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One day, just as the Celestial Festival approached, a disaster struck.

“Uh… um… that’s really cool…”

Selian stuttered with a voice full of uncertainty.

“Y-yeah. It’s not that bad, actually?”

Yuli, trying to say it’s not bad, strangely turned her face away to hide her expression.

“Sniff… it seems to go well with Elysia… Puhahaha!”

Anne, despite trying hard to hide it, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Nyaa…”

Even the cat, looking on, turned away with its tail between its legs, clearly horrified.

Meanwhile, Linne was rolling around in the air, clutching her stomach with laughter.

How did this happen?

It all started with just a small comment from Selian.

I never thought it would turn out like this… If only I had rejected Selian’s and my friends’ suggestions back then, could I have avoided this disaster?

I curse my complacent self.

Oh past self, it’s because of your laid-back attitude that I’m suffering in the present.

If only I could turn back time…

*

“By the way, El? Do you have clothes for the Celestial Festival?”

On a weekend morning when we got to relax for the first time in a while, Selian asked me while I was lounging in bed.

“Huh? Can’t I just wear something decent? It’s not like I don’t have clothes.”

Naturally, during the summer vacation, I could have filled my meager wardrobe by visiting Yuli’s and Selian’s houses.

Since I received so many kinds of clothes regardless of the season, I didn’t have to worry about clothes afterwards.

Selian, who personally gave me clothes, knew this well.

So why is Selian worried about what I’ll wear at the Celestial Festival?

“The main character of this Celestial Festival is Hero El. All the students in the academy and everyone in the city will be watching El, so I don’t want to show a clumsy appearance.”

“The main character of the Celestial Festival is not me but the Goddess…”

I tried to stop Selian from applying a fresh coat of gold leaf on my face, but someone interrupted me.

“That’s right! Selian made a good point. You don’t want to show a lackluster look if you have to reveal yourself anyway.”

“No, I mean the Celestial Festival is for the Goddess…”

Suddenly, there was one more person adding gold leaf to my face, and as I quickly tried to calm them down, once again my words didn’t come out.

“What? What’s going on? Celestial Festival? El? Clothes? I’m in favor! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Anne, who woke up the latest, burst in with a loud voice, having just coming down after a quick wash with a towel on her head.

Without even knowing what we were talking about, she swiftly grasped the situation and rushed over to Selian and Yuli.

– Ohoho! Something fun is happening? Then Linne can’t miss out!

In the meantime, Linne was also there, wanting to fulfill her own selfish desires just because it seemed fun.

Contrary to when Selian first brought it up, it had reached a point where it was hard to refuse.

“…Okay, if everyone has nothing else going on, let’s go out for lunch later. We can have a meal out as well.”

Yeah, since they’re doing this for me, there’s no reason to refuse.

Thanks to becoming a Hero, I didn’t have to worry about tuition before heading off to defeat the Demon King, and with that, I had a bit more budget, so I thought I might as well prepare for an expensive outfit.

Not to mention, since everyone has helped me so much, treating them to lunch this time doesn’t sound bad either.

*

“Shall we start getting ready? I think it would be better to eat lunch first, what does everyone want to eat?”

“I’ll have anything! Just not spicy!”

Usually, ‘anything’ is the hardest order to fulfill, but when it’s Anne saying it, it’s a bit different.

For her, ‘anything’ truly means anything.

If there’s nothing she wants, Anne will eat anything without picky habits.

But I could say she could just stay quiet until the menu is decided… But since it’s Anne, let’s let it slide.

“Um… Well, I think that new noodle shop that opened around this time is supposed to be good.”

“Is it around this time…? You mean recently opened? Now that you mention it, I think I’ve heard some of my classmates talk about it.”

“Oh, I’ve also heard of it. I heard it hasn’t been long since it opened, but already people are lining up!”

So, it seems that it must really be popular if a noodle shop, which typically has a fast turnover, has a queue.

“Then let’s go there. It’s a bit early for lunch, but… if we’re going to have to wait, should we head out right away?”

We all enjoy hopping around to different eateries, and we’ve practically conquered most of the popular spots in the city.

Since it was a new place, there was no reason for all four of us to oppose, so the decision was made quickly.

*

“Wow. If we had come a little later, we would have ended up in that long line.”

Fortunately, when we arrived, it must have still been in the preparation stage; there was hardly any line.

Even the little wait we had was trivial since we could enter quickly as the shop opened.

“It was worth it. I wish I had come earlier together.”

However, unlike when we entered, when we finished lunch and came out, we found a long line waiting in front.

No matter how fast the turnover is, it looks like that person at the very end would still have to wait several tens of minutes.

“Hehe, I’m full.”

Anne, who had eaten a large portion by herself, said with a satisfied look while patting her stomach.

With her small frame, where does all that food go?

It was a realm hard to understand, especially with a smaller stomach from becoming a woman.

“Shall we go check out El’s clothes now to help with digestion?”

Now that I think about it, our original goal wasn’t the food tour, but my outfit.

I had totally forgotten about that since the noodles were so delicious.

“Well, for a Hero, it’s not just the clothes but the armed look that might be better, right?”

“Um… Is that so? But if El’s wearing armor, it seems a bit wasteful to cover her body, doesn’t it?”

“…But if you think about how many people will be seeing El’s figure, it does feel a bit weird. I don’t mean I don’t want to show off El…”

“Oh, I get that feeling. It’s definitely like that. It’s just that if El is left unchecked, she’ll somehow unknowingly attract more rivals…”

“That’s right. Ever since El became a Hero, both boys and girls have been getting closer to me. I sent them all away, though.”

“Indeed, after El became a Hero, people of all genders have been increasingly drawn to her… We need to be even more alert during times like this!”

“That’s true, but El’s just…”

“Yes, yes. Just like last time…”

At some point, Selian and Yuli had stuck together, discussing various things.

But why is it that my name seems to come up most often from their lips?

“Okay, then let’s go. If we go, they’ll follow us.”

Anne, staring at the two who were in sync, said to me while keeping her gaze fixed on them.

“…Well, I guess so.”

As I expected, they knew each other so well now that as soon as Anne and I started to walk, Selian and Yuli quickly chased after us.

While Anne was leading the way, the two behind were engrossed in chatter.

“Alright! Nobody has any objections here, right?”

We arrived at a slightly unusual store.

It was a clothing store that also sold armor, but conversely, it also had clothes unlike a typical armor shop.

Yet, neither side had poor quality; in fact, they had quite high-end items on display.

Usually, when a place handles a variety of things, it often can’t do either side well.

But this shop was different.

Thanks to the characteristics of Felches, the city where Griffin Academy is located.

Many of those attending Griffin Academy are rich nobles and offspring from the business community, and they are interested in not just clothing but also weapons and armor.

When this store first opened, many expected it to go bust due to its awkward position, but instead, it was able to expand greatly by accurately catering to the needs of academy students.

“Oh, I see this place now. I forgot about it because I was only thinking about one side.”

“Yeah, with this, there wasn’t any reason to hesitate.”

“Hehe. What do you think of my choice? Not bad, right?”

Anne stood with her arms crossed in front of Selian and Yuli, her face slightly lifted, flaunting herself proudly.

“Oh, that’s so Anne! Thanks to you, we’ll be able to save a lot of time.”

It seemed like she was expecting a compliment, so I gave one.

“Uheh.”

As expected, Anne’s face lit up with a grin as soon as she received praise. She really is honest both inside and out.

“Um… then let’s take a look at the clothes first.”

I followed Selian towards the clothing section.

And that’s when the weekend disaster began.