Chapter 11: Entertaining Herself
The sun was still blazing, and Erika could clearly feel that this place was in the peak of a hot summer.
Her bare little feet stepped onto the scorching ground as she walked unsteadily.
Having always been carried around by Gladys, this was her first time going out on her own. She still wasn’t familiar with her new body and stumbled a bit as she walked.
While walking, Erika’s eyes continued to wander over the bustling scene around her.
Merchants came and went, shops lined the streets, there were roadside tea tables, and stalls selling all sorts of snacks—Luka Town was livelier than she expected, and she found herself starting to like it.
Enjoying foreign scenery didn’t mean worshiping it, but compared to her previous modern industrial world, this environment was more comfortable and relaxing.
With her bare feet and strikingly cute face, Erika naturally drew attention as she walked through the streets.
But the patrolling guards were numerous, and Luka Town had good public order, so no one dared to bother her.
Carrying her gold coin, she found a tailor shop that was neither too big nor too small.
Ding-a-ling.
As the bell on the door rang, Erika walked in. It was quiet in the afternoon, and the only other person inside was a man in his thirties, sewing clothes.
“Welcome...”
The man responded automatically, but upon seeing that it was a little girl, he paused in surprise.
“Little miss, are you here to buy clothes?”
“Can you buy anything other than clothes here?”
“Oh… haha, no, it’s just a clothing store. You just caught me off guard.”
“What’s surprising about it?”
What’s surprising?
The shopkeeper smiled wryly. A little girl in an oversized dress, barefoot—how could that not be surprising?
He shook his head, gesturing to a corner of the shop. “That section over there has clothes your size. Go have a look if you like.
There are shoes there too, and if you’re interested, I also have some hair ribbons.”
“Mm, thanks. I’ll look myself.”
Erika wasn’t sure if the clothes here would be cheap or expensive. She padded over barefoot to the section he indicated.
She saw the shop had quite a variety of clothes, but most were rather plain.
The women’s clothing was mostly lace-up bodices with flowing skirts, the upper and lower parts stitched together with visible seams, and the sleeves were loose and long—very distinctive tailoring.
It was all traveler-style wear. Erika didn’t like it much.
It was way too hot for all that fabric. Wouldn’t you get sick from overheating?
She recalled seeing women in loose dresses on the street earlier, so she already knew what she wanted.
It wasn’t that she wanted to wear a dress—it was just that she had a tail. Dresses made things easier.
After some rummaging, she finally found a rack of loose dresses and randomly picked out a white one that looked decent.
“Boss, how much is this one?”
Her soft voice rang out. The tailor looked up and replied,
“30 silver coins.”
“So expensive...”
She only had one gold coin. She still needed shoes, and ideally she wanted to save some for street snacks too.
“What about this one?”
“35 silver coins.”
“And this one?”
“38 silver coins.”
The constant questions started to annoy the tailor. “Little miss, the price tags are right there. That whole rack is between 30 and 40 silver coins.”
“Damn, that’s pricey.”
She quickly moved to a different rack and picked out a different style of dress.
“And this one?”
“Double damn.”
“...”
Forget it. Better pick the cheapest one.
After a long and careful selection process, Erika finally chose a dress and shoes that were reasonably priced. She trotted over to the counter on her little bare feet.
Standing on her toes, she peeked over the counter and handed the gold coin to the tailor with her small, delicate hand.
The dress and shoes together came to about 80 silver coins.
After getting her change, Erika blinked and asked, “Where’s the fitting room?”
The tailor was getting a little impatient. “You don’t need to try it on, little miss. It’ll fit you.”
“How would you know if I don’t try it?”
“I’ve run this shop for over ten years. I can tell your size at a glance.”
“...”
What a way to say it.
Erika pulled at her oversized dress with dead-fish eyes. “But I want to change into it now.”
“Over there.”
The tailor sighed and pointed toward the fitting room, clearly exasperated with this picky little girl.
After all, he was still sewing clothes and couldn’t focus on her properly. Any other child her age would’ve chosen something quickly and left.
…
Inside the fitting room was a mirror. Erika looked at herself in it—the oversized dress had completely swallowed her arms and legs. No wonder people kept staring.
She quickly stripped off Gladys’s dress. Her baby-pink skin and petite body were exposed in full, evoking a sense of fragility and innocence.
She pursed her lips and quickly slipped on the new outfit.
She had to admit—the tailor was right. The dress and shoes fit perfectly, and it felt completely different from wearing Gladys’s clothes.
The saying “clothes make the person” was definitely true.
Once dressed properly, Erika felt like a new person.
It was an off-shoulder fitted dress that showed off her slender waist. The soft neckline highlighted her pinkish skin, and the overall design wasn’t flashy.
With her stunning face, silvery-white hair, and sharp red eyes, the new outfit completely transformed her aura.
How to put it...?
Actually… This body isn’t bad.
Because I’m just too beautiful...
She stared at the mirror, lost in her own beauty.
Then she remembered something about magic—since this was a fantasy world, surely there were magic mirrors too?
She blinked and spoke playfully,
“Mirror, mirror~
Tell me now—who’s the most beautiful in the world?”
...
No reply, of course.
But Erika grinned smugly, her little tiger teeth showing like sharp dragon fangs.
She twisted her slim waist, red eyes locked onto her reflection.
Her small hand brushed her silvery hair, and she purred again,
“Hmph! I knew it was you!”
...
...
Knock knock knock.
Just as she was enjoying herself, a knock came from outside the fitting room.
“Hey, little girl, what’re you doing in there? It’s been forever. Did something happen?”
“Ah—no! Coming out now!”
She shook her head, face flushing red.
Oh no, did he hear that!?
How embarrassing!
She quickly gathered up everything, tossed out what she didn’t need, and opened the door.
The tailor stared at her, clearly stunned.
He hadn’t been paying close attention earlier, but now, seeing her properly dressed—he couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Little miss, did you come here alone?”
“I paid, didn’t I?” Erika frowned. “What, do I need to pay extra just to use the fitting room now?”
“No, no.”
The tailor waved his hands, smiling awkwardly. “I just meant, you should go home early to your guardian. Don’t wander around alone.”
“There are guards all over the street. The town’s really safe. Don’t worry about me.”
“You know why there are so many guards?”
“Why?”
“There’ve been a lot of murders lately. That’s why Luka Town’s lord increased security.”
“Murder… you mean a killer?”
“No one knows. Just get home before dark. Luka Town’s not as safe as you think.”
“Mm, got it.”