Chapter 215 - Bathhouse

Coins now inside a brown-laced pouch, teleportation was used. It had been around an hour since he left the shop. "The door seems intact, let's hope the inside is the same," the handle twisted, it clicked, then opened. Immediately, the smell of perfume blasted the face as if an unchecked faucet.

"Sorry, but the shop is closed," feet scurried to the entrance

"Care to explain?" he asked with a tone that implied something bad happened.

"Welcome back, master," hair tied in a bun, with the sleeves pulled up, no leggings, a shabby looking over-sized shirt paired with a short. Tis was Emma's outfit, a little blue frog was displayed on said shirt.

"Did someone come in?" behind her, footsteps scurried yet again. The same outfit and same hairstyle, Emmy arrived with a shirt that had a lizard instead of a frog.

'Please tell me they didn't overdo it,' he walked slowly, the floor shone with cleanliness. However, to him, it felt like a minefield, with no idea to what extent the twins went through, he continued.

A check to the right, the shelves on which weapons and such were displayed, had the same shine as the floor. To the right, where armor and other essentials were displayed, it lit as well. Not to mention the middle and where the counter rested, all were cleaned throughout. "Awesome job," he said in a joyous tone.

"It's our way of saying thanks," Emma commented with hands on her h.i.p.s.

"Yes, what sister said, we are grateful," Emmy added, both holding the same posture. Their faces lit with a smug smile, one that said: praise us more, we did a good job.

A smile later, an inspection of the shop was given. He watched every corner; the girls did, in fact, do a great job. No complaints to which he turned. 'A reward is in order,' he thought and stared. The twins were visibly troubled, the culprit – lack of clothing and uncleanliness.

"Girls," he called. "Coming," they answered and rushed over.

"It's indeed a very good job," he patted their heads, "-therefore, I'd like to reward you both. Do you perchance have a change of clothes?"

"We have other shirts," Emma replied. "If that's what you're asking," Emmy completed the sentence.

"It should work just fine," with a pat on their back, the girls climbed up the stairs to change.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Adete's slumber broke.

"Did what, I've no clue to what you're saying," the voice felt as if the man was clueless.

"Don't play dumb, the reason you asked for them to clean is simple. You didn't want the shop to be clean, you wanted a reason to get them new clothes. What's simpler than repaying a favor with a favor without looking like an idiot," her voice sharp and word resounding with the truth.

"I still don't know what you're talking about," the face turned away defiantly.   

"Plead ignorance then," she sighed, "-it's not like this is the first time I've noticed. Every action you do always has an ulterior motive, the man I serve, doesn't move unnecessarily. Yet another trait that makes my heart flutter,"

"Makes thy heart flutter, that's ironic coming from someone who's dead," he spoke in jest.

"Says the man who can stop his heart at will," a retort that ended the little discussion.

"We're ready," in unison, the twins ran back down. For teenagers, they had the vigor of kids, not that it was a bad thing. Energetic and cheery was always better than the gloomy phase they went through, and still are going through – the path to recovery was long and tough.

The door now locked, Staxius stood before two magnificent beasts. One known as RFS and the other, Void. "Which one shall we use?" he turned and asked. The change of shirt was but one plain, simple with no design.

"Sister, sister," Emmy spoke first this turn.

"Here sister, what is it?" Emma asked as they held hands.

"Don't you think the RFS might be too obnoxious on the road?" Emmy commented seeing its size.

"I think your right sister," Emma agreed, "-let's use the black-car, master," headfirst, the elder sister ran over to the breathtaking vehicle.

"Heh," he chuckled and approached.

"What's so funny?" Emma asked with a pout.

"Yeah, yeah, tell us the joke?" Emmy demanded.

"Nothing, really," the voice cool, the door opened. Though a two-seater, with the girl's physique, it didn't matter. A single-seat sufficed for both to sit.

"Master," Emma called, the voice serious.

"Just who are you?" Emmy asked with the same intent.

"No one particular, a pebble on the road," he replied dodging the question.

"A pebble, more like a boulder if you ask me," Adete fired-back with a snicker. That retort made the atmosphere quiet, none knew how to respond, "-ha-ha," as opposed to returning said word, Staxius laughed instead. "You sure are resourceful today," he patted her head using the index finger, meanwhile the car turned on. The sound of the engine running nearly gave the girls a heart attack.

"Honestly," Emma called again, "-who are you?" she asked.

"A noble hailing from Arda," the voice monotonous for the focus changed onto the drive ahead, "-that should answer the questions," a screech later, the car drove forth.

"Guess that explains why you're rich then," Emmy replied with a chuckle, never had they experience these sorts of things. Getting in a normal car much less a beast-like Void, was a dream come true. A vehicle that was worth more than manors in certain places – one of a kind, a show of power.

"So where are we going?" after a few minutes, Emmy asked for they had no clue to which road led where.

"To a public bathhouse," he replied, "-I noticed that you weren't feeling well. Using those same clothes for that amount of time must have taken a toll. Imagine the sweat and smell of…" before ending the sentence, a cold glance from behind was sensed.

"Better not get into details, have you forgotten how to be tactful?" Adete whispered, he dodged a bullet, the twins were visibly embarrassed. "I do apologize," he sighed, "-I meant no disrespect," the voice gentlemanly, the girls could but laugh it off.

"No need for that," Emma spoke with her hand scratching her head.

"You did say the truth, it's disgusting, not to mention we ran out of panties in the first week," Emmy added without much thought. As soon as the words rolled off her tongue, the realization hit.

