Naoki now regrets it.
Deeply regrets it.
Although psychologically and mentally he had no aversion to wearing women's clothing, after actually walking down the street dressed as a woman, moving with feminine mannerisms in front of so many people—even though Naoki had thick skin—he couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly embarrassed at this moment.
If his identity were exposed... it wouldn't just be social death!
'Don't get caught, don't get caught, don't get caught!'
With this thought burning in his mind, Naoki even considered using disguise Magecraft to reduce his presence!
But if he used disguise Magecraft, then what was the point of dressing like this in the first place? The main goal was to divert the reporters.
'Damn it... I'll remember this grudge. In my dreams before, wearing women's clothes was fine—who knew doing it in real life would be so humiliating...'
It could only be said that dreams and reality were vastly different.
Seeing Naoki in this state, Gray, who was following beside him, couldn't help but feel both pity and admiration: "Big brother... ah, no, 'Big sister', are you really okay? Your steps are starting to look awkward."
"Next time, warn me earlier, Gray." Adjusting his gait to mimic Riddell's, Naoki sighed resignedly: "Sigh... dressing as a woman is exhausting, and what's even more annoying is having to keep this up for four days. I feel like half my life is already drained."
"I thought just wearing women's clothes wouldn't be like this, especially since 'Big sister' is too professional. You even copied every little detail of Lady Riddell's mannerisms."
"In some situations, reporters' eyes are sharper than an eagle's. But you're right—I didn't actually need to go this far. Especially since Miss Archelot messed up my original plan."
Original plan?
Gray tilted her head in confusion: "Big sister, did you actually have another plan?"
"Yeah." As he spoke, Naoki pulled out a red orb from his pocket, "A Logos React replica. As long as we input Miss Archelot's data, it can perfectly replicate her appearance. Initially, I planned to use this to trick them."
"Then why... 'Big sister', is it because you didn't want Lady Riddell to know about the Logos React replica?"
Naoki nodded: "Aside from you and me, only Merlin knows about the Logos Reac replica. Even Waver just thinks it's an illusionary Mystic Code. If possible, I don't want too many people to know about this thing, especially Magus."
Earlier, when he asked Kayneth about the entry requirements for the Department of Creation, Naoki had just been making things up to steer the conversation away. There was no absolute trust among Magus—fundamentally, almost all Magus were selfish. As long as they could reach the Root, nothing else mattered; everyone else was just competition.
And for Magus, a Logos React replica capable of perfect replication was an invaluable treasure. How to reach the Root, what conditions were needed to reach the Root... all kinds of problems could be simulated to obtain theoretical results.
As long as there was a theoretically optimal method to reach the Root, all they had to do next was steadily advance toward it.
"Miss Archelot is an idol, but before becoming an idol, she was still a Magus. If she knew the effects of the Logos React replica, there's no telling if she'd develop certain thoughts. I'm also not confident my excuses could fool her—many people say I'm terrible at making up stories."
"So, unless absolutely necessary, I'll only use this Logos React replica in secret."
After saying this, Naoki put the Logos React replica away and looked toward the shopping mall across the street: "Come on, Gray, let's go over there to buy some men's clothes."
"Buy men's clothes?"
"After buying them, we'll find a restroom to change out of these clothes, then use the Logos React replica to replicate Miss Archelot's appearance." Naoki tugged at his skirt, "Light, flowy clothes like this are unbearable—just walking down the street, I already noticed several people staring at my lower half."
Staring at his lower half?
Hearing this, Gray unconsciously shifted her gaze to Naoki's thighs and backside.
Because of the slightly short skirt and Naoki's somewhat long strides, a slight curve was visible.
'I... might understand those people.'
Even though she knew Naoki was a man, Gray had to admit that Naoki in this outfit had an allure that, in some ways, surpassed that of a woman.
"'Big sister'."
"Huh?"
"If possible, you really shouldn't wear women's clothes again in the future. It's frustrating."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
Gray's cryptic words left Naoki utterly confused.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Half an hour later.
After changing into comfortable men's clothes and stepping out of the restroom, Naoki smoothed his hair in front of the mirror and let out a long sigh: "Phew~ This is so much better. Finally, I don't have to wear clothes that make my legs and backside feel exposed."
"Welcome back, big brother."
At the restroom entrance, seeing Naoki back in men's clothing, Gray also sighed in relief. But while she felt relieved, someone else was dissatisfied.
"Aaah! Why did you take it off? You looked so good in women's clothes!"
Add, who had been barred from speaking earlier due to the crowd, finally couldn't hold back now that things had quieted down.
"Put it back on! Put it back on! Handsome men like you and Bedivere should be wearing women's clothes!"
"Alright, Gray, hand Add over. I'm going to dunk him in the toilet."
"Okay."
"Hey—!"
Add immediately thrashed wildly: "I'm speaking the truth, buddy! It's a waste not to use such a great talent!"
"I don't have a habit of being a man obsessed with cross-dressing."
"Did you know? The word 'pretty' originally referred to men, and stockings were also first worn by men. What does this tell you? It tells you there's nothing wrong with men wearing women's clothes, especially—umph aaaaaaa!"
Before Add could finish his bizarre theory, Gray, her face expressionless, began swinging him up and down like a baseball pitcher, the force making the birdcage rattle loudly as Add crashed into it.
Only after swinging him until Add's voice nearly faded did Gray stop: "Sorry, big brother. Add was being a bit rude."
"It's fine, he's just noisy. Anyway, let's go—we're buying you new clothes."
"No, really, there's no need—"
"Come on, let's go."