Volume 6, Chapter 54 – A Fleeting Peace

“How about it? This dress.”

Changing into an evening gown that, in Yisi’s opinion, was only suitable for banquets, Evelyn twirled in front of her. The calculating look in her deep green eyes had vanished, as if the person standing here was not the next Pope who was scheming to leave the church, but an ordinary girl who would be happy to be praised by others.

Although it was indeed very beautiful, an evening gown could only highlight the charm of a well-developed girl like Evelyn. However, because the previous shopping trip had drained too much of Yisi’s energy, even though Evelyn was very beautiful now, Yisi didn’t have much strength to praise her. She was sure that if she were given a bed, she could fall asleep immediately.

“It’s beautiful.”

She answered Evelyn listlessly, and then quickly discovered that something was wrong.

Generally speaking, when praising someone, if one just says things like “good,” “great,” or “I like it,” it won’t produce a very strong sense of joy in the person being praised. Sometimes it’s even taken as a perfunctory remark, especially when the person is a sensitive person. The best way to solve this problem is to point out exactly what is good, thereby giving the other person a stronger sense of accomplishment, and the joy will naturally be stronger. Of course, the side effect is that the other person will remember the praise as a strength, and if you don’t want to be at a loss when asked next time, it’s best to remember what points you praised.

Yisi’s gaze deliberately shifted to Evelyn’s chest. Under the outline of the black evening gown, Evelyn’s chest was unusually conspicuous. The folds at the neckline and the large gemstone on her chest further emphasized its existence, and as if it had a magical power, it naturally drew one’s attention.

Yisi blurted out as if reciting from memory.

“The design of the dress goes very well with you, Evelyn. The curves of your chest and waist are outlined, as if it were made for you. If you were to wear this dress to a party, you would surely attract the attention of everyone there.”

“…”

Strangely, Evelyn did not, as Yisi had imagined, happily say to the shop assistant, “Alright, I’ll take this one.” Instead, she remained silent.

Yisi raised her line of sight and found that Evelyn was looking at her with a rather subtle expression.

“…Although it’s a pleasant compliment, for some reason, it feels like a prepared line, which is annoying.”

Is it because it’s too formal that it feels strange?

If Evelyn were to realize that she was just being perfunctory, even if the dress really did look good on her, she would surely throw it aside and change into another one.

That would be a disaster.

Yisi quickly explained.

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“It really is beautiful. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the shop assistant over there.”

“Is that so… then this one it is. Speaking of which, aren’t you going to choose a dress, Yisi? If it’s just the price of one or two, I can still afford it.”

Phew, it seems I’ve escaped that one.

Yisi waved her hand with a lack of interest.

“I’m fine. My only requirement for clothes is that they are comfortable to wear.”

“Then how about trying the underwear over here? Although I’ve never left Mitters Bayer, I’ve heard that outside of the Ymir Territory, there is no such concept as a bra. I can’t imagine what the women in those places do. Do they wear nothing underneath? It feels very perverted, lacking a sense of self-awareness as a woman.”

I’m so sorry for not wearing one.

“Hmm? You look like you’re sulking, Yisi.”

“It’s nothing. To be honest, this is the first time in this world—” She almost blurted out the fact that she was from another world, but Yisi caught herself in time. “This is the first time I’ve seen something called a bra.”

Very reluctantly, Yisi squeezed the bra at her side. For some reason, she always had a feeling of being on pins and needles, as if someone would jump out at any moment, point at her, and shout “pervert.”

It was just too shameful.

The first time in her life she had touched a bra.

She hadn’t even been this flustered when she was looking at Pepe’s body in the mirror in the bath at the beginning.

Suddenly.

Slap.

With a crisp sound, Yisi’s whole body tensed up like a cat whose tail had been caught, and she almost jumped up on the spot.

Evelyn, taking advantage of Yisi’s inattention, had placed her hands under Yisi’s armpits, and as if she were measuring something, her hands fumbled around, moving bit by bit along the sides of Yisi’s ribs.

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Although she quickly realized the truth and dismissed the thought of throwing the ‘ambusher’ over her shoulder, the itching sensation from the sides of her body still made Yisi very uncomfortable. She turned her head.

“What are you doing, Evelyn?”

Evelyn was a woman with a normal sexual orientation. She shouldn’t be doing perverted things.

As expected, just as Yisi had thought, the face Evelyn raised was filled with only confusion and curiosity.

“Why can I only feel bones… Are you not wearing anything underneath?”

Tsk, so that’s what it was for.

In order not to become a pervert herself, Yisi made up a lie and coughed very seriously.

“Ahem, in my hometown, only girls who have reached adulthood can wear bras. I’m not yet an adult, so of course, I’m not wearing anything.”

“Huh? You’re not an adult yet?” Evelyn walked around to the front of Yisi, stroking her chin and looking her up and down, occasionally pinching her cheek. “You look like you’ve already reached adulthood. The lines of your face, and the calmness you’ve shown before, are not like a child at all.”

