Seeing as how it was only, what he called, Saturday, he was reasonably sure that most of the study group was still on campus, so he had Avi call them over to her manor.
Avi changed back to Alicia, then slipped out to meet the study group at her place. After that, she would sneak them over through their connected back yards to avoid the protesters in front of his place.
After she’d gone, he realized that he hadn’t brought up the topic of his Network with Emily yet, so he got on that.
“So,” he said, a bit nervous. “There’s something else you should probably know about me,” he said, then went on to describe his Network to her.
He explained the telepathy, how one could either speak with everyone at the same time or create smaller “chatrooms”, or even speak individually with someone. He also explained that he was able to affect any willing member of the Network with several of his “abilities”.
He didn’t go into full details about his psionic abilities, but did share things like the improved coordination that could be had to how he was able to remotely heal someone, to a certain extent. Again, he didn’t want to share everything, especially since he wasn’t sure if their engagement would work out. But, he decided that if she were to stay, if they got married, that he would tell her everything about himself.
Which scared the hell out of him. But was also fair. He didn’t want to keep those kinds of things from people so close to him. Especially someone who was trusting themselves to him.
After a few more questions from Emily about the Network, like range and just how deep the connection was, Alicia arrived with the rest of the study group.
He was happy to see that everyone was there, including Jae-Eun and Aya. Though, the murder machine was back to giving him evaluating looks when she thought he wasn’t looking. Which, really, was all the time due to his field of perception.
“All right,” he said once everyone had settled into their preferred seating arrangement. “I’m sorry for the short notice, and for not asking what everyone’s plans are for the summer break. So, please, share your plans, for I was thinking of taking both of our teams out for a few weeks to do as much questing as we can.”
That got a few startled looks from them, but soon enough they were all sharing what they’d had planned for the summer break.
Sophia had wanted to head back to Avilia so that she could work in her family’s store for more experience, one of many that they owned in several cities. Having caught wind of Kinkade’s plans, Joram then suggested applying to work at Kinkade’s store. She was hesitant until he revealed what would be sold there, and the general business plan. After that, she was eager to head over and get started as soon as possible.
Alyraele had planned on staying for the break, claiming that her family had planned on visiting her as a kind of vacation. She claimed that it wouldn’t be difficult to arrange their visit for when they returned from their questing, so she was in.
Gabrielle had planned on just cramming over summer, wanting to get every minute of practice in that she could. But if her team was going, she said that she would also go along with them.
At that point, seeing how the others reacted when Gabrielle mentioned cramming, Joram put it out there that he was still planning on holding study sessions while out in the field. Well, when it was safe to do so anyway. After he’d shared that, subtle looks of relief settled on everyone, making him glad that he’d spoken up about it.
After that, Daleira, Faenwyn, Kassandra, and Renna all agreed to come along. At that point, Sophia looked as though she was regretting her decision to remain, so he once again put the offer out there for her. Once again, she leaned towards working until he also mentioned that he would put in a good word with Asura and Kinkade, saying that he was sure that they’d still need someone as capable as her before the next term started up.
So, Sophia joined in, seeming happy that she could come along with everyone.
Jae-Eun expressed that she, too, would like to join them as going back home wasn’t exactly practical for her. Aya didn’t seem very happy with her decision but, she surprisingly stayed quiet. Which, really, was something, because she wasn’t hesitant to disagree with her ward’s decisions, even going so far as vetoing anything that she didn’t agree with. And to Joram’s eye, she clearly didn’t agree with her choice.
So, that made for the full ten members of Untouchables as well as his five-member team.
While they spoke, he studied their varying reactions, their body language, and their tones. He wasn’t sure if he was being paranoid, or prideful as he tried to read each of them there, trying to suss-out their intentions.
Ultimately, he gave up. He wasn’t quite willing to use [Read Mind] on any of them given that none of them were strangers he wasn’t sure of. They were all… friends. Well, he wasn’t sure about Aya, but he’d respect her privacy so long as she didn’t turn hostile towards him. As for the others, even though he was intensely curious, he would let things happen when they wanted them to happen. He was in no hurry to speed things along, as it were.
“All right,” he said, quieting the several conversations that had popped up after everyone had decided to come. “Since I was the one to invite you all, I’ll make sure to bring enough supplies for us all. No, it’s OK. I’m the one inconveniencing you all, so I’ll make the arrangements.
