Roselle was sitting idly in her small shop, she had no orders for the day. Not that she had many orders usually, the majority of the city’s clothing industry was monopolized by three much larger shops. She had a suspicion that they were spreading rumors to undermine any potential competition, but she had no proof. Just as she was considering not even bothering to open up the store that day, the bell on her door rang as it opened.

In the door stood four women. The one in the front was a tall fox-kin with white hair and fur, and glowing violet eyes that looked through the room analytically. Next to her, was a slightly shorter wolf-kin with pitch black hair and fur, who was very cheerful. Behind them was a once more slightly shorter human, wearing clothes that indicated she was a priestess of light, and had metallic, golden colored hair, and was looking around the workshop shyly. The last one in line was the oldest, shortest and most normal of the bunch: a human woman with dark brown hair, who was practically drooling when looking at all the clothing in the store.

“Good morning, we would like to place a rush order consisting of a single set of summer clothes for each of us.” The fox-kin in the middle said as she entered the room.

“Oh, yes, good morning, come in I’ll take your sizes immediately.” Roselle scrambled to greet her new guests as she stood up and got her tools. “My name is Roselle Follerio, I’m really glad you decided to come to my store.” She beamed. Her intention might have been to make a good impression, but the smile behind it was genuine.

“We came here because your sewing is the most consistent out of the craftsmen in the city.” The fox-kin answered with a tone that did not imply either joking or flattery, but rather stating facts she read out of a book.

Roselle gave a questioning look, and the wolf-kin quickly attempted to clear up the confusion. “She’s very good at gathering information. She’s not in any gangs though, so don’t worry.”

“There are gangs in the city?” The golden haired girl asked, shocked by the revelation.

“Every major city has a criminal underworld.” The fox-kin stated matter-of-factly once more.”Are there any objections to me going first?” She turned to the rest of the group, but they simply shook their heads.

“Alright, come with me. The rest of you, please feel free to look around, if there are any designs you see here you particularly like.” She smiled as she led her guest to a secluded booth.

“So, what is your name, if I might ask?” She asked happily once the curtain was pulled over.

“...Yuuki.”

“Pleasure to meet you Yuuki, please just call me Rose. Now, have you ever had clothes fitted to you before?”

“The majority of them, yes. They typically used magic measuring tools however. I assume I should take off my clothes for this?” Yuuki asked with not even a hint of a blush.

“Yes, I don’t particularly like magic for measuring like this. I need to see everything together, and just the numbers wouldn’t mean much to me. I hope that is fine?”

Instead of answering, Yuuki had begun taking her clothes off, save for lingerie. Her smooth skin and toned muscles caused Roselle to sweat a bit, before quickly reverting to a more professional attitude.

“You look really strong, do you often train?” She asked as she put a chair down next to Yuuki.

“Not anymore.”

Rose stood up on the chair so she could properly reach her guest, who was more than a head and a half taller than herself.

“You know, I’ve never met any other fox-kin before. Are they all this tall?”

“No. The majority are shorter than the average human.”

“I see… Are your parents also this tall?” She continued asking questions to continue the conversation as she continued taking measurements.

“I’m taller than my mother, but my father is still a bit taller than me.”

“Still? Don’t tell me you’re still growing.” She joked.

“My sixteenth birthday will be in two weeks. I’ll still grow some most likely.”

Rose’s jaw dropped as she heard that. There was an awkward silence that followed as she took the chest measurements.

“Huh… well, I could tell by eyeing it, but you’re definitely my largest customer yet.” She tried to get any reaction out of her stone-faced guest, but even something this direct didn’t work.

“I see.” Yuuki wasn’t dismissive per say, she just showed no emotion.

“Uhm… are you dissatisfied with anything?” She asked sheepishly.

“If I had complaints, I would voice them.”

“That’s a relief.” It wasn’t really, but it was better than nothing. “So, what style are you thinking of?”

“…I’ll leave it to you. I’m not good with anything artistic.”

“Well, you are an art piece yourself…” Rose said while grinning before quickly coming to the realization: ‘Did I just say that out loud?’

Yuuki hesitated for a moment, as her face showed just the slightest bit of happiness. “…Thank you. You look quite good yourself.”

Rose blushed as red as her name would suggest. “Thanks. I think most people don’t really think so though…”

“It is most likely the red hair. It is a sign of a non versatile gene pool, most commonly traced back to interbreeding.”

“Eh?” And just like that, the magic was gone. She took the remaining measurements in silence. “Well, we’re done, so I’ll measure your companions now.”

Yuuki sensed that Rose was upset over something, and knew what it was most likely, but didn’t understand why. “Alright.” Not that she cared, so she put her clothes back on and left the booth.

“Who’s next?” Rose tried her best to be cheerful once more, and it could’ve fooled most people. Unfortunately for her, the people in that room weren’t like most people.

“What did you say?” Alice asked Yuuki quietly, so only she could hear.

“I pointed out the reason why her hair is red and why it causes people to be less likely to choose her as a mate.”

“Why?”

“You said I should relax and say what I think.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault now?”

“Yes.”

“Excuse me, who’s next?” Rose asked once more. Cassandra was attempting to hide in plain sight inside the room and Igraine was too busy restraining herself from hugging all those clothes to herself and running away.

“I am.” Alice said, happily walking over to Roselle. “Nice to meet you, I’m Alice.” She was almost glowing.

‘So this one’s the exact opposite, huh.’

She dragged the curtain to give them some privacy. Before she even needed to say anything, Alice had begun undressing. Rose took a glance at her. ‘Actually, not all that different…’

“So, how’s business?”

“Hm? Oh, it could be better, but I shouldn’t complain.”

“That’s a shame, you really deserve more attention.” Alice said encouragingly.

“Thank you. Do you plan to stay a while? I heard your friend is still growing, she might need new clothes in a few months or so.” She was hopeful that she might score a couple clients.

“We don’t have any plans, but we’ll probably come back here in a few years at most. By the way, out of curiosity, what did you think of my sister?”

“Sister? The white one?” She was so shocked by that, she almost fell off the chair she was standing on.

“Well, adopted sister. She adopted me, raised me, taught me, and took care of me.” Alice said, thinking back to their first meeting. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

“She’s… interesting.” Rose tried to be as diplomatic as possible, not wanting to offend anyone.

Alice chuckled. “Well, she certainly takes some getting used to, that’s for sure. She means well though.”

“It’s a bit hard to tell, if I’m honest.”

“You should spend some more time with her. Oh, and make my clothes similar to hers.” Alice said with a warm smile as she began putting her clothes back on. She walked out of the booth as Igraine sprang from where she was and replaced her.

“Never thought I’d need to help you with this kind of stuff. I thought you were good.” She grinned at Yuuki, who tilted her head.

“I am good at seduction, not romance or friendship. Since when are you good at it?”

“I’ll have you know I’ve read a lot of books.” Alice had a large smug smile on her face.

“I don’t think the people who have good relationships would spend so much time writing books about relationships.” Yuuki said with a straight face, which caused Alice to burst out laughing.