Emperor's Reckoning

"Are we ready to do this?" asked Reinhard as he gulped.

"Why are you so nervous?" asked Noah, "It's just a boutique."

"It's a fancy one though," muttered Rayus as he looked at the door carved with the intricated pattern. The clean outside already rendered the tokens inside the pouch to a tremble. "Are you sure this is the one?"

"He said fancy," said Reinhard. "This is the best one here."

"Are we really going to splurge our tokens on clothes though...?" Noah muttered.

"You've ever been to a fancy boutique before?" asked Reinhard.

"I did, when I was a kid when my parents still have a lot of money..."

"Sorry! I touched a sensitive subject!" Reinhard clasped his hands together.

"Anyway, let's not waste any more moments," said Rayus as he opened the door and the soft creak was heard.

The sweet fragrance of the elite immediately crashed against his face. His eyes snapped open as lavender and roses fumbled around his nostrils. His stiff shoulders loosened before he took another step forward after he took a deep breath. He looked around and found baskets of blooms that adorned some of the walls.

The customers that were perusing the wares were admiring the intricate embroideries and fine workmanship. A sense of wonder seems to collude their eyes and brightened their overall face as they noticed the artistry and skill that went into each piece. Surrounded by beauty and refinement the three students almost forgot all their cares and worries about the world.

"Can I help you three?"

The three students snapped back into reality before noticing a man dressed in one of the finest fabrics they had ever seen. A man that had keen eyes for details and art on a piece of cloth. His mustache was as long as his jaw.

"Ah, we're here to buy clothes," said Reinhard.

"Hmm, is that so," said the shopkeeper as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. He pointed at them, "Are you three perhaps from the Nirvana School?"

"Yes, we are," said Noah.

"Ooooh," the shopkeeper smiled. "I always thought that the school was lacking in style, glad that some of the students actually step up their styling game."

The shopkeeper was more than happy seeing their confused look. He spun before saying with opened arms, "Welcome to Guh's Finest Boutique! Here you will find one and more than what you actually need! Hahaha!"

( He really does take pride in his craft ) thought Noah. ( Do all fashion designers act like this? Probably the best ones ).

The shopkeeper clasped his hands before asking them, "How odd, I've never seen your faces before, and that school really making headlines these days."

"We are from Class Six!" said Reinhard proudly.

"C-Class Six?!" exclaimed the shopkeeper.

The other customers stop perusing the wares and turned their heads. They shared an amount of shock on their faces and some exacerbated by putting their hands over their mouth.

The three students didn't expect shock reactions from all of them.

"Hey, Class Six is that class right?" whispered one of the customers.

"Yes, that's the class," answered the other.

"Is something wrong?" asked Reinhard.

"O-Oh, nothing, nothing is wrong, nothing at all," the shopkeeper smiled before he speak in a whisper, "The wares in my shop are quite expensive. Do what you want with this information."

The shopkeeper turned, "I will leave you all to your perusing, then."

"What... what does he mean by that?" asked Reinhard.

"He meant we're broke," said Rayus.

"Poor," Noah shrugged.

"No, I know what he meant by that! I mean, why he had to say it like that."

Noah shrugged, "Maybe he has the same background as us?"

Rayus nodded, "That's probably it.

Rayus sighed, "Man, our teacher is really sharp, isn't he? Just one moment ago he talked about our identity and lo and behold, we just have an example in less than a day."

Noah replied, "I swear that guy is not from the Mortal World, he might be born out of a sky or something."

Rayus nodded, "Perhaps."

"Anyway, let's pick our fancy clothes, shall we," said Noah after he rubbed his hands together. He immediately goes to the nearest rack he finds attractive. He perused and perused the different readily available pieces.

"Are you sure you can buy that?"

A condescending voice from a female made Noah stop his fingers. He looked over before finding a middle-aged woman with her chin raised. He looked at her from top to bottom with a quick glance. She wore a fancy outfit and was wearing a hat inside the shop. Her fingers were riddled with rings and her wrist with gold embroidered bracelets.

