Seeing the five girls having difficulty moving with their baggy clothes, Axel decided to help them out straight from the kindness of his heart.
He went through the shop, mercilessly tapping the "buy" option for a few children's clothes, and took a breath of satisfaction.
"Now, since you're the one who made them like this, you take responsibility and help them change!" And he quickly passed the clothes he bought to Teruria beside him. "And this one's for you. You're required to wear it unless you don't want to participate in the zombie defense!"
"Ehh...?"
Teruria looked disgruntled at first. However, after checking out the clothes she was supposed to wear, the light in her eyes changed. "Alright, I got it! Hey, kids~! Who wants to wear fancy dresses? Those interested, follow me~!"
"YES~!"
And almost without a second thought, she dragged all the little girls into one of the prefab homes. Of course, she made sure to close the window curtains before they began changing, making sure that Axel didn't have a "lucky" encounter!
"Hmm..."
But of course, he had no intentions of peeking anyway. Unlike their actual forms, their kids' version wasn't much to look at, anyway. Of course, Teruria was a different case altogether, but it's not like he's that dried up that he'd do anything just to sneak a peek.
Rather, he was waiting patiently for them to come out, pacing back and forth and tapping his legs against the ground.
"We're out~!"
About half an hour later, Teruria's voice finally echoed loudly as she opened the door.
"And let me present to you, the cute little angels~!"
"Oh...!"
Of course, as she spoke to introduce the girls, Axel got a good look at her figure. Her "costume" that Axel bought was quite simple—perfect for a shortstack like her: a Gothic Lolita outfit!
It had more fabric than her witch outfit, but generally, they looked the same, especially the color scheme. No, in fact, Teruria herself liked this even more than her witch outfit!
After her, the five girls came out one after another.
The first one to come out was Eve, energetic and smiling happily, as if she hadn't gotten injured just a while ago. She wore a simple costume of a yellow starfish, revealing only her face. Since the costume matched her blonde hair, it didn't look weird at all!
The next one to come out was Beatrix.
Although smaller, you could still distinguish her dignity from her appearance... if not for the fluffy paw and feet costumes she wore. She looked like a pink poodle, matching her pink hair and pink dog-ear accessory.
Then, there's Cherry up next. Hers was simple... too simple, in fact. To match her green hair, she wore a glittery dress and a pair of semi-transparent butterfly wings on her back. Adding a little magic wand to her hand, she looked like a forest fairy that got lost in a wasteland.
Then, there's Maria. Her costume was the most complicated among everyone else. To be brief but specific, she got the "secretary attire" set—a pair of black and white clothes that should look better worn as an adult than as a child. But weirdly, it didn't feel too out of place on her!
Her brown hair adding to the color scheme and keeping the contrast could be one reason, but definitely, her fake glasses did the heavy lifting.
Finally, there's Arianne who... became a giant, ripe banana. She actually looked like that specific mascot in some children's show long ago, making Axel feel a chuckle rising to his throat. After all, he bought this one simply as a joke! He gave props to Arianne, who wore it like a pro; however, moving around as if her attire was the easiest to move in, despite being the complete opposite.
"Mnn!" Axel nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "My choices... are perfect!"
Now that he got his fill of cute and funny things, he felt his stress level—which was slowly building up from all his mishaps—suddenly disappear.
"Ah, with this, I can fight for another day..."
"You're exaggerating~"
And just like that, the five little girls returned to playing, chasing each other around. Only Teruria stayed by Axel's side and grinned. "So, I can keep this dress, right~?"
"...Consider it a gift."
He did assume this princess would refuse to wear such a costume, so her willingly changing into it really did surprise him. Axel just convinced himself that this dress was the payment for seeing her Goth Loli attire in person.
"Anyway, we should start preparing now."
They had no time to waste. After all, now that the girls were out of commission, he had to train others to use the ballista from scratch once more.
Just as he turned to Teruria, about to ask for her help—
His stomach let out a loud booing.
"...But first, let's go have our lunch."
And he decided so.
...
Angela's prepared lunch wasn't good, but it wasn't that bad either.
"I-I just don't know the ingredients well, so it didn't work properly. Next time, I promise to do better!" Or so she said herself.
Of course, Axel didn't really blame her. It wasn't her fault that Maria and Cherry, who were supposed to cook, had turned into little girls. Rather, he was feeling gratitude toward her, who tried her best to do her part.
"..."
Compared to her, the other women didn't even look like they were alive.
They simply existed and used the resources of the camp, that's all.
"This can't continue..." Axel sighed. "I can't tolerate being looked down on the most..."
He did receive the girls into the camp thanks to his quest, but that didn't mean he would let them stay. After all, he didn't have a quest that required them to stay, anyway. Just like with the bandits, as soon as he's done with the slaying quest, then he doesn't need "useless" hands on deck!
As such, Axel walked before the resting women's group and stood menacingly.
"Alright, listen up!"
He eyed each of them, reading their faces.
All of them did look thin and unreliable.
Some looked like they'd kick the bucket if they were forced to hold a weapon. However, despite their lethargy, within their gazes, the flame of wanting to survive—their desire to live—didn't fade.
"If you want to become a part of this camp, you need to do your fair share of work!" Axel grinned. "No matter what your situation is, I don't care. I'm not running a charity here!"
Their expressions changed quickly—from indifference, to sadness, then fear. Axel gauged their expressions well.
At the moment that anxiety filled their expressions, he took out a stack of weapons and a pair of gloves. He pulled them on, tightening them around his wrists, and declared:
"If you want to stay here, if you want to fight against fate, then pick a weapon!"
As if an evangelist introducing someone to a new religion, he tried to be over the top and spread his hands wide. Theatrical, but easily able to tug on others' heartstrings.
"And as long as you're willing to fight for the camp, I will never let you die!"
Of course, Axel still had no idea right then…
That this little self-preservation idea he implanted in them would later lead to making the strongest, devoted, women-only knight order in the world.