WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 2

After the tournament had ended, Grant had recovered enough of his mental faculties that he could walk around, talk, and do everything he used to. However, he didn’t feel the same anymore.

Every time he closed his eyes, that peasant’s face would fill his mind.

Every time he saw that peasant’s face, an indescribable feeling of fear washed over him.

He hated this feeling. He hated the fact that he was afraid of some stupid peasant. That blasted Eryk Veiger haunted his dreams, both waking and asleep. Grant could not help but recall the terror that had washed over him when the peasant had released his Spiritual Power. The Spiritual Pressure that had pushed down on him in that moment had been like nothing he’d ever experienced.

That was why he wanted to get back at the boy.

“Father!”

Grant did not bother knocking as he barged into his father’s private chamber, looking around the opulent room in search of his father.

Not only did this room feature a soft carpet made from the fur of the C-rank Demon Beast, the Antler Goat, but the walls were decorated with exquisite paintings. Several bookcases covered the wall in areas where no paintings or portraits hung. This room didn’t have a bed, which was located in the next room over, but it did feature a large desk.

His father was sitting behind the desk.

“Father, I demand we kill Eryk Veiger!” Grant shouted as he walked up to his father’s desk.

The old man had been leaning over his desk and writing something on a goatskin parchment when Grant walked in, but he stopped when he heard his son’s shouting. Long gray hair that flowed freely down to the middle of his back shifted as he straightened in his seat. His sharp eyes narrowed as he looked at Grant, who suddenly froze in place.

“I understand your desire to kill Eryk Veiger,” his father said at last. “However, we cannot afford to do so at this point in time—not now that he has won the Spiritualist Grand Tournament. There are too many people looking at him. It would be impossible to kill that child without leaving any incriminating evidence.”

“But Father—” Grant started to speak, only for his throat to close up when his father released an intense Spiritual Pressure. A cold sweat broke out on his skin as the room seemingly began to shake. He couldn’t tell if it was his imagination or if the room was actually shaking.

A powerful heat was wafting off his father’s body now. The Spiritual Aura surrounding him was a bright, bluish white. Unlike his own aura, which was somewhat transparent, this was thick and dense. Wisps of bluish white flame rose from the man’s body like plumes of smoke. Despite the heat emitting from his father, which caused sweat to pour from his body in rivulets, none of the furniture, not the chair or the desk, received so much as a burn.

“Do not test my patience, boy,” his father said in a voice that was surprisingly cold. His father’s Spiritual Aura made Grant feel like he was being burned alive, but his voice chilled him to the bone. “Eryk Veiger is too famous to just kill now. What’s more, if he is killed, we will be the primary suspects due to your animosity toward him. We cannot afford to jeopardize our place within Nevaria right now, or all of the plans our family has been crafting for several hundred years will go up in smoke.”

Grant tried to gulp, but his throat felt too dry for that. He licked his lips. His body was shaking by this point, but oddly enough, he wasn’t completely overwhelmed by his father’s Spiritual Aura like he used to be.

“I… understand, Father,” he croaked.

“Hmph!” His father released the Spiritual Aura surrounding him, causing Grant to sigh in relief as the intense pressure and heat pushing him down vanished. As the man grabbed his quill and dipped it in a bottle of ink, he spoke again. “So long as Eryk Veiger remains inside of Nevaria, we cannot touch him. I expect you to leave the boy alone for now.”

“Yes, Father,” Grant said meekly.

There was no vocal dismissal, but Grant clearly understood that it was time for him to leave. He bowed to his father and left the room. However, as he closed the door and began walking down the hall, his mood became progressively worse. He wanted to get back at Eryk Veiger for daring to oppose him, for causing him to feel so much fear, for humiliating him during the Spiritualist Grand Tournament.

But he didn’t know how to go about getting revenge. The only thing he knew about that boy was that he was a peasant, and that he was close to Kari and… Fay…

Grant stopped walking, but then he started walking again, moving faster than he had been seconds before.

