My Childhood Friend, Who I Made a Promise To Spend the Future With, Dumped Me... But Ever Since I Started Dating a Beautiful Girl From School, My Childhood Friend Has Been Acting Strange - Episode 14

“Hey, what about this one?”

What Suzuha showed Toma was a cowl-neck style outfit.

“You think so?”

“I think this kind of clothing would suit you, Toma.”

After finishing lunch, Toma Suzuki followed Suzuha’s plan and visited a clothing store in town. Unlike department stores, this was a specialty shop with a wide variety of items.

“Well, try it on for now.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Encouraged by Suzuha Kamiya, Toma decided to try on the clothes in the store’s fitting room.

With his younger sister Emi watching over him, Toma entered the fitting room.

After closing the curtain, he began changing.

“So, how does it look? I don’t usually wear this kind of clothes.”

Toma opened the curtain and asked the two girls waiting outside.

“It looks great! It really suits you, big bro!”

“Yeah, that outfit definitely looks good on you.”

“Thanks. It’s kind of embarrassing to be praised directly like this.”

Toma felt happy being complimented by the two girls. He started to feel like buying the outfit. The price wasn’t too high, and he had enough money to purchase it.

“Hey, why don’t you try this one too? I picked it out for you! I think this would suit you as well!”

Emi suggested another outfit.

The clothes Emi had chosen were stylish, a short-sleeved shirt that seemed perfect for the summer season.

“Oh, and big bro, you should pick out some pants too! I’ll go find some for you!”

Emi ran off to look for pants.

“Emi, don’t trip!”

Toma called out to his sister as she hurried away.

“Anyway, try on the clothes Emi picked out for you. Try on different things and see what you like best.”

“Got it.”

Toma went back into the fitting room.

Both outfits were carefully chosen by the two girls.

Standing in front of the mirror inside the fitting room, Toma changed from the cowl-neck outfit Suzuha had picked out to the one Emi had chosen.

The cowl-neck outfit Suzuha had chosen was trendy and stylish, suitable not just for summer but for year-round home use. On the other hand, the outfit Emi had brought was perfectly sized and had a design that Toma liked.

As he changed, Toma thought about the two outfits.

“Hey, are you done? If you’re ready, come out and show us.”

Suzuha’s voice came from outside the curtain.

Toma opened the curtain and faced Suzuha again.

“It looks good. Emi’s choice suits you too.”

For now, Toma was wearing the outfit Emi had picked out and showed it to Suzuha.

“Thanks. Emi’s choice is nice, but I think I’ll go with the one you picked, Suzuha.”

“Really? That makes me happy.”

“By the way, Suzuha, you have great taste in clothes.”

“Well, my mom used to be a celebrity, so she taught me how to pick clothes from a young age. That’s probably why.”

“Really? So that’s why you have such good taste.”

“Yeah, I was taught to always dress well when appearing in public. My mom trained me daily, so I guess my sense of style improved. I even did some entertainment work for a while.”

“Wait, really? I didn’t know that.”

“Nothing major, though. I only did it until the third grade. There were so many talented people in the industry, so I quit. My mom wanted me to continue, though.”

Suzuha gave a shy smile.

“But if you had kept going, it would’ve been great. I can definitely feel a celebrity aura from you.”

“Toma, stop staring. It’s embarrassing…”

Suzuha’s cheeks turned slightly red.

“But after doing entertainment work, I got used to interacting with people. I wasn’t really good at talking in front of others before.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

“Is it? I can handle it now, though. Anyway, let’s drop this topic. So, are you buying that outfit? If not, I can pick something else.”

“I’ll go with this one. The one you picked first.”

As the two were talking, Emi returned with a pair of pants.

“Big bro, I found some pants that would suit you!”

Emi showed him a pair of linen cropped pants.

“Here, try them on.”

Toma took the pants and examined them. The design was just right, and they seemed to match perfectly with the outfit Suzuha had chosen.

“I’ll try them on.”

Toma disappeared behind the curtain and changed in a few seconds, then reappeared in front of the two.

“How does it look? I tried on the whole set.”

“It looks great! It matches the outfit I picked.”

“It looks better now. It really suits you, big bro!”

The two gave positive feedback.

Toma also started to feel that this outfit was the right choice.

“Alright, I’ll go with this.”

From Toma’s perspective, compared to his usual plain clothes, this outfit made him look much more stylish.

Toma decided to make the purchase.

He headed to the checkout counter with Emi.

“I have something I want to look at.”

“Eh? Where are you going?”

“Just some clothes for myself.”

Suzuha parted ways with the two and headed deeper into the store.

After finishing the payment, Toma and Emi waited near the entrance, but Suzuha didn’t return.

The two decided to go look for her.

“Suzuha, what were you doing here? Are you buying that?”

“Eh?! No, I was just looking.”

Suzuha flinched when Toma called out to her from behind.

“Isn’t that the outfit that avatar character was promoting?”

“Eh? Y-yeah.”

Avatar characters are 2D models used for live streaming on the internet. They are essentially virtual streamers. In this day and age, there are even agencies that manage such characters.

“Do you want that outfit, Suzuha?”

“Not really… I just wanted to see it because it’s a collaboration.”

“Really? But if you like it, you should buy it. It’s a limited-time collaboration, right?”

Toma also often watched virtual streamers’ live streams. He knew about the collaboration items being sold in clothing stores.

The outfit on display was a cute yet stylish piece, mainly in light blue and yellow.

Toma instinctively felt that the outfit would suit Suzuha.

“Yeah, but I’m just looking today. I’ll buy it next time. I didn’t bring much money today. Anyway, let’s go.”

Suzuha spoke in a flustered tone and tried to leave.

Toma glanced at the virtual streamer’s outfit she had been looking at before leaving.

The three left the store and began their journey home.