Chapter 30
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"Lhorne, what are we going to do in the meantime?" Lily asked Lhorne. "are we just going to the inn and rest?"
"I am worried about Mattheus going home alone."
"Don't worry about it. He had two elven guards. Any elven guard that abandons their duty would be dishonorably discharged. It is like a death sentence to them unless they are willing to die with Mattheus. They won't do a thing to him." Lhorne said.
"We need to go to some shops first. You have been promoted to a lord, so you should have a nicer one. It would be poor to your image if you still use human swords. Hmm… since you will go to a fort, you will also need an elven noble armor. But you are a tailfolk. Maybe we can adjust the lighter leather armor?" Lhorne frowned.
We then went to the retail shop escorted by Edelweiss retainer. The fancy shop stored the beautiful craftsmanship of the elves. Decorated breastplate, embroidered green cape, leather fur boots. Silvery white chainmail, helmets, leather buckler. All sorts of weapons were also aligned in its rack.
"Welcome to elven Retail shop! The Best in Regoia. May I help you?"
"She needs a guardian noble attire and armor," Lhorne replied
"Guardian noble, you say? She is a tailfolk. I am sorry, but noble attire is for nobles. No matter how rich you are." The elven shopkeeper replied
"She is a noble recognized by Lord Ghander and Edelweiss. She is now summoned to guard For Soleil."
"Ahh! You are the famous tailfolk that saved five elves from being sex slaves in a human city. Your reputation has preceded you. My apologies. I will prepare the item right away. By the way, may I know when you will need them?"
"Tomorrow, if possible. At least for the armor. We got an emergency summons to Fort Soleil, you see. I will also participate."
"Oh, dear. That was really sudden. And for tailfolk too. Most of our clothes are for adult elves…."
"We trust in your skill." The servant that accompanied us spoke as if putting pressure on the elves." We will pay double than standard fee."
"Of course. We will invite the tailor immediately. You will have to be satisfied with the crestless weapon from the rack, though."
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"Yes. We understand. She doesn't even have crest yet." Lhorne nodded
"I see. What a shame. The tailfolk at the bar I frequented ravished about you. They would be so jealous if they heard I would be providing you with weapons and clothes. Hehehe" He smiled as if he wanted to brag about us to his friends.
"Ahem, let's cut to the chase. From that scrap iron on your waist, you use a rather short sword? Are you dual wielding? Please throw away that sword in that dustbin. We elves prefer not to see it." He glanced at the swords on our waist, and his face showed disgust at the sight of the human sword. We nodded and did as he said.
"So, how about this one?" He presented us with various decorated swords. The blade was shining and engraved with characters that read 'fortune of ares be with you' in elvish language. The handle was carved with a lion's head, and the guard was polished silver. The saber was both beautiful and sharp as Lily unsheathed and test-swung them. The sound when it cut the wind was short and crisp.
"Oh! I am glad the sword will not be wasted on you." The shopkeeper said.
"Huh?" Lily tilted her head. The servant and Lhorne quickly coughed as if we were approaching a taboo subject. I was curious, but they didn't want to tell us.
"Ah, I am sorry. The tailor is here. Let me get your measurements."
"Hmm… fortunately, we only need to make minimal adjustments for this size. But the tail is really in the way."
"Don't say that!" Lily said while hugging me.
"So?" He looked to his tailor with a questioning look. Noble military attire required a tunic with a breastplate, a belt, and a cape. It was called a noble armor set. However, we are having a problem with the tunic. Since putting a hole in it would cause controversy.
"Hmm… a tailfolk made clothes will include a hole here or for the tails, unlike normal clothes. However, a hole on the noble skirt would indicate she is too poor or neglected…." The tailor spoke.
"Our shop's reputation would suffer if we gave them a ripped-up skirt. Maybe we can use buttons for the back skirt?"
"That would be a disaster. That kind of clothes is only used when inviting someone to bed. Skirt buttons are usually in the front."
"The other tailfolk doesn't seem to have a problem living here," Lily asked while looking at the occasional tailfolk hanging on the street.
"Well, they are not nobles. Nobody would pay that much attention to them. She is a tailfolk, so they should not pay attention to this kind of detail. It will be covered with the cape anyway.." The shopkeeper and the tailor had a really heated discussion.
"Well, I guess so. But altering noble formal armor decorum… Moreover, a military one… She would not use this on the training field as a student but real fortress with real military commanders, right?" The tailor sighed.
"Well, we are running out of time. Lord Lily. If anybody asks you a question about the clothes, please ensure that you reply to them that tailfolk needed their tails out, so you have to alter the clothes this way. I hope they will understand and let it slide." The shopkeeper gave up, and we proceeded to the final measurements.
"Okay, That is for today. one noble armor set, two elven sabers, one tailfolk leather armor mercenary, and one scimitar for Nora. The total would be 25.000 gold."
"Very well. You may send the bill to Edelweiss manor."
"Thank you for your patronage."
We can only pop our eyes at the exorbitant price. Edelweiss will charge us this later, right? I needed a way to earn money; otherwise, we might end up like Mattheus and be riddled with debt.