Chương 45: Chapter 43

Adam and Mei wandered aimlessly through the streets of the orc city, marveling at the architecture that looked as though it had been plucked straight from the heart of some old European country.

"I bet it was Ymir who planned this layout. You know, because he's linked to that shaman realm or whatever."

"Yeah, probably." Adam shrugged.

"He knows an awful lot about Earth despite never actually being there himself. Maybe he's one of those... uh... whatchamacallits. A weeb-abo."

"A weeaboo?"

"Yeah, that!" Mei sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Seriously. You have no culture. All you know is whey protein and lifting weights."

"First of all, rude. Second of all... true." He quickly defended himself.

"It isn't my fault though. It's literally my job."

"And that's exactly why I've been telling you to become an influencer like me. You could make fitness content and cosplay some seriously sexy characters. Win-win." Adam glanced around at the towering blue-skinned orcs walking along the busy streets.

"Little late for that now, don't you think?" She gave him a completely deadpan stare.

"What?"

"I just can't with you." Shaking her head, she continued walking. They spent the next hour sightseeing while keeping an eye out for something that resembled a mall or clothing store. Adam felt strangely self-conscious walking around shirtless. Going without a shirt was perfectly normal at the gym or during an outdoor workout, but strolling through the city beside his girlfriend while half-naked felt... weird.

He would have loved to remove the magical gloves and put on actual clothes, but there was one small problem. He had absolutely no idea how to take them off. The system insisted the gloves' strange behavior was caused by one of their item effects, but his level and stats weren't high enough to reveal exactly what that effect was. Fortunately, they were in an orc city. More than half the population wandered around shirtless anyway. In fact, only the women and children wore shirts or chest wraps.

Even then, the clothing seemed designed to expose as much skin as possible. Or perhaps more accurately... As much muscle as possible. Even the children were built like miniature bodybuilders, and every one of them stood at least five or six feet tall. Earlier, they'd even passed an orc mother pushing an enormous stroller carrying what looked like a four-foot-tall baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Judging by its inability to speak, Adam and Mei guessed it was either a newborn or an infant.

The baby lacked the absurd musculature of the adults, though that was probably because it hadn't yet developed the fine motor skills necessary to begin weight training. There was, however, one major problem with their sightseeing. Neither of them could read a single sign.

"Does that look like a clothing store?" Adam asked, pointing toward a storefront with a large bay window displaying several mannequins dressed in sturdy-looking orcish clothing. Mei studied it for a moment.

"Well... these ones aren't holding weapons like the last place, so... maybe?"

"Only one way to find out." The two of them shrugged and stepped inside. The interior was far more rustic than the surprisingly modern exterior. Wooden walls surrounded the shop, while worn wooden floorboards creaked softly beneath their feet. A solid wooden counter stood near the entrance. Lots of wood. But more importantly... Lots of clothes. Shelves and racks were filled with everything from simple tunics and leather trousers to heavy cloaks and embroidered garments sized for enormous orc physiques. At last.

They had found an actual clothing store. Unfortunately, that discovery led to several new problems.

"Where are the price tags?" Adam asked.

"More importantly..." Mei frowned.

"Do we even have money?"

"Do Game Coins not work?" There was only one way to find out. They approached the front counter. Except... There wasn't anyone behind it.

"Hello?" Adam called.

"Anyone here?" Mei nudged his shoulder and pointed toward the small brass bell sitting on the counter.

"Oh. Right." Picking it up, Adam gave it a gentle shake. Ding. The soft chime echoed through the shop. A few seconds later, a young girl emerged from the back room. Both Adam and Mei blinked in surprise. She looked nothing like the orcs they'd seen so far. Her skin was a vivid crimson, the complete opposite of the orcs' usual blue complexion. She was also incredibly short, with the top of her head barely reaching above the four-foot-tall counter.

Two small ivory horns poked through her dark hair, giving her an almost devilish appearance. Except she was far too cute to be a devil.

"Oni?" Mei murmured. The little girl tilted her head.

"Humans?" she asked just as quietly. For several awkward seconds, the three of them simply stared at one another. Eventually Adam remembered why they'd come. He cleared his throat.

