Chapter LXXV (75)- Shopping Spree
“The stroke order is the other way,” Kizu instructed Anata. “Start from the top of the character, then work your way down. It both makes the presentation more elegant, and helps you remember the character better.”
Anata scowled down at her attempts at writing the Universal Script’s alphabet. Kizu didn’t think they looked that bad, all things considered. At the very least they were mostly legible, which was more than could be said for the calligraphy of some of his peers. However, even if she could write them, Anata still didn’t understand them all. It would take time.
The big issue with the Universal Script was how it was designed for reading, and not for pronunciation. As a result of its broad appeal, it lost the ease of translating speech into text. Only proper nouns (and the rare loan word) used a separate alphabet within the Universal Script designed for pronunciation. Despite its widespread use, he knew that less academically minded people never even bothered to learn the Universal Script, instead relying on the more archaic alphabets developed by their native languages. But Kizu never really understood why people stuck to the old scripts. While occasional newspapers and more locally produced texts sometimes used the local language, the Universal Script remained the most in use alphabet for anything intended to be read by a wide audience. It just seemed like stubbornness to not just learn the Universal Script.
Later that day Anata surprised him when she woke him from a nap with a poke, and then presented him with a message.
It read- Y har iz gren?
Kizu scanned it a couple times. There were lines in the wrong positions which could alter the meanings, but he thought he understood the gist of it.
“Why is my hair green?” Kizu asked, checking to make certain his interpretation was correct.
Anata nodded her confirmation, looking pleased to have gotten the question across. Kizu supposed it made sense for her to wonder about him. She hadn’t been able to ask him questions before. But he was amused that this, of all things, was what she asked first.
“I mentioned to you before that I wasn’t raised by your grandparents. Instead, when I was a bit younger than you are now, I was kidnapped by a crone. She raised me. In witch covens it’s not uncommon for their members to get exposed to different vapors and fumes from concoctions. Sometimes the most efficient brewing techniques don’t always correlate with the safest techniques. It’s not uncommon for witches to have green, gray, or even purple hair as a result. I got exposed to a nasty substance pretty young, and it stuck with me. But by now, I feel like it’s a piece of me. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Anata nodded again, seeming to understand the explanation.
She went back to practicing her characters. As she did, Kizu remembered another message that he had received. He pulled out the envelope Basil had delivered to him.
It required his blood to open. The seal pricked his finger when he pressed it against the enchanted wax. Then it unfolded itself for him.
Kaga Kizu,
In regards to a promise I made to you at the Festival of Light, you should no longer fear your niece’s identity being leaked into the public. It required discretion and a bit of deception, but those are two attributes I happen to hold in great wealth. If anyone asks, you are watching over her for a friend of mine. You are nothing more than a nanny. If they try to press for more details, send them up the ladder and their questions will be stomped out by my secretary, Roba Jackal. I hope this helps. Your actions have tickled my interest. I look forward to witnessing your growth. I am keenly interested in seeing what future path you will follow.
Gizrim Ballarfulur
Wizard Extraordinaire, of the First Degree
Headmaster of Shinzou Academy
Kizu didn’t know whether or not to be worried about the headmaster now keeping tabs on him. But he decided the trade off of Anata now being able to walk out in the open without a potato sack illusion overlay was worth it.
“How about we take a break and do some shopping?” Kizu offered to Anata.
She looked up from her notes and nodded enthusiastically.
“Did someone mention shopping?” Basil said, poking his head down into the crew quarters.
For the last few hours, he and Ione had been doing their own projects on the ship. Kizu kept them out of Aoi’s laboratory in the captain’s cabin, but otherwise gave them free reign to explore the ship. There had been some initial shock when they discovered Sojan face down in the cargo hold, the black knife smoldering in the back of the gnome necromancer, but they quickly got over their surprise. Basil seemed extraordinarily pleased to speak with the blade more openly. His fascination for the weapon eventually resulted in the two of them fishing together on Owl’s Respite’s deck. While Ione spent a great deal of time mournfully staring down into the black depths. She had quizzed Kizu on every possible detail about the sea monster, but instead of mollifying her curiosity, it only served as further kindling. And since Anata was busy with studying, she couldn’t redirect her curiosity to the half monster girl either.
“Yes,” Kizu said to Basil. “I’m going back into town to get Anata some new clothes and a pair of boots. Any recommendations on where to go?”
“I’m not a cobbler, but if you’d just told me you wanted some new outfits, I could have prepared something,” Basil complained. “But if you need them now, I can show you my favorite spots.”
“Are you joining, Ione?” Kizu asked.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather stay here,” she said morosely while continuing to gaze down into the water with her arms slung over the edge of the gunwales. “I want to keep watching for signs of the monster.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours then.”
