"So, did I win?"
"Tsk, I lost."
Mira was delighted; Jenny's reluctant yet resigned expression was too amusing.
"Now it's time for the punishment."
"Pun... punishment? There was no mention of this before!"
Mira had an expression as if it was only natural: "Since it's a competition with victory and defeat, how can there be no punishment? Alright, don't move."
"..." Jenny watched as Mira's hand reached for her face, so nervous that she closed her eyes.
Her frightened expression was rather cute, and the audience couldn't tear their eyes away.
Mira flicked her finger at Jenny's forehead, thump!
A red mark appeared on Jenny's forehead, and she covered the spot with her hand: "Ouch, it hurts!"
Mira mimicked Rhode's earlier tone: "Alright, loser exits the stage!"
"Damn, I'll win it back next time!" Jenny left in a huff, daring to flick her forehead in public as if she were a child?
Jenny swore that she would have another match in the future and set an even more embarrassing bet to make Mira lose face even more!
"Sorry, I got caught up in the moment and took so long," Mira said to Rhode.
"No worries, we're here to have fun anyway, and it was quite entertaining."
Rhode noted that watching Mira's fashion show meant the day wasn't wasted.
(Jenny: What, was I not participating?)
Mira glanced at the crowded shop and suggested, "Shall we try a different store?"
Rhode nodded: "Good idea."
The clothes and accessories that Mira and Jenny tried on earlier instantly became hot items, rapidly bought up by a throng of young men and women.
The store manager and staff finally managed to control the scene, but by the time they looked for Mira and Jenny, they were nowhere to be seen.
…
"How about this one?" Now that the onlookers were gone, Mira could finally choose clothes seriously.
The aim of this outing was originally to buy clothes for Elfman.
"A suit? It doesn't seem quite right for Elfman."
Rhode tried to imagine Elfman in a suit, but the next image that popped up was of him striking a bodybuilder pose and bursting out of the clothes in a second.
"But I'm curious about the effect." Mira contemplated, "Why don't you try it on, Rhode?"
"Me? My build is way different from Elfman's, isn't it?"
"What's the harm? Just buy a slightly larger size," Mira said, "Please help out."
"Alright then." Rhode took the clothes and headed to the fitting room.
"Hold on." Mira called him, then went back to choose a pile of bits and accessories,
"Also try on matching shirts, ties, lapel pins, and handkerchiefs, okay?"
"... Sure." Rhode carried the heap of items into the fitting room, a few seconds later he poked his head out again,
"Mira, don't you have Transformation Magic? Can't you just transform into Elfman like you did earlier?"
"Right..." Mira thought for a moment, "But I've used Transformation Magic so many times just now, my Magic Power is a bit low."
"Really?" Rhode was skeptical; is Transformation really such a drain on Magic Power?
Mira clasped her hands together: "Yes, please?"
"Oh." Rhode pulled the curtain closed again.
When he emerged, he was already in a well-tailored suit, looking sharp, poised, and charming.
Mira's eyes lit up, this suited Rhode felt completely different from the usual.
But there were some details he hadn't gotten quite right.
Rhode stood there awkwardly holding a tie: "I don't know how to tie this."
This semester he did elect a social etiquette course as an elective, it seemed to include some basics about suits, but he hadn't gotten to that part yet.
Mira chuckled: "Let me help."
She stepped forward, turned up the collar of his shirt, and tiptoed to drape the tie around.
This gesture, so akin to a hug, made Rhode's heart race, a subtle fragrance from Mira's hair seemed to linger around his nose.
He couldn't quite see how she made the knot; she just gave it a gentle tug, and the tie moved to the collar, neatly done.
Rhode adjusted his collar to cover his embarrassment.
Mira lightly tugged on his suit jacket, tucking in the end of the tie.
And she wasn't done; Mira removed the poorly-placed lapel pin Rhode had on and pinned it to the unfolded collar of his jacket, folded the handkerchief neatly, placed it in the breast pocket, and pulled it out just a bit.
After doing all this, Mira smoothed the creases on Rhode's clothing, stepped back a couple of steps while holding her hands behind her back, and took a good look at him.
This... the feeling of a wife helping her husband prepare to go out was overwhelming.
Rhode asked somewhat awkwardly, "How is it?"
"Very handsome, you've matured a lot at once, and this color doesn't make you look old, it feels like you're a social elite at first glance."
Mira gave her opinion, then added, "Indeed, not suitable for Elfman... Is wearing this hot for you?"
"... A bit." Rhode turned his head, tugging at the collar, "Let's see some others."
"Mm, sorry to trouble you again~"
Rhode continued acting as a clothes rack, even though changing in and out of clothes was a hassle, he enjoyed it.
After a busy spell, Mira finally picked out two sets of clothes, chose sizes according to Elfman's build, and asked the shop assistant to pack them up.
Seeing that it was almost time to prepare for the evening event, they left and returned to the hotel.
As they stepped out, Rhode suddenly noticed Mira was carrying three bags.
"Ah, you noticed?"
Mira turned slightly, showing a mix of surprise at being discovered and minor regret, leaned forward a bit and handed one to Rhode, "This is for you."
Reaching out to help with carrying bags unexpectedly turned into reaching out to receive a gift, this kind of surprise feeling was indescribable.
Mira continued, "It's the suit from earlier. I thought it suited you well, so consider it a thank you for helping with the clothes fitting."
"This is too generous... um, thank you." Rhode chose to accept the gift.
Though the more he thought about it, the more it felt like a poor boy accompanying a wealthy girl on a shopping trip, casually getting a luxury item, but…
He would make sure to properly repay the gift later.
According to the President, he was capable of handling tasks with decent remuneration now.
He should take on a real task when he returns.
To be safe, he should look for a strong teammate.
With the connection of having been punched once before, he wondered if holding onto Erza's leg would work.
Lost in thought, the two had already returned to the hotel.
In the lobby, there was a crowd of people coming and going, many stopped to greet Mira when they saw her.
Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be reporters and editors from the magazine, already there to prepare in advance.
The two went upstairs, went back to their room for a brief rest, preparing to head to the hall where the celebration would take place.
At Mira's request, Rhode changed into the newly bought suit, and left his hazardous backpack in the room.
Still feeling a bit insecure, Rhode tucked a thinner Magic Book into his jacket.
Before they left, Rhode moved tables and chairs to make enough space, Summoned a River Crab to watch over the backpack.
Good thing the room was spacious enough, otherwise releasing that River Crab would have been tricky.