“And here is your order, miss. Thank you, and do come again.”
The Genius Festival was fast approaching. I had taken Albert, Colette, and Melissa (who had become a normal part of our group now) with me out to town.
Don’t get it twisted; we weren’t ditching class. Everyone at school was deep in preparation for the Genius Festival, so we were on a shortened class schedule. Instruction had ended at lunch, and we were here picking up the uniforms we’d ordered for our café.
What you just read was the clerk bidding us farewell and begging us to come back. We had ordered ten custom-made uniforms—the bill surely ran high. I could understand their eagerness to secure us as repeat customers.
And, y’know, I probably would patronize them again if I get the chance. Perhaps even next year—nope, cool it. Too soon.
Anyway, we safely made our purchase and left the clothing store behind us.
“I’m so glad we got the goods without any complications! Looks like everything is in order, too… Now I’m suddenly very excited about the festival!” said Albert.
“Hmm, yes, indeed! I truly cannot wait to see Mylene in this uniform!” said Colette.
As we started walking back, the two royals were in high spirits. But unlike them, I was sagging my shoulders as I dragged the shopping bag along. And it wasn’t because the clothes were heavy.
“God dammit all… I didn’t sign up for this… Do I really have to wear this shitty uniform…?”
The finished uniforms were beyond my wildest nightmares—they were bloody awful.
Don’t get me wrong, they were well made. The color scheme was bright and unique, and the design was both modestly feminine and sensational. They showed skin, but not enough to get us expelled.
The merchandise itself was fine. We’d gotten our money’s worth—the uniforms were even more refined than their future timeline counterparts.
But that was just the problem. They were even better made than I had imagined.
“Ha-ha-hah! Go big or go home, as they say!”
Only now did I realize that I’d made a fatal mistake: I forgot Colette existed.
When we’d ordered the uniforms, Colette had stayed behind to talk to the shopkeeper. At the time, I thought she looked excited; I never would have dreamed that she was making all sorts of additions to our order.
And the clothes we just picked up were the product of her alterations.
I dread what’s to come… My body is feminine. I thought I was okay with dressing like a girl by now, but why does the idea of showing so much skin make me feel so embarrassed?
When I’d lived as a man, my job often required scant clothing, but showing skin never bothered me then…
“N-now, now, Miss Mylene, chin up! You won’t be the only person wearing this uniform!”
“The outfits don’t look all that embarrassing to me…,” Melissa added. “I’ll be wearing one, too, you know?”
“Well, sure, but…everyone has their tastes.”
Having said that, it had been careless of me to not stop Colette’s shenanigans. So I wasn’t gonna spend the rest of the day shitting on something I couldn’t change.
And Melissa was right. The uniform design itself wasn’t all that bad if you looked at it on its own. That was true even by future-timeline standards.
As long as I could get over my personal hangups by the festival, I’d be okay.
“I feel so shitty…”
(Which was easier said than done, of course.)
I just had to pray that everything would sort itself out in time. Then again, a version of myself that wasn’t bothered at all by the uniform was concerning in its own way…
Well, whatever. Obsessing over it wasn’t going to change anything. So it was better to turn off my brain.
“Hmm, the exchange took much less time than I’d anticipated. Want to take a little break before we head back to class? We can apologize later.”
“Good idea.”
I needed to snap out of my funk and try to be as cheerful as possible. So I agreed to Colette’s suggestion to take a break at a teahouse.
“Are you sure we should be doing this when everyone else is working so hard?” Melissa asked. We were still technically in class right now. Yet, while our classmates were back on campus hard at work, we were having tea.
“We’re here for café research, Melissa. If anyone gives you a hard time, just give them that vague excuse.”
In life, ya had to give your fair share of vague excuses to keep yourself from getting beaten down too hard. In fact, we already had our menu planned and we’d already spent most of our budget. We weren’t gonna learn anything new by stopping for tea, but life’s much easier when you bullshit your way through it.
We boldly sat at a table in the front of the teahouse and gave our order.
“Four iced teas, please.”
“Right away, miss.”
It was a hot day. Cold drinks would be a perfect remedy.
“Research is a bit of a stretch—but then again, this place is rather innovative. Zelfore has all sorts of unique spots.”
“Indeed, it is. I was a bit startled by the concept of chilled tea at first, but on a hot day like this, it’s to die for.”
This teahouse was unique for the era in its own way. And the two royals were gushing over the focus of their “research.”
