Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 51: Storm of Hearts, Part Seven

{Mel}

"Ugh..."

A lady behind a shabby, wooden counter looked Mel up and down with tangible disgust. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

For once in her life, Mel couldn’t care less about her scornful gaze. Sure, she was covered in Fiends’ blood and filth, but that was just the proof of what she’d done.

Mel emptied a bag full of lesser mana cores on the counter, the crystals clattering against each other as the lady blinked, puzzled.

The woman’s expression changed so fast it was almost funny.

"How much is this worth?" Mel asked, staring her down.

"Um... Give me a moment."

A few minutes later, Mel walked out of that office with the crystals in her purse having been replaced by royals.

Not many, of course. If making money through adventuring was that easy, everyone would risk their lives to do it. But, she made more than enough to visit her next stop.

The salon!

[Um... I guess I should go to the one closest to the guild. Uh, after I change out of these clothes, anyway.]

---

As the twin moons outside rose in place of the sun, Mel walked to the nearest beauty salon feeling like she still smelled like Fiend guts.

[Uh... Here goes nothing.]

A bell on the door rang lightly as Mel entered.

The salon was empty, with only a couple of ladies who worked there chatting away next to a bunch of empty chairs. In front of those chairs were so, so many different products Mel had never seen or heard of before.

One of them stopped talking and nodded toward Mel. The other one followed her line of sight and whistled.

[I look pretty pathetic, don’t I?]

But, well, that was what she was here to fix. So, she took a few more steps into the salon.

"Um... H-Hello..." Mel began quietly. Swallowing, she looked away. "May I, um, ask what services do you offer?"

A girl with long, blonde hair strode forward confidently. She had that natural glint in her eyes that a lot of extroverts carried.

"Welcome. Loosen up a little, hehe," she giggled. "We don’t bite."

"R-Right... So," Mel breathed, "those services?"

"Okay, here’s the rundown. We do haircuts, hair styling, mani-pedis, and waxing. What do you need?"

Mel considered the options.

"All of the above."

Both women burst out laughing upon hearing that.

"Ah, got a guy you wanna impress?"

"A... A girl."

"Oh," the lady’s lips formed a perfect circle. "Sit down." She flexed one arm, showing off her biceps. "Let’s get to work!"

---

Mel stared at herself in the mirror.

[That’s...] She could hardly breathe. [That’s me?]

"What do you think?" The lady who’d practically just reshaped her entire existence asked. "Decent change, if I do say so myself."

Mel’s hair, previously so long it almost dragged along the floor, had been cut to the point where it barely reached her shoulders. Her nails, obscenely long before she’d walked in here, were neatly short and polished. The waxing... was generally unpleasant but, even that made Mel feel like she’d just shed three pounds.

"You look better, but," the lady said, "I’d advise you to go get some different clothes. If it was a guy you were trying to seduce, all it would take is a quick handy under the table. But, with a girl, you’re gonna have to put a liiiittle more effort in. Only a little, though!"

Taking that lady’s advice, Mel went to Telvan Central Mall to buy some new outfits.

She had very little clue as to what exactly she should have been purchasing but she was determined to find something that would work. Almost on autopilot, Mel looked for pants and hoodies, but given the goal with which she came here, she decided that, maybe, she needed to find something else.

Another somewhat kind lady walked up to her.

"Hello! Can I help you with anything?" A woman in a black and green uniform asked.

"Uhm... I-I’m looking to buy some clothes but I don’t know what would look good on me."

"Oh! You need recommendations? Sure, give me a moment..."

"Thank you."

The lady walked away from the section they stood in, halting to look back at Mel which she took as indication that she needed to follow her.

They soon went from looking at bland, black pants and hoodies to looking at girly shirts and skirts, the likes of which Mel couldn’t even imagine herself wearing.

"This... This... And, this! How about you try these on?"

"Uh, sure."

A minute later, Mel was in the fitting room staring at an odd image in the mirror.

A girl with short, bobbed amethyst hair, grey skin, and purple eyes dressed up so dainty and cutesy that people who didn’t know her would likely never guess that she’d been spending the last several years sleeping on park benches.

