Trying their luck

Once we received permission to enter the dungeon, Hasumi left us alone to plan for our first trip. Lyra still wanted another training weekend to ensure no surprises when I used my magic. She also wanted to go over a few drills for fighting, as we do have polar opposite elements. 

I don't want to melt her ice mid-air because we both fired off attacks simultaneously. 

However, before the weekend could come around, my relatively peaceful life so far was about to be interrupted. It was Friday after school and Lyra took me to the city to get some proper clothes for the dungeon. 

We were at a major mall called Karroth Emporium, which had a huge selection of clothing stores for every purpose. It felt like I was back at home when I would walk around the city mall, looking at all the things I couldn't buy. 

Lyra also took this chance to do a little wardrobe expansion for me, as I had very little variety of clothes. On the inside, I was very excited, as I finally could try on all the cute clothes I saw but thought I could never wear them.

It was fun looking through a collection of Jirai Kei-style clothes until someone in the distance came right for us. 

"Lyra… April is coming towards us." I realised this was going to be a horrible encounter, especially since Lyra was aware of what happened last time. 

"For fucks sake." Lyra let out a deep sigh as she turned her head to meet April. As she got closer, it was clear that she was pissed off. It was amusing to think that she was angry because Lyra and I were on a shopping date, being happy. 

However, I instinctively tucked myself behind Lyra as the trauma from karaoke ran strong through my body. The feeling of being hit continuously made me shiver and the spots where it hurt the most stung a little despite it not even happening this time around. 

"What makes you think you two belong here!?" April walked right up into Lyra's face while yelling at us. This place was generally for the richer people, so April probably couldn't fathom us being up here shopping. Rumours also spread that Lyra defected from her family so that came with the assumption she had no money. 

"What does it matter to you?" Lyra stood firm, staring directly into April's eyes with a bit of murderous intent. April was quite a bit shorter than Lyra, so with a stare like that, it felt like she was towering over April. 

I knew Lyra was holding everything back so she would not start a fight since this was a public place. It didn't stop the air around us from becoming misty, which April quickly picked up on. 

"Tch, can't you see the worthless piec-." April, mid-insulting me, had her mouth grabbed by Lyra. Ice formed around April's mouth, forcing her to shut up, but she also squirmed in pain before being pushed away. 

"Fucker!" Tears formed in the corner of April's eyes as she held her frostbitten mouth.

"Hey, what's going on here?!" A staff member of the store, a rather stylish half-deer, came over to investigate what the commotion was. However, April quickly sprinted out of the store, not wanting to get caught. 

"You'll pay for this, you bastards." April muttered as she exited the store, disappearing into the crowd of walking strangers.

"Sorry about that. Someone from our academy was trying to cause trouble, but she ran away." Lyra gave a very basic explanation, which I wouldn't think was enough and we'd be kicked out.

"Don't sweat it, Lyra. If anything, thank you for getting rid of a troublesome person." Surprisingly, they knew Lyra, making the situation a lot less awkward. The half-deer had a bunch of dangling piercings through her horns and wore the most over-the-top Jirai Kei clothes you could get. It took me a second to see the name tag and her name is Shikotan.

"Is there anything I can get you?" 

"Haha, no worries and yes. I was helping my girlfriend choose some new clothes." Lyra wrapped her hand around my waist and pulled me in close. I felt my heart almost explode after hearing Lyra call me her girlfriend. 

"Ohhhh~ I didn't know you got one and she is a cutie too~!" Excitement beamed from Shikotan and she instantly eyed me up for some clothes.

**

<20 minutes later> 

"Thank you for your purchase. I bet she will look beautiful in them~." 

One purchase later, I walk out of the store with two sets of new clothes. We waved our goodbyes and the post-buying clarity started to settle in. 

"Will these look good on me?" It was the first time I bought girly clothes and a part of me felt embarrassed. 

"We'll just have to try them on when we get home." Lyra looked more excited for me to put on the clothes than I was. 

"I-if you say so." I did hope that the style would fit and wouldn't look awkward on me. It was the worry that was at the back of my head, as I felt some things were just not for everyone. I knew Lyra looked better in darker-themed clothes than the bright ones. Although she does have the guilty pleasure of liking the magical girl's aesthetic. 

"Hmm, April is following us." Lyra and I kept casually walking down the hall, but of course, the arrogant April hadn't given up. I'd hope the little display Lyra put on would have deterred her.

"Is it just her?" If it was just April, I didn't mind completely ignoring her, as it would just cause her more trouble. 

"No, her little goons are with her as well." This was April we were talking about so there was no doubt she would bring her friends. 

"What's the plan?" I really didn't want to deal with this headache. I just wanted to get my dungeon gear and go home. 

"Let's continue like normal. I doubt they will try anything stupid in the open, so why not make them a little jealous? They are all single, so let's show them what they don't have." It was a devious plan since April is a noble, so she isn't allowed to date anyone at random. 

It was a great-sounding plan, but it still felt embarrassing to do anything in public. I can't imagine the waves it would make through the academy, but it's not like we are trying to preserve our reputation. 

So with that in mind, we headed to the lower floor, where the dungeon gear store was. It looked like a regular sports store, which was a little jarring. It made me question where the hell Lyra got her supposed battle-ready, sexy qipao from. 

However, as we got deeper into the store, there was just a section more tailored to dungeons. It didn't look like the typical armour you get from a blacksmith, but rather magically enchanted clothes. 

I spotted a couple of people trying on some braces and for a brief moment, the outline of an armoured glove appeared. It then clicked in my head that this world has found a way to look good without having over-the-top armour. 

This was great news, as I didn't know how I would feel putting on layers of big, burly armour. I want to look like my awesome female avatars when killing shit!

"I see you have figured it out. If you want, this place does requests, and you can put the runes on any piece of clothing. However, the stuff here is specifically designed for protection." Lyra saw my revelations and the excitement brewing within me. 

"What about your clothes, then? They seem all in for fashion." It made me sceptical of Lyra, as she was probably trying to get me the safer option. 

"Uhhh, you see, those are a little different. They are custom-made and tailored for dungeons, but I would rather not spend a significant chunk of our money just yet." Lyra only made me more curious, but the fact that what she got is comparable to what's in our bank made me understand why. 

"It's not all bad. When we do go into the dungeon, we can use the materials we get to reduce the cost." 

"But let me guess, it's a high-level monster that is super deep into the dungeon." Lyra wasn't going to fool me, as this is like any typical RPG. 

Lyra averted her gaze, instantly saying that I hit the nail square on its head. 

*Sigh* "It's fine, we can get my cool armour set another time." It was a shame, but I would rather get it cheaper further down the line. For now, my choices were simple clothing that I could put on underneath regular clothes.

***

"Alright girls, when we get the chance, we will knock them out at the same time and drag them to the usual place." There was no way those two knew that I stuck around. I showed up by myself, so to them it must be stupid for me to come back, but little do they know they are about to get their teeth kicked in.