"Ahem. We were wondering how much these clothes cost, and whether you accept Game Coins." The girl's bright yellow eyes blinked up at him.

"All the clothes here are—""Ah! You are an oni!" Mei suddenly exclaimed after finally noticing the floating text above the girl's head. Naomi - Oni Seamstress (Non-Combatant NPC) Lv. 50 Naomi flinched so hard she nearly disappeared behind the counter, throwing both hands over her head.

"I-I don't eat humans! And I'm not part of the Demon King's army, I swear!"

"... Eh?" Mei tilted her head.

"Demon King's army?" Naomi cautiously peeked at them through the gap between her arms.

"Y-you're not here to arrest me?" Adam and Mei exchanged a glance before slowly shaking their heads.

"Oh..." The little oni let out a relieved breath and lowered her arms.

"In that case, all the clothes are the same price regardless of size or style. And yes, I accept Game Coins." She hesitated before adding nervously,"And... I really am an oni. But I'm not one of the ones serving the Demon King. Okay?"

"Oh, so there are other oni who are part of the Demon King's army?" Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Naomi frowned.

"Of course... don't you know?" Adam and Mei exchanged glances again before slowly shaking their heads.

"We only arrived recently," Adam replied. She raised an eyebrow, looking even more puzzled.

"We were dropped into the tutorial a few weeks ago." That only deepened her confusion.

"Tutorial? What's that?"

"Eh?" Mei blinked.

"You don't know?" Naomi shook her head.

"I don't think everyone knows about it, Mei," Adam said.

"Probably just the really powerful people."

"Oh. That actually makes sense."

"Anyway," Adam continued, setting a pile of clothing on the counter, "how much for these?" The garments were all sized for full-grown orcs, making them comically oversized on both him and Mei. Thankfully, that wasn't really an issue. Mei's Legendary walk-in closet could tailor clothing to fit perfectly. Naomi carefully sorted through the pile, quietly counting each piece before looking back up.

"Ten items..." she murmured.

"That would be... eight Game Coins?" She sounded oddly uncertain. Her yellow eyes darted between the two of them, as though trying to gauge whether she'd offended them with the price. Adam tilted his head.

"Are you giving us a discount?" Naomi shrank slightly.

"I-is it not enough...?"

"No." Adam shook his head with a small smile.

"You don't have to give us a discount. We really aren't here to arrest you or report you."

"Really?"

"Really." Naomi hesitated for another second before giving a tiny nod.

"Then... it's ten Game Coins."

"So it was a twenty percent discount." Adam reached into his inventory while picturing only ten coins. When he pulled his hand back out, he was holding a small leather coin pouch instead. Somewhere inside his inventory, the mountain of Game Coins they had accumulated decreased by a barely noticeable amount. The last few bosses they'd defeated had dropped an absurd number of coins, and until now they'd had absolutely nowhere to spend them.

Unlike the other tutorial participants and the Players back on Earth, Adam and Mei couldn't access the system shop. If they wanted the rare items normally sold there, they would have to track down one of the traveling merchants the system had mentioned. Naomi accepted the pouch with both hands before sliding the clothing toward them.

"They're all yours now." She glanced over the oversized garments.

"But... I don't think they'll fit. Would you like me to alter them to your sizes?" Mei grinned.

"No need. We've got this." With a casual wave of her hand, she summoned her Legendary walk-in closet. The ornate wardrobe materialized beside them in a shimmer of light. Naomi's jaw slowly fell open.

"I-is... is that a Legendary-grade Magic Closet?" she whispered. Her eyes grew wider and wider.

"I thought those only existed in legends!" Without another thought, she scrambled over the counter instead of bothering to walk around it. Landing on the other side, she hurried over and circled the magnificent wardrobe, running her fingers just above the polished wood without quite daring to touch it. Her eyes sparkled like stars.

"Oh my god..." she breathed. She clasped both hands together and looked at Mei with pleading eyes.

"Please... please let me go inside."

"Sure."

"Yes!" Naomi practically launched herself at Mei, wrapping her in an enthusiastic hug.