“I’ll also arrange for transportation, though it might seem a bit weird to you all. As you may have noticed, I have a… peculiar eye for design, so please don’t make fun of things,” he said, giving them a wincing smile that provoked a round of assurances from them that they’d be just fine with things.
“Also, for the sake of safety, I’ll hand out some items that will allow us to not only speak telepathically with one another, but also be able to tell where each of us are. It’ll be dangerous out there, so I want to make sure that everyone is as safe as possible,” he said, getting varying looks of shock, awe, and surprise from them.
“How?” Was basically what all their questions boiled down to.
“Well, Mental Strength spells that allow for silent communication between people aren’t difficult to learn, nor are basic tracking spells. Putting them together, well, it wasn’t too hard to do,” he said, trying to brush it off. “Going from there, I just kind of converted those spells into enchantments, and here we are,” he said with another shrug.
That got another round of astonished exclamations, congratulations, and a sales pitch from Sophia.
“Seriously!” She said, her eyes shining like Crystal Coins. “If you could sell those to the Quest Hall, then to the Adventurer’s Guild, you’d make a fortune! Imagine the utility! Adventurers everywhere would pay a fortune to get an artifact that would help keep them safer!”
“Ah, yeah, it may be a product that I could have Asura and Kinkade sell for me,” he said, hedging. He really didn’t want more of a drain on his crafting time, or resources, though.
“Ah~~~! Imagine the Crystals flowing! I’ll definitely make sure to wow Miss Asura and Mr Kinkade during my interview!” Sophia said, getting fired up.
It took another few minutes for everyone to settle back down after that, but he eventually managed to speak again.
“So, with that said, I hope to set out tomorrow morning. All you have to do is pack what you’ll need for clothing and personal care items. Like I said, I’ll provide the transportation and the food. I’ll also provide an artifact that’ll make sleeping a lot safer,” he said, getting more excitement from the group.
“So, let’s separate for now. Everyone needs to get ready, and I still need to grab some quests that we can do while away,” he said, ending the meeting.
“Should we bring along our textbooks, then?” Alyraele asked after raising a hand, which made him smile.
“Bring whatever you were planning on studying over the break,” he said with a smile. “I also plan on bringing some books and textbooks along.”
A few more questions followed, all easily taken care of, then they parted. Joram smiled again at just how… nice it was. Friends. People who got along with one another, even with the occasional petty or silly argument. Which, really, showed just how much they truly got along; how comfortable they were with everyone else.
He let that content feeling linger for a few minutes before getting up and sneaking out of the manor to the Quest Hall.
Unsurprisingly, the Quest Hall was packed when he arrived. That it was the first official day of summer break meant that anyone wanting to make money over summer break was there, competing for the most lucrative quests available.
Things like gathering quests were obviously taken first, as they tended to not only be safe, but also paid fairly. The next most popular quests to go were the errand-types. Sure, they were a bit more boring than gathering quests, but they were safer. And safer quests meant that they’d live longer, which was important to everyone involved, really.
The ones that were left were the extermination quests. They were the most dangerous. The pay also, surprisingly, varied the most. If the quest was an F-Rank one, then the pay was pretty low given the comparatively higher danger involved. For his C-Rank, they paid more, but were also much more dangerous than anything else out there. Well, there were B-Rank quests, but he didn’t qualify for those because of his permit.
He was sure that he could easily take care of B-Ranks quests alone, but still wanted to keep a low… low’ish profile. After his very public fight with Emily yesterday, he was getting more than a few looks as he perused the quest boards.
After a while, and having grabbed seven requests, he made his way to the lines and waited.
Eventually Collette called him over. She’d been the one to take on his and Alicia’s teams, replacing Mikzel soon after their registration.
“What can I do for you today, Joram?” She asked with her usual bright smile that caught the gaze of many people around them.
“Hi Collette,” he said in greeting. “I’ll be taking N7 and The Untouchables out for some training and wanted to take these quests,” he said, then handed over the requests.
“Hmmm,” she hmm’d as she looked over the requests. “These shouldn’t be a problem if N7 will be taking point, as The Untouchables are still only D-Class,” she said, then got a glint in her eyes and a mischievous smile on her lips. “But, from what I hear, you’ll soon be a B-Class after the performance you put on yesterday.”
