After the attack on the old school building led by Angelica, some time passed, and we arrived at Friday.
“What are we doing over the weekend, Instructor Esta?”
“Unfortunately, we won’t be able to go out.”
After all the regular classes for the week were over, Instructor Esta made a shocking announcement as we wrapped up the week.
“Even on the weekend…?”
“Especially because it’s the weekend.”
“I’ve heard you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Ludmila expressed a bit of dissatisfaction, using a metaphor.
Even though we had entered the old school building for a mission, it was natural that people needed personal time on weekends.
“Does that mean we can’t even go to the Terminal shopping district?”
Ludmila, who had come with literally just her body, had various personal items she needed, making her situation more inconvenient than most.
“Didn’t you hear that you should pack as much as possible when you first came in?”
“I did pack, but it’s true that we need additional supplies.”
“The basic items provided to students should be sufficient, no?”
“Well, we need things like training equipment or extra clothes, personal items, Instructor.”
Ludmila actively appealed more than expected.
The reason had to do with herself but also—
“That’s right! I even wrote a list of things I need to buy for the weekend at the Academy!”
It’s because Yunia, the person she was escorting, was eagerly hoping to go out.
“You made a list? That’s convenient. Submit it, and the Academy will make the purchases.”
“No way!”
Instructor Esta reached out toward Yunia, but Yunia firmly shook her head.
“Don’t you shop for yourself too, Instructor?!”
“…”
“Uh…”
A brief silence.
“Instructor, do you perhaps…?”
“Being a very practical person, I imagine she orders everything in bulk.”
For Esta’s dignity, I decided to cover for her in this regard.
“Instructors probably have even less personal time than we imagine. It must be hard for them to go shopping or enjoy hobbies.”
“Oh, is that so…?”
“Isn’t it? Right, Instructor Esta?”
“Hmm.”
Instructor Esta crossed her arms and remained silent.
I knew that the t-shirts, shorts, and underwear in her room were only in white, gray, and black.
Not that I saw it firsthand—there’s an in-game event where you open her wardrobe.
‘It’s probably still the same now.’
Esta was someone far from fashion.
Meanwhile, Yunia—
“I heard there are lots of pretty clothes at the Terminal and the nearby city by the Academy!”
—Was very much serious about fashion. Specifically, it was because she hadn’t been able to dress up properly before and was now excited to do so.
Why?
Because she lived in the countryside?
“Miss Yunia, did you come from such a remote place that you couldn’t get clothes?”
Evangeline cautiously asked.
For a princess of the new empire, she was surprisingly considerate.
She didn’t feel the need to act sharp toward Yunia, especially after spending the past few days learning how to handle non-attribute mana from her.
“Oh, that’s not it. Silverstar also had a clothing store where I was.”
Except for one thing.
“But the sizes of Silverstar’s clothes didn’t fit me…”
“…Oh, I see.”
It wasn’t about the difference in their mana pockets.
“Well, all the existing ready-made clothes were like that…”
Yunia glanced around the classroom.
Esta sat quietly with her eyes closed, and Ludmila and Evangeline exchanged glances.
Even though there was about a two-hand span difference in their height, when it came to the capacity of their mana pockets, even a 2:1 advantage wouldn’t be enough against Yunia.
No matter how big apples and oranges are, they can’t compare to a mini watermelon, let alone a full-sized one.
“Um…”
In the end, Yunia’s gaze fell on the only person still looking at her—
“Phoenix?”
“Hmm?”
—Me.
“Don’t you have something you need to buy too, Phoenix?”
Yunia was looking for a companion—a weekend shopping buddy.
“I’ve got plenty to buy. Even just window shopping can be meaningful.”
“R-right?!”
“If we check out what stores offer in advance, we’ll know where to go when we need something next time. Don’t you think, Instructor Esta?”
“…There’s truth in that. But—”
“Even if you’re concerned about exposing the students of the old school to the outside, shouldn’t we at least have the freedom to personally choose what we need?”
Instructor Esta closed her eyes at my words, fiddling with the magic pad on her wrist, seemingly deliberating.
“Even students have personal items they need to purchase.”
“But—”
“For example.”
Before Instructor Esta could argue further, I decided to take the offensive.
“I also need to prepare several sets of underwear that fit me.”
“W-what?!”
A statement that could be quite embarrassing, depending on how you hear it.
“U-underwear?!”
“Yes. Men’s underwear, specifically. It’s the first layer of clothing that touches your skin, so you can’t just wear anything, right?”
“…”
“Even if the Academy provides underwear, it’s not going to cater to personal preferences. I’m not exactly keen on wearing the basic supplies meant for students, anyway.”
The Academy provides a minimum of supplies for students entering the dormitories.
This is a welfare measure for students from commoner backgrounds, and Esdinas has put some effort into it.
