Hmm, this brand was something Harumura Makoto was very familiar with.
It was definitely one of the top brands in the world.
Many women would go so far as to sell their own bodies just to own one of its products—it wasn't uncommon at all.
He turned his head and stole a glance at Misaki, who was browsing the racks with keen interest, her gaze flitting from item to item, before quickly pulling his eyes away.
This girl, he could say with certainty, had absolutely nothing to do with that sort of thing.
However…
"Are you buying clothes for your father? This section is men's wear."
Indeed, this brand didn't only cater to women—the men's line was also widely acclaimed around the world.
He thought she was here to buy clothes for herself, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
"Harumura-kun, men who deliberately play dumb are very unpleasant, you know."
Rising up on her tiptoes, she took a linen-colored suit jacket from the rack and held it up against his body.
But judging by her expression—or perhaps the fit—she wasn't very impressed. Frowning slightly, Misaki put the jacket back and continued her search.
"Sure, buying clothes for myself isn't bad, but unfortunately, everyone in my family has their clothing privately tailored by dedicated designers. Every year, there are professionals assigned to take our measurements, then produce the clothing for each season and send them over. I've never bought clothes from a store in my entire life."
Right, this girl wasn't just a powerful esper—she was also a genuine noble ojou-sama.
Makoto's mouth twitched involuntarily.
He had honestly forgotten all about that.
Now that he thought about it, almost all of the young ladies living in Académie Shelter were from noble families around the world.
Only a small minority were commoners who had managed to "rise up."
And Misaki, who had been virtually imprisoned and used as a test subject since childhood, was no exception.
"So today's main goal is to buy you new clothes."
Setting down what she'd been holding, Shokuhou Misaki returned to stand before him. With one hand propping up her chin, her starry eyes scanned him from head to toe.
"I guess we really do need to go that route."
She muttered to herself, then raised a hand toward the counter in a little beckoning gesture.
A salesperson immediately approached. Misaki exchanged a few quiet words with them before the two walked off together.
"What was that about?"
The two had spoken in low voices, and there had been a bit of distance between him and Misaki, so Makoto hadn't caught a word of it.
"Nothing much—I just asked them to call the designer over. While the designs here are quite nice, if you really want to highlight someone's body, custom-made clothing is still the best."
…
Time?
Just how long had they wasted?
They hadn't left late in the morning, but now the sun was blazing directly overhead—it was the hottest part of the day.
That alone was enough to show just how much time they'd spent in that shop.
"So this is custom clothing, huh… feels even more troublesome than just buying something off the rack."
Makoto raised a hand to shade his head, pressing his fingers tightly together to block every bit of sunlight.
His tone was noticeably less energetic.
"This was just because we had to record your measurements for the first time. And buying clothes normally isn't exactly quick, right?"
Misaki quickened her pace to step into the shade of a tree. This kind of sweltering heat was a huge negative buff for her as well.
"Besides, you guys never bother to be picky when you shop for clothes—you just grab something and go. Of course it's faster that way. But the sketches they showed us earlier were good, weren't they?"
From her bag, she produced a white parasol and waved for Makoto to join her in the shade.
"I guess they looked pretty nice."
Catching her meaning immediately, Makoto walked over, took the parasol from her, and opened it.
He didn't bring up what had just happened again—doing so would only make things awkward.
Yes, Shokuhou Misaki had just spent an enormous amount of money, but to her, money was probably the least valuable thing in her life.
It was just a few sets of clothes, after all.
"So, where to next? Surely you're not calling it a day already?"
Holding the parasol over her head, the two walked side by side.
"Of course not. The day's barely a third over."
She laced her fingers together, the white lace gloves on her hands adding an extra touch of elegance, but her expression suddenly became a little shy—almost bashful.
"Speaking of which, it's really hot today, isn't it? And in this kind of heat, there's really only one kind of activity you can imagine doing."
Expectation—her face was filled with it.
So much so that it was practically overflowing from her golden eyes.
She was waiting for Makoto to say the answer she had in mind.
"Hahaha… going to the pool is fine, but the problem is—you probably can't swim, right? And even if it's just splashing around, in this kind of weather, places like that in Academy City will be packed. Can you really stand it?"
No matter how you looked at it, the answer was obvious.
When it came to summer activities that weren't unbearable, the only real options were staying in an air-conditioned room or playing in the water.
"As far as that's concerned, you don't have to worry about me. I've already come up with the perfect solution. Right now, there's something much more important you should be worried about."
Shokuhou Misaki looked very pleased with herself. She had already predicted that Makoto wouldn't refuse her.
With the most important item on today's itinerary secured, she was practically glowing.
"More important? Like what?"
Once again, that expectant gaze. Once again, those sparkling eyes.
Makoto's mouth twitched.
"A swimsuit?"
"What's with that expression? That look you're giving me says you have absolutely no expectations for my swimsuit at all."
She had flat-out voiced the words he'd been about to say.
And in his momentary brain freeze, Makoto completely failed to notice that the atmosphere around them had shifted.
Instead, he just kept talking:
"I mean, a middle schooler whose development is below average doesn't exactly have much to show off. But you're really pretty, so having one little flaw is normal. And besides, you're still young—you'll grow a bit in the future, so don't get discouraged."
Rambling on, Makoto didn't even realize that black clouds of killing intent were already closing in around him.
"Hey… could you shut up for a second?"