[Nightmare]

Chapter 10 [Lina]

"Wow. It feels like only yesterday since I last saw you, but you've really… filled out.

Age has smiled kindly upon you."

Lina shot Helix a murderous glance.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?" Helix replied with a confused expression.

"Well, what do you think, moron?" She growled.

Helix sighed.

"I just said age has smiled kindly upon you.

Do you want me to explicitly say, [Lina, you're breathtaking after clasping hands with that divine treasure]?"

Lina grinned.

"Yes, I would like you to say how you explicitly feel about your appearance." She declared.

"That… is too bad." Helix chuckled.

Lina puffed out her cheeks.

,m "Why are you so bent out of shape?

A cat whisked you away to a fantasy world less than 48 hours ago, and now you look like a supermodel.

It's as if you met Aphrodite during a late-night bender, and she took you to a beauty salon on Mount Olympus to recover.

Now I'm drowning you in compliments, and you're mad I won't propose to you?" Helix asked sarcastically.

Lina's face flushed bright red to the tip of her ears.

Yesterday she was a petite woman with frizzy dark brown hair and pockmark blemished skin.

The next day she was taller, had double D breasts, curly golden blond hair, and rich blue eyes.

Her body was slender, curvy, and toned.

"I-I… uh…." Lina stuttered in embarrassment.

Helix chuckled in bewilderment as he looked at Lina and David.

"Forget super mages; you two are a lot of broken dating sim characters.

Make sure to send me invites to your harem inaugurations."

It was David's turn to blush.

Yesterday he was a scrawny man with slight acne that wore glasses under his straight brown mop-top haircut.

Now he had medium-length black hair in a ponytail and red eyes.

Helix chuckled when he saw how David created an avatar for a fantasy game for his real-life appearance.

"W-What about you? How is the Hourglass of Knowledge?" David asked.

Everyone at the table, including the nearby Knights, turned their heads to him.

Helix shrugged.

"It's super useful and convenient.

It's like Wikipedia for Myriad." He explained.

Everyone at the table's eyes widened when they heard his simple description.

"That's amazing!" David exclaimed.

"In a world without the internet, that's a superpower."

They suddenly realized they could no longer use the internet to answer their questions like they were accustomed to.

Now that they were reminded of that reality, they instantly regretted their arrogant attitudes regarding the deceptively simple artifact.

They all feared they'd gradually regret their [gifts].

However, they now knew that Helix would never regret his.

"Yeah. I feel pretty lucky that it didn't turn out to be an unorganized library of books." He replied with a slight smile.

Helix sighed inwardly when he felt the envious gazes burrowing into his soul from all directions.

Especially the piercing gaze coming from in front of him.

Lina got annoyed when she realized everyone in the area had their attention on Helix again and was glaring at him.

While Helix was happy that his friend was becoming more confident, he didn't like how aggressive her transformation was.

Her jealousy was skyrocketing at a disturbing rate, and her adaptation to power and beauty was concerning him.

"That said, after seeing how absurdly attractive you two look, I wonder if women will ever look at me again." Helix chuckled.

Lina smirked with a pride-filled expression, and Helix flashed her a stunning smile.

He was thankful to quell the emotional storm brewing in front of him.

Unfortunately, Lina's moment to shine didn't last long.

"Wait, who's that?"

"I'm not sure. I've never seen her before. Is she important?"

"I don't think so. All of the important people in this castle wear higher-class fashion."

"Then why would she be in here?"

"Wait, isn't that a servant? I saw her in the arena yesterday."

"What? Then why isn't she wearing the same clothes as everyone else?"

"We can dress up our servants however we like, but I didn't see any of those clothes available in the wardrobes."

"They can wear whatever they want?

Why didn't I know this?"

"Did you ask, dummy?"

"No…."

"Wait… isn't that the servant of that Helix guy?"

Lina and David's eyes shot to the right, searching for the person in question.

Emelia was wearing an elegant yet simple light pink dress over her body.

She had new earrings too.

They were simple silver dangle earrings that lacked lavish jewels but were extremely fashionable.

She had a thin silver necklace with a red stone pendant on it.

The pendant wasn't a precious stone, but the way it was fashionably cut made its subtle royal appearance feel genuine and regal.

On her feet were black heels, and she wore light black eyeliner.

It was as though everyone in the hall was looking at an entirely new person.

However, unlike the other women who had become magically beautiful overnight, Emelia had only changed her clothes and wore makeup.

"W-Wait, what is going on, Helix?" David stuttered.

Lina gave him a threatening icy glare that said, [you're not leaving without an explanation].

After learning that the young man near them was responsible for the transformation, everyone around him stared at him.

Helix sighed inwardly but spoke confidently on the surface.

"On the first night, I asked if our servants had to wear maid outfits.

She told me that the servants could wear whatever their masters and Mistresses wished.

When you two were hibernating for your beauty changes, we were given time to explore the city.

