Nicole's thoughts and submissive magic (part 1)

'Time to cook! A nice lunch, huh?'

Let's see... I think I only made these for my brother years ago. I guess they turned out okay. The recipes were simple, but the good kind of simple. Actually, I think I enjoyed cooking a lot more back then... Anyway, let's get some white rice going before we start.

I dump some jasmine rice into a saucepan and wash it a few times until the water runs clear. I put it on high heat without stirring, waiting until some of the water evaporates and the bubbles reach the top. Then, I turn the heat down and cover the pan.

Next, I crack an egg, whisk it up with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt, and drizzle a little oil into a rectangular pan before putting it on the stove. My nose twitches as the fragrant aroma of heating oil and seasoned egg fills the kitchen. I place a turkey sausage on top and roll it up with the egg as soon as it's firm enough. Then I add another egg, roll it some more, slice it up... and done! Rolled omelets. I set them aside for now.

A little over ten minutes go by... I can hear the faint, steady bubbling under the lid die down to a soft hiss, so I turn off the burner under the rice. It's not time to take the lid off just yet, so I just let it sit.

Next up is a mix of flour, salt, water, an egg, garlic powder, black pepper, and chili powder. The sharp, savory smell of garlic hits me immediately, making my mouth water. I honestly can't even remember the exact measurements, but I've done this so many times that I just eyeball it. I grab some shrimp from the fridge. Luckily, I actually had the foresight to take them out of the freezer last night, hehe.

Let's get to work... pop the heads off, peel them, devein that nasty black stuff on their backs, dunk them in the batter, coat them in breadcrumbs, and drop them into the oil. My ears flick back a bit at the sharp, sizzling pop of the hot oil as the shrimp hit the pan, frying to a crisp golden perfection.

I uncover the rice, greeted by a warm cloud of fragrant steam, and give it a stir... yep, nice and fluffy.

Now for my favorite part! I grab a scoop of rice and shape it into little kittens. A couple of oval heads, two little ears on each one.

"Wait, we don't have any seaweed left for the faces and whiskers." I guess other toppings will have to do. Ooh, ham! Yeah, a little cut-up ham for the ears, and that's it!

'Should I have made foxes...? Nah, I'm not that narcissistic... today.'

Oh right, I need to pack all of this. I grab a lunch container and lay down a couple of lettuce leaves at the bottom, giving them a quick smell to make sure they're fresh and crisp. Then I arrange the rice kittens, the egg rolls, and the fried shrimp. It feels like it's missing something... ah, some avocado, a few pieces of broccoli, and the last cherry tomatoes from the fridge should do the trick.

"..."

It definitely looks like a meal you'd pack for a toddler, but whatever, it's cute. I'm not really hungry right now, but maybe I should have made a little extra for myself too. Oh well, maybe I'll just grab a bite with the elven sisters later.

I head back to my bedroom as soon as I finish cleaning up the kitchen. Alright, cooking is done; time to switch gears. But then... I realize that all the clothes we dragged out of my closet earlier are now completely buried under a mountain of underwear.

"Look, this is nostalgic," Nicole says, holding up a pair of... were they called open drawers? Split drawers? Huh, I think I actually wore those a long time ago.

"Oh... I remember those being comfortable, even if they were super loose and impractical."

"Comfortable? Mm... maybe under loose dresses. I definitely don't look back on them fondly. Honestly, the same goes for pretty much all clothes before Canola came along."

'Should I ask?' I really want to. I have absolutely no idea who or what Canola is, but she said it so casually that it's probably common knowledge around here. I don't want her getting annoyed at me for not knowing basic facts again.

"You have no idea who Canola is, do you?" She reads me like a book.

"... No, sorry. Is she someone important?"

"Well, technically no. I guess she's not that well-known, so don't worry about it."

"Okay, but then why did you drop her name like it was obvious I'd know her?"

"With how much you love buying and hoarding clothes, especially underwear, I just assumed you'd know. Anyway, let me sum it up for you. Canola is a reincarnated woman who survived Gregory's slaughter a hundred and fifty years ago."

... I really don't want her to scold me, so I'll just ask Sarisa later what the hell Gregory's slaughter was all about. 'Oh, I found a topic of conversation!' For now, I just try to keep my expression completely neutral.

"... I'll pretend I didn't just see those confused ears. Ugh, I forgot the entire story anyway. You should just ask her yourself if you ever meet her. Long story short, she was some kind of seamstress or designer, and she introduced a ton of new clothes to the world. Mostly women's underwear, backing it up with the help of the Carian royal family and a bunch of other nobles."

"Oh... so this highly esteemed holy woman is the one I need to thank for all these clothes?"

"More or less. It's not exactly practical gear for adventurers, knights, or anyone who needs actual protection in a fight, but it's great for everyday use."

