Two hours later Liam and Silva were sitting in a hover car, talking lightly. Soon, the car stopped. The two stepped out finding themselves in a secluded corner of the Lucky Ten Mall the friends had visited before. As Lucky Ten Malls was a sponsor of Dream Avenue the duo decided to come here, knowing they would definitely get the best service.
"Bleary Mirage, Silver Blade, I'm honoured to meet you. I am Leroy, the captain of your security for the day."
A lean man in casual clothes appeared before the duo. He looked rather ordinary, able to blend in with a crowd. However, athletic muscles were slumbering below his shirt. Silva and Liam could feel that Leroy was an accomplished martial artist.
"Thank you, Leroy. We will be in your care then."
After a short greeting Leroy went ahead together with two other men and one woman, leading Silva and Liam to an elevator. A few seconds later they appeared in the mall amidst a bustling crowd. Today the mall was extremely busy, which was understandable since the people couldn't enter Crunaboul. Unfortunately, the mall was not really prepared for high-profile guests. Organizing some security for Liam and Silva was already the best they could do. Thus, the two friends were wearing sunglasses and caps in order to avoid being recognized.
It was a bit of a gamble. Although the game's top players were extremely famous, especially Hotpot, most people were used to their appearances from the game. But both Liam and Silva didn't look exactly the same in real life. And with casual clothes instead of armours, perhaps people might just ignore them.
At least for now everything was going well. Liam and Silva strolled through the mall looking for some clothes for Liam. Soon, they came across a store which seemed to be quite popular among young men judging from the current traffic. The duo went in and choose some clothes which Liam was forced to try in the changing room. Although he would have preferred to skip this step.
A rather simple white shirt with orange trousers. Liam was quite satisfied with the shirt, but the trousers had him sceptical. He stepped out of the cabin to ask for Silva's opinion. But when he looked at his eager fashion adviser he froze. With a smile Silva handed over a mountain of clothes for him to try. Although Liam was reluctant, how could he reject after seeing Silva's excited expression? He had agreed to go shopping and there was no going back now…
More than half an hour later the duo left the store with two bags stuffed with clothes. Liam already felt quite exhausted. But seeing Silva's bright smile as she told him how her parents used to come to the mall with her and Felix in the past, Liam was infected by her bright mood.
Actually, he also heard about this for the first time. After Silva's father Malik decided not to compete for the family business, he wanted his family to experience an ordinary life. Malik himself had an ordinary childhood before his mother brought him to the Colville Family, forcing his father Owen, the current governor, to recognise this illegitimate son. Thus, Silva had some experience how it was not to enjoy the conveniences of a super-rich family.
Of course, being part of the Colvilles, Silva's perspective would always be different from those of a regular family. Simply the fact that she had visited the main family at the central star system before was something others couldn't even imagine. Travelling so far would be a major matter for a regular family and usually they would only do so if they decided to move entirely.
While talking about these things, Silva and Liam soon reached another store.
"This one looks quite nice! Let's take a look! I'm sure we'll find something for you!"
"What? But we already bought so much. I thought we are already done…"
"Hm? But we just started."
Seeing Liam's strained smile Silva couldn't help but laugh. She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the store.
For the next two or three hours the duo went from store to store until they took a brief rest on a bench. One of the bodyguards was kind enough to bring them something to drink.
"Ok, but now we have enough, don't we?", asked Liam, his voice tinged with exhaustion.
"Hmm. You have five casual outfits, five better outfits, two formal, two for sport, two for at home, and one for the gaming house's opening. Yeah, I think you are good for a while…"
Liam looked around the seven bags lying in front of him and let out a sigh of relief. It was good that he was a martial artist of the third stage. At least he wouldn't have any trouble carrying all that stuff. He never thought that with his body and mind shopping could be that exhausting. In his past life he never went to a mall and was instead always brought to a private room in a boutique where multiple attendants would deliver trendy outfits for him to try on. There were food and drink and all in all it was quite the relaxing experience. Unfortunately, the mall didn't offer such a service.
"Nice. Then we're done. What do you want to do next? Should we go somewhere to eat?", asked Liam.
"Next? Next, it's my turn of course."
Liam turned towards Silva and looked into her eyes, searching for any sign of a joke. However, he had to realise that she really meant it. Liam let out a sigh and resigned himself to his fate.
"Haha, no need to make a face like that. I don't need that much. I just want to look for something cute. Look, over there is Sun&Moon. It's one of my favourite shops. Perhaps we are done quickly."
"Ok, ok. Don't worry, I won't run away. You have done a good job as my fashion advisor and now I will of course also do my best as yours!", joked Liam.
"Great, now I am thinking about running away."
The two friends broke out into laughter. Feeling refreshed they soon stood up and continued their trip. They entered Sun&Moon and Silva started to search for some nice clothes for herself. Compared to the other stores in the mall, Sun&Moon could be considered upper-class. Thus, it wasn't that busy, making the experience quite relaxed.
Silva quickly found a few outfits and took them to the changing room. Liam waited outside. He actually thought about searching for some clothes for Silva, just like she did for him earlier, but he didn't know if she would trust him with that. Thus, he found a comfortable chair and waited for Silva to return.
Next to Liam sat a middle-aged man who seemed quite bored. He looked around and his eyes quickly fell on the many bags Liam was carrying around. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly, saying:
"Haha, young man. Did your girlfriend decide to swap her entire closet?"
Liam froze for a moment before he answered:
"Eh, no. The clothes are for me. My friend offered to give me some advice because everyone thinks my style is too old-fashioned."
Liam stressed the word 'friend' on purpose, but the old man didn't seem to care much. He looked Liam up and down before saying:
"I quite like your style, young man. I'm not a fan of these excentric clothes young people wear nowadays. In my opinion a simple style excludes more dignity. Just look at me."
"Yes, very… dignified…"
Liam smiled lightly but inwardly he was complaining. To be honest, the man didn't look bad. But what did it mean if his style was preferred by someone in their fifties? Wasn't this a sign that he did really appear old-fashioned?
As Liam was having a small crisis the middle-aged man's wife came out of the changing room and the two left. Not much later Silva also appeared, now wearing a shirt, a jacket, and a long skirt which had fine strands of metal weaved into it, sparkling under the light.
"What do you think?", asked Silva with an expectant smile.
"Oh? Ehm, yeah. It's nice."
"You don't sound convincing…"
Liam wore an apologetic expression, saying:
"Sorry. I have been talking to someone and was still thinking about it. But really, this skirt looks great."
"Mhm. I see that your taste is improving. I think I will keep the skirt."
After saying so, Silva laughed lightly and entered the changing room again. This continued for a bit as Silva went through the clothes she had chosen, presenting them to Liam. The young man to admit that there were worse ways to spend time but after a while he still got somewhat bored. Silva noticed this and came up with a countermeasure:
"You know what? Let's put you to the test. You should have an idea about what I like now. If you want to, you can look for an outfit for me. If I think it looks good, I will treat you to something nice to eat later!"
Liam laughed and quickly agreed.