My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror - Chapter 157+ (Patreon)

He grabbed his measurement rope again and paced in a circle around Sylph hemming and hawing to himself. She was similarly made to stand in an assortment of poses, although Sylph made it look completely effortless.

“Interesting indeed,” Shanta said, plucking at Sylph’s shirt sleeve with a disapproving expression. “Have you had a custom dress made for you before? You’re quite good at this. You could be a model if you’d like.”

“I haven’t,” Sylph said. “I’ll keep that in mind, though.”

Shanta nodded, then scurried off into the sea of clothes again. He reappeared a short while later with several dresses hung over his arms. He tossed them onto the desk and gave Sylph another once over.

“Hmm. How do you feel about revealing clothing, young lady?”

“As long as its my head and arms being revealed,” Sylph said, narrowing her eyes.

“Of course, of course,” Shanta said, grabbing the top dress and promptly tossing it onto the chair. “A modest one, then. Something that doesn’t inhibit your movements much, yet also nice enough to not look out of place. I can work with that.”

“Do you have something that’s just pants?” Sylph asked, frowning. “I’m not a fan of dresses. They take up too much room.”

Shanta froze. “No dress? But the women always wear dresses. They are beautiful.”

Sylph opened her mouth, but the tailor continued on without waiting for a response.

“However, I see it now. A mental image paints itself before me! You will make a statement, yes. A suit, but tailored for a woman. The subtle flourish that most men’s suits don’t have, perhaps with some slight accents to show that you were aware of the trends, yet chose to break them anyways. A statement!”

Damien and Sylph exchanged a glance as the man cackled and shot off into his racks of clothing once again. It took him longer to reappear than before. This time, he carried a gray suit similar to Damien’s as well as several other articles of clothing.

He rested them on the table and immediately got to work. The man started by resizing the suit. Then, once he’d finished, he raised his hands like a maestro. Thread leapt up from within his desk and from the clothing he’d brought over, spinning itself into the suit of its own volition.

“He’s drawing miniscule runes on the clothing with the thread,” Henry mentally told Damien. “Interesting fellow. It’s nothing special in terms of difficulty, but it’s actually surprisingly beautiful.”

A bundle of roses embroidered themselves into the suit’s lapel. They shimmered, only visible when Damien squinted hard enough. The thorned stem ran down the shirt, forming a wavy pattern that seemed to dance on the suit.

Shanta then modified the edges of the suit, adding slight flairs around the collar and sleeves. He then repeated the process with the pants, resizing them and adding slight modifications to make them stand out a little more. Finally, the tailor straightened up and gave them a triumphant smile. He took the finished product and brought it to Sylph.

“Behold! Come now, put it on. Both of you. I wish to see my final product.”

He swept out of the room without waiting for a response, slamming the door behind him. Sylph raised an eyebrow. “Is that the same person we met at the door a bit ago?”

“I’m pretty sure he got possessed,” Damien muttered, taking cover behind one of the racks as he started to change. “Your suit does look good, though.”

“So does yours,” Sylph replied.

Damien finished changing and was only slightly surprised to find that, like Shanta had said, the suit fit perfectly. He moved his arms around, then stretched down and touched his toes. He could barely even feel the cloth tighten around him.

“Wow. This is impressive,” Damien muttered, stepping out from behind the racks as Sylph did the same.

The door flew open and Shanta strode in, Nolan peering over his shoulder. The tailor examined his test subjects, nodding to himself. “Yes, this is perfect. Now remember, the name of the tailor that made you beautiful was Shanta. When someone asks, you tell them that.”

“Shanta!” Nolan scolded.

“Apologies, Master Nolan,” Shanta said, clearing his throat and brushing his hair back. “I got carried away.”

“It’s okay,” Damien said. “You did a great job. Thank you.”