He would need to get in touch with some people, but Grant had an idea. He could not strike against Eryk due to his newfound fame, he couldn’t hurt Kari because she was the Princess of Nevaria, but there was at least one other person he could hurt. If he couldn’t strike at Eryk, then he would just have to strike at someone close to him.

***

Kari, Lin, and I traveled the streets of Nevaria.

It was still early in the morning, but it was much later than it had been. Because Lin was a Lamia with a body of over six meters long, we couldn’t take a carriage down the mountain, which meant we had to walk. It had taken about twenty minutes or so. The Sun had completely risen by the time we’d gotten down.

The early morning was normally filled with people getting ready to start the day. Young boys and girls would be traveling to school, men and women would be journeying to their jobs, and older people would be sitting around outside and enjoying the weather. Everyone was normally bustling at this time in the morning.

That was not the case now.

“W-w-what is that thing?!”

“Monster! It’s a monster!”

“What should we do?! Should we call the Nevarian Spiritualists over?!”

“What is that thing doing near Princess Kari?!”

The numerous people who’d been going about their business were now running away, screaming about monsters as they tried to get away from us. Of course, by “us” I actually meant Lin. Once someone got the Lamia girl locked in their sights, noticed her six meter long snake tail, and unfroze themselves after feeling shock, they yelled out something insulting and took off. And that was just the people who were able to move. Many people became too frozen in fear to even scream.

It was effecting Lin.

“Why are these people calling this princess a monster?” Lin muttered morosely as she tried to gaze at the people with an imperious frown, but her ears were drooping and her posture had become slouched. It was like she was trying to hide herself.

“I was afraid this would happen,” I sighed. “It’s just like I said: no one knows of your kind here in Nevaria. I doubt most of these people even know what a Lamia is. All they know is that you aren’t human.” I glanced at a young woman we had passed, whose body had frozen solid like a block of ice, and sighed. “It doesn’t help that Nevaria is isolated from the rest of the world by the Endless Desert and the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Thanks to that, this city hasn’t made contact with the outside world since before the Catastrophe, so we haven’t met any of the other races like the Werebeasts or the Dragonkin.”

“I’ve read about Werebeasts and Dragonkin in some of those books at the Nadine Library,” Kari said.

“There are a few books that document them, but most of the knowledge about those races has been lost, much like the Lamia.” I noticed the way Lin was lowering her body as if to hide herself and felt something prick my chest. After glancing at Kari on my other side, I looked back and Lin and grabbed her hand. “We’ll just have to deal with this for now. Once everyone gets used to your presence, most of them will begin acting like they always do. Let’s just give them time.”

Lin’s hand tightened around mine as she slithered closer to me. She reached out with the hand not holding mine and grabbed my arm as though she wanted to use it as a lifeline. Seeing this normally haughty girl act so timid bothered me, but I knew the people of Nevaria couldn’t really be blamed.

“I suppose that is all we can do.” Kari closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around my left arm. She smiled up at me when I glanced at her, but then she looked at Lin. “I’m sure people will eventually come to accept you, Lin.”

“Do you really think so?” Lin muttered with a hopeful look in her golden eyes.

Kari nodded. “I do. I’ll also help. If everyone sees me walking around with you, they’ll eventually realize that you aren’t a monster or dangerous.”

“Okay.” Lin sniffed a bit as though trying to suck tears back into her aqueducts, and then presented a smile to Kari. “This princess thanks Big Sister.”

Being called “Big Sister” seemed to make Kari abnormally happy. The way her eyes lit up like rays of sunshine were leaking out reminded me of when her older self from my previous life went exploring ruins. I wondered if maybe Kari had always wanted to be someone’s older sister.

“You don’t need to worry about a thing!” Kari said enthusiastically. “This is what big sisters are for.”

