"Don't you have Guild Master paperwork to attend to or something?" I asked the annoying and overbearing elf.

I felt very conflicted. On one hand, Alice had saved my life. I should feel grateful for her plucking me out of that terrible bandit debacle I had no business meddling with.

She shrugged. "After more than a century doing the same thing, one can streamline work procedures to an extreme. The paperwork isn't going anywhere. Ensuring my employees are healthy is also part of my job."

On the other hand, if that was part of her job, meaning the rescue was included in my employee compensation package, why was she still following me? I was inside the city in broad daylight. Nowhere would be safer than this. But getting rid of Alice was impossible unless I wanted to be rude. I didn't. After going on a few loops in this reasoning, I just gave up. Alice followed me to the bank where I deposited the check, then the smithy where I commissioned a new set of armor and weapons, and now the haberdashery.

I suspected compulsion magic as the reason why I stood in front of the mirror getting measured for a suit. One of those gentlemen suits with a jacket and a necktie. It was a style that came back in vogue and was all the rage among the ladies. A classic that survived the test of time. I honestly wasn't paying attention. The Tailor's measuring tape zipped to and fro as he mumbled the numbers to himself. "All done, sir. Your suit will be delivered six past noon."

The wonders of a thirty-six-hour day.

"What next?" I asked my chaperone outside the haberdashery.

"Enchanted boots," Alice replied. "Since you didn't want to buy an enchanted suit of armor. Maybe a stealth cloak too."

I wasn't a warrior. And I learned my lesson. Don't pick fights with a horde of criminals. Wait, did she say…

"A cloak?"

The weather in our region never got cold enough to justify wearing the heavy woolen cloaks favored in the north. The only people who did wear one were either foreigners, criminals, or those with enchanted ones.

Either way, cloaks made one conspicuous. I scanned the street around us. Nobody was wearing one despite it being the cold months.

"Yes, let's get you a cloak in our colors, and we can get a big Guild emblem embroidered on the back. This way, I can justify it as a business expense–"

"Please, no. I can pay for it."

"No. I'll buy cloaks for everyone and make it part of the dress code," she grinned as she played the boss card. "Yours can have a woodland camouflage enchantment instead. This way it won't hinder you in the city."

I decided that wasn't the hill I wanted to die on. "Okay, lead on."

She took me to a shop hidden in an alley. Only a sign that read "Haru's Curios" and "open" set that door apart from the others in the alley. I opened it and entered, holding the door for the lady. A tiny bell rang once the door closed.

"I'll be right there!" A feminine voice shouted from the back.

The shop front had only a low counter and two couches on either side. No curios on display but why put magical items on display only to have to spend a small fortune on security? Behind the counter, a wooden bead curtain blocked the view of the rest of the shop.

I took one of the couches and Alice settled next to me. We didn't have to wait for too long. Minutes later, A kitsune appeared from the back. She let the curtain cascade behind her. The sound of the beads hitting one another was musical.

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"Hello!" She greeted us with a bubbly demeanor. Her large fox ears flicked to and fro as three bushy white-tipped orange tails waned behind her. "Welcome to Haru's Curios, I am Haru, owner, clerk, enchanter, and all-around friendly kitsune!" A pause, and she showed the tip of her fangs between smiling lips. "I don't bite."

I made a pretend scared face and shied away, shielding my forearm with the other hand. I was pretty sure it was the reaction she wanted because she giggled.

"Ladykiller," Alice mumbled under her breath.

"How many I help you?"

"May, you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Wrong month," Haru replied with a fit of giggles.

None of our sixteen months was named May.

Not wanting to feed the nonsense anymore, I went straight to business. "I would like a pair of enchanted boots—"

"And a cloak," Alice added over me.

"Okay, boots and a cloak," Haru said. "What enchantments would you want on the boots?"

"Something to make my steps faster, more precise, less noisy, and to leave fewer tracks."

Haru starts to write on a notepad with an owl quill but no inkwell.

"Seven leagues stride, surefoot, cat's paws, and trackless step," the kitsune mumbled to herself as I spoke. "Do you want self-repair, self-cleaning, waterproofing... and what about defense?"

"All of those," Alice replied for me.

I could see money signs in Haru's eyes. She was doing math in her head, I was sure of it. When she said the price tag for the boots, I became dizzy. It was money enough to support a dozen families of four to five people for a decade. Alice tapped my hand. I glanced at her and she gave me a reassuring smile.

"Can we soul-bind the boots? Perhaps something that allows him to find them if they are ever lost or stolen?"

"Sure. I will need a cup of George's blood and a surcharge of ten gold."

"Does that cover the same enchantments on the cloak too?"

While I said my goodbyes to the windfall from the bandits, the two women discussed the cloak.

"To summarize. Let's do antimemetic, chameleon, environmental protection, elemental resistance, spell resistance, kinetic absorption, nondetection, and the support enchantments we discussed on the cloak. I can do both for a hundred and ninety gold coins."

I massaged my temples to ease the headache I was feeling. They were moving too fast. "Can you explain what each enchantment does?"

"Sure. Let me see," she flips the notepad. "The seven leagues stride enchantment increases your movement when going on a straight line but it drains SP. The bigger the speed boost, the more SP it drains. At level fifty, you might be able to double your speed while traveling for a whole day.

"Surefoot increases your balance and grants extra grip when the boots slip on something. The cat's paw enchantment muffles the sound around the soles, including things that are crushed underneath the boots. Finally, trackless step hardens the material underneath the boots so it doesn't deform when walked on. It doesn't work on living creatures. Ordinary plants aren't considered creatures."

"And what about the cloak's enchantments?"

"Antimemetic works on perception. It creates a subtle contest between the enchantment and the observer's Intelligence and Wisdom. If the observer loses, he does not register the person wearing the cloak. It's like they missed seeing you. Whenever it happens, the enchantment drains some MP, once per observer per hour.

"Chameleon changes the cloak's colors to adapt to the surroundings. It's not invisibility nor an illusion. It only works if the cloak is still or moving very slowly. Otherwise, it just becomes a color blur and makes the cloak more conspicuous.

"Environmental protection keeps the rain away and regulates temperature and humidity. The enchantment compensates for up to twenty degrees Celsius above or below your comfort zone. As for the humidity, it either keeps water vapor from escaping the inside or holds excess moisture at bay.

"Elemental resistance and spell resistance reduce the effects of both magical spells and elemental effects. Kinetic absorption softens blows that strike the cloak but slashing and piercing damage will still tear or rip the cloak's fabric.

"And nondetection makes it hard for divination spells or wards to find the wearer of the cloak when worn. This enchantment drains MP but the drain also serves as a warning.."

"Good, good," I missed. Haru had a way to sell her products. The confidence she had in her enchantments was contagious. It was part of her high Charisma score too. But these were all enchantments I wanted. "Now, about the price. I am sure the Guild Master's indication deserves a discount, right?"

Haru seemed amused while Alice pretended to be shocked.

"The price I quoted already has the Guild discount, George."

Easy comes, easy goes. I signed a contract stating that Haru could get the money once the garrison check cleared but the deal was off if anything went wrong with it. Alice then butted in and signed as a guarantor, voiding that statement.

Meddlesome elf. But it was hard to stay angry at her when she was looking out for me.

With my shopping done, I went home to rest and decompress. I couldn't do any scouting without my armor and sidearms.

"Don't forget about your date!" Alice shouted from the street as I used my key to open the door to my apartment.