Joram quickly checked to see if anyone was listening to their conversation and nearly sighed out loud. Of course, they were.
“Ah, well, it’d be nice to be able to take some higher-level quests then,” he said, realizing that he had no chance of keeping things on the downlow.
“True. We can arrange for a quick assessment to make it official. That way, you can take some B-Class requests while you’re at it. Though, I’d still be careful if The Untouchables will be with you,” she said, once again all seriousness and concern.
“I’ll be sure to keep them away from anything dangerous,” he replied with a reassuring smile. “Will we be able to take the assessment today? I was hoping to head out first thing tomorrow, you see.”
“That’ll be easy enough,” Collette replied confidently. “Just let me know when you’ll be available, then we’ll go from there.”
“What about Emily? Do you think that she’ll need a new assessment given her combat capabilities?”
“That’s a good idea,” Collette said, nodding. “I’ll make sure to add her in as well.”
“All right,” he said, nodding along. “I’ll give her a call right away so that we can get started as soon as possible.”
“Sounds good,” she said, waving as he stepped away from the counter.
‘Emily? Could you come to the Quest Hall? I’ve arranged for an assessment to update your Quester Class.’
‘Yes, I’ll be there shortly,’ she replied quickly.
Joram nodded to himself as he made his way back to the request boards. This time, he looked through the B-Class requests and found that they were much less picked through than the others had been. He passed over most of the extermination requests and instead focussed on the gathering requests.
There weren’t many, and almost half of them involved harvesting various magical beasts for their parts. After a few minutes, he grabbed three requests: two for herbs and one for monster parts. Even though B-Class gathering requests for herbs didn’t look that hard on the surface, they were likely to be just as hard as a magical beast harvesting request since magical beasts liked to hang around powerful magical plants.
As he turned away from the request board, he spied Emily entering the Hall, so he made his way over to her first. After a quick greeting that had many students practically burning with jealousy, they made their way back to Collette’s line and waited.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
After a few minutes, they were at the counter and speaking with Collette. The requests were quickly approved (pending official class-up) before they were guided to the training area for their assessments.
It was much easier for Joram this time around, as he now knew what to expect. This time, he released enough psionic might to get him classified as a C-Class Mentalist. Then, with the combat assessment, he was sure to just get into the B-Class when fighting the combat doll.
Emily, however, stayed in D-Class as a mage, but easily made it into C-Class as a fighter. And given that she was a front-liner, her permit was successfully upgraded to C-Class.
So, with that done, N7 officially became a B-Class Team. Their ranking still wasn’t very high due to how few quests they’d been on, but he was still happy that they’d made it to Rank 2. No longer considered green, but still “rookies”. Which meant that the truly profitable requests were still out of reach. But with taking the requests that he had, he hoped that the points they’d get from them would be sufficient for them to get to Rank 3.
With that done, they left the Quest Hall and went about gathering supplies that he didn’t already have on hand, or in his Realm. Which, really, wasn’t much. But it did give them time to chat.
‘Is your family OK with you heading out while they’re still here visiting?’ He asked over the Network, not wanting to discuss it out loud.
Emily gave a great start, her eyes widening, before blushing furiously.
‘Sorry, not used to this yet,’ she sent, embarrassment plain in her tone. ‘Father wasn’t very happy that I’ll be heading off before them, but calmed down when I told them that I was going for training with you,’ she sent, now a bit shy.
‘Ah, sorry about that,’ he sent, not quite sure what to say.
‘Don’t worry about it. They left me… in your care, so they can’t complain that I’m going to be spending more time with you,’ she finished, now leaking a combination of shyness and warmth through their connection, if not her expression.
He nodded to that, understanding her logic. But also understanding the other side of it. If his daughter were heading off after he’d just arrived for a long-awaited visit with her, he’d be a little miffed. But, given his “gifts” to Sasha the day before, he hoped that she’d play interference, as it were.
‘Well, it’ll be nice to spend some quality time with everyone. As nice as studying is, it’ll be nicer to do something else together for a change,’ he sent musingly.
Emily gave him the side-eye after receiving that, but he pretended not to notice as he slung a huge bag of rice over a shoulder, then another one over his other shoulder. He was pretty sure that fifty kilos of rice would be good enough for fifteen people over three weeks, replicators or not.
