I Sell Bottled Water for Gold in Another World!-Chapter 241: Modern Clothes!

Lucy took the last bite of her oatmeal, enjoying the sweet taste of the honey in her meal.

She put down the bowl with a satisfied sigh, and that was when she saw Alex looking at her with that smirk that seemed to come to him so naturally these past few days.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing," said Alex, though his smile spread wide. "It just feels good to see that you like what I like."

Lucy’s cheeks flushed slightly, but before she could make any response, Alex’s expression shifted to something more thoughtful.

"Actually, Lucy, there is something we need to discuss before we can go anywhere today."

"What is it?"

Alex motioned toward her with the slight motion of his hand. "The clothing you’re wearing will not be appropriate for walking around in my world."

Lucy gazed at her and was immediately reminded that she was still covered only by the blanket.

Her own clothes, the beautiful silk dress she’d worn the day before lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, where they’d been discarded the night before.

"What is wrong with my dress?" she asked, yet as soon as she spoke, she realised that her traditional robes would look out of place in Alex’s weird clothes.

"Nothing’s wrong with it in your world," Alex explained carefully. "But here, people dress very differently. If you walked outside wearing your silk robes and traditional styling, you’d attract a lot of unwanted attention. People would will take pictures..."

"Pictures?" Lucy wondered.

"I’ll tell you that later," Alex said smoothly, diverting the conversation.

"But first of all, we’ll need to get you dressed in clothes that’ll help you settle into this world. How about we do some shopping today? I’ll take you to a place where you’ll be able to choose the clothes of your choice."

Lucy looked excited with the prospect of the idea. "Shopping? In your world? Oh, Brother Alex, it sounded wonderful!"

"There’s just one small problem," Alex said, getting up from the bed as she spoke. "You have to have something to put on if you want to go shopping. You can’t walk around covered in a blanket."

"Okay, then what am I supposed to wear?" Lucy asked, looking genuinely confused.

Alex paused, thinking through all possibilities. Of course, he wasn’t capable of conjuring up women’s clothing out of thin air.

But then he remembers that he still has some of Riya’s clothes with him in the closet.

She would sometimes leave a few clothes at her apartment in case she decided to stay there after their dates.

"Wait here," Alex said, walking towards a big wardrobe on the far side of the room. "I have something I think might help."

He opened the closet doors and rummaged through the hanging clothes until he found what he was looking for a simple outfit Riya had left behind: a fitted white top with short sleeves and a pair of dark jeans.

Standard casual wear to be worn in the streets. No fancy clothes, but perfectly acceptable for a shopping trip.

Alex pulled the clothes out and then turned to Lucy again with the clothes held up.

"Here," he said. "These should fit you reasonably well. After all, you and...." Again, he paused just in time before adding Riya’s name. "...should fit you fine."

Lucy took the clothes from him with curious hands and investigated them with wide-open eyes.

The white top was made of some sort of flexible material she’d never seen before.

The design was fascinating form fitting with a modest neckline; the short sleeves, on the other hand, would leave her arms more exposed than she was used to being.

And the jeans... Lucy held up the dark blue pants, marveling at the strange fabric. They were clearly meant to be tight-fitting, hugging the legs in a way no traditional clothing from her world ever did.

"Brother Alex," she said slowly, her tone a curious mixture of fascination and fear, "these clothes, well, they’re very...."

"Revealing," Lucy finished, her cheeks flushing. "I mean, they’re beautiful, truly. The design is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. But showing this much of my arms, and these pants are so fitting..."

Alex moved closer to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know they may seem revealing compared to what you’re used to dressing in. But Lucy, to tell you the truth, this is modest clothing for this world.

Yes, in the cities, many females around your age wear clothing similar to this every day. Some even wear much less, especially during the summer months in the hotter cities and towns."

"Much less?" Lucy’s eyes grew impossibly wide. "How much less could they possibly wear?"

"Trust me, you don’t want to know yet," Alex said with a small laugh. "Baby steps, remember? Those clothes will help you blend in perfectly. No one will even give you a second glance."

Lucy still looked uncertain, holding the clothes at arm’s length as if they might bite her.

"Okay... So if you’re saying it’s normal here, I’ll try them."

She held the clothes closer, preparing to slip out of the blanket and change. But then something made her pause.

Lucy moved the white top closer to her face, inhaling gently.

Her eyes instantly widened.

The faint scent of perfume still lingered on the fabric. While the perfume’s scent was unmistakably female, it was by no means her perfume, and clearly these were not new garments.

These clothes had already been used beforehand.

By another woman no less.

Lucy’s head jerked upward, her eyes meeting Alex’s in a keen, piercing glance that caused him to involuntarily move his eyes away from hers.

She did not even bother to pretend that she didn’t find about it. Her voice was flat and accusing.

"Greedy."

Alex could only laugh nervously and scratch the back of his head as if to say he had been caught red-handed.

"Haha. Lucy, I can explain...."

"No need to explain.." Lucy sighed there was a kind of resigned acceptance

"These clothes belong to another woman, don’t they."

She didn’t ask it as a question because she knew the answer already.

Alex remained silent, uncertain how to react to that.

Lucy stared at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, slowly, she let out a long sigh that seemed to carry the weight of acceptance.

"Of course," she murmured, talking mostly to herself rather than to him. "Of course, there’d be another. You live in two worlds, Brother Alex. It makes sense that you would have... women... in both worlds."

She looked down at the clothes in her hands again, running her fingers over the soft fabric.

"I have yet another sister, don’t I?" said Lucy quietly

"Lucy, I am going to..."

She raised her hand to interrupt.

"Brother Alex," she declared firmly, "I have to meet her."

It was not asking, but declaring, and in atone that leaves no grounds for any negotiations.

"Okay," he finally said, nodding slowly. "Yes, you should meet her. You deserve to know. But... can we save that conversation for later? After you’ve had more time to adjust to this world? Otherwise it will be hard to explain your strange behaviours to her."

Lucy looked thoughtful for a brief moment.

Then she nodded her head. "Fair enough. There is a great deal to absorb. Meeting my sister can be put off a little longer," she said.

"I wouldn’t expect anything less," agreed Alex.

"Good," Lucy said with a firm nod. Then she made a shooing motion with her hand.

"Now, Brother Alex, turn around to leave the room so that I could change. You’re not watching me wear these clothes as a punishment for not telling me about my sister."

Alex’s lips curled up in a mischievous smile. "Oh? But Lucy, aren’t you and I already so close? And didn’t last night we establish that there’s no need to be shy or modest between you and I?

I’d be more than willing to assist you in learning how to wear them properly if you’re not sure how to wear them after all jeans can be rather difficult if you’re not familiar wearing them beforehand..."

He carried out his intentions utterly shamelessly.

"Brother Alex!" The face of Lucy reddened as she protested. "Get out!"

She picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it with remarkable precision.

Alex caught the pillow, laughing as he backed away towards the door. "Alright, alright! I’ll go! There is no need to use violence!"

"I’ll be right outside if you need help with the jeans. They have this metal thing called a zipper that can be confusing the first time..."

Another pillow went through the air, this time missing him by inches as he ducked into the hallway.

"I can figure it out myself!" she called out to him. "Just... just go away for a few minutes!"

Alex closed the door behind himself, still chuckling to himself.

He waited for a moment and then asked, "Are you sure you don’t need help?"

"NO!"

"Just checking!"