Marion’s Awakening (Hobby)
Marion Mia Shurian had been staying with the Shitenji family, Mizuho’s family, since coming to Japan.
The Shitenji estate was vast and contained several mansions, guest houses, and even branch-family residences for the Omine and Kamimae families.
Because Marion was a special friend of Mizuho’s, she was allowed to freely use a room in the main Shitenji residence.
“Hmm…”
Marion sat on the bed, staring at a fashion magazine she’d placed on her lap.
“Japanese girls’ clothes are so cute, but I don’t think they’d suit me…”
She stood and gazed intently at her reflection in the dressing table mirror.
She was dressed in casual clothes for going out, ready to head shopping.
“Mmm…am I just plain?”
Marion tended not to like flashy colors, she preferred pastels and shades that weren’t too bright.
For a girl her age, she did have a calm air about her.
She did want to try on some of the outfits she saw in magazines, but whenever she actually went to the shops she always ended up buying the same kind of thing as usual.
So this time, to avoid that happening again, she decided to do a bit of homework before leaving the house.
She sat back down on the bed, picked up a different magazine, and flipped through the pages.
(There’s quite a wide variety. There are bold looks, and surprisingly mature styles too.)
“In the end, I just have to pick what I like, huh.”
For once, Marion lay back on the bed with an almost defeated expression.
(I don’t get to wear casual clothes very often, so when I finally go shopping it always turns out like this.)
She sighed, and the face of a certain young man floated into her mind.
(I wonder what kind of clothes Hiroto-san likes. If I knew that, I wouldn’t be worrying so much…)
At that thought, Marion suddenly snapped to attention.
(What am I thinking…?! I’m just stocking up my summer wardrobe!)
“Enough, let’s go out and look around the shops!”
Marion said, sprang up energetically, as if to cover the blush that had risen.
When she arrived at the shopping mall, she went to the stores she had noted from the start, one after another.
(Ah, this is cute! This summer knit is nice too.)
After all, Marion was still a girl her age.
Shopping was fun, she picked up all sorts of items and agonized over them.
Having devoted herself to rigorous exorcist training since childhood, she considered having time like this now the greatest luxury.
When she’d finished shopping, Marion ordered tea at a café to take a breather.
(I made some good purchases. When I get back to my room I’ll come again and look through more properly.)
Cheerfully thinking that, she stared at the mall map to make sure she hadn’t missed anything besides what she’d bought today.
“What, you bought something like that!?”
“Yeah! Isn’t it cute?”
“I-it’s cute, but I didn’t know you had that kind of taste?”
At that moment, two young women sitting next to Marion were excitedly showing each other their spoils. Marion watched them with a fond smile, feeling a little envious as she glanced sideways.
(Hehe, they look like they’re having fun. Maybe next time I’ll invite Mizuho-san. But for some reason she hates shopping.)
“No, you know, my boyfriend asked me to wear it just once.”
“Hah, men are stupid, right? But men do like that sort of thing.”
(Huh!? What did she just say…?)
Some information landed in Marion’s ears that she couldn’t just let pass.
Suddenly her field of vision widened to the maximum, and her attention focused on the items the girls were showing each other.
(Um…that is–)
What entered Marion’s sight then was an unexpected piece of clothing.
At first glance it looked like a black dress, but she realized it wasn’t. That was because it came with a pure white apron set alongside it.
Yes…it was, so to speak…
—a maid outfit.
Her mind filled with question marks.
Why would a man like that kind of clothing?
It’s the uniform of a servant, one could even call it work clothes.
She couldn’t imagine the men of the world preferring such attire.
(I don’t really understand, but I suppose this girl’s boyfriend must have some unusual hobby.)
Concluding that, Marion imagined the woman’s difficulties and felt sympathy.
If she’d known about that kind of hobby before they started dating, she certainly wouldn’t have gone out with him.
“When he seriously asked me, I was honestly like, ‘Huh?’ and it freaked me out, but look at this.”
However, the girl spoke with a bright expression, genuinely appearing to be enjoying herself.
