Agh! That’s way too bright! Shielding his eyes, Ed took a step to the side, trying to find a spot where the light that was reflecting off the giant gemstone at the centre of the shopping plaza didn’t bounce into his eyes.

Unfortunately for him, the shopping plaza was specifically designed for the gemstone to always be visible, with very few spots across the entire place where it couldn’t be seen in all its glory. Even then, it was only partially blocked off.

The plaza was split into several floors that all circled around the gemstone. There was an open roof, letting light bounce around the place so that everything could sparkle and shine.

Ed and Zara had just entered the plaza after entering Envy City through one of the teleporters. Watching the sunset aboard the cruise, they had settled roughly on what they would do for the rest of the week. They wanted to spend a day out at each of the circles of Hell, having fun and seeing what they were all about.

Having already visited Envy before, albeit only for a short while, Ed suggested that they should go there next.

I’m stupid. This was a dumb idea! Why is it so fucking bright?

Everything was fine on their way here. The houses and buildings along the way were just like Ed had seen the last time he was here; covered in lavish and expensive items and decorations, showing off the owner’s wealth for all to see. But nothing else had been this outwardly extravagant and obnoxious.

The only thing more expensive he had seen was Invidia’s palace, but that was either from such a far distance that it was okay to look at, or he was already inside it. At that point, the focus was more on the value of the individual items and not on the entire thing.

Whoever owned this plaza wanted to show off as much as possible.

Giving up, he wandered around until he found a store near the entrance that was selling sunglasses and paid for two pairs. “Who owns this place? Are they not worried that someone would come and steal that?” Ed asked.

The shopkeeper gave him a knowing look, having been asked this question countless times by first time visitors to the city.

“Lady Invidia and Lord Avaritia themselves own this plaza. In fact, this place is only one of the several thousand they own, and is by no means the largest.” He said with a mix of pride, shame, and regret. He was honoured to be able to run his store here, but he dreamed to one day move on to an even bigger plaza.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

That explains it. Thanking the shopkeeper, he passed one pair to Zara, and finally, they could see what the place actually looked like. Noted, always bring sunglasses with me.

Every store showed off their most expensive and prized products in the front window, enticing customers who were looking to add to their collection. Zara bounced from window to window, excitedly looking at everything. Her eyes were practically glowing with desire as she stared at some of the items on display.

One of the items that especially caught her attention was a golden cuirass. Looking at it in closer detail, she discovered elegant lines embossed along its front, forming the face of a proud lion. The armour was shined so immaculately that it practically glowed with a brilliant radiance.

She didn’t go in immediately, instead choosing to wander around for a while longer to see what else she could find. She didn’t want to spend too much right away and end up regretting it.

Walking up to the second floor, Ed’s attention was drawn in by a store that had a beautiful drum set in the front window. His hands twitched slightly, that entire year he spent living in another person’s body, followed by all the hardship and torture he experienced in the company made him yearn to pick up an instrument again. To go back to a simpler time. I never did find the time to pick up an instrument. Maybe now’s my chance.

At the same time, Zara noticed a hair salon, and looked down at her own hair. I think I’m due for a touch-up. Her hair had grown a bit longer since joining the company, and she had never found the time to go around to a stylist, so her hair was starting to become a tad bit more unkempt than she would have normally liked.

Turning back to Ed, she noticed that his attention was drawn elsewhere. The place doesn’t seem to busy, and we’ve got plenty of time. “Hey Ed, I’m gonna drop in to get my hair done. Do you want to come in, or have you found something you want to check out?”

“Yeah, I might get something. If I’m not back by the time you’re done, we’ll meet back here, okay?” Ed asked.

“Okay.” Nodding, Zara entered the hair salon and started talking with one of the workers.

Waiting for her to get seated, Ed walked over to the instrument store. What should I even try and learn? I could probably pick up the drums easily, I already learned quite a lot when I was Sarah, but I don’t know whether I liked it that much. It was good, but it just didn’t feel like me.

Hesitating outside the store for a moment, he finally took a step inside. Taking a proper look around now, the store was massive, and filled to the brim with various different instruments, many of which Ed had never heard of before.

Paralysed by so many choices, he really had no clue what he was going to do. Do I really have time for this? As far as I know, Buddie could pull me back tomorrow, and then my money would be wasted... But who knows how long he’ll keep me here. The time as Sarah was long, but that was all in my head. Less than a day had passed then. But now, it’s probably been close to a month since I was sent here.

Struggling to make a decision, Ed was interrupted by a voice.