The next stop should be a women’s clothing store. I bought my spare underwear and clothes in the drugstore, but it wasn’t the case for Mimi. I actually wanted to have Mimi go to the clothing store by herself while I head on over to the Mercenary Guild. But, considering our circumstances, it wasn’t that advisable. It’s better if I tag along with her after all. However, it’s a women’s clothing store y’know…

“……”

“Um, what’s the matter?”

“No, uh… Isn’t the clothing selection kinda… y’know… unusual?”

The stuff lined up on the window displays were mostly things like nurse, maid, magical-girl and bunny girl costumes – among other clothing catering to certain *ehem fetishes. All of them have this sort of cyberpunk feel incorporated in their designs.

“Is that so? I think they all look very beautiful. But they seem pretty expensive.”

“Eh? That’s all?”

“Um, yes. What’s wrong?”

“No, uh… Anyway, do you want to have a look around?”

“Yes please.”

Looks like girls really do enjoy shopping for clothes. Mimi seemed quite excited about the prospect anyway.

Mimi seemed to hold no doubts about the clothing sold in the store. But to me, they look like kinky cosplay costumes no matter how you slice it. Were these types of oddball clothes the latest trend in fashion in this world? I entered the store feeling a little uneasy, but the shop interior actually looked surprisingly normal…

“Nope. I spoke too soon.”

“???”

Mimi curiously tilted her head when she heard me. Cosplay costumes here. Cosplay costumes there. Cosplay costumes freaking everywhere! Sure, they were designed in a futuristic fashion, but they were still cosplay costumes man! No, maybe this was just a specialty area in this store. I’m sure they have normal-looking clothes for sale in the back. Probably. I hope.

Or rather, I couldn’t spot anyone walking around wearing these kinds of clothes. Maybe they simply aren’t able to sell this stuff?

“Welcome!”

A female shop clerk wearing a futuristic bunny ear headband appeared from within the store sporting her best business smile. Her uniform offered little skin exposure, but it really resembled a bunny suit nonetheless.

“We came to buy some clothes for her but… do you sell any normal clothes not catering to any sort of strange hobby in this store?”

“Of course we do dear costumer.”

“Alright then. Go ahead and buy all the clothes and underwear you need Mimi. As for me…”

“We have some seats over there sir. You can rest there if you like.”

“Got it.”

“Uh, um…”

“Don’t worry about the prices. Buy as much as you need. Okay?”

“Yes.”

Mimi nodded obediently. That’s more like it. It’s way better than her holding back.

“You’re quite the generous one, aren’t you dear customer.”

“This girl is an apprentice merc. Nah, she’s an apprentice ship operator. You can pretty much tell my occupation from my outfit right?”

“You’re a registered mercenary, right? So that means this girl will be boarding your ship huh?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Hmmm…?”

The shop clerk kept glancing back and forth between me and Mimi.

“We have a considerable selection here – ranging from the prim and proper to the bold and daring. You’ve really done well for yourself, haven’t you oniisan?”

“……Please choose some clothes fit for a mercenary ship operator. As for other clothes, just pick out what this girl likes best.”

“Understood. Sa~a, sa~a. Please come with me, dear customer.”

“Eh… Uh… Okay.”

The shop clerk dragged the flustered Mimi further inside the store.

“Now then…”

I’m sure it’ll take some time for them to finish shopping. It seems there’s only women’s clothing as merchandise in this store. Since that’s the case, it’ll be awkward if I try to wander around here on my own. I took out my mobile data terminal and opened the messaging app. Of course the only registered contact was a certain disappointing space elf.

“You’ve really done it this time. Way to go with egging her on, lady.”

“I did it for the sake of the two of you okay. You seem like an inexperienced young master, so if I didn’t go that far you two would never have progressed,” came the quick reply.

Was she languishing in boredom again? She did say the System armed forces were making preparations for subjugating the pirates or something yesterday. Looks like she’s staying on standby today as well due to it.

“Well? Did you go and do it?”

“To think I’d actually experience a lady asking me if I went and did it with another girl… Well, that ended up being the case, yeah.”

“If you actually said you didn’t do anything after all that, I was planning on heading over to your ship right away and giving you a piece of my mind mister.”

“Ooh, scary.”

An animated image of a cartoonish cat-creature punching a mouse-creature was sent to my terminal. So this messaging app had this kind of function huh?

“So what’s your business with me? Don’t tell me you messaged me just to air out your grievances?”

“Nah. Y’see I kinda want Mimi to learn about how to be a ship operator, so I was wondering if you knew whether or not the Mercenary Guild has some learning materials, technical manuals or educational apps for the job.”

“Isn’t it better if you asked the Mercenary Guild directly…? Well, I did hear they had some of those, though.”

“So they do have them, then. Can I get some personal copies at the branch office?”

“That I don’t know. But I did hear that the Mercenary Training Institute run by the Guild makes use of that sort of stuff. You better ask at the Guild directly for more details.”

“Aye, ma’am!”

I selected an animated image of a penguin giving a crisp salute from the menu and sent it to Elma. I ended up killing time with the messaging app, talking about things like the results for Mimi’s vitals check-up and the fact that I was free because Mimi was busy choosing clothes.

Mimi and the store clerk finally returned after some time. Since they don’t seem to be carrying anything on them, the clothes were probably already sent to the ship.

“All finished?”

“Y- Yes!”

When I turned towards the clerk, she gave me an ambiguous smile in return. Oh boy. Everything’s fine right…?

“How much is it?”

“This is the total price of the goods sir.”

The clerk handed me a tablet terminal. There was a 3D image of Mimi wearing what looked like a futuristic bunny girl outfit on the screen. The image was composed by an app that combines the data of a person’s body shape and the clothes to create a realistic approximation of how they would look when worn.

Umu. Mimi’s chest assets certainly possessed extreme offensive power. Rather, they’re on the verge of spilling out oi! Ah, how indecent!

“I’m sorry. I seem to have made a mistake, sir.”

“Can you delete that?”

The store clerk nodded in reply, but came closer and whispered something to me.

“If you register as an official VIP member, we can give you recommendations regarding the most suitable clothes to purchase by collating the data from all our chain stores. You can also make purchases online and get updates once new products get released.”

“…Can I get that clothing trial thing installed on my terminal, too?”

“Of course dear customer. If you install our exclusive app, you’ll be able to use that feature freely.”

“You got yourself a deal, lady.”

I paid for the clothes and got myself registered as a VIP member as well. The price was reasonable, too. It was way cheaper compared to the price of ammo for my ship’s cannons and my ultimate “trump card” in any case. This is considering my total assets as well.

After paying up, we headed to the main destination for today; the Mercenary Guild.

“We’re going to the Mercenary Guild next.”

“Yes.”

“Actually, there’s an uncle with a really scary face over there. He’s kinda a perfect fit for the image of a Mercenary Guild.”

“I- I see.”

“But he’s actually quite a nice guy once you get to know him. And the place really looks like your usual government office, so you don’t have to feel so nervous, okay.”

“Yes!”

Man. Just looking at Mimi’s smiling face heals my poor, little heart. You may have other opinions, but I say cute is justice!

But Mimi’s such a cute girl after all… I think it would be better if she learned some self-defense techniques or had a weapon for protecting herself on her. Guess I’ll ask the receptionist uncle about this sort of stuff as well.