Coming out of the fitting rooms, Mitsuki adjusted the poncho over his shoulders. As he did, he cast a brief glance toward Jeanne, who was smiling cheerfully.

"You should learn to control yourself a little. People aren’t toys."

The princess looked away, ignoring that comment.

Mitsuki shook his head, exhausted.

They were accompanied by one of the automatons, which elegantly carried the other outfit.

At the same time, in the center of the establishment, Kalika continued presenting her magical sewing performance to a few more customers. The amused and gentle smile on her face showed just how much she loved her work.

Mitsuki looked at her while walking toward the counter.

’Those scissors could easily be used as a weapon. In fact, there was a character in LoM who fought using giant scissors. I wonder if there’s someone like that around here.’

Maybe Kalika was one, but Mitsuki had no way of knowing.

He arrived at the counter. The automaton placed the second outfit on the table and bowed before leaving.

"I’m going to wear this one since my other clothes were in terrible condition. I’ll pay for both outfits."

Amanda nodded.

"Excellent choice. That will be forty-eight silver coins."

...

’That’s a ridiculous amount of money...! That’s literally everything I have!’

With a trembling hand, Mitsuki pulled out his entire coin pouch. For an instant, he felt his emotions suddenly returning, because the trembling in his hand betrayed him.

"Of course. Here you go."

Amanda opened the pouch and quickly counted the coins with a glance. She nodded after confirming everything was correct and pulled a paper bag from beneath the counter.

As she packed the second outfit away, she said:

"Everything is complete. Thank you for shopping at Midnight Needles. Please come again."

Mitsuki took the bag and left the store.

Jeanne followed him curiously.

"Did something happen, Mitsuki? You look shocked by the price of the clothes. It’s really cheap, don’t you think?"

’Cheap? I’m broke! This wouldn’t have happened if I’d asked for the price beforehand, but since I’m stupid enough not to think about things like that, I ended up overpaying...’

He shook his head, calm enough not to appear irritated.

"Jeanne... You brought me to a luxury store that drained all my money."

"What? I thought you’d be able to afford it. I mean, for clothes of that quality, it’s cheap to me. I usually buy the underlayers for my armor there. They’re very durable."

"You forget that you’re a princess with, most likely, a giant pile of gold waiting for you back home, while I’m a vagabond from another world. I practically just spent enough money to survive for one or two months without problems."

"Relax. Think of it as a long-term investment. With clothes that can withstand battles, you won’t have to buy new ones after every adventure. That saves you money."

Mitsuki remained silent.

"In the group, it’s Ellegaard and Aslan who handle the expenses, right?"

"Y-Yes...?" Jeanne answered hesitantly.

That was enough of an answer.

’Now everything makes sense. I mean, why didn’t I realize it sooner? Oh, right, maybe because before I didn’t care about what other people did. Especially the girl who got naked in a lake in front of a complete stranger.’

Also because he had been far too embarrassed to even look at her.

Next, he made the bag disappear, storing it inside his Spatial Storage, and slipped his only hand into the pocket of his new pants.

"I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now. The clothes are already made and I’ve already paid. The good thing is that I still have some mana crystals and a few silver objects I can sell at the guild. If it weren’t for that, I’d be sleeping in the forest tonight."

"You worry too much about something as fleeting as money."

"Fleeting? In your hands, maybe..."

"You’re being very rude lately, don’t you think?"

Mitsuki sighed.

"I don’t think you’re in any position to decide whether someone’s rude or not."

Besides, Mitsuki had become loose-tongued. Without his emotions, it felt like he had returned to the days when he played MOBAs with voice chat enabled. A lot of people had swallowed plenty of insults back then...

"I don’t think so. Maybe Ellegaard is a bad influence on you, since she’s rude to everyone."

"What are you? My mother?"

They continued like that until they reached the guild.

When they appeared around the next corner, they found Ellegaard, who seemed to be waiting for them.

The moment she saw them, the elf frowned and entered the guild.

Jeanne and Mitsuki followed after her, but the instant they entered, every gaze turned toward them.

’I have a feeling I’ve already experienced this before.’

But this time was different.

"I’m heading to the second floor to sell my items," he said.

Jeanne gave him a light pat on the shoulder.

"Sure. I’ll stay with Ellegaard because she looks like she’s about to make poor Maya cry."

Without saying anything else, Mitsuki headed for the stairs. He climbed them hoping to earn some money, but stopped halfway up when someone appeared at the entrance, causing everyone to fall silent and stare.

Even Ellegaard and Jeanne stopped to look at her for a moment.

Her red cape fluttered the moment she stepped forward toward the counter.

She raised her gaze, and for a few moments, her crimson eyes met Mitsuki’s. Her cute and youthful expressionless face showed a trace of curiosity upon seeing the Ashen Kid frozen halfway up the stairs.

That girl walked toward the counter and looked Ellegaard directly in the eyes.

The elf responded by standing upright and frowning. To further assert her dominance, she summoned her staff and slammed it against the floor.

"Witch," said the girl.

"Flea-ridden mutt," Ellegaard replied.

"Hi, Rosie," Jeanne interrupted.

The girl looked at her and showed a faint smile.

"Hello, Princess. It’s been quite some time since we last met. How have you been?"

That girl, "Rosie," ignored Ellegaard and focused her attention on Jeanne instead.

The elf felt humiliated by being ignored like that. It looked as though she might leap forward and strike her with her magical staff at any moment, but she calmly breathed in and returned to speaking with Maya.

’What the hell just happened? And why does everyone look so scared?’

The people sitting at the nearby tables looked more frightened than usual. Did it have something to do with the interaction between the elf and that mysterious Red Hood girl?

Mitsuki quickly went upstairs to sell his items so he could figure it out later. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

***

After Lionel gave him the same advice about not wasting his money on liquor and prostitutes, Mitsuki came back downstairs hoping to see the conclusion of whatever had been happening earlier, but he found no one.

The people seemed relaxed once again, and the girls were nowhere to be seen.

He left the establishment while storing away his coin pouch, hoping to find the pair, but the only person he saw was that girl dressed in red, leaning against the wall beside the door.

She stared at him intently.

"I saw you earlier. What’s your name?"

Her voice was soft and calm, but it was also difficult to understand her intentions because neither her face nor tone displayed any emotion. In that aspect, Mitsuki was the same—at least temporarily.

He felt uneasy. In fact, he became highly suspicious of her. In his entire life, no woman other than Jeanne had ever approached him with such confidence.

"I’m Mitsuki and... who are you?"

"I’m Rosemarie Velvet."

"Okay..."

Mitsuki took a step to the side, preparing to leave, but Rosemarie stepped sideways as well to maintain the same distance between them.

"Uh... I really have to go now. I need to meet up with my friends and stuff."

"I understand."

Mitsuki took another step, and Rosemarie followed him again.

’What the hell is this girl planning? Isn’t she younger than me or something? She just keeps following me...’

"Well, do you need something from me?" he asked.

The girl nodded.

"Are you free right now? I’d like to go on a date with you."

"...What?"