Chapter 3 – Weiss running around

It was the second day.

I’ll be blunt. Ririi wet the bed.

…Well, yes. It was my fault. I should have taken her to the bathroom before bed. I completely forgot about that because she didn’t express herself at all.

I cleaned the dirty mattress and bedding quickly with magic, and her dirty body in the bathtub.

Then I wrapped her up with cloth again, and went out.

I had to get clothes for her.

After going out into the main street, I headed towards what could be said to be the only proper women’s clothing store in Zenith. Of course, I had never stepped foot inside, but I did know Horo, the owner. I drank with her at the bar a few times.

She was a young woman and looked good, so she was popular in a bar in a town crowded with men. And yet, I never heard of a single one of those guys ever putting his hands on her.

I think people in Zenith just sort of felt how strange it was for a woman to walk around brazenly in a place like that, and figured there had to be something to her.

“Horo, I’m coming in.”

I opened the wooden door, and heard a bell ring. That noise brought the owner from the back.

“Welcome… Oh, it’s you Weiss. Do you want something with me?”

She started speaking very quickly as soon as she saw it was me. She probably figured I wasn’t there as a normal customer. In a way she was right, but also wrong.

“I’m just here to buy clothes.”

“Eeh!? What, did you kidnap someone!?”

“I didn’t, you rude woman… I bought one… I bought a slave from Gess.”

Horo opened her eyes wide like she couldn’t believe it.

“Weiss, did you need an extra pair of hands that badly? Or are you actually into little girls? Wait, I didn’t figure you for a sadist but…”

“None of those are right, it just sort of happened. Anyway, I don’t have any clothes for her, and I don’t really know anything about it, so pick me a set for her.”

I walked to the counter, and placed five white coins on it. Half a million zeni should be enough to clothe her well.

“Get me something nice with this.”

I said while bowing, and Horo looked at me with a grimace.

“No no… Do you want to buy my whole store?”

“…What? Are women’s clothes that cheap?”

They’re more intricate and ornamented compared to men’s, so I figured they’d be a lot more expensive.

“You don’t buy clothes with white coins. You can buy a full set with five gold coins. Or more like two or three.”

“I see. I don’t really know the prices, but I only have white coins, so get me something nice with that. You can keep the change as a fee for the time you’re spending picking them.”

I left one white coin on the counter and put the rest back in my pocket.

Horo looked at it, but after seeing I wasn’t going to back down, she sighed and put it in a bag.

“We’ve drank together a few times, but I still can’t figure you out… So, what kind of girl is she? I know she’s a girl because you wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t.”

“An elf.”

“How old?”

“Dunno. About this tall.”

I used my hand to show her Ririi’s height.

“I see. I’ll take care of it, so you go take a walk. I’ll deliver them to you tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s going to be a lot, so it’s going to take a while. I assume you want them today, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“I won’t charge you for the delivery. Then again, I’m thinking of picking a lot, but it still won’t be worth half a white coin.”

“I see, sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Nevermind, see you later.”

Said Horo, before turning the plate on the door to say the store was closed. Then she started running around the store, and I left because I felt I was in the way.

◆

“Weiss. It’s me Horo.”

“I’m coming.”

I opened the door, and saw Horo carrying a bag big enough to fit a big man.

“Is that the one?”

I pointed to the bag with my eyes, and Horo nodded.

“Yes. Can I come in? I need to take back with me anything that won’t fit her.”

“Sure.”

Thinking back, she was the second guest I had there, after Ririi.

And I don’t remember ever telling her where I lived. There really was something to her.

“Excuse me.”

Horo barged in, looked at Ririi sitting in the living room, and started being loud and annoying.

“Oh… So cute!!!! No wonder you like little girls, Weiss…”

“I don’t.”

Horo couldn’t help herself, and started looking around Ririi like a pervert.

“She’s a bit odd. She doesn’t have green hair like other elves.”

Whispered Horo while gently stroking her head.

“That’s right. I bought her because she’s a rare one.”

Elves are known for having a lot of good people. Actually, it’s more like few bad ones. Not that the number is zero. After all, there were elves living in Zenith too, and they didn’t care at all about other elves being sold on the street. Then again, it’s not like I ever cared about human slaves.

My point is that Horo knew about elves because there were elves living in Zenith too.

Horo looked at the cloth wrapped around Ririi with a quizzical expression, and started taking it off.

“Uge… What’s with this cloth? She’s naked underneath it!”

“What else could I do? I didn’t have any clothes. Now you get the picture, so just put something on her.”

“…All right. Go away somewhere.”

“Yes yes.”

I stayed in the bedroom until Horo said I could come out. I could hear sounds like ‘oh my!’ and ‘so cute!’ from time to time, but I had to listen closely just in case Ririi made any sound. Unfortunately, all I heard was Horo’s giggly voice.

“Weiss? You can come back.”

I don’t know how long that took, but eventually Horo called me and I returned to the living room.

And there I saw…

“…Oh…”

“So? Cute, right!?”

“…Yes. More than I imagined…”

Ririi was wearing a pretty dress with frills on top of frills. If it wasn’t for her emotionless face, she could pass for the daughter of a noble.”

“…Fufu, you really do like little girls.”

“Again, no. But thanks Horo.”

“You’re welcome. Well then, I’ll be heading back. There’s all sorts of things in that bag, so check them out later. If you don’t know how to dress her or how to wash her clothes, drop by anytime and ask.”

“…Sorry about all that.”

“You paid me enough. And the idea of you raising an elf girl is funny, so I’ll help in any way I can.”

She said before leaving.

That left me, and Ririi, who was looking like a princess, in the living room.

And that’s how our second day went.