Ch 112 -- Splurging on Clothes
The next day I dedicated to shopping, specifically to buy clothes. The shirts and trousers I had bought the first day I came to this town were more comfortable to wear than I ever imagined. I hadn't really noticed until now but what I had been wearing previously was stiff and harsh and rubbed against my skin whereas the new items were soft and comfortable like the best cotton clothing. Besides I really needed to wear the sort of clothing the people in this Kingdom wore so that I didn't stand out, so buying local clothing was a must.
There were a lot of small clothing stores in this town and I decided if I was going to visit several, no, a lot of them to find exactly what I wanted then having Fer, Sui and Dora-chan accompany me would be a mistake so I left them behind in the inn's beast stables. Dora-chan wasn't happy at my decision, flying around making buzzing noises and saying "You said you'd make me some delicious food today, you meanie."
"Dinner's later, at night." I explained. I put out some food for the Gluttonous Trio to hold them until my return and Dora-chan quietened down in a flash. Lots of tonkatsu sandwiches to start with, still hot from my Item Box followed by some sweet things from the Net Super, anpan, jam-filled and cream-filled buns with assorted drinks, (cola, cider and orange juice) poured out into dishes, enough for the three of them. Dora-chan turned out to be a proud member of the "Sweets Are Good!" party and after sampling the items on offer he clung to my face saying "Wow!"
After gently disengaging Dora-chan from my head I started out on my epic shopping expedition.
* * * * *
I walked down the street looking from side to side trying to decide what shops would be worth spending time in. Fer had been continually pestering me about dungeons so as soon as we received the subjugation request fee and purchase price for the Venom Tarantulas and the Giant Centipede we'd leave here for our next stop, the Dungeon City of Doran. That meant I only had one day left to do all my shopping. Since I was in a hurry I'd just buy what looked good and not dither or comparison shop. My item Box had lots of space and since I didn't know when I might be able to return to this city to buy more clothes here I planned to stock up with maybe 20 complete outfits.
"Oh, this looks good."
While walking down the street, some white shirts and dark grey trousers displayed in a shop window caught my eye so I went in. I noticed them because they looked the same as the good-quality clothes I had bought the day before, not that they stood out for other reasons.
A clerk appeared as soon as I entered the store. I pointed to the items in the shop window and asked about them.
"Do you like the look of these?" he inquired politely. "They're simple designs but very popular."
The shirt was a basic long-sleeved design with a stand-up collar and the trousers looked like chinos. The fact they were popular made them more attractive to me since I didn't want to stand out. I decided quickly.
"Yes, please give me this shirt and those trousers. I'd like to see some others too..."
The clerk showed me more shirts and trousers. The shirts were mostly white, ivory and beige coloured, made of natural materials and left undyed. Any colours other than the three regular shades cost a lot more because of the dyeing process, according to the clerk. I didn't care, white and light colours generally would be easier to match. Back home I only ever wore white shirts anyway, for work and leisure.
The trousers were conversely in many dark colors -- olive green, dark brown, dark grey, dark blue, black etc. The reason for the dark shades was simple, dirt and stains were less visible on such fabrics according to the clerk. Most roads in this world aren't paved or even cobbled. Just walking around coats your legs with dust and grime which would show up quickly on light-coloured trousers.
I had no problem personally with dark coloured trousers, after all before I came to this world, my clothes choices were not stylish or fashionable, indeed they were quite plain and unremarkable. Thinking about it, what caught my eye in these shops was almost the same as what I'd have chosen in the previous world.
I chose more white and beige shirts and a pair each of olive, dark brown, Navy blue and black trousers to go with the grey pair I purchased first. In total that was five shirts and five pairs of trousers which cost me 17 gold coins and 5 silver coins.
I left the store as the clerk thanked me profusely for my custom and went back to the street and started looking around again. The next store I went into I bought two shirts and 10 pairs of trousers, and the next... In the end I bought over 40 sets of shirts and trousers, a lot more than I had intended but that left me well-stocked for the future. I turned back towards the inn, remembering I had promised Dora-chan a delicious dinner tonight. Time to cook.