Ririka visited the drugstore the next day, and Mina’s new look shocked her. “What the heck’s going on?”
I understood her surprise. The elf had arrived expecting the usual Mina, only to meet her new cool girl persona.
“What?” Mina asked. “Oh—my, like, new vibe? Mr. Reiji made this totally awesome new treatment, like, totes snappy!”
Totes snappy? I figured she meant how I offered her the Sun Friend quickly, since I’d already made some for Peel.
“Sick, right?” Mina played with her hair happily, striking poses for Ririka.
“I’m into it!” Ririka exclaimed.
“For real, yeah?” Mina giggled happily.
Ririka turned to me. “Reiji, could an elf transform like Mina did?”
I…didn’t expect that kind of question from her. Man, what’s so great about this look? Does it just happen to line up with elves’ tastes? I couldn’t imagine how Ririka’s skin might react to Sun Friend. Wouldn’t it just make her a tan elf? “I…don’t know. Are you cool with tanning?”
“Of course! Does your new treatment just help people tan?”
“Yeah, more or less.” Wait. Will Ririka end up acting like Mina too?
Although Sun Friend had done more than give Mina a tan, I had a hunch that her intense emotions about her appearance caused her transformation.
“Most elves are pale,” Ririka told me. “We turn red and burn pretty fast in direct sunlight.”
“Try this then.” I tried to redirect her, grabbing a bottle of sunscreen off the shelf and passing it to her. My attempt failed.
“No, no. I don’t want that. Staying pale after being in the sun’s unnatural.”
“So, you really do want to tan?”
“Mm-hmm. I hate being like everyone else!”
I was starting to understand why Ririka wanted to try Sun Friend. Disliking your natural appearance was kind of self-hatred, in a way; at least, it was for an elf. It was the kind of mindset you’d find among junior high and high school students who wanted to stick out. “Well, don’t complain to me if other elves get mad at you.”
“Come on, babe, try it! It’ll be totes fun,” Mina giggled.
Not only had Mina’s pale complexion apparently really bothered her, but Ririka—also naturally pale—seemed to feel similarly. “Maybe a lot of pale people have this complex?” I mused aloud, cocking my head.
“I think so,” Ririka replied.
“For sure,” Mina chimed in.
Maybe there is some kind of demand for Sun Friend? Was it time to sell it as a drugstore product? “Mina, have you got any Sun Friend left over? Let Ririka use it.”
“You got it! On it!” Mina said, skipping out of the drugstore.
Okay, that was kind of cute.
She returned carrying the bottle. “You’re all set, Ririka!”
“Thanks!”
Like Mina, Ririka had someone else apply Sun Friend to her back—Mina, in this case.
“Eeek!” the elf cried. “Hey, that tickles. Jeez!”
“You’re such a babe, Ririka!”
“What? Hey, no. I’m—”
“Mr. Reiji’s staring!”
“St-stop!” Ririka glared at me, turning bright red.
I covered my face with both hands. Now, all I could hear was a giddy Mina and an elf being silly.
“Okey dokey!” Mina gave Ririka a thumbs-up. “All that’s left is to get in that sun!”
And a personality change shouldn’t be a side effect.
It didn’t take Ririka long to tan. “Wow! That was, like, totes snappy! Reiji, you’re divine!” she cried.
She changed too? A gyaru elf?!
Ririka looked at herself with great interest, checking out her tan. “Nobody’s gonna mess with this babe. Tee hee hee!” she said confidently.
“You’re, like, totes a hottie, Ririka!”
“A ten outta ten, right?!”
I was so, so lost—I was just an old dude who couldn’t follow the girls’ conversation as they cheered and high fived.
“Thanks a million, Reiji!” Ririka exclaimed.
“You’re welcome. I just hope no one gets mad at you.”
“No worries!” The elf waved happily and left.
Didn’t she originally come here to buy something?
“Let’s sell this stuff, Mr. Reiji,” Mina urged. “I’ll totes vouch for it!”
“It does seem like there’s demand,” I admitted. “Yeah, let’s give it a try.”
Just like that, Sun Friend became part of the drugstore’s product line. I had only one misgiving, however: Would everyone who used it start acting like a confident, bubbly teenager?
My concerns turned out to be unfounded. Most customers who used Sun Friend just got a nice tan. You apparently had to be pretty insecure about your complexion to transform any further. Thank goodness. I was worried that parents would complain about a shift in their children.
Meanwhile, Mina’s tan had faded, but her demeanor stayed the same. “Noelly?”
“Groo!” Whenever Mina called her, Noela ran off, still wary.
Mina, for her part, got used to that reaction. For a few days, she didn’t say anything to Noela, but eventually she asked in a serious tone, “Mr. Reiji… Should I, like…go back to normal?”
“What do you think?”
“Well, I’m totes sad that Noelly keeps acting like this.” Of course she was. The two of them were so close before this. “But, like, being so pale just looks mega sickly, you know?”
Sickly, huh? This was definitely a personal issue to Mina. Even if some others envied her fair complexion, it didn’t improve her impression of herself. If I could somehow change her negative impression of her natural look, though, Mina wouldn’t have to struggle with that anymore.