The Author's POV

Chapter 196: Relaxing times [2]

After leaving the train station, we arrived at Remolan street. A rather famous shopping area located in the central district of Ashton city.

Stepping into Remolan street, I was left in a daze.

People roaming everywhere, massive buildings, giant fountains, fancy restaurants, massive stores, and even arcades. This place had everything.

Glancing at the busy streets, I made a pledge to myself.

Right after buying a suit, If I still hadn't sold my kidneys, I had to treat myself to something fancy.

Similarly looking at the streets, Kevin asked, "I've only been here once, so are you going to be the guide?"

Emma, who had heard Kevin, pridefully nodded her head, "Of course, I've been coming here ever since I was a kid. I know this place like the back of my house. Not only do I know where most stores are located I also know who…"

Walking through the busy streets, Kevin and Emma continued to chatter. From time to time Amanda would join in on the conversation as Emma would forcefully drag her into it.

Kevin did try to bring me in the conversation multiple times, and when he did I half-heartedly replied.

"Ren, you've never been here before right?"

"No, I have not"

"Well, I've only been here once so I guess I'm just as clueless as you are"

"I guess so…"

While Kevin and I were talking, Emma's footsteps halted. Following her example, I along with Kevin and Amanda also stopped.

Looking up, I soon noticed that we had stopped in front of a large transparent door. Behind it were countless mannequins wearing different sets of clothes.

From suits to regular shirts, the mannequins wore different matching sets of clothes that perfectly complemented each other.

Taking my eyes away from the mannequins, the first thing I noticed as I took a closer look at the store before us was a large sign with the words [Shiplen tailor&clothing] engraved on it.

"This the place?"

"Yup, I know the manager here, so he can help you with regards to the suit, Moreover…"

Looking at Amanda, Emma excitedly said.

"…this place doesn't only sell suits but also sells other types of clothing"

"Women too?"

Nodding her head in confirmation, Emma placed her hand on the door handle and casually pushed it open.

"…Alright, let's go in"

Soon, the interior of the shop become became visible for anyone to see.

Just like Emma had said, the shop was divided into many different sections as there was a woman section, a male section, and a kids section.

Each section had different types of clothes with different prices on them.

"Where are the suits?"

As I entered the store, I was a bit on the fence.

The store didn't look like a store that made suits. Although I did in fact see some suits on display, they weren't anything fancy nor were they of high quality.

I'm sure Emma wouldn't just bring me here without reason.

Casually looking at the store, Emma replied.

"Before we get you a suit, why don't you choose some clothes first"

"Me?"

"Yeah, I first want to see what types of clothes you wear. From there we can choose a proper suit for you"

"Sure"

Realizing her intention, I nodded my head.

That made sense.

Since Emma was choosing a suit for me, she had to get a better idea of my tastes. After all, this was a suit for me not for her.

If she didn't know my tastes, she wouldn't be able to help me.

"Alright, I'll be back shortly"

Separating from Kevin and the others, I looked through the shop as I picked some of the clothes that I liked.

Fortunately, there were a lot of options available in the store. All sorts of shirts, pants, and T-shirts were displayed in the store. There were so many options, that I honestly couldn't choose. They all looked good to me.

"Hm, this looks like it matches"

After a while, picking a couple of shirts and pants that I particularly liked, I made my way towards the changing room and got dressed.

"This looks good"

After putting on the clothes and staring at my reflection in the mirror, I nodded my head in satisfaction.

Reflected on the mirror was me wearing a nice Hawaiian shirt tucked in between some slick brown pants that reached all the way to my ankles. I left a slight gap in the middle of the T-shirt to further emphasize my chest.

The more I looked at myself, the more satisfied I was with my look.

Touching my chin, I mused.

'Hmm, I feel like I'm missing something. Maybe sunglasses?'

If I had sunglasses I would without a doubt look better. Sunglasses with a Hawaiian shirt, now that's what you would call a matching combo.

Still, it was best if I asked the others about their opinion. After all, I couldn't wear sunglasses at the banquet.

Exiting the changing room with the clothes still on, I waved at Kevin and the rest in the distance. Posing slightly, I asked.

"Hey, what do you guys think of this?"

Kevin : "…"

Emma : "…"

Amanda : "…"

Covering her face with the palm of her hand, Emma muttered.

"He's a lost cause"

Simultaneously nodding their heads, Kevin and Amanda couldn't agree more.

"I agree"

"Mhm"

Noticing their reaction, I became slightly flustered.

"W-what? It looks nice though"

I really liked what I was wearing.

I had spent a lot of time choosing these clothes. I was genuinely proud of what I had achieved. Squinting my eyes, I thought.

'Was it the sunglasses?'

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the reason they reacted like this was because I didn't have any sunglasses on.

Unaware of what I was thinking, Kevin, looked at Emma who was massaging her head, "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought"

"Emma, do something about this"

"On it"

Taking out her phone, Emma quickly sent a message to someone.

Not long after she sent the message, a man wearing a neat grey suit that perfectly outlined the general structure of his body came down from a set of stairs in the distance.

The man was rather old as he had thin gray hair and a well-trimmed mustache. Despite his age, the man looked extremely refined and elegant.

With a bright smile, the man greeted Emma.

"Why if it isn't the young miss, what do I owe you the pleasure of coming here"

"Fix him up"

Cutting to the chase, Emma pointed at me. Staring in the direction of where Emma pointed at, the old man covered his mouth, "Oh my, him?"

