"So yeah, they said they'd handle it." I finished recounting the events that occurred at the Gods' Abode, "By the way, these boots are really comfortable."
"Was there ever any doubt?" The shopkeeper smirked proudly, "I know my stuff. Ah, by the way, new batch of clothes just dropped a minute ago."
Reaching under the counter, he scrambled around under there for a bit before finally yanking out a large pile of clothes, both male and female. All sorts of colors, fabrics, materials and shapes were picked through carefully until the shopkeeper finally landed on a cute little bracelet made of silver. Promptly placing it on the counter, he asked me about my thoughts on it.
"Congrats on a job well done." He smiled, "Consider this a reward."
"Whoa, thank you so much!" I put it on immediately, "Okay, what else you got?"
At this query, he got a bit confused. With furrowed brows he replied with rather upsetting news.
"That's... That's it." He shrugged, "That's all you get this time. Come back later, when another batch comes by."
"Ehh? Come on, I saw you discard a bunch of cool looking stuff just a minute ago!"
"Yeah, 'cause they wouldn't fit you." He sighed, "Now move, you're blocking the next customer."
Again, the same thing happened as last time—I turned around to see a large group of disgruntled angels annoyedly waiting for me to leave. Having said that, though, I really want something else to go along with the bracelet, otherwise just this much wouldn't warrant a visit. Tch, and he has the gall to call me his favorite customer...!
"Alright then, I'll just pick something out myself!" I said, dashing over the counter as the crowd gasped in shock.
"You...! Get out of here!" The shopkeeper was furious with me, "It's bad enough that I don't get paid for any of this, but now you're gonna trespass as well?!"
"Oh come on, I moved out of the line, didn't I?" I said with a smug grin on my face, "Which means you can just continue your business while I check out some clothes for myself. Seriously, I won't take anything until I've shown it to you beforehand."
You could tell he really wanted to contest the idea, but his hands were tied until he finished serving all the customers. With a long and begrudgingly slow sigh, he gave me the thumbs up accompanied only by the world's most annoyed scowl.
"Fine, just don't get in my way." He turned back to the customers.
"Hey, can we go in there as well?" One customer asked.
"No!" The shopkeeper shot back, "She's already a handful as is, I don't need any more of you suckers causing a ruckus in here!"
"But how come she gets special treatment!?" Another girl from the crowd crossed her arms.
"She's-!"
"Humu!" I proudly puffed my chest out, arms akimbo, "I'm his favorite customer, that's why!"
"....."
The crowd was speechless. Well, not so much speechless as they were just left without words. The difference between the two is pretty smal, but it does exist. See, one means they were surprised and in shock that I said that, staring with awe at what my mouth had uttered, meanwhile the other is just a bunch of loud, awkward silence. Of course, we're talking about the latter here.
"...What did I tell you about getting in my way?" The shopkeeper glared.
"Sorry! I'll be quiet!" I bashfully lowered my head as I sunk back into the dimly lit interior.
After that, the shopkeeper duly apologized for my behavior and the customers seemed empathetic of his situation, at least. I thought I was being a smartass by doing my own thing and jumping in here, but who'd have thought it'd turn out to be so embarrassing. Well, the past is the past. Right now, I ought to focus on finding me something nice to wear before the shopkeeper changes his mind on this whole arrangement.
"If possible, I'd really like to swap out this shirt first." I thought, "He seems to only want me to take one item at a time, so for now the baggy, tanned pants will have to stay. That really heightens the difficulty, though, since I have to choose something that goes well with them as well..."
If you'd have asked me, there was this really good looking deep Purple loose crop top that I saw within the pile, but that just wouldn't work with the pants no matter how you sliced it. Besides, wearing Purple has that stigma around it... In any case, I have to go for the second best option, then!
"Hey, can I have this?" I meekly tapped the shopkeeper's shoulder as he turned around.
"Ah, great! Thanks for fetching it for me." He took it out of my hands and immediately extended it towards the girl at the front of the line, "Here you go, miss. The silverish Gray would go really well with your skirt!"
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"Hey, I wanted-!"
"Do you finally get it now?" The shopkeeper interrupted my backlash with his own, "I give everyone the exact clothes that befit them. Taking even one out of my inventory would mean stealing from someone it was specially tailored for."
"E-Eh?" I stopped.
"Don't be greedy." He said, turning back to ring up the next customer, "Yes, for you..."
Everyone gets one... Tch, dammit, he could've told me that sooner! So then, when he said I could do as I pleased in here so long as I didn't bother him and his work, he was just faking it! If I can't take anything, then what was even the point of keeping me in here? Hmph, don't call me greedy, jackass...
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"Right, we're back on track again." He seemed relieved that the bulk of the customers had left by now, "Hm?"
"Hey, this is the clothes shop, right?" A new customer popped up right as he said that.
