“S-Sorry to keep you waiting… Noel…”
“Ah, Rokoko. How are you? Feeling refreshed—?”
Sitting leisurely and enjoying some tea with the madam of the establishment, Ms. Lisette, Rokoko had finally arrived. As soon as my eyes fell on Rokoko, though, I was shocked-stiff.
“Mhm! It’s like I’ve been born again!”
Reborn. What a fitting word. Indeed, that was just how much the petite girl in front of me had changed. It was to the point she was almost unrecognizable.
Her hair, once neglected and unruly as nature, had been brushed and properly oiled. And now her silvery strands were free to glimmer as her eyes did. The grime that stuck to her skin like glue had also been scrubbed off, and her skin reclaimed its gem-like gleam.
In fact, the red engravings she bore on her body only accentuated a mystical allure she possessed but could never show. A passing glance and you’d think she wasn’t real.
However, the cherry on top—
“…Is it weird?”
“N-No! It’s not! It suits you well, and you look adorable!”
“T-Thank you,” she answered with a little sway.
Once begrimed, that transformed girl was adorned with a child-sized pink mini-dress, which fit her naturally petite frame perfectly. The article was sleeveless and had a light shawl of the same color draped over it. She looked like a bona-fide young lady from high society.
“Ahaha! Looks like this was a great success, hm?”
“Indeed. Hehe, I’m glad I didn’t throw away these old clothes!”
“Yeah yeah! Girls definitely need to wear cute stuff, after all!”
From behind the fidgety and red Rokoko, three older girls came over in a line. They all wore broad smiles on their faces, joy clear and painted therein. I reciprocated their kindness with a bow.
“Thank you all so much for washing and taking care of her! And also for providing such fine clothing… Um, I’ll make sure to pay for everything properly!”
Seeing me act so severely, the trio widened their eyes for a moment before chuckling with a pep. “Hehe. You don’t need to worry. Besides, I can’t wear these anymore.”
“Yeah. We might as well give you all the clothes we can’t wear anymore!” One of them suggested.
“Oh! That’s a great idea! Hey, let’s do that!”
“Right. It’s better than throwing them away. Honestly, if you’d just take them, we’d be really happy.”
“Alrighty then! Little Rokoko, let’s go to our room and see the clothes!”
“O-Okay,” Rokoko nodded.
“What?! W-Wait a moment—”
With delighted shrills, the older girls pushed Rokoko forward as if the world was ending. Before I could even say a thing, they were already on the second floor looking at clothes.