Truth be told…
The bastard controlling her body actually had pretty good taste.
Sana—the Gardevoir—twirled slowly in front of the mirror, the sheer nightgown fluttering lightly with her movements.
She had to admit that this nightgown was incredibly beautiful… and unbelievably comfortable.
Normally, any sane person would never wear a garment of unknown origin.
But unfortunately, as soon as Gardevoir lay down, the nightgown would automatically appear on her body.
Even if she took it off, it would mysteriously return a short time later.
"I feel like you're a bit like the main character in a dress-up game."
"What?"
Her roommate Lopunny, chewing on half a piece of dry bread, spoke vaguely while complaining.
"I used to have a job helping humans look after their kids. They always loved dressing up characters in games with all kinds of outfits."
Sana's fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the nightgown, and her brow furrowed.
"A dress-up game? So… I'm basically a puppet being controlled by someone right now?"
"Doesn't it seem like it?"
Lopunny gave her a resentful glance.
"Your daily actions are completely predictable now, like a machine. Do you even remember the last time you went shopping with me?"
It seemed…
That was true.
Without control over her own actions or even her own money, wasn't she basically just a character in someone else's game?
The only difference was that game characters had no consciousness.
But she did.
A faint glimmer of hope rose in Sana's heart.
If she could just find the player controlling her—and make that bastard stop playing—then she might finally return to a normal life.
Lopunny quickly swallowed the last crumbs of bread.
"It's almost time for work. If you don't figure something out soon, you'll be heading out in your nightgown."
"Ah! Bunny, save me!"
---
[Assigned Work Location — Coffee Shop]
This "electronic girlfriend" app had practically become Leo's daily clock-in system.
Every morning, after watching Gardevoir finish breakfast, wash up, and head out to work on the screen, he knew it was time to open his café.
"Go for it, Sana-chan! Make sure I end up living a life without worries about food or money—with a huge harem and barely any work!"
Leo hummed terribly out of tune as he pushed open the doors of LeBlanc Café.
Morning sunlight slanted into the empty shop.
Just as he flipped the sign to Open, the wind chimes rang.
Standing at the door… was the Shiny Gardevoir again.
"She actually came back…"
Looking at her standing in the morning light, Leo suddenly held his breath and completely forgot what he was supposed to do.
---
A little earlier…
Lopunny had suddenly disappeared into her room, then returned with a very special set of clothes.
"This was the uniform from when I worked at a Battle Restaurant before. Wear this over your nightgown—it'll cover it up."
"Bunny… wasn't that restaurant—"
"Just a normal Maid Café."
The black-and-white maid outfit had lace decorating the hem, and the matching headpiece even had a tiny Poké Ball ornament sewn into it.
Because Lopunny was smaller, the uniform felt uncomfortably tight around Sana's chest when she put it on.
Still…
It was better than walking around outside in a nightgown.
---
"Ahem."
Leo's eyes wandered nervously, not daring to look directly at Maid Gardevoir.
He was worried he might lose control of himself.
The cannon… the cannon barrel is too hard to control…
"Miss Gardevoir, have you made your decision?"
Bunny, this is all your fault!
Right now, Sana seriously wished she could take back her earlier words. It might actually have been less embarrassing to just walk outside wearing the nightgown.
People had stared at her the entire way here.
It was mortifying.
Her hand brushed lightly through her long hair, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"Sana… Let's keep it as daily pay for today. I still need more time to think."
"Alright."
"Handing out flyers again this morning, is that okay?" Leo asked as he walked behind the counter.
Gardevoir nodded.
He bent down to search for the stack of flyers he had printed earlier—but to his surprise, they were completely gone.
Looking back at Gardevoir, he sighed helplessly.
"Do you have a phone?"
She shook her head.
"Do you know how to use one?"
She nodded.
"As long as you know how. Take mine, then. Turn right when you leave—there's a print shop on the corner."
After explaining the flyer printing instructions, Leo had no choice but to stay behind and start baking cupcakes.
Ding~
The oven chimed.
Leo hurried into the kitchen, shouting back before disappearing inside.
"The phone's on the table! No password!"
---
Inside the kitchen, however…
His mind was still full of the image of Maid Gardevoir.
He vaguely remembered seeing a maid outfit in the game shop earlier that morning.
But the dress, headpiece, and accessories were all sold separately.
Each item alone cost as much as the Froslass nightgown he had bought yesterday.
It would take a long time to recreate that outfit in the game.
He'd have to save up slowly.
Then suddenly—
Wait…
Did I forget to exit the game?
Normally, Leo wouldn't panic too much about something like that.
Once Gardevoir left to work in the game, her character disappeared from the main interface.
At that point, he just had to hope his real-life employee wasn't curious enough to poke around.
But the problem was…
The screen had been left open on the clothing shop.
And shops always displayed a 3D model of the character wearing the outfits.
Even worse—
Right before turning off the screen, he had been previewing an outfit.
A swimsuit.
Leo's heart nearly stopped.
His grip loosened and the tray of cake almost slipped from his hands.
He rushed out of the kitchen—
But froze immediately.
Gardevoir's figure twisted into a purple vortex and disappeared.
Teleport.
She actually used a move?!
"It was just a part-time job—she could've walked!"
"To actually use Teleport… is she that dedicated?!"
Leo's face turned pale.
She… she won't think I'm a pervert and never come back again… right?
---
Meanwhile…
Sana pressed the side button on the phone.
The screen lit up.
A 3D model of a Shiny Gardevoir—identical to herself—appeared on the display.
The character was wearing a bikini swimsuit, striking a stretching pose.
At the bottom-right corner was a bright button:
[Buy Now]
Next to it, almost transparent, were the words:
[Cancel Preview]
Suddenly, the swimsuit on the screen disappeared.
It changed into something very familiar.
A nightgown.
The Froslass-style nightgown.
Every detail was identical to the one she was wearing.
Clatter.
The phone slipped from her hand—but she instinctively caught it with Psychic.
Her fingers trembled as she tapped the nightgown icon in the wardrobe menu.
Unequip.
Then she pressed:
Save.
As the words [Saved Successfully] appeared on the screen…
Sana clearly felt a change within her body at the exact same moment.
She slowly closed her eyes.
For a long time, she said nothing.
It felt like relief.
Yet also like something inside her had died.
Although she had suspected the truth earlier that morning—thanks to Lopunny's hint—
Now that it was confirmed…
Sana could only silently pray.
"To Arceus above…"