An energetic young man—presumably the one who had convinced Bronston to put on the questionable attire in the first place—called out to correct Louis's misunderstanding, thumping a fist against his lithe chest in pride.
“Au contraire, dear customer—this is the latest fashion, produced by our company’s lead designer herself! This particular piece was designed for muscular men to ‘make women swoon’... ” the merchant explained, quietly adding a “... supposedly.” at the end.
“Pfft,” Saber scoffed. “Like women would want to see something like tha--...”
Her words began to falter after noticing a few of the ladies’ side glances lingering a bit too long on Bronston as they fanned their red faces. Saber took a good, long look at her own body before falling to her knees in despair.
“I-If I work out hard enough, then surely I can--!”
“Don't,” Gen gently whispered, putting a stop to whatever strange thoughts Saber was having.
With Saber too distracted to quarrel with him anymore, Louis shifted his attention back to the dog-eared merchant.
“So, uh, anyways… who’re you?” he asked dubiously.
“Oh—my apologies!” The merchant’s golden-blonde ears and hair flopped over as he swiftly went into a deep bow. “This humble merchant is Maxwell of the De Brus company, but you may call me ‘Max’—pleased to make your acquaintance!”
‘I can tell,’ Louis thought to himself, glancing at Max’s tail as it rapidly flitted in and out of view from behind the half-beastkin. ‘... Wait, the De Brus company?’
“Isn't that Enna’s store?” Lily whispered to Louis, the name ‘Enna’ immediately capturing Maxwell’s attention…
Time elapsed: 1.07 second(s).
“You—” His eyes sparkled with the brilliance of a fireworks display as they snapped onto Lily.
“—know—” The distance between the two shortened by a seemingly impossible amount.
“—MILADY?!?” Max, now directly in front of Lily, took her hands into his with a fanatical smile.
“?!” She immediately slid behind Louis to use him as a barrier. “Y-yesh?! Ay dew know’er?!”
Max let out a squeal as he started gushing about his boss.
“Kyaa~! I’m so happy that you’ve met Milady, dearest customer! Isn't she wonderful? I’ve never met anyone as wise and benevolent as her, nor anyone as decisive; to be working under such a person is truly a blessing for a merchant as inexperienced as I! If there were any regrets left for mineself, it would be that I were not born to serve under such an awe-inspiring personage from the very start… Oh—my apologies! I’d forgotten that most people have not yet heard of Milady’s wondrous feats: shall I tell you of her revolutionary business practices? Or perhaps her ‘one-night capture’ of Firrstad’s markets? Or-- Yes, I should simply start from the very beginning of her empire, when she was first taken in and raised by the infamous 'she-wolf of Main Street'...”
Instilled with a strange sense of confidence that Maxwell wasn’t going to stop talking for a while, Louis turned to Lily with an indescribable expression.
“... How do you keep flipping these weird switches in dog boys? First, it was Fen and headpats—now it’s Max and... uh, whatever that is. Did you find a skill or something?”
“That sounds more like a curse than a skill...”
Whichever it was, Lily didn't want it.
Suddenly, a roar of applause came from the bridge. A sizable crowd had gathered, cheering on whatever spectacle was happening there.
Lily, Gen, and Louis glanced at each other.
“... Didn't Fen go that way earlier?”
“Certainly…”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
With a healthy amount of apprehension, they left to go check on what Fenris was up to.
“Ooh, this seems interesting…” “I hope it's a street fight—those are fun to watch.”
… Perhaps hoping that someone associated with Louis would also be a good source of entertainment, the peanut gallery quickly followed suit.
———
(EXTRA: Meanwhile, still at the gazebo…)
“... Anyways that's why Milady is the best-- H-hey, where’d everybody go?!”
———
(EXTRA 2:)
Saber recovered surprisingly quickly.
‘Gen comforted me, so that basically means I'm popular with the ladies even without muscles!’
... Saber recovers a bit too quickly.
