◇37　Shop Summoning 6
When I woke up in the morning, the emblem of Samonia, the Goddess of Summoning, on my right hand had grown larger. A level-up! As I’d suspected, my theory was correct—I struck a triumphant pose on my bed.
In the game, triggering events causes my ‘Gift’ to grow. Why I’m the only one with this mechanic, I have no idea. It’s probably a case of "God’s miso soup"—er, I mean, "only God knows."
But triggering events means progressing through events tied to the capture targets, and if I’m not careful, that could raise some doom flags. I’ll need to proceed with utmost caution—layer upon layer of it. I have to avoid any decisive events that could lock in a doom flag.
Some events can’t even be triggered depending on the time or circumstances. For instance, Estelle and Elliot’s Founding Festival date only happens during the festival itself. Though, even if it were happening, would those two actually go on a date? Estelle’s affection toward Elliot seems to have dropped for some reason. Why’s that?
On top of that, most of the capture targets’ events are tied to happenings at the "Academy," so pulling them off now, ten years earlier, is pretty tricky. Events that just involve meeting someone might trigger if I get acquainted with the character, but I’d rather not get involved with such dangerous people if I can help it.
"Well, that aside—time for a new shop summon! This time, it’s gotta be a convenience store!"
I hopped out of bed and called for my maid, Arisa, to help me get dressed.
◇　◇　◇
"You’ve received another blessing from Samonia…? Could this be related to the discovery of the First Emperor’s treasure?" Father asked keenly.
Spot on, Father! It’s totally connected! But I can’t exactly tell him that—it wouldn’t make sense to him anyway. Talk of past lives and video games would just confuse him.
"What kind of shop will it be this time? Last time it was a liquor store for Father’s taste, so maybe you could summon one I’d like this time, Sakura-chan?" Mother chimed in.
"Well, that’s entirely up to the gods…" I replied.
Seriously, if I could summon whatever I wanted, I wouldn’t have any trouble. I’d call up a department store if I could!
This time, alongside Father, Mother, and the estate’s servants, Bianca, Estelle, and Estelle’s mother, Yuria, were also present at the summoning grounds. I figured it’d be a good chance to explain my ‘Gift’ to them. They’ve already seen the food trucks, after all.
"So Lady Sakuraile’s ‘Gift’ isn’t [Holy Sword]…?" Bianca muttered quietly from behind.
Oh no, did I disappoint her somehow?
Estelle jumped in with a smug look to clarify. "No, Bianca. [Holy Sword] *is* one of Lady Sakuraile’s ‘Gifts.’ She’s a saintess blessed by both Samonia and Holy-sama—two gods!"
Uh, no, [Holy Sword] is *your* Gift, Estelle! And Bianca, don’t just nod like "I see…"! Yuria’s nodding along too—stop it, don’t hype me up too much!
I’m already stuck with the "Princess of the Holy Sword" title—I don’t need any more weird labels piled on top!
Sigh… I’m already tired before even summoning, but let’s get this new shop called up. Shaking it off, I focused the magical energy in my body.
"Alright, here goes… [Shop Summoning]!"
A dazzling vortex of vibrant light swirled across the summoning grounds.
Huh!? Wait, it’s huge! Bigger than "Fuji no Yu"? Bigger than a convenience store!? N-No way, did I summon a department store!?
As the light faded and I opened my eyes, a familiar shop stood before me. Through its large glass windows, I could see a colorful array of clothing inside. A simple one-story building with white walls, adorned with red letters spelling out "Fashion Center Imamura."
"Oh… *this* place, huh…" I murmured.
It’s a chain clothing store with tons of locations, mostly in the suburbs. I relied on it a lot in my past life. Great quality, tons of variety, and best of all, cheap—perfect for a broke student like I was. Who’d have thought I’d be shopping here in another world?
"Oh my! Oh my goodness gracious! Sakuraile-chan, this is a clothing store, right!?" Mother exclaimed, peering through the glass at the clothes.
"Uh, yes, it is…" I confirmed.
Her excitement was palpable—and I get it, honestly.
"Thank you! You summoned a shop just to my taste! You’re amazing, Sakuraile-chan!"
"No, it’s completely random—"
"Come on, let’s go inside!"
I tried to explain that I can’t control what gets summoned, but she wasn’t listening… With Mother pulling my hand, I headed toward the clothing store I’d called forth.
"There’s no door… How do we get in?" Mother wondered, wandering around the entrance.
"Here, it’s this way," I said, stepping forward.
I triggered the automatic door, and she gasped in amazement. Right—automatic doors are a first for her. The liquor store had a glass door too, but it was the push-to-open kind.
