A few moments later…

Straf and Nona are walking side by side down the busy street. Straf's eyes look at the massive hammerhead that's hanging off Nona's shoulder.

「…Okay, you know what? Hand me that hammer.」

Straf stops, and turns to face Nona, holding his hand out.

「Huh? Why?」

She stops as well, blinking at him in surprise.

「…The very fact that you're asking why instead of just handing it over concerns me.」

He replies with a tight-lipped grimace, staring at her. Nona looks at her shoulder before her amber eyes return to his face. She reluctantly swings the hammer off her shoulder into both of her hands, shifting her weight around as her center of mass shifts with it. The sight of Nona holding the hammer by its shaft is enough for Straf's tight-lipped grimace to intensify, and his lips to narrow further.

「…Here.」

Nona says as she reluctantly holds the hammer up and out for Straf, straining a little. He effortlessly takes it with one hand, and pulls it away while she joins her hands behind her back.

[Portable Storage] opens beside him, causing the passersby to look at them both with furrowed brows, and swerve around them. Straf throws the hammer in, and the vortex closes.

「So that still works… Alright.」

Straf utters out, then shrugs and continues onward with his hands in his pockets. Briefly lagging behind, Nona quickly catches up to his side.

「Why did you want it back? Am I… Not allowed to have it anymore? Are you upset about?… You know…」

She asks, lowering her hatted head. She shrugs her shoulders as her voice grows quieter, meeker, and her eyes drift away.

「You're off-duty for now, so you're not going to carry it around on a date. I'll give it back afterwards…」

He replies, shrugging.

「…It's also for my own peace of mind.」

Grumbling, he turns his fatigued face aside and adds

「Ah. So… So you're not upset about that one time?」

Nona asks, blinking her large orange eyes at him. They look at each other.

「Nooo… Not particularly upset…」

Straf sighs out, turning his gaze ahead while they weave through the crowd. Her smile grows with his reply.

「…But you really need to understand that just because I'd enjoy some bad touch, that doesn't mean it's okay for you to give it to me. Especially if there's a hammer involved.」

He adds, pointing at her with a tight-lipped grimace.

「Bad touch?」

Nona asks, tilting her head.

「Yeah. Don't ask like you don't know, considering how you were behaving the last time, I'm just not gonna believe that.」

Straf nods once then shrugs, turning his gaze forward again. She pulls the brim of her hat over her face, her lips pouting a little.

「Aaanyway… Let's go look for a clothing shop. Surely there has to be one around here.」

He adds, shrugging his hands before returning them to his pockets as he glances at her hat-covered face. She slowly lifts the brim up.

「…I don't have any money though. I mean, I do, but it's enough for the inn and food.」

She replies with a light tilt of her head.

「Huh? What the fuck did you do with all your money? Didn't I tell you to take your pay?」

Straf furrows his brows heavily as he looks at her in surprise.

「And I did…」

「How much?」

「Like…」

Nona turns her eyes up to the sky with a face deep in thought.

「…Two of those gold drakes a month?」

She replies, turning her gaze back to Straf.

「Two!? Are you fucking insane!?-」

He exclaims, then immediately stops to rub his chin and think.

「…Yeah, I guess you are. How are you even alive if cookies in this fucking city cost half your paycheck?」

「Eheheh…」

Straf asks, and Nona only replies with a grin and a chuckle as she adjusts her hat.

「…Should I have taken more, then?」

She asks, blinking up at him.

「Why didn't you? You could have stuffed your pockets full of taxpayers' money, and you didn't? There's seriously something wrong with your head.」

「Ahaha!… I don't know, one gold coin seems like a lot to me, even if it's not a coin anymore. It's just enough to last me through a month, but I don't have much for anything else.」

Nona shrugs, smiling a little as she explains while they navigate the crowded streets.

「…If nothing else, you're an urban survival expert in this shithole of a city. Whatever. Men are expected to pay for everything on dates anyway. Want to hear the chances-killing spell?」

Straf asks smirking at her.

「Chances-killing spell?」

She tilts her head, somewhat confused.

