MTLNOVEL Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Clarice immediately brought her face close.
"Um, Miss."
"What?"
"Is it all right to pass by?"
"Go to another shop as quickly as possible, as quickly as possible!"
"But Miss, you always wanted clothes from that shop..."
"I said it's fine! More importantly, aren't there any other shops?"
"What kind of shop would you prefer?"
Barry the coachman pressed his face to the window and asked.
That's creepy. Like a horror movie.
While we were doing that, the carriage drew up in front of 'Cupid of Love'. Carriages can't turn quickly.
The exterior gave off an overwhelmingly pink vibe.
The windows and doors had frilly curtains in sweet colors, and the walls, window frames, and roof were all white. A mysterious plant with heart-shaped leaves greeted us in a potted plant by the entrance. Above the entrance, a lamp shined on a sign engraved in rounded red letters with 'Cupid of Love'. In Japan, this would be the kind of shop I'd never go into.
As I stared gloomily at the shop from the window, the entrance door opened and a plump, heavily made-up woman came out.
"Lady Ellie, Head Maid Clarice, a pleasant day to you."
The woman, so frilly she could be mistaken for a prototype special armor, had tightly permed golden hair, bright red lipstick, and blue eyeshadow around her eyes.
This is the kind of monster that would make you scream if it appeared at your bedside at night.
"We have a new collection, and I thought Miss Ellie might like to try it on."
"Miss, what shall we do?"
"Turn her down."
"Understood."
Clarice turned to face the woman who appeared to be the shopkeeper of 'Cupid of Love'.
"The young lady is tired today. Perhaps another time."
"Oh, what a shame. Then I will hold the new item for you. Please do come on a day when you feel better."
Her appearance was outrageous, but the shopkeeper's bow was gracefully executed.
I see, she must have the skills to make such a weird shop a success in a prime location on the main street. She probably designs clothes for nobles and rich people like Ellie. The unit price is high, and if it's for young women, the turnover must be good. Judging from the shop's appearance and the clothes the shopkeeper wears, business seems to be doing well.
"Is something wrong, Miss?"
"It's nothing."
"Then, to another shop."
Barry turned the carriage and we entered a shop that was more like a general store than a clothing store, reminiscent of a secondhand shop in Japan.
Inside, clothes were crammed in every which way, with new ones up front and used clothes in the back, along with old leather shields, staffs, and copper-looking swords. Yep, this is fantasy.
I looked around to see if any dwarves were throwing away rings.
——!!
Nope. Of course not. I love that movie. My precious.
The women's clothes I was after mainly consisted of a trendy white shirt and a clunky brown leather dress. There were also one-piece dresses, tunics, and cardigan-like outerwear. For some reason, the price tags came with descriptions of their defensive power.
"Clarice, why do the price tags have descriptions?"
"Since adventurers often visit, it appeals better this way."
Saying that, I looked down at the price tag.
'Leather Dress. 4000 Ron. A trendy leather dress, totally fine against slimes! Might even withstand a charging one-horn rabbit!?'
What do you mean, "might"!?
'Paisley Tunic. 3000 Ron. Cute paisley pattern. Should be fine against slimes. Might be a bit dangerous against goblins!?'
Again, what's with the "might"!?
And the design is so bad, it looks more like a paramecium than paisley.
I browsed the store for a while, opening and folding clothes. Clarice was the one who picked them up and opened them for me. She moved ahead of me with such speed, it was as if she were reading my mind.
Brown hemp shirts, light brown hemp shirts—none of them had buttons. They seemed to be tied with string around the chest area. Cotton and leather were slightly more expensive. If there's cotton, you should be able to process it into various designs in a civilized way—or so I thought. The more I observed the store, the closer I felt I was to understanding why there aren't fashionable designs in the Kingdom of Greifner.
And then I was shocked to find a certain pattern missing.
"There's no plaid... what?"
I shuddered at the fact that such a useful and easily combinable pattern wasn't being sold. What is going on with this country's fashion?
A fat person kneeling in the store was nothing but in the way. I pulled myself together and told Barry to go to the next shop.
A shop called 'Secret Tool Shop'.
There was nothing secretive about it. Just a normal shop selling tools and clothes. Nothing in Ellie's size.
We got back in the carriage and headed to another shop.
'The Clothing Store'
The name was too lazy, and the selection was hardly different from the secondhand store.
Let's move on.
