Chapter 19 – Ririi can’t take her eyes off the dress

I stopped by Miss Esmeralda’s store on my way home after defeating the crystal dragons, to return the magic vehicle.

After leaving it by the entrance, I went in and told her I hunted the crystal dragons, and she gave me a small piece of paper.

There was a simple map written on it. Judging by the roads radiating outwards, I guessed it was a map of the capital.

“What is this?”

“My atelier. You didn’t think you were going to just drop the dragon materials here, did you?”

She had a point. I stuffed two crystal dragon’s worth of materials in my magic bag that expands the more magic energy I infuse into it, but there was no way I could take out two ten meter dragons inside her store.

Meaning, she was telling me to hand the materials in the place shown on the map.

“…I actually hunted two, but I’m assuming that won’t be a problem. I broke the horn of the first one, and it took a while to find another one.”

She didn’t bat an eye at what I said. Her wrinkled face was as serene as the surface of a giant tree.

“They’re about ten meters tall, right? One more shouldn’t be a problem, but what do you want to do with all that? One wing is enough to make a robe.”

“Can’t you take it?”

“Don’t be silly. Do I look like I have that kind of money?”

“You don’t?”

“Of course I do.”

“Hey…”

As always, she lied as easily as she breathed.

“But there’s no market price for crystal dragons or anything like that. They are not exactly the sort of thing that appears on the market all the time.

Sometimes someone gets lucky and finds the body of one that died of old age, but very few materials are put for sale on the market.”

“I see.”

When I was looking up information about crystal dragons in the ministry of magic, I saw their life span is over a hundred years. There aren’t that many of them in the first place, so it’s very rare for anyone to find their materials.

“You should get a good price if you take them to an atelier of a popular brand. Franchet unveils a new magic dress every year to show off the skill of their atelier, so they might be willing to pay the most. I can’t think of anything that would get people talking more than a dress made of crystal dragon.”

“Magic dress…”

I had never heard of a thing like that, but I assumed it was a dress infused with some sort of magic protection. I couldn’t see how wearing a dress in battle could be anything other than a nuisance, so I assumed it was just something to look at.

…But it’s not like I wasn’t interested.

The image of Ririi wearing a silver, crystal dragon dress, along with her smiling face…

“Then I’ll take one dragon to Franchet. I don’t need the money, but I’m interested in that crystal dress.”

I said, and Miss Esmeralda smiled like she saw right through me.

“Heehee. This brat sure has changed over the years…”

“I wasn’t really trying.”

I mean, I did hunt two so-called messengers of god in one day.

The people of the Guena village are probably calling me a demon.

◆

The next day, I go with Ririi to Franchet’s main store.

It’s on a corner of the showiest part of the main commercial street, where other high-grade brands are too.

It’s next to Bitne’s main store, which used to be Gatlin’s. The same place where that incident with me happened when I was a student.

A lot of buildings in the capital are constructed with stone or wood and look boorish, but the ones in this area use more unusual materials, and they’re interesting to look at. Franchet is a great example of this. It’s an expensive brand that’s popular with women, and its store has magic stones of various colors embedded all around.

“A-a crystal dragon…!?”

“That’s right. It got blown away from the neck up, but the rest is in perfect condition. Can you buy it?”

“I-I’m sorry, please wait here! I need to speak to my boss…!”

I talk to an employee wearing a robe covered in frills that’s clearly going for appearance above all else, and she rushes to the back of the store with a surprised look on her face.

“Daddy, Ririh wants to see that!”

Says Ririi while pulling my hand. I look to where she’s pointing, and see a bright red dress displayed in the center of this big store.

The whole store has a stylish air around it, but that dress stands out even above that. It has this splendor about it that’s like it was made to be worn by nobles. Is that a magic dress?

“All right, let’s go have a look.”

“Ou!”

There are ropes around it to prevent people from touching it, and several women are standing there looking at it. They all have their full attention on the dress.

I see an empty space, and stand there with Ririi.

“Fuoooh…!”

Ririi opens her mouth wide as her eyes are captured by what’s probably the first dress she’s ever seen. I hold her hand tighter, because I’m thinking she might go under the ropes if I’m not careful.

“…It’s incredible.”

I don’t really care about clothes, so I don’t really understand the artistry involved with embroidering flower patterns or bouquets on the waist or anything like that. But this dress is beautiful enough for even a layman like me to say that.

Looking at it more closely, the magic stones spread around the dress have been delicately cut too, and really bring out the brilliance in the dress.

It’s like it was made to overturn the idea that clothes that serve as magic equipment are lame compared to regular clothes.

“…Do you like it?”

Someone asks from behind.

I turn around, and see the same employee from before and an elf woman. I can tell by her clothes that she also works here.

Elves live longer than humans, which means they also age more slowly. This woman doesn’t look a day over forty, but she’s probably about a hundred years old.

I’m pretty confident in my ability to tell how old elves are because I stayed in an elf country for a while.

The elf woman takes a step forward and speaks. Suffice to say, her hair is green.

“Am I correct in assuming you are the one who is here to sell us crystal dragon materials?”

“That’s right, and you?”

“I apologize. I am Aurelia, the main designer of Franchet.”

Aurelia says as she respectfully bows.

“Main designer? So this dress…”

“Yes, I designed it.”

“It’s incredible. I definitely want you to have those materials.”

“I am humbled to hear that. Can you accompany me to the back so we can talk more about this?”

“Sure… Come on Ririi. Let’s go with the lady.”

“Fuoooh…!”

I have to drag Ririi away to follow Aurelia, because it feels like her feet are glued there and she doesn’t want to move away from the dress.