‘Well, so long as I still get my time with you,’ Emily sent, sounding awkward and shy.
‘Don’t worry about it, we’ll all have time together.’
“That’s what I’m worried about…” she murmured to herself, so quietly that he would have missed it if his senses weren’t as sharp as they were, resulting in a slight blush from him.
“Well, this should do. Let’s pay and get going,” he said out loud, not wanting others to wonder why they were so quiet.
They then paid for the rice, stored it away, then went on to their next destination, idly chatting all the while.
* * * * *
“But Princess, going out with Mr Aneath’s team for so long wouldn’t be appropriate,” her attendant said, looking very nervous as she spoke.
Kassandra could understand where she was coming from. As the third princess of Starfire Empire, her status wasn’t something to be taken lightly. That she’d been permitted to join Joram’s study group had been a difficult argument to win. But after she’d shown the results of her participation, she’d managed to ease her minder’s worries.
Being allowed to join a questing team hadn’t been easy either, but she was glad that she had. Not only did it provide her valuable real-world experience, but it was another way for her to gather various alchemical ingredients that she could experiment with.
That she’d gone so far as to accept a three-week long outing with not just her team, but with Joram’s had pushed things a bit far in the eyes of her minders.
“We’ll hardly be alone,” she replied, suppressing her exasperation. “There will be fifteen of us, only two men included. Besides, from what I hear, Joram now has a fiancé, so I’ll hardly have to worry about anything on that front.”
Her attendant, Jezira, gave her a flat look. Which, really, was par for the course.
What Kassandra hadn’t told Jezira was that she wasn’t about to let a mere fiancé stop her. She’d thought she’d been forward enough with her flirtation, but it was now clear to her that she’d need to be even more direct with Joram.
She’d been curious about the new curiosity on campus that was Joram Aneath. She’d been present for his remarkable debut, watching his “honour duel” with much interest. She’d felt a burst of Mental Strength from him before his opponent had even moved, then another one that had caused his foe to fall face-first in front of him.
From there, she’d kept up to date on his doings. Learning that he wasn’t just talented as a crafter, but in music as well, had further increased her interest in him. Then after hearing that he’d formed a study group with several of the Rankers, well, nothing else would do but for her to join his study group.
It had taken a while, with not a few hints to Alicia; the one who’d not only approached her to join her team, but who’d also helped create the study group. She’d wanted to approach Joram directly, but he’d proved to be remarkably… elusive. Not only that, but the rumours that he was incredibly shy when it came to women had made her pause.
That he could study with a large group of beauties and still be called shy was, in her mind, more than contradictory. Indeed, there were also rumours that he was the most vile and lascivious of degenerates on campus. But after investigating those rumours, she’d found that they were almost exclusively spread by men. The few that had been spread by women happened to be done by those who were well-known to be infatuated with one of the women in the study group.
Not a single bad rumour could be traced back to the members of the study group. On the contrary, she could find nothing but varying degrees of praise for not only the study group, but for Joram himself.
So, when Alicia had finally agreed to see if Joram would be OK with opening up a few more spots in the study group, she’d been ready. As much as her instincts told her to snatch Joram up with direct flirting and a confession of love, her reasoning won in the end.
If Joram wasn’t “playing” with any of the study group, then he must have an iron will when it came to the fairer sex. Instead, her plan was to interest him intellectually. That he was able to tutor students a year or two ahead of him told her that the intellectual approach would work best.
Then, after the interview, she’d silently congratulated herself on her perfectly executed delivery. After interacting with Joram and Alicia, it was evident that she was attached to him. So, she’d adapted accordingly and included Alicia as much as she could in her responses.
After all that, she’d been quite happy when she’d been accepted as a new member of the study group. Things went as expected after that. Study sessions, Emily pestering Joram, and more studying. She was impressed with how fast Joram picked up new concepts and the insights he provided.
Even Renna, the Eternal Student, had been impressed, which said something. As one of the three Alchemists in their group, Kassandra found that she became even more taken with Joram. Sure, she had to split her time with Renna, the other Alchemist, but she found that it wasn’t as odious as she’d thought it would be.
She was sure that Renna was also aiming for Joram, but wasn’t quite sure in what way. Elves were weird that way.
