22 Chapter 022

Following their departure from the dojo, Leon, Yamato, and Miyako back-tracked what was now regarded as the village center before stopping by the former Eatery, which had now been upgraded to a proper, fifty-person capacity Restaurant. The interior wasn't particularly flashy, but it was a lot more developed and modern than the cabin-like interior it had before.

*ding* *ding*

In response to the sound of the restaurant's entry bell, the voice of a young girl shouted, "I'll be right with you~!" before a girl with long, dark blue hair fastened into braided ponytails that framed the sides of her face emerged from the set of swinging doors leading to the kitchen.

Though she was visibly startled by Leon's appearance, the girl, Megumi Tadokoro, tentatively approached their group with a smile and asked, "Is that you, Lord Leon...?"

Nodding in affirmation, Leon replied, "Just making my rounds to see how everyone's doing. Are you good on ingredients?"

"If anything, we're overstocked," replied Megumi, the tension in her body relaxing as she asked, "Would you like us to prepare something?"

Turning to Yamato and Miyako, Leon asked, "Have the two of you eaten recently? I have some personal matters to attend at the boutique across the street. The two of you should enjoy a meal together."

Though Miyako's eyes lit up like an inferno, Yamato adopted a somewhat mischievous smile and asked, "Picking up a gift for Sir Mordred, perhaps?"

"Something like that," replied Leon, raising his hand in a farewell gesture and turning to leave. Before exiting, however, he said, "Since you came all this way, you're welcome to stay at the manor for the evening."

Placing his right hand over his heart and bowing, prompting Miyako and then Megumi to do the same, Yamato replied, "Your Lordship is too kind." Then, as meals at the restaurant were 'sponsored' by House Asheford, he and Miyako enjoyed an impromptu date...

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Entering the boutique, flanked by glass displays depicting mostly female mannequins wearing fashionable, cosplay-tier clothing sets, Leon looked around at the various clothing items available as he made his way to the empty counter. Once the boutique's owner created a garment, it could be mass-produced so long as he had the required materials, so even though the shop had only been open a few weeks, it was stocked to the brim with mostly women's clothing, including undergarments.

After waiting a minute or two without anyone appearing, Leon gently dinged the silver bell on the front counter. When there was no response, he deliberated briefly before opening his console, separating it into two windows so he could open his Status and Assign menus simultaneously.

'I should have checked before I came over,' thought Leon, adopting a wry smile as he saw the boutique's owner and assistant effectively occupying the same space. Thus, even though he was there to pick up an order, he promptly decided to turn and leave. Fortunately, the boutique was one of many places he was set to stop by that afternoon.

Making his way diagonally across the village center to a massive building that looked like a traditional fantasy-style Inn but on a much larger scale, Leon passed through a set of wooden saloon doors leading to a spacious tavern area. There was a fully stocked bar to the left, but the room's main features were five unoccupied reception booths and a large posting board that would eventually list various jobs.

Noticing Leon's entrance, a petite figure with short, somewhat messy, dirty blonde hair, inordinately large and pointed ears, and watery blue eyes smiled and raised their hand, greeting, "Well, if it isn't my favorite and number one customer! Welcome to Sierokarte's Knickknack Shack, Lord Leon~!" in a cutesy, distinctly girlish tone.

Rising from her position atop the bar, the petite, 98cm tall figure, wearing a baggy, pale-blue smock over reddish-orange pumpkin pants, walked to the edge of the elongated counter with a broad smile, remarking, "That's quite the suit of armor. One of Master Wilfred's works, I presume?"

"Wil forged the exterior, but the endoskeleton which allows me to move around was developed by Winry," explained Leon, standing at eye-level with the diminutive Harvin despite the fact she was standing atop the bar.

"Well, it's good to see you up and about, my Lord," said Sierokarte, her smile broadening as she reached into the pouch on her right hip, pulling out a ledger that caused a menu only she could see to appear. Then, with a mischievous grin, she asked, "Will it be the same as usual~?"

"That, and some turmeric," replied Leon, holding out his right hand, palm side up, and filling it with Thousand-Grain Crystal Fragments. They were the de facto currency at the moment, but as his reserve of platinum, gold, silver, and copper was steadily increasing, Leon expected to transition to a more 'standardized' currency system in the very near future.

After carefully counting the number of fragments, Sierokarte placed them in her pouch before materializing a green-feathered quill and writing down the items Leon commonly requested. Once she was done, three carefully wrapped parcels appeared on the bar, one filled with bath items, such as soap and shampoo, while the other two were filled with laundry detergent and the turmeric he had been asked to grab.

Placing the parcels into his Storage, Leon asked, "How many fragments are you up to after overhead...?"

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't divulge such sensitive information. But, since Lord Leon is the one who's asking, I'm up to 7,389~!" replied Sierkorte, her blue eyes glistening as her large, pointed ears waggled in excitement.

"That's quite a lot," said Leon. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't asked me to summon any personnel. They might need a bit of training, but they would be able to increase your revenue stream."

