He Died and Receive an Overpowered Tyrant System

Recuperation Part 2

"A...clothing store?"

Their destination, apparently, was a clothing shop in the Industrial District, this is also the store where Ernest ordered military uniforms for the Protection Squadron and his ministers.

"That's right. Our usual outfits are too recognizable, so I thought we might change into something more common in this world. Hopefully, we'll draw less attention that way."

"I...I see."

It was a clever idea.

Sophia agreed, and the two of them headed inside together.

A bell hanging from the door chimed to announce their arrival, and a man with grey hair and an impressive mustache shopkeeper emerged from the back.

"Welcome to...Oh my! Mr. Gonzales! And Ms. Sophia! What might the highest officials of the United National Socialist Party want with my humble shop?"

"Sophia and I have the day off, but our current attire is a bit too conspicuous to go sightseeing in. We were hoping to pick up something a little more contemporary." Ernest succinctly summed up the situation, and the shopkeeper, Zanac, nodded.

"Ah, I see. That makes perfect sense. Well if it's clothes you need, then I'm happy to be of service. Right this way." The man led the two toward the back of the store.

Its inventory boasted all sorts of garments, from commoner hand-me-downs to noble garb.

"Many former nobles who lost income due to your reforms sold off much of their wardrobe, so I'm quite proud of my selection at the moment."

"I was thinking of going with something that pairs well with whatever Sophia picks out. Sophia, is there anything that catches your eye?"

"Oh...Um…"

Sophia glanced over the assorted outfits, then pointed to one.

"I...I kind of...want to try that on…"

"Oh, interesting."

The shopkeeper picked up the piece that Sophia had selected. "Ah, this here is a traditional outfit that common-born women of this region wear before they get married. We also have the apparel that noble young ladies wear...are you certain that this is what you want?"

"Ah, um…"

"The original dress is fine, thank you."

Hearing Ernest's definitive tone, the shopkeeper gave a slight bow.

"Of course, sir. Lei, come here!"

"On my way, Dad. What's...Whoa! Volksfuhrer?!"

The grey-haired girl who emerged from the back of the shop reacted with just as much shock as her father.

"What are two high-ranking officials doing in our shop?"

"They were hoping to enjoy some privacy on their day off, so they came for a change of garments."

"Oh, that makes sense. Outfits like theirs are pretty unusual for these parts, so it's no wonder they draw so much attention."

"Now, could you take Ms. Sophia and help her try on this dress?"

"Got it! Please, Ms. Sophia, follow me."

"Oh…"

Sophia hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be separated from Ernest in an unfamiliar place. She wasn't about to let him peek at her getting changed, either. Obediently, Sophia followed Lei into the women's changing room.

Next, it was Ernest's turn.

"Now, would you mind finding me something that would look natural paired with Sophia's?"

After picking out an outfit with the shopkeeper, he headed for the men's changing room.

…

"Is it to your liking, Ms. Sophia?"

"W-wow…"

As Sophia looked to her new outfit in Lei's tin mirror, a pleased murmur escaped her lips.

Dressed up in the red-and-white dirndl-style dress, she looked like your beautiful heroine from right out of a fantasy romance.

"The corset okay? It's not too tight?"

Sophia just nodded.

"Thank goodness. And if I may, Ms. Sophia, you look very charming."

"..."

Hearing someone else say that was something embarrassing. Secretly, though, Sophia didn't think she looked half bad, either. What she really wanted was for Ernest to see her in it.

Perhaps, if she was lucky, he'd even compliment her appearance.

If he said that, it'd make her super happy.

Heart now racing, Sophia followed Lei out of the changing room.

"Oh, are you finished, too, Sophia?"

Outside, Ernest was waiting for her in an aristocratic outfit with gold trim and fabric so blue it seemed to practically shine.

"Er-Er-Ernest, y-your outfit…!"

"Dad, c'mon. That's a noble's outfit!" Lei asserted that there was a mismatch between Sophia's and Ernest's clothes that would cause them to stand out too much.

It'd seemed that Zanac man who was the shopkeeper had already taken that into account.

"W-well, yes...See, the thing is Mr. Gonzales carries himself too elegantly to pass as a commoner anyway. If anything, having him wear plain garb would make him stand out more. Fortunately, though, Ms. Sophia is quite-looking. If we add this silk scarf to her outfit, I was thinking we could pose them as a low-born girl and a noble who fell in love at first sight…"

As the shopkeeper tried explaining his reasoning to his daughter, Ernest turned to Sophia.

"How does it look?"

"Y-you look! So handsome!"

Forgetting to keep her voice down, Sophia excitedly voiced her approval. Ernest was so stylish that just looking at him made the girl dizzy.

Between the way the stark blue outfit set off his dignified black hair and the regal posture with which he wore it, he was spitting image of a fairy-tale prince.

'I...I can't even...Being able to see this alone made the hunt worth it…!'

Sophia had to carry herself carefully. Satisfying herself merely with seeing Ernest in that outfit wasn't what she'd come to achieve.

Ernest gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you. You look pretty beautiful yourself."

"Ahhh…!" Sophia's temperature shot up a good five degrees.

"What's the matter? Your face is beet red…" Ernest leaned forward to her ears and softly whispered, "Don't tell me...you fell in love with me?"

