Chapter 27
The bell rang . It made a pretty noise . The inside of the building was a lot quieter than the busy streets outside . I was thankful for the reprieve, the noises did hurt my ears and the information overload was simply unbearable . Buddha's Wisdom blessing triggered with every new sight and experience, making Mind's Eye very busy . The notifications flooded my senses and I couldn't react very well .
Thankfully, the goddesses were familiar with this area and we reached our destination fairly quickly . The queerest thing was how a path was made automatically by the crowd as the goddesses walked . Everyone seemed to know of our arrival and moved aside for us to pass . I wonder why .
Even in the shop, the moment Freya told the shop assistant her name, the poor half-dog man shot off like a bullet to fetch the owner of the establishment . Yes, half-dog because he had the head of a dog but the body of a man . Quite a strange happenstance but there was nobody as strange or extreme as Gaia so I held my tongue .
A man slightly shorter than my current self hurried over on his stumpy legs . The man was generally round and had saggy skin . The tip of his ears were pointed like Sedna's but he wasn't covered in scales . What's fascinating was how his hair was orange . Mind's Eye gave me some information and it looked something like this:
[Master Tailor] Grem Lee
Race: Fairy-Gnome
Age: 246 years old
Skills: Handless Stitching, Puppet Master, Legendary Merchant
"Goddesses!" Grem panted . "Why didn't you inform me of your arrival? Also, who's this charming young lad in his birthday suit?"
Birthday suit? I tried to search Mind's Eye with Wisdom's help but nothing showed up . It must be a local term .
"Sorry," I whispered . "What is a birthday suit?"
Grem Lee paused to turn and looked at me . He squinted and frowned, humming a low sound that made me slightly nervous . Was there something wrong?
"You look completely human but you're not . What are you? I've lived for a long time but have never come across a species like yourself . "
Sedna was the first to place a hand on my shoulder and answered the perceptive master tailor . "He is someone of importance . Unfortunately, we cannot disclose any information to you unless he desires so . "
Freya nodded . "He requires clothes suitable for travel in the human world for various occasions . We apologise for the lack of notice but it is of utmost importance . "
Grem nodded and called for an assistant . She was a pixie with green hair and according to Mind's Eye, her name is Jen . Her status display looks a little like this:
[Grem's Apprentice] Jen
Race: Pixie
Age: 58 years old
Skills: Ambidextrous Stitching, Beginner Linguist
"Take his measurements at the back and show him around . I need to discuss with the goddesses here about the order . "
Jen smiled and led me to the back of the room . I was a little nervous about parting with the goddesses so soon in a foreign place but Isis' nod assured me that they will be there with me soon .
Measuring was a process that was strange . With my lack of awareness about the body parts, Jen had to show me how to move so that she could take the measurements . Fortunately, the girl was patient and did not comment much . In fact, she seemed keen on helping to answer some of my questions .
From our short chat, I found out that we were on a different planet and the town here was called [La Boutique], famous for the best shops from food to fashion . According to her, food was something that can be absorbed by the body . I simply must try them later . Hopefully, the goddesses can help me with that .
Jen has been working in Ruban x Pointes (apparently the name of Grem's shop) for about thirty years now . Grem took her in when she was a child on one of his travels . The poor pixie girl was banished from her pixie village for her lack of magical powers . Normally, pixies were able to use magic to cast spells and fly . However, Jen's magical powers were so weak that she was unable to fly . The only spells she could cast were Transformation that allowed her to change her size at will, and Telepathy, a way to communicate with others without speaking .
"Is that how you know so many languages?"
Jen looked slightly startled . "Oh, that's not how it works . Telepathy only conveys my message from my mind to another person's mind . It does not translate the language . Language is simply one of the things I'm curious about and I've picked it up over the years by reading and chatting with the customers who come here . So far I think I speak common which is the language of human majority although there are minority human languages, gnome common, dawn pixie dialect, fairy speak and archaic serpent tongue . "
Whoa! That's a lot . . . it sounds very difficult too! Then again, what are we speaking now? We chatted for a bit more and Jen served something called dew tea .
I looked at it and inspected it with Mind's Eye .
Dew Tea [Magical Grade]
Tea brewed by a pixie . Imbued with slight magical properties . Effect is random each time, depending on the pixie's mood .
Effects: Calming +1 (5 minutes)
Calming +1? Oh well, I guess it wouldn't hurt since it isn't something permanent .
Without thinking, I touched the cup with the tip of my finger and begin to absorb it . The space around the dew tea contorted and opened a vortex to both our surprise . The dew tea and cup set was absorbed and I stared at the space the cup occupied previously . Was that how everything looked like whenever I absorbed something? No wonder Sedna was so frantic when she found me . It must have been a terrifying sight to absorb a huge portion of her sea .
[You have consumed Dew Tea and gained a temporary effect [Calming +1] for 5 minutes . ]
The effect wasn't very obvious but I soon felt more comfortable sitting in the room with Jen . We didn't speak much after this but it the awkwardness didn't last for long . Someone was knocking on the door to the measuring workshop even before the effects of dew tea ended .