[[ Clear ]]
We make our commute to Royal Road with little conversation. There’s a fantastical array of shops here, but the one we search down is the Men’s Wear store. The Commander seems distracted by the wide array of products as we make our way, but alas. We’re met by a duo of NIKKEs; Suit and Tie. That also happens to be the name of the shop, but it’s unclear which came first, the names of the NIKKEs or the name of the store. It’s likely the latter, I conclude.
Suit and Tie swarm the Commander immediately like a pair of waist- and bust-measuring flies. They’re on him taking measurements for nearly every relevant part of his body, noting his complexion, hair color and eye color, and they bustle off to pick out a suit without much of a word, bursting with excitement, giving only a glance to me in uncertainty if I, too, was looking for a suit. I gave a shake of the head and they returned to their duties.
Moments pass, and the duo return to drag the Commander into a dressing room, shockingly going in with him. The Commander lets off a few yelps of surprise as the girls presumably whip his clothes off in a matter of seconds and have him redressed in a white suit accompanied by a maroon dress shirt beneath. They’re efficient, I’ll give them that, but I can’t help but wonder how they would fare on the surface. I watch on from my wheelchair, remaining present if only to ensure the Commander doesn’t get lost. The Commander emerges from the dressing room looking quite good, and I give him a nod.
“You look good, Commander,” I murmur, and the Commander gives his first sheepish smile while looking in the large full-body mirror Suit and Tie wheel up for him.
“I kind of do,” he replies in agreement, twisting a touch to see his backside in his pants. He looks impressed with himself.
“Feel ready for your date?” I ask, and the two Nikke’s take that information in with a burst of excitement.
““Ooooooh!”” They both squeal, and Suit, the black-haired one, moves in close to the Commander to extract information posthaste.
“What does she look like?” Suit inquires.
“Do you know what she’s wearing?” Tie asks next, looking antsy to know if they might need to make adjustments.
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“Uhh… Not a clue t-to either question,” the Commander says, and the girls look dumbfounded for a moment. There’s a small silence in the air. Commander realizes why, and tells a lie rather well for his nervousness. “... B-blind date.”
The girls are satisfied with the answer. They give off a nearly harmonized ‘ooooh!’ and clap their hands together in excitement.
““Good luck!”” They both say in unison, and with no further fanfare, prepare the bill. The Commander is clearly unfamiliar with the currency or its weight here, and pays without a single thought, other than the obvious ‘what is going on?’ written on his face. I see a glimpse of the total -- it’s too expensive for Purem’s budget, but say nothing. We’ll find a way around it, especially if the date goes off without a hitch.
… I hope it works out.
Tie is putting the finishing touches on the Commander’s look while Suit processes the payment. The white NIKKE puts some good hair gel in the commander’s rather plain looking hair, and slicks it back roughly. It has a messy look, but he’s certainly handsome and attractive by the time she finishes, so it works out for the Commander. He looks to me for approval, and I give him a firm nod. He’s doing fine.
“... I will not be able to accompany you for this date, as you know,” I say, and for a moment the Commander is befallen before he covers his expression up with a more neutral look. “But I trust everything will be fine. Just be yourself.”
Ah, yes, ‘just be yourself,’ the most uninvolved piece of advice one could give. The Commander thins his lips at that one, and it’s clear it’s of no help. I shrug. It’s not like I go on dates with girls. We begin our journey to part ways, and I lead him to the venue he’s meant to meet his date at.
“Do you know what she looks like?” He asks, and I give off a small hum. I don’t particularly recall, but I can’t tell him that. Luckily…
“You have a reservation. You’ll meet her at your table.”
… I can keep an element of excitement to the whole ordeal. I look at the Commander’s expression.
He’s absolutely stressed out.
“Relax. Just treat it like meeting a new person that you have to pretend you already met. Because that’s what this is.”
We stand at the entrance of Coin Rush. The old Commander chose the biggest casino in the Ark for whatever reason… I hope he wasn’t planning on using Purem’s funding to gamble, but it’s entirely possible that was what was going on in his head before it was commandeered.
“I’ll see you once it’s over,” I say, readying my wheelchair to carry me to my dorm.
“... Right.”
“... Remember, our funding counts on this.”
“... G-got it.”
“... Bye.”
[[ CHAPTER 05 END ]]