“Yes, well. When a young man gives a young woman such… wonderful garments,” Jezira said, holding up her viridian silk body suit. “I imagine that things could get… heated.”
Kassandra was far past the point where such talk could embarrass her, so she merely shrugged.
“I’m sure that you’re quite jealous of my garments,” she replied, plucking the body suit from Jezira’s fingers.
The lesser succubus gave her a flat look that didn’t quite hide that she’d hit the mark.
“That isn’t the point,” she said, picking up a matching panty-bra combo waiting to be packed. “That he could make something so… delicate, tells me that he is likely more interested in you than you think.”
“I’ll have you know that each one of us helped design everything that he made for us,” she said, retrieving her undergarments from Jezira, then proceeded to place all of them into her storage ring before Jezira could play with any more of them. “He was quite the gentleman when taking our measurements and helping us with everything.”
“’A calm surface often hides a strong undercurrent’,” Jezira quoted the old saying before sitting on the edge of Kassandra’s bed. “I’m afraid that I’ll have to insist on accompanying you this time,” she said, her tone brooking no arguments.
Kassandra sighed. Even though she’d expected such a thing given that she was a princess and all, she’d hoped to be able to get away from her minders for a time. But, again, that was impossible for a princess.
“Fine. But keep out of the way. This is meant to be a team-building outing and having you interrupting things would be counterproductive,” she said, letting Jezira know how reluctant she was with her tone.
“Good,” she replied happily. “Then, I’ll help you pack.”
* * * * *
Alyraele hummed to herself as she sorted what she’d bring with her.
Having a storage ring was proving to be immensely useful. Not only would she be able to pack lightly, but she’d also be able to bring a few instruments with her.
It was hard to decide which ones to bring, but in the end, she decided that the guitar that she’d convinced Joram to make her was a good choice. Not only would it allow her to get some practice time with it, but she’d also be able to get more tutoring from Joram while she was at it.
The other instrument that she packed was a long wood flute that she thought would be a good compliment to a guitar.
Nodding to herself, she made sure to write a letter to her family letting them know that she’d be off on a field trip with other students. That way, they wouldn’t arrive for their visit before she returned.
She just hoped that they wouldn’t come with another marriage proposal for her this time.
Alyraele sighed. She’d enrolled in the Academy to get away from all that nonsense. She wanted to live her own life. But the duty to her family that had been instilled in her from the time she’d first started her lessons all the way to when she’d left home, was hard to ignore.
It was common for nobles to marry off their daughters to improve relations with other houses. In fact, it had been one of the core lessons she’d been taught growing up. But those lessons hadn’t ever sat well with her. Now? Now that she’d been away from home for a few years, the sentiment had grown. Especially after being placed on the Goddess Ranking.
She sat on the edge of her bed as she thought, idly playing with the body suit Joram had given her.
“What to do… what to do…?” She murmured to herself as thoughts of her duty to her family swirled around thoughts of living her life for herself.
It wasn’t that she was an only child, but that she was the firstborn. Which meant that until her little brother, the thirdborn child, came of age, she would need to lead by example. Even after Toran came of age in another eight years, she’d still need to be there to help guide him even with her parents there.
Alyraele sighed as the thought of being stuck at home weighed on her shoulders.
But if she could get closer with Joram, then maybe things could work out. Not that she was using him to escape her life or anything. No. But he was quite handsome, talented, and above all: kind.
Having to deal with the lustful gazes of the suitors her parents occasionally brought to meet her hadn’t been the most pleasant of experiences. Sure, there were some young men who seemed genuine enough, but none had had enough substance to them to catch her interest. They were all just so… boring. Typical young lords with the expected pride to go with their station in life.
Not that she wasn’t a prideful person. But after living on campus for the last few years, her horizons had been broadened. That she rubbed elbows with actual princesses now had done much to temper her pride. Even interacting with Alicia and Joram had done so much for her state of mind and worldly views. That a pair of Mentalists, and quite accomplished ones at that, could be so… humble and relatable had further rooted her.
Not only that, but being treated like any other girl out there had endeared them greatly to her. That Joram treated everyone like people had almost been more than she could believe. Especially after having met her fair share of Alchemists and Artificers whose egos could fill a stadium.
Alyraele found that she was once again humming to herself as she played with her body suit, then stopped dead, her eyes widening in shock. She looked down at the body suit, then spread it out on the bed, smoothing it flat with her hands.
