"I should apologise to him…"
"But I'm sure someone like him won't be petty enough to remember my rudeness…"
Faye rolled on her bed back and forth, undecided of what she'll say when she meets the young man she's been thinking about for the past few days.
Last time he had visited, because his attire was rather…shabby, she was giving a bad attitude at first, before the "golden ticket" of a recommendation letter was shown.
"But if I don't apologise to him, and he actually gets the professor role… would he deliberately sabotage my admission…?"
"Oh God… Help me please…"
Her bedroom was a floor above the tailor store, that's where they basically lived.
Just then, she heard something from downstairs, the sound of a customer walking in.
"Coming!"
As she wondered who it would be, she promised herself that she'll never judge a book by the cover again.
But, to her surprise, this time it was a man covered in mud and grass.
'...'
She tried her hardest to force a smile, and asked "kindly":
"May I… help you… sir."
"I guess it is better than last time."
Hearing that familiar voice, Faye recognised the visitor in an instant.
"Aurora? Haha, I knew it was you!"
"Did you get the position? Did you get it?"
'Maybe she'll be a better owner of [Kuro] than myself...' Aurora replied tiredly.
"Yeah… I got it."
"YEPPY!!!" The girl began to jump up and down.
"Now our slogan can be: Certified Tailor for the Grand Noctis Academy!"
"...I suppose you can, since I owe you one for how fast your father tailored this suit." Aurora nodded.
"It's a shame that I've dirtied it such, I didn't expect to be kicked in the face today."
"That's no worries, we offer complimentary cleaning service!" Faye smiled.
"Since when?"
"Since… since…" She stammered, her finger fidgeting. After a long pause, she gave up.
"Alright, alright, since now."
"We kinda wanted to give you special treatment you know? Since you're our special customer…"
"Don't bother." Aurora shook his head.
"I appreciate the effort, but my hotel provides clear services."
"I came here today to expand my wardrobe, and I also need to change this dirty fit."
"Do you have any recommendations?"
The moment when she heard "expand", Faye's eyes sparkled, as if a cat laying its eyes on a big fish.
"Leave it to me, Aurora—"
"Oh, my bad. What should I call you instead—"
"Aurora is fine…"
"Sir yes sir!" She saluted for some reason, then said confidently.
"My dad is not here today, but you would be mistaken if you think I'm just an apprentice!"
"I will make you the most popular professor there is with my fashion!"
'...I've got a bad feeling about this.'
After a while, she stepped back with her hands on her hips, studying him like a proud artist admiring a masterpiece.
Aurora checked himself in the mirror. He was wearing a velvet red coat which hung unevenly from his shoulders, and a sleeve was longer than the other.
A frilly white scarf was wrapped around his neck, on his head sat a pirate hat with a feather attached to it.
"Perfect." Aurora nodded.
"And what am I supposed to be?"
"A royal pirate." Faye nodded in unison.
"—Just what I need if I decide to take my students to sea." Aurora went into the change room again, without hearing Faye's explanation.
"I'll be back when your father is around."
"Wait, wait! Give me another chance!"
A few minutes later, Aurora came out with the new fit.
He was now wearing a giant green scarf and a bright red puffy jacket.
"Amazing." Faye clapped her hands together.
"It totally complements your mysterious aura, the students will go crazy for you."
"I look like a tomato." Aurora felt speechless.
"A mysterious tomato—ahem!" She coughed profusely.
He sighed as he tried to pull the scarf down, but Faye quickly stopped him.
"No, no. The scarf is the emotional centre of the outfit."
"The scarf is choking me."
"That means it's powerful."
"Alright…" Aurora pulled out a pen and notebook using [Inner Storage].
"What is your admission number again? I'll be sure to take extra care—"
"ONE MORE CHANCE PLEASE!"
The third time is a charm. Although Aurora wasn't too hopeful, he was surprised by how well it turned out to be.
He now wears an elegant, long jet-black tailored coat, almost falling to his ankles. It was etched with exquisite silver lining, but not too much, like the cherry on the cake.
Under the coat, a white high-collar shirt was strongly contrasting the dark outer layer.
Around the waist was a black belt with silver buckles, and down was a neat and fitted trouser portraying slim charcoal colors.
And of course, the black boots, polished for the final touch.
"Not bad, right?" Faye popped up behind him in the mirror.
"I can see you liked it!"
"I'm impressed, Faye. You've outdone yourself."
Aurora turned and walked to the counter, with Faye following behind cheerfully after receiving that compliment.
"I'll take this one today, it reminds me of the old me."
"Did you have a phase as well?" Faye chuckled.
"Yes." Aurora replied playfully.
"I was once the most hated alive, the entire world challenged me, but they could not defeat me."
"Hahaha!" The tailor girl bursted into laughter.
"What's next? Are you going to say even Kael couldn't beat you?"
"I'm glad you mentioned his name… you see, the truth is that during our battle, he played a dirty trick on me."
"I've been thinking about it for the past week, but now I finally understand. The sword he used to immobilise me wasn't actually his power, no, it had come from someone else, someone I know…"
"Bruh." Faye gave a look that said "Are you right in the head?"
"Stop dragging it, uncle."
"We are the same age." Aurora picked up his dirty clothes that were stored inside a paper bag.
"The academy paid me a month in advance, but I came here first because my clothes were dirty, so I hadn't visited the bank yet."
"No worries." Faye held a thumbs up.
"People like you only carry cheques anyway, so you can write us one next time."
"More importantly… check this out."
The moment her words landed, she held her hands face up outwards, and a big bird appeared from a spark.
It was no usual bird, its entire body was as if molded with molten glass, with fire surging through the air around it.
'A fire phoenix, not bad…'
'Wait… is that a chicken?'
Although the chicken looked hot, Faye was able to hug it with no problem.
"Look at this cutie! It's my Remnant Art, I had awakened it the other day!"
"I'll name it [Phoenix of Faye]!"
"No matter how you look at it… it's a chicken." Aurora looked speechless.
"EXCUSE YOU?!" Faye was offended by that reply.
"You have bad eyes, young man! This is a Phoenix, not some lowly chicken that ends up being fried in that corner store upon the street!"
'Fried chicken? I've never heard of it… but it sounds good.'
"Well, congrats anyway." Aurora said calmly.
"With this, you are looking good for the admission exam."
As he left for the door, he suddenly remembered something, then turned back to the girl.
"Faye, could I ask for a favour?"
She tilted her head, wondering where this conversation was leading.
"In the near future, if you see someone struggling, would you mind giving her some courage?"
"You mean… help her?" Faye looked confused.
"Sort of." Aurora nodded.
"Have faith in her, collaborate with her…"
"Just enough so she won't fall too quickly."