“Hey, how do I look? Pretty, right?”
“Of course! The original has to be beautiful for the makeup to shine.”
‘Is this… me?’
Viola stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
Thanks to the cosmetics applied to her skin, it was glowing, her hair was let down but neatly arranged, and she wore a well-fitted dress with a cardigan that made her look more feminine than usual.
It was Myura’s outfit, but because their body sizes differed, it was a bit tight for Viola.
Anyway, the simple yet girly fashion brought satisfied expressions to her female classmates, who rested their hands on Viola’s shoulders.
“Hehe, you’ve completely fallen for my makeup skills, haven’t you~”
Myura proclaimed with a proud smile as she kicked away Viola’s hair scattered on the floor. It was because her potion had worked so well that half of the hair had to be chopped off.
Caught up in admiring her own appearance, Viola didn’t notice the hair on the floor.
“With this look, anyone would fall for you at first sight, right? No one could imagine Viola looking like this~”
“No way, they wouldn’t even recognize her! It’s not like she usually wears her hair in a messy bun and goes without makeup. With this, even Bratten would fall for you!”
“Don’t joke around! It feels like a cockroach is crawling on my skin…”
“Ah, sorry, sorry.”
Viola sighed at Para’s playful apology.
‘That damn Bratten is probably lounging around, comfortably taking an easy assignment from his family…’
Coming from a family known for alchemy, he must be doing one of their ongoing research projects. For someone like her, born to ordinary adventurers, it was quite frustrating.
“But you know… if I dress like this today, it’s gonna be tough on the actual date, right? I live in Yeomyeong-gwan.”
“They said it’s Sunday, right? Come back to the dorm to sleep on Saturday!”
“Don’t you know you can’t bring anyone other than dorm residents? If the headteacher finds out…”
“Hehe, that’s fine. If we just tell the headteacher it’s Viola’s sweet and sour first date preparation, she’ll overlook it!”
“I… I doubt she’d be that lenient.”
At Viola’s response, Myura leaned in closer and exclaimed loudly.
“Not at all! Sure, she can be a bit scary, but surprisingly, she’s soft-hearted about those things!”
‘…I don’t understand at all.’
Given that the headteacher she knew was an incredibly strict person, Viola couldn’t comprehend Myura’s words.
“As long as we don’t cause a ruckus, the headteacher won’t notice us. So, let’s get everything ready in our room on Saturday. You can come in, buy clothes, and go straight back in. Got it?”
“Uh? Uh-huh…”
“Then let’s change clothes again!”
“Uh-huh…”
Viola awkwardly nodded as she struggled to adjust to her friends’ high energy.
———————-
“Viola! Wake up!”
“Ugh… five more minutes…”
“Five minutes, my foot! You need to start getting ready!”
“…For what?”
“What do you mean, what? A. Da. Te! You need to prepare for your date!”
“Yikes!”
Viola brushed off Myura’s hand that was shaking her shoulder. Yawning, she finally sat up, but Myura gave her a swift smack on the back and pushed her toward the bathroom.
“Quick, wash up! We need to get started; otherwise, you’ll be late!”
“What time is it… 8 AM? We still have three hours until the date, don’t we?”
“Come on, Viola. Date preparations usually take hours. If you don’t get in there fast, I’ll wash you down myself!”
Beaten down by Myura’s terrifying threat, Viola dashed into the bathroom. Watching her hurry away, Para and Myura exchanged worried glances.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?”
“Whoever her date is, she better do well…”
“If it doesn’t go well, it’ll be Viola’s fault. We’ve done our best to help her, but if she can’t win him over, that’ll be on her!”
Both shrugged their shoulders and began laying clothes and cosmetics they had hung on the closet onto the table. They planned to coordinate Viola as soon as she was out of the shower.
“Whoever it is, dating Viola is lucky~”
“But judging by what she said, it seems like she didn’t pick the date herself. Who introduced them?”
“Was it Elisa?”
“Unlikely.”
“Yeah, she probably doesn’t have many male friends before she has any.”
Having crossed out Elisa, whom they had encountered a few times accompanying Viola, they couldn’t imagine her introducing a guy.
“Then how about Millia? She gets along with everyone.”
“Oh, good point! If it’s Millia, she might find someone!”
