Stepping inside the store, I noticed they had expanded far beyond what they had previously. Seeing styles from around their world, it looked like they were taking inspiration from all the different factions. Sneaking a peek at some of the nightgowns on display, some of them would look very nice on my wives. Using magic to identify what they were made of, I was shocked to see that it was either magic fabric or demon spider silk.
“You ladies have expensive taste in fabric.”, I remarked, “Making magic fabric of this quality takes a lot of time and effort, and the demon spider silk takes even more than that. Are you only making clothing in small batches, or did you secure a supplier?”
“Since we are not at war with other factions, we retrained many battlemages to produce the magic fabric. Even though it does not seem like it, producing the fabric keeps their skills sharp as a razor’s edge.”, Leviathan boasted, “The Pillars were not convinced at first, but the profits we have turned quickly silenced them. So far we are the only clothing store that sells pieces in mass like this.”
“I can understand why, it is good you are pivoting away from combat.”, I stated, realizing that Misla was not in the store, “Did Misla decide to back out of the group?”
“Misla is at the Demon Spider Farm, she oversees the entire operation from start to finish for us. Her family suggested we add spider silk to the fabric option since it is amazing for the skin. She is more comfortable working behind the scenes so it was a good fit for her.”, Lilith informed me, sticking close to my side, “Please thank your wives for us, some of these designs came from them.”
“Such as..?”, I asked, hoping it was nothing too inappropriate.
“Our line of workout clothes.”, Runeas said, “Let me show you!”
Scurrying off to the back with Serafall, Runeas ran back a few minutes wearing a tank top and yoga pants. Noticing how tightly the clothing clung to her, there was no hiding how curvy she was. What surprised me was that her daughter and granddaughter did not inherit her genetics, the next one in the family that did was Rias. I did not think they were ugly, but they did not come close to Runeas and Rias by a long shot.
‘That said, Runeas still has Rias beat by a small margin.’, I thought, trying not to stare.
“Hehe, do you like what you see?”, Runeas teased me, pushing her chest out in a playful manner, “I bet you like this even more!”
Doing some jumping jacks to show off how gravity affected her curves, I asked her to stop as I got the point. Grinning ear to ear, she insisted I tell her how I thought it looked on her. Even though we were not close enough for my opinion to matter, Runeas was doing it to get a rise out of Lilith and Leviathan.
“Yes, I think you look amazing in tight clothing.”, I acknowledged, much to her delight.
Realizing that Hilda was staring at Runeas, I was not sure if she found the clothing horrendous or was jealous of the attention she was getting. Not wanting a catfight to break out between anyone, I quickly got the conversation moving again. Already guessing who made the suggestions to them, I still asked just to be sure.
“So which of my wives suggested the clothing line to you, and what makes it different from normal workout clothing?”, I questioned, not wanting to use my magic to check the clothes Runeas was wearing.
Since she was wearing them, it meant I would not only know what made them special but also her three sizes. While it would be an interesting bit of information to know, it would probably sour our relations a bit.
“It was Mirko, Shino, Tomoko, and Ryuko who suggested them to us. After we took a look for ourselves, we asked Ajuka to help design enchantments to boost the effects of the workout for the wearer.”, Leviathan told me, motioning for Runeas to change back into her normal clothing, “Unsurprisingly, the first day they went out on the floor we sold out. Seeing Amaterasu in one of the outfits, Devils from all over bought them hand over fist for their wives.”
“That…that is understandable.”, I acknowledged, having seen my wives workout in yoga pants and tank tops before, “Well I am glad business is doing well for all of you. To celebrate your success, we should go on another date sometime. Does that interest you?”
“Of course, that would be great!”, Lilith accepted, clinging onto my arm while continuing to stare at Hilda, “We should go somewhere romantic like-”
“Like an Anime Convention!!”, Serafall shouted, as she brought Inari out to the sales floor, “What do you all think? I modeled this after the Demon Ninja game I saw at the arcade. Pretty badass, right?”
Turning to look at them, I found Inari in a skin-tight jumpsuit that looked straight out of a Taimanin Game. Wondering where Serafall had seen that game, as it was certainly not in the arcade, I thought she might have strayed over to the store next door. That video game shop did have an adult section of games which was the most likely culprit.