“I’m just a little precocious,” Yisi patted her own chest, which had only a slight curve. “This is the proof.”

Evelyn frowned in disbelief.

“Indeed… if you were an adult, it would be impossible for it to be so small…”

Although she was the one who had brought up the topic, she felt a little offended. Her body was modeled after Pepe’s, and according to Pepe, she was already fifteen years old. In other words, she was already an adult.

Not noticing Yisi’s complicated feelings, Evelyn waved her hand.

“Then let’s come back when you’re a little older, Yisi. Speaking of which, without a bra, what do those adult women do? If they don’t wear anything, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable when their clothes rub against them when they walk? And it’s very unsightly.”

“It seems they use bandages to bind them?”

Unfortunately, none of her companions needed to use bandages. They were either too young and hadn’t reached the age where they needed them, or they were poorly developed and had no need to use them—Refina seemed to be using them, but she hadn’t developed to that point with Refina. Besides Refina herself, perhaps only Pepe would know. But she would definitely not be so tactless as to ask Pepe. Otherwise, she would surely be asked in return, “Hoh, are you interested in Refina?” and then use that as an excuse to develop into a chaotic relationship of three.

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Bandages were definitely harder to use than bras. She should probably drop a hint to Refina later that there were bras for sale here.

Evelyn nodded to herself.

“I see. I’ll try wrapping it with bandages next time to see what it feels like. But are you sure you don’t want to buy one, Yisi? Even if you’re very poor, you’ll still have a use for it in the future. At least try it on. Maybe there’s a size that fits.”

“I know it’s troublesome without even trying.”

“Tsk, I’m sincerely thinking for you as a big sister. You should eat properly, or you’ll stay so small.”

For some reason, she was quite annoyed now.

Yisi changed the subject.

“You said before that you’ve never left Mitters Bayer, Evelyn?”

“It’s all because of that old fossil,” at this point, Evelyn pouted as she walked to the counter to pay. “He talks about the duties of the Pope, and guiding believers in their confessions and stuff, and restricts me to only being able to patrol the vicinity of Mitters Bayer. And I have to bring guards with me when I leave the city, otherwise.”

The reason she didn’t finish was probably because she was worried about being overheard by the shop assistant. Otherwise, without guards, Evelyn could have taken the opportunity to run away.

The shop assistant placed the change of silver coins back in Evelyn’s hand.

“This is your change of two silver coins. The dress is a total of four gold coins and eight silver coins.”

“Tsk.”

Although she didn’t say it, one could tell from Evelyn’s expression that she was thinking it was expensive.

Perhaps because she had the experience of worrying about money before, even though she was now the Pope, she still felt the pinch.

After the two of them walked out of the shop, Evelyn indeed complained with a dissatisfied look on her face.

“It’s just a dress, and it costs four gold coins. I should have asked for the price before buying.”

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“It’s a formal evening gown worn by nobles after all. It wouldn’t be cheap no matter what.” Pepe’s casual dress cost more than five gold coins. “Aren’t you the next Pope, Evelyn? Even if you don’t have much power in your hands, you shouldn’t be unable to afford four gold coins. Julius can choose not to give his successor power, but it’s impossible for him to not even care about the church’s face.”

“That’s what they say, but if I don’t save up usually, I’ll be at a loss when I need a large sum of money. The personal assets I showed you before were all things I saved up bit by bit.”

Surprisingly frugal?

Even though that was the fund Evelyn had prepared for her escape, the habit of saving money was very rare. Saving money was a difficult process that required constantly resisting temptation. If she were Evelyn, as soon as she got some money, she would surely spend it right away.

For a moment, Yisi couldn’t help but admire Evelyn.

Evelyn waved her hand.

“Well, speaking of accumulating, that money didn’t come from the church. The church doesn’t give me gold coins directly. Instead, when I need something, they buy it and deliver it to me. So those assets all came from the believers. They send gifts and tributes to me, and then I erase the markings and resell them to pawnshops or auction houses. After so many years, my relationship with the pawnshop owner is quite good. Every time I go, he knows what I want to do without me having to say anything.”

“…”

Give me back my admiration.

Yisi was at a loss for words for a moment.

Not to mention that those were very likely tributes to the Goddess, even if they were gifts to Evelyn, it was a bit too heartless to sell them. If Evelyn were an idol, it would surely make her fans very disappointed.

Seemingly also knowing that it was wrong to do so, Evelyn coughed guiltily, her gaze shifting to the ground.

“Ahem, I’ve only told you about this. Please don’t tell anyone else.”

“Yes, yes. So when are we going to buy the magic cores?”

“I remember there’s a shop nearby that sells magical items. But shouldn’t we go for lunch first? We’re pretty good sisters in the eyes of outsiders now, aren’t we?”

“No need. Besides, it would be embarrassing to have a big sister like you.”