Three days after receiving Serenaâs message, we were checking our outfits on the Black Lotus to head to the Imperial Castle together. Oh, when I say âtogetherâ, I donât mean Chris is coming with us. Todayâs event was to celebrate our achievements as mercenaries, so there was no reason for Chris to join the ceremony with us. She will probably attend as Earl Dareinwaldâs representative, though. Also, Mei and Neve werenât coming with us either. Mei is an artificial intelligence, so while she was technically recognized as a person, she didnât qualify to participate in this event. At least, as long as she was my maidroid, her actions were considered mine. If she were to start acting independently as Mei, a single AI, it would be a different story⊠Somehow, the circumstances around that are complex and mysterious, so I donât quite understand them.
ăHow do I look, Boss? Does it suit me?ă ÆrÄewebnoŃ”Ńl.cÏm
ăYeah, it suits you. You look cute.ă
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I complimented Tina, who was wearing a black dress with red accents that matched her hair color. It might sound like an unimaginative compliment, but honestly, she really is cute.
ăDonât call me cute, say Iâm beautiful. Iâm an adult lady, you know.ă
ăYouâre cute, youâre so cute.ă
ăGeez, canât you put a little more effort into it?ă
Seeing that I wouldnât call her anything else than cute, Tina started to pout. Even if she wants me to call her beautiful, she looks much more cute than beautiful⊠While she was small in stature, she wasnât flat, and she had round hips. When she was wearing her usual jumpsuit that showed off her body lines, she gave off a bit of a sexy vibe, but in a dress like the one she was wearing today, which didnât emphasize her body lines as much, she just looked cute rather than beautiful or sexy.
ăBig brother, do you think Iâm cute too?ă
ăVery cute.ă
I gave the same deep nod of approval to Wiska, who was wearing a dress identical to Tinaâs, but with a white base and blue accents. Theyâre twins, after all. When seen like this, they look very similar, but their mannerisms and expressions reveal their distinct personalities.
ăItâs a bit tightâŠă
ăWell, with your assetsâŠă
This time, Mimi and Elma were in suits rather than dresses. I called them suits, but they were more like formal military uniforms. If I brought Mimi in a dress, it would emphasize her striking resemblance to Princess Luciada⊠A lot of people saw her in a dress at the previous ceremony, so itâs a bit late for that. Still, it was better to prepare for the worst. However, Mimi does look uncomfortable. It canât be helped. With that chest armor⊠Elma seems comfy thoughâwhoops, she glared at me.
ăHmm, I donât think this kind of clothing suits meâŠă
ăThatâs not true, Doctor. It looks very good on you.ă
ăReallyâŠ? It feels too frilly and I canât relax.ă
When I looked away from Elma, I saw Dr. Shouko, looking uneasy in her dress, being coaxed by Kugi, who was wearing her usual space shrine maiden outfit. Kugiâs outfit was slightly more elaborate than usual, with more accessories, but it seems her shrine maiden outfit was considered formal attire suitable for official events, so she basically looked the same as always. In contrast, Shouko-sensei was in formal wear. Her usually disheveled long hair was neatly styled atop her head, and the dress, though modest in color, perfectly highlighted her bodyâs lines. Her chest armor which rivals Mimiâs, is impressive as always, itâs too sexy. Well, she is going to drape a shawl over herself that will help hide her body lines, so hopefully, it will reduce the stares.
This time, we divided the crewâs attire: those involved in combat wore military uniforms, and those who werenât wore dresses. Originally, I wanted Kugi to wear something similar to Mimi and Elmaâs, but her tails made it impossible. We couldnât use the existing designs, and a fully custom-made outfit wouldnât be ready in three days, so we had to give up on that idea.
ăWow, thatâs amazing. You have quite the selection, Captain.ă
ăIndeed. Itâs impressive, isnât it?ă
I joked with Neve, who had graduated from the medical pod and was allowed to move around in a semi-autonomous multifunctional wheelchairâit was floating, so it didnât have wheelsâsince yesterday, while looking at the girls. By the way, her wheelchair also functioned somewhat like a simplified treatment pod, making it quite expensive. Neve told me sheâd pay for it when she could, but equipping the ship is part of the captainâs responsibility, so I politely declined her offer.
ăDo you think Iâll get to wear something like that eventually?ă
ăWell, with your fair skin, Neve, you might look good in gothic lolita.ă
A girl with white hair and fair skin in black gothic lolita attire would indeed be striking. Mimi doesnât wear such outfits often⊠sigh. There are a lot of types of lolita fashion, but itâs best to leave it to that store staff. If you say to them: âPlease find an outfit that suits this girl.â Theyâll surely find something good. Sometimes, they bring too many attires because all of them are a good match, and sometimes they end up brawling between themselves due to differences in opinions, but those are minor issues.
ăHey, you took so much time leering at us and criticizing our outfits, but you arenât going to say anything about your own?ă
ăWho cares about a guyâs outfit? Anyway, the one you all picked for me is super comfortable. Thanks.ă
My outfit was similar in design to what Mimi and Elma were wearing, only a bit more extravagant here and there. I might say âextravagantâ but it wasnât overly flashyâjust tasteful enough to be elegant, I donât care much for gaudy clothes.
ăWell then, shall we head out? Our ride should be here soon.ă
While we, the group in suits would be able to use public transport without issues, it wouldnât do for the ones in dresses. Serena had arranged for a vehicle from the Imperial Space Navy to pick us up, which is why we dressed up on the Black Lotus. Otherwise, we would have had to bring our outfits and change at the palace. As I was mulling this over, our ride arrived, and we boarded it while Mei and Neve saw us off. The vehicle Serena had arranged wasnât an intimidating vehicle with a big gun on the roof but more like a subdued shuttle bus. Unlike regular shuttle buses, this one could fly though.
ăHmm⊠not bad. I will give you my approval.ă
ăThanks. You look as elegant as ever.ă
ăIâm wearing the same outfit as always after all.ă
Serena, who was waiting for us inside the flying shuttle bus, shrugged her shoulders. True to her words, she was dressed in her usual white military uniform. The only difference was that she had medals pinned to her chest instead of her usual insignia.
ăSomeday, Iâll show you how I look in a dress.ă
ăThat sounds delightful. Although you look beautiful in your usual military uniform too.ă
Honestly, when I think of Serena, this is the image that comes to mindâit suits her so well. First impressions are important, after all. She was in her military uniform the first time we met too.
ăâŠIs he always like this?ă
ăYes, he is pretty much always like this.ă
ăYeah, he often gives straightforward compliments.ă
ăI seeâŠă
Listening to Mimi and Elmaâs replies, Serena blushed slightly and looked at me with a slight glare.
ăWhat?ă
ăâŠYou didnât use to say such flattering things before.ă
ăWell, thatâs true. Serena, youâre very beautiful, so being aloof with you was pretty tough. I was always thinking about how gorgeous and beautiful you were when I was talking to you.ă
ăOh, enough⊠I get it, I get it already.ă
Serena, her face now bright red, hid her face with one hand and extended her other hand towards me, as if to heed me to stop. Hmm, I see?
ăEek!?ă
ăHaha, loversâ hold!ă
So, I intertwined my fingers with hers, holding her hand like lovers do. Haha, her reaction is funnyâouch, ouch, ouch! I get it! Iâm sorry! Iâm sorry for teasing you! Please forgive me! My handâs bones are breaking!
In the end, Serena didnât let go of my hand until we reached our destination. She did ease up on her grip, though.