"This is Satin, friend and owner of the shop. Satin, here's Mela, the sister I've told you about, I finally brought her along."
Quite the fitting name for the owner of a shop that that was selling clothes. Apparently the shop had been named after her after all. But then, how did the 'Root' part of the name figure in, if it wasn't supposed to be just descriptive of the shop? Or maybe it was both and she was making a play on her own name?
With Celine having done the introductions, I didn't feel like I had a lot to say, especially when I wasn't actually that sister that she was talking about, and so I just nodded respectfully to the rather young woman that had a wide and and friendly smile. She was dressed nicely, in a way that fit her light build perfectly and had just a little bit of flair to catch the eye, a fine showcase for her shop's wares and her own taste.
"Welcome! I'm sure you'll enjoy your time. I've done my best to make my little abode comfortable for customers."
With a little pride in her voice, she waved her hand towards one corner of the shop, where a little open space was carved out from the space otherwise dedicated for clothes arranged in all sorts of ways. There was a pair of comfy looking armchairs, and on the table between them even looked to be a tea set and some snacks to go with it. It almost sounded like Satin thought she needed to convince me about something – was that how reluctant Mela had been to dress to her sister's tastes, or had Celine exaggerated to her friend?
But she was saying that the shop was her home as well? It seemed to me like the entire building was dedicated to clothes, so I couldn't see any sort of a living space anywhere, unless the corner with the armchairs doubled as that. From what I'd seen from outside, the door at the back could only lead to a small room, which I had to assume was for storage. Did Satin actually have a bed set up there, even sleeping surrounded by clothes? It seemed like quite a bit of dedication, but I could only assume from her smile that she enjoyed it.
They didn't waste time getting started, and soon I realized that I wouldn't be getting to enjoy any of the comforts promised. Unlike Satin and Celine, who sat in the armchairs when they weren't picking out outfits for me to try or helping me change, I was busy in the changing room nearby, or standing as if on display for them. I started to honestly wonder if my legs would give out before we were done.
The whole arrangement honestly seemed rather upper class to me, having so many outfit on display ready to be freely tried on. It seemed like the way that nobles or the wealthy would shop in a city, whilst I was in a small shop in a town without a name. It was an entirely different standard than I was used to, but maybe it had become the norm. Not to mention that the outfits all seemed to be of high quality.
As for whether I was bothered about wearing women's clothes, not particularly. It would certainly have been improper for me as a man, but the body that I found myself in was of a different character. It was only proper that I would dress to fit to match, I thought, and from what I could see the outfits that Celine was picking out for me appeared to be more on the modest side. As we went on, I begun to suspect that was more because she had a distinct style in mind than any consideration for my sensibilities however. They had a definite emphasis on cute and girly, more so than the general impression I'd got from the women around the town and at the academy.
"Of course! Since you look young you need to take advantage. Not many women can pull off outfits like this well."
Celine easily brushed it off when I brought the matter up. Several objections to came to mind. Such as that that was probably because these outfits weren't meant for grown women anyway. Or that Celine herself didn't look much older herself, though I did have to admit that she was also a fair bit taller, whereas I had started to notice that I was distinctly on the shorter side.
Then there was the urge to remind her that the one she was trying to dress up had not only been a man, but her own great-grandfather, and that it was a little weird that she wasn't bothered by that at all. But of course that wasn't something I could actually bring up, and before I could come up with anything to say Celine suddenly grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye with a fervent look.
"And that's why you are going to have to take care of you hair and skin as well, from now on. We'll buy some products for that later, and you can't neglect them!"
By that point I was quite clear on the fact that Celine was having me do what she hadn't been able to get Mela to agree to. I couldn't help feeling like I was getting played, but I didn't have the heart to tell her no. If that was all that she needed from me, then it didn't seem like I was giving up much. I wasn't going to be able to replace Mela, nor did I want to, but if there was something that I could do to get along with Celine despite that, I happily would.
As for the lavish praises that I was getting from both Celine and Satin, who looked to be just as into it, I was at a total loss about how to respond. If I objected, it would have been like I was badmouthing my great-granddaughter's appearance. When I looked at a mirror, I was still able to only observe the reflection from an uninvolved person's point of view, though the disconnect might have also had to do with more than just not associating with the face, on this occasion.
But from that point of view, I had to admit that Mela could have looked rather cute if she'd just had a little more care for her appearance. With a small nose, slightly pouty lips and big eyes, even aging physically wouldn't take away that youthfulness easily. And the clothes definitely did make quite the difference from what I had originally woken up wearing. If, hypothetically, I wanted to match them better, I'd still have to lose some weight as well, on top of following Celine's instructions.
