?”This one would look great on you!”
Inside one of the clothing shops of the academy, the red-haired girl exclaimed while holding up a sleek black shirt.
Astron eyed the shirt skeptically but took it from her, deciding to humor her.
He disappeared into the changing room and emerged a moment later, donning the black shirt. Irina examined him with a critical gaze, nodding approvingly.
“See? I told you! It suits you well,” Irina said a triumphant grin on her face.
Astron simply sighed, not bothering to argue. Irina was on a mission, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t end anytime soon.
‘Sigh….Why did I misspoke?’
He himself knew it was his own decision that brought them here. Well, saying that was a decision was actually wrong since, in reality, he just mumbled about buying clothes.
“You want to buy clothes!”
And Irina’s response was immediate as she appeared right before his face. From that point on, he was on a shopping spree, going from one place to another.
Though most of the time, rather than him buying clothes for himself, it was Irina choosing clothes for him.
Undeterred by Astron’s lack of enthusiasm, Irina continued her fashion assault. “Wait, you need more variety. Here, try this one,” she declared, presenting a stylish graphic tee with a unique design.
Astron, feeling the weight of his compliance, took the shirt from her and retreated to the changing room. As he emerged once again, Irina’s eyes widened in excitement. “Wow, that looks amazing on you! You should definitely get it.”
Astron sighed, realizing that he had unwittingly entered a fashion battle with Irina. She continued her onslaught, bringing forth more shirts, each seemingly more expensive than the last. “This one is a limited edition, and it’s on sale today. You can’t pass up such a deal,” Irina insisted, her persuasive skills coming to the forefront.
Astron found himself surrounded by a growing pile of shirts, each adding a different touch to his usually plain attire. “Irina, do I really need all of these?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
She looked at him with determination. “Absolutely! Trust me; you’ll thank me for this later. You can’t keep looking so plain and uninteresting all the time.”
Astron crossed his arms, a hint of annoyance in his expression. “I don’t dress to impress anyone.”
Irina smirked, undeterred. “Well, maybe you should. A little style won’t hurt, and who knows, it might even boost your confidence.”
Astron gave her a skeptical look, but Irina wasn’t finished. She rummaged through the racks, finding a particularly stylish jacket.
And then she continued to look at him from the side to gauge his physic.
‘This may look good?’
In her mind, she pictured what this jacket would look like. She wanted to see Astron in white clothes, but that annoying guy never let her grab one of those.
He said the color white never suited him.
‘What is even his deal anyway?’
That was suspicious, but she decided to brush it off.
After thinking about the jacket, she grabbed another T-shirt.
‘If we tuck this t-shirt into his trousers, then….’
Immediately picturing the combine inside her mind, she decided to test it off. Grabbing the black trousers, black T-shirt, and jacket, Irina couldn’t resist the temptation to experiment further with Astron’s wardrobe.
“Hey, Astron, try this one.”
Astron sighed, taking the clothes reluctantly. “This better be the last one. We’ve been at this for a while.”
Irina grinned, not caring about his mild protest. “Trust me, this is the perfect combination. It’ll be worth it.”
As Astron headed to the changing room with the new set of clothes, Irina couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
She imagined the transformation she had orchestrated, eagerly awaiting Astron’s reaction.
‘It will definitely look awesome.’
While waiting for Astron to emerge from the changing room, Irina became aware of the curious gazes directed her way. The bustling store had become a stage for whispers and discreet glances from other students.
She overheard fragments of conversations among the students nearby.
“Isn’t that Irina Amberheart?”
“Yeah, it is. What is she doing here?”
“I never knew Irina had a thing for shopping.”
“Who’s that guy with her? Is he her boyfriend?”
As the whispers and comments continued, Irina couldn’t help but feel a twinge of embarrassment.
The attention, particularly the assumption about Astron being her boyfriend, made her slightly uneasy.
After all, knowing how her mother would react if such rumors were to go around…
SHIVER!
She shivered.
‘Ah, I was careless….’
Lamenting at her carelessness, she couldn’t help but think how stupid she was. She came here on a whim since she felt bored wandering alone, and the idea of hanging out with him felt a little fresh, to be honest.
And after hearing about him buying clothes, she…..
Unleashed the inner shopping maniac and forgot everything….
“He was quite a fine piece, though?”
“Was there a junior like him? Why hadn’t I ever seen him before?”
The idea of Astron as a “fine piece” and the suggestion of getting his contact information added an unexpected layer of discomfort.