With a quick jump, he transported himself, Anata, and Basil over to the bank of the underground lake.
While they walked back into town, Basil questioned him about his connection to Aoi. Kizu supposed it made sense for him to be curious, but it was hard to talk about Aoi while dancing around her necromancy habits. That topic dominated almost every interaction he had with her.
“We have more of a working relationship than a real friendship,” Kizu explained. “We’re friendly with each other, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re looking for someone to help you get back in her good graces, I don’t think I’m the right person. Not right now, at least. Maybe once I know her better.”
Basil nodded, looking almost as melancholy as Ione had earlier. But his mood completely flipped when they entered back into the town and approached one of his favorite shops.
Kizu let Basil take the lead as he steered Anata around the clothing store, pointing out different fabrics and explaining what shades of color went best with her pale skin tone. Meanwhile, Kizu found a padded bench and massaged his leg. It had been holding up better the last couple weeks since leaving the World Dungeon. Granted, he rarely removed the leg brace, but he almost believed it might get strong enough again to function like a normal leg someday.
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“What do you think?” Basil asked, presenting Anata to him in a baby blue ball gown with pink accents that puffed outwards. Anata looked both awkward and pleased as she fidgeted in the dress. With her circlet on her brow, she looked like a ragged princess. It highlighted the fact that she desperately needed a haircut as well as shoes.
“I’m not certain how much use we’ll get out of it,” Kizu said carefully. Upon seeing Anata’s crestfallen face, he amended his statement. “But we can definitely get it if it’s not too much.”
It turned out that it was, indeed, too much. But Kizu still paid the outrageous sum regardless. However, outside of Anata’s earshot, he afterwards insisted to Basil that he focus on more useful outfits from that point on. Basil muttered complaints about Kizu being a joykill, but stuck to everyday clothing after that.
By the end, Kizu walked away from the shop carrying the ballgown, two daily dresses, a couple tunics, four undershirts, three sets of tights, and a pair of pants. As well as a swimsuit that Kizu had to remind Basil that they needed at the end of the shopping spree. And, while in the seasonal section, Basil also got Anata winter gear, including a woolen sweater and thick pants. Kizu questioned the purchase, but Basil insisted that with the World Dungeon as transportation, it was always useful to have spare sets of seasonal clothing on hand.
“It’s too bad it’s so difficult for me to alter my mass and height,” Basil said. “I would have loved to try out some of these clothes too to test out how she’d look after getting to a less malnourished state. Instead, we just have to use a bit of guesswork. I suppose I can always alter and tweak things down the road as well.”
“She now has over three times the amount of clothes I do,” Kizu grumbled as he paid out the Yennies. His coin purse was significantly lighter after the purchases. The clothes took out over half his savings.
“Stop whinging. Nobody likes a miser,” Basil said. “I’ll make you some clothes if you want. But you said Anata was the priority today.”
And so, Kizu swallowed any more complaints as they entered a cobbler’s shop.
Basil was familiar with the cobbler, obviously a regular. Thankfully, he was able to use his status as a frequent shopper to get discounts on Anata’s shoes. Anata came away with three sets. A pair of boots, a pair of everyday shoes to wear around the ship, and a pair of elaborate slippers that Basil insisted on to go with her ballgown. The only person who looked grumpier than Kizu felt about the expenses was the cobbler. Which, at least, let Kizu know he was getting a half decent deal.
Finally, they arrived at a hair salon. This was the first shop they visited that Basil had never been to, having never needed help with his hair. Although he knew the hairdresser, an alumnus of the academy from the previous year. After he introduced himself, the woman lit up and started chatting with him about the different possible styles for Anata. As Kizu listened, he wondered just how many people knew about the extent of Basil’s nature as a shapechanger. Some people he was friendly with obviously knew enough to realize he could alter his appearance, but Kizu noticed Basil always subtly deflected certain topics in regards to things like his gender or species. Kizu had always assumed Basil to be male, simply as result of his placement as his roommate in the boys’ dormitory. When a nervous Anata was led to a seat in front of large mirror, the shapechanger sat down next to Kizu in the waiting section
“Basil, you are a guy, right?” Kizu asked.
Basil blinked as he processed the question for a second. “Yes. I am. At least by a biological stance. And I usually think of myself like that, though I don’t spend much time meditating on it. Everyone of my species technically is male. It’s not something I really like to spread around, but I can’t carry children.” He fidgeted slightly, glancing around the hair salon and looking a bit uncomfortable with the topic. But right as Kizu decided to change the subject, he continued on with his explanation. “My body can’t hold a womb for a long enough space of time. You’ve seen what happens when I sleep. In a way, I’m sort of parasitical, relying on other species to mother offspring.”