"I'll get these adjusted then. I'll be a moment, so take a last look for if there's anything else you'd like!"
One of the dresses that Celine had really liked just wouldn't fit comfortably as it was, but apparently Satin was entirely prepared for such an eventuality. She headed through the backdoor, and I was finally left with a little bit of time to myself, as Celine decided to see if there was something she wanted for herself. Exhausted, more mentally but also a little from standing for so long, I absentmindedly let my gaze drift across the shop.
It wasn't my eyes that first picked out something however. Actually, the scarf did not look in any way out of the ordinary when I picked it out. What was interesting was the mana bundled up in it, very much akin to the energies of the rift that I had exhausted my body to channel. Though it was far calmer than that raging torrent, it still had very much the same recognizable quality. It had to be the mana of the Faerie, and exceptionally pure in this instance. I didn't know why I hadn't picked up on it earlier, but maybe I just hadn't noticed before I got close because of how much mana the town had in general.
I was then distracted as my sense suddenly picked up a sharp change in the flow of mana from the backroom when Satin had gone. It was odd, because I felt very distinctly that a spell had been cast and had taken its effect, but I hadn't noticed at all it taking form through an array before that. Perhaps it was because my attention had been on the scarf. Satin then emerged back into the store with the dresses, and it occurred to me that she must have cast the spell in order to adjust it. It was hard to imagine she could have done it so quickly otherwise, though on the other hand it was also impressive to be able to do it by spell in that time. She had to be very experienced with creating arrays for such a purpose, to finish to quickly, which did make sense considering her profession.
When I focused in on her, my newly tuned sense immediately noticed that there was more of that mana with the distinct quality of the Faerie in her as well. It had somehow become very noticeable suddenly, when I had a point of comparison. It made sense though, since any living creatures so close to the rift would be gathering some of the mana that was clearly flowing from the Faerie. That wasn't what I was looking for anyway. I sensed that Satin did indeed have the prerequisite flow of mana that meant that she could be a proficient mage, though that wasn't enough to tell if she was one, simply that she had the most basic potential for it.
Celine, for example, lacked that potential. The flow of her mana was very sluggish, that was the best way that I could put it. I didn't really know how many people had this sort of deficiency, that seemingly meant a complete inability to use magic, or if it was actually more rare to have the sort of flow that was required to successfully become the conduit of the mana to cast spells. When I had learned to observe the distinction, and understood its significance, I had already been studying at the academy and thus surrounded by mages, following which my life had been consumed by my struggle with the Fae rift.
It wasn't the only qualification to become a mage either, as some who had this talent were unable to sense enough of their own flow of mana to take control over it, and others seemingly just didn't have the knack for learning the art itself despite having no issues in these aspects. The general wisdom three hundred years previous had been that around one in five, though varying by region, had some potential as mages, but I didn't know how much the mentioned factors contributed to the numbers of those that were judged incapable of magic. Besides, not all mages had the same potential either, and many were better off forgetting about magic as a career because of their relatively weak flow or lacking control over it, even if they technically had the ability to complete spells.
I had figured out all of these things by observing others at the academy, including during the aptitude tests that the academy had devised, lacking my strong capacity to sense mana directly. I didn't know if the academy had refined these tests since, but it was a subject that I had actually wanted to perform some proper research on. But not only did I not have the time back then, it didn't seem wise to reveal my seemingly uniquely strong ability to sense mana. In the best case scenario, that would have made me the focus and sole test subject of the research instead.
Celine told me to wear the adjusted dress when we left the shop, so I had headed into the changing room again. It fit perfectly, to the point that I marveled at the precision that Satin had achieved seemingly at a glance. As Satin was packing up all the other garments that Celine had picked, including a couple of pieces for herself, I decided to add the odd scarf from earlier onto the pile. Seeing me add something to the pile of my own volition, Satin gave me a dazzlingly encouraging smile, as if to congratulate me for embracing my femininity.
I wasn't entirely certain that it was sensible to carry such an object back to the academy, when I didn't really have any idea about all of this Faerie stuff worked, but I couldn't help but be fascinated by it. How was it that a simple piece of fabric, with nothing that even resembled a spell array, much less indicated an active spell, was able to hold such a concentration of mana? At the very least it clearly deserved to be observed some more.
We started to head out, carrying three bags of finely folded clothes between us, and with me having the scarf on hand. I had to wonder if the trip wasn't going to turn out rather expensive. But Celine hadn't shown any indication of concern when she paid for the clothes, so I figured it was fine. In the first place, I had no idea what the value of the currency that had exchanged hands was, and I didn't even know how much money Mela had had in her possession, or where she had kept it. I would have to ask Celine again.
