While we were waiting for the food to arrive, Jacob made his move.
"Grace, I'd like to ask you to teach me swordsmanship. Is that okay?"
"Sure, no problem. But why do you suddenly want to learn swordsmanship?"
"I want to become stronger and have the ability to protect myself."
"Is that so…"
After hearing Jacob's words, Grace shifted her gaze away from him, her expression looking a little sad. Was there something about what Jacob said that struck her as strange?
After finishing breakfast, we first went to the weapon shop to buy Jacob a sword. I originally planned to let Grace choose one for him, but instead she kept examining all sorts of oddly shaped, low-quality swords and praising them as good ones.
Surprisingly, Grace had no eye for swords at all. In the end, I had no choice but to pick one myself. Honestly, I really wanted to leave, but this was the only weapon shop in town, so I ended up selecting the most decent-looking sword from a pile of junk.
Later, as we walked toward the clothing store, I glanced at the sword hanging at Grace's waist. It had a white scabbard, gold patterns, and several red gemstones embedded in it.
After witnessing Grace's taste earlier, I couldn't help but start doubting whether her sword was actually any good.
"Grace, did you buy that sword yourself?"
"Yes. I bought it with money I earned myself."
I had been hoping she would say the sword was a gift from a Sword Saint or something like that. But since she bought it with her own money, she must cherish it dearly.
"Take good care of it."
"Of course!"
Grace seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe she was still riding the emotional high from the weapon shop? She really does love swords—just without the discernment.
Before long, we entered a women's clothing store. I originally planned to leave it to the girls, but Alice clinging to me relentlessly, I ended up helping her choose as well.
"Mr. Karen, how about this one? And this one? Does it suit me?"
Alice held up two dresses. I glanced at them casually and replied,
"We're not choosing dresses. We're choosing pants."
"But I want to wear a dress."
"Not right now. We'll come to clothing stores again later. You can buy one then."
At this stage, the goal was just to make Alice less conspicuous. Dresses could wait.
"Okay. Then, Mr. Karen, can you help me choose?"
"Sure. Go take a look too and see if there's anything you like."
After I agreed, Alice put the dresses back and went to look for other clothes. I also told the other three to help pick something suitable for Alice.
Soon, I got really into coordinating outfits. Just then, Jacob came over to my side.
"Karen, you seem pretty enthusiastic."
After all, I have a human clothes hanger at home—someone who looks good in anything. If I don't improve my own sense of style, I won't be able to give proper advice, and the one who suffers will be me. So I said to Jacob,
"You should go pick some too. Think of it as practice for choosing clothes for your future lover."
Guys should accompany their girlfriends when choosing outfits. Not only does it raise their girlfriend's favorability, it also shows taste, decisiveness and maturity.
At that, Jacob suddenly got shy and covered his face.
"W-We're not even lover yet…"
"You're thinking way too far ahead."
After saying that, I ignored the maiden-like Jacob and went back to picking out clothes.
After we were all done choosing, we sent Alice into the fitting room. She tried on the outfit she had chosen first—a loose yellow top and loose red pants.
"Well? How is it?"
Alice spun around and asked for our opinions.
"No."
"Uh…"
I rejected it immediately. Grace at a loss for words.
"Tomatoes and scrambled eggs."
"Pfft—"
"Wait, Ms. Eis, that's way too direct."
Ethefelis's spot-on comparison made me laugh despite myself. Alice, who had been full of confidence just moments ago, instantly looked dejected.
"But it looks nice…"
"Next."
The next outfit was the one I had chosen. The moment Alice opened the door, everyone nodded in agreement.
My coordination was a white top, a linen-colored long-sleeved shirt, and blue pants. The shirt could be worn as an outer layer, but my idea was to tie it around her waist, then have her tie her hair into a ponytail—going for a bright, cheerful girl-next-door look.
Still, I wasn't satisfied. Alice was hunched over, her hands held in front of her chest, completely lacking energy.
"Alice, don't slouch. Put your left hand down, and rest your right hand on your waist."
"Like this?"
Alice straightened up, lowered her hand, and with the shirt tied at her waist, her slim figure stood out. A youthful, lively aura washed over her instantly.
"Wow—"
Grace let out an unconscious gasp of admiration. I nodded in satisfaction.
"Yes, yes. You look really energetic."
"Really?! I'm so happy!"
I chose this style because Alice's looks leaned toward the cute side, and an energetic vibe suited her best. If she added a small backpack, it would be even better.
"Next."
The next outfit was Grace's choice—a purple sleeveless top and black pants, going for a mature look. Alice brushed her bangs aside, revealing her forehead, which made her look noticeably more grown-up.
"Alice looks like she's grown up."
"Yeah."
Grace agreed with me. Alice really was just a kid, after all. Unfortunately, the person herself didn't agree.
