Chapter 28

"Tim, how about this?"

"Yes, it suits you."

The curtain opens, and Mina shows me her dress.

"Tim, h-how do I look?"

"It suits you very well."

Next, Olive shows me her blouse and skirt.

For a while now, the curtain of the fitting room in front of me has been opening, and Mina and Olive have been changing clothes and asking for my opinion.

I've been accompanying them on their shopping, but I've been asked for my opinion non-stop. Since this store seems to sell women's clothing and all the customers around me are women, I've been feeling a bit awkward with all the attention.

"Isn't it true that you've only been saying 'it suits you' this whole time?"

"You're right."

The curtain opens simultaneously, and the two of them stare at me.

"There's nothing I can do about it. It really does suit you."

"R-really?"

"Don't say that suddenly."

They hurriedly closed the curtain and retreated. I was just being honest, but they panicked and hid.

From the surrounding area, I hear whispers like, "I wonder which one is the real one?" Why is the conversation turning to this when I'm just accompanying them shopping?

I tilted my head and waited for them to come out.

"Thanks to Tim, I was able to buy some good clothes."

"Because you said they all suit me, I ended up buying too many."

After buying the clothes, we moved to a cafe. It seems to be a regular spot for Mina and Olive, but the place is filled with women.

We each ordered a cake set and relaxed.

"Still, we bought a lot, didn't we?"

On the empty chairs, there are several bags containing the clothes they bought.

"Being an adventurer can really mess with your sense of money."

"We need to earn more, don't we?"

Mina and Olive sighed deeply, reflecting on their actions.

The higher the rank of the adventurer, the deeper they can delve into the dungeon, and the more money it costs. The income is higher when they delve deeper, so with that in mind, they tend to make such extravagant purchases.

"Still, Tim, I'm sorry for making you accompany us shopping."

"No, it's fine..."

It's not a big deal to accompany them shopping. I didn't get bored watching them change, and while waiting, I was looking at my status screen and thinking.

"We need to make it up to you."

Olive said this and glanced at me. It seems like a good time to bring it up.

"If that's the case, there's something I want to ask..."

"Hmm, sure?"

Mina looked happy after eating her cake.

"It's about the support magic 'Up.' How do you manage the time and such?"

From what I tried earlier, it seems inevitable that the effect will wear off during combat. Even for me, managing it is difficult, so I'm curious about how Olive handles it.

"Hmm, well, I don't really use 'Up' that much."

"Really?"

"The 'Up' magic has a high effect, but it also consumes a lot of mana. If I use it frequently, I wouldn't have enough mana potions."

"I see..."

Indeed, if Olive uses 'Up,' it would be for the entire party, not just herself, which is a different situation from mine.

"Basically, each person is supposed to prepare their own potions. Mina and I try to avoid using potions and instead rest to recover our mana."

"Would you use it for boss battles?"

Mina caught on and listed the situations where Olive would use it. Indeed, I remember she didn't use it last time.

"By the way, Tim, you drink a lot of mana potions, don't you?"

"Well, yeah..."

"That explains why you're growing so fast... I've seen you casting a lot of spells in the fourth floor."

We've seen each other hunting in the fourth floor a few times and even greeted each other.

"Is that okay financially...?"

Olive asked, looking worried.

"I get a fair amount of magic stones, so I'm in the black."

Thanks to my increased luck, I can get as many magic stones as an average person.

"Getting back to the topic, does that mean you don't manage the time since you only use it for boss battles?"

I asked again about the management of the 'Up' magic...

"Well, that's true. But in case the battle drags on, there is a method."

"What kind of method?"

I asked Olive for her advice. In a boss battle, you need to focus, so there shouldn't be time to check the clock, yet there seems to be a way to control it.

"Up-type spells can be stacked. If you cast the same Up-type spell again roughly when the effect is about to wear off, you can continue the battle without exposing any gaps."

"I see, there's such a trick."

Even if I can't tell the exact time, this method should work. I was impressed by the technique Olive taught me...

"By the way, I don't remember telling you that I can use 'Up.' How did you know?"

"Ah... well, um..."

I smiled at Olive's question and somehow managed to dodge it.