"Ellen… why are you wearing a maid outfit here? Did you run into some trouble?"
Monna asked with a concerned tone.
Remembering what they had accidentally overheard during their previous call, the three of them couldn't help but feel worried.
"No, not at all. I'm just wearing this temporarily to promote the store where I work part-time," Ellen said, looking visibly troubled.
"Ellen, where exactly are you working part-time?"
Lynn's worried expression and determination to get to the bottom of the matter left Ellen at a loss for how to explain.
If she said she was working at Wise's store, would they misunderstand it as some kind of strange fetish?
No, that absolutely wouldn't do.
Ellen's sense of shame told her she couldn't answer that way.
"It's just a regular, legitimate small store. I just didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd keep asking questions…"
"Ellen, does the place you work part-time at have a legal business license? Also, does Wise know about this?" Monna asked carefully.
Lynn, standing beside her, also noticed something seemed suspicious.
"This uniform is so elaborate. Is it really just a temporary promotional outfit?"
"Is your workplace really legitimate?" Ruby added, feeling that something didn't quite add up.
Just then, Wise walked over.
Seeing that the situation seemed to be heading in an unpredictable direction, Ellen immediately pulled him over after noticing him.
"To be honest with you all, Wise is my boss…"
Rather than letting Ruby and the other two continue overthinking things, it was better to let them misunderstand it as some kind of weird role-play. After all, something similar had happened before.
"What's going on? What happened?" Wise quietly asked Ellen beside him.
She gave him a look before answering.
"They don't believe I work at your store."
Although she said it aloud, Ellen's eyes conveyed only one message.
'Help me deal with this quickly.'
Monna awkwardly scratched her cheek when she saw Wise.
"Um… Wise, we just happened to run into Ellen and saw her wearing a maid outfit. She said it was a dress code requirement for her part-time job, so we were a little worried…"
"Exactly! How could a legitimate video store require employees to wear maid outfits… Uh, ah! Could it be…"
Ruby suddenly seemed to realize something, and her face instantly flushed slightly.
Lynn and Monna beside her also appeared to have thought of something.
The three exchanged glances, and seeing that they were clearly misunderstanding, Wise immediately explained.
"I just wanted to promote the store, so I asked Ellen to wear something cute while handing out flyers!"
"So, what you consider 'cute' is a maid outfit? Hmm, I see…"
Lynn didn't continue speaking. After all, this might just be some little trick the two of them came up with to provide each other with emotional support, and as outsiders, they shouldn't interfere.
Besides, Ellen didn't seem unwilling.
"Stop teasing him. Today really is just for promotion. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have already finished promoting and gone back."
"Hmm, Ellen, we understand. Don't worry, there's absolutely no misunderstanding. Do you need our help with promotion? I've done similar work before! Though I never wore a maid outfit…"
"As for promotion… There are a lot of people near some popular stores here, so maybe we can try promoting there," Monna suggested.
"Ah… There's a teamilk shop we often go to that's having an event. Hey, Ruby, don't run so fast! Ellen, we'll go ahead. See you at the teamilk shop!" Lynn said while trying to keep up with Ruby and pulling Monna along.
Watching the three of them rush away, Ellen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew, thanks for helping me out. I ran an errand earlier and didn't have time to change clothes yet. I didn't expect to run into them as soon as I arrived at Lumina Square. If you hadn't shown up, they would have made a fuss for quite a while."
"With friends who care about you so much, I should be happy. This way, you definitely won't get bullied at school."
"Huh? Bullied? Me? Are you serious?"
It was normal for Ellen to react this way. After all, from childhood to adulthood, apart from having a few friends, no one had ever really dared to bully her.
That was understandable. She was good-looking, and her grades weren't bad either.
Although she didn't interact much with others, her tone was never weak enough for people to label her timid. At most, they would simply consider her aloof.
Soon after, they arrived at the teamilk shop, where Ruby and the other two were surrounding the staff member, Coco.
"Ruby, don't cling to the staff member…"
"The staff member smells nice… like full-sugar tea… Let me smell…"
"…This is so embarrassing… I want to escape. I want to escape…"
Facing Ruby, who had moved closer, Coco's face turned red from shyness.
Seeing this, Ellen immediately stepped forward to rescue her from Ruby before politely asking, "Can we put some flyers here?"
"Pro-pro-promotion?! Are you helping me? Wait, wait, you are…"
Coco was very nervous, but when she noticed Wise, she couldn't help but freeze.
She remembered him. He often came here to buy milk tea and was already a regular customer of the store. However, every time he came, he seemed to bring a different girl with him.
Counting them, the number was already beyond counting.
And now he had brought four at once.
'I-Is this… is this really okay?' Coco thought in shock.
Seeing that she still didn't fully understand, Ellen explained the situation.
They wanted to place the video store's flyers here, and in return, they would help promote the tea shop at school.
After hearing this, Coco finally understood.
"No, no, no, no, no!"
Coco's emotions became extremely agitated, but realizing she hadn't explained herself clearly, she quickly continued.
"What I mean is, you can put the flyers here, but you don't need to help me promote the tea shop anymore. You've already helped me a lot before… I don't really have anything to repay you with…"
"Is that so?"
Ellen was a little surprised upon hearing this.
"Yes… You recommended so many people to come here before, and I'm already very grateful! Just give me the video store flyers later. I'll put them somewhere noticeable~"
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Also…"
Coco looked at Ellen standing in front of her, seemingly about to say something, before glancing at Wise beside her.
At this point, she understood. Among these four girls, only Ellen and Wise seemed to have a closer relationship with each other.
She knew she shouldn't interfere in matters between customers.
But for this girl who had helped her so much, wouldn't it be better to remind her?
"What?"
"It's about—"
Coco was about to speak, but she was interrupted.
"I can't stay here for another second, or I'll buy full-sugar teamilk again! Ellen, the store I often go to is also very convenient for promotion, and it has a lot of foot traffic! Anyway, I'm going first. You guys hurry and follow!"
After saying this, Ruby quickly ran off, taking Monna and Lynn with her.
+- - -+
-[ AD ]-
+- - -+
+- - -+
Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
+- - -+
✨ 100+ Advance Chapters • Early Access ✨
📚 Read Ahead Here:
[- p - a - t - r - e - o - n . com / DysFiction -]
💖 Enjoying the Story? Support My Work:
[ ko - fi . com / dysfiction ]
+- - -+
📖 Available Novels
🔹 Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
↳ (Translation)
🔹 Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives!
↳ (Translation)
🔹 Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White
↳ (Original Story — Exclusive Until Chapter 30)
+- - -+