"Aren't there any specialty clothing stores? Like branded ones."
"By brand, do you mean alcohol?"
"That's brandy, isn't it?"
"Indeed, it is."
"Not that. I mean stores that carry clothing designed and promoted by individuals."
"There are no such stores. A clothing store is a clothing store."
"Like that 'Cupid of Love' place."
"That shop is quite unique, Miss."
I was starting to get the picture.
The concept of branded goods doesn't exist. Probably, 'Cupid of Love' is one of the first of its kind, and in the future, products with brand names will gain popularity as trends change.
Heh heh heh... I see.
"Is something wrong, Miss?"
"No, it's nothing, Clarice."
The next shop, 'Tambourine 21,' also only had ordinary selections and trendy outfits. The defense descriptions were there. We left the store without much enthusiasm.
"Miss."
"Eek!"
Barry suddenly spoke, pressing his face to the coachman's window.
"Barry, stop that, you'll give me a heart attack."
"My apologies. I just wanted to join the conversation. It may cater to a slightly older demographic, but how about 'Mirrors'?"
Barry asked while handling the reins.
"Then let's go to that store."
"Understood."
We returned to the largest street in Greifner, turned at the next intersection, and there was 'Mirrors'.
It had quite a stylish exterior. Different from the trendy Japanese stores I knew, but impressive in its own way.
A chalk-white wooden door with a large iron doorknob, and new-looking clothes hanging on the store wall. The sign had the word 'Mirrors' engraved modestly. I'm not sure whether the letters were English, but to my eyes, they looked like English. Must be my brain converting them.
A sharp-featured doorman stood ready. His clothes were baggy and unimpressive, but the sword on his back gave off a cool fantasy vibe. He must train hard—his posture was excellent and he looked dignified.
I mean, he's a guy, and swords and armor are cool. Too bad I'm a fat, ugly girl.
When we entered the store, a clerk saw my outfit, looked confused, and just bowed before walking away.
Well, I am wearing pajamas.
Clarice quietly followed like a shadow. When I tried to pick up clothes, she quickly spread them for me.
Hm, not bad.
"This store is for women from their late teens to early twenties."
There were fairly high-quality tunics and shirts. Also cardigans and one-piece dresses. As expected, there were no pants or jeans, which would've been normal in Japan.
"Aren't there any pants?"
"Oh, Miss. Pants are for gentlemen. Unless one is an adventurer, a lady simply does not wear them."
"Has it always been that way?"
"Hmm, I can't say when it started, but ever since I was a child, women wear skirts and men wear pants."
"What about culottes?"
"Culott... what might that be?"
"Lately in Japan... ahem, lately I had this idea. It's a type of pants that look like a skirt, but you can spread your legs without showing your underwear."
"Hoho, that does sound rather nice."
Clarice nodded as she confirmed the shape I made with my hands.
"Also, these frills aren't great."
I spread out one of the fabric skirts displayed in the store. I pointed at the frills slanting down from the waist to the hem. The idea wasn't bad, but attaching frills to a thick brown skirt made it look bulky and heavy—not good.
"If anything, they should use thinner fabric to add smoothness. Next, the shoes."
"Shoes, you say?"
"Don't you have heels or pumps?"
"Pumpkin?"
"No, I mean that kind of shoe. The ones with a bit of a heel that makes you taller."
"No, I am not familiar with those."
"You don't!? How could this be..."
"Miss?"
"If we had those, even someone fat could look a little slimmer. Of course, someone as fat as me can only wear a one-piece dress, so there's no point even if I wore them."
Ellie was beyond chubby. It wouldn't be surprising if people nicknamed her 'Sumo Wrestler'.
Oh yeah, back in elementary school there was a girl nicknamed 'Yokozuna Dosukoi'. I really regret that now. After all, I was the one who gave her that name. That kind of thing really hurts. Ever since I grew up, I've never said anything like that to a woman. Kids really are cruel.
When we ran into her during school commutes, we'd slap her belly and yell "Dosukoi!" If I ever ran into her again, I'd want to say, "Sorry, Yokozuna!"
"Thank you for coming. I'm the owner, Misa."
A slender beauty with a brown bob cut gave a graceful bow.
She looked awfully young to be called the owner. Probably around twenty.
"Is there something wrong with our products?"
Seems she overheard our earlier conversation.
She didn't seem angry. If anything, curiosity seemed to be winning out.