I’ve been an otaku since my teens, so it’s not like I’ve never talked about such things with my friends.
I mean, you’ve heard those lines about wanting to be reborn as a cute girl in your next life, right?
Of course, that was never serious. Just like non-otakus make random jokes among themselves, it was merely an otaku-style gag.
If only I had been born handsome, I would have taken action – but since I wasn’t, I just make excuses for my fashion choices or whatever, claiming I could have earned money through internet streaming or cosplay if I’d been a cute girl.
I know those things aren’t as easy as they sound. Fashion requires studying too, and I understand that if you just throw on any clothes looking decent, people will give you strange looks.
Being born pretty doesn’t guarantee an easy life either. I get that doing internet streaming and cosplay invites all sorts of weirdos.
But here I am, doing all of that right now.
Life is full of surprises.
Well, as a Korean in a hanbok, calling it cosplay might be a stretch, but even if we’re registered residents, to others, we probably just look like foreign tourists.
After all, tourists wear hanboks like it’s cosplay.
Claire was wearing a somewhat subdued dark blue hanbok. If the top and bottom were the same color, it might feel tacky, but the top was closer to a soft white, which harmonized beautifully with Claire’s fair skin.
Alice’s hanbok had similar color combinations, with the top in white and the skirt a light sky blue. Seeing that color reminded me of the bunny girl outfit Alice had worn, but I didn’t say anything about it.
…Because I had worn the bunny girl outfit at that time too.
Thinking back, I was already cosplaying. From this perspective, even the academy uniform could count as cosplay.
“Hey sis, you look great!”
Claire said that with a serious look while eyeing my hanbok.
“It’s a bit dark, which is a shame, but it really suits your vibe.”
Alice also nodded in contentment since she had a hand in choosing my outfit.
When you mention ‘black hanbok’, one might think of simple funeral attire, but mine was anything but basic.
The sleeves were made of thin mesh, revealing my arms, and both the sleeves and top had some splendid floral embroidery. The upper part of the skirt peeking out from beneath the short top was a soft cream color, preventing the overall hanbok from looking too gloomy.
So, it’s not entirely traditional hanbok.
If it were a real traditional hanbok, it would’ve been impossible to get at this price.
Click!
Claire, who loved taking pictures, held my smartphone and the clicking sound of the camera didn’t stop.
It’s great that she’s taking pictures… but I wonder if we can take all of this home.
Just in case, I should print or develop the photos. And I must remember to bring them back with me.
All the time we spent here will be pure memories of joy for the three of us.
Seeing Claire’s beaming smile, I thought that.
*
“People are staring at us.”
“Is there something strange about us?”
At Claire’s words, Alice looked down at herself, wondering if she had somehow messed up wearing the traditional dress.
“Maybe they’re looking because you’re pretty.”
When I said that, Alice’s face turned slightly red.
“What a weird thing to say.”
“I’m just stating the facts.”
At least, that was my impression.
It was true that, since a while ago, most of the people passing by who stared at us were men, not women.
It couldn’t be helped. All three of us – me, Alice, and even Claire – stand out quite a bit in terms of looks.
Having black hair, I might look fairly modest compared to them, but Alice’s hair was shiny, golden blonde, perfectly maintained, and Claire’s was a striking blue.
Plus, all three of us… though it’s somewhat embarrassing to say, we have quite shapely figures.
Even under somewhat loose hanboks, our figures were blatantly obvious.
“Girls, stay close to me.”
Truth is, I’ve never gotten anyone’s number in my life, nor have I ever had a number gotten from me.
Not having had anyone’s number is obvious. I wasn’t that good-looking or famous. If any beauty out of the blue asked for my number, it would definitely be for a pyramid scheme or a religion.
Conversely, since I’d never gotten anyone’s number, it came to this. I was convinced such stunts wouldn’t pan out. If I had no confidence in my looks, how could I get a stranger’s number?
…But even without experiencing it myself, I get that such things ‘can’ happen.
Since I might look like a foreigner, this could be a bit tricky, but some people with excessive confidence about their looks—
“Excuse me?”
—See? There it is.
Even if my physical abilities might be slightly lacking compared to the other two, I do pride myself on my combat instincts. Especially since I was skilled with firearms. I could at least gauge what some distance away persons were planning to do with a glance.
And from afar, I could see two guys chuckling and nudging each other while looking our way.
They looked to be around the age of university students. They were reasonably good-looking and well-dressed.
They appeared to be bursting with confidence.
How annoying.
If even one of those two felt attracted, they might’ve thought to approach us, but thankfully, Alice and Claire didn’t have a particularly interested expression.
No, more precisely, they looked like they didn’t even understand why these two guys would be talking to us.
“We’re Korean.”
I said it that way. If our words were translated to those guys, pretending to use English would be evident. We would seem to be chatting in Korean among ourselves regardless.
“Oh.”
The guys exchanged surprised glances with each other and then looked back at us again.
“Sorry. We misunderstood…”
“Could you tell us what you wanted?”
The military-like formal tone I used made them noticeably flustered.
“N-no, I mean, if you have time—”
“Sorry, but we’re here just to have fun with my sisters. Spending time with others seems a bit awkward.”
As I deliberately acted stiff, the two of them looked even more confused.
Well, they didn’t look like the typical jerks you see in cartoons.
…To be honest, if all the street hunters were such criminals, this country’s safety would be in serious jeopardy.
“Oh, is that so? If you’re with your sisters then… um, have a good time.”
When I stared at them, they seemed to think they did something wrong. Or else, maybe they were just clueless about why they had approached us.
“Hey sis, what’s wrong? They seemed like nice guys.”
“…They were people who wanted to hang out with us.”
“Really?”
But even after I told her, Claire still had a puzzled look.
Maybe because she grew up as a noble, she didn’t really know where adult interactions could lead in this country.
“Listen up, both of you.”
I said seriously.
“Of course, as long as you two are in this world, I’ll generally be hanging around. But just in case, remember that interacting among adults here can lead to more… intimate stages.”
Of course, I had never experienced that, so I had no idea how far it could go at once.
But I knew very well that getting entangled would be a dirty hassle. And there could be all sorts of misunderstandings.
Especially for these two who seem clueless about such interactions… Well, I could just beat them up and escape if needed, but then I might have to deal with the police too.
After listening to me, the two seemed to grasp the situation.
In the Empire of Aetherna, commoners lead relatively sexually liberated lives, and I had heard that even among nobles, there were those who lived scandalously. But generally speaking, it’s nearly unheard of for unmarried women to live promiscuously. They take that as a ‘blemish’. Perhaps for widows, it’s different, but not for unmarried women.
So, both of them have likely had sex education but probably never imagined such a scenario.
“So, if you don’t want things to get complicated, it’s crucial to be firm from the start.”
I thought for a moment if I should have let one of them know about the others, but I chose to be clear instead.
As if it would lead anywhere.
Even if I’m listed as an adult on my ID, they’re actually only sixteen.
No matter how mature they may look, they’re still kids.
Of course, I should never.
“Well then, shall we go grab a drink?”
I smiled as I suggested, and finally, Claire and Alice’s expressions brightened.
“Oh, sis, wait! The lighting is great here!”
When she said it was great lighting, I realized she was talking about taking selfies.
…Judging by how she instinctively knew how to take them, Claire must really love photography.
Since we’re out, should I help these two set up their phones too?
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