Our travels took us to the Noble District located southwest of the Imperial Royal Palace. The reaction Lin received here was about the same she received everywhere else. There weren’t as many nobles, but all of them panicked and ran away the moment we appeared. I really wanted to smack these people.

The Valstine Family’s estate was located behind a large wall, which was about three or four times taller than I was. A steel gate, massive and imposing, was the only means of entering this place. The gate had a symbol, the “Sign of Four” located in the center. It was also being guarded by a young member of their family. He wore leather armor with the same crest as the gate on his chestplate, and judging from his youthful appearance, he wasn’t much older than I was.

He froze the moment he laid eyes on Lin.

“Would you mind opening the gate?” I asked, trying to make him focus on me. “I would like to speak with Fay Valstine.” The man said nothing as he stared at the now nervous Lin like she was an S-rank Demon Beast. I frowned, walked up to him, and grabbed his face with my hands, forcing him to look at me. “Hey, I’m talking to you. I have some business with the Valstines, so I would like to speak with them, or is this how your family treats the person who helped them broker a deal with the Alchemist Association?”

“What… the Valstines? Business?” the man stumbled over his words as he tried to put his head back on straight.

“That’s right. I have business with the Valstine Family, so please open this gate.”

“Um…”

“Don’t look at Lin right now,” I snapped, unleashing enough Spiritual Pressure that it forced him to keep looking at me. “I know what you are thinking, but Lin is not a monster or a Demon Beast. Look at her like that again and I’ll hit you so hard your face will turn inside out. Now, are you going to open those gates or not?”

“I… I’ll open them, um… so please be patient,” the guard stuttered.

“Good. I’m glad we could come to an understanding.”

Letting go of the young man’s face, I took several steps back, until I was standing between Kari and Lin. Then I waited for the young man to open the gate. He did so slowly, but that was mostly because he kept staring at Lin’s snake body, his face pale and covered in a cold sweat. Fortunately, he did open the gate for us.

“That was a little heavy handed,” Kari said as we walked past the gate and the guard.

I shrugged. “I’m beginning to get annoyed by the reaction of these people. I expected everyone to fear Lin because she isn’t human at first, but the amount of people acting like she’s a terrifying monster is getting on my nerves.”

Kari smiled at me as Lin drew closer. “Darling, this princess thanks you for standing up for her. She really appreciates it.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. It was all I could say before we reached the front door.

The Valstine Family’s mansion was only a single building, though it was fairly large at three stories and at least one thousand meters. It looked like several objects had been combined into one. The center section was shaped like a square and had a crenellation. Meanwhile, the two sections on either side of the crenellation were shaped like a pair of Ls.

“Lin, Kari.” I turned to them. “You two wait here for just a moment, please. Given the reactions we’ve had to Lin’s presence, it might be better if we don’t have her come up with me.”

“This princess… understands,” Lin said in a soft, meek voice. I almost flinched.

Kari walked close to Lin and grabbed her hand. “I understand as well. Do not worry. I will keep Lin company.”

I nodded and turned back to the mansion. No one was there to meet me at the front door this time. I walked up the steps and past the columns that supported the triangle-shaped roof. After reaching the front door, I paused and stared at it, wondering for a moment how I was supposed to get someone’s attention. Should I knock? Would anyone here it?

Sighing, I grabbed the knocker in the center of the door and tapped it against the door several times, causing a loud tap-tap to echo back to me. I waited for several seconds. Then I waited for about a minute. Frowning when no one came, I was just about to knock on the door again, when it unlocked and was pushed open from the other side.

It was the butler from last time. He was very old, had many wrinkles lining his face, and wore the refined black tunic and pants of a servant. He gazed at me for several seconds, and then sighed.

“Young Master Eryk,” he greeted in a polite but reserved tone.

“Sorry for coming unannounced. I’m here to see Fay,” I said. “Can you take me to her?”

“I am afraid that request is impossible at the moment.” He frowned at me, paused, and then continued. “I have received firm instructions from both Lady Fay and Lord Valstine to not let you see her right now.”

