NOVEL NEXT Chapter 79 - Ellie: Tailored Swiftly
Just as my inspection of the final of the outfits concludes, The rustling returns, and I snap around to see a humanoid figure standing in one of the openings… or rather, upon closer inspection, it is a set of clothes. A servant's uniform, with matching white gloves, carrying measuring tape around the shoulders, just sort of… floats there. Then its hands move and it gestures towards me.
“Uhh, hi?” I lamely reply.
The floating set of clothes seems to take my shock in stride as it casually floats closer, then indicates the clothing I just inspected.
“The costumes? What about them?” I inquire, feeling a bit silly about myself as I am talking to clothes, but they seem to understand and respond by taking an imaginary item and pulling it over their head.
“Should I… put one of them on?” I guess, and the gloves point at me and give a thumbs up.
“Do I get to choose?” I probe, and there is another thumbs up from the gloves.
“What if they don’t fit me?” I ask, half anticipating the movement it does in response. Of course, it indicates the measuring tape.
“So, are you, like, a tailor?”
As expected, there is another thumbs up. Huh, what do you know? Clothing that's also a tailor certainly is something interesting and almost makes me forget about the indignation of being whisked from my companions. Almost.
“Right. I’ll just pick whichever then, okay?” I say, and move around the circle again.
I will play along with this dungeon's demands for now, especially considering there really is no other option for now, but as soon as It is convenient, I will make a run for it. Considering that, I should not pick the ball gown, even if it looks great. The platemail armor is also out, though I am curious as to how exactly a tailor intends to adjust those. The maid dress… is a consideration. With how some mannequins are dressed as servants here, it might be more inconspicuous than some of the other options.
The black robe with the mask is out on account of giving me the creeps, and also black is not my color. That also disqualifies the dress uniform, which wasn’t really a consideration for me anyways. The beggar’s clothes are out on account of being what they are. The starry robe? I could pull it off… sure, into the consideration pile it goes.
The leather armor with the cloak… probably the most practical choice, but it also heavily features black as a color and additionally, it is likely to restrict my movements for some of the more complex gestures that my spells can demand. I doubt it would be a problem in normal circumstances, but all alone in a dungeon, even one as seemingly harmless as this one, I don’t feel like taking that chance. Disqualified!
That just leaves three more options. The chef’s outfit can go into the consideration pile, I don’t feel strongly about it. The priestly robes, however… I am sure it does not constitute a sin in the church’s eyes to simply wear the vestments of their clergy, but I still shy away from it. I’d rather not displease the Goddess inside one of Her testing grounds. So, no. That just leaves the one that vexes me. It is literally my own outfit, right there. It feels weird. If I pick it, will the tailor just let me wear my own or will it force me to change into the other one?
Ugh, I’ll just ask.
“Hey, uh, this costume is literally identical to what I am already wearing… can I just… keep this on?”
There is a momentary pause, and then a thumbs down.
Siiiiigh.
Fine. If I can’t keep wearing my own outfit anyways, I might as well put on one of the other things. That makes deciding harder, but… I can be decisive.
“This one!” I say and point at the Sky Blue Robes.
The tailor gives a thumbs up and I move to gently remove it from the mannequin, and put it on without bothering to remove what I am currently wearing underneath. The tailor moves up to me as soon as the robe is draped over my body, and politely waits until I give it a nod, before it begins measuring and fussing over me for several seconds. It doesn’t take long before it is done with the measuring and pulls out its tools from its several pockets, and begins shortening the sleeves and adjusting the waistline. In no time at all, the robe has gone from oversized to an appropriate, if a bit large, fit.
As soon as it is done, the tailor releases me, and points towards a hallway. I give a nod and begin heading down that hallway, in a relatively straight line through the jungle of shelves once more. It does not take long to make my way through this time and I arrive in front of another door, exiting this room and leading down another hallway, once more floored with polished stone, that seems to lead deeper into the dungeon, though I must admit I completely lost my orientation in that labyrinth.
Following the hallway, I arrive at a series of doors lining it on both sides. The right hand side door is slightly opened, and I curiously peek in my head. Inside, a small room with a wardrobe, a desk with a mirror and a chair in front of it greets me. An immobile mannequin also stands in the corner of the room, though it is not currently wearing anything. What catches my immediate attention, though, is a stack of parchment on the desk and I enter to investigate.