Orario's District One is lined with all kinds of clothing shops.
It's worth mentioning that, in this fantasy world currently living in the Age of the Gods, there isn't just one sentient race called "humans." As a result… over the past thousand years, all sorts of specialty stores have gradually been established.
After all, beastmen have tails. Amazons dislike wearing too much fabric. Reserved elves are the complete opposite… and dwarves have particularly unique body proportions.
If specialty shops didn't exist, many demi-human races would probably have to custom-order all their clothes.
Oh? You ask why humans don't need to worry about such trivial matters?
That's simple—because humans share almost the same appearance and body type as most spirits and gods.
And the entire Lower World, without question, exists to serve the gods.
Humans… though it may not sound very nice to say, truly do benefit from Falnaitism in many ways in the DanMachi world.
Today…
"Come, come—'Freya-chan,' try this one on."
"Mm."
"And this one too."
"Mm."
"What do you think?"
"Mm."
Watching someone who had completely given up on thinking and essentially hypnotized herself into becoming a human-shaped automated response machine, Syr planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks.
"It feels like you're being really half-hearted with me today."
"Mm… ah, no."
The "silver-haired goddess" snapped back to her senses. "I just feel that it's a bit boring if I'm the only one trying on clothes the whole time."
"Then…"
Syr tapped her index finger lightly against her lips. "'Freya,' you should help me pick one too."
As she spoke, her little devilish aura was on full display—cunning glint in her eyes, her gaze silky and seductive.
Nearby, a rabbit boy tasked with carrying bags was utterly dumbfounded.
Honestly speaking, Bell was under immense pressure today.
Pure as he was, how could he have ever seen a scene like this—experts exchanging blows?
And yet…
"Mmm~ watching this in person really is interesting."
Great. There was another little devil traveling alongside them.
Truth be told, Bell hadn't interacted much with Lumine in the past, so he only knew her heroic side.
Now, it seemed…
"So Miss Lumine can be this black-hearted too—ah, no, this… formidable?"
One could only say that Bell, who had grown up following a certain god (Zeus), had ultimately been stuffed full of "special knowledge" rarely found in the Lower World.
For example, along the future original timeline of this world, Bell knew that Ais possessed an excessively airheaded personality.
Such "professional terminology" was practically unheard of down here.
And now…
"As for Syr (Freya)…"
Helping her pick clothes?
That didn't intimidate Renjiro at all.
Right—just pull out the patience he used every New Year when shopping with his mom.
The only difference was that now, he had to play the role of the "mom."
Based on that…
Too little fabric? …No good.
Poor quality? …Also no good.
And it couldn't look too lewd either—otherwise it might get instantly censored by the Great Crab God¹ and clipped straight into a flat-faced overlord (Agul Ultraman).
"What a pity there's no military greatcoat in this world."
Cough cough. Just kidding.
Renjiro wasn't some titanium-alloy–reinforced steel straight man. He did know how to help girls choose clothes.
For Syr, with her gray hair and gray eyes, white dresses suited her well—but occasionally pairing her with darker colors wasn't bad either.
And her skin quality was excellent… though, come to think of it, how could a god's skin not be good?
Anyway—back on track.
"How about this one?"
Renjiro picked out a chocolate-colored puff skirt… mm, very conservative fabric coverage.
However, when he (she?) casually lifted it off the hanger—
Damn it, false advertising.
Why did a perfectly decent puff skirt have to be backless?
Renjiro was just about to quietly put it back when—
"I'll take this one."
Syr snatched it away with lightning speed.
"Even if it looks a bit like a maid outfit… this is the first piece of clothing you ever chose for me."
The girl (goddess) seemed to have some special attachment to this so-called "first time" and didn't want to break it.
She immediately carried it off to the fitting room.
At that moment…
Syr heading into the fitting room alone meant that the absolute ruler at the top of the food chain had temporarily exited the stage.
Which meant that next…
'Freya' narrowed her eyes slightly. When she met Lumine's gaze, the latter was already wearing an unmistakably comical bad-grin.
The next instant…
Both of their gazes converged on Bell.
The rabbit boy instinctively shrank his neck.
At this very moment, even without awakening any kind of super intuition skill, he could sense something extremely ominous.
Question: Is it good to bully the weak and fear the strong?
Answer: Of course not.
"But I like it, ehe~"
Speaking of which, although the members of Freya Familia had held an emergency meeting last night in their familia headquarters and ultimately decided that Lumine would serve as their goddess's personal escort…
Allen—known as the fastest in the city—was a catman who excelled at stealth, so today he still "took matters into his own hands" and hid in the shadows as a covert guard.
As a result, he just happened to witness the scene where, after Syr left, that "Freya" and their little princess teamed up to mess with the rabbit.
To be honest…
Allen had never feared anything before. Not killing elven royalty. Not even the taboo act of slaying gods. If it needed to be done, he would never hesitate.
But now…
"This is simply a trial!"
Specifically, a clothing trial.
Down there in the shop, the rabbit boy was being pressed step by step by the "silver-haired goddess" and the blonde girl with golden eyes—each holding a set of women's clothes.
At this point, Allen couldn't even be bothered to think about which of the two—Syr or "Freya"—was the real one.
Because… damn it, they're both way too similar!
He couldn't tell them apart anymore!
Honestly, that kind of personality—terrifying in certain aspects—was just too familiar.
Especially now, watching the rabbit look like he was about to cry, even someone as cold as Allen couldn't help feeling a trace of pity.
At the same time, he made a silent resolution.
"Next time… for this kind of escort mission, let someone else handle it."
Ottar wouldn't work. Hogni wouldn't either… but Hedin and the Gulliver brothers should be able to manage.
Oh, and also—
"In the future, I'd better restrain myself a bit around Lumine."
For personal reasons, he didn't want to call Lumine "little sister."
Because that would remind him of his real younger sister… namely, Anya, that silly cat.
But putting that aside…
"Lumine… truly worthy of being Freya-sama's sworn sister, huh?"
She had learned that lady's traits to absolute perfection.
"Struggle well, you bastard rabbit."
On a distant rooftop, Allen seemed to be smiling.
Reveling in schadenfreude.