“Oh…” I closed my eyes as a sharp pain stung my chest. I rubbed it, but this pain wasn’t physical. “I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Young Master Eryk,” the old servant began before I could leave, “I do not know what happened between you and Lady Fay, but that girl is currently very distraught at the moment. When she gets like this, she has a bad habit of moping in her room and ignoring the world around her. I would recommend giving her a few days to recover before attempting to see her again.”

I wasn’t sure why this man was being so helpful to me. Perhaps he was trying to help Fay in his own way. Maybe he recognized that hiding from that which hurt you did not actually help a person. That said, the fact that I had hurt Fay enough that she wanted to shut herself in her room was painful, though I knew it was nothing compared to what she must have been going through.

“I understand.” I bowed to him. “I’ll come back again some other time.”

“Your two friends are welcome to come back as well,” the old man said. “Although even most people in the Valstine Family would probably panic at the sight of a Lamia.”

While I was curious to know how he knew about Lamia, I figured he was just well-read, unlike a lot of other people. Nodding at him, I returned to Kari and Lin as the servant closed the door.

“No good?” Kari asked.

I shook my head. “Fay has requested that I not be allowed to see her.”

Kari bit her lip. “I should have expected this. Fay has always been the kind of girl who mopes whenever she gets hurt. Do you think I should use my authority as the Princess of Nevaria here?”

After giving her offer serious consideration, I shook my head. “That would be very high-handed. What’s more, I don’t think it will help us in this instance.”

“Probably not,” Kari agreed.

“This princess does not understand why this Fay girl is unwilling to see you.” Lin crossed her arms and frowned.

“It’s because I hurt her.” I gave Lin a helpless smile. “I’m sure she is hurt because I rejected her and has decided that she doesn’t want to see me.”

“That’s just dumb,” Lin muttered.

“What should we do now?” asked Kari.

“Now?” I looked up at the sky and sighed. “I will have to head over to the library soon. I’m closing today.”

“Should we do with you?” she asked, but I shook my head.

“You can come a little later, but I’ll never get my work done if you two are around.” I smiled as a thought crossed my mind. “Maybe you can use this opportunity to go shopping.”

“Shopping?” Kari tilted her head while Lin just looked confused.

“For Lin,” I said. “That dress she’s currently wearing is one of yours, right? Currently, Lin doesn’t have any clothes of her own because I haven’t been able to take her shopping myself. Her presence might still cause a bit of panic, but I think with the Princess of Nevaria by her side, people will be a bit less inclined to overreact.”

“That could be,” Kari admitted. “We could also use this time as a chance to do some bonding between girls.” She directed her gaze toward the Lamia. “How about it, Lin? Would you like to spend the day with me?”

Lin frowned for a moment, her brow furrowing as she considered Kari’s words. I could almost see the way her thought process was going. She probably wanted to spend time with me, her “Darling”, but the idea of traveling around Nevaria with a person who didn’t fear her was likely appealing as well.

“This princess… would like that,” Lin said at last. “Though now she is wondering if it wouldn’t be better for her to remain indoors.”

“You can’t think like that,” Kari admonished her. “I’m sure people will begin to accept you. Let’s both do our best.”

“Okay.” Lin didn’t seem as enthusiastic as Kari, who actually looked pretty determined, but she still managed to smile at the other girl.

“In that case, I will see you both later,” I said.

We gave our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Kari grabbed Lin’s arm and began pulling her along, chatting about something, though I was too far away to hear what she was saying. I watched them go. When they disappeared around a corner, I released a weary sigh and began traveling toward the library.

***

The soft mattress underneath her normally would have brought Fay comfort, but all she felt as she sat on her bed was self-recrimination. After waking up, washing off, and eating breakfast, Fay had retired to her bedroom. There she sat. Her back was against the wall and her knees were drawn to her chest as she gazed into the distance with slightly vacant eyes.

