A Date (Part 2)

"... It seems the old shop is no longer there."

After staring blankly at the storefronts in the distance for a moment, Larkspur turned around, intending to leave with Xia Liang: "But it makes sense, it's surprising that these shops still exist after so many years. Let's go."

She nudged Xia Liang's arm, signaling her to follow her, but found that Xia Liang didn't move.

Not only that, just as Larkspur was about to leave, Larkspur Xia Liang her sleeve, freezing her in place and preventing her from moving forward.

"Give it a try, junior."

She smiled at the Larkspur: "Since we're already here, why not go take a look?"

The Larkspur shook her head. "No, I think..."

"Are you two young ladies over there interested in our shop?"

Just then, the girl on the signboard at the cafe entrance suddenly took two steps closer to them and shouted, "We have a special event today! In addition to discounts on certain items, you can also get rewards by completing a mini-game!"

Her loud voice interrupted Larkspur's original statement, silencing her refusal.

"Huh? Really? What kind of event is it?"

Meanwhile, Xia Liang had already excitedly run to the shop entrance and started chatting with the clerk on the sign, asking, "I've never been to a maid cafe before, what exactly do I need to do there?"

"Well... these are just some very common little games, nothing difficult at all. You can get a reward as long as you beat the ladies in our shop."

The shop assistant at the entrance said very kindly, "And even if you don't win, as long as the ladies in the shop approve of your performance, you can still get a reward."

"As for what exactly today's activities are -- you'll see."

She pointed to the floor-to-ceiling window to the side, and through it, she could see a group of young female shop assistants in brightly colored outfits walking back and forth inside the store. "Our theme this time is Magical Girl Day!"

Magical Girl Day.

The moment she uttered that word, Larkspur had a bad feeling, but it was too late; Xia Liang's eyes were already shining.

"That sounds interesting!"

That's what she said.

It's not fun at all.

The Larkspur retorted inwardly.

However, today's outing was ultimately based on Xia Liang's wishes. She found it interesting, and Larkspur didn't need to discourage her, so she could only follow her into the coffee shop in front of them.

As soon as you step into the store, the staff turn around and announce in clear voices, "Guardians of love and justice, we cheer for your smile today! Welcome to the magical girl's Secret Base in Fangting City!"

The uniform greetings made Larkspur's eyelids twitch.

"Normally, we'd say 'Welcome home, young master' or 'Welcome home, young lady' here, but because it's a special themed day, we're using a different way of saying it."

The girl standing beside her chuckled and explained, "How is it? Doesn't it give you a magical girl vibe like in anime?"

Yes, yes!

Looking around with great interest, Xia Liang was filled with barely suppressed curiosity. She exclaimed, "Even the decorations on the wall are magic wands! They're so realistic!"

"This way, please. These seats offer a better view of the entire store."

The signboard girl led the two to an empty two-seater table, then pointed to the standee on the table. "If you want to order, you can choose online. See if there's anything you're interested in! Excuse me for a moment!"

After giving her instructions, she quickly walked away and turned to leave.

Larkspur and Xia Liang then sat down and opened the menu on their phones. They each looked at the options for a moment, discussed them, and then ordered the desserts and drinks they wanted.

Xia Liang ordered a fruit tea, a small cake, and an ice cream cup; Larkspur's order was relatively simple, she only ordered a latte.

The shop was actually doing quite well, with many customers interacting with the staff dressed in magical girl uniforms. Fortunately, the speed of food preparation wasn't slowed down by the booming business; before long, the desserts that Larkspur and Xia Liang had ordered were brought over by a staff member wearing a blue dress.

Upon seeing the newcomer's face, Larkspur couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—because the person was none other than the signboard girl who had just left.

The woman opposite them had changed out of the maid outfit she was wearing when she stood at the door and was now dressed in a gorgeously decorated blue coat and tutu with a magical girl vibe. She was smiling as she placed the desserts on the table where the two of them were.

"Weren't you supposed to be watching the signboard outside?" Larkspur couldn't help but ask.

"It's shift work, shift work. We can't just stand outside all the time."