Thus, Para and Myura concluded that Millia was the one who introduced Viola’s date. Among the friends they knew, she was the most likely candidate.
While they chatted, Viola emerged from the shower, drying her hair with a towel as she approached them.
“Hey, I’m done washing up.”
“Then come sit here… Viola! Are you drying your hair like that?”
“Hmm? Isn’t it enough to just squeeze the water out with the towel?”
The way she asked, as if questioning there was another way to dry her hair, made both girls facepalm.
“What’s the reason for treating such beautiful hair so carelessly?”
“It’s bothersome. I’d rather spend my time on research.”
“Geez. Fine. Still, you need to at least do some basic makeup. I can’t believe you’ve managed to maintain such skin and hair until now…”
“Polished, it could be a diamond, but you’re not polishing it~”
Para and Myura grumbled but gradually began to prettify Viola.
After doing simple facial makeup, brushing her hair, and dressing her in outfits that would make any guy swoon, they stepped back with proud expressions. Viola gaped at her reflection in the full-length mirror.
“I’ve seen it before, but you guys are amazing…”
“Just try to look a bit more presentable even when going out.”
“There are hardly any opportunities for me to meet people anyway.”
“Don’t say that. This isn’t your only date, you know? Come on, should we continue to look after you like your babysitters?”
“Exactly, exactly! The reason we’re putting in all this effort is a one-time thing, so remember everything we taught you and make sure to buy cosmetics, understood?”
“Okay, okay. I’ll manage it.”
“I will inspect you every morning.”
“Do you have to go that far?”
“Yup!”
Viola looked at the two with a tired expression, but they only gazed back at her with serious faces. Having received so much help from her friends, she had no choice but to nod.
“I’ll do as you guys say.”
——————–
“Go for it!”
“Good luck!”
“Alright, now hurry!”
As Viola waved her hands at the two, casting them off, they giggled and disappeared down the street.
Their plan was to go shopping, and now left alone, Viola could only wring her hands as she stood blankly at the meeting spot.
‘Who could the date Elisa mentioned be?’
Despite asking repeatedly, Elisa had never revealed who her date was going to be.
Thanks to this, she barely made any progress on her research as she imagined her unknown date.
‘Once this date is over, I should dive into my research.’
Viola lacked confidence in satisfying her date. Having lived carelessly all her life, she was also unfamiliar with the interests that girls typically had. Instead, she worried that her date might be disappointed.
“There’s still 30 minutes left…”
The meeting spot was Kalon’s central square. Sitting on a bench in front of a fountain that sprayed a refreshing water jet, Viola sighed as she gazed at the clock far away.
“What should I say?”
Nice to meet you? Pleased to meet you? Hello there?
What exactly would a date entail?
A bright red chaos began to swirl in Viola’s mind. What on earth was she supposed to do?
Suddenly struck by this conundrum, she held her head in frustration.
“I don’t know. I’ll just wing it.”
“Yeah, I’ll just wing it.”
“Right, uncle… uncle?!”
With a scream laced with surprise, Viola bolted upright, stumbling backward. But perhaps due to her hasty movement, she nearly tripped over a stone.
If ‘uncle’ hadn’t wrapped his arms around her waist to catch her.
“You’ve changed quite a bit from usual.”
“Uh, um…”
“Uh?”
“Get away from me!”
Viola blushed scarlet as she shoved Johann away and took deep breaths. Her mind, caught off guard in an unexpected situation, wasn’t functioning properly.
“Wait a moment, why are you dressed like that?”
Only then did Viola question Johann’s outfit. Dressed sharply like a nobleman instead of his usual knightly armor, she felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart.
“I have a date, you see.”
Johann didn’t seem to acknowledge her surprise as if she wasn’t his date.
“Oh, I see…”
“Are you out with friends?”
“Um? Uh… no, I also came out for a date.”
“Who’s your date?”
“I don’t think they’ve arrived yet. Who are you with, uncle? Millia?”
“Nope.”
“Elisa?”
“Not Elisa either.”
“Ah, then Sif?”
“Not Sif either.”
“Then who?”
“You.”
“…Me?”
Johann nodded.
Viola gawked, as if his words made no sense, pointing at herself in disbelief. Johann smiled at her bewildered expression and reiterated.
“I’m your date, Viola.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.