Why did I say those things?

Her mind replayed what happened between her and Eryk the day before. 

“Why are you… even bothering with me? You don’t even like me, right? The one you love is Kari, so why are you bothering to train me? Why are you being so kind to me?”

Fay could not believe she had said those words, which she knew could never be taken back.

“Well, I wish you would stop. You keep… treating me so nicely that it hurts. I don’t think you even realize how much it hurts to have someone you love treat you with such kindness when you know they don’t love you back. Every sweet gesture you make, every kind word you say… they’re like a lance being driven into my heart, because I know that deep down, you aren’t doing this out of romantic feelings for me. It’s just who you are.”

It wasn’t like they were completely untrue, but at the same time, Fay knew that Eryk had not deserved the scorn she’d given up. All he had wanted to do was help her. Maybe he didn’t have the same feelings for her that he did for Kari, but she at least knew that he cared for her. The fact that she’d gone off on him like that just proved how terrible of a person she was.

It’s just like back then…

Back then. Fay closed her eyes as she remembered the past, long before she had met Eryk, long before Grant Leucht had tried to force her into an arranged marriage. Pain pierced her chest like a lance. She lowered her head between her knees and bit her lips, trying to stifle the sob that wanted to escape.

Even after all this time, I’m still crying over what happened in the past. I’m so pathetic.

As Fay was lamenting, a knock came to her door, startling her.

“Lady Fay.” It was one of her servants, Bertrand. “I came to inform you that Eryk Veiger and Kari Astralia came over earlier today. I sent them away since I didn’t think you wanted to deal with them right now. I hope you will forgive me for not informing you of this sooner.”

Kari and Eryk had come to visit her? Fay rubbed her chest as she looked at the door, wondering what they had come to see her for. She couldn’t think of anything. Neither of them was the type to rub salt into an open wound, so they must have wanted to speak with her for some reason, but she couldn’t fathom what they’d want to talk to her about, especially Eryk. After what she’d done yesterday, she wouldn’t be surprised if he never wanted to speak to her again.

Thinking about Eryk made Fay think about all the times they had shared together, causing a sudden urge to well up inside of her.

Climbing off the bed, Fay went over to her dresser and stripped off her pajama bottoms and shirt. Now wearing nothing but her underwear and chest bindings, she began getting dressed. She put on black shorts. Then she slid a shirt over her body. It was sleeveless and had a heart-shaped cutout near her chest. She put on her stockings and boots after that, and then she donned a blue vest, the ends of which trailed down to her ankles. After cinching it up with a belt and a leather strap just below her breasts, she slid on fingerless gloves.

Now dressed, Fay went over to her door, opened it, and stepped out.

Bertrand was standing outside her door. He paused when he saw her outfit.

“Are you going out, Lady Fay?”

“Just for a little while,” Fay responded.

“Shall I have someone escort you?”

“No, thank you. I would like to travel alone.”

Bertrand bowed to her as Fay turned around and walked over to the stairs. She descended them, ending up in another hallway. As she traveled toward the entrance hall, an old man with a receding hairline, dark brown eyes, and many wrinkles lining his face stepped out from a side passage.

“Oh. Lady Fay,” he greeted in surprise. “Are you heading out?”

“Om,” Fay returned the man’s greeting with a courteous nod. “Yes, I am. There is a lot that I wish to think about, and I do not believe locking myself in my room will help.”

“Understandable.” Om smiled at her like a grandfather might with his granddaughter. “It is always nice to get some fresh air.”

“Yes.”

Fay didn’t stay chatting with this old man for long. After some initial pleasantries, she bid the man goodbye and was soon leaving the Valstine Family’s estate.

***

Kari did her best to remain upbeat as she kept a hold of Lin’s arm and pulled her along. She refused to show how upset the stares everyone was giving Lin made her. That wasn’t going to help her new friend, who was already having trouble dealing with the tension and animosity hanging in the air.