“That’s also true,” Nolan agreed, a smile tugging at his lips. “Not what I expected for Sylph, but it’s got a charm to it. It’ll certainly draw some eyes. Reena is going to be pissed. She loves being the center of attention, but I don’t think she’s ever tried wearing a suit to a formal event.”

“So, do we head back now?” Damien asked.

“No. Reena will meet us here,” Nolan replied. “Here, I’ve got an artifact that lets me store things. I can hold onto your normal clothes for now.”

Damien shrugged, hesitating for a moment before handing over his coat and clothes. They vanished as soon as they touched Nolan’s hands. Sylph did the same.

“They’re stored in my ring,” Nolan said, showing off an iron band on his pinky. “I can give it back to you whenever you want.”

The three bid farewell to Shanta before following Nolan out of the house. As soon as they stepped onto the streets, Damien felt a flush reach his cheeks. Something about walking around in the middle of a city dressed like he was going to the Queen’s coronation just felt wrong.

A man strode past them, practically blinding Damien with all the jewels hanging from his body. He wore a long, flowing cape trimmed in white fur and had a tall top hat.

“That’s the gaudiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Sylph muttered to him.

Damien could only nod in agreement. Nolan glanced back at them with a small chuckle. “Try not to stare too much. You’ll get used to it. Everyone’s trying to stand out here, but acknowledging it means you might get dragged into a conversation or something worse. That’s just how it works.”

They reached the courtyard that Nolan had brought them through. Reena stood before it, her long blonde hair curled into flowing locks. She wore a beautiful blue dress that rippled around her like the ocean itself had been encapsulated within it.

Her gaze flicked to Sylph and her eyebrows tightened for a moment before she gave them a small nod. “I’m glad to see you all made it. You both look wonderful. Nolan, where’s your suit?”

“In my ring,” Nolan replied. “I haven’t had a chance to put it on yet. Are the others ready yet?”

“Count Vin will meet us at the beach,” Reena said. “And Loretta is your date, not mine. You should know where she is.”

“Loretta?” Damien asked, blinking. “You mean the Loretta from our class?”

“Yes,” Nolan replied. “I’ve been sparring with her quite frequently, so I thought it apt to invite her.”

No sooner than he had spoken did one of the portals flicker. Loretta stepped out from within it, wearing a white sundress. She spotted them and rushed over with an embarrassed grin.

“I’m sorry for being late! Delph caught me when I was leaving to share when the next meeting time would be.”

“Can’t blame you for that,” Nolan said as everyone nodded in agreement. Damien half expected the professor to pop out from the sewer grate, a slip of brown paper bearing their next meeting time clutched in his teeth.

“Well, everyone is here now,” Reena said, sweeping past them and starting down the street towards the ocean. “Let’s get moving.”

They all scurried after her, heading deeper into the city before the sun had even had a chance to peek over the horizon.

As it turned out, Reena was incredibly efficient. She had the art of time management down to a fine science. As soon as they reached the main road, a carriage drawn by two huge white draft horses sat waiting for them.

A butler wearing fine clothes sat atop it, the reigns in his hands. He inclined his head and waved his hand. The door swung open and stairs descended from within it.

“That’s some impressive runework,” Damien said, pausing to examine it. Sylph pushed him inside with a gentle shove so the carriage before hopping in after so that the carriage could start moving.

Nolan’s clothes blurred as he sat down, his school wear disappearing as a fine white suit replaced it. Damien had sudden flashbacks to the wagon trip he’d taken when he had first joined Blackmist. The only person missing was Mark.

Reena didn’t give him much time to reminisce. They arrived at their destination – a two story building with multicolored shells around its walls that glimmered like gems – and the carriage rumbled to a halt.

After getting herded out, Damien learned exactly what Reena’s idea of ‘not wasting time’ was. They spent nearly an hour wandering through racks of clothing in all different fashions. It ranged from beaded dresses to armored suits and everything in between.

Damien wasn’t particularly interested, but Henry was fascinated. His companion continually told him to stop to inspect different pieces of work, finding great amusement in their methods of creation.

