongue playfully and let out a lighthearted chuckle.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘what a shame’? Are you disappointed that you can’t swindle me anymore?”

“Ehehe.”

Mariel simply tilted her head and responded with an innocent giggle.

“Oh, Goddess Serena…”

“Ah! If you have something to say to the goddess, just tell me! I can pass the message directly!”

As she added, “And I’ll only charge a silver coin for the service!” with a bright smile, I decided to stop thinking altogether.

“…Let’s just talk about something normal.”

“Alright! Then, a question for my dear junior! I don’t even need to ask since you’re already smitten, but what do you think of this outfit?”

I keep telling you, I’m not smitten.

“It definitely suits you well. But please, don’t actually go outside dressed like that.”

“Hehe, if my dear junior insists, I guess I have no choice.”

With that, Mariel slipped back into the fitting room. After a bit of rustling, she reappeared wearing her usual nun’s habit.

“I didn’t mean you shouldn’t buy it. I was just asking if you could at least button it up a bit.”

I felt a sense of unease and guilt—what if she gave up on an outfit she really liked because of what I said?

However, she answered in a completely carefree voice.

“I wasn’t planning on buying it anyway. I wear my habit all the time, so there’s no point in spending a lot of money on something just to let it sit around.”

I had come here just for a change of pace.

“…Come here for a moment.”

I led her toward the checkout counter.

Near the register, there were accessories displayed—items that took up less space than clothing and were available at an affordable price.

After briefly browsing the selection, I picked up a headband and immediately paid for it.

“Junior?”

Then, I gently placed the headband on Mariel’s head.

It wasn’t anything particularly special since it was inexpensive, but the headband, adorned with flower-shaped decorations, suited her quite well.

Though honestly, with her looks, I doubted anything wouldn’t suit her.

“It’s a gift. Since you always wear a nun’s habit, you can’t wear other clothes, but something like an accessory should be fine, right? If anyone says anything, you can just do what you always do and use the goddess’s name as an excuse.”

There was no way that a girl in her prime, who loved dressing up, wouldn’t feel even the slightest bit of disappointment about not being able to wear the clothes she wanted.

Mariel had spoken casually about it as if it were merely for a change of mood, but I had seen the lingering regret in her gaze as she looked at the clothes she had been holding.

Instead of looking in a mirror, she reached up to her head, lightly touching the floral decorations as if trying to picture how she looked in her mind.

“Junior…”

Mariel, who had been silently touching the headband, called out to me in a small voice.

“A headband won’t even be visible when I wear a veil…”

Oh. I hadn’t thought about that at all.

It completely slipped my mind because she wasn’t wearing anything on her head at the moment, but normally, at the academy or the temple, Mariel always wore a veil.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t think about that at all… But since I just bought it, I can probably get a refund—”

Flustered, I reached out to take the headband back, but Mariel quickly stepped back, avoiding my hand.

“Beeeh. You already gave it to me as a gift, so it’s mine now!”

As if she thought I was trying to take it away, Mariel clutched the headband with both hands and stuck out her tongue at me.

I wasn’t trying to take it back—I had only wanted to refund it and get her something else instead.

“Hmph. Since my dear junior gave me a present, I can’t just stand idly by!”

With that, Mariel turned back to the display where I had picked the headband and grabbed a scrunchie before heading straight to the counter to pay.

Then, coming up behind me, she gathered my hair in her hands and tied it up with the scrunchie.

“This is my gift to you! From now on, use this whenever you tie your hair!”

Turning my head slightly, I looked at my reflection in a nearby mirror.

The scrunchie was black with small floral patterns.

It seemed to be from the same brand as the headband I had picked, as the flowers matched the ones on Mariel’s accessory exactly.

Even when I wasn’t tying my hair, it looked like something I could wear around my wrist as a bracelet.

“…I didn’t expect to receive a gift from you.”

Feeling a little embarrassed, I jokingly spoke instead of saying thank you.

“What exactly do you think of me, junior?”

A question similar to the one she had asked earlier.

So, I gave a similar answer.

“…A miser?”

“I-I know how to spend money when I need to!”

Well, given her usual behavior, that was hard to believe… But since she had given me a present, I supposed I could trust her just this once.

Still, we both knew it was just a joke, so we ended up laughing together.

“Anyway, it’s about time for me to head back, so I’ll be going now. I’ll treasure the headband, so you better take good care of that scrunchie too, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, but thank you for the gift. I really like it. Get home safely.”

She must have liked it as well, since even as she walked out the store’s door, she kept touching the headband on her head with one hand.

Seeing how happy she was made me, the one who had given the gift, feel just as delighted.

With Mariel gone, I made my way back to the fitting room.

However, by the time I arrived, the friends who had gone to pick out clothes for me had already returned.

In front of the fitting room, three people stood holding something in their hands, accompanied by one ghost and a single cat.

Since I wasn’t there, they were glancing around, searching for me.

“El!”

Celian was the first to spot me and immediately ran over.

I was already on my way back—was there really a need to run over like that…?

“I told you not to follow strangers just because they offer you something tasty!”

Wait… She was serious about that? That wasn’t a joke?

Besides, it wasn’t even a stranger—I had left to buy something myself.

“Where did you even go?”

“I just went to buy an accessory…”

Hearing the word “accessory,” Celian immediately noticed the scrunchie tying up my hair.

Technically, the accessory I bought was the headband I gave to Mariel, and this scrunchie was something I received from her… But I didn’t think I needed to explain that in detail.

Thankfully, Celian didn’t press further about my absence.

She simply took my hand and led me back to the fitting room.