What was certain was that the clothes we brought were just made of a different material.
Looking at the clothes, they definitely seemed like they’d be colder than expected.
But once I actually tried them on, they felt incredibly warm.
“Corbin, raise your arms. We need to make sure it fits properly.”
“I think it fits okay without doing that…”
“But it’s best to check properly when buying. Now, hurry up.”
“Alright…”
“Umm… This shirt does feel a bit small…”
After buying a few clothes, I continued to browse for more.
I ended up purchasing hoodies, pants, coats, and jumpers, getting the necessary clothes, but since it was a rare shopping trip,
I decided to make the most of this opportunity.
Of course, when we go back… these clothes would basically become useless.
“If the shirt length fits roughly…”
“Corbin.”
“Got it.”
“It might be better to buy one size bigger here, don’t you think?”
“A slightly larger size would definitely be more comfortable, right?”
Okay.
I decided to pick out a different size from the one I was currently wearing.
Honestly, Corbin didn’t seem too keen on it… but I was determined to buy more of Corbin’s clothes.
I had already bought a ton for myself, but I hadn’t purchased that many for Corbin.
I had bought more than ten dresses, coats, sweaters, etc. for myself, but Corbin’s clothes didn’t even add up to ten.
Of course, he said it was fine, but it was obvious I was doing it intentionally to buy my clothes.
I understood Corbin’s thoughts on the matter.
But still, it felt disappointing just buying clothes for myself.
“Let’s get another pair of slacks…”
“But you already have one.”
“I’ll just buy a different color.”
“……”
“Oh, how about an oversized pair of joggers too…”
“Ah…”
*
After buying clothes for both of us, we came back outside.
Specifically, we were heading to the hotel carrying paper bags full of clothes.
Carrying these around would be exhausting, right?
It was no small number; we had easily surpassed seven.
We were both holding bags full in our hands…
“Did we buy too much?”
“Since we’ll be staying here for a few weeks, this might actually be just right.”
“Is that so…?”
“But we can’t just get by with only three outfits, right?”
“True.”
We didn’t know how long we’d be here, but for now, it felt better to buy a lot.
These are clothes we can only wear here after all…
Anyway, if we come again with Charlotte, so be it.
We weren’t going through growth spurts like Charlotte, and we probably won’t grow anymore.
We could just stuff them somewhere in the house.
Of course, who knows when we’d come back?
“But Lindera, aren’t you cold?”
“Corbin, aren’t you cold either? You’re only wearing a shirt and pants with a coat.”
“That’s true… but you’re not wearing pants.”
Corbin glanced down at me.
Well… that’s true.
The only things I was wearing were a coat, sweater, and skirt.
And just pantyhose to finish it off.
Of course, it might seem cold to Corbin; he couldn’t help but worry.
But the clothes were different altogether.
If we had bought these clothes at the Zone 07 clothing store, it would have been freezing, but… they were genuinely different.
“The material of the clothes is exceptionally warm, so there’s no issue. I can actually take off my coat and still feel warm.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s really warm. Do you want to try it on?”
“…Will it not rip?”
“Ah.”
That’s a point.
The difference in our body sizes was indeed significant.
Logically, if Corbin wore my clothes, they’d probably rip.
“Anyway… I’m just saying the clothes are really warm and it’s fine.”
“Well, that’s good.”
We were walking down a snowy street, watching the flakes descend.
Unlike when we first arrived, now we were dressed warmly.
By the way, it’s quite remarkable that a coat feels warmer than a puffer jacket.
“Oh right, there’s a beautiful temple behind the hotel. Do you want to go check it out?”
“A temple?”
“Yes. A temple. I’m not exactly sure, but I heard it’s pretty.”
“I don’t know what it is, but let’s check it out.”
Since we hadn’t really decided on anything specific.
To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded even if it wasn’t a temple.
Besides, we hadn’t decided on where to go on the way here.
“Corbin.”
“What’s up?”
“Why have you been staring at my stockings since earlier?”
You keep looking at my stockings.
Honestly, I found it a bit awkward to wear this, but did he really need to stare so much?
Was it because I had never before worn stockings…?
Living in a warmer place, I really had never needed to wear them.
“It’s just… kind of stimulating?”
“…Huh?”
“It definitely feels different from bare skin.”
“…Is that so.”
I understood where he was coming from.
After all, I had been a man before.
Though it has been quite a while, I could understand Corbin’s reasoning.
Stockings have that kind of effect.
The specific material is just… well.
“Pervert.”
There was nothing more to say.
So, we walked together through the snowy streets, returning to the hotel.
