Chapter 78 - shopping nightmare
After that incident, the entire shop fell silent.
No one dared approach Amy or me anymore.
The shop owner smiled politely and guided us toward her private office.
The moment the door closed behind us, her entire expression changed.
The cold and intimidating aura she had shown earlier disappeared, replaced by a warm and friendly smile.
"So..."
She looked at Amy.
"I assume you’re here because of next week’s banquet?"
Amy nodded.
"Yeah."
"I need to pick out a lot of clothes for my little brother."
"He also needs several formal suits for the banquet."
The shop owner finally turned her attention toward me.
The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up.
"Oh?"
"So this is your little brother?"
A bright smile appeared on her face.
"He’s absolutely adorable."
Then she looked at me carefully.
"He’ll make the perfect clothes hanger."
She clearly meant it as a compliment.
To me...
It sounded like a death sentence.
Amy’s cold expression immediately disappeared, replaced by a familiar mischievous grin.
"Exactly."
"Today, we’ll be trying on lots of clothes."
I immediately tried to protest.
"W-Wait—"
Unfortunately...
Both Amy and the shop owner completely ignored me.
It was over.
There was no escaping my fate as today’s clothes hanger.
Accepting my inevitable defeat, I quietly walked toward a nearby chair and collapsed into it.
Meanwhile, Amy and the shop owner enthusiastically began discussing colors, fabrics, and designs that would suit me.
At this point...
I wasn’t sure whether they had forgotten to ask for my opinion...
Or simply didn’t care about it.
Either way...
I felt completely defeated.
After a long discussion, they finally decided on several designs and colors.
Amy picked up one of the suits and handed it to me.
"Hurry up."
"We still have a lot more clothes to try on."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Hey."
"I’m not a clothes hanger."
"Just buy one or two outfits and let’s go."
Amy looked at me as though I had just said something completely ridiculous.
"That’s enough nonsense."
"Hurry up."
I looked at Amy.
Then I looked at the shop owner.
Both of them were smiling.
At that moment...
I realized this was a battle I was destined to lose.
With a defeated sigh, I walked into the changing room, changed into the suit Amy had chosen, and stepped outside.
The moment I appeared...
Both Amy and the shop owner’s eyes lit up.
They immediately walked around me, carefully examining every detail.
"This color suits him."
"But the sleeves could be adjusted."
"The shoulders need some changes."
"The collar should be different."
Before I could even react, they had already created another list of improvements.
Then they handed me another outfit.
The process repeated itself.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Before I realized it...
I had already changed clothes more than ten times.
At this point...
I felt like a walking corpse.
Yet neither of them paid any attention to my exhausted expression.
Instead, they simply handed me another outfit.
I silently accepted my fate, entered the changing room, and changed again.
Then...
For the first time since this nightmare began...
Both Amy and the shop owner stopped talking.
They carefully looked me up and down.
Then, at the exact same time—
"This is the one."
The suit was elegant and refined.
The black fabric matched my black hair perfectly, while the design brought out my blood-red eyes, giving me a calm and sharp appearance.
Honestly...
I didn’t really care how it looked.
The only thing I heard was...
"This is the one."
Hope immediately returned to my eyes.
Finally...
This endless cycle of changing clothes was over.
Amy nodded in satisfaction.
"This will be the suit you wear to the banquet."
I immediately relaxed.
Just as I turned around to change back into my normal clothes...
Amy suddenly grabbed me by the collar.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
I froze.
"We’ve only chosen one suit."
"You need at least five formal outfits."
"And several casual ones too."
The hope that had just returned instantly disappeared.
The light faded from my eyes.
I returned to my previous walking-corpse state.
The shop owner smiled brightly.
"Hmm."
"That’s a wonderful idea."
"I have plenty more clothes we can try on your brother."
I looked at her with betrayal.
But...
I no longer had the energy to argue.
And so...
The endless cycle of changing clothes continued.
For several more hours...
The endless cycle continued.
Eventually, it finally came to an end.
I slowly walked toward a chair, collapsed into it, and let out a tired sigh.
"...Can we go home now?"
My voice was barely a whisper.
Amy completely ignored my exhausted state.
Instead, she smiled brightly.
"What are you talking about?"
"Now it’s my turn."
I looked at her in confusion.
"My turn?"
She nodded.
"You have to help me choose my clothes."
"You’ll be my commentator."
My expression immediately froze.
After everything I had just endured...
It wasn’t even over yet.
My stomach suddenly growled loudly.
At that moment, I realized this shopping trip was going to continue for a while.
Without hesitation, I took out some snacks and a bottle of juice from my Space Storage.
If I was going to be trapped here any longer...
At least I wasn’t going to starve.
A little while later...
Amy walked out wearing an elegant black dress.
The design matched the suit she had chosen for me, giving both of us a similar style.
She spun around once before looking at me.
"Well?"
"What do you think?"
I looked at her carefully and answered honestly.
"It looks beautiful."
Smack.
She lightly hit me on the head.
"What kind of answer is that?"
"Can’t you give me a proper opinion?"
"Don’t answer so casually."
I rubbed my head and sighed.
"...Fine."
From that moment onward...
I officially became Amy’s personal fashion commentator.
After I finally convinced her that the dress looked perfect...
She frowned.
"...No."
"This one isn’t right."
Before I could react, she had already walked back toward the changing room.
The shop owner nodded seriously.
"This color doesn’t match your aura."
"That one is too bright."
"This design lacks elegance."
"That style doesn’t suit you."
Listening to their discussion made my head feel like it was about to explode.
The most unbelievable part...
The shop owner agreed with every single thing Amy said.
They were both equally serious.
This truly was a nightmare.
After another long period of trying different outfits, I finally let out an exhausted groan.
Amy looked at me with an innocent smile.
"Don’t be selfish."
"Don’t you want your amazing big sister to look beautiful?"
"..."
I immediately closed my mouth.
There was no winning against her.
So...
I simply accepted my fate.
After what felt like an eternity...
Amy finally finished choosing all the clothes she wanted.
She stretched happily before looking at me with a bright smile.
"Alright."
"Let’s go."
"See?"
"That was fun, wasn’t it?"
I stared at her.
Then I let out a long sigh.
"...Yeah, yeah."
"Let’s just go home."
Before we left, the shop owner walked over to see us off.
She smiled warmly.
"Thank you for visiting."
"Please come again."
Amy smiled and waved.
"I will."
I also gave a small smile and nodded.
"Thank you."
Sure...
They had turned me into a dress-up doll for an entire day.
But despite that...
The shop owner had genuinely been kind to us.
As soon as we stepped outside, Amy suddenly turned toward me.
"So, little brother."
"What do you think?"
"Should we eat dinner outside today?"
For a moment...
My eyes lit up.
The idea was tempting.
But then I remembered Mom would be waiting for us at home.
I shook my head.
"Let’s do that another day."
"Mom is waiting for us."
Amy thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"You’re right."
"We shouldn’t keep Mom waiting."
She stored all of our newly purchased clothes inside her Space Ring, and the two of us began making our way back home.
After walking for a while...
The familiar sight of the Starlight Mansion came into view.
As we entered the estate, Amy looked at me.
"I’ll take care of the clothes."
"I’ll organize everything, and when the banquet arrives, I’ll make sure you’re dressed properly."
I nodded.
"Alright."
"That’ll be much easier."
Together, we entered the mansion, ready to enjoy dinner with Mom after an unusually long day.