Chapter 119: Medusa's New Glasses!
Inside the women's restroom.
"It doesn't seem to be petrifying anymore..."
Medusa looked down at her feet. Although the spread had stopped, her feet had not reverted from stone; the affected areas were still petrified.
"I knew it!" Jashin-chan clenched her fists, righteous fury in her voice. "I was wondering how something like this could possibly suppress your petrification ability..."
"Making something with such a terrible side effect and passing it off as a cure!"
"This is infuriating!"
"When I get back to the demon world, I'm going to track down the maker and make them pay!"
"Jashin-chan..."
Medusa's eyes reddened as she looked at Jashin-chan. Crystal tears welled up at the corners of her eyes, looking as if they would fall at any moment. It was a heartbreaking sight.
"Medusa, let me carry you until your feet recover," Minos offered. She turned her back to Medusa, bent her knees, and reached her hands back, signaling for Medusa to climb on.
"Mhm..." Medusa bit her lower lip, her emotions suddenly breaking. Large, crystalline tears rolled down her porcelain cheeks.
"I'm so sorry!" Medusa sobbed softly, raising her pale hands to wipe away the tears. "We all finally got to go swimsuit shopping in the human world together, and I just... I caused so much trouble... I really thought I could finally walk around without the paper bag..."
"It's not trouble at all," Minos replied. Seeing her friend of several thousand years so heartbroken was painful for her. She turned her head back to comfort her, and at the same time, she, too, wanted to punish that creator. How dare they!
"Yeah! It's no trouble!" Jashin-chan chimed in, nodding vigorously. She held up a finger and said, "Besides those trashy contacts, there has to be another way for you to go without the bag! I'll start looking into it! So don't cry, Medusa, cheer up!"
"Medusa, dry your tears." Yurine pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed at Medusa's cheeks.
"Mhm... thank you!" Medusa took the handkerchief from Yurine. Her vision was blurry, but the outlines of her three friends before her felt warmer than anything. The tears continued to fall, but this time they were not from sadness or self-blame, but from gratitude.
She looked up, her tear-streaked face breaking into a smile. Her cherry lips pressed together, the tears refracting the light, making her smile exceptionally moving.
...
When Ryohei Tanaka saw Medusa again, she was already wearing the swimsuit shop's shopping bag over her head, her arms wrapped around Minos's neck as she rode on her back. Her slender, pale legs, from the ankles down—including parts of her boots—were still in a petrified state.
"Medusa," Ryohei said, walking up. He held out a glasses case and gently tapped her arm. "I got you something that can temporarily seal your ability."
"Eeh?" Minos's eyes went wide with surprise as she looked at Ryohei.
Yurine looked over as well, her gaze quickly shifting to Lucoa.
Jashin-chan's eyes, meanwhile, fell on the glasses case in Ryohei's hand. She muttered suspiciously, "Glasses? Are they reliable? They don't have any side effects, do they?"
At the same time, Medusa let out a little "Eh?" She straightened up her flexible waist and used her slender fingers to lift the bag, looking curiously at the case Ryohei was offering.
Then she heard Ryohei ask Lucoa, "Lucoa, can you remove the petrification on her feet?"
"Mhm." This was also no trouble for Lucoa. She raised her hand, and a miniature magic circle appeared at her fingertip. She cast a "Dispel Abnormal Status" spell on Medusa.
Medusa's feet, along with her golden open-worked boots, immediately faded from grayish-white back to their original color.
"Oooh—!"
"Lucoa, you're amazing!" Minos looked down at Medusa's small, fair feet, her eyes wide with excitement. She then looked up at Lucoa, completely impressed.
"I just cast a simple 'Dispel Abnormal Status' magic," Lucoa said, waving her hand as if it were nothing.
"That wasn't just a normal 'Dispel Abnormal Status,' was it?" Jashin-chan couldn't help but interject. Medusa's petrification power was no joke; an ordinary dispel spell wouldn't have done anything.
Lucoa just smiled without answering, puffing out her ample chest slightly.
"..." Yurine, holding her own and Minos's swimsuits, glanced at Lucoa, a rare thought crossing her mind: 'I guess she is pretty useful.'
"Well then... Medusa, I'll put you down."
"Mhm."
Minos bent her knees, releasing her hands from Medusa's smooth legs. Medusa slid down from her back, looked down at her own feet, and gently tapped the floor. It felt unreal.
"It's back to normal..." Then, excitement took over.
"Stop spacing out and try the things he gave you," Jashin-chan urged, crossing her arms. After seeing Lucoa so effortlessly reverse Medusa's petrification, her confidence in what Lucoa provided had increased dramatically.
"Oh, right—"
Medusa quickly replied and opened the glasses case. Inside was a pair of light-gold, half-rimmed fashion glasses.
She took the shopping bag off her head and, with an eager expression, placed the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
Her already gentle and lovely appearance was instantly enhanced with a scholarly charm, transforming her into an adorable meganekko (glasses girl).
"Whoa, those glasses really suit you," Minos said with a smile, having just taken her swimsuit bag from Yurine.
"Go try it on a human," Jashin-chan urged, craning her neck to look around. By now, the seventh floor had quite a few shoppers.
Soon, Medusa's gaze met that of a passing girl.
"It worked!"
They walked past each other, and the girl wasn't petrified at all. The heavy anxiety in Medusa's heart finally lifted. She placed a hand over her full chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"That's such a relief!" Jashin-chan said, looking at Medusa and smiling as well. She then turned to Lucoa. "There really aren't any side effects, are there?"
"None," Lucoa said. She paused, then explained to Medusa, "When you wear them, they will temporarily seal the power of your eyes. When you take them off, it will return."
"Arigatou!"
"Ms. Lucoa, you've helped me so much!"
"And Tanaka-kun, too! I can't thank you enough!"
Medusa placed her hands in front of her and gave both Ryohei and Lucoa a deep, ninety-degree bow. When she straightened up, she said with profound gratitude, "Is there anything I can do to help either of you? If there is, please don't hesitate to ask!"
"Mmm..." Ryohei looked at her eager expression, clearly wanting to repay the favor. He smiled and said, "Next time you come to visit, Medusa, could you just bring me some local specialties from the demon world? No need to bring a lot, just whatever you can grab. I'm very interested in the ingredients from your world."
"Of course!" Medusa carefully committed his request to memory, then looked toward Lucoa.
At that moment, Lucoa was cradling her ample bosom, pinching her chin in a thoughtful pose. Seeing Medusa look at her, she just smiled and waved her hand. "I don't need any help. Just thank my Master."
"Understood," Medusa replied with a nod. In her eyes, Lucoa and Ryohei were a single unit, which made her take his request for demon world specialties even more seriously.
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