Sorry for the sudden break last week and the late release this week >

Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

"……how bittersweet."

A few days after that, I visited the Madam"s shop alone for a consultation.

The purpose of the consultation was to ask about what I should do to become more feminine like all the big sisters here……whether or not I could become a lovely girl.

It would be a lie to say that I haven"t minded it at all up until now, but……even so, lately it has been especially worrying.

The fact that I didn"t have a single ounce of femininity.

Short hair for the sake of combat.

This body that was covered in wounds.

I had never regretted or belittled myself because of it.

On the other hand, I had even thought that it was something to be proud of.

However, when I was standing next to Rui……I started to mind it after all.

Has he even realized that I am a girl?

Is he looking at me as a member of the opposite s.e.x?

……those sorts of thoughts came to mind.

Although that may be the case, when I thought about who amongst the people in the Marquis house I could consult about this……

n.o.body came to mind.

To begin with, I was scared to expose the fact that I was going out to town on my own.

Besides, ever since I met them, I always thought that……the big sisters at Madam"s shop were pretty and nice.

On that note, I came to visit Madam"s shop but……

As a result, I was thoroughly questioned by the big sisters, and ended up telling them most of the details regarding my circ.u.mstances.

All of the big sisters were gazing at me kindly with lukewarm eyes.

Somehow that was instead making me feel more embarra.s.sed.

"……hah, let"s return to the main topic. So, what should I do to become pretty like all of you big sisters?"

When I asked that again, the big sisters laughed.

"Just what is Mel-chan saying."

As they giggled, Lulurisan said those words.

……as expected, for someone like me to want to become cute……it was impossible since I had no foundation - or so I thought as I was about to give up.

"Come on, everyone. It"s no good if you don"t properly put it into words, you know? Because you"re making Mel-chan misunderstand."

Madam said that and rebuked everyone.

"Oh, sorry. Mel-chan. But once I started wondering about what on earth you were saying at this point in time, it just felt so strange."

She giggled, laughing at me as expected, and Lulurisan extended her hand towards my cheek.

"Even though Mel-chan already has the number one magic in making a girl become cute cast on her. I was wondering what we could possibly do past that when you say that you want to become cute."

"……the number one magic to become cute?"

"It"s the feelings, your feelings. I said it before too, right? Girls who think that they want to become cute will always become cuter."

"Right, right. Maidens in love are particularly prime examples of that."

All of the big sisters stroked my cheeks, squishing them.

"……l-love!?"

"You are in love, Mel-chan."

"That"s right~. No matter how you look at it, those thoughts are that of a maiden in love, you know?"

The big sisters laughed at my exaggerated reaction.

Love, love, love……!?

"Oh my, so we must start from there?"

Big sister made a bitter smile, seeing me boiling up with embarra.s.sment.

"You felt that you wanted to become prettier for him, right?"

I nodded in a troubled manner at Lulurisan"s words.

"You can go from great joy to great sorrow from a mere remark of his……yet, you feel happy from that, right?"

I once again nodded at her words.

"Mel-chan, are there any people other than him that make you feel that way?"

I shook my head.

"Is that not your answer? For me to say such a thing directly would be boorish. If you become honest, the answer will be inside Mel-chan."

Suddenly, I thought about Rui.

Without thinking about unnecessary things, I simply thought about him alone.

Just by thinking about him, my heart throbbed.

I became happy, and felt fortunate.

……it was a special feeling that I only would get from him.

If that special feeling was what was called love.

Then I certainly was in love with him.

"Leaving that aside, a maiden in love will steadily become more beautiful from that alone."

I tilted my head at the words from another big sister.

"Oh, you don"t believe me, right?"

Lulurisan"s sharp words rendered me speechless.

"Then I will say this. Mel-chan, unlike before, you"re now caring for your hair every day, right?"

……that is true.

Feeling that I wanted to do something, I was caring for my hair every night using the method that I had Granny teach me.

"Before you became aware of him, were you doing that?"

I shook my head at her inquiry.

"Your skin is also glossier than before. You"re doing something to it, right?"

When another big sister keenly pointed that out, this time I nodded my head up and down.

Like the big sister said, similar to my hair, I was caring for my face every night using the method I had Granny teach me.

"Like that, those small things that you begin to put into mind will start to acc.u.mulate. There is no shortcut to beauty. It is something that you advance upon little by little."

"……well, Mel-chan"s base is good after all. I think that she"ll quickly become a beautiful girl that everyone will turn around to look at."

"That"s right. Firstly, Mel-chan, have some confidence. If you don"t believe in yourself, then who is supposed to believe in you?"

I see, I thought, unconditionally finding those words to be deep and profound as I nodded earnestly.

"Alright. Then, let"s work hard to become even cuter bit by bit from here on out. We will also be cheering you on."

"Thank you very much, big sisters."

"……but, before that Mel-chan. Tell us a bit more about Mel-chan"s bittersweet story."

Glinting, the eyes of the big sisters glowed suspiciously.

"……eh?"

After that, I was utterly and completely played around with by the big sisters.