Since the plan was to take Ophis shopping for daily essentials, Bokue finished lunch, washed the dishes, and headed down with the gothic dragon god to the interior levels of Keystone Gate.
As the largest commercial hub on Itogami Island, the space inside Keystone Gate was enormous, with foot traffic to match. For security purposes, the residential elevator serving Bokue's penthouse was completely separate from the public-access lifts. No chance of random shoppers accidentally wandering into his living room.
Once they reached the lower floors, Bokue ditched the elevator and took to the main concourse on foot, meandering through the sprawling commercial center at a leisurely pace. They had the entire afternoon. No need to speedrun it.
"Just look around. If anything catches your eye, let me know."
Bokue walked with one hand loosely holding the gothic girl's.
"Mm..."
Ophis gave a small nod. Concepts like "polite restraint" and "not wanting to be a bother" did not exist anywhere inside her head.
They'd gone maybe twenty meters along the indoor promenade when Ophis suddenly stopped.
Hm?
Bokue stopped with her. He followed her line of sight.
A bubble tea shop. Doing brisk business despite it being a weekday during work hours. Two order windows, each with four or five people queued up.
"That's bubble tea. Want to try some? It's pretty good, though you can't drink too much or you'll gain weight."
"...Good?"
Ophis blinked, the concept not quite registering.
As the Infinite Dragon God, she had zero biological need for food. Before coming to Itogami Island, she'd never eaten anything. Ever. The entire spectrum of "tastes good" versus "tastes bad" was uncharted territory.
"Easiest way to find out is to try it."
Bokue took her hand again and walked toward the shop.
Five minutes later, they were sitting on a public bench near the storefront. Ophis held a matcha daifuku in both hands, nibbling at it with the single-minded intensity of a hamster working through a sunflower seed. The bubble tea she'd originally been eyeing sat untouched beside her on the bench, completely forgotten.
"Good?"
"Mm-hm..."
Too busy eating to form a proper response, Ophis just nodded, cheeks puffing rhythmically as she chewed.
Hard to believe the legendary Infinite Dragon God had a sweet tooth.
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They drifted through the commercial center like that—eating, browsing, window-shopping—until over an hour had passed and they finally reached the department store.
Inside the clothing section, Bokue steered Ophis directly toward the girls' children's wear.
Under normal circumstances, a teenage boy browsing children's underwear would raise immediate red flags. Adding a small girl to the picture only made it worse unless the father-daughter relationship was obvious.
But Bokue's face was, frankly, an unfair advantage. His looks alone generated enough goodwill to deflect suspicion entirely.
"First things first: underwear. You said you're not wearing any, right?"
Bokue brought Ophis to the display rack of girls' undergarments. Rows of options stared back at them: pastel pinks, classic blue-and-white stripes, cartoon prints.
"Right. Not wearing any."
The response came immediately, followed by:
"Want to see for yourself?"
"I'm good."
Bokue declined graciously.
"More importantly, want to pick a color you like? The styles all look pretty similar from what I can tell."
"Mm..."
Ophis lifted her small face and studied the rack with the gravity of someone making a strategic decision.
"What color is the opposite of red?"
The opposite of red?
Bokue thought for a second.
"Blue, probably."
The answer was out before the implication hit him. Red. As in Great Red. She wanted underwear in the color diametrically opposed to her mortal enemy.
The grudge ran deep enough to influence lingerie selection. Impressive.
"Blue..."
Ophis considered this for a moment longer, then raised one hand and pointed.
"I want that one."
Bokue looked. She was pointing at a set that was black with delicate lace trim. The same color as her gothic dress.
Not blue after all?
"This color. Looks nicer."
Ophis offered the explanation unprompted, her voice as flat as ever.
Huh.
That caught Bokue off guard. Until now, Ophis had never voluntarily expressed a preference about anything. Not even the matcha daifuku earlier. She'd eaten three of them without once saying she "liked" them. She'd simply eaten more, which was preference expressed through action rather than words.
But this was different. "Looks nicer" was a conscious aesthetic judgment. An opinion. A want.
"Then this one it is. Take it to the fitting room over there and try it on. Pull the curtain closed when you change, and call me if you need anything."
He plucked the set from the rack and handed it to her. Ophis accepted it with a nod, turned, and toddled off toward the changing area.
She reached the fitting room, pulled the curtain aside, stepped in, and drew it shut behind her. Only then did she begin undressing.
Within fifteen seconds, the last piece of fabric hit the floor, and Ophis stood looking at her own reflection in the mirror. Pale, slender, still carrying the softness of a body that had never needed to grow.
Something felt different today.
Was this what "happy" meant?
Her first time going out with someone. Her first time tasting something called bubble tea and daifuku. Her first time picking out clothes she actually wanted.
Deep inside, in a place she couldn't name, something stirred. Like a mechanism that had been dormant since the beginning of existence was slowly, tentatively powering on.
Being near Bokue Keikain meant one good thing after another kept happening. She wanted to stay close to him. She wanted to discover more of these things she'd never experienced.
Ophis's hand drifted to her chest, then slowly lower, coming to rest on the flat plane of her stomach.
If that was the case... then those things the other girls did with Bokue Keikain every night, the things that made them all so happy...
Could she try that too?
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