The girl in the blue dress chuckled and explained, "If you're constantly exposed to the sun, your skin will get darker."

"Yeah."

Not entirely satisfied with this perfunctory answer, Larkspur gave a somewhat noncommittal reply, took the plate from her hand, and then picked up the coffee she had ordered.

Are you interested in these magical girl-style uniforms in the store?

Before Larkspur could even bring the cup to her lips, the girl on the signboard next to her leaned over again. "These uniforms in our shop are all made based on real people."

"To be specific, the prototypes for these magical girl dresses can actually be found online, and each dress originally belonged to a very famous magical girl."

"For example, look at this outfit I'm wearing; it's the clothes of Blue Star, the famous magical girl from the northern Central City Heavenly City."

Upon hearing her words, Larkspur couldn't help but glance at her clothes. After comparing them with what she remembered about "Blue Star," she found that they were indeed very similar to her own attire, just as the other person had said.

Thinking of this, she looked around again at the uniforms of the other shop assistants. She could tell that many of these clothes did look somewhat familiar. She recognized many of them; some she had seen on her colleagues when she was a magical girl, and others she had glimpsed in various news articles or online pictures after her retirement.

Even disregarding the fact that the girls dressed in these clothes were serving tea and water, seeing such a wide variety of magical girl costumes in such a place is quite a unique experience.

Larkspur rated the place a few points higher, and while watching the staff around her with interest, she picked up her coffee and took a small sip.

However, just as she calmly began to sip her coffee, another barista nimbly walked past her. The style of the barista's uniform nearly made Larkspur swallow her coffee.

"Pfft--cough cough cough!"

She bent over and coughed violently a few times, finally managing to catch her breath. Larkspur pointed at the passing shop assistant and said to the girl displaying the sign next to her, "That dress... that shouldn't be..."

"Oh, little sister, do you recognize her? This is Sakura's outfit, the magical girl from Fangting City."

The shop assistant standing to the side, unaware of Larkspur's strong reaction, assumed she recognized the dress's original design and continued with a smile, "Speaking of Sakura, she's the pride of our Fangting City. Although she hasn't been active for a long time recently, she has saved countless lives in this city in the past."

"Ah, um, I remember now."

After calming down a bit, Larkspur turned her head and continued, following the other person's words. "I've seen it on TV before, so the outfit looks familiar."

Because her reaction just now was too strange, and she didn't want the signboard girl to realize it, she wanted to change the subject. So, Larkspur began to observe the other shop assistants' clothes, trying to change the subject.

But before she could find a way to change the subject, she fell into a long silence when her gaze fell on another shop assistant not far away.

A navy blue Lolita dress, a large Ponet—just by these features, she knew that this was her own, and also Larkspur's, magical girl outfit.

Her gaze was noticed by the girl on the signboard beside her. Following the direction of Larkspur's gaze, she looked over and, after recognizing which uniform the shop assistant was wearing, immediately asked, "Are you interested in her outfit?"

"No, not really, I was just browsing." Larkspur immediately looked away from the shop assistant's clothes.

"If I remember correctly, she was also wearing the outfit of a magical girl from Fangting City."

The signboard girl ignored Larkspur's explanation and instead added, "But the original owner of this dress was a magical girl who retired a long time ago. I think her name was Cornflower?"

Larkspur could only pretend not to care, continuing to sip his coffee and feigning silence.

"Speaking of which, little sister, your hair is blue. Maybe that outfit would suit you very well."

The signboard girl suddenly clasped her hands together. "We have a little game today that happens to be about this. We'll put on the same magical girl outfit as the shop assistant, and then take a picture together. Want to try it out?"

"No need," Larkspur refused succinctly and firmly.

"If you don't want your photos to be displayed in the store, you can keep them privately!" the sign girl continued to suggest, but received no further response from Larkspur.

Just then, Xia Liang, who had finished taking photos of the dessert, looked up at the girl on the signboard. "Sister, are you sure you're not mistaken? The magical girl you mentioned is really called 'Cornflower'?"

