Strictly speaking, Ryuji knew he wasn’t expected until after mid-day but he did want to do a couple things to make himself more presentable for his date with Karen. With that in mind, he made his way to the market. He had in mind to buy one thing, Soap! He ended up getting a little bit more than that as usual. From there he went to the front gate and then from there around to the river where he could wash.
He knew he wouldn’t have time to wash himself off and he certainly couldn’t wait for clothes to dry out. He wasn’t there for either of those things at this time. What he did intend to do was wash his hair and he was pretty sure that it would be dry by the time he went on his date. After a few moments, his hair felt ever so much cleaner, as though it hadn’t been washed in weeks!
With that out of the way, he stowed his soap in one of the rags he had bought and used on his hair then shoved it all into his satchel. From one of the pockets, he produced the cologne and splashed a little bit on another rag that he then vigorously rubbed all over his shirt and pants before putting them back. He had bought the biggest satchel the old cat had. It wasn’t a particularly nice color, just leather brown but it was plenty big. It also featured three small pouches that hid under the fold-over top. With this, he should be able to get all his clothing and anything else he needed.
He continued thinking of logistical issues until he reached the front of the inn. No sooner did he walk up than he almost bumped into a gorgeous woman in an off-white dress. She was just making her way out of the inn and he wondered what such a beautiful woman would be doing in a place like this. He had just opened his mouth to apologize when she turned to him and recognition dawned on him.
The vision standing in front of him was none other than Karen, wearing the dress that the innkeeper had lent her. He was struck speechless and just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Karen looked like she wanted to say something but blushed and turned her head to the side. She then struck a bashful pose with her hands clasped behind her back which in turn thrust her now very visible cleavage out toward Ryuji. If he could have burst a nosebleed like an anime character this would have been the time!
Ryuji tried to recover from his stupor but only with limited success! “K-Karen…I, You… wow! You look absolutely stunning! What’s the occasion?”
Karen’s head snapped around to look at him with an indignant look on her face only to see him wearing his usual charming, teasing smile. She blushed even deeper but this time with anger. “I'll have you know that this dress isn’t very comfortable so you better appreciate the effort it took for me to wear it!”
His grin just got bigger and she was about to say something else when she noticed the wondrous scent that was coming from him. He was still wearing the same clothing but that was the point of her showing him where the tailor was. Still, she couldn’t help herself and breathed in a huge breath through her nose. A smile spread across her face as she savored the scent until she realized what she had just done and turned around flustered. She tried to hide her face in her hands out of embarrassment.
Ryuji smiled at the adorable reactions from Karen before speaking in a calm and level voice. “Shall we get going? Oh, before I forget. I got you something that I thought you might like and now I’m more convinced than ever.”
As Karen turned to look back at him, Ryuji pulled the intricate glass bottle of perfume from his satchel and held it out to her. At first, she wasn’t sure what it was. Then realization dawned on her and her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide in surprise. “This is for me? But wasn’t this expensive? You don’t have to treat me like some noble lady you know. I’m just a commoner. Even though I can tell that you aren’t you still don’t have to treat me like I’m ahead of my station.”
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Ryuji was caught off guard by her words and it left him a little dazed. “I-I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I don’t even remember my past so I couldn’t say what I would treat a noblewoman like but I don’t think I would mind giving you the same. I guess I did find out that I’m supposed to be a noble while I was at the mercenary’s guild yesterday.”
At those words, Karen turned her face away and she looked like she wanted to cry. “The only thing that I have that gives me any clue about my past is this. *he held his pendant slightly out of his shirt* The problem is, it was broken or something because all the documents were in a foreign language that the guild employee didn’t even recognize.”
As he dropped the pendant back inside his shirt, Ryuji reflected on the fact that all of that was technically true, even if he was leaving large parts about it out. Karen considered that for a moment then smiled up at him. She seemed to feel a little better and more relaxed, then she reached out and grabbed his hand. “Well then, come on my lord. Let’s get you some clothes and stuff!”
Karen was pulling on his arm with a big happy smile and then suddenly she looked panic-stricken. “Oh no! I almost forgot to get your money! I’ll be right back.”
As she dashed back inside Ryuji imagined what spending his life with her would be like. A small house with a garden? No, he was going to become a wizard so that would mean a small shop somewhere in some small town or village. He could imagine her being a good mother, both gentle and kind. He wondered if he did settle down like that with her would his noble past come looking for him?
Ryuji was just beginning to think about children when a very flustered Karen came bursting back out of the inn with a heavy satchel strap digging into her shoulder. Ryuji reached out and grabbed the satchel off her shoulder and she looked embarrassed and bowed saying. “S-sorry, I wasn’t trying to keep your coins, milord.”
Suddenly Ryuji felt bad about taking the bag and he felt paranoid about being called lord so he glanced around to make sure no-one was in earshot. “No, that’s not it. It just looked really heavy and you look much too beautiful to be carrying something so drab! One thing though, please don’t call me milord or anything like that. I don’t remember being a noble and it just doesn’t feel right somehow. I just want you to enjoy our little trip, so I’ll try not to treat you like a noble either, but it’s going to be hard as gorgeous as you are.”
Karen blushed even deeper and turned around. She managed to squeak out a thank you before heading in the direction of the money changer. Her main goal was to keep Ryuji from seeing the undignified look on her face. From the moment she walked out and got a good look at him in the light she had been having lewd thoughts about the things she would like to do to him and things she would like him to do to her. She couldn’t help herself, he looked so good. His hair was blowing in the breeze and his light skin looked so fine and smooth that she just wanted to rub all over him. Then she caught a whiff of his obviously expensive cologne and she suddenly couldn’t contain her excitement. It was going to be hard walking around with him for hours without hanging all over him, she thought to herself.
In only a few minutes of walking, they arrive at the money changer. Ryuji was a little flustered that he didn’t get to walk beside Karen and perhaps hold her hand. Every time he tried to get next to her, she would walk faster and in the brief glimpses he got of her face he could tell she was blushing. He appreciated that she was embarrassed but he still would have liked to talk to her.
It turned out that the money changer was only just across the river from the mercenary’s guild. The front of the building was very auspicious to the point of being gaudy. If anyone had simply said “look for the building that is painted like a bag of gold” he could have found it easily enough. It was practically an eyesore. With an exterior like this, he dreaded the interior.