Kizu recalled how Basil had previously mentioned never meeting his mother. He supposed that made sense. His people likely took him from her after his birth.
“I think that only sounds as parasitical as any other man,” Kizu said. “It takes two to make a child either way. I don’t think your species itself matters all that much.”
Basil flashed him a grateful smile, looking relieved by his response. Then he changed the topic to Kizu’s hair. He insisted that he should also get it trimmed up, stating that he was starting to look shaggy. Eventually, Kizu conceded that it had been a bit unruly ever since his month in the World Dungeon.
In less than an hour, Anata’s dead ends and scraggly appearance vanished, replaced by a set of blunt bangs and silky clean hair. She looked like an entirely different person. The hairdresser also sold Kizu a paste to help keep Anata’s hair healthy and soft. Kizu tried to get a list of the ingredients from the hairdresser, but she insisted that it was a secret. Still, Kizu resolved to experiment with a few possibilities after his next brewing class. He wanted to avoid paying the additional expense in the future.
His own haircut went quickly, the hairdresser wielded three different sets of scissors at once. Two she magically suspended and used to clip away at his more disheveled bits that stuck out while she personally held the pair of scissors that made the more important cuts. At the end of it, Kizu was surprised to have her switch to a razor and slice away at his face. He had never noticed growing facial hair before, but as he felt the skin of his cheeks afterwards, they now felt smoother than before.
Finished with all the errands, Kizu bid goodnight to Basil and started back towards Owl’s Respite. Anata started to nod off while walking, so he ended up carrying both her and all her packaged clothing.
When he jumped on board the ship, he was surprised to see Ione still on the deck. And even more surprised to find her chatting with Aoi. Nearby, Sojan sat with a fishing pole in hand with a pile of drained fish at his feet.
“But there’s a clear difference between ectoplasmic creatures,” Aoi said enthusiastically. “They have a mass, but it’s almost optional by nature. Their souls can harden from a gaseous form into a solid.”
“In that case, would it be possible to capture one?” Ione asked. For once, she appeared wide awake and there was a fire in her eyes. Kizu didn’t know if he’d ever seen her so interested in a topic before. “If they still exist, just in a different stage of matter, it should be theoretically possible, right?”
Aoi bit her thumb as she considered the question. “Yes, I think it is. But it would probably require some sort of enchanted container. Most types of ghosts can easily slip through walls and physical objects that are less than a third of a meter in width. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes less, depending on the species.”
Kizu considered interrupting to say hello, but decided against it. Instead, he went to lay Anata down on her hammock. As soon as he set foot in the crew’s quarters, a small monkey lept at his face. Kizu swore at the ambush and dropped the packages as he grabbed Mort and moved him over to a shoulder. Where Mort bit promptly down on an earlobe.
“Stop that,” Kizu told the monkey as he jerked his head. “I know you were bored, but I’ve been pretty busy.”
That did not placate Mort. The monkey tugged on his hair.
“Fine, fine,” Kizu admitted defeat. “You know what, maybe you can help me with something. I’ve been wanting to experiment more with casting spells through our bond. It’s still only theoretical, but I’ve been reading and I think that with the proper set up and practice, we could jump to one another’s locations pretty easily. But first, I need you to try jumping without having me along.”
They went up to the deck where Aoi and Ione continued their discussion, this time though, they acknowledged Kizu.
“I thought we agreed that we’d discuss it together before revealing the location of the ship to anyone else,” Aoi said, sounding a bit irritated.
“Ah, sorry, I forgot,” Kizu admitted sheepishly. “I wasn’t thinking about it. But I did keep her out of your laboratory.”
Aoi grinned, her stern expression evaporating. “All’s forgiven this time. Why didn’t you tell me you had a friend with so much summoning knowledge?”
“Have you never met Ione before?”
“We knew of one another,” Aoi admitted. “But, no offense, I just always thought of her as a less competent version of Sene.”
Ione waved away the insult. “None taken.”
Then they returned to their discussion. They appeared to be fast friends. Kizu supposed their passions aligned. One for monsters, the other for undead.
Kizu and Mort began practicing their jumps. At first, it took a lot of focus and required physical contact, but Kizu could cast the spell through his familiar. Then he slowly managed to forfeit more control over to the monkey. He started letting Mort decide their location while only acting as the facilitator of the spell. By the time Kizu was feeling woozy and low on blood, Mort could jump with just Kizu channeling through the bond. Kizu still maintained control over when and the amount of blood Mort used. Kizu could also seize control of the jump and redirect it, but it was a conscious choice now. The monkey’s agency with the spell increased significantly.
For better or worse, by the end of the night, Kizu had a teleporting monkey.