"Hmm, this code name should be quite famous. After all, she's a veteran hero in Fangting City. You can still find her name in some old news articles if you search for her now." The signboard girl explained as if she knew everything, seemingly very knowledgeable about magical girls.

"Hey... so it's called Cornflower."

Xia Liang slightly curved the corners of her mouth, gave Larkspur a meaningful look, and said meaningfully, "It seems I've confused her. I've confused her with a magical girl named Larkspur."

"Larkspur?" Upon hearing this, the sign girl looked somewhat puzzled. "I don't know about that. I don't think I've ever heard of such a code name."

Listening to their conversation, Larkspur remained silent with her head down. She sipped her coffee, pretending not to hear their exchange, while pondering how to refuse their suggested "little game."

"Then, I'll give it a try."

Just as she was pondering how to politely decline, Xia Liang suddenly raised her hand after the conversation. "I want to try on that 'Cornflower' dress you mentioned!"

"Oh! Little sister, you want to try it? No problem. The changing room is over there."

The girl on the signboard immediately perked up and said with a hint of encouragement, "We've prepared at least two of each magical girl uniform, so feel free to choose, don't worry about any conflicts!"

The two reached an agreement, and Xia Liang immediately agreed to the request for this "little game," standing up from her seat and following the other person to the store's employee rest area.

With the help of the shop assistant, Xia Liang quickly changed into the "Cornflower" magical girl uniform, and according to the Rule of the game, she stood back to back with the shop assistant wearing the same uniform and began to try out various posing poses.

"Let me see what kind of posture and lines would be most suitable..."

After several attempts, Xia Liang finally found the most suitable pose and angle. With a faint smile, she picked up the blue magic wand, stood back-to-back with the shop assistant in a fighting stance, and winked her right eye at the camera. "I will protect the safety of Fangting City!"

"Ah--so cute, so wonderful!"

The girl taking photos put down her phone, clutching her chest in a slightly smug expression. "She looks just like a real magical girl! The most suitable image for a magical girl is definitely a younger girl!"

The commotion undoubtedly attracted the attention of many people in the store, not only the staff but also some customers.

Xia Liang's appearance was already quite cute, so the effect of wearing this Lolita dress was also very good. Although it was quite different from her original "Cornflower" image, it did not prevent the dress from having a unique style.

Even though the shop assistants were all dressed in gorgeous magical girl-style uniforms, very few of them could pull off the look of Xia Liang, which surprised many people.

"You won! You won! We'll give you a 30% discount... no, a 40% discount!"

The signboard girl seemed quite satisfied with Xia Liang's appearance. After a moment of basking in her beauty, she suggested, "Would you like to try something else?"

"Is this alright? Is this really all there is to the game?"

Xia Liang blinked innocently, then asked with a hint of embarrassment, "Won't this interfere with my sisters' work?"

"What others say might be considered a disruption to work, but what you say is fine!"

The girl on the signboard shook her head repeatedly, denying Xia Liang's statement. "Look, it's not just me, all the shop assistants around here are quite eager to see what you look like in other uniforms!"

As soon as she said that, the shop assistants around her waved to Xia Liang, some making a heart shape with their hands, others giving a thumbs up, to express their expectations and encouragement.

"In that case... I'll gladly accept your offer!"

In this way, Xia Liang tried on more than half of the magical girl uniforms in the store.

Most of them are the same clothes worn by famous magical girls from other places, and a few were worn by magical girls from Fangting City. Among them is the dress that Larkspur just saw, the one that belonged to Sakura.

At first, the Larkspur showed a hint of nostalgia, but it quickly returned to calm.

The shop assistants and customers around them applauded and cheered from time to time, and some even whistled a couple of times. They were then quickly reminded and warned by the shop assistants, and they sheepishly quieted down.

The Larkspur sat quietly to the side, watching the whole thing without saying a word.

Xia Liang felt she had had enough fun and didn't want to wear any more uniforms, so she changed back into her original clothes and sat back in her seat.

Seeing her behavior, Larkspur thought she was going to give up for a while, but just as this thought crossed her mind, Xia Liang suddenly looked at Larkspur and said:

"Young senior, would you like to give it a try?"