An energetic young man—presumably the one who had convinced Bronston to put on the questionable attire in the first place—called out to correct Louis's misunderstanding, thumping a fist against his lithe chest in pride.
“Au contraire, dear customer—this is the latest fashion, produced by our company’s lead designer herself! This particular piece was designed for muscular men to ‘make women swoon’... ” the merchant explained, quietly adding a “... supposedly.” at the end.
“Pfft,” Saber scoffed. “Like women would want to see something like tha--...”
Her words began to falter after noticing a few of the ladies’ side glances lingering a bit too long on Bronston as they fanned their red faces. Saber took a good, long look at her own body before falling to her knees in despair.
“I-If I work out hard enough, then surely I can--!”
“Don't,” Gen gently whispered, putting a stop to whatever strange thoughts Saber was having.
With Saber too distracted to quarrel with him anymore, Louis shifted his attention back to the dog-eared merchant.
“So, uh, anyways… who’re you?” he asked dubiously.
“Oh—my apologies!” The merchant’s golden-blonde ears and hair flopped over as he swiftly went into a deep bow. “This humble merchant is Maxwell of the De Brus company, but you may call me ‘Max’—pleased to make your acquaintance!”
‘I can tell,’ Louis thought to himself, glancing at Max’s tail as it rapidly flitted in and out of view from behind the half-beastkin. ‘... Wait, the De Brus company?’
“Isn't that Enna’s store?” Lily whispered to Louis, the name ‘Enna’ immediately capturing Maxwell’s attention…
Time elapsed: 1.07 second(s).
“You—” His eyes sparkled with the brilliance of a fireworks display as they snapped onto Lily.
“—know—” The distance between the two shortened by a seemingly impossible amount.
“—MILADY?!?” Max, now directly in front of Lily, took her hands into his with a fanatical smile.
“?!” She immediately slid behind Louis to use him as a barrier. “Y-yesh?! Ay dew know’er?!”
Max let out a squeal as he started gushing about his boss.
“Kyaa~! I’m so happy that you’ve met Milady, dearest customer! Isn't she wonderful? I’ve never met anyone as wise and benevolent as her, nor anyone as decisive; to be working under such a person is truly a blessing for a merchant as inexperienced as I! If there were any regrets left for mineself, it would be that I were not born to serve under such an awe-inspiring personage from the very start… Oh—my apologies! I’d forgotten that most people have not yet heard of Milady’s wondrous feats: shall I tell you of her revolutionary business practices? Or perhaps her ‘one-night capture’ of Firrstad’s markets? Or-- Yes, I should simply start from the very beginning of her empire, when she was first taken in and raised by the infamous 'she-wolf of Main Street'...”
Instilled with a strange sense of confidence that Maxwell wasn’t going to stop talking for a while, Louis turned to Lily with an indescribable expression.
“... How do you keep flipping these weird switches in dog boys? First, it was Fen and headpats—now it’s Max and... uh, whatever that is. Did you find a skill or something?”
“That sounds more like a curse than a skill...”
Whichever it was, Lily didn't want it.
Suddenly, a roar of applause came from the bridge. A sizable crowd had gathered, cheering on whatever spectacle was happening there.
Lily, Gen, and Louis glanced at each other.
“... Didn't Fen go that way earlier?”
“Certainly…”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
With a healthy amount of apprehension, they left to go check on what Fenris was up to.
“Ooh, this seems interesting…” “I hope it's a street fight—those are fun to watch.”
… Perhaps hoping that someone associated with Louis would also be a good source of entertainment, the peanut gallery quickly followed suit.
———
(EXTRA: Meanwhile, still at the gazebo…)
“... Anyways that's why Milady is the best-- H-hey, where’d everybody go?!”
———
(EXTRA 2:)
Saber recovered surprisingly quickly.
‘Gen comforted me, so that basically means I'm popular with the ladies even without muscles!’
... Saber recovers a bit too quickly.
