His face was a little flushed, his heart still hammering away, and all he could think was that this might be the last thing he ever did before he died.
Evelyn and Elysia dragged him around from shop to shop, clothing stores, jewelers, and eventually a magic weapon shop that got Elias genuinely excited the second he saw all the weapons on display.
That excitement died the moment he actually looked at the price tags.
He didn’t have nearly enough money, though he supposed he could always barter with the Grade-B Mana Stone he had on him.
But he wasn’t about to break into his savings just to satisfy himself.
‘This is for my sister.’
Elias glanced over at the twins, who were both staring intently at something on display.
Curious, he wandered over to see what had caught their attention.
“Something wrong, my ladies?”
Before answering, Evelyn and Elysia exchanged a brief look, then turned back to whatever was in front of them.
“Yes, this is a huge problem.”
“Very huge.”
‘Why did they need to exchange a look first?’
Forcing a smile, Elias finally worked up the nerve to ask what exactly the problem was.
“…What kind of problem could possibly count as huge for you two?”
‘If this is really a huge problem, there’s a good chance I’m about to die.
No doubt about it.’
“The problem is…”
“We can’t decide which ribbon looks good.”
“…”
‘The gods haven’t abandoned me yet…
Seriously…
Thank you.’
“Did you hear that?”
“O-of course, I heard you. But why do you both need a ribbon? You’re already wearing one.”
“Fufufu~ This is a magic weapon shop. It specializes in crafting all sorts of magic weapons, sure, but it also carries accessories and other tools infused with magic.”
“Like this ribbon here.”
“I see. My knowledge on this is pretty limited, I’ve spent my whole life in a small village.”
“Enough with that. Just help us pick.”
Sweat instantly broke out across Elias’s face.
If he picked something and it turned out they hated it, wasn’t that basically a death sentence?
Or, wait, was this actually some kind of test?
There was a real chance the twins were testing him.
The arm-hugging, the walk around the city, and now picking out a magic accessory, as far as Elias could tell, this all added up to one big evaluation.
‘Damn it!
I’ve always hated tests…’
Despite what he was saying to himself, Elias threw every last brain cell he had into figuring out which ribbon would actually suit the twins best.
Honestly, every single one on display looked great, each with its own unique effect.
But Elias was only interested in whichever ones actually matched the twins.
With a little help from the system, he eventually landed on two ribbons that fit perfectly.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Ding!]
[White Sunveil Ribbon]
Type: Magic Accessory
Grade: D+
Effect: Sunveil
Grants passive protection over the user’s entire body with no mana required.
This protection blocks direct sunlight, keeps body temperature stable, and reduces the effects of heat and solar radiation.
Effect: Retribution
If the user enters a dangerous situation, the ribbon automatically releases its stored energy and launches a counterattack with Rank A power.
Once usage exceeds its limit, all protective effects stop and the ribbon can no longer be used.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Ding!]
[Black Ember Ribbon]
Type: Magic Accessory
Grade: D+
Effect: Warmth
Grants passive warmth over the user’s entire body with no mana required.
This effect keeps body temperature stable, provides a sense of warmth, and reduces the influence of cold surrounding temperatures.
Effect: Ember Guard
If the user enters a dangerous situation, the ribbon automatically releases stored heat energy and forms a protective layer across the entire body.
This layer reduces damage taken from incoming attacks and delivers a counterattack with Rank B power.
Once usage exceeds its limit, all warmth effects stop and the ribbon can no longer be used.
Uses: 3 times.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
‘These are good.
Same colors as what they’re already wearing, sure, but at least the effects should actually be useful to them.
And they’re not identical anyway, there’s a crystal set right in the center of each one as its core.’
Elias picked up both and held them out for the twins to see.
“I’ll go with these two.”
“Why? Aren’t these the same as what we’re already wearing?”
“What’s your reasoning for picking these?”
It made sense for them to question why he’d picked colors that matched what they already had, but the question didn’t rattle Elias one bit.
“The colors are the same, sure, but the effects are far more useful for you both.”
“That’s it?”
“There might be accessories out there with even stronger effects than these two. But from what I’ve seen, these are the ones that actually suit what you both need. And honestly, I think black and white are the perfect colors for you, they really bring out how striking you both look.”
Elias’s explanation left the two of them quiet for a moment before Evelyn smiled, cheeks tinting slightly, and murmured:
“You’re still the same.”
Elysia, meanwhile, just twirled a strand of her hair, blushing as she muttered:
“Idiot.”
Sensing something was off, all Elias could do was scratch the back of his head, sweat beading on his cheek, without quite catching what either of them had actually said.
“…um… so, what do you think?”
“After thinking it over, these really do suit us.”
“I’ll go with whatever big sis says.”
On the outside, Elias kept up a gentle smile, but on the inside he was sobbing tears of pure relief, because apparently he wasn’t going to die today after all.