However—
“The basic men’s underwear provided by the Academy is just running shirts and briefs, which I’m not really interested in.”
“W-What?!”
If only that concern extended to quality and individual preferences, it would be nice.
“For female students, there’s a basic supply that takes mana pouch sizes into consideration when they enter, so it’s not as big of a deal. But for men, the situation can be different.”
“W-what situation are you talking about?” “There is such a thing.”
I made a gesture of slamming my hand on the desk.
“!!”
Instructor Esta’s face suddenly turned bright red, as if she had realized something.
When we were going to meet Marchioness Ludvecia, Esta had pulled me into an alley and taken some bold steps to check my intentions.
She understood immediately.
“To put it more directly, unlike women, for men, it can be troublesome to wear the same size every day.”
“….”
The classroom fell into silence.
Yunia glanced around nervously, and Ludmila stared intently at me from below.
Even though the thick fabric of my uniform pants concealed everything, it seemed like she was trying to guess what was underneath.
“H-Hey.”
Then, Evangeline, seemingly deep in thought, pointed at me.
“H-How… big are you?”
“It’s rude to ask something like that, but for the sake of our fellow students, I suppose I should tell you.”
“No way, you’re actually going to say it?!”
Evangeline leaped up from her seat, pointing accusingly at me.
“Are you crazy?!”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
“Be embarrassed about the things you should be embarrassed about!”
“My body is like a work of art, revealing what’s been hidden is like displaying true beauty.”
“Stop with the nonsense!”
“Alright, alright.”
I spread my hands in front of Evangeline, who was shaking with clenched fists in anger.
“About this much?”
“What…?”
I extended one hand, tapping the middle finger with the other.
“Given this situation, the Academy’s standard supplies, which are based on the average student, don’t fit me.”
“…”
“Instructor Esta, can we do something about this?”
“I understand your point, but the situation is what it is.”
Instructor Esta glanced at the pad with a sour expression.
It seemed there was negative feedback from the faculty regarding our visit to the Terminal.
“If you need something, tell us. The Academy will prepare it and deliver it to the old school building. We’re not going to provide subpar goods either; we’ll ensure the highest quality.”
“A-ah….”
Yunia drooped her shoulders, looking disheartened.
It’s understandable that if someone had something “unique” or something they’d rather not openly share, it would be hard to mention it.
‘Especially if their taste leans toward, well, adult-style designs.’
How could someone even bring that up?
Asking for a set of luxurious red lace underwear with elegant black frills—
“Phoenix?”
“Yes?”
“It just felt like you were thinking something naughty about me.”
“If I were having inappropriate thoughts about you, Miss Yunia, I’d actually be thinking about how to deal with people who might have those kinds of thoughts towards you.”
“That’s not necessarily a problem, but the way you phrased it sounds suspicious…”
“Even if it’s suspicious, I won’t say it.”
I tapped my head lightly.
“I may reveal the desires of others, but I can’t expose my own.”
They had all witnessed my abilities since the Angelica incident.
“Desires, huh? Like getting the underwear you want?”
“No.”
If someone could access my dreams and see my innermost desires, it would probably be enough to mentally shock them to death.
“If my desires were revealed through a dream spell, there would only be one thing I’d show others.”
The deepest desire in my heart.
“You want to go home?”
Return.
I would return to my original world and claim my 200 billion.
But—
“Home….”
“But if I’m going back, I might as well return with a harem.”
After coming to this world, I developed a personal ambition.
“At this point, just going home feels like a waste.”
If possible, I wouldn’t go back alone.
* * *
After dinner, we returned to our rooms.
– We’ll arrange for the items sold at the Terminal to be loaded onto a magic truck and brought here. It’ll be a mobile store for now… You’ll have to make do with this for the time being.
With the Academy organizing a truck to deliver goods from stores like convenience shops or clothing retailers to the old school, we were tasked with submitting a list of items we needed.
“Hmm.”
Honestly, I didn’t really need anything.
I could create clothes with mana, and the Academy provided all the food.
Maybe I could request some small snacks, but since I didn’t know what was available, I couldn’t just write anything down.
‘What should I even ask for?’
Despite that, I needed to act like a normal person.
Even though I didn’t need anything, I had to prepare the essentials that a human would typically require to live.
In that case—
‘Should I borrow Yunia’s list and submit that?’
I could simply use her list as a reference.
I stood up and opened the door.
“Uh…?”
Outside the door—
“Oh, you’re still awake, right?”
Yunia stood there, dressed rather lightly, awkwardly greeting me.
“Um, Phoenix?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I’m really sorry, but…”
“I don’t know what it is yet, but why don’t you come inside and talk?”
“…Okay.”
Yunia stepped inside, and I closed the door.
Click.
Correction—locked it.
“Phoenix.”
With a look of determination, Yunia pulled something out from her chest pocket.
“Could you… maybe include this in your list of items?”