“Lady Yasaka, I beg you to let me skip this one please!”, Inari said, uncomfortable in her skin-tight bodysuit, “I will wear what Amaterasu is, but this…this is too much for me!”
Shaking her head, Yasaka told her it would not kill her to wear something out of her comfort zone for a while. Fixing Inari’s outfit, as it was riding up on her, Yasaka told her that Amaterasu and she were their most popular models. Telling her to bear with this for today, she promised to give her tomorrow off to mentally recover.
“I am going out there to help draw people in!”, Serafall told us, “Before I go, can I get one of those phone thingies you gave Yasaka and Lilith? Neither of them will let me play games or text you! I really want to play that Candy Pop game your daughters play!”
“Sure, here you go.”, I said, handing one over to her, “Do not go overboard with texting people. I will shut it down if you do.”
“Roger that, lead the way foxy girl!”, Serafall proclaimed, playfully hitting Inari with her magical wand, “Onward to fun and money for conventions!!”
“EEP!!”, Inari squealed, as she was caught off guard by that, “Please do not scare me like that. I do not want the zipper coming undone in front of anyone!”
Once they were outside, we started laughing at Serafall’s antics. Enjoying the amusement she brought to the table, I hoped she would take some time to join Ciri and me for a day. Glancing over my shoulder at Ghislaine and Hilda, I inquired if they wanted to buy anything while we were here.
“No, I think we are fine!”, Hilda stated, wanting to leave the store “We should get moving to the next store on our list. Thank you all for showing us around.”
“I think I will come with you.”, Yasaka spoke up, looking over at Leviathan, “Is that alright with you?”
As the Youkai Faction had a joint interest in the success of their stores, Yasaka did not want to just walk out without confirming they did not need further assistance from her.
“Yeah, Runeas, Lilith, and I can handle the store.”, Leviathan assured her, “Besides, business has been pretty slow today so one person leaving is not a problem.”
“I was going to join them as well.”, Lilith told her, “You can call Serafall inside if you need help running the register.”
“Grrr!!”, Leviathan scowled, “You are seriously going to leave me here with Serafall and Runeas!? Fine, you owe me big time for holding down the fort while you go off and flirt with him!”
“Duly noted.”, Lilith replied, with a pleased smile, “Let us get going.”
Walking out of the store, I told them that we would stop by the Blacksmith first as one was only a block away. Acknowledge this, Ghislaine and Hilda hung a few feet back from us while I chatted with Lilith and Yasaka. Watching us like a hawk, Hilda started grumbling something to herself.
“You know, this will be pretty normal for you if you pursue Cole right?”, Ghislaine commented, understanding this concept very well.
“There were plenty of nobles with harems back in the Asura Kingdom, Philip and I were friends with some of them.”, Hilda reminded her, “I am not opposed to the idea of being in a harem, but I…I also feel like I am moving on too quickly. Philip has only been dead two weeks and I am still madly in love with him. He meant everything to me yet I was all over Cole just days afterwards, but I do not regret it. Cole has helped me through this dark time when all I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and die. He has given me the strength to keep moving for my daughter, and I have grown to cherish his company quite a lot. I…I just do not know what to do, I feel like a terrible woman for moving on so quickly but I also do not want to lose the only chance at happiness I might ever get again. Even with good looks, it is rare for a widow my age to marry a gentleman. Most of them end up marrying slimy, disgusting men just to avoid growing old alone.”
“Honestly, I am not the best person to consult with on matters of love and romantic relationships. My knowledge goes only as far as what my mother taught me, and it does not really apply to humans.”, Ghislaine admitted, “I cannot honestly say what I would do in your situation, I have never been in love before. My whole life revolves around the sword and constantly looking for the next adventure over the horizon. What I can tell you from my experience though is, to follow what your heart is telling you. The worst thing you can do is go through life carrying the regrets of ‘What If’ on your shoulders.”
Looking over at Ghislaine, Hilda thanked her for her words of wisdom. Getting a better handle on how she wanted to proceed, she looked forward with renewed vigor. Beckoning Ghislaine to pick up the pace, the two of them caught up to us and began asking questions about my capital city.