“This is called the City Square,” Kari said as they stood in a large plaza. A paved road spread across the square-shaped area that was enclosed by many tall buildings. In the very center of this plaza know as City Square was a large statue of a powerful-looking woman in full-body armor and holding a sword above her head.

“There are a lot of people,” Lin murmured as she gazed at the passerby, all of whom were giving them a wide berth. “None of them like me.”

“They’ll warm up to you eventually.” Kari remained positive, projecting a confidence that she didn’t fully have. “Anyway, this place is a little different from the Market District that I showed you first. While the Market District caters mostly to people who are looking to buy specialty items like furniture and such, this district is home to a lot of clothing stores. I figured we’d follow Eryk’s advice and buy some clothes you can wear.”

“This princess still does not understand the point of clothes, but she does realize that everyone else seems to be wearing them,” Lin said. Kari thought the way she spoke of herself in third person, referring to herself as “this princess”, was incredibly cute.

“Follow me.” Kari began tugging on the girl’s arm as she walked toward the buildings. “I’m going to take you to a store that I buy a lot of my clothes from.”

The store that Kari took Lin to was marked by a blue door. One-story. Kind of small. It didn’t look like much on the outside. A sign in front of the door was marked by a shirt to signify what they sold.

The door jingled as she opened it and let Lin proceed her, which she did because Lin had that big snake tail. She didn’t want her friend’s tail getting jammed if the door closed on her. After Lin had fully entered, Kari walked in next.

It was easy to tell at a glance that this shop specialized in selling premade clothing. There were a number of shelves and displays, all of which featured several articles of clothing: shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, vests, etc. There were multiple different styles on display. Kari was hoping that one of these styles would fit Lin.

There were a number of people in the store when they arrived, but all of them froze up and stared the moment they had entered. Kari tried to ignore those stares as she smiled at Lin and tugged the girl so they could get moving. Her destination was the back, where a young woman several years her senior was helping someone else get dressed.

“I shall be with you in just a moment,” the woman said.

“Okay,” Kari replied. “I’ll wait here.”

At the sound of her voice, the woman stopped what she was doing and turned her head. Their eyes locked.

“Princess Kari,” the woman said, preparing to move into a bow. She never did, though. She caught sight of Lin at that moment and her body froze.

“Emeralda, I would like to introduce Lin,” Kari said with a gesture toward her dark-skinned companion. “She’s a Lamia from the Endless Desert who arrived here some time ago. I thought it would be nice to show her around, and I also want to get her some clothes since she does not have any.”

“Is… is that so?” The woman known as Emeralda recovered far more quickly than anyone else had done. “I see. You want new clothes for this… girl… hmm…” She walked up to Kari and Lin, studying the Lamia girl a lot more closely, which seemed to make Lin a tad nervous. However, Kari held the girl’s arm both to keep her from running and to reassure her. “She’s very… exotic. I’ve never seen someone with skin color like this… and that tail… so she is what people call a Lamia, huh? Interesting.”

“Do you think you can find some clothes that look good on her?” asked Kari.

“I will certainly do my best,” Emeralda said.

“Somehow… this princess has a very bad feeling about this,” Lin muttered.

Before Lin could say anything else, Emeralda began dragging her and Kari around the store, which was a bit awkward because her long tail got in the way of the other shoppers. However, Emeralda was no longer paying attention to them. This woman had a new subject to work with, and that subject was far different from anyone else she’d ever helped clothe before.

Emeralda didn’t have Lin try anything on just yet. The first thing she did was grab several articles of clothing and hold them up to the Lamia. Most of them were shirts and skirts. She also held up a few chemise, presumably to see how they would look on Lin. Throughout it all, Kari remained next to her new friend to help the girl bare with what was obviously a brand new experience.

