Chapter 41: You Smell So Good~
Elise picked up a measuring tape from the table and slowly walked behind Peiya. With one slender finger, she gently held Peiya’s shoulder.
Her other hand softly supported Peiya’s back.
Suddenly being touched like this, Peiya let out a sensitive little cry.
“Hey, you’re way too close!”
The fitting room was dimly lit, with only a small lamp above giving off a faint light.
This little bit of light wasn’t even as bright as a small spark, it couldn’t clearly light up their faces.
What made it worse was that Elise had even pulled the curtains shut!
The already dark room became even darker.
How are you supposed to measure anything like this?!
“Are you ready?”
“N-no, give me a moment.”
Peiya took several deep breaths, trying to fill her lungs as much as possible, her chest rising with each breath.
After slowly breathing out, she felt a bit more relaxed.
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s start!”
Elise slowly opened her notebook and read:
“First is shoulder width. Come on, take off your outer clothes first.”
“Huh?”
Peiya turned her body stiffly, like an old machine that hadn’t been oiled.
Who asks someone to take off clothes right after meeting?
Even though she knew custom clothes required body measurements, the thought of taking off clothes still made her step back.
If she had known a girl could touch her this closely, she wouldn’t have come.
So scary, she wants to go home!
But it was too late to say anything now.
Elise was right in front of her. Even if she wanted to run, where could she go?
She couldn’t possibly crawl under someone’s legs to escape, that was absolutely impossible. Even if she died, she would die standing.
No kneeling!
It’s just a body measurement. Who’s afraid of who!
“Wait, I’ll do it myself. Aren’t you just measuring shoulder width? Why do I need to take off clothes?”
Elise straightened her form and said seriously, “Your clothes are too loose. I can’t get accurate numbers. Just take off your coat, you can keep your shirt on.”
Peiya was speechless. Of course she knew that already.
She reached out and slowly took off her coat, revealing a white shirt. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, as if trying to protect something that wasn’t even there.
Elise’s gentle voice sounded again by her ear, “If you keep your arms crossed like that, I can’t get accurate measurements. Can you put your hands down first?”
“You still want me to put my hands down? Are you really just measuring?”
Peiya turned back to look at Elise, who still had a serious expression. After hesitating for a long time, she finally gave in.
It’s not that she was scared.
It’s just that struggling now would only delay things for a second or two.
If she couldn’t resist anyway, she might as well just go along with it.
Whatever happens, happens.
Even if she were stripped right now, she wouldn’t be surprised anymore.
Just as Peiya was feeling hopeless, she suddenly smelled a light fragrance near her nose. A scent like fresh plants and flowers.
“Did you put on perfume today? It smells so nice.”
“I just applied a little. Do you want some?”
“I don’t usually use perfume, but… I can try.”
“Okay, then sit properly first.”
Elise stepped back half a step, took out a perfume bottle from her bag, and sprayed a circle around Peiya.
Generally, perfume shouldn’t be sprayed directly onto the body. It’s better to spray it around you first, then walk through it, so the scent smells more natural.
“It smells so good. It even makes me feel happier.”
“If you like it, you can have this bottle.”
Elise placed the perfume in Peiya’s hand. While being measured, Peiya opened it and smelled it.
“Wait, is this the scent of Tianlan wood?”
“You can tell?” Elise looked a bit surprised.
There are so many kinds of perfumes, being able to guess it right away is quite impressive.
“I used to try collecting all kinds of materials in the wild before. I’ve collected Tianlan wood too, so I remember it a bit.”
Elise gave a small smile but didn’t reply right away. She was still carefully writing down the measurements.
The reason she chatted with Peiya earlier was to help her relax.
Her body was too stiff, which would make the numbers inaccurate.
Clothes made from relaxed measurements would fit much better.
“Why did you stop talking?”
“I’m listening to you. Did anything else interesting happen after that?”
“Let me think… I once met a wolf king. Every day she tied rope knots at the entrance of a secret realm to learn math. Later, after asking around, I found out she was a wolf with big dreams. She did that to learn math, and then copy human alchemy to make charm potions. To grow her pack, and… wait… I think she used Tianlan wood too, uh…”
For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward. Both of them swallowed nervously.
“How much did you spray just now?”
Peiya couldn’t help asking. As long as the amount wasn’t too much, it should be fine.
Tianlan wood was usually used by couples for a bit of playful flirting. It was far from being a real charm potion.
“Half a bottle. A maid gave it to me on the way here. I thought it smelled nice, so I kept it.”
“That much? Then hurry and open the window before the effect gets stronger. This amount should still be okay.”
Elise turned and opened the window. Meanwhile, Peiya cast a few “Clear Mind” spells on herself to stay awake.
However, when Elise came back, she suddenly grabbed Peiya’s shoulders.
“Peiya, you smell so good.”
“What ‘smell good’? Get a hold of yourself. We still have measurements to finish.”
Peiya also cast a healing spell on Elise. After a moment, Elise’s eyes became clear again.
“What just happened to me?”
“You breathed in Tianlan wood. Luckily it wasn’t too much. How do you feel now? Better?”
“Much better. Sorry. I’ll continue measuring now. Peiya, you smell so good.”
“I don’t smell good. Be serious. Let’s finish this, we still need to go out.”
“Okay. Your shoulder length also smells nice…”
?
“That shouldn’t be right. I already used Clear Mind on you. Did it not work?”
Elise shook her head, her eyes completely clear. “I’m not charmed. This level of charm doesn’t really affect me. I mean you really smell nice.”
Oh, so she was acting.
Peiya almost thought it was real, and now she’s saying it wasn’t.
“Why do you look disappointed? Were you hoping I’d keep saying you smell nice? Then I’ll say it again. Peiya, you smell really nice~”
Elise slightly parted her lips and breathed warm air.
Peiya’s ears instantly turned red, and half of her face felt hot.
“I-I don’t smell nice! Can you act properly? Hurry and finish measuring, hey… y-you… where did you just put your hand? That’s crossing the line, isn’t it?”
“I’m measuring your chest. Wait, don’t move.”
Elise wrapped the soft measuring tape around Peiya, letting it rest lightly over her chest.
It felt ticklish, making her want to scratch.
But Elise didn’t allow it.
As soon as Peiya raised her hand, it was gently pushed back.
So unfair.
“Don’t move, or the numbers won’t be accurate.”
“How much longer will this take?”
“Until I finish measuring.”
“And when is that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ugh, this is so troublesome. Why is measuring the body so complicated?”
“Because you’re a bit special. I’m recording extra numbers to give them later.”
“You better be talking about data.”
“Almost done, just the last one…” Elise lifted the checklist. “Waist size. Pull your shirt up a bit, I’ll measure your waist.”
“What? So you really are going to touch me?”
Reluctantly, Peiya lifted her shirt a little. She suspected Elise was doing this on purpose.
At first it was just harmless measurements like shoulder width. Then it moved to arms and neck.
And before she had time to breathe, it had already reached her chest.
If this continued, Peiya didn’t even want to imagine what Elise might do next.
And now, she was already asking her to lift her clothes.
“Can’t you just measure over the clothes? Does the difference really matter?”
“It matters, Miss Peiya. If possible, please hurry. After all… you wouldn’t want me to do it for you, right?”