Stepping inside the store, I noticed they had expanded far beyond what they had previously. Seeing styles from around their world, it looked like they were taking inspiration from all the different factions. Sneaking a peek at some of the nightgowns on display, some of them would look very nice on my wives. Using magic to identify what they were made of, I was shocked to see that it was either magic fabric or demon spider silk.
“You ladies have expensive taste in fabric.”, I remarked, “Making magic fabric of this quality takes a lot of time and effort, and the demon spider silk takes even more than that. Are you only making clothing in small batches, or did you secure a supplier?”
“Since we are not at war with other factions, we retrained many battlemages to produce the magic fabric. Even though it does not seem like it, producing the fabric keeps their skills sharp as a razor’s edge.”, Leviathan boasted, “The Pillars were not convinced at first, but the profits we have turned quickly silenced them. So far we are the only clothing store that sells pieces in mass like this.”
“I can understand why, it is good you are pivoting away from combat.”, I stated, realizing that Misla was not in the store, “Did Misla decide to back out of the group?”
“Misla is at the Demon Spider Farm, she oversees the entire operation from start to finish for us. Her family suggested we add spider silk to the fabric option since it is amazing for the skin. She is more comfortable working behind the scenes so it was a good fit for her.”, Lilith informed me, sticking close to my side, “Please thank your wives for us, some of these designs came from them.”
“Such as..?”, I asked, hoping it was nothing too inappropriate.
“Our line of workout clothes.”, Runeas said, “Let me show you!”
Scurrying off to the back with Serafall, Runeas ran back a few minutes wearing a tank top and yoga pants. Noticing how tightly the clothing clung to her, there was no hiding how curvy she was. What surprised me was that her daughter and granddaughter did not inherit her genetics, the next one in the family that did was Rias. I did not think they were ugly, but they did not come close to Runeas and Rias by a long shot.
‘That said, Runeas still has Rias beat by a small margin.’, I thought, trying not to stare.
“Hehe, do you like what you see?”, Runeas teased me, pushing her chest out in a playful manner, “I bet you like this even more!”
Doing some jumping jacks to show off how gravity affected her curves, I asked her to stop as I got the point. Grinning ear to ear, she insisted I tell her how I thought it looked on her. Even though we were not close enough for my opinion to matter, Runeas was doing it to get a rise out of Lilith and Leviathan.
“Yes, I think you look amazing in tight clothing.”, I acknowledged, much to her delight.
Realizing that Hilda was staring at Runeas, I was not sure if she found the clothing horrendous or was jealous of the attention she was getting. Not wanting a catfight to break out between anyone, I quickly got the conversation moving again. Already guessing who made the suggestions to them, I still asked just to be sure.
“So which of my wives suggested the clothing line to you, and what makes it different from normal workout clothing?”, I questioned, not wanting to use my magic to check the clothes Runeas was wearing.
Since she was wearing them, it meant I would not only know what made them special but also her three sizes. While it would be an interesting bit of information to know, it would probably sour our relations a bit.
“It was Mirko, Shino, Tomoko, and Ryuko who suggested them to us. After we took a look for ourselves, we asked Ajuka to help design enchantments to boost the effects of the workout for the wearer.”, Leviathan told me, motioning for Runeas to change back into her normal clothing, “Unsurprisingly, the first day they went out on the floor we sold out. Seeing Amaterasu in one of the outfits, Devils from all over bought them hand over fist for their wives.”
“That…that is understandable.”, I acknowledged, having seen my wives workout in yoga pants and tank tops before, “Well I am glad business is doing well for all of you. To celebrate your success, we should go on another date sometime. Does that interest you?”
“Of course, that would be great!”, Lilith accepted, clinging onto my arm while continuing to stare at Hilda, “We should go somewhere romantic like-”
“Like an Anime Convention!!”, Serafall shouted, as she brought Inari out to the sales floor, “What do you all think? I modeled this after the Demon Ninja game I saw at the arcade. Pretty badass, right?”
Turning to look at them, I found Inari in a skin-tight jumpsuit that looked straight out of a Taimanin Game. Wondering where Serafall had seen that game, as it was certainly not in the arcade, I thought she might have strayed over to the store next door. That video game shop did have an adult section of games which was the most likely culprit.
