Ball of Nothing

Chapter 380 Bonus Revenge on Truen

When Zero said that he was going to make Truen payback for the ’favour’, he meant every word of it. The archer wasn’t against accompanying Zero on a shopping trip but the foreboding feeling since morning became even worse when he saw where Zero was taking them to.

The clothing store was every man’s nightmare and Truen was no exception. When he saw the kind of clothes Zero was looking at, he melted a little on the inside. It was true that Zero would look good in almost anything and it was his duty to take pictures when Zero tried on new clothes and send it to the group chat with the onion union.

HOWEVER!

It was a different matter when Zero made Truen try on clothes.

Because Zero made them look similar, Truen understood the dangers of having an androgynous face. Zero looked great as a female and by default, so would Truen.

"Truen! Check this out! Isn’t it cute?" he asked in a sickly sweet voice that made all of Truen’s fingers cringe and die.

As if sensing a very powerful foe standing behind him, Truen slowly turned and his eyes landed on the most obnoxious piece of fabric he had ever seen in his life - a pink dress.

This legendary pink dress was a boss monster worn by only the most elegant and cutest ladies of ages between fourteen to eighteen. Truen wasn’t sure how old he was but he knew for a fact that this boss monster would completely obliterate his masculine pride forever if Zero were to make him try it.

Looking into his best friend’s eyes, Zero was going to make him wear it. In fact, the doctor’s eyes were smiling even though he looked very happy on the surface. Those eyes were staring right into his soul, daring him to refuse. Truen knew that this time, Zero was serious.

They were locked in a stalemate for a long time and to the outsiders, it looked as if the younger sister was asking for an opinion if the dress would look good on her while the older brother was caught in a dilemma about how he should answer her. Only the shopkeeper, an elderly dwarf, knew what the fight was about.

The elderly lady moved away from the siblings. They were the rumoured esteemed envoys from Magnus Hilda and although she didn’t know if it was a custom of the elves to make their brothers wear dresses, she didn’t want any trouble in her shop. Most clothes sold here were brought in by merchants who travelled and it was one of the only shops in the city that carried clothes of all styles and sizes. Most other clothing shops only had dwarven sized clothes.

Truen glanced around the shop, trying to find an alternative. The dress that Zero chose was too terrifying. Then, he found a black dress that looked like a robe. Deciding to jump on that lifeline, Truen pointed at it.

"I think that one looks better," he told Zero and didn’t meet his eyes.

From outside the shop, those who had been watching the situation gasped in shock and some shook their heads in sympathy. All men who had wives and sisters naturally knew that doing that was synonymous to a suicidal move. As expected, Zero wasn’t very happy and it showed.

"Is that so?" his voice was now cold and the dwarves outside settled for a good show. "In that case, I will wear this and you can wear that. Ma’am, could you help my brother try on that dress? He likes it better."

Outside the shop, seven dwarves shook their heads in sympathy. Poor Truen who had offended his sister was now receiving divine punishment. Perhaps their mother never taught him why it was important not to disagree with a lady but thinking about the siblings’ background, they probably didn’t have a mother to teach them things. Feeling sorry for the poor older brother, the seven dwarfs discussed among themselves who should go to cheer the brother up.

Truen and the shopkeeper entered the changing room and Zero grinned in satisfaction. He fashioned the communicator into a broach and pinned it to his chest so that he would have a great angle captured once Truen made his debut in the black dress.

Truen didn’t disappoint and looked very much like a taller version of Zero once he had the dress on. Although his hair was shorter and only reached his shoulders, Zero thought that Truen actually looked rather pretty if it wasn’t for the defined muscles on his arms. The archer was handsome as a male elf and was beautiful as a female elf. Zero felt that he had lost somehow simply because people tend to call him cute when he was in his male form.

Truen didn’t know that Zero had already recorded an image of him in a black dress making his debut. He only prayed that nobody else would be watching and was embarrassed enough when the old lady helped him change into the dress, complimenting how good his figure was. As a man, there was nothing to be happy about when someone said that he had a good waistline.

"It’s my turn, wait here. Once I’m out we should take some pictures, I want to commemorate wearing something so pretty," Zero beamed, forgiving Truen almost completely now that he had seen Truen suffering.

He hopped into the changing room to try on the pink gown. Pink wasn’t a colour that many people with dark skin could pull off easily. The contrast was too great against Zero’s black hair but nobody corrected him. When Zero was determined to do something, nobody could stop him.

Once the doctor disappeared, one of the seven dwarves quickly ran into the shop and tapped on Truen’s elbow. "Young man," he said. "Just a word of advice, with girls you should never tell them that the dress they chose or the shoes or bags they like looked bad even if it is true. Save yourself the punishment, all that matters is that she’s happy with her decision. If your sister wants a pink dress, let her have it and don’t argue with her. You might not have a mother to teach you this but it’s not too late to learn. We learnt it the hard way from our wives so we’re passing on the message. Good luck and don’t mess it up again."

With that, the dwarf returned to his friends to spy on the siblings from across the street. Truen didn’t know what just happened but clearly there was a misunderstanding somewhere. Zero wasn’t the kind of person who cared about it. Regardless of what he did today, Truen would be the one getting punished either way. It was payback for making Zero meet the King and listen to him brag about his daughter for four hours.

Yet, for some reason, Zero caught the attention of people around him when he came out of the dressing room. The old lady cooed and complimented Zero for looking like a doll and Truen wanted to kill all the men with wandering eyes, staring at his best friend, especially the seven dwarves across the street who gave him advice. He had temporarily forgotten that he was in a dress as well when he shielded Zero from the view outside.

"Take it off, we’re leaving. Don’t wear this ever again, it’s disgraceful!" Truen scolded and Zero frowned.

"Nothing is wrong with this, I look good in it! Besides, we haven’t taken a picture."

Truen sighed in defeat. "We can take that picture in the changing room but you’re not wearing this out of the shop. It’s too revealing at the thighs and the cutting is too low on the top. You’re attracting bad attention."

Zero blinked and laughed. He agreed with it that the dress was a tad too flattering but he simply wanted to try a new style to see if it suited him. "I understand. Let’s take the picture then get out of here, shall we?"

With that, Truen agreed and Zero laughed to himself. Revenge was sweet when served on an unexpected platter.