While I was shopping, I helped pick out some outfits." He explained.

People from multiple tables in the dining hall were staring at Helix with mixed emotions.

The news filled their faces with fascination, envy, bewilderment, interest, and surprise.

Seeing all of the attention Helix was getting, Lina's face flushed red with annoyance.

"I'm going to buy my servant the best clothing in Alzeria!" She declared.

Then Lina stood up from the table and stormed out of the room.

Helix sighed as he watched her leave.

"Do you not like the maid outfits?

I think they're a dream come true, personally." David asked.

Helix shook his head.

"I do like the maid outfits.

However, she's someone that will be staying by my side through everything.

Investing in her happiness is important because her warm attitude will help me through future struggles." He said with a mysterious smile.

—

"W-Why are we in her m-mas—S-Sir Helix?

I-Is there a woman you w-want to impress?" Emelia asked.

Helix chuckled and shook his head.

"No. We're here to shop for you." He replied with a gentle smile.

"N-No, I cannot possibly accept clothing from you.

I'm just a servant. Your generosity is wasted on me." She stuttered with genuine discomfort.

Helix spent a few moments in silence as he studied her facial expressions.

After a period of silence, he developed a mysterious smile.

"Emilia, as my aid, you must represent me everywhere you go.

It is also critical to our current goals and tasks." Helix told her with a kind yet decisive tone.

"You haven't forgotten what we talked about already, have you?" He asked with a slight smile.

"N-No, of course not! I've been working on it without fail." She replied.

"Good. I can't wait to hear your findings tonight." He said with a mysterious smile.

"Good. I can't wait to hear your findings tonight." Helix said with a mysterious smile.

"I'm sure you've already done well and learned a lot."

Emelia nodded with an excited expression.

"Thank you." He replied.

"Back to the task at hand.

To represent me, you must always look and feel confident in yourself.

Otherwise, you will be unable to gain the respect and admiration worthy of my image."

Helix was gentle, but his tone and speech were of a lecturer teaching a student.

Emelia's widened after a wave of abstract understanding.

"That means that you must [look], feel, and act beautiful and confident.

That's why we're shopping right now.

I'm giving you a task to find clothing you like and bring it to me so I can give you feedback to bring your image to life." He ordered with a gentle smile.

"O-Okay!" She replied with a determined expression.

Helix sighed inwardly.

'I wish I didn't have to create an official order for her to think about herself.' He thought with a melancholy tone.

He saw her grimace at the prices as she shopped through the store.

After it had happened a few times, Helix walked up to her.

"Emelia, I genuinely appreciate your humble attitude.

It's something I genuinely like about you." He said with a warm, genuine voice.

"However, despite being a noble of the royal capital, we traveled to Burlow street.

A dozen outfits here cost the same as a low-end dress in the Kina District.

So don't worry about the cost of the clothing.

I could buy everything in this store without putting a dent in my current finances." Helix chuckled.

He wasn't lying.

His [first] paycheck was 500 gold coins.

Helix could buy every outfit in the store for five.

Nobels pay expenses for land, high-class dining and clothing, and servants.

For someone that didn't pay rent, was provided with quality gear from the kingdom, and had no bills, 500 gold coins was a comical amount of money.

No, it was just absurd in general.

Emelia blushed when she realized how considerate he was coming to Burlow street.

Burlow street was the largest shopping district for commoners in Alzeria.

It was where she and her family shopped before she was sold to the Royal Kingdom as a servant.

"Thank you!" She said while bowing lightly.

"No need to thank me.

Now please go perform your duties as an aid." He said with a smile.

"Yes!" She replied with newfound determination.

When Helix saw Emelia walk up to him with a dress for the first time, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The dress was ten coppers, which was worth a silver coin.

It was nothing to him, but it was obvious that she had never bought something so expensive in her life.

While he was mildly disheartened that she couldn't afford such a simple dress, he couldn't help but smile at how cute and shy she was about it.

"A great find. Very fashionable." Helix said after inspecting it carefully.

It was her first find, and he would happily buy it even if it were hideous.

Fortunately, it was very fashionable.

"Go put it on so I can see it on you." He said while handing the dress back to her.

Emelia's eyes sparkled when she saw his enthusiasm.

"Y-Yes!"

When she came out of the dressing room, Helix was momentarily lost in wonder.

Seeing her in elegant clothing made his job drop.

"You're stunning. You will represent me well in this." He praised.

"Let's get you some more items.

I can't wait to see what you pick next." He said.

Emelia changed and then scampered away.

Helix watched her closely and picked up all the items she turned down with complicated expressions.

That includes undergarments she was too shy to ask about.

After checking out, he accessed his library and found jewelry shops and other stores.

Helix watched her prance around with a warm smile on his face.

He wished their date in the city didn't also have ulterior motives.

—

[A/N: I updated this chapter, so I'm sorry if your comments were deleted.]

Disclaimer: Grammatical mistakes and minor inconsistencies = more content.