"Yes, for you, I think-"
"Here, sir!" I presented the naked man with a snazzy outfit, "We'll go with a tighter marine Blue undershirt to accentuate the muscles, which'll go really well with this fur coat I found in the back! As for the lower half, how about we go with some dark Gray shorts just to keep you well-ventilated?"
"Hey, you-!" The shopkeeper wanted to chew me off for interfering, but the customer, to his surprise, loved my suggestion.
"Oh, awesome!" He put them on immediately, "A-Ah, I don't gotta pay, right? I was told it's free?"
"Yep, so long as you take what you get!" I waved him off with a smiled, "Have a nice rest of your day! Come back soon for the next batch~!"
Hehe, another happy customer! Oop, the shopkeeper's furious with me. Why though, I was just examining what types of clothes he gives to his customers before this, so I was pretty sure I nailed what he was gonna say exactly.
"Did I mess up the order?" I asked apologetically.
"Mn... No, I would've given him the same thing..." He grumbled, "But what if I hadn't!? You could've gotten me into a bunch of trouble, not to mention—Didn't I tell you to not get in my way!?"
"Trouble? With who?" I tilted my head.
"With who, she asks... The Gods, dummy." He sighed, realizing yelling at me had little to no effect, "In other words, my bosses."
"What would happen if something went wrong?" I inquired, "Like, what would you classify as getting into trouble?"
"Honestly? No clue, since it never happened before." He prepared the next set of clothes, "And I'd like to keep it that way. Seriously, how you even got the right outfit first try is a miracle in and of itself..."
"Is it though? I just did what you would do." I explained my thought process, "For newcomers, you seem to favor practicality over vanity, so you'd give the women comfy, well-ventilated clothes and the men layered clothes with a bunch of pockets."
"Ah, that's-"
"Also, there's a certain theme I've noticed in the clothes you hand out." I snapped my fingers, "Adventure! You really like the sort of unorthodox adventurer look, so the contrasting fur coat coupled with the shorts was the most obvious pick. Ah, but since those clothes don't work well with each other generally, I had to make sure I got the colors to match well."
"You... You really have a knack for this." He admitted, mouth agape with a slight chuckle.
"What can I say? I'm just the best." I shrug with a smug pride in my voice, "Besides, I do feel bad for annoying you all the time. Helping lower your workload even just a bit might not mean much, but if it lets you take even the smallest of breathers, I'd say I'm happy."
"Is that how you view it?" He asked.
"Am I wrong?" I figured, "A job without pay is slave work. I'd take it to upper management and request a change if I were in your position."
"But I like my job." He smiled warmly, brushing his hand gently on the wooden counter, "It gives me a sense of purpose. Something to do, I guess."
This shopkeeper... He actually has a personality behind that store clerk facade. Why am I genuinely surprised? I guess I just thought he wouldn't ever say anything good about me.
"I guess it makes sense." I nodded back, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Ha, sure." He joked, "But just one."
"No promises." I giggled, "You always wear those gloves, so I can't quite see them—What are your initials?"
"Why would you be interested?"
"I wanna call you something other than just "shopkeeper". Please, could you tell me?" I begged.
"Hmm, nah." He shook his head, "I think that title suits me just fine. Names are a thing of the past in this world."
"...My name's Magnes." I kept trying to wear him down, "From my initials, see? An M and a G. A friend gave it to me."
"It suits you." He chuckled.
"I wanna give you a name as well." I clasped my hands together, "After all, it's rude to not know your friend's name."
His gaze moved back and forth between my hands and my Eyes. For a moment, I was sure this was going to win him over, but in the end he just wouldn't budge.
"...Hell no, you'd give me a super lousy sounding name." He teased.
"Argh, I wouldn't!" I stomped my boots furiously on the ground, "Come on, take 'em off!"
"Phrasing."
"If you don't gimme your initials, I'll name you Peanut Butter!" I threatened.
"Pfft." He cracked a smile at that one, "Do as you wish. Anyways, is that all?"
"Hmm... Ah, yeah, actually." I nervously gathered up the strength to ask, "Would it be okay for me to help out around the shop on occassion?"
"What?"
"I like doing this, it feels natural." I explained, "It's as you said, it gives you something to do, plus I get to help lessen your workload. So, can I stop by tomorrow as well?"
"...I guess you don't really like listening to people." He sighed, "Didn't I tell you only one question was allowed?"
"What? You were being serious?" I raised my Eyebrows, "Oh come on, Peanut Butter."
"Don't call me that." He slumped forward.
"Then show me your initials." I stood my ground.
"Magnes-"
"Lalala, not listening!" I danced around him until he stopped me by grabbing my wrist.
"Hm?"
"Magnes, please leave the shop." He asked in a stern tone, "You're trespassing."
"E-Eh? Wait, but-!"
"Thank you for the offer, you'll be getting a discount on your next visit." He hurried me out of the shop, "Come back tomorrow..."
"Ah, okay...?" I dragged my feet on the ground as I left the area, "Weird... Hm? Wait a second! All the items are already free, so what the hell does he mean by discount!?"