"Aww." Mei laughed as she patted the tiny oni's head.

"You're adorable." Naomi immediately let go and took several hurried steps backward, coughing awkwardly into her fist. If her skin hadn't already been bright red, her face would have been completely crimson.

"I'm not adorable," she mumbled.

"I'm... forty years old."

"Huh? Forty?" Adam blurted out.

"You don't look a day over twelve." Both girls slowly turned to stare at him. Adam immediately raised both hands in surrender. He knew he messed up the moment the words left his mouth.

"... Sorry." Choosing to pretend that hadn't happened, Mei opened the closet doors.

"All right, come on in." Naomi eagerly stepped inside, disappearing into the seemingly impossible interior. Adam watched them go with growing curiosity. He hadn't actually been inside the closet himself yet. After waiting only a moment, he followed them in. The interior of the Legendary Closet was quite literally out of this world. Instead of shelves and clothing racks, its interior contained an entire galaxy.

Constellations shimmered across the endless darkness while planets slowly orbited a brilliant sun suspended at the center of the miniature universe. Rivers of starlight drifted through space like glowing mist, illuminating everything with a soft celestial radiance. It was breathtaking. Mei casually tossed the oversized clothes they'd just purchased into the air. Rather than falling, each garment remained suspended as though gravity simply didn't exist inside the wardrobe.

Moments later, translucent, hologram-like phantoms appeared beside every article of clothing. Each projection represented a different design pulled straight from Mei's imagination. With a few swipes of her hand, she cycled through dozens of possibilities before settling on one she liked. The floating garments immediately began to change. Fabric shifted and folded on its own.

Sleeves shortened, collars reshaped themselves, and the oversized orc clothing rapidly shrank until every piece matched the phantom design perfectly.

"Oh!" Naomi gasped, her eyes sparkling.

"So that's how it works..." She leaned in closer, studying every tiny transformation as though afraid she'd miss something important.

"The imagination isn't creating the clothes..." she muttered under her breath.

"It's creating a conceptual blueprint first, and then..." She suddenly fell silent before launching into a stream of technical jargon neither Adam nor Mei could follow.

"Law stabilization... conceptual manifestation... reality substitution... material reconstruction..." The words became increasingly incomprehensible. Adam glanced at Mei.

"She does realize we're standing here, right?" Mei shrugged.

"No clue." Naomi continued mumbling to herself for nearly a minute before her eyes suddenly lit up with realization. Eventually she looked back at Mei.

"There's supposed to be a function that allows you to create magical clothing with customized effects. Not passive imbues, but entirely unique abilities that go beyond ordinary enchantments." Her voice grew noticeably more excited.

"Could I see that?"

"Sure!" Mei closed her eyes for a moment. With a single thought, strands of light gathered together before weaving themselves into a simple black dress perfectly sized for Naomi. A status window appeared beside it. Black Dress (Super Rare) A dress created from Mei Mori's imagination and manifested through the powers of the Legendary-grade Magic Closet. It has a unique special effect when worn by cute girls. Effect: Cuteness Overload - Increases the wearer's adorableness by ten times.

(Bonus): The likelihood of being attacked is drastically reduced. Duration: Twenty-four hours. Naomi's eyes widened. Adam assumed she was surprised by the ridiculous effect. Instead, she ignored the status window completely. She reached out with trembling hands, gently running her fingertips across the fabric while whispering to herself.

"I see... so it isn't mana..."

"The power of laws..."

"If I could replicate even a fraction of this... then..." Neither Adam nor Mei understood a word she was saying, but it was obvious she'd just stumbled onto another revelation related to her Seamstress profession. The space around them suddenly fell silent. Then, without warning, a brilliant pillar of light descended from the endless darkness overhead. It pierced the miniature galaxy before enveloping Naomi from head to toe. Adam instinctively shielded his eyes.

"What the...?" The light lasted only a few seconds before slowly fading away. Naomi stood exactly where she had been, looking completely unchanged. Her crimson skin, tiny horns, and nervous expression were all exactly the same. Only the floating text above her head had transformed. Naomi - Spirit Seamstress (Legendary) (Bound NPC) Lv. 99