"...Ngh…" Sophia threw a futile slap, but was stopped by Ernest's hand. Grabbing that hand, he pulled her closer to his chest.

"Aren't you a cute one…"

Sophia's face overheated to the point Ernest' can feel the warmth transferring to his chest. Then he gently caressed her navy hair and leaned closer again to her ears.

"Let me tell you a secret…" He whispered, "The thing is...I feel...the same way….yieee!" teased Ernest.

He can feel Sophia's face writhing excitedly while blabbering softly, "I-I-i***t!...You're now the one being unfair."

The shopkeepers who were having a conversation in the back saw something unprecedented.

"Oh my, sir are you perhaps...in that kind of relationship?" Zanac asked.

"In that kind of relationship? I don't know. Sophia, are we in that kind of relationship?"

"Why are you asking me...you stupid?!" Sophia let out a muffled shout. It was cute to see that Sophia's face is still buried in Ernest's chest, not wanting anyone to see her expression.

Ernest giggled. "We are not in that kind of relationship...yet…Anyway, shopkeep, how much for these clothes?"

"That'll be sixty-seven silver coins," answered Zanac.

"Here takes this one gold coin. Think of it as a reward for making my girl here beautiful."

With that, Ernest and Sophia left the shop.

…

"Looks like we're not drawing quite so much attention now. I can still sense a few people staring but not enough to concern ourselves now." Ernest said to the clinging Sophia.

"Y-yeah, you're right."

Having arranged for their clothes, Ernest and Sophia resumed walking to the restaurant.

There were unmistakably fewer stares.

Apparently, the clothes successfully serve the purpose of hiding their identities, making everyone not realize that two of them are the high-ranking officials of the UNSP.

In a sense, they'd achieved their goal. There was one type of look they were actually attracting more of, however.

"Wh-who's that hottie?"

"Have we always had a noble like that around these parts?"

"Go try hitting on him, honey."

"N-no way! If I tried talking to someone that handsome, my heart'd stop!"

Local girls were severely lusting after Ernest. Dressed as he was in his aristocrat's outfit, Ernest was turning the head of every woman they passed by. Sophia wasn't surprised, though.

Ernest is tall with broad shoulders, long limbs, and a well-built figure. All were achieved thanks to his arduous workout every morning. When someone who looks like that wore an outfit that looked like it belonged to a fairy-tale prince, it was only natural that he garnered attention.

'Am I...even worthy of walking by his side.'

The weight of the passionate gazes being directed at Ernest's made Sophia start to feel self-aware.

But she steeled and galvanized herself by praising herself inwardly.

'No, I am his secretary, meaning I'm the woman who's always close to him. I have the advantage...there's no way I would lose to someone like them!"

Then she remembered the lessons Littoria taught her lessons of capturing a man's heart. As she still doesn't believe the words Ernest said earlier about him liking her. To her, it was just him casually teasing her.

"Love is like hunting."

"Hunting…?"

"Yup, so you can't just look at your prey from afar. Unless you make a move, you're just bird-watching. If you wanna catch the bluebird of happiness for yourself, you can't just stare up at the sky. You gotta take aim, pull the trigger, and tell yourself you're gonna shoot it down!"

"I'm gonna shoot it down…?"

"Put your heart into it! 'I'm gonna shoot it down!"

"Yeah!"

Thinking back on what Littoria said had taught her helped Sophia her confidence again.

Sophia had no intention of going home empty-handed. She'd come to hunt.

'I have to be patient though. I need to start by slowly closing the gap bit by bit.'

Step one in that process was…

"Step one. While walking, casually hold his hand!"

"N-no way, I can't."

"Sure you can! It's the basics of the basics. If you can't pull this off, the rest is gonna be impossible."

"B-But…"

"Look, if telling him that you wanna hold hands is too hard, you can pretend to trip and grab on to his arm, If you do that, Ernest will probably take your hand out of consideration. But no matter who initiates, you gotta make absolutely sure to interlock fingers with him. You wanna be holding hands like a pair of lovers, not like a dad and his kid. That way, you're showing him how you feel."

"O-Okay...I'll try."

With a large inhale, Sophia put her plan into action.

"....Careful…" Sophia leaned toward Ernest just like Littoria had taught her, she slowly released her clinging arm and shifted it slowly to his hand…

Suddenly…

The hunter that was supposed to hunt was the one that got hunted. Ernest's hand pounced on Sophia's hands like a snake.

Steam was billowing from the girl's head, but she tried desperately to keep her cool.

``What...the?!...why did he suddenly hold my hands?' I was supposed to be the one to initiate…'

"The road is narrow, and there are certainly a lot of people coming and going, it's better if we hold hands like this." Ernest simply explained and looked to his right.

"Oh...we're here."

"Eh?"

Sophia's hand was caught by Ernest's hand, but when she looked up, she saw the lunchtime crowd bustling inside an old wooden building.

That was the restaurant Sophia suggested to Ernest.

"Ah, uh, yes...it is," Sophia replied.

"We should go in, then. I hope there's still a seat for us two."

"Uhm...okay."

Sophia was a little bit disappointed, disappointed at the fact where she was supposed to initiate holding hand failed as Ernest was the one who struck first. But still, it was not over yet, there's still a chance. With a clenched fist, Sophia followed Ernest into the restaurant.