Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 695

"Amon, Ridd. Both of you look quite good in those."

"Thanks, Johan. Even if it's flattery, I appreciate it."

"Lidd. I don't give empty compliments."

In a room of the tribal chief's residence, Johan flashed a grin showing his white double fangs as he looked at Amon and me dressed in the clothes prepared by our hosts.

The two who had guided us here, Sekmetos and Tabal, weren't present, having gone ahead to the conference room.

Well, even if they had been here, I would have asked them to leave since I didn't want anyone watching us change.

The clothes we changed into were the same kind worn by Sekmetos and other aristocratic cat-people. Compared to the previous ethnic attire, these gave more of a military uniform impression.

Historically, the cat-people territory had many skirmishes with Toga and other regions, resulting in clothing that was easy to change into and allowed quick transition to combat being favored. This led to military-style attire becoming established among the aristocracy.

The outfit consisted of black gaiters reaching below the knees, sleek long pants, a jacket with chest pockets, long cuffs and hem, narrow shoulders, and black gloves.

The design simultaneously gave a sense of cleanliness and intimidation. Wearing a wide-brimmed military-style hat made me feel more composed.

Yet the clothes weren't stiff at all - they were very easy to move in overall.

I could probably do stretches while wearing them... not that I would.

"Still, I was expecting something more like what Johan is wearing, so this is a bit unexpected."

When Amon said this, Johan grinned again, showing his white double fangs.

"These clothes are custom-made by Mother. They're slightly different from ethnic attire."

"Oh? Custom-made by Lady Sekmetos?"

Looking at his outfit - a clean, elegant shirt paired with knee-length shorts that looked easy to move in, topped with an embroidered overcoat reaching above the knees that exuded nobility.

Despite Johan's cute facial features, at first glance he appeared somewhat mature for his age.

This impression was probably due to his clothing.

They say appearance makes up ninety percent of first impressions, and for a prince like Johan, giving a slightly mature impression might be just right.

As I stared intently, Johan tilted his head curiously.

"What's wrong, Ridd?"

"Oh, uh, sorry. I was just thinking Lady Sekmetos has good taste in clothes."

"Mother actually likes cute things more than you'd expect. She sometimes makes stuffed animals too - I have several decorating my room. But this is just between us, okay?"

"R-really?"

Johan smiled happily, but in my mind I pictured the stern-faced Sekmetos smiling at some cute stuffed animal.

If she makes them herself, she must be good at embroidery too.

It might... actually suit her.

"...Maybe I should send her a cute stuffed animal sometime."

"That would be interesting. Perhaps we should make something from the fox-people territory too."

Seeing Amon follow up on my comment, Johan's eyes widened in shock.

"No! Mother gets really scary when she's angry!"

"Ahaha, just joking. Right, Amon?"

"Indeed. This stays between us."

"You're both teasing me...!"

Amon puffed out his cheeks cutely.

As Amon and I apologized, Johan turned away with a "Hmph!"

Seeing him like this, Johan seemed more like a normal boy his age.

"Lord Ridd. If I may, it might be time to proceed to the meeting."

While we were chatting, Capella, who had been waiting quietly in the corner of the room, bowed respectfully.

"Ah, you're right. Johan, could you show us the way?"

"Understood."

When I asked formally, he straightened his posture too.

Then Johan walked ahead to guide us, opening the door to exit the room.

In the hallway, Tink who had been waiting outside smiled warmly at seeing our new outfits.

"Lord Ridd, Lord Amon. The new attire suits you both well."

"Thank you, Tink."

After thanking her, I looked around but didn't see Chris or Emma.

"Huh? Are those two still changing?"

"No, by now they should have finished. They likely went directly to the conference room."

As Tink said this, Johan nodded.

"That's right. If Chris and Emma have finished changing, they're probably already at the conference room."

"Oh, I see. Then let's head there too."

"Right, the conference room is this way."

Johan took the lead, and we followed behind him.

Following Johan down the hallway, I spotted a woman's back ahead wearing a calm, deep red-based one-piece dress with noble embroidery and long sleeves.

Her long golden hair swayed smoothly with each step.

From behind, the way she carried the luxurious dress suggested she must be very beautiful... but on closer look, I could see long ears peeking from her side hair.

Plus, walking beside her was Emma the cat-person.

"Is that... Chris?"

Hearing my murmured question, the woman turned around gracefully.

"Ah, Lord Lidd and Lord Amon have finished changing too. The new outfits suit you both very well."

"Uh, yeah, thanks. But Chris, you look amazing too."

Her dress gave a completely different impression from her usual attire.

All the embroidery used gold thread with delicate patterns that sparkled faintly in the window light.

The effect was somehow mystical, even divine, making me unexpectedly flustered.

"Really? I'm not used to wearing this, so I wasn't sure..."

"See? Just as I told you."

Emma smiled at Chris's uncertainty, but Chris remained modest. I shook my head.

"Chris, your height means any dress would look good on you. Right, Amon?"

When I asked, he nodded.

"Lady Chris has natural elegance too. It makes the dress stand out even more."

"Th-thank you."

As Chris scratched her cheek shyly, Amon shrugged and continued.

"Incidentally... when my elder sister wears dresses, no matter how elegant, they always end up looking seductive. It's quite troublesome. She could learn from Lady Chris's way of wearing clothes."

"Ah, haha..."

Compared to Rapha, Chris could only give a strained smile.

As Amon said, Rapha's aura would undoubtedly make any clothing seem alluring.

When she had disguised herself as Chris before, even wearing  such clothes, she managed to make them look provocatively sexy to the point of being distracting.

Diana, who was there at the time, had scowled and called it "tasteless."

Well, they were enemies then, so the circumstances were different.

"Ah, but this dress is actually light and soft despite how it looks. See..."

She did a little twirl to demonstrate. The skirt flared out gently before settling back down.

The gold embroidery sparkled in the light, captivating me for a moment.

"What do you think? Compared to Empire styles, it's much softer, right?"

Snapping out of it at Chris's question, I cleared my throat.

"Definitely. The fabric and construction must be different from Empire styles."

"Perhaps. But marketed properly, this dress could become extremely popular."

Already, she was viewing it through a merchant's eyes.

Yeah... while the different atmosphere threw me off, this practical side was unmistakably Chris.

As I thought this, something struck me as odd.

"Why aren't you wearing the same outfit as us, Chris? I thought Lady Sekmetos wore this style."

"Ah, now that you mention it..."

When Amon echoed my question, Johan cleared his throat.

"Mother is both tribal chief and Beast King. To avoid being underestimated by other chiefs and nobles, she only wears the style you're wearing now in official settings."

"I see. That makes sense."

Leading a group of tribal chiefs and aristocrats who follow survival-of-the-fittest ideology and each have their own quirks... can't be easy.

Given Sekmetos's personality, she probably considers everything from clothing to speech to maintain her dignity.

"Still..." Johan added.

"Mother looks incredibly cool in dresses too."

"Really? I'd love to see that sometime."

"You should look forward to it."

Now joined by Chris, our group continued chatting as we made our way to the conference room.