Testing My Luck in the New World

Volume 1 - Chapter 26c

Never before had I met a girl that didn't like shopping for clothes, not that I knew many girls to begin with, but I guessed Yua's situation might be different. Being forced to wear rags every day must really kill your sense of style. Not that style superseded functionality in our case, but what about before all that?

If this was just more of the slave mindset that had been drilled into her head forcing her to bear the expectation that she'd never be offered anything better than what she was already wearing, then we needed to fix that. It'll take time, but we can definitely bring out that side of her again. After all, if I could strive to work on myself, why can't she?

"Really? What did you used to wear, then?"

"Just the clothes my parents gave me before I left the village. Then this."

She pointed again to the rags she wore and dashed my hopes. I'd thought reminding her of what she used to wear might spark some want in her, but all I got was a shrug.

Maybe this lack in her was just because fighting was the only thing on her mind before she was enslaved. Knowing her, that'd make a little sense. It'd at least explain why she was looking in the children's section.

"Okay. How about I pick out some things for you?"

"I will wear anything you choose for me," she said and put up a smile that instantly did away with any and all of her worry.

"Alright then. Let's see what they have."

I borrowed one of the wicker baskets that had once been sitting next to the counter, but was now left upturned over a mannequin's heads. Since I was the one doing all the choosing, Yua kindly and without a word snatched the basket out of my hands and held it under her right arm, against her hip. Like this, we walked the store together.

Focusing on her first, since apparently neither of us had experience shopping for women, whenever I found something I thought would be comfortable to wear on the run or that might just look good on her, I held it up to her body to check. She smiled every time I did and didn't say anything in protest regardless of what I tried for her. Guess she just isn't picky about what she wears. The only problem was that I didn't really know what I was meant to do past this.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I was only holding the clothes up to her because that's what I sometimes saw other women doing on the rare occasions when I bothered to actually go to clothing stores back on Earth. For the most part, I either bought cookie-cutter type clothes that were all unimpressive and from brands I already trusted or just bought from online stores, taking the small gamble on whether or not they'd fit once they arrived in the mail. For this, though, I was at a loss.

It's not like any of these clothes had size tags on them. How was anybody supposed to know if these things actually fit before they buy them?

"Hmm... What do you think about this skirt, Yua?"

I held up a light brown cotton skirt so Yua could take a look at it. Her ear gave a single solitary flick as she eyed it carefully, only to wind up furrowing her brow in confusion. The skirt looked like it'd only be long enough to reach to just above her knees once she put it on, so it might be a bit out there for an experience fighter like her that was probably used to having more of her skin covered and protected. It did look like it'd be a lot more comfortable than wearing leather all the time, but maybe that wasn't enough. Hoping her confusion didn't stem from the skirt's length, I looked to her for her opinion.