Chapter 50 - Never Go On a Date with a Fish! (2)

I reluctantly took his hand, and then got off of the carriage. I usually wouldn't take a hand that was to help me off of a carriage, but since we were on a date and Llyr was a king, I thought I could excuse it.

When I had finished talking to the coachman and telling him to wait for us to come back, I went back to Llyr, who was smiling very happily. This unsettled me a little, but I just brushed it off, not wanting to ruin the perverted fish's mood.

"Well then, where are we going first?" I asked, knowing that he had planned out an entire day.

"Heh, I thought we could go shopping first, and stop by a cafe earlier," Llyr explained, brushing my hand with his, a clear sign that he wanted to hold hands.

"Alright, that sounds fun. Let's get going then!" I exclaimed, ignoring his gesture and walking off towards the shopping district. He was frozen behind me for a moment. "Geez, are you coming or not, you slow poke?"

"Yes! I am! Sorry, I just got lost in thought for a moment…Is there anywhere you want to go first?" He asked, catching up to me and walking side by side.

"Hmm, how about shopping for shoes and clothes first? I've been meaning to get some new pairs of shoes and thought I'd get a few outfits to go with them," I added, pointing towards a men's boutique a few feet in front of us that was popular with the young nobles these days.

"Okay! But um, would you mind if one of the things you got was something I picked out?" Llyr asked hesitantly, scratching the nape of his neck in nervousness.

"Sure, I suppose it wouldn't hurt haha!" I laughed, walking over faster towards the boutique, though in actually I thought of other intentions, 'It's not like I'll wear what he picks out though…unless it actually is my style though…'

Llyr followed me into the shop, which was decorated in red, black, and gold colors, showing off the wealth it governed from its popularity. 

Coming over to us in a rushed and practiced manner was a younger man, who immediately bowed upon our entrance then immediately straightened up and said what he was trained to say.

"Welcome my Lords to Anatole B- Huuh?! Viscount Andraste! My deepest apologies, if I had known that you were coming today I would've had a certain time slot reserved for you!" The Young clerk had exclaimed and bowed 90 degrees.

"No need to apologize, especially since I didn't notify you ahead of time anyways," I said brushing it off, "I just need to see this season's catalog of men's clothing, and make sure it's expensive looking, but not too expensive but has a subtle casual feel to it,"

"R-Right away! But…What about this gentleman here?" The clerk asked hesitantly, unsure if he should've, due to the rumors surrounding me at the time.

"...Just treat him as if he was the crown prince, and bring him clothes to try on to, I'd feel lonely if it was just me having a mini fashion show," I smirk at Llyr, having a flirtatious meaning behind it.

"Understood! Then please wait right over there while I bring the items you asked for, I'll be back as soon as I can manage," The man bowed again and rushed off hurriedly.

"My, I didn't think you could smile like that, or even be so patient with someone," Llyr commented, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips.

"Hmph, well I wouldn't want to scare someone who was servicing me, and of course I can, I'm not some monster, despite what these rumors say," I reply with a jest, immediately taking my hand from him and going to sit on the couch.

"Is that so? Tell me, when you say that there are rumors labeling you as a monster, what do you mean?" Llyr questioned, taking a seat next to me with a serious expression on his face.

"Haaaaa, it doesn't matter, it's just silly and stupid things that people are saying…that's all," I said, waving my hand to dismiss the topic.

"Lev, it's no nothing if it's bothering you-" Llyr had started to say before he was cut off by the clerk coming back into the room with racks of clothes and two extra helpers.

"Pardon me My Lords, but I tried my best to find outfits to fit the feel you wanted, I hope that they are up to par with your standards!" He exclaimed cheerily, hands clasped and smiling.

"Alright, then let me take a look," I said, going over to one of the racks before stopping to point at it, "These are for who to try on?"

"Ah! Those ones are for the Teal haired gentleman, pardon me for not specifying whose is whose," One of the clerks, a young woman, apologized. She was standing beside it, "I tried to think what would fit him the most and still fall into the categories of what you requested!"

"I see…Llyr, are you alright if I pick a couple of outfits for you to try on?" I ask him, he's still sitting on the couch, looking in my direction.

"Of course not! I'd be delighted to wear something that you picked out for me," he said with a warm flirtatious smile on his face, and I could tell that the shopkeepers were getting ideas.

"Kay," I said dismissively on purpose to try to get the clerks to deviate from those thoughts, but I could practically feel Llyrs's hurt expression from behind me.

I spent a while just eyeing them before finally picking five different outfits, and then handing them over to Llyr to try on. He tried four of them on like it was a sort of fashion show, but the last one was definitely the best out of the bunch.

The base of the outfit was a cream-colored button-up, paired with gray pants. Then the look was brought together by a black and "elegant purple" pirate-styled coat and knee-high black leather boots, also in a pirate-looking style. It was even better with Llyr showing off his collarbone by having the top part of the shirt unbuttoned.

"Hold on," I said, getting up and motioning for him to bend down a little. He did and I slicked back his hair a little, some loose strands falling back in front, "Oh my."

I must admit that my heart made a little 'ba-dump' noise when he straightened up, but even I knew better than to let that turn into anything else. It was then that I realized it was missing something that would've made him look even better.