‘These girls….’
For some reason, those words angered her?
Irina’s irritation at the gossip reached a tipping point, and she shot a fierce glare at the girls who were discussing Astron. The sudden intensity in her gaze, combined with an almost imperceptible surge of her aura, made the girls stop talking immediately.
“….”
The red-haired girl, usually calm and composed, emanated an unexpected ferocity that commanded attention. The girls, though seniors, couldn’t help but shrink under the pressure of Irina’s unspoken warning.
“Let’s leave….”
“Yeah….” Follow current novls on NovlFir.nt
Their hushed conversation came to an abrupt halt as they felt the weight of Irina’s disapproval.
CREAK!
Right at that moment, the changing room door creaked open, drawing Irina’s attention. Astron stepped out, fully dressed in the new clothes Irina had picked out for him.
<Illustration>
‘Huhhhhhhhh??????????’
The sight caught her off guard, and for a moment, she forgot about everything else.
Astron, looking remarkably handsome in his updated attire, had an air of uninterested boredom about him. His bangs almost reached his eyes, adding a touch of mystery to his expression.
The pure black t-shirt emphasized his flawless skin and the tight fit showcased his lean build. As he stood there with an indifferent demeanor, Irina couldn’t help but gasp, her eyes widening.
‘What is this? Who the hell is he?’
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she found herself momentarily breathless. She hadn’t expected the transformation to be this impactful.
The new clothes accentuated Astron’s features in a way that made her view him in a different light.
‘This is….’
She even salivated a little (?) as she looked over him.
Astron, seemingly unaware of the reaction he had elicited, glanced at Irina. “What?”
Irina shook her head, trying to regain her composure. “Nothing. You just look… different.”
He raised an eyebrow, uninterested. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
‘Definitely a good thing,’ she thought inwardly, looking away to hide her embarrassment.
“What? Give me an answer?”
After going to all this trouble to change, this was the reaction he had gotten from Irina, and that seemingly bothered him.
‘If he goes around like this…..’
Realizing the monster she was about to release to the world, for some reason, she felt bothered. Whether or not she accepted, the words those girls had just spoken seemingly had taken effect.
Adding the fact that just recently, she had witnessed how close he was with Sylvie.
‘No, he absolutely can not.’
The decision was made in an instant. There was absolutely no room for him to go around like that.
“It was not good,” Irina stated abruptly, her tone firm.
“Ha!” Astron’s eyebrows furrowed in mild irritation. “What do you mean, not good? We spent so much time picking these out.”
Irina sighed, attempting to hide her true feelings. “Well, they looked better on the rack. Maybe it’s the lighting in here.”
Astron scowled, feeling a bit frustrated. “You dragged me into this, and now you’re saying they’re not good?”
“Look, it’s just clothes. You can wear whatever you want,” Irina replied dismissively, urging him to take off the clothes. “Let’s just leave them. No need to waste any more time here.”
Astron grumbled in annoyance, feeling like he had been played. However, sensing Irina’s insistence, he reluctantly began removing the clothes and was about to return them to racks, but at that moment, Irina stopped him.
“Let’s just leave them here; the employees will take them away anyway.”
“…Tch…”
With a click of a tongue, he left the combine here and started walking to the cashier.
Astron walked towards the cashier, leaving the clothes behind as Irina called over another store employee. When the woman approached, Irina spoke up, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
“Um, could you do me a favor? Can you reserve these clothes for a while? I’ll come back to pick them up later.”
The employee raised an eyebrow, giving Irina a knowing look. “Sure thing. We can keep them aside for you. Just come back when you’re ready.”
As the employee took the clothes to make the reservation, she couldn’t resist making a subtle remark, “You’ve got a good eye. He looks quite handsome in those clothes. Smart move, keeping it to yourself.”
Irina’s face turned even redder, and she stammered, “I-I… it’s not like that.”
The employee chuckled knowingly and winked, “Whatever you say. Enjoy your day, you two.”
Irina hurriedly followed Astron out of the store, still blushing at the unexpected turn of events.
Astron, seemingly oblivious to the exchange, continued walking with his usual indifferent expression while still muttering under his breath about the wasted time.
The episode added a new layer of awkwardness to their shopping adventure, though it was almost about to reach its end.
———————A/N——————–
This is enough for fanservice chapters. I wasn’t in the mood to write fighting scenes after my uncle passed away.
Anyway, now it’s time to progress with the plot.