“What? New clothes?!”
Penelope sat by the counter drying her damp long hair, turning her head to look at the paper bag placed next to Su Mendgdie.
After hearing about staying for dinner, she had borrowed the Store Manager’s bathroom for a comfortable hot bath, and a faint scent of lavender wafted from her body.
“It’s that… Maid Uniform.”
Su Mendgdie covered her mouth and whispered into the Young Lady’s ear.
“Young Lady, why don’t we refuse? These clothes are really not suitable to be seen by others.”
After hearing Su Mendgdie’s suggestion, Penelope smiled slightly and turned to the Store Manager to speak loudly.
“Store Manager, I heard you wanted to see that outfit? If you want to see it, go ahead. I agree!”
“Yo—Su Mendgdie!?”
Su Mendgdie slapped the table in excitement, almost blurting out the words ‘Young Lady.’
She had caught a glimpse of Xia Shuashuai helping in the kitchen out of the corner of her eye, which barely allowed her to stop herself in time.
But the current awkward situation did not improve because of her correction.
After obtaining Penelope’s consent, the Store Manager’s face immediately showed an excited expression.
“Let’s eat first. There will be time to see the clothes after dinner. Shuang Shuang, are you ready on your end?”
“Mm~, coming~!”
“Sorry, Store Manager, I couldn’t help with anything and just ended up causing trouble for you.”
Su Mendgdie actually really wanted to help, but doing so would be inconsistent with the Young Lady’s usual style, so she had to give up in the end.
The Store Manager understood her thoughts and patted her shoulder, gesturing for her to sit down and eat.
“Eat up quickly; it won’t taste good once it’s cold.”
The several dishes the Store Manager brought out looked like ordinary home-cooked meals: braised pork ribs, stewed potatoes, and stir-fried yams.
However, each plate emitted a strong aroma of coffee.
“Store Manager? You didn’t put the wrong seasonings in while cooking, did you?”
Su Mendgdie picked up a rib and smelled it, certain that coffee powder had been added.
This was definitely dark cuisine!
“No, no, that’s exactly how it’s made. You’ll know once you taste it. Shuang Shuang has had it before and said it was delicious, right?”
It was just as the Store Manager said.
After bringing out four servings of coffee Cake, Xia Shuashuai buried her head in the dishes with added coffee, showing no intention of stopping.
“Xiaopu~, eat! It’s really delicious!”
“The taste is indeed a bit unique, but I don’t hate it.”
“Su Mendgdie!?”
It wasn’t just Xia Shuashuai; when Su Mendgdie turned her head, she found that the Young Lady was also full of praise for the dishes.
But since the Young Lady could eat them, it meant these dishes shouldn’t be that weird, right?
Seeing the Store Manager constantly urging her to pick up her chopsticks, Su Mendgdie summoned her courage and took a bite of a rib.
The bitterness of the coffee balanced out the greasiness of the ribs perfectly.
While she couldn’t say it was incredibly delicious, it was indeed refreshing.
“How is it? Not bad, right?”
The Store Manager rested her chin on her hand and asked expectantly.
“Yeah, it’s actually not bad… though I still think the braised ones taste better.”
“There’s nothing wrong with trying new flavors once in a while, right? How would you know if it’s good if you don’t try?”
What the Store Manager said was reasonable.
But generally speaking, no one would probably try such a strange flavor.
After a simple yet satisfying meal, the several of them sipped different coffees and returned to the topic of clothes.
Since the Young Lady had already agreed, no matter how reluctant Su Mendgdie was, she had no choice but to take out the somewhat overly erotic Maid Uniform.
Leaning against the counter, the Store Manager crossed her milky-white legs and stroked her chin as she examined it carefully.
“This outfit doesn’t seem suitable as a work Uniform…”
Both Su Mendgdie and Xia Shuashuai really wanted to explain to her right now—
That even the Maids at their house didn’t use this kind of clothing as a Uniform…
“Definitely not! By the way, isn’t the Store Uniform already quite nice? Why did you suddenly decide to get a new one, Store Manager?”
Xia Shuashuai’s expression was a bit awkward; she hadn’t expected the Store Manager to look at this outfit with the intention of using it as a Uniform.
“It’s not about replacing it; I want to choose a new set of clothes as the Winter Uniform. Winter is coming soon, and the Uniform in my store is a bit too revealing. The girls working in my shop have been shivering from the cold lately.”
“Then… how about I help you design a new one, Store Manager?”
“Is that okay? It won’t affect your daily life, will it?”
“Not at all, not at all! Just relax and wait for my good news, Store Manager!”
After Xia Shuashuai readily agreed, she turned her head and stared at Penelope, who was quietly scrolling through her Mobile Phone in the corner.
“Su Mendgdie~, I heard you used to work here. Could I trouble you to find some time to be my model?”
“Sure, actually I have time right now, and it’s only seven o’clock. Do you want me to go with you now?”
Seeing Penelope agree without even thinking, Su Mendgdie felt a bit uncomfortable.
That was her body!
How could the Young Lady use it as she pleased without her consent?
Su Mendgdie was uncomfortable, but she didn’t actually say it out loud.
After all, this counted as helping the Store Manager.
“If Su Mendgdie is going, then I’m going too!”
Su Mendgdie agreed, but she was ultimately still a bit worried.
Seeing how enthusiastic the two of them were, Xia Shuashuai actually felt a bit embarrassed.
“Well, there’s actually no need to be in such a hurry. I have other things to discuss with the Store Manager today. Let’s do it another day?”
“I see. Since you still have business with the Store Manager, then Su Mendgdie and I will head back first~”
Although Xia Shuashuai didn’t say it explicitly, Su Mendgdie’s intuition told her it was definitely private business, so she took the initiative to say goodbye.
“Mm~, if I have time, I’ll let you two know in advance. Goodbye.”
After seeing Su Mendgdie off, the Store Manager and Xia Shuashuai turned back into the room and locked the door behind them.
Not only that, but she also turned off the lights downstairs and went upstairs with Xia Shuashuai.
But the Store Manager was in such a rush that she completely failed to notice a bag containing a Maid Uniform still lying in the corner of a seat…
***
“Shuang Shuang, did Headquarters ask you to bring some news over?”
“Sort of. A lot of Magical Girls have gone missing lately, and plus something seems to have happened on Swallowtail’s end. There isn’t enough manpower in many places, so they hope you can…”
“Sorry, please tell them that I won’t be going back.”
The Store Manager suddenly interrupted Xia Shuashuai, her tone very firm.
“Why? Even if they didn’t ask you to go back, don’t you occasionally take action to deal with the enemies that appear around here?”
“Shuang Shuang, it’s different… I take action because of a promise to a Friend. In short, please tell them that no matter what, I will never go back there again.”
The Store Manager stood up as she spoke, preparing to personally escort Xia Shuashuai back.
After all, it had already gotten dark, and she didn’t feel comfortable letting a Young Lady like Shuang Shuang walk home alone at night.
But then Xia Shuashuai suddenly spoke a name that was outside of her expectations.
“Is it because of White Fox?”