"Excuse me," I motioned to the clerk who was standing by the clothing rack to come closer, then whispered to her, "Do you have any corset belts for men, perhaps not too tight though?"

"Hehe, yes we do, I think we have just what you're thinking of!" She giggled before coming back with a black leather one and putting it on Llyr, who was a bit startled at first, but seemed to be comfortable when it was put on him.

"Well, um, what do you think?" He asked nervously, a hand on his hip and the other rubbing his neck.

"I, ahem," I cleared my throat, trying to choose my words wisely so as to not embarrass myself and blurt out something I'd regret, "I think you look mighty fine in that attire."

'OH MY GODS! Does he look so hot!? UGH! If only he wasn't a psycho who proposed to me the first time he saw me, I'd definitely do that!' My inner thoughts screamed, while my exterior was wearing a business smile.

"Th-Thank you for the compliment!" He stammered, his face turning bright pink from blush. He started fidgeting with his hands, then shuffling his feet, "Um, could I pick something out for you now?"

"I suppose, it would only be fair considering that I told you could before we came in," I nodded, then moved over and sat down while he picked some clothes out.

***

"And this is the last one," I said, coming out of the changing room to show off the last outfit.

It had a pair of plain black pants and a ruffled button-up shirt, they were coupled with a long red and black striped blazer coat with two slits on the bottom. The coat had gold cufflinks and buttons, outlined by the black gloves and base clothing. There was also a big gold and black leather belt holding the coat in place.

"Oh my," Llyr gasped, putting his hands to his mouth with sparkling eyes, "It looks perfect on you Lev!"

"Um…Thank you for the compliment?" I said, asking myself if I should've said 'I know I do!' instead.

"I was just being honest! Anyway, I think that that's the one, could you get his exact measurements and send the resized one to the Andrste estate please?" Llyr continued, excitement lighting his face.

"Of course, and should the same be done for the one he picked out for you as well as the rest of the clothes?" The clerk that greeted us asked.

"Ah, I forgot for a moment, here," Llyr said, handing the shopkeeper a piece of paper, "This is the address I want you to send mine to, you can send his to the Andrste estate."

"Understood, then I'll prepare the boxes specifically for these two. Please do continue to pick the clothes prepared as you wish to," The clerk expressed, taking the clothes we chose for each other and leaving the room along with the other shopkeepers, who clearly wanted us to be alone.

"Hm, is it really alright for you to give out your address like that?" I asked, genuinely worried for him and the people who worked under him, "I mean, you are a king after all."

"Oh please, it's not like anyone outside of the Island or sea palace has seen me other than Duke Casilda, your servants, and you. So I doubt the workers would've known where the address is, much less have recognized me as the King of Alkmene," Llyr reassured me, shrugging it off like it was nothing.

"I guess so…wait, what about the continental union? Wouldn't anyone from there recognize you?" I questioned him, crossing my arms and raising my eyebrows.

"Yeah, I don't actually go to those meetings, my minister, Lancelot Viatrix, takes care of those kinds of matters for me," He admitted without hesitation, pretty much telling me he's a shut-in.

"I…Wow, so you don't leave the palace at like, all?" I asked, stunned at his bluntness and honesty.

"Well, I do to sometimes…But that's only because of the kind of seafolk I am," Llyr paused and glanced at me, and I motioned for him to go on, "My seafolk species is that of a finfolk, so I only really leave the palace grounds to go and look for a mate."

"...I told myself I wouldn't freak…But you pretty much just proposed to me by admitting that I'm the only person you've ever left Alkmene for, and because you think of me as a potential mate?!" I exclaimed, in disbelief at his sudden confession.

"Don't you think it's rather romantic? I mean, considering that the only reason I've only ever left the safety of my home is for you," He sighed, completely ignoring the fact that I pretty much just called him a creep.

"Haaaaa, you're fucking lucky that I promised you this date otherwise I would've paid and walked right outta here," I lectured, going back over to the clothing racks.

"Huh?! What does that mean? Hey, Lev, don't ignore me!" He pleaded after me.

***

We had finished shopping for that morning and were now in the ports square, walking around looking for where to go next after we finished eating the pastries we got to go from the cafe, as well as coffee in a to-go-like cup from Starbees.

"Hm, I wanted to go to some game stalls and hopefully win a prize for you there, but I don't see any around," Llyr commented, disappointed at the fact that he didn't have an opportunity to impress me.

"On the bright side, we can at least listen to the music from the violinist playing right now," I reassured, my attention being almost completely taken by the violinist playing in front of the fountain in front of us.

"Ho? I think I've seen him before, what was his name again? Oh, that's right! It was Adonis Dusan, he came to the island palace one to perform a piece for my birthday, he is quite the musician," Llyr recalled, but upon hearing his name I froze.

'Adonis Dusan…Yes, I remember. He was a prominent figure in the restoration of the continent after the demon war with the protagonist, but was unexpectedly written as dead in the end…I can't exactly recount why though.'

Adonis Dusan was the saint for the Goddess Zehra, who ruled over Music, Healing, and Agriculture. Her saints and Holy maidens were especially renowned for their musical talent and abilities that came from the songs they played, even being able to control nature from a single note.

Which shocked the fandom when Adonis was dead at the end of the final volume without explanation.