Chapter 28:

It was certainly a good opportunity.

Getting invited by Raven to accompany him to Nemesis Corporation’s party.

Imagining the soon-to-be complete Fixer Office team in my head made me feel excited.

But of course, happiness in this world rarely comes without a price.

I was soon faced with a trial that made me break into a cold sweat.

“Dress code?”

Alice widened her eyes at Raven from across the couch, as if she were hearing the term for the first time in her life.

“Yeah. It’s a pretty big corporation, after all. They’re asking attendees to adhere to at least a minimal dress code: suits for men, dresses for women, that kind of thing.”

“Oh… d-dresses, you say….”

“Got anything appropriate for the occasion?”

“Hmm… I do have a few, but they’re all in a traditional Japanese style. Would that be okay?”

“Japanese style? Oh, you mean wa-style clothing. Huh… I’m not sure.”

Raven stroked his chin, looking contemplative.

Generally, such parties didn’t outright reject traditional clothing.

Especially since the atmosphere seemed casual enough to invite someone like Raven, who had little connection to the company.

Ultimately, the dress code was about showing respect and formality.

From that perspective, traditional attire might stand out a bit, but it wasn’t inappropriate.

Sure, wearing a kimono might attract some attention in a sea of suits and gowns, but…

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem. I’ll double-check with the organizers, though. Just don’t wear anything where, you know, your underwear straps might show.”

“Wh-what?! U-underwear straps?! They don’t show, okay?! That’s harassment! Seriously!”

Alice’s face turned bright red as she angrily shouted back at Raven.

Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, wouldn’t a dress with a deep slit risk showing straps?

How had I never noticed Alice’s underwear straps before?

As I pondered this curious mystery, Alice suddenly pulled me into her arms, shouting,

“Well, that’s me taken care of! But what about Yuria?”

“Huh? Oh, right. The part-timer doesn’t have anything to wear, does she?”

Why was this suddenly directed at me? I hadn’t done anything!

But… they weren’t wrong.

If the party required adhering to a dress code, it was indeed a problem for someone like me, whose wardrobe consisted only of pajamas and a maid outfit.

Buying something suitable wasn’t an option either. Fancy party attire was expensive, and I was broke.

“Alice, don’t you have something from when you were younger?”

“All of that’s back at my family’s home. Besides, I grew up pretty fast, so….”

“Hmm, I see.”

“W-where are you looking while saying that?!”

Thud!

Alice’s foot lashed out like a whip, striking Raven’s thigh.

Even from my position nestled in her arms, I could understand the reason for her retaliation.

It was obvious where Raven’s gaze had lingered for a moment—Alice was quite… uh, developed.

Although her posture made the strike somewhat awkward, her strength made up for it.

Raven rubbed the sore spot nonchalantly before coming up with another suggestion.

“Then how about renting a dress? It’d be much cheaper than buying one outright.”

“Would that be okay? It’d still be pretty pricey, and you don’t exactly have a lot of money, Mr. Jin.”

“I’ve got a little set aside for situations like this. Think of it as a staff welfare expense.”

Raven’s decision was to rent rather than buy.

Special occasion attire like this was often too expensive to justify purchasing outright—like wedding dresses. You only wear them once, so spending millions on one seems wasteful.

Hence the existence of rental shops, which cater to such needs at a fraction of the cost.

It seemed Raven planned to go down that route.

But… I didn’t really want to wear a dress.

“When should we go? Sooner would be better, given the timeline.”

“Let’s go today! You’re free, right?”

“I guess, but it’s up to the part-timer. What do you think?”

“Yuria, are you busy tonight? Want to come dress shopping with your big sister?”

“….”

Alice’s expectant eyes bore into me, practically demanding I say yes.

Raven, too, gave me a calm but reassuring look, as if to say, “Don’t worry about the money.”

There was no way to refuse.

Not that I even wanted to.

What was I going to do? Skip the party? Miss the moment when the Fixer Office team officially comes together?

‘Ugh… f-fine. I’ll just pick something simple.’

Resigning myself to my fate, I buried my face in Alice’s arms.

I couldn’t believe I was actually going to wear a dress.

Was this really happening? The thought alone filled me with self-conscious despair.

—

The rental shop Raven had found was located in a busy downtown shopping district.

Apparently, it was one of the more affordable places specializing in children’s clothing.

Wait—children’s clothing? I really had to wear a kid’s dress?

The humiliation was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“Welcome~ Oh my, are you two married?”

“No! Definitely not!”

“I called earlier. We’re looking for a child-sized dress. And we’re not a couple.”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry! You just looked so good together, I couldn’t help myself. Ahem, the children’s section is this way.”

With a cheerful laugh, the shopkeeper led us to the back of the store.

Looking around, I could confirm that this was indeed a children’s clothing store—everything was tiny.

‘Wow, this is… no, just… wow….’

The designs of the dresses on display left me stunned.

White dresses, blue dresses, red dresses, purple dresses—all frilly, some adorned with large bows or artificial flowers.

They were the kind of dresses that little girls dreaming of being princesses would love.

I thought I had mentally prepared myself on the way here, but seeing those dresses in person made me flush with embarrassment.

“Oh, this one’s nice. Yuria’s fair skin and hair would look great in deep red. What do you think?”

“Yeah, it’s not bad.”

“Wow, this one’s amazing too! Yuria would look like a total fairy in this!”

“I like it.”

“Hey, Mr. Jin, that’s too emotionless!”

As I stood there, paralyzed by my cruel fate, Alice and Raven’s voices broke through my daze.

Curious, I turned to see what they had found: a deep raspberry-colored dress and another in pastel shades.

I didn’t have an eye for dresses, so I couldn’t tell if they were good or not.

