Chapter 581 - 577 – LOSING ONESELF IN THE SHOPPING DISTRICT AND THE TRUE GIRL’S SOUL

Zenith District, the most prestigious and exclusive shopping center in the entire Holy Capital Tianhua, was an architectural masterpiece that blended high-level magical wonders with unmatched artistic aesthetics. The streets in this district were not made of ordinary stone, but of pure white marble that radiated a warm light from within, ensuring that not even the tiniest speck of dust could settle. On the right and left of the road, crystal trees whose leaves chimed when blown by the wind emitted the calming scent of spring blossoms.

This was where high-ranking nobles, leaders of giant trade guilds, and elders of major sects spent their wealth. However, today, even those capital elites had to step aside and clear the way when the Tianhua Kingdom security convoy passed through.

Hua Zhaoyue, the First Princess, stepped down from her luxurious limousine together with Sylvia, followed by Sol and Noir who walked casually in their cat forms. The moment their feet touched the white marble, Zhaoyue turned toward her female Knight Commander.

"All of you, fall back," Zhaoyue ordered in a tone that brooked no refusal. "Wait at the district border. I do not want any guards following us within a five-hundred-meter radius."

The Commander looked surprised and hesitant. "B-But, Your Highness the First Princess, your safety..."

"I am together with Miss Sylvia," Zhaoyue cut in quickly, glancing at the black-haired girl beside her with a faint smile. "Do you doubt the strength of a Rank 7 Tamer? Besides, this is my private time with a friend. I do not want the atmosphere to become stiff because you are lining up behind me like breathing statues. Go."

Hearing the word "friend," Sylvia slightly raised her eyebrows, yet she did not object. She only smiled faintly toward the guards, allowing a tiny fragment of her aura pressure to leak out. The knights immediately swallowed hard, broke into cold sweat, and bowed respectfully before withdrawing in orderly fashion. They knew that standing beside Sylvia was far safer than being guarded by an entire battalion of elite royal troops.

"There, much better!" Zhaoyue clapped her hands lightly, her expression instantly brightening as she cast aside the authoritative mask of the First Princess. She looked at Sylvia with sparkling eyes like a child being taken to an amusement park for the first time. "Come on, Sylvia! Let’s start from the Aura Celestia Boutique! I heard they just received a supply of Cloud Silk from the Peak of Spirit Mountain, and their head designer has just released a summer dress collection!"

Without waiting for further agreement, Zhaoyue boldly and very naturally linked arms with Sylvia, pulling her into the sea of luxurious shops lining the street. The sudden touch made Sylvia slightly startled, yet seeing the cheerful laughter and pure enthusiasm on Zhaoyue’s face, Sylvia could not help but smile along.

The moment they stepped through the entrance of Aura Celestia, a wind chime rang melodiously. The boutique’s interior resembled a fairy palace more than a clothing store. Dresses floated in the air without mannequins, slowly rotating to display the beauty of their cuts and glitter under crystal lights. There was silk that looked like woven starlight, velvet fabric that changed color according to the viewing angle, and thin robes that seemed woven from morning dew.

The boutique owner, an elegant middle-aged woman named Madame Seraphina, immediately ran to welcome them and nearly tripped over her own dress when she realized who had arrived.

"Y-Your Highness Princess Zhaoyue! And... oh my goodness! What an extraordinary honor for this humble boutique to be visited by the two of you!" Madame Seraphina bowed deeply.

"No need for formality, Madame," Zhaoyue said casually, waving her hand. "Close this boutique to other customers while we are here. We want to see your entire Cloud Silk collection, and please also bring out the Red Moonstone jewelry. Miss Sylvia here needs something that matches the color of her eyes."

In less than five minutes, the boutique door had been locked, a Closed sign hung outside, and every attendant in the shop was mobilized to serve the two girls. Dozens of racks of luxurious clothing were pushed into the VIP fitting room whose size rivaled the living room of a mansion.

And it was at this point that a strange miracle began to occur.

As time passed, dress after dress was tried on. Sylvia, who had initially only intended to accompany, suddenly found herself sucked into an intense shopping frenzy.

"Sylvia, look at this!" Zhaoyue emerged from behind the fitting-room curtain, wearing a maroon dress with a high thigh slit that revealed her long, milk-white legs. The dress featured golden dragon embroidery details on the chest. "What do you think? Is this too flashy for an afternoon tea party?"

