Chapter 3 I Buy a Swimsuit

Mr. Juzz and Wembly were more than happy to give me the time off for vacation. They'd told me not to come in anyway, but hearing about the trip made them both so excited. They both seemed genuinely happy for me. They'd be able to keep the inn open, but food service was cut off until they got the wall fixed. So they really didn't need me.

Grunck had been arrested for arson. There was some debate on if it had been intentional or not. Either way, he'd be forced to sell off what little he had in order to attempt to pay back Mr. Juzz for blowing up his kitchen. He'd probably be sent to the docks or to the salt mines for forced labor to pay off the rest of the debt. He'd sober up though. It might actually be good for him in the long run. If he'd killed someone it would have been an automatic death sentence.

The guards had me write down my statement. They assured me they would keep an eye on our apartment. I was informed that our rent would be paid for by the kingdom during our trip.

“Why would they do that?”

“They are using you first lot to work out all the kinks in the system, so to speak. They made it mandatory and because of that, they are stepping in. They believe that paying your bills and giving you all the extra money at the end will be enough to compensate for having been torn from your lives and your jobs to be test subjects for their holiday experience.”

“But it is a vacation,” I clarified.

“Mostly, but you will have to sit down with team members frequently to talk about your experiences and how you think things can be improved on. You will be working for it, it's not all free.”

“I guess so,” I muttered as I signed documents. I guess Mom didn't know about that part of the deal. She was supposed to have gone to the guard offices after she received her letter so that she could take care of this. I was just lucky that I'd been heading in this direction anyway.

They had me give them our landlady's address and how much we paid her monthly in rent. They would send her a voucher for the rent when it was due. We didn't have any child or animal boarding fees and we didn't qualify for a business voucher. Even though I made soap, I was the only employee and I didn't have to rent out space for business. The kingdom was really going all out for this.

I was given our free complimentary packs, they had our lottery number attached to them with a tag. We were only allowed the one bag each since space on the boat would be limited. We each got a pot of suncream and a choice of a wide-brimmed straw hat or a colorful bandanna. I chose the hats. I was told I should pack warm weather clothing, but rain gear would be provided for on the Island. Swimwear was suggested but could be bought at the Island gift shop if I didn't have any.

The guard waved me off with the suggestion I go to his cousin's store on Guild Street, to pick up a swimsuit just in case. I'd just been given an extra two silvers, I could afford to spend a little of it on a new swimsuit. After all, I'd outgrown my old one. Should I get one for Mom as well? I didn't really have time to go back home and fetch her before the shop closed. She had an old suit she could still wear, so if I didn't see anything I thought she'd like we'd pack that. If she wanted something new she might find one at the gift shop she liked.

The store had three other customers when I walked in. The shop girl looked a little overwhelmed and so I signaled to her that I'd just look around a bit. She nodded and continued to help the woman fit her young son with a pair of bathing briefs.

All the suits were made of a stretchy material that mimicked Spider Silk but wasn't actually as durable as Spider Silk. Surprisingly, they had a section dedicated just to pure Spider Silk. One look at the price though and I turned right around and browsed the discounted area.

I found what I needed fairly quickly. It wasn't too showy or showed off a lot of skin. Simple, and I liked it. It was a two piece with snug bathing shorts and a shirt, that was somewhere in between being a t-shirt and a tank top, in an ugly pale grey color. I could see why it had been discounted. The colors of the threads weren't uniform. In some areas, the color was lighter than others and very blotchy. Someone had done a crappy job dyeing it. I could fix that though, I still had dye left over from when I had taken in laundry.

I tried it on. I loved the way it fit. I think my male side would appreciate it too. I didn't know which I'd be tomorrow and since I was going on vacation I could compromise a little bit by not buying something pink and frilly.

I also found something simple for Mom. A navy blue bathing dress with a white stripe across the bodice. It was in her size and would hide all her insecure areas. It was also on sale, but more pricey than my own two-piece. This was our chance to relax. To have fun. I decided to buy the suit.

“Oh, we've had this one around awhile. It's discounted nearly 80% at this point. Not many people can wear this style.” The sales girl laughed and glanced at my lacking chest. I knew I didn't have boobs for days, but there were times I appreciated that. I smiled back as if I hadn't understood her barb.

