Chapter 363
Tina was wearing a dress. Tina. That muscleheaded she-gorilla that wouldn't know femininity if she was buried in it. Not only that. She was wearing some lipstick and had some makeup on her face.
Tibaut had to rub his eyes several times trying to confirm the scene before his eyes. She wore a purple velvet dress with the sleeves going no further down than her elbow and the skirt going down no further than her knees. The dress placed ample emphasis on her bosom, though he wasn't sure if it was intended or due to their larger-than-average size.
“Stop gawking, it's creepy.” She stated.
“It really is you. What's the occasion?” He asked.
She blushed slightly. “T-that's all?” She said somewhat disappointed. (“I was sure he'd say something stupid like “I didn't know you could fit in a dress!””)
“No, it's nothing. (I guess it isn't too out of the ordinary for even her to wear a dress. Now that I think about it… ever since I came to this country she's probably the first person I've seen wear a proper dress.) So are you going somewhere?”
“Before that, I should get this out the way…” She took a deep sigh. “Thanks for giving me those ideas the other day.”
“Hmm, what are talking about?”
“Don't act dumb dipshit, you know, from when we were at that rapist's estate.”
“Hu- oh that.” He looked away and scratched his head.
Several weeks ago.
The two stood in front of each other with Tibaut speaking with a passion in his eyes.
“(I wonder if she could use her magic like Misaka?) Have you ever tried to use your magnetism for more than recovering your spear?”
“What do you mean?” She asked confused by his enthusiasm. She just tried to take her anger out on him, isn't he mad?
“Like, I can tell you don't do spear thrusts.”
“Yeah, it's because the spear's too heavy. Its weight makes it far too heavy to do some of those thrusts. It causes too much friction against my hand. I even tried a glove once but it wore through it in two training sessions.”
“Then why don't, you know, levitate it when you thrust.”
“Come on that'd be nowhere near worth the mana for a trick like that.” She immediately answered.
“Really? I guess overestimated your magic slightly.”
“What was that!?”
“Oh, so my stupid ideas actually helped?” He meekly answered, remembering that time. (“I know I was trying to cheer her up but I still cringe knowing I talked to her like I knew her magic better.”)
“Yes, at least one of them so far. The technique proved useful. So... thank you, Tibaut.”
Tibaut felt his throat dry at her sincerity.
(“She really is cute when she isn't being a pain in the ass…”)
“Oh, what's this I see?” Lily asked as she walked next to Tina in a similar dress, albeit this one was green. For having such a meagre chest, it looked quite nice on her. “Hehe, showing him the goods? Don't worry, I'll cheer for you too, if you feel like going for him, Vanessa needs to realise how urgent this is.”
Tina softly hammered her head and scoffed. “This pervert was just asking me why I was dressed like this. I was just about to punish him for staring at my chest.”
(“She noticed me!?”) He wondered as he picked himself off the floor and leaned against a nearby wall.
Another woman appeared as Tibaut noticed someone coming down the stairs. “Ugh, do we really have to go drinking in the town? We can just mooch off your booze can't we Lily?”
It was a woman who wore a blue dress, with a thick pair of glasses. She had chestnut hair that went to her shoulders.
“Screw off, if I'm gonna have to deal with your magic, we might as well make it other people's problem as well.”
“Hmm!?” Tibaut worriedly wondered.
“Sigh, don't mind them. And if you're wondering, we are going to have some fun tonight and reminisce about Ezekiel. Lily said it's a girl's night out or whatever.”
“O-oh. Don't let me slow you down.”
Tibaut began hobbling out of there. “Aren't you curious about the dress dude?” Lily asked. “It's not every day you see her in something like that.”
Tina sighed before opening her mouth. “Let's just get this out of the way before we leave. I don't regularly wear a dress. None of us do. However, Ezekiel bought us some dresses to wear but we never got to wear them before the house burned down. So we decided to buy a new set. Hopefully, that bastard is getting a good laugh in heaven.”
Tibaut remained silent for a few moments. “Would he really be laughing at you guys?” He asked.
“Why wouldn't he? I can't see any other reason that guy would give them to us.” She harshly stated.
“I mean, he took care of you guys, right? Maybe it was like the same way a dad gives a daughter a present. He just wanted to give you something to look pretty in.”
“....” Tina remained silent.
“Huh. You know things were always a bit tight. Maybe he just felt like being generous.” Lily stated as she lifted the dress slightly off her chest.
“Sorry if I said something I shouldn't have,” Tibaut said as he clasped his hands. “But, uh, I think he's probably just plain old smiling.”
Tibaut quickly walked off and made his way upstairs.
“Hey,… do you two mind if we get Elizabeth to draw us in these tomorrow?” Tina asked.
Both nodded their heads.