Sylvia, who was sitting on a velvet sofa with a bored-looking Sol on her lap, examined Zhaoyue carefully. She tilted her head, weighing the matter. "The color is good, it highlights your skin. But the collar cut is too stiff, making your neck look shorter. Besides, for a tea party, that dragon embroidery is too aggressive. You look like you want to invite people to war instead of drinking tea. Try the ice-blue silk dress on the third rack."

Hearing that sharp and honest criticism, Zhaoyue’s eyes actually widened before she laughed brightly. There was no anger or offense on her face. On the contrary, she looked extremely relieved and happy.

Throughout her life as the First Princess, Zhaoyue had lived in a golden cage filled with falsehood. Every time she asked about her appearance, the servants, ladies-in-waiting, and other nobles would only give her empty praise. ’Perfect, Your Highness,’ ’There is no one more beautiful than you, Your Highness,’ ’That dress seems as if it was created by the gods especially for you.’ Those empty sweet words always made Zhaoyue sick.

But Sylvia was different. Sylvia did not care about her status as the First Princess. Sylvia looked at her as an ordinary girl, criticized the dress because it truly did not suit her, and offered suggestions like a true friend. That unfiltered honesty was the most precious thing to Zhaoyue right now.

"You’re right!" Zhaoyue giggled while covering her mouth. "This dragon embroidery really is too much. Wait a moment, I’ll try the ice-blue one!"

A short while later, it was Sylvia’s turn to be pushed into the fitting room by Zhaoyue. When Sylvia emerged, she was wearing an off-shoulder silver-black dress made from Night Silk material, a rare fabric that absorbed light and emitted a starry sheen. The dress hugged her perfect curves perfectly, highlighting her slender waist and smooth shoulders.

Zhaoyue covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "My goodness, Sylvia... you are so beautiful! That dress truly brings out your mysterious and elegant aura. We must buy it! Ah, wait, the necklace doesn’t match. Attendant! Bring the Sea Tear Sapphire jewelry set!"

Unconsciously, hour after hour passed. They completely forgot their respective identities. Inside that room, there was no dreaded Queen of Death, no absolute Rank 7 Beast Tamer, and no First Princess of the Tianhua Kingdom who bore the burden of the throne and political intrigue. There were only two young girls teasing each other, laughing freely, trying on dozens of outfits, and gossiping about trivial things.

On one side, Zhaoyue felt a happiness she had never experienced before. She had a friend. A real friend she could hold hands with, argue with about shoe colors, and laugh with until her stomach hurt. The heavy invisible crown on her head simply evaporated.

On the other side, Sylvia was experiencing a very unique inner turmoil.

As she stood in front of a three-meter-tall large mirror, gazing at her reflection wearing a beautiful dress studded with small magical gems, accompanied by Zhaoyue who was busy choosing a hairpin for her, Sylvia suddenly fell silent. Her thoughts drifted for a moment.

Amazing, Sylvia marveled at herself inwardly. I... I am truly enjoying this.

In the past, in her previous life before the zombie apocalypse, she had been a man. She remembered how bored she had been when she had to accompany female friends shopping. Waiting for hours in front of the fitting room, watching women try on clothes that to a man’s eyes ’all looked the same,’ had been a mental torture for him at that time.

But now? Now, when Zhaoyue asked whether a magenta or fuchsia ribbon would better match her crystal high heels, Sylvia’s brain quickly and enthusiastically analyzed the color compatibility, texture, and fashion trends, then gave a very passionate answer.

When she saw the row of handbags studded with spatial gemstones, there was a strong urge in her chest to collect them all. When she sniffed the magical perfume offered by the attendant, she carefully distinguished its top notes and base notes. She liked the touch of silk fabric on her skin, she liked the glitter of jewelry that beautified her neck, and most importantly, she greatly enjoyed the moments of togetherness and laughter among fellow girls.

Sylvia touched her chest, feeling her heart beating cheerfully. A soft, pure, and peaceful smile rose on her porcelain face.

Ah, I understand now, Sylvia thought with an extraordinary sense of relief. The remnants of my former male ego, which sometimes still liked to appear when seeing beautiful women, were merely leftover memories from the past that had not fully faded. But my soul... the essence of my current existence... has completely merged into that of a girl.

There was no more rejection. There was no more identity crisis that sometimes quietly confused her. Amid this pile of dresses, high-heeled shoes, and magical cosmetics, Sylvia finally reached total reconciliation with herself. She liked shopping. She liked beautiful things. She liked being a girl.