She then did the same for the many undergarments she’d bought from Joram, pairing them up and arranging them by colour.
Then her mind went to her various lessons over the years that focussed on courting and what various gifts might mean from the one giving them. Her cheeks slowly filled with colour as her hands came up to cover her mouth. Her golden eyes grew wider as her mouth opened behind her hands, thankfully muffling the embarrassing squeak that escaped her throat.
Her head then dipped down, causing her sea green hair to fall over her face, thankfully hiding it from the world. One hand slowly reached out, grasped the body suit, then pulled it to her chest as she thought of a young man who’s dark purple hair would compliment her own sea green hair when they stood together.
* * * * *
As well organized as she was normally, her room was very much a disaster.
Sophia went through all of her clothing, trying to decide what to bring. She’d need several outfits, not to mention nightwear. She’d also need clothing suitable for questing, but considering the body suit she’d received from Joram, most of those clothes would probably just be peripheral accessories to it.
With that thought in mind, she quickly stripped and changed into the body suit so that she could better match things to it.
She looked at herself in her full-length mirror. The body suit did an amazing job at accentuating her strong points. Her long legs, bottom, and hips were highlighted by simple seams in the viridian silk. Even her breasts were made to look amazing with how the lines and supports worked in the top, making her feel a bit less self-conscious around the others in the study group whose breasts were significantly larger than hers.
She’d always been told that she had a dancer’s build, given her long legs and a lithe physique. But given that she wanted to be a merchant, those compliments hadn’t meant very much to her.
But after convincing Joram to begin teaching her and the study group basic techniques for self defense, she’d been over the moon when he’d complimented her “athletic” body. That he’d said it in the context of assessing her for an appropriate martial art hadn’t mattered to her nearly as much as the words had.
Now, though, she was once again over the moon with thoughts of strengthening her relationship with Joram during their outing. Not only would she be able to learn more about him, and from him, but she might even be able to get in on the ground floor with the department store that he was helping to get going.
“So many upsides!” She squealed as she did a little happy dance, her arms and tightly closed fists held close to her chest as her legs pumped up and down where she stood.
* * * * *
Finishing with the call to her family, Faenwyn stored it away again in her ring. She didn’t want them to worry about her if they couldn’t reach her, or if they came for a sudden visit during the break, so she’d told them that she would be out on a joint field exercise with her team and another team.
She looked around her room, at the weapon stand that held her glaive. She hadn’t bothered with it pretty much since she’d arrived since she hadn’t enrolled in any combat type classes. But now that the study group was also venturing into the realm of martial arts, she considered taking it up again. Maybe she’d try using it while they were out….
Faenwyn shrugged. She’d already packed everything that she needed, but was considering what she’d wear when they met up in the morning.
She wasn’t sure if her usual attire would suit the occasion, or if she should start off in her questing gear. Not that it was much different, but with the new body suit that Joram had made her, it had changed. Very much changed in a direction she’d consider scandalous. Downright inappropriate for others to see.
Faenwyn couldn’t understand how Emily could go around dressed like that every day. Yes, Emily had what most anyone would consider a stunning figure, but Faenwyn didn’t think it was appropriate to flaunt it like that.
One should be more dignified in their dress and attire. But she supposed that she shouldn’t expect more from one of the cat beastkin. They were well-known for their… relaxed standards.
Not like her noble Silver Wolf beastkin line. Her kin were reserved, refined, and, well, noble. Her people didn’t flaunt their bodies for all to see and ogle at. Proper attire for the right setting.
It wasn’t that she was afraid to wear the body suit that Joram had made for her, far from it. But there was a time and a place for such things. Everything had its time and place, after all.
She held up the body suit and looked at herself in the mirror. It was hard not to blush imagining someone seeing her in it. So, what could she wear with it so that it wasn’t so… scandalous?
She quickly changed into it, taking a moment to appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail, then got to work.
Faenwyn couldn’t be seen to appear as though she was trying to attract anyone’s gaze after all. Especially not the gaze of the other team’s captain. Nope. That wouldn’t do at all.
But if she did manage to do that, however inadvertently, she supposed that there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Things like that happened, after all.
As Faenwyn prepared, going through her wardrobe, she failed to notice the faint smile creeping onto her face.