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Even though it was midday in-game, it was quite late outside. They would not have enough time to go hunt, so instead the three friends headed to the Neutral Interaction City Valhalant. But then…

“…Why is this happening to me?!”
“Ahahah, you’re so cute, Crimmie.”

Crim had followed her friend without much worry, thinking they would go to some cafe and chill, but before she realized she found herself in a boutique accessory and clothing store, which dealt in expensive cosmetics for players.

There the twins Frey and Freya kept making her try on various clothes.

“Just look at yourself Crimmie, those are your starter clothes, aren’t they? You might look cute on them, but it’s a waste if you don’t wear even cuter clothes.”
“Couldn’t you at least pick clothes that have better stats, Freya?”

Crim stared at Freya in reproach, but that had absolutely no effect on her as she giggled picking more clothes for Crim to try on.

Luckily the game allowed changing clothes with the press of one button, so it was not physically exhausting to change outfits so many times. Though the mental burden was still there.

“Frey, you’re bored too, right? At least say something…”
“Not really? I mean, if your best friend turned into a cute girl, you’d obviously also want to let her wear cute clothes and ogl…admire her.”
“You clearly were about to say ogle! And you’re hiding it even less than before!!”

While the two discussed about that, the final boss Freya’s hands plopped on both their shoulders.

“Higyaaaaaa?!”
“Enough talk, let’s go to a lingerie shop next!”

Crim shuddered and let out a strange cry, but Freya took hold of her hand and dragged her away while nearly hopping with gleeful joy. Soon they were in a colorful place, with frills and many pastel hues, a secret garden men were never allowed in.

“B-b-but why?! What’s wrong with the starter plain white ones I already have?!”
“Nuh uh, now that you’re a cute girl, you have to be especially mindful of the places no one can see.”
“P-p-p-please no! Anything but thaaaaaaaaat…”

Crim was dragged into the inner store, only available to female characters, only leaving behind a loud cry of sheer terror.

“Good luck…may your soul find peace.”

Frey was the only one spared, and he offered that quiet prayer in Crim’s honor.

“Urgh…I feel like I just lost a part of my manhood…”

After being told off for hiding her face with her hood, Crim felt like the stares on her increased by 50% as she walked through the city. Crim would twitch with uneasiness every time she felt someone look at her, while Freya was in the best mood imaginable, her hand firmly locked to Crim’s.

“Don’t worry, you’re just too cute Crimmie~”
“Urgh…I’ve heard that enough times…”

That was a strange reason to feel so dejected, but sadly Freya believed everything she said a 100%, so Crim could only sigh in frustration.

Now she was wearing a red jacket that matched the Cloak of the Young Red Lion Emperor in color and a black skirt, giving her an appearance reminiscent of a cute goth loli.

And without going into specifics, the lower part was black lace.

She knew it was all in her mind, but somehow that kept making her feel restless, something about her movements feeling unreliable leading an awkward gait. So while one hand was tightly clenched by Freya, she used her free one to hold her skirt down and against her thighs, making the way she walked even more strange.

But that aside. The clothes she was wearing had been on display in the store they bought them from, for the high price of 250,000 Fol. That was an even more eye watering sum when one realized that a full set of the best attire for mages cost only 20,000 Fol.

…Though the ambush and subsequent PvP duel at the bridge had given Crim 500,000 Fol, so it was something she could afford without issue.

“Still, sorry for making you buy us all of this too.”
“I’ll always think of you when I wear it, thank you~”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’m glad I could do something for you both.”

Crim had also bought all she could to upgrade the equipment of the twins, which dealt a pretty big hit on her finances. Though it did not really affect her much considering how effortlessly she had obtained all that money.

Not to mention that Freya was in a really good mood now that she had gotten rid of the plain gray garb players started with, and now wore robes of white and red with golden accent, as well as a protective hood.

Somehow seeing her hop and spin happily was contagious and made Crim also feel just as happy. And on the other hand…

“I promise I’ll pay you back eventually.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
“Nah, I’ll definitely pay you back!”

Frey, who was wearing clothes with a similar design as Freya except that his was blue, was adamant about returning the favor to Crim, not wanting to feel indebted to his rival.

“Well, how about you pay for lunch then?”
“…Okay sure, I can do that.”

Frey did not sound quite satisfied yet as he readjusted his glasses, and Crim and Freya could only shrug knowing his usual personality.

“By the way, have you two decided the skill paths you’ll take yet?”

They were inside a restaurant from a well known Italian food chain. Their orders had just come out, and Crim was huffing a little as she worked through the piping hot pizza, when she suddenly remembered to ask that.

“Well, kinda yeah.”
“It’s just a broad idea, but I know what I wanna be~”

The twins had ordered pasta, Frey with a basic bolognese sauce, and Freya with pecorino cheese and asparagus.

“We’re High Elves, so we have a high affinity for magic. I’m thinking of using that to its fullest, being both a magic attacker and debuffer.”
“I’m thinking of being a healer.”
“Ohh…”

Subaru would always pick a role like that no matter what game he played while Hijiri…it was actually unusual to hear her have an actual plan for once.

“I was wondering what kind of chaotic esoteric mix Freya would cook up this time, but that’s actually rather sensible.”
“Crim?! Why would you say such a thing?”

Freya stopped eating and grasped her fork firmly as she protested, but that comment was not necessarily uncalled for. There was a time in another game where she had actually created an amalgamation with the skills of a beast tamer, demon summoner, spirit master, and construct builder.

Crim and Frey laughed nervously recalling the hellish sight of demons, golems, muppets, spirits, and various other pets ravaging a battlefield while Freya cheered on her spawns without a single care in the world.

“Anyway, you’re going to start a guild, right Crim?”
“Mhm, at least that’s the plan. Will you two join me?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I’d never have it any other way!”

Both of them gave a ready response. Though Crim never doubted they would refuse. The issue was that five people were necessary to form a guild, so they were missing two members.

“Then we’d still need…”
“Yeah, two front liners would be ideal.”

Frey’s voice became more serious, and Crim nodded in agreement.

Crim did not mind being the vanguard, though considering her experience so far she also did not feel the most comfortable either. She was mainly a magic user as well. In other words, they were three mages with low defense, so usually they would be grouped in the rear lines with no one to stand in front of them.

They would really appreciate having someone with strong armor to stand in front and restrain the enemies…

…The three of them were thinking about that when something happened.

“Hey, you three. You still haven’t joined a guild then? Why don’t you join us, we’re…” A man approached their table, trying to solve their dilemma.

Crim cringed hearing that line she knew very well from guys trying to pick up girls, and just when she turned to glare at him…

“…Geh.”

Her face contorted with clear disgust the instant she saw him.

“…! You, you’re the potato girl from back then!!”
“Why does everyone call me the potato this or that?!”

Crim wanted to shout angrily at him, knowing perfectly well what he was trying to do, but she actually recognized the leader of the group of people there. He was the same presumptuous knight she had run into in Valhalant before, with whom she had a bit of an altercation. The members of his guild were also there…