I really didn't think the spear of fire would even hit Yequa. Aiming might have been easier than normal because he wasn't moving, but at a distance of thirty meters, one would have to be a skilled marksman in order to hit with deadly precision. I aimed at the magic wand in Yequa's hand with the intention of making him unable to cast any more magic, but the spear ended up piercing through his legs instead. For some reason, he repeatedly admitted defeat after I woke up in the infirmary, even though that sort of injury was nowhere close to being lethal.

At least I don't have to enslave myself for the rest of my life, so I guess everything ended well. I didn't know what to spend my money on in the first place, anyways, so I'm not particularly bothered about having to pay reparation fees, especially when I was told it would cost only a sixth of my current savings.

It was four o'clock by the time I finished resting up, and we left the academy to head back to the city. Amber had sprained her ankles and the rest of her body was still aching after being forcibly knocked over by my impact, so I rented a room at an inn on the main street for her to rest in, while Lica, Yequa, and I went to the marketplace to kill some time before general Denato was due to return to the city in a couple hours. My robe was tattered, and there were bloodstains all over it, so I figured now would be a great time to buy some new clothes, preferably not in the color red after that crazy bull incident.

"Mage robes, huh?"

"Yes. Do you know where I can find a shop for that?"

"I only know of one shop that sells those."

"Great! Could you lead me there?"

"Sure. Just hold onto your pockets…"

"What?"

Yequa led us through the busy streets of the city marketplace towards an area with hardly any foot traffic. The houses in this area all had three or four floors, were painted with relatively dark colors, and were built so close to one another that the street received hardly any natural light. Not only that, the street itself was so narrow that nobody ever bothered placing any street lamps, since those would block most pedestrians from passing through. These streets were perfect for pickpockets and muggers to operate in, although I don't quite know if it could fit two people standing side by side in the first place.

"Are you… sure this is the right way?"

"Yes."

"Why is the neighborhood so… creepy?"

"The rent's cheap."

I became more and more worried about being mugged or assaulted as we kept walking through these dark streets. It didn't help that people we passed by occasionally stared at us, or that there were strange noises coming out of the back alleys. Patrolling soldiers were still visible, though, so it was probably unlikely that Yequa was going to make us regret following him.

We eventually reached a brighter area after about two minutes, although I still felt bothered. Most of the lighting here was in a faint red color, and a couple women dressed in very revealing clothing were either making eye contact with or waving at us.

Who the hell would even open a clothing store in a place like this?

"This is the store."

"It's quite… spacious."

We stopped in front of a large building that was ten meters wide and probably equally deep. The storefront was lined with racks full of colorful clothes, all of which were for so many different purposes and occasions that it was impossible to tell specifically what kind of clothing shop this was. They carried all kinds of apparel one would ever need, from casual to formal attires, and from work clothes to those worn at home.

"This place gives me the impression that it's the only clothing store in the city."

After all, why else would it be this big, or carry this many types of clothes?

"You're right, this is the only clothing store."

"…"

"And that's why they're here in the middle of the slums. Renting a store this big anywhere else in the city would cost at least ten times as much."

"Wouldn't the security costs for operating here also be significantly more expensive, though?"

"That's what everyone thought at first, but it ended up being cheaper here than anywhere else."

"What? Really? How is that even possible?"

"Ever since they opened, the people around here started earning more money."

"Huh?"

"The customers in the red light district really enjoy this thing called 'role-playing' when they make use of services, so the clothes here are wildly popular."

"…"

"Not only that, this shop hires a lot of nearby residents to help produce clothes, since they're in extremely high demand."

It's not like one could eat clothes in the first place or sell them off elsewhere for a profit since it was too obvious where the clothes came from given this place's status as the only clothing shop in the city. Also, the shop transports its money to a safer location at least twice a day, so nobody ever bothers robbing this place since there isn't much to loot. Not only that, it was boosting the economy around these slums and paying its workers reasonable wages, so the residents were happy to have it around and were voluntarily protecting it around the clock.