"What are you talking about?! I grew up a long time ago!"
After saying that angrily, Alice puffed out her cheeks. The mature impression vanished instantly. When did she ever get the illusion that she had grown up? She was still such a handful.
"That's just your imagination. Next."
"Ugh…"
Alice grumbled and closed the door to change into the next outfit.
The next one was Ethefelis's pick—a set of pink pajamas. Pajamas were important too, so it wasn't a bad choice.
"This is pajamas, right?"
"Just right. You don't have pajamas."
"I do."
"Your priest outfit?"
"Yes."
Alice's priest outfit clearly used poor-quality fabric and looked uncomfortable. I seriously wondered how the temple treated its people. Where was all that money going?
I pointed at the pajamas Alice was wearing and asked her,
"Is this comfortable?"
Alice looked apologetic. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.
"...Yes. But Mr. Karen, you've already spent so much money on me. I feel bad…"
Only Alice would worry about my wallet. Damn it, that actually moved me.
"You can pay me back after you earn money."
"Huh?"
If I said she didn't need to pay back, Alice would stay at the temple. If I said this instead, she'd leave the temple and go earn money. Just then, Grace joined the conversation.
"Mr. Karen, at times like this, shouldn't you generously say, "I have plenty of money, so spend as much as you like"?"
People who say things like that are the worst—they're bound to become spendthrifts sooner or later. I shot Grace a cold look.
"You've been reading too many romance novels. I'm not some big-spending guy."
"H-How did you know?!"
"Only people who like to act magnanimous, or rich domineering male leads in novels, say things like that. I doubt you've met the former or need to, so it has to be the latter."
"I… I have no rebuttal…"
Grace looked completely deflated, as if her secret had been exposed. There was no need to hide it—she could just chat with noble ladies who shared the same interests. It wasn't like she'd have no female friends.
"Karen, you know a lot about this. Do you watch those often?"
Jacob's question caught me off guard. I only occasionally watched movies like that—I'd never read the novels. But saying I'd never seen them would sound contradictory, so I replied,
"...I watch them when I've got nothing to do."
"So guys watch romance stuff too? That's surprising."
Guys usually don't read that kind of novel since the stories are aimed at women. But for me, as long as the plot wasn't too unrealistic or cringe-inducing, I could enjoy it.
"Alright, next."
The final outfit was Jacob's choice—a beige frilled top, a brown skirt, black leggings, and a hairstyle with low twin ponytails hanging in front, going for a cute look.
I couldn't believe Jacob had come up with this idea. A skirt without worrying about exposure—impressive.
"So cute."
"Is it…?"
Grace blurted it out unconsciously. After being praised, Alice became shy, holding one of her ponytails in her hand. She somehow looked even more endearing.
"It looks pretty good. Miss Clerk, we'll take these. Can she wear this one out right away?"
"Of course."
When she heard we were buying them, the clerk beamed, took the clothes, and went to the counter to ring them up.
For now, Alice's wardrobe would do. We could add more clothes once we reached another country—dresses included.
After everything was packed into bags, I paid and handed them to Alice. She happily peeked inside, then looked confused and pulled out the outfit she had originally chosen.
"Karen, isn't this the one I picked? You said it didn't look good."
"You can wear that as pajamas, but don't wear it outside."
The clothes Alice chose had a very at-home feel. The colors were fine indoors, but too eye-catching for going out.
"But then I'll have two sets of pajamas…"
Alice said apologetically. Was she worried she owed me too much again? I shook my head.
"What's wrong with that? If one set gets dirty, you'll have another to wear. That's not too many. Look—did Grace wear the same pajamas yesterday and the day before?"
"I see. Did Grace's pajamas get dirty the day before yesterday?"
"No, no! Mine are just in the washing machine, they didn't get dirty!"
Grace hurriedly denied it. Alice's comprehension was really something—was the conversation too advanced for her?
"...?"
Alice looked at Grace and me, fell silent for a few seconds, then frowned and tilted her head. I had no choice but to explain.
"It was just a metaphor. I'm saying it's good to have extra clothes, not that they actually got dirty."
"Oh, I see."
"Let's go. Furniture store."
We went to buy chairs, and once that was done, we could continue heading east. After that, I bought a simple wooden chair, ate an early lunch, and then we left the city.
That night, Alice appeared wearing her new pajamas. They looked really good on her—easy on the eyes.
As a side note, I chose a forest with a river nearby for us to camp overnight, and Grace attempted the time limit challenge for the third time.
After that, I taught Alice how to use the washing machine. Unfortunately, her ability to absorb new information wasn't very strong. She couldn't quite grasp how to sort the laundry, wasted a lot of detergent, and randomly pressed the control buttons without following my instructions. Thankfully, she didn't break the washing machine.
Lacking patience as I am, I eventually decided it was better if I just did it myself.