「Yeah. It's a spell that kills your chances with a girl.」

「…Sure, what is it?」

「It goes like this… Let's split the bill.」

He chuckles, and turns his grin forward. Nona furrows her brows, only further confused as she follows him through the crowd. A woman watches on…

…

A few moments later, in one of the capital's clothing stores…

Straf and Nona enter a relatively small shop. Mannequins draped in dresses, shirts, fancy blouses as well as the general citywear alike line the walls, and stand guard near the clothes racks. A woman at a counter off to the side bows silently as they walk in, and there are a few other women browsing the wares in the other parts of the store.

「Well, go on. Pick out something you like.」

Straf says as he steps aside with his hands in his pockets, turning to face Nona, who is now at loss as to what to do next.

「…Like what?」

She asks as she looks at the shirts, pants, skirts, sweaters and accessories hanging off the racks, some sitting on the shelves, while she paces around idly.

「I don't know, something that looks good to you. Didn't you wear normal clothes from time to time?」

He shrugs nonchalantly, approaching a little closer.

「I wore whatever my father bought me… But then he died, and the old man said I better get some armor so I don't catch a random slash somewhere important.」

Nona replies, smiling a little at Straf's bored face. He lets out a large, fatigued sigh.

「…So, you literally wore that armor that barely protects anything?」

「Hey! I did change into a normal shirt and stuff to sleep!… When I felt like it!」

She exclaims, holding her index finger out.

「…And when you didn't?」

Straf asks, and his brows raise gently. Nona turns her amber eyes away, pouting a little with her hands clasped together behind her back.

「…Then I just took it off.」

She shrugs and meets Straf's gaze, still pouting. Straf sighs again.

「…Being a comfortable person who doesn't like to do much, I kind of understand that sentiment… But is that a good idea?」

He asks as his eyes drift down from her pout to the uniform buttons on her chest.

「Hm? Why?」

Nona asks, tilting her head at him.

「…Forget it. Let's just go take a look around. If you don't pick something out, I will.」

Straf shrugs, and heads further into the store. They pass by two curtain-covered dressing rooms as they look left and right at the shelves lined with all types of clothing a fashionable man or a woman of the third era might want. Nona briefly picks up a few thin blouses, before setting them back down when she realizes how cold it would be in them. They come across an autumn and winter section, where mannequins with cozy felt jackets, wearing woolen gloves or thigh-highs. Nona pauses for a few moments, looking at them before continuing onward.

「Well… You either pick something, or I'll pick out something real skimpy for you.」

Straf declares, once again taking an out-of-the-way spot and facing her with his hands in his pockets.

「But the winter is coming. I'll be cold… Pervolich…」

Nona quietly, half-heartedly protests, and pouts again as she turns her head away.

「Hmmmmm… That's right, wouldn't want you to catch the deadly cliche cold…」

He humms in response, nodding lightly. He lazily walks up to a shelf and picks a few things out.

Fwap.

「Here, try these on.」「Huh?」

Straf pushes a collection of folded clothes into Nona's arms, and nods at the changing room a few paces away. She looks at the clothes, the room, and then at Straf.

「…Okay?」

She nods, and hesitantly turns around to approach the changing room.

Krrk.

The cloth sheet hanging off the rings above make a soft scraping noise against the metal bar as she moves the divider out of the way. She enters, sets the pile down, and turns around.

「I'm going to put these on now… You can look if you want!…」

Krrk!

She says as Straf casually approaches outside the changing room, with his hands in his pockets. She quickly pulls the divider back into place.

「What, really?」

He asks, rubbing his chin with his brows furrowed. He steps closer, reaching for the hanging sheet.

Krrrk!

「Just kidding!」

Nona's face peeks out as he quickly pulls the divider away again, and sticks her tongue out at Straf. His brows rise, and his hand retreats back to his pocket with a shrug of his shoulders.

「…Don't actually look.」

Krrrrk…

She adds, and slowly slides the curtain divider back into place.

「I won't. Do you think I'm desperate or something? Opening a bathroom door is not the same.」

Straf scoffs, turning his eyes away with a light grin.