What I did know was that the thought of wearing one made cold sweat trickle down my back, my heart pounding in dread.

‘Am I really going to wear one of these?’

To be honest, I really didn’t want to.

This was fundamentally different from the maid uniform I usually wore.

That was more like a work uniform, something I could justify as practical and necessary for my job.

But these dresses? They were essentially saying, Look at me, I’m a little girl!

And while that wasn’t physically incorrect, I wasn’t emotionally ready to fully embrace that truth just yet.

‘Ugh… but for the sake of experiencing the original story…!’

Of course, I could always refuse to wear the dress and skip the party altogether.

No one was holding a knife to my throat, and Raven certainly wasn’t going to drag me there by force.

But weighing my minor embarrassment against the chance to witness a major scene from the original story?

There was no contest—I had to choose the latter.

Skipping this over something as trivial as not wanting to wear a dress? That’d be ridiculous.

Besides, I was already wearing a mask to hide my face. What was there to be embarrassed about?

“The young lady here is the one wearing it, right? In that case, please choose one of these. I believe these will be just the right size.”

“Yuria, go ahead and pick one.”

“….”

Fine. Let’s just get this over with.

Resolving myself, I gave the shop a quick but serious glance.

After a moment, I selected the simplest, least revealing blue dress I could find and raised it high above my head like a certain monkey presenting a lion cub.

This will do. No need to look further—let’s just end it here.

Without words, my gesture made my intentions clear.

“Oh my, that’s quite a classic choice. Would you like to try it on?”

“Can she do that?”

“Of course! You can’t choose a dress without trying it on first.”

“Perfect! Go try it on, Yuria.”

What? Here? Now?

Before I could process what was happening, I found myself being ushered into a fitting room with the dress in hand.

Inside, it was just me, a large mirror, and the plain dress hanging from my arms.

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel a bit dazed by the sudden turn of events.

‘Well… I guess I should at least try it on. I’m going to wear it at the party anyway.’

After confirming that the fitting room door was securely locked, I hesitantly hung up the dress and began undressing.

I slipped out of my maid uniform—a task I could now practically do with my eyes closed—and put on the surprisingly straightforward dress.

Once I was reasonably certain everything was in place, I glanced at the mirror.

In the reflection stood a girl wearing a fox mask and an elegant blue dress—a surreal, almost dreamlike image.

This… this was a bit much.

‘I can’t do this.’

I quickly shed the dress and returned to the familiarity of my maid uniform.

Even though no one else was watching, I couldn’t handle the overwhelming cuteness staring back at me in the mirror.

It was too much.

Why did it have to suit me so well?!

Feeling defeated by the emotional turmoil, I could only let out a resigned sigh.

“Huh? Yuria, is something wrong? Was there a problem with the dress?”

“….”

“Should I bring you another one?”

“….”

I shook my head repeatedly, cradling the dress as I trudged out of the fitting room.

Alice seemed to think there was something wrong with the dress itself, but the truth was much simpler:

I just couldn’t bring myself to wear it.

I’m sorry for being like this. Honestly, I’d rather just skip the party altogether….

As I dejectedly handed the dress back to the shopkeeper, I hung my head in shame.

That’s when Raven, who had been silently observing from a distance, suddenly spoke up.

“Would you prefer something other than a dress?”

“Huh? Mr. Jin, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’m asking if she’d be okay with something other than a dress. What do you think, part-timer?”

How did he know I didn’t want to wear it?

Startled, I turned to him with a surprised expression, as if he’d just read my mind.

Raven clicked his tongue and walked over to the shopkeeper.

“Do you have any children’s suits? Something suitable for her size.”

“Well… I suppose we do.”

“Even though she’s a girl, at her age, the difference between boys’ and girls’ clothing isn’t that noticeable. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Was it just my imagination, or did his eyes look strangely… sad as he said that?

“Yuria, are you okay with not wearing a dress?”

“…!”

I gave him a silent but enthusiastic nod.

Not having to wear a dress? That was perfect!

I wasn’t sure what assumptions he was making, but I wasn’t going to argue.

Instead, I inwardly cackled like a villain plotting their next scheme. This was going to work out in my favor.

From there, everything moved swiftly.

Children’s suits didn’t feel nearly as embarrassing as dresses.

I even got into it, trying on different options and debating with Alice about which one suited me best.

As it turned out, I had long arms and legs for a kid, giving me a model-like figure in the realm of children’s clothing.

Honestly, the suits suited me better than the dresses did—or at least, that’s how I felt.

Click! Click!

“Aww! So cute! What’s with this androgynous charm? I have to take pictures!”

“….”

“Are you going to keep snapping photos every time she changes? When is this going to end? Let’s wrap it up already.”

Alice’s overflowing excitement set off her shutter-happy tendencies, but Raven’s patience wore thin after my tenth outfit change.

Thanks to his intervention, we finally managed to wrap things up.

I eventually settled on a suit I liked, which meant I could meet the party’s dress code after all.

—

A few days later, we found ourselves standing in front of Nemesis Corporation’s building, where the launch party Beyond the Metafuture was being held.

“Alright. We’re just guests here, so don’t cause any trouble. Eat, look around, and leave quietly. Got it?”

“Got it!”

“…!”

Alice and I raised our hands in a gesture of solemn agreement to Raven’s reminder.

Of course, knowing what was about to happen, I was just playing along.

Clutching Alice’s hand to avoid getting separated, I tilted my head as a small thought crossed my mind.

‘Huh? Now that I think about it, something feels… missing.’

It wasn’t anything major, but there was definitely something that should’ve been here.

Unable to put my finger on it, I shrugged off the nagging thought and followed the others into the building.

The excitement of a major event from the original story was about to begin.