Rayus was looking from the other rack before he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Reinhard already had his brows furrowed. The former immediately walked up behind him and hold one of his shoulders. Reinhard turned with questions but Rayus merely shook his head and gestured him to shut his mouth.

"Yes, if my math is right, I can buy this," said Noah before he resumed perusing the clothes.

The middle-aged lady twitched her lips. She scowled at the young teen ignoring her. She crossed her arms whilst maintaining the height of her chin. "What makes you think that? Wait a minute, I know you, you're Noah right?"

Noah glanced over, "Yes?"

"Oh, hahaha!" the lady laughed wholeheartedly. "I thought I'd seen you before, I know your mother."

"You're my mother's friend?"

"Well of course! What a coincidence, your mother and I usually perused here with me when we were younger."

"Oh really?" Noah's face brightened.

"Yes, yes! But what tragic, it seems like she ran out of money to be in my circle," said the middle-aged lady with a bright grin. She flipped a fan that was embroidered with gold and fanned her face.

Noah furrowed his brows as his face darkened the moment he heard the condescending tone of the middle-aged lady. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh my? Such an aggressive tone," said the middle-aged lady, "Didn't your mother tell you how to behave in front of the elite?"

Noah clenched his fists as his pupils sharpened.

"Ah, madam!" the shopkeeper suddenly called from the counter and courted her attention. "I have just received news regarding the garment that you ordered."

"Oh really?!" the woman turned and shifted her mind away from Noah. She walked elegantly toward the counter, utilizing the splendor on her to the maximum. She then chattered with the shopkeeper.

"Enough, Noah," said Rayus as he put his hand on his shoulder. "It's not worth it to fight someone like her."

Noah took a deep breath before letting out a big sigh, "You're right, we have a task to fulfill."

Rayus and Reinhard nodded seeing their Noah returned to being himself and not lost in the tempest of rage.

"Have you guys picked what you want?" asked Noah. "He said that we should buy something nice, so..."

"Do you think we should splurge all of it into clothing? What about the provision?" asked Rayus.

"He still had cash in him," said Noah as he took out the pouch, "This is not all that we have, but... it's quite a sum."

"Let's just buy something that looked good on us," said Reinhard.

"I agree," Noah nodded before he caught a peal of happy laughter walking out of the store. The middle-aged lady from before was carrying a tote bag in her arms as she got out with a smile. She didn't even spare a glance at him.

"We ought to thank the shopkeeper for that one," said Reinhard.

"He did that because he doesn't want his shop to have nasty rumors," said Rayus before he shrugged, "But I guess why not."

Noah smiled before all three of them resumed perusing the wares. After some time had passed, they all went to the counter with the pieces they were satisfied with.

The shopkeeper smiled, "Looks like you're pretty satisfied with your picks, though, I must say, you three have keen eyes for something expensive."

"Don't worry sir," asked Noah, "I'm sure we have more than enough to cover what we have."

The shopkeeper furrowed his brows before slowly tilting his head, sizing all three of them. "Are you sure?"

"En!" Reinhard smiled before Noah put the pouch on the counter. The delighting sounds of tokens bumping each other were heard. The latter continued, "Keep the change."

The shopkeeper smiled before grabbing the pouch," His pupils shrunk before his lips parted. "This is..."

Rayus nodded, "We have an amazing benefactor, coincidentally, he is our teacher— Class Six is about to rumble the Second Heaven."

Meanwhile, Lyon who was in the middle of eating soup from a street vendor suddenly raised his brows.

"What's wrong, darling?" asked Selena.

"I... I feel warm in my stomach," said Lyon.

"But you just drink your soup? Is it too hot?" Selena's eyes turned sharp before daggering at the cook.

"Ek!??"

"No, that's not it, it feels, weird, nah it's probably nothing," said Lyon.

"If you say so darling," said Selena before she leaned in a bit forward and opened her mouth whilst closing her eyes. "Ah..."

Lyon smiled before he leaned forward for a kiss instead. Selena opened her eyes wide as her cheeks blushed. She was caught by surprise but as well as the vendor.

( This couple is insane! ) thought the vendor as his heart refused to go back to the normal tempo of beating.