Olivia POV
"Hahhhhhhhh…"
Olivia was currently sitting on a chair inside a clothing store, finally free from the clutches of the sibling-like cousins.
She had been dragged around for hours by the two of them immediately after explaining that she had plans with Alex tomorrow.
'Miss Louise, I can understand, but what's going on with Soren?'
The surprising part to Olivia, however, was how Soren was acting.
He had been supportive of her when she spoke about her love life, but she had thought it was just feigned interest or maybe an attempt to help a friend; however, his actions today had flipped her opinion on its head.
Unlike what was expected, it wasn't Louise taking the lead with the shopping trip; no, it was, in fact, Soren.
"No, no! That won't work." He said to Louise, who was holding up a pair of jeans and a hoodie.
"Then what do you suggest, Little Brother, since you seem to know everything!"
"Hmph, watch and learn."
Olivia giggled at their back and forth for a moment.
'They really do look like siblings.'
To anyone on the outside, it would be impossible to notice the awkward feelings Soren held for Louise.
He walked all over the store and put together a total of three outfits.
Seeing his choices, Louise raised her arms in surrender, leaving Soren with a smug grin.
"Why are you so good at this anyway, Soren?" Olivia asked.
In every store they had been in, Louise would suggest an outfit or accessory only to be shut down by Soren in seconds, before he returned with something that fit her perfectly.
Soren stood there in silence for a moment, likely contemplating how to respond.
"Well… let's just say I learned a lot about fashion." He said with a wistful expression.
"Ah, okay..." Olivia, noticing the hidden sadness behind his words, decided not to press forward.
"Anyways, which do you like best, Olivia?"
She stood up from her chair and walked over to Soren, inspecting the outfits he had picked up.
The three outfits he had selected were as follows:
A pure white sundress with a straw hat, sandals and a brown over-the-shoulder bag.
Blue jeans with a light-grey t-shirt and olive green cardigan.
Finally, a long, pink skirt with a white blouse.
None of the outfits were outstanding in Soren's opinion, as he was trying to keep within a reasonable budget, but they were all outfits that would suit Olivia perfectly.
The problem, however, was that Olivia was indecisive.
"I'm not sure…"
"Why don't you just try them on?" Louise suggested.
"Is that okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Oh, okay. Uhm.. I'll be back in a minute then."
"Let me know if you need help," Louise said as Olivia headed towards the fitting rooms.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Louise Cruentus POV
"Soren...?" Olivia called out from the fitting room.
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure these will suit me?"
"Well, I'm not the best at choosing, but I'm confident at least one of them should look good on you."
"Really...?" She seemed unconvinced.
"Yeah, have more confidence in yourself, Olivia."
'This is nice.' Louise thought to herself with a smile on her face.
She hadn't expected to run into Soren today, but she had been fortunate, leading to her current situation.
It had been a long time since she had spent time with Soren, their last meeting notwithstanding, as it was more about serious topics.
She then looked over at Soren.
'He looks happy.'
Earlier, when she had heard about all the friends he had made, she had to try her best to stop herself from hugging him there and then.
She had been worried that he would still be hung up on Freya and unable to move on, but it wasn't like that at all, which made Louise proud.
'Although his friends sound… strange.'
Soren had given her an explanation of each of them, and they were all eccentric figures, ranging from a playboy who didn't consider women's feelings to a battle-crazed stalker princess and finally a teacher who had formed a close relationship with her own student.
'Lilliana was it? She seems dangerous.'
It was clear from how Soren had spoken about her that they were close.
Still, Louise was worried; not only was Lilliana from a duchy in the kingdom of Einhardt, but she was also four years his senior, and even Louise could sense that Lilliana clearly held a lot of affection for Soren, whether it was love or not.
She sighed as she looked back towards the fitting room curtain.
'It's a shame that Livia already has someone.'
Out of all of Soren's friends, Olivia was the one she liked the most, an adorably innocent girl with a slightly plump figure who had fallen deeply in love with her childhood friend.
"Do you want some help, Livia?" Louise asked.
"Uhm… is that okay?"
"Of course it is." She said as she stepped into the fitting room. "Whoa…!"
The moment Louise saw Olivia, she let out an exclamation of surprise.
'What on earth is this girl?'
In her uniform, the girl exuded a cute appearance, especially with her expressive face and over-the-top reactions, but the girl standing in front of Louise gave off a completely different vibe.
Sitting in her underwear, Olivia was unsure of which outfit to choose.
The cuteness that Louise had seen earlier was nowhere to be seen; an overwhelmingly destructive sexiness now replaced it.
Even Louise, with her athletic figure, felt jealous of the girl in front of her.
'Whoever this Alex guy is is a lucky one.'
She couldn't help but once again think of how much of a shame it was that the girl in front of her already had someone.
"Is something wrong, Miss Louise?"
She shook her head in response.
"No, don't worry. Anyways, have you decided which one you want to try on first?"
"No, sorry…"
"It's fine, why not just try this one first? You'll get to try them all on anyway."
Olivia nodded and took the sundress from Louise's hands.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Soren Arden POV
"What on earth is going on in there?"
Louise and Olivia had been in the fitting room for well over 20 minutes by now, and Soren had started practising magic out of sheer boredom.
Flicker
A small flame sat on his palm, flickering back and forth as time passed, when all of a sudden…
Swoosh!
The curtain surrounding the fitting room swung open, and Louise walked out.
"Is she done?" Soren asked, to which Louise nodded in response.
Then, after a few seconds had passed, the curtain was slowly pulled back, revealing Olivia.