「Pervolich…」

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Nona mutters out through the curtains with the sound of rustling clothes. Straf turns and paces idly around the store while waiting, lazily glossing over the merchandise with his mouth aslant. Disinterested with what the store has to offer, largely due to the fact every simple piece of clothing like these can be crafted, his eyes drift up to the woman at the counter, who is watching the other customers browse through winter jackets for women. Straf looks their way, and one of them appears to have been looking at him until that very moment. His brows rise slightly, and he shrugs, casually dismissing it.

Krrrrrrk…

「What do you think?…」

Nona asks as she pulls the divider curtain away.

Snap.

「Nice. It covers just enough to be warm, and reveals just enough to let the mind wander…」

Straf snaps his fingers, pointing at Nona wearing a snug-fitting jacket and a short black skirt. The jacket strongly resembles her uniform, though it's made of a different material, and her skirt is a little longer. Beneath it, however, are white stockings that contrast strongly with the rest of her outfit and her tanned legs. She's looking down at her clothes, but her amber eyes briefly snap to Straf's face for a split second every few moments. While she appears to be looking over herself and her new clothes, it seems more like she's letting Straf see her from all angles.

Clickclickclickclick.

「…And the stockings are just the right length for that strip below the skirt.」

He adds as he squats down, eyes focused on the bare skin between her stockings and the end of her skirt.

「…What was that sound?」

She asks, blinking at Straf.

「I don't know what you're talking about.」

He bluntly declares, staring up at her from his squat, hands lazily held together one on the other in front of his knees.

「…Never mind, then. It looks kind of similar to the uniform, though.」

Nona shrugs and remarks as she pulls her skirt forward a little to get a better look at it.

「Why fix something that's not broken?」

Straf asks as he stands up, spreading his hands before returning them to his pockets.

「I wish it was a little more… Colorful?」

She replies, shrugging her shoulders as she takes a step outside the changing room, hands clasped behind her. Straf's eyes glance at the tall mirror inside, looking at himself and her back.

「Don't like the colors?」

「It's not that that I don't like them… I just wish it wasn't so… Drab?」

Nona says, briefly searching for words while she looks aside.

「Why not pick out something more your style, then?」

Straf asks, and Nona takes a few more steps towards him. She looks left and right, leaning slightly as her eyes dart over the clothes on the shelves. She walks up to one of them and picks up a sweater. She stares at it for a few moments, glances at Straf, then hangs it on her forearm while she continues pacing around the store, looking around. Straf remains by the open changing room. A few moments later, Nona stops by a skirt and picks it up to look at it. She glances at Straf again, then returns to the changing room.

Krrk.

She slides it shut without a word.

Krk.

「…Don't peek.」

Krrk…

She says, sticking her head out of the curtain, and slides it back into place. Clothes rustle faintly in the changing room while Straf waits. He glances around again, and the woman from before once again turns her head away the moment he looks. He furrows his brows, but shrugs again and turns his attention back to the changing room.

Krrrrrrk…

「…How about this?」

Nona asks as she pulls the curtain away.

「Ooh.」

Straf nods in approval, rubbing his chin while she's showing her new outfit off, partially spinning around. The motion makes her long, shin-length, simple and unpatterned purple skirt spread out at its bottom, almost like a blooming flower. She is still wearing the stockings, a glimpse of them becoming visible while the skirt's edge rises. His eyes drift up to the woolly white sweater. The sleeves flare out at the very end, reaching roughly halfway across her hand towards the fingers, appearing just ever so slightly too big for her, but this trait allows the wearer to shelter cold fingers from the elements.

Though mostly loose, the sweater visibly rests on her chest, creating two distinct mounds. Straf nods further, and his eyes continue crawling up her form. Her neck is snugly wrapped in the sweater's collar, almost reaching as high as her chin, accentuating her face and naturally drawing Straf's attention to her amber eyes.

Clickclickclickclickclick.

The clicking sound comes from Straf's general direction once again. Nona tilts her head gently as she looks at him.