Surprisingly, they weren’t the only people there that early in the morning. Aside from the shop clerk, there were half a dozen other important looking people wandering through the shop, trying on clothes and spinning before mirrors to see how they looked.

Reena managed to convince Loretta to join her in doing the same, but she didn’t even bother trying with Sylph. Nolan joined her and Damien in standing near the men’s clothing section while the other two went through outfits at an alarming pace.

“See anything you like?” Nolan asked.

“I quite like my current suit,” Damien said, adjusting his lapel. “It fits so well. I do feel a bit naked without my mage armor, though.”

“I like mine as well,” Sylph added. “And what use would someone have for more than one of these?”

“They go out of style quite frequently,” Nolan replied. “It’s not uncommon for nobles to have wardrobes that only last a year before getting rotated out.”

“That seems like a huge waste,” Sylph observed.

“You have to understand that making an impression is incredibly important,” Nolan said. He gave them a small shrug. “Connections are the most important asset a noble house has, and making people aware of you is the first step to becoming noticed. Besides, it’s good for the economy. Things like this keep people spending their coin so it can go into the pockets of the more deserving.”

“What happened to you, Nolan?” Damien asked. “I don’t mean this in a bad way at all – I like you a lot more now than I did when we first met. But it’s like you’re an entirely different person.”

Nolan grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced over at Reena and Loretta, giving them a wide grin and a thumbs up for their current outfits before turning away again. “My father introduced me to more of the family business over the summer. I found it distasteful. Coupled with me getting my ass handed over on a silver platter by the boy I looked down on… well, it was a sharp wakeup call.”

“You’re much better awake than you are sleeping,” Sylph said. “I don’t have an overwhelming urge to gut you anymore.”

“Now that’s what a man wants to hear.” Nolan let out a small chuckle, then nodded at Reena. “Reena is much better at this than I am. She was the one who reminded me about the clothing and manners. I’m a horrible politician.”

They didn’t get a chance to reply. Reena and Loretta made their way back over to the group, back in their normal clothes.

“Okay, we can keep moving,” Reena said, her curls bobbing. “I found out that the merchant supplying this store works for the Archduke, and he’s in a feud with Shadeslinger family.”

“The ones we’re allied with?” Nolan asked, cocking his head after a moment of thought.

“Yes,” Reena said. “Hence, no shopping here.”

Nolan shot the others a look as if to say, ‘I told you so’. Reena herded them out of the shop. Outside, the sun had just now finally started to rise above the rooftops. Their carriage still sat outside, waiting for them.

“Right on time anyways,” Reena decided. “Shall we go look at some weapons? The shop should be opening in a few minutes, and it’s a busy one.”

She didn’t wait for their response, instead climbing into the transport. Everyone else shrugged and followed her, and they were off once again. Amusingly enough, the next shop ended up having the exact opposite results.

While Damien and Sylph wandered around the store, fascinated by the glimmering swords on the walls and staves inscribed with powerful runes behind display cases, Henry made exaggerated snoring noises within Damien’s mind.

“These are all uninteresting,” Henry complained. “They’re all pointy and kill people. Magic is much more interesting. Those clothes were the real art! There were four hundred and forty three runes in one of those dresses. Counted them myself.”

The staves have runes, though.

“They’re sticks that make things go boom. I can make things go boom. Intricate details are much more interesting.”

You’ve got to be the only eldritch creature that cares about the intricacies of clothing. Have you always been like this, or is my human spark to blame?

“Oh, it’s entirely your fault,” Henry said with a smug cackle. “This desire originated from you, I suspect. Somewhere deep down, you’ve got a real passion for looking snazzy.”

Damien grimaced, giving Henry a mental flick and tuning him out as he explored the rest of the shop. Everyone else was just as interested, and time slipped between their fingers. Loretta ended up purchasing a small wristband that could turn into a dagger before they had finished. Once everyone left the shop, nearly two more hours had passed.