Even though she was a stranger, Marion found her eyes drawn to whatever the girl was trying to show.
“Ahaha… but it’s cute, isn’t it?”
“Right? It’s way cuter than I imagined.”
The apron of that maid outfit was a frilly, adorable thing, not like the ones Marion knew. The apron strings crossed at the back and were tied like a big ribbon.
Marion’s eyes widened.
For a moment even she couldn’t help thinking it was cute.
More than that, she felt there was something fundamentally different from the maid uniforms she knew.
“But you couldn’t walk around town in that. You weren’t into cosplay, were you?”
“Of course it’s only in front of my boyfriend. Well, it’s kind of like a service for him.”
Marion’s eyes went wide.
(Service!?)
“Even so, you look like you’re enjoying it.”
“Actually, it’s fun. How should I put it… I felt like a different me. I’d never worn clothes that so blatantly pursue this kind of cuteness. I didn’t even know I had this sense.”
“Wow, looks like you’ve awakened.”
“Ehehe, but like I said, only for him. He’ll be ecstatic, I’m sure.”
“Most guys would love it, right? Worst case, you won’t find a guy who hates a look like that.”
(Is that so!? W-well, it is definitely cute though.)
“I wouldn’t wear it outside, of course. I don’t plan to be a layer, and I don’t really know much about anime.”[TN: “レイヤー” Layer is a slanged short word for Cosplayer]
Fufufu, you never know. Say that now and you might end up totally hooked before you know it.”
“Eeh! No way! Stop it!”
“Aha, really?”
(Layer? Anime? Why does anime have anything to do with this?)
Marion listened closely to the conversation next to her, taking it all in. She thought she might have just gotten hold of some valuable information.
“But you, if you wear something like that when it’s just the two of you…”
“Kyaa, do you think he’ll pounce on me!?”
“Yeah, almost 100%! He asked you for it, didn’t he?”
“”AHAHAHA!””
(…!!)
For some reason Marion, who had nothing to do with this, found her face suddenly flushing bright red.
She had only imagined Hiroto’s smile for a moment.
“But are there any stores in this shopping mall that sell stuff like that?”
“Ah, they don’t put them in the window, but there’s a shop where you can order them. It’s usually just a regular apparel store. On the third floor, at the far end…”
Marion unconsciously checked the mall map in her head for that shop.
“Huh, but the stitching looks solid. You can tell they put effort into it.”
“I heard about it from a friend. Apparently the owner is totally into this sort of hobby and is famous in those circles. They say that when you wear the clothes (i.e., cosplay outfits) the owner makes, you look many times cuter.”
Marion’s ears twitched.
She was suddenly interested in that shop.
Or rather… she couldn’t wait to go.
Marion stood up quietly.
There was something strong and determined in her eyes.
Marion left the shop.
She’d been planning to go home, but now there was one store she wanted to take a look at.
She was utterly serious.
Marion considered herself clueless about trends and romance.
Maybe it was because, as an exorcist with a special standing and environment, she had few peers her age and therefore no one to ask or get information from.
If that was the case, then,
She had no choice but to explore on her own.
By chance on the street she had gained precious information from another woman her age.
She would make the most of it.
For a moment, for some reason, Hiroto’s face flashed through her mind.
Her face blushed, but she shook the thought away.
For women, wanting to make themselves cute and beautiful was instinct.
She, too, was a maiden, after all, so of course she felt that instinct.
So she had to go.
To that shop.
She needed to check things out.
What their concept was, when and how the clothes were meant to be worn, and for what kind of places.
It wasn’t that she was thinking, what if she get attacked by that boy the moment she put on one of those cute outfits and shows it to him.”
No, she wasn’t thinking that at all. Absolutely not. How could she even think that?
Marion quickened her pace with a face mixed of anticipation, delight, anxiety, and embarrassment.
And so Marion stepped into the depths of a Japanese subculture…or rather into the abyss of the ultimate philosophy called “kawaii(cuteness).”
[TN: This the final chapter for this volume, thank you for your patience till now.]
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