"Hey, I'm walkin' here!"
Luca ignored the yell, weaving in between the crowd of people on the sidewalks. He reached Mina's store soon.
While last night was rewarding, he had stashed everything in his cellar and gone straight to bed. This included the Baron's journal and his talismans. The journal was sure to be insightful, but he was saving it for later.
Instead, he decided to accomplish his other goals in the meantime.
"Luca! Well, you're here earlier than I expected," Mina's voice rang out over the overlapping click-clacking of machines as soon as he entered the sewing room.
"Ah, my bad. I just wanted to check how it was coming along."
The beautiful middle-aged woman smiled a little.
"Relax, I'm just messing around, kid. I made sure to finish your stuff earlier than I would normally do for others," she winked.
Luca was a bit touched. Mina treated him so well. One could even say she and old Humphrey were sort of second parents after his original parents died from illness. They rarely gave him anything free of charge, and he didn't mind that whatsoever. He had always been independent anyway.
Mina snapped her fingers, and one of her apprentices grabbed multiple sets of clothes from a nearby rack. They were folded neatly, but Luca could still tell the quality was extremely good.
'It's Mina after all.'
The apprentice, a brown-haired girl who was younger and shorter than Luca, looked at him curiously.
"So, Mister, what do you need so many clothes for?"
Everyone stopped working to stare at the girl almost immediately, and a small drop of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Mina butted in before the silence got too long.
"Don't mind her. She just started, and she's not familiar with the rules."
The rules Mina spoke of were commandments that said not to ask customers questions about their orders.
Mina wasn't exactly an innocent person, though she appeared like one. Underneath her legitimate business, she sometimes conducted transactions with the criminal elements of Carinthia for protection.
Of course, Luca didn't particularly care about her rules since he stayed out of organized crime.
"Eh, it's alright. It's not like I'm gonna incinerate her for asking."
Then he turned to the little girl.
"Well, miss, if you must know, I'm trying to fool some noblewoman into loving me."
His words made the group of women even more speechless than before.
"You're certainly an interesting one, kid," Mina chuckled slowly, but she appeared as though she was considering the possibility of Luca getting a noblewoman to fall for him.
A few giggles echoed from the back, but Mina interrupted them seriously.
"Hey, it's not impossible. Some of that lot are into weird stuff."
Luca could see she was getting some strange ideas and quickly steered the topic back on track.
"Anyway, you reckon I could get a place to change here?"
He would ditch his old clothes immediately.
Mina pointed him to a changing room.
Minutes later, he was back, wearing the new set of clothes that fit him to a T.
He now donned a simple black overcoat that accentuated his intentionally smashed frame. Under the coat was a plain white shirt, and the black trousers were, well, trousers.
The clothes were a world of quality away from his constantly reworn previous set. And this was only one of five sets.
One notable feature about the clothes was that they made it difficult for him to hide his body. Luca wasn't that big, only standing at 1.8 meters tall, but he had survived by looking far smaller than he actually was.
'Mina outdid herself, but I suppose I won't be needing to do that anymore.'
He looked down at his feet in thought.
'I still need to get some new shoes as well, but otherwise it's all good.'
When he stepped out of the changing room, the room was so silent that a needle drop could be heard, literally, since an apprentice dropped their needle in shock.
Luca was far more handsome with the brand new clothes. It reminded him of a popular children's story; Mage's New Clothes.
"See, girls, I wouldn't be surprised if a noblewoman takes an interest in him," Mina laughed.
"Well, it looks like I'll be on my way now. How much do you think my old clothes are worth as spare fabric?"
"Less than ten pence. I suggest you keep 'em, kid," she paused, "and make sure you come by to visit from time to time, got it?"
"You got it. In fact, I'll be heading back here later for the clothes. I won't be able to pick them up right now, so do keep them all neat and tidy for me."
"Of course, Lu-Lu."
With all that being said, Luca got out of the shop looking and feeling like a new man. This time, whilst walking, the people around gave him more berth compared to before.
Despite his introduction to the magical world, this was the most freeing experience he had in the past week.
Luca had barely taken a few steps when he accidentally bumped into someone. The other person fell to the ground, their large wide-brimmed farmer's hat falling as well.
"Oh, my apologies. Let me help you with that."
He quickly reached down to grab the hat and help them up when he realized something.
The person in front of him was Erina Venton, the daughter of Duke Venton.
Her green eyes went wide with shock as she saw the realization creep onto his face. However, before he could even properly react, she grabbed him and pulled him into a nearby alleyway.
"Huh?!"
She pressed a finger against his lips. Her eyes darted around nervously, even though they were in an alleyway. Their bodies were so close now that he could feel her.
"What the hell are you doing!" Luca whisper-yelled, forgetting that he would be in big trouble if she was a spoiled noble brat like he had heard about in stories.
"Just stay quiet, or my guards will hear us!"
***
Author's Note: No funny business here!! Vote and comment if you want more heresy! 2 chapters today. Second chapter in a few hours as I have to get off work first (sob)