Editing City Series:Volume1 Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 5===

It was 12:51 PM.

The factory’s office was surprisingly large. Six simple but large desks were lined up to form a rectangle and two old but large stoves were installed by the wall. The factory was cold during the winter.

Else brushed a hand through her hair in front of the mirror near the office entrance.

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She had just gone to the trouble of washing her hair with the water heater in the break room and she was wiping the sweat from her body with a towel.

She had needed to do that before changing in the office.

Her work uniform was folded on top of one of the break room chairs. The lack of curtains on the window had bothered her when she had removed it, but the stoves had fogged up the window.

“And I doubt anyone’s stupid enough to peep.”

She sounded almost disappointed as she put on the stockings balled up in her hand and looked to the desk behind her. She had brought a change of clothes along with the submachine gun and other daily necessities.

She unfolded the clothes and put on a blouse with puffy shoulders. Her damp hair caught on the hard collar.

“Maybe I should get it cut again,” she muttered while looking back in the mirror. “Why isn’t there a mirror big enough to see my entire body?”

…''Well, I guess there wouldn’t be one in a factory.

With that thought, she reached for the rest of the clothes on the table.

They were all a sandy yellow color because that was the color worn by an explorer she had seen in an old magazine.

“Now, then.”

She grabbed the skirt first. The waist was long. It used two belts to keep it tight around the area from just below her chest to the bottom of her abdomen.

She spread it out and suddenly remembered something.

She recalled what Gaston often said to her when complaining.

“ ‘You childish girl.’ ”

…''That may be true.

She nodded.

She was about to board a ship and pick a fight with the military. Having a skirt fluttering around as she did so would be careless. There were better and more functional outfits to wear into battle that would let her move more easily.

But…

“I am a woman. Why should I dress like I’m not?”

That was right.

She had not chosen this outfit because she was not taking this seriously or because she was joking around.

She had chosen it and brought it with her because it was the outfit she thought fit her the best.

“Don’t worry.”

There was nothing to worry about and no reason to be nervous.

Soon, she had to soar up into the sky and fight.

The night before last, she had made a promise to the young man who had said he wanted to fight even as he hesitated.

“We’ll be waiting for you up in the sky.”

He had responded just before leaving.

“I will definitely make it to where you all are.”

She was certain they could both keep their promises.

“This will settle it.”

She nodded and put on the skirt.

She put the two belts around her waist and stepped back. The mirror only showed her upper body, but she brought her waist into view by moving away and stretching upwards. She then tightened the belts.

After retightening them two or three times, she took a breath.

She slowly reached for the pocket of the shirt sitting on the table.

“Can I do it right?”

She tilted her head as she picked up the object in the pocket.

It was pale lipstick.