In the bustling afternoon streets, a kaleidoscope of chatter and colors enveloped their senses. Pedestrians weaved through the throng, creating a rhythm of footsteps against the cobblestone pavement. The aroma of freshly baked goods mingled with the tantalizing scent of spices wafting from the nearby market stalls.

“Woah,” Circe’s widened eyes looked around the busy sidewalk, in awe at the sheer amount of people. “I knew the game’s streets were filled with NPCs, but seeing it in person is entirely different. All these people…are alive and breathing.”

Zeke stuffed his hands into his trouser’s pockets, both of them wearing simple clothing to blend in with the commoners’ crowd. “I’ve seen it briefly when I first opened my eyes as Silas, though I was too hungover to properly take a look at it.”

“We never had the chance to take all this in properly, huh,” Circe mused as her gaze remained fixed to the scenery before her. “…Maybe we’re taking all this too well. This isn’t our body, yet somehow everything feels so natural…the way we speak, the way we move as if noble etiquettes were second nature to us…”

“You said it yourself that you wouldn’t think too much about it,” taking one hand from his pocket, Zeke swiftly pulled Circe towards him by the shoulder, watching calmly as a cyclist sped past the two of them. “And I’ve decided to do the same. Yeah I sometimes spook myself looking at my own reflection, but we have the game’s ending ahead of us right now, so we shouldn’t think too deeply about useless things.”

Circe chuckled, not flinching at the slightest even though she could’ve gotten run over. “I guess seeing all these people living their lives is like a wake-up-call. Like, ‘all of this fantasy thing is real’, you know?”

“That…makes no sense.” Zeke let out a huff as the corner of his lips tucked upwards into a grin.

“Right, it’s a bit too late to be worrying about it now.” Circe found her gaze wandering towards Zeke’s hand, still gripping her shoulder. “…By the way, when are you going to let me go?”

“Oh, sorry.” A sheepish look flickered across Zeke’s face, dropping his arm to his side. He looked away in embarrassment. “…Anyway, we’re here to explore, right? So let’s focus on having fun.”

“Sure,” Circe decided to let things slide, though remained smirking mischievously as she looked ahead towards the many stores lining the sidewalk. “Esmeralda gave you a lot of money, right? So we should spend it all as basic courtesy.”

“You’re not making any sense today.” As Zeke regained his composure, his cheeks became tainted red once more when Circe suddenly grabbed his hand.

“C’mon! You’re my sugar daddy for today, buy me stuff!” Her enthusiastic claims accompanied the excited look on her face as she dragged him forward.

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They made their first stop at a boutique Circe randomly picked out. The building made from pure black material outlined in gold easily caught her attention as it stood tall in the midst of the other stores. Heading inside, the bell by the door chimed, signaling their arrival.

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”Hello customers,” a female stylist walked up to them as they looked around, taking note of the simplistic design in the store that matched well with its exterior. “Welcome to Regal Raiments, my name is Kelina Wrights. How can I assist you today?”

“Hello Miss Wrights,” Circe greeted the brunette with a bright smile. “I’m looking for some new clothes right now…I don’t have anything I want in mind, although I would also like to choose one to attend the royal banquet in a few days.”

“Oh my…!” Kelina’s hand shot to her lips, her brown eyes widening in surprise. “My apologies, but this is the first time that a noble lady has bought such an important dress from our shop…” Her gaze subtly met with Zeke’s, and realization flickered across her face. “You must be Lady Ruelle Peregrine! Oh my goodness, I’m sorry that I couldn’t recognize you!”

“There’s no need to make such a big deal about it,” Zeke crossed his arm, genuine discomfort plastered across his expression. “Bring us the catalog.”

”Yes, my lord!”

As Kelina swiftly rushed to fetch them the store’s catalog, Zeke turned to Circe while they found themselves a seat. “I thought you already had a dress for the banquet?”

“I didn’t like it,” Circe shrugged, watching as Kelina hurried over to them with a thick book in hand. “It cuts off way too much of the back. Who thought that was an appropriate dress for a teenage girl anyway?”

Upon the stylist’s return, Zeke quietly took the catalog from Kelina’s shaking hands. Ignoring the nervous look on the woman’s face, he placed the book on his lap and opened it for Circe to see. Multiple dresses of different designs and colors presented themselves upon the pages, the vibrant images drawing in Circe’s attention, making her eyes sparkle with glee.

“So she likes fashion? That’s a bit unexpected.” The thought crossed his mind as his eyes wandered from the catalog, finding themselves focusing on Circe’s brightened face instead. Not once did it cross his mind that the employees within the store sneakily snuck a few glances at the two of them.

‘Why did they choose our store?’

’Are they on a date?’

’Of course they are, why would they be together out here otherwise?’

“Mm…” Circe hummed as she flipped through another page of the catalog, a slight frown creasing her brows. “I really don’t know which ones to pick…They’re all so pretty. What do you think?” Her eyes met with Zeke’s.

”…” Instead of answering, Zeke turned towards Kelina and held up the catalog. “Can I have everything in this catalog? Just send them straight to the Salvador estate.”

”I, there are some products that have sold out, my lord.”

“Then just give me the ones that you have.”

Too stunned to speak, Circe simply stared at him with widened eyes as Kelina’s quivering hands took back the catalog from Zeke. Kelina responded with a stutter. “Y-Yes, my lord. Shall I send the bill to the marquess as well?”

“No, I’ll pay upfront,” Zeke responded with nonchalance as he took out a cloth pouch from his trouser pocket. Giving it to Kelina, he asked. “Is that enough?”

The stylist settled the catalog down on the table before opening the bag, and she immediately let out a muffled cry seeing its content. “My, my lord! This is way too much!” As she replied, her widened eyes remained fixed on the shimmering gemstones filling the pouch to the brim.

“Well, I still haven’t grasped the currency that they use yet, I never really paid attention to the little details.” After a moment of thought, Zeke took out another bag from his pocket. This time golden coins filled its space. “What about this?”

Swapping the gems for the gold, Kelina nervously counted the estimated value. “…It’s a few coins too much, my lord.” She took out several golden coins and gave them back to Zeke.

Having received the leftover money, Zeke stuffed them back into his pocket as he stood up along with Circe. “Alright, I’ll leave this to you then, Miss Wrights.” Unlike with nobles, he didn’t bother thinking about his word choices.

Before they left, Kelina didn’t forget to give them a farewell curtsy. “…Thank you for shopping with us!”

As they stepped onto the streets, Circe finally snapped out of her trance and gave Zeke a light smack on the back, a wide smile dancing on her lips. “Oh my god, I said you’d be my sugar daddy for the day but I never thought you’d actually buy the whole damn catalog. How did you fit that big pouch in your pocket anyway?”

Despite the jesting hit, Zeke’s back still stung for a few seconds. He responded as they walked. “I didn’t, I put them in my inventory and made it look like I pull them out of my pocket.”

Circe held back her laughter by covering her grin. “What the hell? They didn’t notice anything wrong with that?”

Zeke shrugged. “Who would pay attention to the lower half of my body?”

“That sounds wrong out of context, please don’t ever say that again.” Circe made a face.

“Anyway, where to next?” Pretending that he didn’t hear anything, Zeke swiftly changed the subject, bringing a cunning grin to his lips. “I still have a lot of funds to burn for my lady.”

Circe smiled back, going along with Zeke’s flow. “You seem genuinely excited about this, don’t you?”

“This is my first time holding this much money in my hands, what else am I going to do but recklessly spend every dime of it for no good reason?”

As their laughter faded into the crowd’s ambience, the two of them made their way further down the road.