“Lady Yasaka, I beg you to let me skip this one please!”, Inari said, uncomfortable in her skin-tight bodysuit, “I will wear what Amaterasu is, but this…this is too much for me!”
Shaking her head, Yasaka told her it would not kill her to wear something out of her comfort zone for a while. Fixing Inari’s outfit, as it was riding up on her, Yasaka told her that Amaterasu and she were their most popular models. Telling her to bear with this for today, she promised to give her tomorrow off to mentally recover.
“I am going out there to help draw people in!”, Serafall told us, “Before I go, can I get one of those phone thingies you gave Yasaka and Lilith? Neither of them will let me play games or text you! I really want to play that Candy Pop game your daughters play!”
“Sure, here you go.”, I said, handing one over to her, “Do not go overboard with texting people. I will shut it down if you do.”
“Roger that, lead the way foxy girl!”, Serafall proclaimed, playfully hitting Inari with her magical wand, “Onward to fun and money for conventions!!”
“EEP!!”, Inari squealed, as she was caught off guard by that, “Please do not scare me like that. I do not want the zipper coming undone in front of anyone!”
Once they were outside, we started laughing at Serafall’s antics. Enjoying the amusement she brought to the table, I hoped she would take some time to join Ciri and me for a day. Glancing over my shoulder at Ghislaine and Hilda, I inquired if they wanted to buy anything while we were here.
“No, I think we are fine!”, Hilda stated, wanting to leave the store “We should get moving to the next store on our list. Thank you all for showing us around.”
“I think I will come with you.”, Yasaka spoke up, looking over at Leviathan, “Is that alright with you?”
As the Youkai Faction had a joint interest in the success of their stores, Yasaka did not want to just walk out without confirming they did not need further assistance from her.
“Yeah, Runeas, Lilith, and I can handle the store.”, Leviathan assured her, “Besides, business has been pretty slow today so one person leaving is not a problem.”
“I was going to join them as well.”, Lilith told her, “You can call Serafall inside if you need help running the register.”
“Grrr!!”, Leviathan scowled, “You are seriously going to leave me here with Serafall and Runeas!? Fine, you owe me big time for holding down the fort while you go off and flirt with him!”
“Duly noted.”, Lilith replied, with a pleased smile, “Let us get going.”
Walking out of the store, I told them that we would stop by the Blacksmith first as one was only a block away. Acknowledge this, Ghislaine and Hilda hung a few feet back from us while I chatted with Lilith and Yasaka. Watching us like a hawk, Hilda started grumbling something to herself.
“You know, this will be pretty normal for you if you pursue Cole right?”, Ghislaine commented, understanding this concept very well.
“There were plenty of nobles with harems back in the Asura Kingdom, Philip and I were friends with some of them.”, Hilda reminded her, “I am not opposed to the idea of being in a harem, but I…I also feel like I am moving on too quickly. Philip has only been dead two weeks and I am still madly in love with him. He meant everything to me yet I was all over Cole just days afterwards, but I do not regret it. Cole has helped me through this dark time when all I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and die. He has given me the strength to keep moving for my daughter, and I have grown to cherish his company quite a lot. I…I just do not know what to do, I feel like a terrible woman for moving on so quickly but I also do not want to lose the only chance at happiness I might ever get again. Even with good looks, it is rare for a widow my age to marry a gentleman. Most of them end up marrying slimy, disgusting men just to avoid growing old alone.”
“Honestly, I am not the best person to consult with on matters of love and romantic relationships. My knowledge goes only as far as what my mother taught me, and it does not really apply to humans.”, Ghislaine admitted, “I cannot honestly say what I would do in your situation, I have never been in love before. My whole life revolves around the sword and constantly looking for the next adventure over the horizon. What I can tell you from my experience though is, to follow what your heart is telling you. The worst thing you can do is go through life carrying the regrets of ‘What If’ on your shoulders.”
Looking over at Ghislaine, Hilda thanked her for her words of wisdom. Getting a better handle on how she wanted to proceed, she looked forward with renewed vigor. Beckoning Ghislaine to pick up the pace, the two of them caught up to us and began asking questions about my capital city.