"Is this a magical device? All this just to open a door—impressive…" Father mused, stepping in and out to test it.
Don’t play with it too much, Father.
Inside, fluorescent ceiling lights brightly illuminated a variety of clothes and mannequins welcoming us. The store carried both women’s and men’s clothing, though women’s made up the majority—tops, pants, skirts, dresses, outerwear, you name it.
That said, the styles felt a bit dated. Is this the version of the store from my first visit? It’s got that vibe—clothes my mom might’ve worn when I was a kid. Which means the kids’ clothes are like what *I* wore back then… It’s a weird feeling.
As a fast-fashion chain that mass-produces trendy, affordable clothes, it really covers all sorts of styles. And it’s not just clothes—there are umbrellas, raincoats, small cushions, and even batteries and snacks by the register. Why’s a clothing store selling snacks…?
"The clothes here are rather plain, aren’t they? Is this a shop for commoners?" Mother remarked, surveying the store.
Well, yeah—you can’t compare it to the lace-, frill-, and embroidery-laden dresses nobles wear. To an aristocrat, this might seem drab.
"But these kinds of clothes are nice too… Would they suit me, I wonder?" she mused.
"Why not try them on?" I suggested, pointing to a mannequin’s coordinated outfit.
In this world, noble clothing is almost entirely custom-made. It’s tailored to your size with the assumption you’re already buying it, so there’s no concept of trying it on to decide. Naturally, Mother didn’t know about fitting rooms either.
"You change into the clothes here to see if they suit you before buying. …Since we’re here, why not give it a try?" she said, picking up an outfit and heading to the fitting room eagerly.
Her personal maid followed her in. Upper-class nobles don’t typically dress themselves—I get the same treatment from Arisa. When I tried doing it myself once, she got upset, saying I’d be taking her job away. I’ve been compliant ever since.
The fitting rooms here are pretty spacious, so two people should be fine… but will they figure out how to put it on?
Soon, the door opened, and Mother emerged, fully coordinated from head to toe.
"What do you think?"
She’d just copied the mannequin’s outfit exactly, but it suited her perfectly. I know it’s weird for me to say, but Mother’s gorgeous and has a great figure—she could outshine any model. A lace blouse, a denim jumper skirt, an off-white shoulder bag, and chic shoes. She looked like a casual, girly college student.
"It suits you wonderfully," I said.
"Not bad at all. That style looks good on you," Father added.
Mother seemed pleased with our praise, though the blouse’s buttons looked a bit strained… Maybe the size isn’t quite right?
"It’s not something I could wear to a ball, but it’d be nice as casual loungewear. Though the chest area’s a little tight…"
"Oh, um, may I?" Bianca interjected, reaching toward Mother’s ample chest.
With a touch, she activated her ‘Gift.’ "[Elasticity]!"
"Oh? Oh my goodness!? It fits perfectly now! Thank you, Bianca-chan!"
I see—she used [Elasticity] to adjust the size of the clothes. Not the whole thing, just the chest area. So [Elasticity] can be used like that too.
"I sometimes stretch out clothes that’ve gotten too small so I can keep wearing them…" Bianca explained, blushing at the thanks.
Since Bianca and I are both in our growth spurts, favorite clothes quickly become unwearable. But with Bianca around, we can tweak their sizes to an extent. [Elasticity] is pretty handy.
Mother took a liking to her, and Bianca ended up adjusting sizes for her repeatedly. Sorry about our mom, Bianca…
"Oh no, we need to get clothes for Sakuraile-chan too!"
"No, I’m fine, really—"
I tried to refuse, but Mother grabbed my arm without a word. Ugh, déjà vu—this is just like the party prep all over again. I’m about to become a dress-up doll…
Glancing aside, I saw Yuria picking out clothes for Estelle. They looked like they were having fun over there. Not that I hate this, mind you.
Father, meanwhile, was browsing shirts and jeans with the servants. He’s as model-esque as Mother, so I bet he’ll pull off some dashing looks—wait, hold on, that embroidered jacket!? Sure, the embroidery’s gorgeous and flashy, but… ugh, it suits him, and I’m kinda jealous!
"Sakuraile-chan, how about this?" Mother asked, holding up an anime-printed sweatshirt.
"Uh, no, that’s a bit…" I gently declined.
Isn’t that more for kids younger than me…? It might fit size-wise, but still. I’d rather wear something from the adult section… Bianca’s [Elasticity] can only adjust things by a few centimeters, apparently.
She can revert something she’s changed back to its original state, but she can’t keep altering it—like shrinking it further after shrinking it once. Oh, there’s a kids’ tracksuit too. That’d be good for sword training—looks comfy. Though as a duke’s daughter, I couldn’t wear it casually.
–