"Well, it's not like I can just 'force' people to work for me," contended Sierokarte, spreading her hands and shrugging. "Our town is also very safe, so it's not like I need protection. Rather, by saving fragments now, I'll have ample funds to pay my future employees and capitalize on any premium investment opportunities that may appear~!"

"Pragmatic as usual," said Leon, raising his hand in a farewell gesture as he added, "Well, I'll see you around, Siero. Take care."

"And you as well, Lord Leon~!" exclaimed Siero, smiling and waving her hands like an excited child when, in reality, she was quite a bit older than everyone but Hayato...

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Returning to the boutique after checking to make sure he wouldn't be intruding on anything, Leon entered to find a young woman with long hair that transitioned from golden blonde near her scalp to pink near the end. Her bangs were parted on the left side of her face and nearly fell to her eyes, and she was currently modeling an outfit reminiscent of a barmaid but with a baby blue plaid pattern and a much shorter-than-average skirt. More notably, at least to Leon, she was sweating, and her face was lightly flushed as if she had just finished a workout...

Seeing Leon, the brown-eyed girl blinked in surprise and asked, "Are you a new arrival? Well, either way, welcome to the Kita-Gojo Boutique! As you can see, we have a wide array of clothes and fashion accessories, but we also accept requests~!"

Witnessing the girl grin and make double peace signs, Leon's imagined smile turned wry as he revealed, "It's good to see you, Marin. I came by to pick up the items I ordered previously."

Blinking in surprise, the girl, Marin Kitagawa from the series 'Sono Bisque Doll wa Kai wo suru,' covered her mouth slightly as she exclaimed, "Is that you, Leon!? Oh, what a relief! I was starting to think you were some creep planning to rob or murder us. That armor looks awesome, by the way! It's got a real knightly, or, perhaps, kingly aura to it...?"

"I have Mordred, Wil, and Winry to thank for it," said Leon, approaching the counter proper. Marin stepped back slightly as he did so, but since he was nearly 40cm taller and covered head to toe in silvery-white armor, he couldn't blame her for feeling a little sheepish and intimidated. It was half the reason for the armor's design.

"Uh...j-just give me a minute to grab your package..." said Marin, quickly retreating to the back room. However, the person who came back was a tall but fairly plain-looking man with short, somewhat unkempt black hair and grey eyes with a tiny mole on the outer left corner of his right. Similar to Marin, a faint layer of sweat covered his body, but the thing Leon took note of was the bags under his eyes.

Seeing Leon for the first time, the man, Wakana Gojo, the owner of the boutique and hailing from the same world as Marin, blinked in surprise and remarked, "I can see why Marin was so spooked. Is that really you, Lord Leon...?"

"I'd like to say in the flesh, but this is a faux body co-developed by Winry and Wil," answered Leon, gesturing to the parcel in Wakana's hands as he asked, "Is that mine...?"

Nodding in affirmation, Wakana handed the parcel to Leon, smiling as he replied, "The Kita-Gojo Boutique thanks you for your patronage. If there are any other articles you'd like to request, I'd be happy to prepare them."

"I'll definitely have more for you in the future, but you should take a break sometime," replied Leon. "We may have Magic to heal injuries and remedy illnesses, but it's best to avoid them entirely."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," replied Wakana, a wry smile adorning his face. The truth was that he and Marin were going through a kind of 'honeymoon' phase, so even though he was beyond exhausted, he had no intention of slacking in his work or his efforts to keep her happy.

"Also..." said Leon, gazing back over his shoulder as he had already turned to leave.

"Yes...?" asked Wakana.

Adopting an imperceptible and wry smile, Leon added, "If you're not open or otherwise preoccupied, you should consider locking the front door..."

Realizing that Leon must have been the person who dropped by earlier, the upper half of Wakana's face became bright red. Fortunately, instead of leaving on foot, Leon teleported away the moment he was done giving his advice, sparing them both further embarrassment...

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Since Wil was part of the group actively exploring the Tower, Leon's final stop before returning home was the Church, a small, wedge-shaped white chapel building with a bell tower capped by blue tiles. Ordinarily, there would be a cross or some other religious symbol over the entrance, but as the people summoned worshipped various Gods, it was decided that the chapel at the town's center would be a neutral zone of worship dedicated to healing and absolution rather than the exaltation of a deity.

Though almost no one came by, the owner of the chapel, an androgynous youth with dark green hair and matching eyes, adorned in off-white robes, was waiting patiently at the pulpit near the building's altar.

Recognizing Leon from his aura, the youth, Fon Master Ion from Tales of the Abyss, adopted a delicate smile and said, "Welcome, Lord Leon. Have you come to pray? Or perhaps make an offering...?" in a soft, song-quality voice.

Though he previously didn't believe in a higher power, having lost his faith after his accident, Leon approached the landing before the pulpit, took a knee, and lowered his head. In response, Ion moved around the pulpit to place his hand on Leon's shoulder, followed by a protracted silence as the latter offered a prayer to Maribelladonna, thanking her for the opportunity he had been given before making a sizeable donation to cover any healing the members of his growing community might need in the future...

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