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「To be honest Cielmer, it pains me to let you walk outside in that outfit but…」

After that, Celia immediately took the afternoon off and before I noticed it, we had already left Carol behind and exited the guild. Along the way, Celia was looking at me with a really conflicted look on her face while I was being amazed by the new area I’m seeing.

「This is the only thing I’ve been dressed in ever since I was born. But that’s not normal, right?」

I already know that much, though. But my backstory is that I was locked up for 10 years and just recently escaped, so it’ll be weird if I don’t act it out for a bit. In this regard, having Ciel switch with me might make our reactions seem more natural but that’s not our main priority, so I’m not considering that for now.

Speaking of Ciel, 『Underwear? What might that be?』 She seems to be very curious about the topic.

「It may be hard to believe but it’s said that underwear didn’t exist until several decades ago. However, nowadays, except for some unusual cases, most people wear them, especially women as it’s highly related to their safety. In the past, women were also only allowed to wear skirts, so there were probably only a few female hunters. Even now, it’s still difficult to say that there are many women in the industry.」

After saying all of that, Celia says 「By the way,」 and changes the topic.

Well that’s reasonable, since it’s not really something to talk about while walking on the streets, but the response I’ve thought of for this topic will never see the light of the day now.

「I don’t think that I really need to tell you this, but not everybody would be willing to help you just because you’re a young girl, alright?」
「Of course. I think this level of misfortune isn’t very uncommon, after all.」
「Well, I believe that the environment is quite unique still.」
「But even though that’s the case about my environment, there are probably people who get hit by their parents everyday and others who have nothing to eat as well. Compared that, what I’ve been through isn’t life threatening at all, so there may even be people that would consider me blessed.」
「So you already know that much, I see.」

If I include the daily failed assassinations, well, that should make our level of misfortune considerably high but there’s no meaning in including something that I haven’t even told them about. Celia mindfully replied to my words and after seemingly pondering about something, she asked me a question.

「Cielmer, what are your thoughts on your appearance?」
「I haven’t actually seen myself before, so I’m not sure.」

Ainsel constantly sees it, but Cielmer has never seen her own face before. From Ainsel’s standpoint, though it might be just because of some familial bias, I think that Ciel is very pretty. She might seem like an aloof doll-like beauty and feel a bit robotic, but when talking to me, she’s really expressive and shows a lot of emotions, so she’s a really approachable beauty from my perspective.

Still, it’s probably because of her age but I think her cuteness right now is still more prominent.

Now back to the topic.

Seeing me reply immediately, Celia planted her palm onto her face. And after seemingly preparing herself, she began the conversation.

「Frankly speaking, Cielmer, you are considerably attractive, so you might attract kidnappers. And even in the Hunter’s Guild, there may be some people that would try to forcefully pull you into their party. I do believe that you should be able to handle both of these situations but it’ll definitely still be troublesome.」
「It’s one bad thing after another.」
「Depending on your actions and behavior, being attractive has more merits overall but please be aware of the dangers of it. Particularly, it’s highly unfortunate but there have been cases where young female hunters were pressed into joining a party and were then assaulted outside of town.」

Just as Celia said, I, or rather Ciel, can probably deal with them easily. Even when facing someone on the same level as Carol and probably even against Carol herself, just running away should be possible though I can’t be completely sure.

And thanks to my detection, we’re also capable of dealing with ambushes, so that should be enough as a safety net. Still, the fact that we might actually need to deal with these problems because of Ciel’s attractiveness is really unfortunate, also it’s time-consuming as well.

Still, just as Celia said, it’s not as if there aren’t any merits for us too. With Ciel’s looks, if we choose who we’re talking to, we should be able to get people to help us and even if we’re new to a town, it’ll probably be easy for the residents to welcome us. I am already aware of this fact but I think having Ciel hear an objective assessment of herself is important as well, so I just act surprised and nod to myself.

「Another thing, Cielmer, I don’t know if you plan to stay a hunter forever but in case you consider choosing another path in the future, polishing your charm as a lady in the meantime won’t hurt as well. In fact, the more popular receptionists in the guild are the attractive ones. For that reason, I will also teach you about what you’ll need to be a lady for the future, so I hope you enjoy it.」
「Thank you very much.」

◇

There was a time when I was thankful about it. Well, no, I’m still thankful even now. However, I’m mentally and physically tired from the shopping.

Now that we’re back at the inn, this thought occupied my mind as I took off our cloak and revealed a light yellow dress. Then, while being careful to not wrinkle the dress, I took it off as well. And now that the only thing I’m wearing is the white cloth, I changed into a house dress and laid in bed.

