The next day, morning.
Byakuya first took Mayu shopping for new clothes.
But Rize, Kurona, and Nashiro also wanted to come along.
To be fair, Kurona and Nashiro really didn't have many clothes. When they'd completely cut ties with Dr. Kanou, they hadn't brought anything—they'd only bought one or two outfits before to make do.
Rize was different. She spent most of her spare money on various beautiful clothes, with a small portion going to books.
Rize's wardrobe was full of clothes—she could practically wear something different every day.
"Don't you already have plenty of clothes?"
Byakuya couldn't help asking Rize.
"I'm not buying new clothes this time. I feel like I need new shoes."
Rize said.
"Oh, I see..."
Byakuya nodded.
Matsumae and Kanae had gone to work at Anteiku.
Walking toward the mall, Mayu still felt a sense of unreality—she was about to get the beautiful clothes she'd dreamed of.
With immense anticipation and longing, Mayu followed Byakuya and the others to the clothing store.
As soon as they arrived, Kurona and Nashiro purposefully went to pick out the clothes they wanted.
They looked at color first—Kurona liked black, Nashiro liked white. They basically wouldn't consider other colors.
Mayu was first drawn to some sexy lingerie—it seemed her pursuit of sexiness was ingrained in her bones.
But at this stage, she wasn't about to wear only sexy lingerie and stockings. She picked out a beautiful black dress.
Not wanting to trouble Oniichan too much, she only chose two outfits she found most beautiful. But sexy lingerie and black stockings were her "core equipment."
Then came the fitting stage.
Byakuya, who had been relaxed until now, suddenly got busy.
Mayu was halfway through changing in the fitting room when she suddenly cracked the door open, poked her head out, and quietly said to Byakuya: "Oniichan, could you come here for a moment?"
"Sure."
Byakuya didn't think much of it, assuming Mayu had run into some problem while changing and needed a bit of help.
When he reached the fitting room door, Mayu gestured for him to come inside.
Byakuya sensed something was off, but he entered anyway.
What he saw was Mayu wearing only black lace lingerie, her legs wrapped in black stockings.
Apart from her hairstyle and bare hands, Mayu looked almost exactly like the original "Nutcracker."
In the original story, "Nutcracker" even wore stockings on her hands.
Oh, and her figure hadn't developed to its later extent—though the foundations were already there.
Seeing the emerging form, Byakuya couldn't help but reflect: Mayu's aesthetic sense had apparently always been like this.
This look was certainly sexy, but it was somewhat lacking in modesty.
Even so, Byakuya didn't plan to interfere too much with Mayu.
He wouldn't impose his own aesthetic on her. At most, he'd mention something about modesty—otherwise, if Mayu actually walked around in public wearing only lingerie and stockings, that would be problematic.
"Oniichan..."
Mayu's face had a faint blush, but her tone wasn't shy at all. She boldly displayed her figure before Byakuya. "Any thoughts?"
"Mm..."
Byakuya hesitated for a moment, considering how to broach this topic with her. "From a sexiness standpoint, it really does suit you. But one thing is, I don't think you should show this look to just anyone. It should be reserved for people who are important to you."
He didn't have time to think it through completely, so he'd just thrown together some words.
Mayu tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled—Byakuya's words seemed to confuse her.
"But... Oniichan, you are someone important to me..."
Mayu explained why she looked so confused.
Byakuya hadn't expected Mayu to answer like that. He laughed awkwardly. "...Alright then."
"I do feel it would be embarrassing if others saw me like this, but when it's Oniichan, I don't feel that way at all. That's why I asked you to come in and take a look."
Mayu continued.
Wanting to wear beautiful new clothes wasn't just because she liked pretty things—she also wanted to be appreciated and complimented by others.
Of course, her current appearance was only for Oniichan's evaluation.
Normally, she would definitely wear her new dress—otherwise, what would be the point of buying it?
"I see. Seems I jumped to conclusions..."
Byakuya used a smile to mask his awkwardness. "Anyway, it suits you well."
"Mm-hm!"
Mayu nodded happily.
"I'm thinking about changing my hairstyle. Does Oniichan have any suggestions?"
Mayu suddenly said.
She seemed unsatisfied with her current loose black hair.
"You want my opinion?"
Byakuya confirmed what she meant.
"Yes. I can't decide what hairstyle would look better."
Mayu explained.
"I actually think your current hairstyle is already quite nice. It goes well with your figure too. Just remember to brush it regularly."
Byakuya expressed his view. "It has that 'straight black hair' quality. You might not understand what I mean, but basically, what you have now is good."
Of course, this wasn't objective advice—it was rather subjective, though such matters couldn't be completely objective anyway.
He personally felt there was nothing wrong with smooth, long black hair. Combined with Mayu's figure, it had that "straight black hair" aesthetic.
If she changed to the original "Nutcracker's" hairstyle, by his aesthetic standards, he really couldn't appreciate it—it gave the feeling that "her figure and face are somewhat let down by the hairstyle"...
"Okay."
Hearing Oniichan's opinion, Mayu immediately abandoned the idea of changing her hairstyle.
At the same time, she was curious about what "straight black hair" meant.
She planned to secretly research what "straight black hair" meant when she got home—after all, it sounded like something Oniichan liked?
...
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