I looked around for a while, then finally decided on getting a violet colored robe with gold trims at the sleeves and a simple white pattern running down the front. There was also a white version with a black colored pattern, but I figured it would be a bad idea to get that since I kept hitting the ground wherever I traveled, and stain or scratch marks would be too noticeable.

"Ah, a wizard robe. Good choice."

"How long would it take to adjust this to my size?"

"Half a day, but we can get it done by tonight for an extra 500 doviti."

"Are there any faster options?"

"We could expedite that to half an hour for an extra 2000 doviti, but…"

"Deal."

"But the robe you picked only costs 1000…"

"I don't want to have nightmares about rampaging bulls."

"Eh…"

I quickly gave the confused shop owner enough money for two robes, along with the extra fee for making fast adjustments. I didn't really mind waiting longer, but this part of the city gave off weird vibes that made me not want to visit again, especially at nighttime.

"By the way, would you like to buy some matching hats and wands?"

"No, thank you."

"It would complete the wizard look, though!"

"No, it won't."

"Your staff looks cool, but it won't work that well in bed, you know."

"…"

"…Did I say something wrong?"

"Do I look like someone who's planning on role-playing?"

"Yes? Why else would you be dressed like that?"

"Because I'm a real mage…"

"Oh. My apologies."

The shopkeeper and I awkwardly looked at each other for a while in silence, then he walked off elsewhere to tend to other customers. A worker soon came over to take my measurements, then I borrowed a couple stools from the store to sit on and chat idly with Lica while waiting for alterations to be made.

Yequa was also going to wait with us, but a couple soldiers came over to the store looking for him not long after I placed the stools down. I didn't know the exact reason why they came, but I could hear something about Suva town and cattle. If I had to guess, he was probably being summoned because of the recent stampede incident.

I probably shouldn't tell him that I was the one who brought over a letter from that town yesterday…

* * * * *

Half an hour later, alterations on my new robes were finished, so I thanked the store's workers and headed out. During the time we waited, Lica seemed to be interested in some cute dresses, so I decided to buy some for her. Those dresses intended for young girls were cheap, and alterations weren't necessary since her small stature nearly matched the size of the dresses, so I wasn't bothered about having to pay a little bit more money. Now she won't need to borrow Amber's old clothes, I suppose. I thought about getting Amber something as well, but I didn't know what kind of designs she liked, nor did I know her measurements.

The innkeeper said the room I rented for Amber to rest in earlier was ours until noon the next day, so I decided to drop off all of our new clothes in there. One of the patrolling soldiers came up to Lica and I on our way back to inform us that general Denato was about to come back to the city and wanted me to come to a celebration banquet right away, so I changed into one of the new robes I bought and immediately headed out with the two girls.

I could have left Lica and Amber on their own since the general wanted to see just me, but I was told that I could bring all my traveling companions along. I did feel bad about injuring Amber earlier, so bringing her to a banquet was probably the least I could do to make it up to her, although I didn't quite know if she could still enjoy herself when everyone else was a stranger. Remembering what happened the last time Amber drank just a little bit of alcohol, I told Lica on the way there to keep an eye on Amber, just to make sure she wouldn't get drunk and collapse onto someone again.

The place where the celebration banquet was going to be held was the large mansion I stayed in the night before. Most of the troops returning home would be eating and drinking on the excessively large grounds outside of the guesthouse, while the general and other higher ranking officers would be celebrating indoors, in a dining hall and adjacent ballroom.

I wanted to stay outside so that I could eventually sneak out of the banquet since I wasn't particularly fond of large social gatherings, but because the general himself wanted to see me as soon as possible, one of the soldiers immediately came up to me and escorted me inside. I took a quick glance back at Lica and Amber, who were lucky enough to not be asked to also come indoors. All they could do was wave at me and smile back in silence.

Well, I hope they don't plan on giving us glorified military rations tonight. It would certainly be embarrassing if I was the only one among the crowd who couldn't swallow everything on my plate. I also hope that there won't be too many people, otherwise it would be hard to leave unnoticed…