We had taken a longer nap and delayed our lunchtime and shopping, so we were a bit behind schedule.
Yet, time hadn’t passed too much.
But regardless, the sun was setting quickly.
It was only about 5 PM, unlike my days in Zone 07, yet the sky was gradually turning red.
“…The sun is setting sooner than I expected.”
“I think it’s because it’s winter.”
“…Didn’t the sun usually set past 8 PM?”
“…It definitely feels a bit strange.”
Really.
I remembered sunsets occurring around 7 or 8 PM.
But here, it seemed to set around 5 or 6 PM, which felt pretty odd.
It really made me realize again that it was winter here.
“Hmm… Should we just head out right away?”
“…Let’s do that. If we wait any longer, we’ll need to skip the temple and just focus on dinner instead.”
Going to see the temple… Even if we ended up being a bit late, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.
But since the sun was setting sooner than expected.
“Let’s hurry up.”
“Yes.”
So, Corbin and I began to head outside.
Honestly… if we delayed any longer, that wouldn’t be good.
Starting our travels on the first day by just lounging around wouldn’t be ideal, right?
Moreover, the temple wasn’t too far from the hotel.
We could go together, take pictures… that would be nice.
There weren’t any temples like that in Zone 07, so I was looking forward to it.
I was most excited about having a date just the two of us after a long time.
*
After dropping off the bags full of clothes at the hotel, we headed straight back outside.
Just as Corbin said, the temple was nearby.
In fact, it only took us about five minutes to walk there.
Specifically… it was just a slight uphill from the hotel.
Surprisingly, it was steep enough that I thought I might slip, but… it wasn’t steep enough to be considered high.
“Ooh…”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Indeed.”
After we reached the top of the climb and arrived at the temple, we exchanged those words.
It was that beautiful.
It could have seemed like an ordinary temple, but it had been a long time since I had seen one.
Moreover, the temple’s roof and various structures covered in snow were stunning.
“If only there were such things around our area, I think it would be nice.”
“I don’t think we’d come here that often. But it’d be nice if they existed.”
“We have a park, but… it’s definitely better in a place with such atmosphere.”
“We rarely even stroll in the park.”
…That’s true.
Still.
I sometimes wanted to stroll in an atmospheric place like this.
“We can just let it pass here.”
“Alright.”
“Hmm…”
We wandered slowly through the snow, admiring the temple.
There were statues and various structures to check out.
We just strolled arm-in-arm.
In fact… it had been quite difficult to walk around like this in Zone 07.
It wasn’t because of other people’s stares or anything; it was simply too hot.
While it was fine to brush shoulders indoors, outside it was just too hot.
We held hands a lot, but?
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just pretty?”
“…Is that so.”
Suddenly, Corbin was staring at me intensely, making me feel curious.
But it turned out to be nothing special.
We frequently made compliments like this.
I thought he was just purely looking at my face without any thoughts.
“Lindera.”
“Yes, Corbin.”
“Shall we take a photo?”
“…Huh?”
Suddenly?
We usually didn’t really talk about taking photos.
I really didn’t expect him to suggest it out of the blue.
Honestly… I had taken photos of Charlotte before, but we hadn’t actually taken pictures together.
I was genuinely a little surprised.
I hadn’t even considered that Corbin would be the one to propose this.
“…Do you want to take one?”
“It’s the first real trip we’ve made together. I figured it’d be nice to capture the moment.”
“…Then… taking one wouldn’t hurt.”
It’s not that difficult to take photos.
It was a bit sudden, but I decided to stop someone else wandering around the temple to take our picture.
After all, the both of us weren’t really the selfie-taking types.
Plus, the scenery was so gorgeous that it seemed much better to have someone else take the shot.
“Could you step back a bit… Yes, perfect! Now, ready for the shot?”
The passerby woman held my phone in front of us.
Corbin and I stood there with our arms linked.
It felt a bit awkward being photographed by strangers, but being together was nice.
It was just a photo of us linked arm-in-arm, but still.
“Okay, I’ll take it now~”
Just a slight nudge.
Honestly, it was such a small gesture that even I wouldn’t have noticed if I weren’t paying attention, but I gave a tiny nod towards Corbin.
Well… after all, we’d only meet once today.
Moreover, it was so normal for other girls to glance at Corbin starting from work.
By now, I was kind of used to it.
“Hehe…”
“?”
With that, I pulled Corbin a bit closer as we clicked a few more pictures.
The photos… they turned out great since both of us were really pretty and handsome, and we spent time taking pictures until the sun set.
We could have asked passersby to help out again, but… it felt a bit annoying to bother them.
So, we just took photos of each other, happily spending our time.
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