In fact, if Sofia, her beloved empress, were here right now, Sylvia might pull her into the fitting room and dress her up completely. Imagining Sofia wearing these beautiful dresses made Sylvia’s smile even wider.

"Sylvia! Why are you spacing out while smiling by yourself?" Zhaoyue called, breaking her reverie. The princess held two rose-shaped hair ornaments made of red crystal. "Hurry and choose, the one with fully bloomed petals or the half-bloomed one? I think the half-bloomed one suits your black hair better!"

"I’ll take both," Sylvia answered casually, her laughter bursting out. "Today, I’m treating my share. Don’t you dare refuse, Zhaoyue."

Hearing her name called directly without the titles ’Your Highness’ or ’Princess,’ Zhaoyue’s eyes trembled slightly from warm emotion, before she nodded firmly with the widest smile she had ever shown in her life. "Alright! But at the shoe store across the street, it’ll be my turn to treat you!"

And so, the chaos in the shopping district began.

The two of them were like a storm that swept clean the elite shops. From the dress boutique, they moved to the magical artifact jewelry store, then to the shoe store whose soles were made of solid clouds, stopped by the alchemical cosmetics shop that could care for skin down to the cellular level, and even bought holy sheepskin blankets for Sol and Noir.

Speaking of Sol and Noir, those two great dragons feared across various dimensions were now experiencing a very tragic fate. Although Sylvia and Zhaoyue possessed Spatial Rings with mountain-sized capacity, for some reason the unwritten law of ’girls’ shopping activities’ required someone or something to physically hold the shopping bags for the sensation of satisfaction.

As a result, Sol in his golden cat form and Noir in his black cat form now walked unsteadily behind the two girls. Their small bodies were piled with dozens of luxury-designed shopping bags hung on their backs and necks using light gravity magic.

"Master, I am a Golden Dragon... why must I become a pack horse for cosmetic bags?" Sol complained through telepathy, his ears drooping limply.

"Shut up, glowing lizard," Noir replied, suffering the same fate, his eyes staring blankly ahead. "At least the bags I’m carrying contain top-quality dried monster meat. You’re carrying a large box of hairpins. Accept your fate. Don’t let the Queen hear you complaining, or we’ll be turned into display statues in front of this shop."

Sol could only sigh in resignation, lower his head, and continue walking after his mistress, who was busy pointing at a crystal candy shop at the end of the street.

Toward evening, the sky of the Holy Capital Tianhua began to change color into a stunning gradient of orange, gold, and purple. The setting sun’s light reflected on the giant crystal pillars supporting the floating island, creating a view that felt magical.

Sylvia and Zhaoyue finally decided to stop for a while. They sat side by side on a long bench made of Life Tree wood in the garden at the edge of the shopping district border. In each of their hands was a giant crepe, an elite street food whose batter was mixed with fairy flower nectar and filled with snow berry ice cream.

They ate heartily, forgetting all royal etiquette that required a princess to eat in small bites. A bit of cream even stuck to the corner of Zhaoyue’s lips, which she immediately wiped while laughing softly.

"This... hah, I’m so tired, but this is the most enjoyable day of my life," Zhaoyue said, leaning her body against the back of the bench while gazing at the evening sky. She turned to look at Sylvia, her eyes conveying deep sincerity. "Thank you, Sylvia. For treating me like... an ordinary person."

Sylvia, who was putting the last piece of her crepe into her mouth, also looked at Zhaoyue. The cool evening breeze gently blew her black hair, making her look like a goddess who had stepped out of a painting.

"Don’t thank me for something trivial," Sylvia replied softly, a sincere smile adorning her lips. She realized that she was equally happy. Spending the day as an ordinary girl without thinking about war, mutations, zombies, or her responsibilities as Queen of Nocture was a truly refreshing oasis for her soul.

"Besides," Sylvia continued while crossing her legs gracefully, "shopping alone is boring. From now on, whenever you need a friend to escape from royal affairs, just look for me. But remember, if you choose clothes in a color that makes you look like a clown, I won’t hesitate to insult you, Zhaoyue."

Hearing that joking threat, Zhaoyue laughed freely, her laughter carried by the peaceful evening wind. "Of course! And I’ll return your criticism just as ruthlessly!"

Sitting there, surrounded by the evening light and a mountain of shopping bags, two women with completely opposite backgrounds solidified their friendship. Not as the First Princess and the deadly Mysterious Tamer, but simply as two girls who had just conquered the shopping district and found true happiness in the simplicity of a friendship.