A thought then occurred to me, which I voiced a little hesitantly, still not entirely confident that Celine hadn't been pulling my leg. There was only really one place where I could imagine the scarf coming from, considering the distinct quality of the mana.
"Does this town get visitors from the Faerie, since it's so close to the rift?"
"I've never heard of the fae coming here. It seems like they only go to the academy because of official business, and I haven't heard of any of them being interested in tourism."
Celine contradicted my idea rather succinctly as she headed towards the door. Satin didn't seem to see the need to add anything to Celine's answer, as a resident of the town, though she lightly tilted her head as if curious about why I was asking. She continued to smile radiantly as she bid us goodbye on our way out.
"Have a good day, and please come back soon!"
But as soon as we left the shop, I started to become aware of several presences around the town that had previously somehow avoided my notice. They didn't originally stand out from the mana flows of the other living being out in the town, but I suddenly realized that they were filled with the Faerie's energies specifically, which had become so much more distinct to me when I had the scarf for a point of comparison. At a close inspection their mana also flowed in ways that weren't quite the same as humans or any other creature I had seen.
What was perhaps most disturbing was that the entities I was beginning to perceive did not seem to be visible to the naked eye. As we passed by where I would have expected to see them, I could only perceive empty air but for the presence of mana, and clearly no one else was seeing anything either. Whether these were technically fae, they were quite definitely entities of the Faerie, so I was wary when we continued to move on, but I didn't see any immediate cause for concern. Whether they had no physical form after all, or were somehow completely camouflaging themselves in plain sight, they seemed nonetheless to be simply moving about on the streets just like the humans near them.
Even lacking visual confirmation, and even if they were distinct from any that I had observed before, I was still quite certain that these were living creatures, since mana wouldn't just cluster and move about in the thin air like that. Or at least I was fairly sure it didn't, though I was quickly becoming aware of the fact that the mana of the Faerie didn't behave quite the same way that I was used to. It seemed to have a genuinely different essence to it, to be so markedly distinct. The scarf with me was one example of that.
Celine didn't appreciate how distracted I was looking when we visited a few more places, but I let her conclude that these just didn't have quite the same exciting quality for me as being dress up doll – I mean, shopping for clothes. In the mean time I continued to observe my surroundings and started to develop a hypothesis for why I had failed to recognize these oddities earlier. I thought that probably the sheer quantity of mana concentrated in the plants around the town had simply been more attention drawing. The plants seemed to have drawn on the mana of both worlds to the extent that it wasn't easily distinguishable at first, and it was practically overflowing from them in a way that made it hard to concentrate on other things.
At the end of our shopping trip, Celine brought me to a cafe, where we had a meal. The food was quite good, though it was a light meal since the place wasn't really primarily an eatery. But it was the dessert that really stole the show. I was rather self-conscious about my behavior, because Celine was looking at me expectantly the whole time I ate, but I couldn't help letting my satisfaction slip, to her delight.
Mela must have had a sweet tooth, I concluded, because I couldn't remember when I'd last enjoyed something so sweet so much. On the other hand, I couldn't really recall getting to eat anything with sugar very often, but apparently it wasn't quite as expensive any longer. Same went for tea, which I had always thought of as a delicacy for nobles, but to which it seemed Mela's tastes were quite accustomed to, as I knew how to appreciate rather instinctively. It was actually a rather nice and relaxing break, and the whole town felt rather idyllic if you just ignored all the Faerie weirdness. There was one sight that somewhat ruined the impression though.
"Isn't it still too early to be drunk?"
Celine laughed at my comment, which was again a delightful sound, even though I couldn't figure out what she found funny. Was that another part of my sensibilities that was out of date? We were watching three youths, quite probably students from the academy seeing their age and dress, or which two were slightly stumbling and wobbling down the other side of the street, as the third seemed to be making light of their visible discomfort. But Celine shook her head, and explained in an amused tone.
"That's what happens to people that aren't used to the effects of the rift when they come over here. That's one reason why most students don't come here."
I let out a light 'oh', as I understood, which Celine seemed to find amusing as well. I hadn't even thought of the matter, but certainly being so close to so much mana from the Faerie might be disorienting. It occurred to me to wonder why I wasn't having any issues, but Mela and Celine might have spent enough time in the town to get used to it already. Or rather, if the cause of the effect was what I thought, then of course it wouldn't even faze me, who had channeled the entire energies of that rift previously. It really seemed like I knew far too little about this odd phenomenon that had already cost me my life once.