[Wow...]

Mel stepped out of the fitting room and walked up to the lady who was still standing outside, waiting.

"What do you think?" She asked.

’I-I like it!" Mel replied. "Could... Could you recommend me more?"

"Of course."

---

Mel walked out of that place with a bag full of nothing but clothes. She even bought some new slippers and heels that the lady had advised her to take.

["Um, you look great, but... those shoes don’t really go with your outfit, ya know?"]

In one evening, Mel burned through every single royal she’d made fighting those Fiends earlier.

But, she didn’t care.

She looked good, in her opinion. She felt good.

Now, she was about as ready as she’d ever be.

[Maybe...] Mel thought, walking back to the Watchful’s headquarters under the cover of the moonlight. [I should visit Lianna now.]

In part, she really just wanted to take advantage of the ego boost she was currently feeling from having overhauled her whole look. This high probably wouldn’t last long, so she wanted to ride its wave while it lasted.

[Ah... These heels aren’t even that high and they’re so uncomfortable to walk in. I should try to get used to it, though.]

Pacing awkwardly across the cement path that cut through the field of grass outside the Watchful’s headquarters, Mel tried to keep her head up.

[What did that article say? Be confident... Be respectable.]

"Hm? Uhm, excuse me, are you-"

The lady sitting behind her desk at the lobby was just about to stop Mel. She legitimately did not recognize her. But, upon making eye contact with her, she pulled back, completely shocked as she realized who this was.

"Do I-"

"No, no, no," the lady waved her hands, "sorry, I didn’t know it was you. You can go in, it’s fine."

[Wow. I hope Lianna reacts like that too.]

On that note, Mel made her way straight up to Lianna’s dorm room.

Standing at the door, she could hear the TV from outside, though it was muffled.

[Ah, she’s here.]

Suddenly, it almost felt like her ego boost had expired right at the moment when she needed it most. That said, she couldn’t just turn and walk away now.

Gathering as much of her own courage as she could, Mel took deep breaths.

Before she could stop herself, she reached up and tapped her knuckles against the door.

One, two, three quick, light knocks. Immediately, she heard someone walk to answer.

Inhaling sharply, Mel raised her head up high.

Only to deflate the moment the door opened.

"Hm? Oh, Mel. Greetings."

It was not Lianna who answered, but her fiance instead.

Now that the door was open, Mel could hear another sound in addition to that of the TV. The shower in the nearby bathroom.

"I take it you are for Lianna?"

Mel was too stunned to answer. She’d forgotten that, unlike her, Lianna actually had a roommate. She hadn’t considered this to even be a possible outcome.

Cold, grey eyes stared back into Mel’s purples. Eventually, Mel said:

"Y-Yes, I... Wanted to..."

She choked up a bit.

[I’m so nervous all of a sudden.]

"She’s taking a shower at the moment," Enverna replied before Mel could string any further words together. "You are welcome to wait for her. We have pizza."

Mel had no intention of doing that, though. Now that her newfound confidence had vanished, all that was left was the aching desire to retreat.

"N-No, I’ll just... I’ll just go."

"Ah, I see. By the way," Enverna looked Mel up and down.

Her thin, pale lips curled up into a polite smile.

"You look wonderful."

And Mel just walked away the instant she heard that.

"Hm?" She heard Enverna say in the background. "Um, goodnight! Did I say something wrong?"

As Mel marched up to her own room, her heart all but caved in on itself.

She left like that for one simple reason. Something that was apparent from the moment Enverna opened that door.

That woman, Lianna’s fiance, had been dressed in pajamas. Her blue-white hair wasn’t combed at all, looking wild like she’d just stepped out of bed. For the first and probably the last time, Mel had even more makeup on her face than Enverna had.

And yet, although Mel was as polished and proper as she’d ever been, and Enverna looked like she’d just woken up after 12 hours of deep sleep...

... Enverna still looked better.

As she reached her door, Mel planted her forehead against it, all of her energy leaving her body as she made a sudden realization.

[... I can’t compete with that.]