Campione: Strongest# 430: This Time, She Really Got Away

“Welcome!”

The glamorous female clerks all executed sharp, professional bows, greeting Haru and SHIKI as they entered the shop.

“Is the young lady looking for a kimono? Our store offers—” The clerk closest to them noticed the torn hem of SHIKI’s kimono, her eyes immediately lighting up as she rushed forward to begin her sales pitch.

Seeing the initiative taken, the other clerks paused, regret visible on their faces.

Salespeople in large department stores are expert observers. The damaged kimono signaled a guaranteed—and high-value—purchase. Since these stores pay substantial commissions on kimonos, the clerks who reacted too slowly were already cursing themselves for missing out on easy money.

Guided by the clerk, SHIKI eagerly followed, scrutinizing each kimono on display.

This was her first time buying clothes, and she was overflowing with curiosity. She looked around, occasionally having the clerk describe an item that caught her eye. She seemed exceptionally lively.

While she was endlessly checking out kimonos, Haru, slightly bored, surveyed the shop.

Only four long racks, filled with various kimonos, were positioned inside, yet they were arranged so skillfully that the otherwise narrow shop felt remarkably spacious. The shop held roughly three hundred kimonos, with the majority naturally being brightly colored children’s wear and women’s attire.

After all, a universal truth holds: children and women are the easiest customers.

Suddenly, Haru felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned to see SHIKI, holding a kimono in each hand.

“Hey, Uncle. Which do you think suits me better—this mustard-yellow one or the light blue one?” Her eyes sparkled, her expression exceptionally cheerful.

“Uncle?” The nearby clerk looked at Haru with a strange expression.

For the youthful man to be called 'Uncle' by the girl suggested an unsavory—and embarrassing—relationship.

The young clerk's mind immediately went to an awkward place.

“The mustard-yellow kimono on the left suits you better,” Haru replied seriously, ignoring the clerk’s strange gaze.

Honestly, in his view, her features were already optimized for beauty.

'She looks best without any clothes on.'

Of course, their relationship wasn't at the point where he could utter those thoughts aloud. Given the two choices, he picked the mustard-yellow one. Her current kimono was light blue; she definitely needed a change of colors.

“Mustard-yellow it is, then!” SHIKI nodded, a strange expression flashing across her face. Then, she turned to the clerk.

“Can I try it on?”

“Of course. Please follow me.” The clerk smiled and led her to the changing room.

————

SHIKI took the kimono, slipped off her wooden geta, and put on the changing room’s disposable slippers. The clerk pulled the brown curtain closed immediately after she entered, waiting outside.

The instant the curtain was pulled shut, SHIKI swiftly undid her obi, discarded the kimono and her undergarments, and tore off the already-cut tabi socks, stripping naked.

Though this was her first venture into the outside world, she shared all of the original Shiki’s combat experience and was exceptionally familiar with the kimono she’d worn for years.

Her speed in undressing was astonishingly fast. In just a moment, the full-length mirror reflected a sharp-looking young woman whose chest was bound in tight cloth.

Looking at her youthful figure in the mirror, SHIKI frowned, gently caressing her barely developed chest. “It’s growing again, Shiki. You need to bind it tighter next time.”

'Mm,' a cold voice responded in her mind.

“I should be able to buy myself fifteen minutes,” SHIKI calculated. In her estimation, though Haru was a pervert, he wouldn't sink so low as to peek at her changing, especially with a clerk standing guard outside.

She surveyed the changing room’s layout.

The room was about three square meters. A full-length mirror was on the front wall. The left wall was bare. The right wall had several hooks, likely for hanging clothes. Those small hooks were enough for her to use as leverage.

SHIKI leaned against the wall next to the mirror, pushing off with her left foot. Her right foot caught a hook, and she scrambled up the wall like a gecko.

With her right foot now braced on the hook, she poked her head over the partition, checking the situation in the neighboring store for an opportunity to escape.

“…”

Haru’s huge face appeared directly in her field of vision.

“Eek!” SHIKI let out a startled, incomprehensible yelp. The next moment, her face flushed crimson, her black eyes flashing with fury.

“You—you—you’ve been watching me this whole time!” she glared, her eyes wide with rage.

Though the failure of her escape plan was regrettable, she was far more concerned about whether her quick-change routine had been seen. Even with her chest bound, her vulnerability had been exposed. The embarrassment was immense.

“Don’t worry. I only came over when I sensed your aura fluctuate as you started climbing the wall,” Haru said, his chin resting on the top of the wall, his body suspended in mid-air, his expression completely serious.

“Sir! Sir! What’s wrong? Why are you hanging from the wall? Please don’t kill yourself in my store!” The manager of the clothing store behind Haru exclaimed in horror, clutching his face.

“Tsk!” SHIKI clicked her tongue, gently leaping back down onto the changing room floor.

A few minutes later, the curtain to the kimono changing room slowly opened.

SHIKI stepped out, acting completely unbothered, and spun around.

“Hey, Uncle, how does this kimono look?”

The mustard-yellow, the color of withered autumn leaves, was transformed by her cheerful expression into a youthful, vibrant, and energetic sight.

In Haru’s eyes, who had seen her icy expression just this morning, her radiant smile was exceptionally dazzling.

“BEAUTIFUL. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!” Haru said, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Is that so? I’ll take this one, then. Uncle, pay the bill!” SHIKI looked at the kimono on her body, then smiled at the clerk.

“I’ll just swipe my card—” Haru was cut short. SHIKI, already in her wooden geta, was running out of the shop at full speed.

“…”

The sudden turn of events left everyone in the shop completely bewildered.

“Huh?” Haru blinked.

A pair of hands clamped down on his forearm.

The clerk’s eyelid twitched, and with a strained, humorless smile, she said, “Sir, that will be one hundred and twenty thousand yen.”