This house dress, or maybe nightdress, is a dress made of thin fabric. Honestly, it only shows just a little less skin than the white cloth, so I’m not really sure if there’s any meaning in wearing this at all.

However, I don’t want Ciel to grow up into the kind of girl that would only wear underwear in her room, so making a habit of wearing clothes should be fine.

Speaking of underwear, the underwear of this world resemble drawers¹ with thin straps and are properly sewn close in the private area. Because of that, sleeping in only your underwear probably wouldn’t look as sensual as it would be in Japan.

For the top, nobles would wear corsets and commoners with enough money would wear bustier-like underwear. However, it seems like I don’t need it yet.

Ciel seemed to have a lot of fun today, which is nice, but I was really exhausted by Celia’s enthusiasm. Nonetheless, the underwear talk was still good. The bathing talk was also fine and skincare was something I’ve actually wanted to ask about, so I’m really glad. Learning how to style hair was also quite worthwhile.

Though Celia got a bit envious of Ciel’s skin and hair that time, so I didn’t really know how to react to that.

Among what Celia discussed about, what mentally exhausted me, was the talk about that time of the month. Since I only have surface level knowledge on the topic, really, everything about it was just unknown territory. I didn’t want to hear real talk about blood. I’m fine with looking at my own blood but I don’t like seeing other people’s blood. Though unfortunately, I have already ended up seeing people get smushed.

Still, Ciel is already 10 years old. There’s a possibility that this would happen within a few years time, so I am glad that I learned about how to deal with it and all before it even happens. If I didn’t learn of this by that time, I wouldn’t be able to answer Ciel’s questions after all, and worse, I definitely would panic that time.

『Ain, thank you for today as well.』
「Please don’t mind it, it was nothing.」
『That’s a lie, isn’t it? At the very least, I know that Ain is physically exhausted. Since you didn’t lie down on the bed yesterday but you did just now, it means that you got that exhausted, right Ain?』
「It seems like there’s no use hiding it. Still, it’s also because I don’t have anything I want to do anymore. Ciel, how was your day today?」
『Let’s see. I feel really sorry for Ain, but it was fun. Today was full of things I knew nothing about and learning about it was absolutely fun. Since we bought the tools we needed to write magic circles, we can prepare in advance now. I’m not sure of what sort of magic circle to write, so help me with it, alright Ain? If I do it on my own, it might become too destructive after all.』
「Understood.」
『And then dressing up was also fun. I only vaguely understand what beautiful and cute is, but you can express yourself with what you wear. Still, not needing the bustier clothes yet was a bit disappointing. I’m not big enough yet. So this means that I seriously need to work hard on making them bigger, doesn’t it!』
「Don’t worry about it. They’ll get bigger eventually, so you don’t have to be in a hurry. They did say that people that grow fast start wearing them at 10 years old, so since you’re only growing late because of nutritional reasons, there’s really no need to rush.」

There’s no deep meaning for my emphasis on nutritional reasons but Ciel simply giggled and let me off the hook for today. The phrase letting me off the hook might be weird here, but that is really tough to endure.

『Then after that, I saw my face for the first time, but I’m not sure if it was because Ain was using my body, but it felt awfully weird.』
「Well, assessing yourself is difficult after all.」
『But Ain was right, it was blue. It was really like the color of the sky. So the color of the ocean is like this too, right?』
「Only if it’s the same as the ocean that I know.」
『Come to think of it, does ‘Ainsel’ have a meaning as well?』
「It does but it’s a secret.」
『My, that’s mean.』

Although Ciel said that, it doesn’t feel like she actually meant it. And though I did call it a secret, one reason for this is that it’s just plain hard to explain.

After all, I don’t really know if there are fairies or something similar to them in this world. And since I’m not sure about that, it also means that I don’t know the word for them as well, meaning I can’t communicate it properly. To add to that, just as insurance, I don’t want Ciel to know what it means.

「They say that women are more fascinating when they have secrets.」
『So then, am I perhaps not fascinating to you, Ain?』
「No, you’re already very fascinating Ciel.」

From an outsider’s perspective, it would seem like we’re… well… flirting or something? But there’s no meaning in lying and causing Ciel to lose her confidence. Such behavior would only make me come across as conceited. So if the cost of my impulsive compliments is only my own embarrassment, I’m fine with that.

And as I said so, I returned her body to her. I was worried that what happened yesterday might happen again in the bathroom or on the bed, but since Ciel restrained herself, I didn’t have to endure anything today.