「What do you think?…」

She asks as she grips at her a-little-too-long sleeves and rests her hands on top of her chest, consciously or not, squeezing her breasts together with her arms a little.

「…Sweater puppies.」

Straf mumbles out, nodding while he rubs his chin.

「Huh?」

Nona utters out, and looks down at her sweater, furrowing her brows in confusion.

「It looks nice… But I think I've seen it somewhere?」

He replies, inquisitively rubbing his chin while his eyes narrow.

「Where?」

She asks, blinking up at his pensive, focused face.

「…Long purple skirt, check. Unnatural eye color, check… Check…」「What?」

Straf says as he looks at the elements of her attire, grimacing a little. Nona remains confused.

「I better not tell you where, that way it will remain a tasteful reference-slash-coincidence and the studio's lawyers stay away.」

He replies, shrugging his shoulders with his fists on his hips.

「So… Do you like those clothes?」

「I think they're not as drab. And if you think they're nice… Yeah, I like 'em.」

Nona hesitates for a few seconds, before turning her smiling face to him and nodding.

「Alright. Want to buy them, then? We can get that other set too, y'know, so you can actually wash your clothes and wear something.」

「Okay, but… Is it really okay? That can't be cheap…」

Nona nods, taking a step back into the changing room before she stops and looks at Straf again with a troubled expression.

「Don't worry about it. I said I'll pay, so I'll pay.」

Straf scoffs with a little grin on his face, dismissing her worries with a simple wave of his hand like with a magic wand.

「Uh. Okay, I'll change back then-」

「No no no, keep them on. We'll just hand 'em the pricetags and pay. I'll keep your uniform and your other set of clothes in my inventory with the hammer for now.」

He stops her, holding his palm out towards her. Nona stops just as she was about to walk into the changing room again, confused.

He steps past Nona, squeezing in, and throws the Ministry of Security uniform she left folded on a short stool inside into the [Portable Storage], then takes her other clothes into hand.

「Alright, let's go and pay for this.」

Straf walks out and nods his head towards the woman standing at the counter by the entrance while looking into Nona's orange eyes. She nods back, and trails behind him through the narrow space between the shelves. They approach the counter, and Straf nonchalantly drops the jacket with the skirt right in front of the woman.

「We're getting this, and uhhh…」

He declares as he turns to Nona and looks for the price tags on her clothes. He easily finds the one hanging at the back of her collar, and carefully rips it off.

「…3 gold, huh? Not too bad.」

Straf shrugs as he reads「Women's woolen autumn-winter sweater, 3 golden drakes」written on the small paper tag tied to a thin cord, which is now split, and sets it down.

「Nona, lift your skirt up for me.」

He nonchalantly says, looking straight into her amber eyes. Her jaw drops, and her eyes widen in shock. The woman behind the counter has a near exact same reaction.

「S- Straf… Here!? W- What are you saying!?」

Nona asks, taking a step back with an awkward grin on her face.

「…What?」

Straf tilts his head, furrowing his brows. He turns his gaze to the shopkeeper, whose eyes dart between him and Nona in utter disbelief. The woman on the other end of the store is giggling quietly behind them, covering her smiling mouth with her fingers. Nona points at Straf's face, forcing a tight-lipped grimace in a poor attempt to conceal her emotions.

「Y- You really take girls on dates and ask them to show them your panties so brazenly!? In public!? I'm not that kind of a girl, even if it's you!」

She exclaims as a hint of a blush appears on her face.

「…What? What are you talking abou-?」

Straf's eyes narrow in confusion as he lightly shakes his head, before suddenly widening in realization. He pinches the bridge of his nose then rubs his brows as he sighs.

「…No, not like that… I meant, lift up your skirt and show me the stockings. I need to rip the tag off and show her. Unless you're alright with stealing, that's fine by me.」

He explains with his mouth heavily scrunched to the side, looking at her with fatigued eyes. Nona's pointing hand slowly drops down as her grimace turns into an awkward grin again.

