Chương 61: Bonus Story : The Makeover : Part 3 : The First Step

Emma placed the last few clothes on the counter while Aldric watched the checkout screen. Each item appeared with its name, size, and price before disappearing into a large paper shopping bag. The sweater. The jacket. The jeans. The shoes. Then the other outfits they had chosen throughout the afternoon. When a new amount was added to the total, Aldric frowned slightly.

"That garment was cheaper on the shelf." The cashier looked up at him.

"Which one?" He pointed to the blue shirt.

"The price tag said thirty-nine euros. »"That's correct."

"Then why did the total increase by forty-seven euros?" Emma leaned toward the screen.

"That's the shirt and the T-shirt." Aldric studied the two lines.

"They were added at the same time."

"Yes."

"The system should allow more time between each operation." The cashier smiled.

"I'll try to slow down."

"Thank you." Emma placed a hand on his arm.

"You don't have to check every line."

"Then why display the prices if they are not meant to be checked?"

"So customers know what they're paying for."

"That is precisely what I am doing." Emma gave up trying to answer. The cashier continued scanning the clothes while Aldric followed each new item. When she announced the final total, Emma slipped a hand into her bag to take out her bank card, but Aldric stopped her.

"I'll pay. I have a job now. It's only right that I buy my own clothes." Emma hesitated, then smiled before putting her card away.

"Alright." Aldric took out the bills he had earned during his moving jobs. He counted them before handing them to the cashier. She processed the payment, gave him his change, and slipped the receipt into the bag.

"I hope you have a wonderful day." The cashier handed the bags to Aldric.

"I can carry one."

"That won't be necessary." They thanked the cashier before heading toward the exit. The automatic doors slid open in front of them, and the bustle of the street immediately surrounded them. Aldric was still wearing his armor. Steel plates covered his chest, shoulders, and arms. His sword rested against his back, while the bags full of clothes swayed gently with each step. Emma looked him over. The knight in armor. The Uniqlo shopping bags. She couldn't hold back a smile.

"You know, this is quite a strange sight." This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it"Why?"

"You look like a hero returning from a quest..." She pointed at the bags.

"... except instead of slaying a dragon, you bought sweaters."

"Both require good preparation." Emma burst out laughing.

"I have a request."

"I'm listening."

"Would you be willing to wear the clothes we just bought... just for a walk?"

"Right now?"

"Yes." He lowered his eyes to his armor.

"Very well." They resumed their walk back to the hotel. When they reached the entrance, Aldric stopped.

"It will only take a few minutes."

"I'll wait here." He nodded before disappearing inside the building. Emma remained on the sidewalk. With her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket, she absentmindedly watched the pedestrians passing by. Every so often, her gaze drifted back to the hotel entrance. A few minutes later, the door opened again. Aldric stepped outside. His armor was gone. He was wearing the dark blue jeans, the blue sweater, the gray jacket, and the sneakers.

"So?" Aldric asked. She smiled.

"Let's go for a walk." They crossed the first street. Several pedestrians came toward them. A man in a suit walked past without slowing down. Two college students stepped around Aldric on their way to a shop. A woman passed in front of him while looking at her phone. No one turned around. Farther ahead, a group of teenagers occupied almost the entire width of the sidewalk. Aldric braced himself to see them pull out their phones. They walked right past him without interrupting their conversation.

None of them looked at him. Aldric slowed down. Emma immediately noticed the expression on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." They reached a crosswalk. Emma stopped at the red light, and Aldric stood beside her. He looked at the people waiting around them. A man held a bag of groceries. A woman pushed a stroller. A young boy listened to music. An elderly woman held a small dog in her arms. Aldric stood among them. No one seemed to wonder who he was. No one looked at him with curiosity. No one whispered at the sight of his armor... or rather, the absence of it.

The light turned green, and everyone started crossing at the same time. Aldric moved with the crowd. For the first time since arriving on Earth, he crossed a street like any other resident. He was neither the first nor the last. He led no one. No one stepped aside to let him pass. One woman even walked directly in front of him without noticing he was there, forcing him to slow down. Aldric watched her walk away.

"She didn't see me." Emma turned toward him.

"Who?"

"That woman."

"She was looking at her phone."

"Even before that."

"So?"

"People usually notice me." Emma looked around them. The pedestrians continued on their way. Some entered shops. Others crossed the street or waited at a bus stop.

"That's true," she admitted. Another part of him appreciated the silence. He could walk without answering questions, without watching phones pointed at him, without hearing children ask whether he was taking part in a festival, and without feeling as though he were constantly being watched. Emma stopped in front of a small café terrace.

"Would you like something to drink?" Aldric looked at the tables. Several people were enjoying the sunshine. Some were talking, others were reading or working on their laptops.

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Weren't we supposed to continue our walk?"

"We can take a break." He looked at the chairs.

"Before, with my armor, I had to sit at the edge so I wouldn't block the way." They chose a small table near the street. His legs bent without the slightest resistance.

"What is it now?" Emma asked.

"I had never realized how much my armor made this movement difficult."

"Sitting down?"

"Yes."

"You could still sit."

"Only by keeping my back straight and my legs slightly apart." Aldric looked at the way he was sitting. His back rested against the chair. His legs were crossed beneath the table. The jacket didn't pull at his shoulders, and no metal plates forced him to keep perfectly upright. Out of habit, he almost straightened up. Emma laughed.

"You can stay the way you were."

"That posture is careless."

"It's comfortable." He hesitated, then leaned back against the chair once more.

"I suppose it remains acceptable when no ceremony is planned." A waiter came over to take their order. He wrote down their drinks without asking a single question before walking away. Aldric leaned slightly toward Emma.

"No one seems to be paying any attention to me."

"That was kind of the idea."

"You knew this would happen."

"More or less."

"Is that why you wanted me to go into the store?"

"I wanted to show you that you could live without your armor." He rested a hand on the reinforced fabric.

"It is part of me. I wore it for almost my entire adult life."

"I'm not asking you to get rid of it. Just for today." The waiter returned with their drinks. Aldric watched the people passing behind her. A man ran to catch a bus. A teenage girl laughed with her friend. A woman came out of a shop carrying several bags. All of them lived lives he knew nothing about. Yet none of them seemed to need to display their past in order to exist. He looked down at his clothes again.

"You were right. Clothes are not only meant to protect us from the cold." A smile spread across Emma's face.

"I should have guessed. Is that your great conclusion?"

"No. Today... people saw Aldric. Not just the hero anymore."

"I think they mostly saw a young man taking a walk through Paris." Aldric looked up.

"That is already an improvement." Emma burst out laughing. He smiled as well before taking another sip of his drink.