Chapter 63: Couple T-Shirts

In the end, we decided to buy the medium-sized, one-piece silicone breastplate. When I saw the price, I understood why it looked so realistic, but Eris stopped me from objecting by saying she would cover the cosplay expenses for now.

My debt to her in meals continued to grow.

Buying the remaining supplies didn’t take nearly as long as choosing the breastplate.

We picked out a heat-resistant white wig that reached my waist. To keep the hair from looking completely straight, we chose a silver-white one with gentle waves at the ends. Then we found dark red contact lenses that fit my eyes, a crown resembling black thorns, and a fake crow that could be secured to my shoulder.

For the flower Evelyn would carry, we chose an artificial rose with red petals tinged with black. Fake blood, gray and black fabric paints, skin adhesive, adhesive remover, and countless makeup products that Eris insisted were necessary were added to the bags as well.

By the time we finished shopping, our hands were full of bags, and our bank accounts were considerably unhappier than they had been a few hours earlier.

At least, mine was... Unlike Eris, I didn’t have wealthy parents supporting me.

As we prepared to leave the mall, a clothing store across the corridor caught my attention.

"Wait a minute."

Eris stopped and turned toward me.

"What else do we still need?"

"I want to buy some normal clothes."

After glancing at the anime girl printed on my shirt, she raised one eyebrow.

"Isn’t what you’re wearing now normal?"

"No."

Just thinking about the wardrobe left behind by this world’s Noctis made my head hurt. Most of his clothes either came in pastel colors with feminine cuts or had anime characters printed on them.

The only normal outfit I could wear was the tracksuit I used for my morning runs. Since I wore it almost every day, it wouldn’t be long before people started thinking I only owned one set of clothes.

"I need to get my wardrobe in order before university starts."

"All right," Eris said. "A little more shopping won’t hurt."

Our bank cards disagreed.

When we entered the store together, I headed straight for the men’s section. I chose plain black and white T-shirts without any prints, a dark hoodie, straight-cut black jeans, and cargo pants with plenty of pockets.

Then I added a dark green overshirt and a pair of simple black sneakers to the basket.

Eris had been silently watching me for a while.

She finally spoke as I placed the dark gray T-shirt in my hand into the basket.

"Are you changing your style?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Nothing you’ve chosen has anything to do with what you used to wear. Whenever we came shopping before, you’d look at colorful clothes or things with anime characters first. I don’t remember you ever entering the men’s section willingly either."

There was more suspicion than mockery in her voice.

I stared at the hanger in my hand while considering my answer. Eris knew Noctis better than anyone else in this world. Just as she had noticed the change in the way I spoke, she had also realized that my choice of clothes was different.

"I told you I wanted to change."

Eris fixed her gaze on my face.

"After being thrown out by my family, I don’t want to keep living the way I used to. I’m starting university soon, and having to open my wardrobe every morning and go outside with a pink anime girl on my shirt is starting to annoy me."

I pointed toward the shirt I was currently wearing.

"Like right now."

Eris didn’t respond for a while.

Her gaze moved toward the dark clothes I had chosen, then returned to my face. I expected her to continue questioning me, but her shoulders eventually relaxed slightly.

"Changing isn’t a bad thing," she said. "I’ve just known you for so long that some things feel unfamiliar."

"I feel more comfortable wearing these."

"Then there’s no problem. Choose whatever you want."

Her words eased some of the tension inside me. Eris still thought there was something strange about me, but the fact that she accepted my desire to change meant she wouldn’t ask any more questions for now.

After trying on the clothes I had chosen, we were preparing to head for the checkout when Eris suddenly stopped.

Her attention had been caught by a small display beside the wall.

The stand held T-shirts sold in matching sets of two. Written in large letters across the top of the sign were the words [FOR COUPLES].

I immediately knew something bad was about to happen.

"No."

I answered before Eris could even speak.

"You don’t know what I was going to say."

"I know that look on your face."

She walked over to the display and picked up two black T-shirts. Each had half of a red heart printed across the front. When worn side by side, the two halves joined to form a complete heart, and the small sentence beneath it was completed across both shirts.

Eris held one of them in front of her body.

"Let’s get these."

"The sign says they’re for couples."

"Yes, I can read too."

"We aren’t a couple."

"Childhood friends can wear matching shirts too."

"Then why aren’t they in the section for friends?"

"Because the store’s marketing team lacks imagination."

I tried to return the shirts to the display, but Eris pushed my hand away.

"Let’s try them on once. If they look bad, we won’t buy them."

"I know this is a trap."

"I paid for the wedding dress."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Are you already using that against me?"

"Yes."

After protesting for a while longer, I finally gave in. As I took one of the shirts and headed toward the fitting room, Eris smiled as if she had won.

Once we had changed, we met in front of the large mirror. We were both wearing black T-shirts. Mine had the left half of the heart, while Eris’s had the right.

When Eris moved closer and pressed our shoulders together, the two halves joined.

"See? It looks good."

"You’re far too happy about a T-shirt."

She took out her phone and opened the camera.

"Let’s take a picture."

"No."

Ignoring my answer, she wrapped one arm around my shoulders. Her warm skin touched my face as she pressed her cheek against mine, and several strands of her hair brushed against my chin.

Eris flashed a peace sign at the mirror.

"You do it too."

"I’m not doing that."

"If you don’t, I’ll post the picture of you wearing the wedding dress."

I reluctantly raised my hand and formed a peace sign with two fingers.

The moment Eris took the picture, the smile on her face grew even wider. As I looked at our reflection, I had to admit that we didn’t look as bad as I had expected.

Our cheeks were pressed together, and our shoulders touched. The half-hearts on our shirts formed a complete shape as Eris smiled brightly, while I looked calm despite myself.

It really looked like a couple’s photo.

As my face grew slightly warm at the thought, Eris moved away from me.

"I’m keeping this."

"You’re not posting it anywhere."

"You’ve been saying that a lot today."

"Because you keep taking pictures of me without permission."

After changing back into our clothes, we took everything I had chosen and the matching T-shirts to the checkout. When Eris pulled out her wallet to pay for her shirt, I stopped her hand.

"I’ll pay this time."

"You already spent a lot of money on your phone."

"You paid for the wedding dress and the cosplay supplies. Two T-shirts aren’t going to bankrupt me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It’s fine."

After paying for all the clothes, we left the store. Both of our hands were now full of bags, and the light coming through the mall’s glass ceiling had turned orange as evening approached.

Assuming Eris would come home with me, I began thinking about what I could prepare for dinner.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked. "I could make pasta at home, or if we buy some meat from the store—"

Eris was staring at her phone, seemingly too focused on something on the screen to hear me.

She was probably looking at the picture we had just taken.

"Eris?"

She didn’t react.

"Oiii, I’m talking to you."

After staring at her phone for a few more seconds, she suddenly raised her head.

"Do you want to go to my place?"