◇

The sun rose and Ciel woke up as it turned dawn today. So about this world’s time, it seems like there are 25 hours in a day. There are 6 days in a week, 30 days in a month, and 360 days in a year, so it’s pretty close to earth’s measurements. This piece of common sense was also taught to us yesterday by Celia.

Clocks do exist but they are magic items and quite expensive. In towns, clocks are installed in important buildings, the guild has one too, so it is not particularly challenging to determine the time. However, only a few people live strictly following time; and for commoners, they begin working when the sun rises and finish working at dusk.

The lamp magic item isn’t really that expensive but since it’s not bright enough to help in agriculture and the like, most people synchronize their activities with the sun. It seems like around these parts, this also depends on the person’s occupation or their region. Hunters, for example, return before sunset when they’re not out for the night.

Today, on our 3rd day since we reached the Sannois, it’s finally the day we start working as a hunter. The request we would accept will be dependent on Carol, so our first day at work might be a bit special. Still, I can probably trust her with anything as long as it’s not related to sorcery.

Maybe she’ll even make me choose instead. G-rank requests are… something I want to avoid, since I don’t want to stand out in town, but I’d like to accept at least 1 F-rank request. If I’m not wrong, I think these are the ones that make you collect herbs and such, learning about these kinds of things should come in handy.

When talking about Fantasy works, guilds and hunters —adventurers— are a staple, so I’m really excited; but it seems like my excitement was shown clearly on my face. Ciel, looking at me as though she was seeing something amusing, called me.

『Ain, you seem somewhat excited today, you know?』
「Working as a hunter was a bit of a dream of mine, so now that it’s happening in reality I… I got a bit too excited.」
『Don’t worry about that, seeing Ain looking excited makes me happy. How can I describe it? Adorable? Right, so this really is how it feels to see something adorable, isn’t it!』
「Ummm… Uhh… Thank you very much. Now then, are we done preparing the magic circle?」

Due to my embarrassment and excitement, the ticklish sensation caused by Ciel’s comment that my excited look was adorable, the shock of accepting her judgment as valid, and the rising heat of my blush, I began to feel a little dizzy. So, I quickly changed the subject.

Hearing Ciel giggle inside my head further stimulates my embarrassment, but thankfully, 『Let’s see,』 she jumps into the next topic.

『For Ain, it’s already enough, right?』
「As long as we have the magic circle you used against Carol, there won’t be any danger for us in this town.」
『Still, even with the help of a magic circle, Ain still can’t use combat sorcery, right?』
「That just shows how strong a magic’s effect is. Who would have thought that that magic circle would turn into a breeze blower.」

Before Ciel went to sleep yesterday, we prepared Ciel’s magic circle. Currently, we’re wearing a knee-length dress with a leather belt and vest, traveler-style. In these, we’ve hidden a magic circle. The only problem is, it’s only drawn on paper, so it’s durability is an issue.

I don’t think that just moving around would damage it but if we get drenched in water, it might get dangerous. If we can stitch it, it’ll be more durable and much easier to hide; but I’m not skilled in sewing and Ciel, naturally, isn’t as well. So… practice makes perfect.

Now that we’re ready to leave, it’s time to head to the guild to get our request. So we head out as we usually do. Just as we usually do!

Hiya~! One moment we’re out of the guild, the next thing you know, I’ve got proper clothes! (Ain, probably)

In this chapter, Ain finally got the information she wanted to get the most: proper beauty treatments and skincare! Also, the talk, which she particularly felt really uncomfortable with but it’ll come in handy for the future! Flirty Ain being embarrassed at herself is precious too, more please. Most importantly, cute Ain excited about her first adventure! (The hardships of reaching this point isn’t recreational adventuring, so it doesn’t count.)

Also, today’s (this afternoon’s?) Celia got into big sister overdrive, it seems. Which is understandable. Also, Celia literally facepalming as she realised that there’s no way Ciel (Ain) would have seen herself in a mirror, lol.

Ciel on the other hand, while we can’t really read her mind to be sure, seemed to have a lot of fun during the shopping, after shopping, and even on to the next day. Ain is just so absolutely too cute, it seems. I like imagining Ciel having a Meaningful Smile the whole time she’s intentionally teasing Ain, and Ain, being Ain, trembles cutely before her. It’s a good thing Ciel didn’t decide to try her best to get bigger, right Ain?…… Or is it?

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay clean, stay safe, and have a nice day~!

1. Open Drawers, more commonly known as Drawers, is a type of medieval undergarment.