“It's real Spider Silk you know, I'd been thinking of buying it to wear under my armor if it was discounted any further. Are you in the Guild? I just joined, I'm already in a party, but we only do Goblin Crab extermination at this point.” The girl just babbled on. I hadn't been aware it was real Spider Silk. Talk about a bonus for the day. It would be tougher to dye than I thought though. Maybe that was why the store hadn't bothered? You needed concentrated lye water to dye Spider Silk. Lucky for me I had a soap business.

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“No, I'm not in the Guild. I'm going on vacation and need a new suit,” I smiled at her.

“And you picked this one? I can understand if you were to hide it under armor, but to actually wear it?” She placed the suit on the counter and leaned in. “I know we are closing soon but if you want to take a little more time to look around, I don't mind staying over. My sister won that lottery, but since she's pregnant and due any day she can't go. So I'm not going to be here for a while, I don't mind staying over.”

“No, it's really fine. It fits me well and I can dye it. My Mom won that lottery too, that's where I'm going.” I began to hand over the coins so I could end the transaction and leave.

“You can dye Spider Silk? Really?”

“Yes, I have the stuff for it at home.”

“Are you any good at it?”

“I had to do it sometimes when I took in laundry. I never had complaints.”

“Can you give me your information? If we had had someone able to dye this suit we would have been able to sell it ages ago and for more of a profit. We'd have to see your work of course, but if you can actually do it, we may be able to give you some extra work.”

“Well, we are both going on the same trip. You'll probably see me in this suit at some point, but other than this I don't have any other Spider Silk to show you.”

“It's exciting isn't it?” The girl leaned forward with a smile. There was a slight gap in her teeth but it was more a charming addition than a blemish. “My name is Annie, I run this store with my sister.”

“Rille,” I introduced myself. “I make soap, and work part-time at Juzz's tavern.”

“Nice to meet you Rille.” Annie reached out and took my hand. Her hands were blistered in a way that made me suspicious that she'd been doing a lot of new archery practice. “I'll talk to my sister tonight. She's going to be unable to do much after the baby. I'll have her go through our inventory to find odd pieces she thinks we could sell if dyed. When we get back we can check your work. Sound good?”

“Sounds good, I could always use a little extra income.”

“Couldn't we all,” Annie laughed and handed me my change. “See ya on the boat tomorrow!” She called and waved.

“See ya,” I waved back. She'd been rude at first, but she gradually warmed up. I had a new job prospect all I needed to do was dye this swimsuit. I had the Cleaning skill. I'd also had my Dyeing skill but it was still passive. I'd never bothered to activate it at the temple and instead focused on my soap making.

Did I have enough Exp to activate Dyeing? If I activated the skill before I started then the swimsuit would probably turn out better. Vulcena's Temple was right around the corner. Perhaps it would be worth it? After all, I could get a paying job if I pulled this off. I decided to take a detour and visit the temple priest in charge of Exp allocation.

The temple wasn't busy, thank the gods. I was able to see the priest without a wait. He examined my stats and activated my Dyeing skill. It used up most of my saved Exp, but let's hope it would be worth it. I paid the man and went home.

Name- Rille

HP 2145

MP 0

Level- 13

Age- 18

Race/Species- Human

Gender- Female

Occupation- Freelancer

Exp- 28

Physical Power- 75

Stamina- 43

Defense- 23

Agility- 34

Intelligence- 123

Magic Power- 0

Skills

Knife Work Lv 1

Dual Wielding Lv 1

Swimming Lv 2

Fishing Lv 2

Net Lv 1

Rod Lv 1

Pain Tolerance Lv 5

Deception Lv 2

Etiquette Lv 1

Appraisal Lv 1

Harvesting Lv 1

Cooking Lv 1

Cleaning Lv 2

Sewing Lv 1

Knitting Lv 1

Dyeing Lv 1

Soap Making Lv 3

Extraction Lv 2

Dancing

Singing

Leatherwork

Shearing

Spinning

Weaving

Pottery

Painting

Titles- Dedicated Cleaner

Enemy of Sheep

Lover of Baths