But just as they said, this teahouse was quite innovative. For one, they didn’t boast a wide variety of tea types, but they also had a variety of things to eat, from small snacks to filling meals. In just a few years from now, the concept of a teahouse where you could also get a bite to eat wouldn’t be all that rare, but those sorts of places were unusual in present-day Eltania. And from the way Colette was talking, they probably weren’t all that common in Colorne either.
Being a center of trade, Zelfore was a step ahead of everyone else. What was I up to around this time as Envil…? I seem to recall Mylene and I weren’t that far apart in age. Which probably meant I was—
“Here you go, four iced teas.”
“Ooh, excellent.”
Just as I was pondering what the other me was doing right now, the waiter brought our order. Our four glasses were filled with ice. The way they were lightly opaque from the condensation truly had a delightfully chilling effect.
Suppressing the urge to gulp it all down at once, I slowly sipped my drink. “Ahh…so good.”
I shuddered in ecstasy at the cooling sensation of the icy drink gliding down my throat.
“It’s weak in flavor and fragrance, but it really does hit the spot. Imagine chilling drinks…and chilling tea of all things. It’s genius, really.”
Colette was right. The concept of serving drinks chilled was rare even in the future I came from. The tea itself tasted cheap, but just the act of cooling it made it utterly delicious. Wait, maybe it was delicious because it had a weak flavor?
“Zelfore sure is an interesting place,” I murmured as I watched the people walk restlessly on the street outside.
I may have come from the future, but the world in which I lived had been quite small—there were still so many things I didn’t know about. Y’know, it might not actually be a bad thing to look around and see what else was out there.
“Having fun?” Albert giggled as I gazed idly at Zelfore’s streets.
“Hm? Oh…yeah, guess so.”
“Wow, an honest reaction? That’s not like you, Mylene,” Colette teased.
“The hell’s that supposed to mean? What kind of person do you take me for?” I glared back at her.
All I did was respond like a normal person. Who the hell does she think I am?
“A cynic.” “A fake,” Colette and Melissa answered in prompt unison.
“Okay, you little shits…”
Colette aside, Melissa had gotten awfully frank with me ever since we’d gotten closer.
“Bloody hell…”
“For all your grumbling, you are enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”
“Hm? Yeah…guess so. Since I’m usually so restrained and polite at school, it feels very…liberating?…to not have to put on airs.”
“You could just be like that all the time,” Melissa said.
“You think so? Personally, I prefer seeing only snippets of her true self now and then—it makes me feel special, I guess… But on that note, I see you’ve taken to not hiding your true self in front of Melissa,” said Colette.
“Well, I kinda messed up and let it slip out. It feels stupid putting on airs now.”
“I was startled at first, but I think that’s for the best.”
Come to think of it, I never told my friends that Melissa knows the real me. Not like it’s something I need to go out of my way to announce. But still, the fact that I can be myself around her shows a level of trust… Wait, that’s going too far…more like kinship. I can’t deny that.
“Mmm. I think I feel a little jealous… Argh, what is this feeling!”
I smirked at Colette as she growled and threw her arms in the air. I’m just showing her what I always show you. Being jealous is a bit extreme.
The next thing I knew, my iced tea was gone, and my ice slid down to the bottom of my glass with a melodic tinkle that brought a faint moment of peace to the hustle and bustle of the city.
It was Melissa who broke the little moment of tranquility.
“Mylene…” She hunched her shoulders and said, “I owe you an apology.”
“Huhh?” I grunted dubiously.
“I let my prejudice get the better of me, and I treated you horribly. I wrote you off as my enemy…and I wanted to apologize for that.”
“Ah. So that’s all.”
I’d been wondering what she was going to say, but apologizing for her behavior up until now made sense. Then again, it felt a little irrelevant now.
“I don’t really give a shit.”
“I know…but—”
It wasn’t her behavior itself that bothered me. It wasn’t me she hated. She’d just taken me for somebody I wasn’t. I got much shittier treatment than that in my past life.
“I’m telling ya, I don’t care, so it’s a waste of time for you to worry about it. Unlike those vague prophecies you love so much, I mean what I bloody say.”
So the matter was closed. I waved my hand dismissively at Melissa, who just sat there with her jaw hanging open. But then—
“Hee-hee, you’re such an enigma,” she teased, snorting daintily.
Albert and Colette followed suit and laughed. In that moment, it felt like time flowed slowly and peacefully.
And for some weird reason, I didn’t hate it—
“Oops, we shouldn’t loiter. Let’s head back,” I suggested.
My friends agreed. And as I jumped to my feet with more force than necessary, I heard them giggle quietly behind me.
Shit…I just said something really cheesy, didn’t I?