"Huh... wait, two things. Did you say a hundred and fifty years ago? And you said I might still be able to meet her. Exactly how old is this woman?"

"... Again, I forgot her race. I didn't really care that much about it, to be honest. I just know she has big antlers on her head and pointy ears. Whatever she is, yeah, she's been around for over a century and a half."

"... Wow."

"Yeah."

"One more thing. What do knights actually wear under all that armor?"

"Hm? Well... normal clothes?"

"Don't they boil alive in there?"

"Ah, you mean full plate armor? I guess they wear light clothing. I'm not entirely sure. The vast majority of knights just wear gambesons or something similar since it's way more practical than full metal armor. Sometimes they'll wear chainmail underneath, but not much else. So yeah, if a knight catches an arrow while wearing a dress like yours, he's totally dead."

"... Thanks for the mental image. Then why have I only seen knights walking around in full plate?"

"I really doubt you have. You're probably thinking of the royal guards stationed at the castle gates or something. I guarantee you've walked past plenty of knights in town, they were just casually dressed in cloth armor or standard uniforms, so they didn't stand out to you."

"Huh..."

The conversation lulls for a second, and I stare at my bed. It's practically buried under a mountain of clothes, topped off with a thick layer of panties.

I know I went a little overboard with my shopping sprees, but... I don't even remember buying half the stuff here. There's literally every style imaginable. High-waisted briefs that I still haven't gotten around to cutting tail-holes for, cute boyshorts, standard hipsters, bikinis, cheeky cuts, thongs, seamless ones for tight dresses, lacy strings... and then the bras are an entirely different story. Underwire, wireless, plunge, push-up, balconette, strapless, sports bras, lacy bralettes, front-close ones, sheer mesh, silk, satin... okay, yeah, you get the point. 'I have a problem with compulsive shopping—I mean, I have a pretty versatile style! Yes. That.'

My room is an absolute disaster right now, but it's getting late. I'll just clean this up later.

"Alright! Get naked and put these on," Nicole tells me.

"Hm?"

She holds up a light pink lace bralette in one hand, and... a matching pair of panties that, to the naked eye, are practically made entirely of lace.

Huh, bralettes. They're basically a cross between a sports bra and a normal bra. The lacy ones are actually pretty cute and comfortable, but I haven't worn them much. I guess they'd work well under a dress, though.

"Those look cute," I tell her.

"Right? You should really use this mess as an excuse to organize your closet better."

"Yeah... honestly, I was kind of expecting you to pick out something way more scandalous."

"Oh, trust me, I found plenty of those. Do you want to swap?"

"N-no, these are fine."

"Hehe, they look better on than you'd think. Go put them on."

I take off my clothes and slip both pieces on before turning to the mirror. Yes, very cute. I usually prefer a standard bra, but this bralette is comfortable in its own way. It offers a lot less support than I'm used to, not that I really need it anyway.

As for the panties... they walk a fine line between cute and spicy. They're surprisingly comfortable, too. What's this cut called again? Something close to a bikini? The sides have these intricate strappy details, and when I turn around... oh. They definitely leave half my butt entirely exposed, and the parts that are covered are just sheer floral lace.

I twirl around a few times, letting my tail sway freely... Hehe, I really like the look! But when I turn to ask Nicole for her opinion, I catch her wearing a wicked grin, her hand already raised in the air.

"... Why do you like spanking my butt so much?"

"Because it's a good butt."

"You're the one to talk." I glance pointedly at her wide hips.

"Bigger doesn't always mean better."

"Mhm, right, but yours is big and good. Anyway, didn't you say you were busy? Are you still dealing with that whole meteor situation from the other day?"

"Ugh, yeah. I should have been at the castle half an hour ago. Oh, wait, did I not tell you? It wasn't a meteor. It was a volcanic rock."

"What? So... some random volcano just launched a giant rock full of monsters all the way over here?"

"Apparently."

"You don't sound very sure," I point out as I slip my dress back on.

"Hey, I'm no volcano expert. But it's definitely a massive volcanic rock. Basalt-something, they called it."

"Huh. My geography might not be the best, but I'm pretty sure we only have small volcanoes in this country."

"Exactly. Wherever the volcano that spit this thing out is located, it has to be a supervolcano. Especially if the rocks it launched flew high enough to catch fire on the way down. The real problem is that there were no recorded tremors before the impact, no smoke clouds, no warnings from neighboring countries, nothing. Kind of suspicious, right?"

"... So you're telling me giant volcanic rocks full of monsters are just randomly appearing in the sky?"

"Pretty much."

"That is absolutely terrifying."

Could something like that happen again? I don't even want to think about it... Well, stressing over it won't do me any good. Those things didn't fall near my hometown, so I should probably focus on more urgent matters. At least, urgent for me.

'What on earth am I going to talk about with the elven sisters to make them actually like me?'