She Draws Inspiration From the Past

"As I thought." Robin smiled. The only remaining issue would be to discern whether magic runes were such as could be disassembled and assembled safely. But that was something only an enchanter would be able to tell.

Robin glanced at Christian. Come to think of it...The things she had pre-ordered yesterday ought to be ready for final adjustments by now. She had originally expected to bring Christian and the gang over that afternoon, however yesterday's incident had almost wiped the memory from her mind.

"Well, since it seems we'll be waiting on that correspondence, I have somewhere I wanted to take you two, earlier." Robin said to Christian and Keith.

"Me?" Christian asked, looking dumbfounded.

"Us?" Keith also asked, trying to figure out what Robin had in mind.

"Hey, why not me?" Jasmine pouted.

"Ah, that's because yours won't be finished yet." Robin explained to the girls. Jasmine was about to open her mouth when Chelsea placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What a coincidence! I have somewhere I wanted to take Jasmine today as well! It'll be good to go have an outing just for girls." Chelsea followed up with an assist.

Jasmine eyed Chelsea, then sighed reluctantly. While she wasn't keen on letting Robin and Christian go off alone, It should probably be fine if Keith went with them. Behind Jasmine, Chelsea gave Robin a thumbs up in encouragement.

Robin seeing this, raised an eyebrow, but let it be. Why was Chelsea so eager to help? ...Well, she wasn't doing anything immoral, so Robin let it slide.

The place Robin took Christian and Keith to was an inconspicuous taylors shop several blocks from the yesterday's battlegrounds. Christian wondered if the shop was actually a front for a backdoor business. Keith raised an eyebrow, but reserved judgement for later. This was his niece, after all. As the hero, he trusted Robin wouldn't do anything immoral.

When they stepped inside, a small bell rang, announcing their arrival. While the outside had been inconspicuous, looking around, the inside was well-furnished. After a few moments, a young lady hurried out from the back room.

"Oh thank goodness you came! I thought you might have forgotten to come after what happened yesterday. And that would be such a shame considering how well everything managed to turn out. I must say, you have such excellent taste! I had never really considered it before, but the visual effect is Simply all too stunning!" The lady gushed, before laying eyes upon Robin's companions.

"Ah." Robin realized she was in for a headache as the lady's babbling brook of words fell silent for a speechless moment, building up momentum. As expected, they broke the Hoover dam and came forth in a rushing flood as the lady's excitement peaked.

"Oh my! OH MY! Oh I can just see it now!" And right after that, words of praise and admiration peppered Robin's ear like a machine gun set on rapid fire. This lady, if she were to be in Robin's home world, would have had quite a successful career as a rapper who could speak faster than Eminem.

After several moments of this, Robin finally lost her patience. "Ahem! While talking about it is all well and good, perhaps we could proceed with the fittings?" Robin finally got a word in edgewise.

"Ah! Yes, of course!" The lady seemed to return to normal after Robin's reminder. "My apologies, I was just overflowing with delight. Robert will take your measurements in the fitting room."

"Are you buying me clothes?" Christian asked, finally understanding why they were here.

"Mmn." Robin agreed.

"My current clothes are just fine though." Christian pointed out.

Robin looked at him pointedly. "You and I both know that you look absolutely ridiculous in those clothes. They make you look like an nobleman's son who has never suffered a day in his life: ignorant, soft, and lazy."

"And? What's wrong with that?" Christian asked. "At least they're comfortable."

"In my world, there is a very popular saying. 'The clothes make the man.'" Robin smiled. "The clothes I ordered should be just as comfortable. Also ..." She eyed the miniature poofs at the shoulders of his tunic. "I can't take you seriously in those clothes. You look as ridiculous as a court jester. Why on earth would you think that red and blue would be a good combination with your blonde hair?"

Christian felt the blow to his ego quite clearly. "These are traditional royal colors! what else can I be expected to wear?"

"You're lucky you met me then." Robin grinned roguishly. "I wonder...perhaps after today, you'll at least look like a somewhat dependable person. I'm rather curious how that would look..."

Christian was taken aback. Could clothes really change one's impression of someone so drastically? He had always followed the court fashions the castle taylors created. He had never tried to understand how to capitalize on his charismatic appearance.

"I take it, you had one made for me, as well?" Keith asked, bemused.

"Of course I did! We're family, after all! The best things should be shared between us~!" Robin drawled mischievously. "Now hurry up and get the final fittings done. I want you two to be able to walk outside in them today!"

"But wait, what about you?" Christian asked, as Keith began to shove him towards the back room.

"Are you kidding? I'm already wearing a fortune. No need to make others envious of my dashingly good looks." Robin joked. She followed behind gleefully as the two entered the back room.

Each person had three main pieces of clothing: A pair of modernized pants, a crushed velvet vest, and an embroidered suit jacket with allowances made to accommodate the belts and sword sheaths. Christian's outfit, despite the subdued hues of red and maroon, had a warm outgoing, yet upright feeling to it. Keith's outfit had a more dignified feeling with it's dark blues and greens.

Robin had seen a plain prototype version of this in the shop window yesterday, and had entered to speak with the shopkeeper. During the discussion, she had sketched out some modifications she wanted to add. This had given the owner an epiphany on ways to improve her clothes.

Since the shopkeeper was a thread magic user, her work could be considered more accurate and about as fast as a machine. However, she had always felt that there was something missing from her work. Now, seeing everything coming together into what could only be described as 'perfection', the shop lady felt joyfully satisfied.

The fitting was done quickly out of sight under her aide's hands, and the result was instantly noticeable. When the two finally stepped out from behind the curtains, they transformed from ordinary nobility into extraordinary handsome nobility.

Robin nodded in approval. Her instincts really were correct. This style of clothes really suited them. Each wore their regular white shirts on underneath the vests. The boots were concealed under the loosely fitted pants. While the black and silver embroidery was somewhat of an uncommon feature, the matching fancy silver buttons added a sense of unity to the outfit that raised it from classy to the highest class.

Before they were able to glance at themselves in the mirror, Christian raised a question.

"I'll admit, it does look somewhat impressive. But why did you separate the tunic into inner and outer wear?"

"That's because, unlike the tunic, you can take off the outer jacket indoors, if you feel hot." Robin explained. "The inner vest is there to clarify that you are not undressing in front of the ladies." She would have modified it more, into a modern day suit. However, she was uncertain just how far she could go before she went outside of their comfort zone. Thus, she had compromised with the ancestor of the suit.

Even so, she was truly satisfied with the outcome. She grinned as she pointed towards the only full-length mirror in the room.

"Well? wouldn't you like to see how it looks on you?" She asked. Keith went first. After seeing his appearance in the mirror, he instantly acknowledged Robin's genius. He even felt it had the potential for uniforms among the upper levels of knights.

Christian was next. After looking absolutely stunned for several minutes, he studied his new outfit. Finally, he opened his mouth

"...I don't understand. This jacket is also red. Why does it look so much better than that jester costume I wore beforehand?"

Robin grinned. The fact that he admitted his loss was very satisfying.

"Well, you see...." Robin began.