I Formed a Party with a Girl via an Adventurer Matching App - Chapter 12

 The Wardrobe Change

"Well then, let’s head straight to the tailor, shall we?" 

"Sounds like a plan! For starters, should we just head to my usual spot, 'The Silver & Yellow Striped Armor Shop'?" 

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!" 

"Whoa, you don't have to snap at me with such terrifying ferocity..." 

"Listen to me! Do you even understand why I told you to throw away all your clothes?! Because they are tacky! I literally just said we are throwing away your tacky clothes, so don't you dare immediately try to repeat the process by buying more tacky clothes from the exact same shop that sold you the original tacky clothes!" 

"So that armor really was tacky... I had no idea..."

Cordelia and I were walking through the streets together. Our objective: to replace the clothes and armor of mine that Cordelia had officially deemed a fashion disaster.

Cordelia walked ahead of me, her blonde hair swaying under the sun, looking even more dazzling than usual. She was dressed in a wine-colored jacket with some sort of mysterious, frilly white detail at the chest. Since we weren't heading out on an adventure, she wasn't wearing any armor. Even though our goal today was shopping, she was wearing tight trousers instead of a skirt. She probably just preferred a pants-centric look in her daily life.

It seemed Cordelia intended to take me to her own regular tailor.

Back at the house, she had gone so far as to declare, "I’d honestly rather walk next to a completely naked guy than someone dressed in an outfit that tacky!" But since parading me around stark naked would inevitably involve the town guard getting called, she reluctantly put up with my original attire until we reached the destination.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the distance Cordelia was keeping ahead of me felt a bit wide—likely a desperate measure to avoid being seen as my companion. Of course, I completely ignored her pitiful resistance and struck up a conversation anyway.

"Hey, Cordelia. Where exactly is this shop?" 

"……" 

"Hey, Cordelia. Cordeliaaaa. Cordelia-tan. Cordelia-swaaaan." 

"Shut up! I am actively trying my best to pretend I don’t know you, so stop chanting my name repeatedly just to spite me!" 

"Where is the shop, Lady Cordelia of the House of Salisbury?!" 

"We’re already here, so stop shouting my family name!"

Following her gaze, I finally noticed a remarkably grand building towering right in front of us.

The structure was massive, expanding both horizontally and vertically. It was ridiculously lavish, with religious motifs carved into the outer walls and banners emblazoned with a merchant guild's emblem fluttering in the wind. Yet, it wasn't overly gaudy; while it exuded an undeniable aura of high class, it didn't feel trashy. Just from the fact that it occupied a prime spot along the city’s main street, it was clear that this belonged to a massive merchant faction.

In the front, a set of double doors twice the height of an average man stood wide open, and even as I watched, several customers were filtering in and out. The clientele here was completely different from the budget-friendly shops I usually frequented; it felt like it was populated mostly by upper-tier adventurers who clearly had money to burn.

"Huh. So this is Cordelia’s regular tailor. What’s it called?" 

"It’s 'Aoyama: Outfitter of Armed Attire'." 

"'Aoyama: Outfitter of Armed Attire'……"

That's a mouthful……

"They handle both defensive armor and adventuring garments, which is why it's called 'Armed Attire.' As for 'Aoyama,' I heard it takes the first initial of each of the four founders who started the business together." 

"Wait, there's a guy whose name starts with a lowercase 'y'?!" 

"Now, come along."

Cordelia entered 'Aoyama' with a sharp click of her boot heels. Swallowing my intimidation at the sheer contrast between this place and the open-air stalls I usually patronized, I followed her lead, my boots stepping onto the pristine marble floor.

"Welcome, valued patrons." 

"Hieeek?! C-Cordelia! Someone incredibly well-dressed just talked to us?! Are they going to kick me out because a low-born commoner like me doesn't belong in a place like this?!" 

"No, the clerk is literally just greeting us like normal. What part of that is supposed to be scary?"

The person who had approached us the moment we stepped inside was a middle-aged gentleman dressed in a perfectly pressed, premium swallowtail coat. His silver-fox hair was slicked back neatly, and he sported an elegantly curled mustache.

He was a breed of human entirely foreign to my usual social circles. As I shrank back and hid behind Cordelia's back in fear, she spoke to the clerk.

"You arrived at the perfect time. Could you do me a favor and put together a complete set of gear for this guy?"

"This guy," Cordelia said, reaching behind her back to grab me firmly by the scruff of my neck and dragging me forward. Hey, cut it out. I'm not a stray kitten.

……Wait, huh?

"What? You aren't the one picking it out for me?" 

"A complete set of gear for you? Me? Why would I? Hmph, I hate to break it to you, but I am not that deeply interested in you."

Cordelia scoffed at me, turning her nose up before turning back to address the bowing clerk with an incredibly authoritative air.

"I’m just going to browse around the store. Let me know when you've made your selections." 

"Understood, milady." 

"Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you could make him look absolutely, insanely dashing. Let's see... subtly incorporate some olive green to show he's firmly on top of the latest seasonal trends, but blend it in a way that emphasizes his rugged originality. I want to leverage his slightly wild side, so a pair of trousers from 'Jack Gargoyle Club' would be ideal. Also, the boots absolutely must be the iron-plated model from 'Label Iron.' I don't mind focusing purely on defensive stats for the chest piece, but brand-wise, I'd prefer something mithril-grade or higher from either the 'Wagen Guild' or 'Villain Viron'." 

"Right away, milady. Everything shall be executed precisely to your specifications."

Cordelia lightly brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and glanced back at me.

"Well then. This is going to make you look spectacularly handsome, so just sit tight and play the part of a dress-up doll for a bit." 

"You are way too deeply interested in me." 

"No, I'm not?!"

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