Expecting such a reaction, Emma sighed and nodded her head, "Yeah, he's a lost cause"

"I can see that, what's the budget"

Looking at me, Emma asked the old man, "How much does a suit typically cost?"

Taking out a small tablet from his pocket, the old man patiently explained, "Depends on what type of materials we use to make the suit. Generally, our prices usually range from 5,000 U all the way to 100,000 U. With 100,000 U using the felt of some beasts coming from the outer regions"

Hearing Emma's and the man talking, excluding their sh*t talk, one thing caught my interest.

The prices of the suits.

They were much cheaper than I had expected.

Perhaps because I tended to spend millions of U with every purchase I made, the price for suits seemed rather cheap to me at the moment.

I had honestly expected to be asked an absurd amount of money to make a suit, but I guess my perception of money had inflated too much.

In the end, interrupting the discussion Emma and the old man were having, I chose the most expensive option.

"Give me the best that you've got"

Since I could afford it and it wasn't going to hurt my pockets, I may as well go all in.

With a big smile on his face, the old man caressed his hands. Turning around, the old man urged me to follow him.

"Very well, please follow me so that we can take your measurements"

"Sure"

Scrolling through the tablet that the old man held before, Emma casually said "Whilst you take the measurements, I'll choose the suits with the others"

Halting my steps, I protested "Wait, why can't I choose?"

Right after my words fell, everyone's stared at the clothes I was wearing. As if stating the obvious, Emma disdainfully said, "What gives you the right to ask after wearing such monstrosity?"

Offended, I looked towards Kevin for moral support "Was it really that bad?"

Deeply staring at me, Kevin bluntly nodded his head, "Yup"

With a hurt look on my face, I looked at Amanda. Feeling my gaze, Amanda turned her head to the side and pretended that she didn't see anything.

"…"

Clenching my teeth, I squinted my eyes, "Fine…"

Bunch of traitors.

Following the old man upstairs, we soon arrived in front of a small wooden room filled with suits.

Without wasting any time, the old man took out a measuring tape. Using the measuring tape, the old man measured every part of my body from waist, chest, calves, and biceps.

"Alright, we're done"

A minute after he took the first measurement, the tailor quickly wrote down all of my sizes on a piece of paper. Once he finished taking my measurements, we quickly headed back downstairs to meet the others.

Noticing my arrival, Emma casually glanced at me, "You're done?"

"Yeah"

Squinting my eyes, my sharp gaze met Kevin's. After a couple of seconds, unable to bear my piercing stare, Kevin lowered his head.

That's right.

Lower your head traitor.

Unaware of my exchange with Kevin, Emma casually handed the tablet back to the old man "Alright, we've already selected a suit"

"Oh? Can I see it?"

Shaking her head, Emma refused. "We've already ordered it, you'll see it once it arrives"

"…"

Opening my mouth, no words came out.

Did they seriously just buy me a suit without asking whether I liked it or not?

"Please follow me to the register to pay"

Smiling brightly, the old man made his way towards the register.

Dejectedly following the old man to the register, handing him my card, I paid for the suit that Emma and the others choose for me. After paying the bill, I turned around and made my way out of the shop as the old man reminded me of a few things.

"Thank you for your purchase, your suit will be delivered to you in a couple of days. In case your suit breaks, make sure you come back to us so we can fix it. We provide a two-year warranty"

"Sure, thank you"

Exiting the store and reuniting with the others, Kevin checked his watch and asked.

"Where should we go now?"

With me having finally purchased a suit, we now had time to properly enjoy ourselves and do whatever we wanted.

Emma was especially excited at the moment as her eyes shone brightly. Looking towards the distance, she exclaimed.

"Arcade! We are going to the arcade!"

Without waiting for anyone else to respond, Emma grabbed Amanda by the arm and forcefully dragged her into the arcade.

From how fast she was moving, she seemed to be itching to go.

"…"

Staring at Amanda who was helplessly being dragged around by Emma, a trace of sympathy flashed across my eyes.

"This is why she always rejects Emma"

"How did you know?"

Confused, Kevin asked. To which I shrugged my shoulders and casually said.

"Just a hunch"

"…what a terrifying hunch"

Glancing at me and nudging his head, Kevin suggested.

"…So, we also going to the arcade?"

"But of course"

Without hesitation, I replied.

I was also raring to go to the arcade. Especially since I was really curious as to how arcades in this world looked like.

Would there be 4-D pac-man games? 4-D donkey kong?

Just the thought made me excited.

Following Emma through the busy streets, we soon arrived in front of a large building with a large sign with [Blisscore Arcade] engraved on it as different lights blinked around it.

By the time Kevin and I arrived at the arcade, Emma and Amanda were already long gone.

A small crowd appeared at the front of the building as they stared at the insides of the building with interest. Multiple different lights flashed from the insides of the building, as we could faintly hear the sound of music playing.

"This the place?"

"Should be"

Staring at the crowd outside of the shop, Kevin asked "Should we go in?"

"Yup"

Pushing through the small crowd that had gathered at the entrance of the building. Lifting my sleeves up, a smirk appeared on my face.

"Make way for me you noobs!"

If there was one thing I was good at back in my world, it was the arcades. Whenever I had spare money I would always go to the arcade to play some games.

After having accumulated countless hours of experience, I was confident.

I was confident that there was no game I couldn't beat.