Seriously, that little moment where the two of them had muttered to themselves had been one of the most nerve-wracking moments of his life.
“But you’re paying for it.”
“You’re the one who picked them.”
“W-wait, what?” His hands shaking, Elias lifted the ribbons to check the price tags attached to them.
For a second he actually reached to open his magic space, ready to pull out a single Grade-A Mana Stone, worth about twenty gold coins.
Evelyn stopped him with a soft laugh.
“Kidding, kidding.”
“There’s no way we’d actually make you do that.”
The faint smile tugging at Elysia’s lips left an impression on him.
It was the first time he’d ever seen her make that particular expression.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Just as he turned to step out and finally let out a breath of relief, Elysia grabbed his hand and pulled him right back, stopping him in his tracks.
Elias turned back to face them.
“Put our ribbons on for us.”
“W-what?”
“We can’t exactly do it ourselves~ Besides, it’s usually the maids who put our ribbons on for us.”
That, of course, was a lie.
Before putting it on, he carefully undid the old ribbon still tied into her white hair.
Since the new ribbon had to be tied at the back, he stood right in front of her and leaned in slightly to get a proper look at what he was working with.
Evelyn tilted her head down just a little, letting him fix her hair before he slipped the White Sunveil Ribbon into place.
This close, the scent of her hair came through so much clearer, soft lily mixed with a faint hint of vanilla, sweet without being overwhelming.
Every time he smoothed a strand into place, that scent hit him all over again, a constant reminder of just how close they were standing.
Evelyn, though, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
She just stood there quietly and let him do his work.
Even when he had to lean in closer to adjust the ribbon’s position, she naturally tilted her head to follow the movement of his hands, almost like she already knew exactly how to stand to make it easier for him.
Elias himself never noticed that small oddity.
He was too busy making sure the ribbon was tied properly.
After a moment, he pulled the knot tight and checked his work, tucking a few loose strands back into place before finally giving a satisfied nod.
“There. Not too tight, is it?”
Evelyn lifted her face and touched the ribbon with her fingertips.
Once she was sure it sat comfortably, she gave a faint smile.
“It’s perfect.”
Elias nodded and turned to Elysia next.
The black-haired girl was already standing in front of him, holding out the Black Ember Ribbon.
She’d even undone her old ribbon on her own, without waiting to be asked.
He took the ribbon and got to work smoothing out Elysia’s black hair.
Her scent was different from her sister’s entirely, soft lavender mixed with a touch of cinnamon, giving off a faint, warm kind of smell.
He went through the same motions as before, standing in front of her and leaning in slightly to tie the ribbon at the back of her hair.
This time, he barely had to adjust her position at all.
The moment his hands moved in a certain direction, Elysia would naturally tilt her head to match, and when he needed to tighten the back of the ribbon, she lowered her head again without even being asked.
Elias couldn’t help but notice.
‘Turns out this girl’s actually pretty easy to work with.’
Elysia just watched him with that same flat expression before letting him get back to it.
Before long, the Black Ember Ribbon was in place.
He smoothed down a few loose strands near the side of her face, and just as he was about to finish, Elysia reached up and fixed his collar, which had gone slightly crooked from all the bending over he’d been doing.
The gesture came so naturally that he simply thanked her without a second thought.
“All done.”
Evelyn touched the white ribbon in her hair once more while Elysia gave a small nod.
Elias glanced between them, and honestly, both ribbons suited them perfectly.
The White Sunveil Ribbon gave Evelyn a brighter, softer look, while the Black Ember Ribbon made Elysia’s black hair look even deeper and darker.
“Elias.”
He turned back to face them just as he was about to head out of the shop.
“So, what do you think?”
Elias looked the two of them over from head to toe, one hand resting on his chin, studying their outfits and the new ribbons with a serious expression, like he was weighing something genuinely important.
Under that lingering stare, Evelyn slowly raised a hand to touch her own cheek.
A faint smile crept across her face while a blush started creeping into both cheeks.
She didn’t say a word, but her eyes never once left him.
Elysia, meanwhile, immediately turned her face away, arms crossed tight over her chest as if trying to hide her expression from him entirely.
Her face stayed just as flat as ever, but the red creeping into her ears said more than enough about how not-calm she actually was.
Elias still hadn’t finished sizing them up.
Elysia finally couldn’t take it anymore and raised her voice, just slightly.
“Idiot. Just say it already!”
Caught a little off guard, Elias finally nodded.
“I’m not exactly good at judging appearances, but…” He looked them both over once more.
“It suits you. Yeah. Really. You both look beautiful.”
At that, Evelyn covered her smile with one hand, the blush on her face deepening even further.
Elysia, still refusing to look at him, only crossed her arms even tighter.
She didn’t say another word, but with her ears burning red like that, her whole aloof act wasn’t fooling anyone.
Elias, completely oblivious to what was actually going on, could only scratch the back of his head, looking thoroughly confused.
‘Did I actually pull it off today?’