“Hmm…” Emeralda murmured as she set a slightly sheer-looking chemise back on a shelf. “Finding an outfit that fits a Lamia is surprisingly difficult. I feel like none of these really work. I mean, they aren’t terrible, but they aren’t really great either, especially given your skin tone.” The woman thought for a moment, and then her expression suddenly brightened. “I actually think we do have something for you! Come on!”

“What?” Lin sounded startled as the woman grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “H-hey! Don’t just grab this princess as you please! Quit dragging her!”

Despite Lin’s protests, Emeralda dragged her over to the back of the store, and then she made her and Kari wait there while she wandered though a door. The two of them stood in somewhat awkward silence for several minutes. They could hear the woman rustling through fabric and muttering to herself through the open door. Several swear words rang out, and then…

“Ah ha! Here it is!”

Emeralda wore an ecstatic but somehow smug smile as she came out with several articles of clothing that appeared to make up an outfit. The clothing itself was all red and made of a fabric that appeared lighter and less thick than what Kari was used to.

“Here, let’s try this on,” Emeralda said.

“Waaaa!”

Lin released a shocked cry as Emeralda grabbed the dress she was wearing and flipped it off her. Now completely naked, the poor Lamia had no time to defend herself as the woman began clothing her. It happened before she could even put up a good defense. Before the girl even knew it, she was already dressed.

“Wow…”

Kari could not help but feel a sense of shock as she looked at Lin in her new outfit. Her shirt really wasn’t much. It resembled a strip of red cloth that traveled over her breasts, forming an X-pattern above her small chest before tying together in the back. It fit her well. However, Kari thought it was only possible because Lin’s breasts weren’t very large. This shirt also left her belly completely exposed, revealing a splendidly flat and toned stomach that even she was slightly jealous of.

There were two other articles of clothing that went with this outfit. The first article that Kari really focused on was the wrap around skirt. Tied at one end, dyed the same color of red as her “shirt”, the skirt looked more like a piece of cloth that was higher on her right where it tied together and lower on her left. That said, it did a good job of covering Lin’s private places, which was what they wanted. The other articles were the red armbands that covered her forearms. They were kept in place by a hole that her middle fingers went through and a cord near her elbows.

“What do you think?” asked Emeralda. “This outfit is something my shop has had for awhile, but I never could figure out what to do with it. I’m not even sure where it came from.”

“I think it looks good,” Kari said. “Lin, what do you think?”

Lin was looking down at herself, twisting her body this way and that, as though trying to study every aspect of her new clothing.

“It does feel nice,” she admitted. “This princess almost feels like she’s not wearing anything, so it’s not uncomfortable.”

“Why don’t you look in the mirror and tell me what you think?” Emeralda said.

She directed Lin to a full body mirror, where the Lamia girl was able to fully observe herself. The way her eyes widened in astonishment was quite something. She looked like she was seeing herself for the first time ever.

“So these are what clothes look like on this princess,” she muttered. “She must admit, they do fit her well.”

“Don’t they?” Emeralda puffed out her chest in pride.

“How much are they?” asked Kari.

Emeralda stroked her chin for a moment as if seriously pondering that question. “Considering how little fabric is used in its construction and how no one else is willing to buy it, you’re honestly doing me a favor by letting me get rid of it, so… how about I just give you this set for free, but in exchange, I would like the two of you to come back and let me play dress up with Lin some more.”

The moment Lin heard those words, she froze over, but Kari just nodded.

“I think that is a fair deal.”

“This princess does not want to be someone’s doll!”

“Good!” Emeralda clapped her hands together as she completely ignored the Lamia’s complaint. “In that case, I’ll give you this outfit right now. The next time you two come in, I will try to have several new outfits prepared for her, which means I will need to take her measurements right now.”

“Measurements?” Lin questioned, a tremor in her voice. She gulped when Emeralda brought a marked leather strip out of a front pouch in her dress.

“Now, it is time to take your measurements,” Emeralda said as she walked toward Lin, who turned around and tried to slither away. Unfortunately, she wasn’t fast enough.

Her terrified screams echoed across the plaza.