「Aaa… Ahhh… Like that… Yeah…」

She nods, turning her amber eyes away while she fiddles with her hands. The woman at the counter chuckles quietly, somewhat relieved, though also awkwardly grinning.

「Here… Don't look up into it…」

Nona says and pinches the skirt, then slowly lifts the bottom above her white stockings. Her eyes intermittently dart aside, only to return back to his face after a second.

「Seriously, do you think I'm desperate or something?…」

Straf shakes his head as he squats down, and quickly notices the tag tied into one of the stockings by a very thin string, likely weaved in with a needle.

「Eek!…」

Nona yelps quietly and her shoulders jump a little as his fingers brush against her leg. He rips it off and sets it down on the shopkeeper's counter.

「Okay… And the skirt iiis…」

He looks for the skirt's tag, and finds it likewise woven into its back. He briefly glances at it. The tag states「Finest wool royal purple skirt, 200 golden drakes」in black ink.

「Hrk!?」

Straf grunts as his eyes open wide. With his teeth clenched and grimacing from the internal pain, he rips the tag off.

Snap!…

「…And this.」

Slam!

He slams the tag down on the counter, looking outside past the mannequins at the storefront.

「One moment sir, I'll just add this all up…」

The woman nods her head and reads all the tags.

「Khhkkkkk…」「Straf? Are you okay?… You didn't look up, did you!?」

《Yeah… I'll fuckin' pay, alright… Good thing money isn't real.》

Straf thinks as he grimaces in pain at the street outside while Nona stares at him with a troubled expression.

「…Your total iiis… 253 golden drakes, sir.」「Two-!? Whaa-!?…」

The shopekeeper calmly declares with a gentle bow of her head, and Nona's amber eyes open wide in shock as she nearly chokes.

「S- Straf, that's way too much, I'll just return it…」

She tugs at Straf's sleeve, pointing at the changing room across the store with a nervous grin on her face.

「No. I said I'll pay, so I'll pay.」

Straf says as he turns his tight-lipped grimace to her, his mouth corners heavily scrunched and pulled to the sides.

「Straf, that's way, way too much. I doubt even I would fetch you this much, ha ha…」

She chuckles briefly as she's pulls his arm towards the changing room, but Straf remains standing where he is.

「No. You're worth a lot more than that to me…」

「My…」

He declares, and the shopkeeper's hands rise to her cheeks as she watches the two. Nona's blinks wordlessly at Straf's nonchalant, slightly bored face in an utter stunned shock.

[Contextual Time Perception] activates, and Straf notices Nona's fist heading for his ribs. His brows rise gently, and he waits.

Pat.

「I told you something about this… You can't just… Say stuff like that to a girl and not mean it…」

She replies, pouting aside with a plainly visible blush on her face. Her jab at his ribs amounts to a light tap that can't even get a tiny sound out of Straf.

「But I do mean it.」

He casually says as he shrugs his shoulders. Nona's amber eyes widen. She looks away, and pulls the collar of her sweater onto her face like a half-mask.

「My… You must be quite well off, sir…」

The shop keeper comments with a gentle smile, hiding her likewise blushing cheeks with her hands.

「Well, something like that…」

Straf sighs out as he pulls out a small stack of drakes and puts them on the counter, counting them.

《As much of a headache she is, at least she won't be filing a human rights complaint…》

「…Two fifty… Three. There.」

He says, and puts the rest of the stack in his pocket. The woman takes the drakes and quickly counts them as well.

「Exactly 253, thank you sir. Please come again.」

The woman smiles at Straf, and bows. She then unlocks a drawer beneath the counter with a key, slides it out, places the drakes into their respective compartments, then locks it.

「Not sure I will… But yeah…」

He sighs again as he turns for the door with the extra set of clothes in his hands, shrugging. He promptly throws it into his [Portable Storage] as well.

「Let's go, Nona. I'm kind of tired of hot dogs, let's go find something to eat…」

Straf looks over his shoulder at Nona, who is now spacing out and blankly staring at a nearby wall. His voice forces her attention back to him. She nods and hurries to catch up.

The woman browsing the store's merchandise watches them through the storefront as they walk down the street together…