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I know it’s a bit sudden, but I look really life-like.

It’s possible to notice I’m not human by looking at my elbow or finger joints, but there are no seams on my face, and my legs are hidden with my skirt. There have been a lot of people who think I’m human when they see me, even Danny thought I was human until I disconnected my arm.

So every time I walk through town, I get treated as human most of the time.

“Hey there, need some vegetables? This batch just arrived!”
“We actually also have fresh meat over here! I’ll give you something extra too!”
“That’s playing dirty! My fish is just as fresh!”

The vendors in the market constantly call out to me, offering their valuables and freshest produce.

“I’ve never seen this fish before.”
“This is called White Bass, it looks like a regular fish, but it’s actually a fully-fledged monster. They’re pretty strong so fishing them is tricky, but their flesh is firm and has a distinct texture.”
“Ohh, how do you recommend cooking it?”
“Hmm, let’s see. The area around the belly has a very distinct smell, so it’s best to cut it off and fry it with oil. Though grilling it also works.”
“I’ll take four of them then.”
“Thank you! I’ll throw you one more in as an extra!”
“Hey, that’s not fair!”

The fisher at first had called the butcher out for offering something extra, but now their roles had reversed.

I put the White Basses in my shopping bag. That was only for show though, as once they were inside, I got them inside my magical storage. Ophelia had ordered me to not let anyone see me using the magical storage.

The fisher and butcher’s argument starts getting heated, so I leave before it gets worse.

I’m walking through Bamel alone now. I know the town’s layout well enough, so while Ophelia is busy until the afternoon, I’m doing some shopping and enjoying my free time.

Having hunted a few monsters so far too, I had amassed a small fortune from the rewards. My shopping list as a maid is checked off, so now it’s my own private time. This is the first time I’m completely free since being reborn here, so my feet feel lighter than usual.

Where should I go? Buying something to munch on while taking a walk sounds nice, but I’ve also gotten decent at reading so I’d like to visit a bookstore too. Though checking out variety stores sounds fun too.

“Hey, the maid over there, wanna hang out if you’ve got nothing to do?”

I turn around hearing someone call to me, and I see an elf wearing tacky clothing and with his nose and ears pierced. Don’t ruin my image of elves now, goddamnit. Getting hit on like this happens pretty often too.

“I’m truly sorry. I’m not a human maid, but a magic automaton, so I can’t correspond to your expectations.”

I lift my hand and point to my joints, to make explaining easier.

“Oh, a magic automaton? No way…never mind, my bad.”

He didn’t seem interested in automatons, so the tacky elf bows politely and leaves. Somehow I thought he would react more aggressively, or call me a monster, but I guess I shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.

From what I’ve seen, even though I’m a monster and a magic automaton, people would treat me as equal once they realize I have self-consciousness. Ophelia told me that’s because there’s already many races living together in this country, which is called the Seperion Kingdom.

There are humans, elves, dwarves, and demi-humans, all treated equally. Or well, there’s also royalty, nobles, and slaves, so it’s not exactly equal in a social ranking system, but any sort of discrimination between races is forbidden.

Also, the royal family of the country are Naga demi-humans, basically half snakes. The first king of Seperion had joined multiple countries, which were all separated by race. Since then, the policy of the country was to respect and accept the differences between races.

As an extension of that, even monsters with sentience were received with open arms. That’s really commendable since I heard there are many other countries that see demi-humans as monsters.

That last part isn’t really dictated by the law though, and it’s more of a personal choice. That’s why every so often someone looks at me with disdain, but from what I’ve seen, those are far and between. All in all, there’s little issue with a magic automaton like me walking alone in the town.

On top of that, I was registered as a Servant in the guild, so if someone attacked me, they were looking for a fight with my Mistress Ophelia and the guild as a whole. No one is stupid enough to get on the bad side of an A rank adventurer and a big organization like that.

“Oh, Natalia?”

I turn around hearing a familiar voice. It was Mir, wearing casual clothes instead of her adventurer armor.

“I knew it was you. Are you here alone?”
“Yes, I was doing some shopping, but now I’m free so I was taking a walk through town.”
“I see, do you mind if I tag along then? Our shop is closed today so I’m free too.”
“Sure. I don’t really know many places apart from the market and guild, so it’d be nice if you could show me other locations you’d recommend.”

I hadn’t planned for this, but I guess I’ll walk around with Mir then. Wandering around randomly isn’t bad, but this is probably a better option.

“Is there anything specific you’d like to buy?”
“I have a lot of things in mind, but first I’d like to get some clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“Yes. Mistress has prepared many clothes for me, but they’re all maid uniforms, so I have no casual clothes.”
“I know the perfect store then!”

I follow Mir and we reach a detached clothing store. A large three storey building, with a sign outside that read ‘Docami Tailor Shop’.

“They have a large variety of all types of clothing, so I’m sure you can find something you like.”

Mir leads me inside in high spirits, the store is filled up with clothes. It even rivals the stock of clothing stores in my life. Mir was right, this is a good place.

“What type of clothes do you like?”
“I don’t really have a specific style I like, though I prefer subdued colors.”
“I see. Ah, excuse me!”

Mir nods and calls out to a female store employee.

“We’re looking for clothes for her.”
“Oh we have just the thing. Please wait in the dressing room there.”

The employee listens to Mir’s request and quickly goes inside the store to look for something. I go to the dressing room as told, and a moment later the employee is back.

“Please try this on!”
“Ah, sure.”

I’m slightly taken aback by the employee’s excited voice, but I change into the clothes she gives me.

“I’m done.”

I open the curtains and show them how I look.

“Woah, it fits you really well.”
“Yes, I thought it would fit well when I saw you.”

Mir sounds impressed, and the employee nods to herself in satisfaction. It does look cool, if I held Black Hawk while wearing this, I would look like a hitman. Wait, not the time for that.

“Umm, so about these clothes…”
“It’s called a business suit, like a uniform for workers. It’s a really refreshing design and it’s gotten popular lately.”

Yes, I know. I wore something similar in my past life.

“No, but-”
“Natalia, please! Please buy it!”
“Umm, Mir? I believe I mentioned I wanted to buy something more casual?”
“Ah.”

It seems Mir forgot my initial request.

“Also, if possible I’d like something a bit more loose…”

I won’t say where, but it was slightly suffocating.

“Is that so? I’m sure the shoulder and waist size matched… Ah, excuse me for a bit.”

Without waiting for a reply, the employee walks up to me and touches the tight spot, my chest.

“I see. That was my bad. Just give me a bit.”

Squish squish

“N-no worries, that’s al-alright…mm…ah…”

Squish squish

“I’m sure I’ll find something better this time!”

The employee lets go of my chest and runs back into the store. Hey, there was no need to squish them so much even if you were checking the size!

“I-is it over yet? I swear I saw nothing.”

Mir was covering her face with both hands, but I could see a large gap between her fingers, she was clearly peeking through. Is it just me or does she get strangely shaky every time I go through something embarrassing?