"Sister, you idiot," Emma quickly placed her hands onto the little sister's mouth.

"Ha-ha," he laughed, "-I'm glad," a smile, "-it's good to see you both being cheerful for once. It's relieving if I do say so myself," the car stopped. "Speaking of relieving," he pointed at a two-story building. "We've arrived," to which the door opened. The girls could but watch in awe, "now, now, no need to get nervous," he took both their hands and walked. A quick conversation with the owner later. After the latter saw in what transport those three had arrived in, the man could but smile for someone important had come. Tis was the advantage of looking the part.

The girls were given a private room, one that was reserved for visiting nobles as opposed to the public bath downstairs. As an addition, undergarments would be given without an additional fee. The normal fee for this establishment was 50 copper for commoners, 25 for kids. For people above the average, 500 copper was enough to gain access to a private room. For the nobles, the highest price was 5 silver. A price that Staxius paid without batting an eye, the payment used was by card. Practically everyone from rich to the poor had access to those – it made it safer to wander around the capital. He paid using the first card he had, one that now held no money. The one used to invest in items for the shop – and armor for the party. Throughout their stay at the border, that card was used. Today marked the day it finally emptied.

The current balance was: 202,990 Gold. It was displayed on the card after injecting a bit of mana. An ability he didn't realize till later in the day, after visiting the bank. 'With my growing fortune,' now sat in one of the private baths, he thought, '-it's best to start investing. Maybe a manor, then some apartment complex to rent. That amount of cash is unreal, I still don't believe it,' to which he chuckled. 'I say that whilst driving around a car that was sold for over one million gold coins. I did get it for free; but still, I should be more discreet. People with 50,000 gold coins are considered rich. Back when Dorchester was a place for slaughter, having that amount of coin meant that said person was at least a Viscount. Maybe I'm overthinking this too much, it's not like this is the first time I've dealt with so much cash,' a few shakes of the head later, '-buying a house now isn't out of the picture. The one that commoners use in the less popular areas can range from 25 to 500 gold. One in an average living environment is 750 gold. When it comes to the manor, the ones that nobles use, it can range from 1000 gold to 100,000 gold. The latter being one that someone of the rank Marquess and higher would purchase. The manor in which Sophie lived was around 75,000 gold coins. Thanks to Cake's constant messaging, it gave a general idea of the price. For now, I shan't be hasty,' he stood, it was time to leave.

A few minutes later, stood outside, the Lymsey sisters with bright smiles. "Feels good, doesn't it?" he asked rhetorically and jumped into Void.

"Yes," Emma exclaimed, "-much better and fresher," Emmy finished on a high note.

"Let's continue then," once the bath was over, the car headed for the commercial district. There, hand in hand, Staxius walked as if a father. The girls were clueless about what happened. In the end, it didn't matter, their minds were off the guild incident.

"Here we are," he spoke, they stood before a massive building, one that specialized in garments of various kinds. Either for soirees or fighting, two opposite end of the spectrum but in the same compound. Though the elegant clothes were on the top-most floor. The gears that were aimed for adventurers were located downstairs. One that was rented by a merchant's guild, a place familiar and welcoming to fighters of all kind.

"I can't believe it," Emma spoke for she stared in awe. The other sister was left speechless. The place was grandiose and well organized. Despite being owned by people that deal with monsters, it had a certain dignity and feel to it. The décor was charming and heartwarming.

"Go on already, go pick out anything you want," he smiled, "-consider this the payment for cleaning up Pandora earlier." Unable to resist, the girls made haste and rushed inside.

"See, I told you," Adete voiced strongly to which he ignored without a second thought. Minutes turned into hours; the girls tried on many outfits from heavy to light. The eyes wandered around as if kids in a toy-shop. Many possibilities and limited choices, at some point, Staxius dozed off.

"This, this," Emma called, they were ready.

"Let's see," he walked. Both outfits were similar with only the color being different. Knee-high boots with a comfortable looking sole. Good for movement, from there, they had a thigh-high stocking, one that had striped colors. Shorts with a belt that had strings and pockets to store potions, and scrolls. The top, shirts that were covered by a vest. The latter was military-grade, multipurpose with resistance to mother nature. Color-wise, it followed the girls' preferences. Emma had a mixture of light-blue and yellow whilst Emmy had pink and white.

"They do look good, and quality-wise," a quick inspection later, "-they seem battleworthy. Are you happy with it?"

"More than happy," Emma answered with an energetic voice.

"This was our dream combat outfit from the start," Emmy twirled in place to show off what they had made.

"It's final then," he proclaimed, to which a wave of the hand later, some assistants rushed over. "I'd like to purchase what the lovely ladies are wearing."

"H-Hold up," Emma grabbed onto his arms, "-we were joking," Emmy replied.

"It's our dream outfit and costs a lot," they explained.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled, "-it can't be that bad."  Once at the counter, the price shone was five gold per outfit.

"See we told you," Emma spoke, "-five gold isn't worth spending on clothes," Emmy added, their voice trailed off in the end.

"Yeah, sure," he smiled, "-I'll take them," he took out the pouch and paid in full. 'Five gold is nothing compared to what Kniq is wearing. 750 gold coin per outfits, that's like a house in a fairly good place.'

"Thank you so much," once outside, both tightly embraced him. "Don't worry about it," a quick pat of the head later, "-we're headed to Kniq's headquarters next. You girls haven't officially joined the guild just yet." The car came back to life, and thus the day continued.