078: Shopping

December 9, 2020 - 7 minutes read - 1422 words

“Al, we’re leaving the royal capital tomorrow, ok?” Nord

“Really? So we’re going straight back to Koriat Village, right?” Al

While eating breakfast at the inn, a comment from my father woke me from my stupor. Yesterday, I watched the Dragon Slayer play and located various prime locations to use Transfer magic so I could return to the royal capital.

The royal capital has an incredible variety of items, foods, and shops. At the same time, it was draining and I wanted to go back to peaceful Koriat Village. I’m still just a visitor here, this isn’t my home.

“Oh, that’s right” Elna

“Yes, finally” Nord

It seems I’m not the only family member who wants to go back home. Even after the aristocratic exchange party wrapped up, the two of them were busy visiting various parties and houses in the following days. Nord was the desired guest, but I was dragged along on some occasions. When I was brought along, I stuck close to my mother. If you aren’t a person of interest, you can get away with sitting quietly in the back of a tea party.

“Yes, we don’t have to attend any more tea parties for a while!” Nord

The Slowlette family rarely participate in tea parties in the royal capital since we are located far away from the city. Because of that, when Nord visits the royal capital, he is inundated by invitations of aristocrats who want to make connections. Even though we’re countryside nobles, we’re become one of the richest families of our rank.

“That’s why I’ve packed most of my luggage, so we can go shopping today.” Elna

“shopping?” Al

“Are you shopping?!” Mina

Mina, the bad maid, drowned out my question excitedly. She’s different from Sarah, who was quietly picking up the dishes.

“Is it fine for me and Sarah to shop today?!” Mina

Mina approaches Nord with an excited tone. When Sarah heard Mina, she turned and listened expectedly. How cute.

“Of course it’s fine. You can spend today freely.” Nord

“Yay!” Mina

Mina is please to have a day off based on her response. Her atmosphere is so innocent that it’s pleasing. For some reason, everyone looked at me and sighed. What?

“So what do we need to buy?” Al

It seems weird for Nord to go shopping, since he never shows any desire to do it.

“Bartolo asked me for a magical tool, plus I need to pick up some clothes. My training clothes are nearly worn out. Also souvenirs for everybody.” Nord

Oh, I’m sure Bartolo wanted the new Fire Magic tool. I heard it was made for cooking. I thought about trying to see it earlier, but I forgot. Nord is currently in a fierce discussion with Elna about clothes. He wants to reduce the number of stops.

“I came to the royal capital, but I haven’t been able to shop at my own pace. I want to visit some shops.” Elna

I guess it’s not so bad to go shopping with my family on the last day. Anyway, do I need to get souvenirs? I thought I could come back with Transfer magic, but I feel like if I come back empty-handed, Eleanora would get angry. I should also get a gift for Emma, I need a gift for her continued support. Thor? I’ll find him a rusty sword, he’d be happy with that.

We went to the west boulevard to visit the shops. There’s many shops selling on the expensive side. It’s not as secure as the aristocratic district, but there’s plenty of people with nice clothes and knights patrolling.

“The weather is nice today” Nord

“Oh, right. Why not sing a song on a nice day…” Al

“I’ve never heard you sing. Remember to not mix up fantasy with reality.” Nord

When I tried to tease him, my father’s smile turned eerie with a strange pressure. How does he give off such an impression while wearing a smile?

“Wow, there are many luxury stores” Sarah

“That’s right” Elna

“Sarah sounds happy to have the day off” Mina

“Well, that’s right. I’m off now” Sarah

I feel like that’s the first time I’ve heard Sarah talk casually for a while. When she’s in the mansion, she always uses a polite manner of speech. When I was a baby, she used a calming manner of speech. It seems that Mina and Sarah are unfamiliar with the capital, so they’ll be going around with us for the morning.

“Are you listening? Al?” Nord

“Yes, I’m listening. I can hear you” Al

On the other side of Nord, Elna was seriously checking out the window displays of the stores.

“Mother! Nord said you would look good in that outfit!” Al

“Oh, really? Let’s go there!” Elna

When I point to a suitable clothing retailer, Elna pulls Nord into to.

“Al?!” Nord

“It’ll be fine, there’s mens clothes in there too.” Al

“Hey, Al is coming too!” Elna

I thought it would just be the two of them, but Elna came back to grab me as well.

“Huh? I’m fine with Silvio’s hand-me-downs!” Al

“What are you talking about? We have money for your clothes, don’t make us out to be so poor!” Elna

“Ah!” Al

In the end, Nord and I were dragged by Elna into a clothing store.

“Dad?” Al

It seems there is no reaction. Nord seems to have lost his spirit. When I looked into his face, I see dead eyes. Has it only been two hours since we entered the first clothing store? Nord and I are so exhausted we’re sitting limply on a bench. It seems the practices around women shopping stays the same world to world. If you look around, you can find other male victims.

When I think back to when I was waiting for Eric, the young man sitting with me on the bench had a lot of luggage. His expression was weary, his girlfriend must have been shopping. Let’s forgive him on the argument.

I’m still only seven years old, so my body is still growing quickly. I just need to get some clothes that are easy to move in and comfortable. There was a while that Elna and a female clerk were using me as a dress-up doll, but that didn’t take too long. Apparently I’m a good fit for clothes for farmers and the general public. I’m just a kid, so if it fits, I’m good.

Unfortunately, Nord was a better clothes model. It seems the clerk was a fan of Nord, and when she learned he didn’t normally dress up, she shouted ‘I’m sorry’ and called in another clerk. Apparently, the two clerks and Elna thought that if they found the right clothes, Nord would want to dress up more often. Nord was forced to try on many clothes, all of which looked great on him.

I was free during the Nord fashion show, so I ran out to buy souvenirs for Silvio at a neighboring bookstore. I also grabbed adventure and detective books for me, with a Dragon Slayer book or two for fun. I’ll read them all carefully when I get back home. Even after taking my time at the bookstore, the fashion show was still going on when I got back.

After his fashion show was over, Nord was observing Elna trying-on clothes now. He was able to make the right choices to the Elna’s ‘Which do you prefer?’ question. They must have good communication in their relationship, I would have guessed the opposite choices. If I was in Nord’s place, I would have made Elna angry rather than happy. It’s difficult to understand women’s clothes.

At that point we were finally able to leave the clothes store. The clerks bowed as they saw us off. It seems our clothes will be sent to our inn, I wonder how many were bought? Even so, it’s scary that it took us two hours for just the first shop, can I go back to the inn now?

“Dad, it’s finally over” Al

“Oh, it is over” Nord

I shake Nord’s shoulders, he realized we’re leaving the shop and stands up. He seems drained somehow.

“Next, we’ll go to the store over there! We’ll need to get accessories there!” Elna

My mother beckoned all of us across the street into another store. Nord and I are dispirited at this revelation.

“Al, we have to follow” Nord

“Oh” Al

Nord and I stood up and headed to the next store.