"H-How is it?" She asked hesitantly.
In the end, she had chosen the pink skirt and blouse combo.
"Wow…" Soren exclaimed as Louise smirked, noting his reaction had been identical to her own.
"I know, right, our Livia is beautiful, isn't she?"
Soren nodded, causing Olivia's face to turn bright red.
"Alex will love it," Soren added, causing a smile to break out on Olivia's face.
"You think so?!"
With all said and done, Olivia went back into the fitting room and changed into her uniform again before paying for her clothes.
"So what should we do now?"
"Wanna get dinner?"
"Okay!"
They then decided to get dinner together and finally split up once they had gone around a couple more stores, both cousins wishing Olivia well on her date.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Olivia POV
It was Sunday morning, and Olivia stood nervously in front of a water fountain.
Today was the day she went on her totally-not-a-date with Alex.
'Do these clothes even suit me…?'
She had let herself be roped into buying a couple of outfits and accessories, but Olivia, being self-conscious, was unsure how to feel.
The clothes she usually wore were loose-fitting, inexpensive ones with no sense of girlish charm, but Olivia had never really cared about such things since they were so comfortable.
In contrast, today's outfit was tight and restricting.
Even her hair, which she usually just brushed and left as is, was tied up into braids, unlike usual.
It was almost as if she were a different person.
"I hope Alex likes it…" She muttered under her breath.
"What did you say, Liv?" Alex said, peaking over her shoulder.
"Ah! Alex?! When did you get here?"
"Just now, I saw you standing here and thought I'd surprise you."
It was only when Olivia turned to face Alex that she realised how close their faces were.
Ba-dump, ba-dump
Her face flushed red, and her heartbeat quickened at the sight of her beloved's face.
'He dressed up?'
It was then that she belatedly noticed Alex had styled his hair and was wearing casual clothes for once, startling Olivia.
For as long as she had known him, he had rarely worn anything other than comfortable training uniforms, even when he had no plans to do any physical activity.
Even his styling of his hair was something he only did once in a blue moon.
'Does that mean it really was a date?' A goofy grin appeared on her face at the thought.
Seeing him put so much effort into his appearance led Olivia to start fantasising on the spot, completely forgetting Alex was even there.
"Liv? Are you okay?"
"Yep! I'm great!" She said, snapping back to her senses.
"So what's the plan?" Alex asked.
Olivia thought back to her time with Soren and Louise and repeated the idea they had come up with together.
"Uhm, well, since it's almost noon, we should get some lunch, then we can walk around the shopping district whilst we wait for our food to digest, then I found out there was going to be a musical performance in the workshop district in the afternoon…"
Olivia explained her entire plan for the day without stuttering even once.
She had been so excited that she had hardly gotten any sleep the night before, instead choosing to double-check the plan and ensure it was perfect.
"That's good with me, shall we go then?"
"Mhm! Let's go!" She said as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the restaurant she had in mind, not even realising what she had done.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Soren Arden POV
"Big Sis, did you just see that?" Soren said with a dumbfounded expression.
"Didn't Livia say that it wasn't a date?"
The cousins looked at each other in disbelief.
Soren had only followed to make sure that Alex actually showed up and that Olivia wasn't getting the wrong idea; meanwhile, Louise was just there because she was nosy, and as a result, they had both witnessed something unbelievable.
"Are they really not dating?" Louise asked, to which Soren shook his head.
Truthfully, he was too shocked to think straight; this entire situation made no sense to him.
There was no real romance back when this world was a game, meaning that Olivia's feelings were most likely one-sided, which was why Soren was somewhat anxious about her and Alex's date today, but the sight he had just seen screamed the opposite.
'As she said, they look exactly like a couple.'
Even if you ignored the fact that she had so naturally held his hand and he accepted, there was also the fact that Alex had dressed up for today.
'Doesn't this basically confirm the winner already?'
There was still well over half a year left until the third main heroine, Crusch, appeared, and it already seemed like a winner had been decided.
All Soren could hope for now was that Alex would treat Olivia well.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
As the date proceeded, the look on Soren's face became more and more bitter.
"What's with that face, Little Brother?"
"...Doesn't looking at it give you a toothache?"
What Soren meant by this was that the date was going well, so well, in fact, that even Soren, who avidly shipped the two people involved, was starting to get tired of it.
Every moment they walked around, they were holding hands.
Whenever they were about to enter a building, Alex would hold the door open for Olivia.
When they had lunch, he not only pulled the chair out for her but also paid for the entire bill.
That wasn't even the worst of it.
When they ate together, a bit of cream had gotten onto Olivia's face, and instead of wiping it off with a handkerchief or just telling her, he wiped it with his finger and then ate it.
Or when Olivia had gotten hit on by a couple of guys during the time Alex went to the bathroom, almost making Soren intervene, only to show up just at the right moment like a knight in shining armour and say "She's with me," as he pulled her close to him.
'Are dates really meant to be like this? The entire thing feels like it was pulled from a fairytale…'
As Soren had only been on a handful of dates, he wasn't one hundred percent sure, but he could say with confidence that Alex and Olivia's date was going too perfectly.
"True…"
Louise's eyes had long lost the sparkle they once held, and now they were empty, hollow even.
If someone with as much enthusiasm as Louise agreed, then that said enough on its own.
"Want to go get something to eat?" Soren suggested.
"If my cute little brother is asking, I won't say no."
With that, they both turned and left the two lovebirds behind to enjoy their fairytale-like date, Soren unaware of how much his worries about his cousin had eased during their time together.
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