“So, older cousin, where are we going to now?” Fern asked excitedly. I looked down at Jade and decided. It was completely obvious that the very first thing anyone in this situation should do is:

“Let’s go shopping, then!” I said decisively.

“Hmm?” Ryuu involuntarily let out a noise.

“Wh-whaat?” Fern tilted her head to the side, confused.

“Of course, we’re going by Mayor Big Kuma’s later to register you, but as your older cousin, it is imperative that I give you a congratulatory gift!” I said, dragging her towards the market.

“But, I thought we-” Fern sputtered.

“Seeing my younger cousin after such a long time, I simply wished to go shopping with her.” I declared “Is that a bad thing?” I asked Fern tilting my head coaxingly. I used this trick to get dad to buy my gaming system for me.

“No, it isn’t! It isn't! Let’s go shopping!” Fern said, probably grabbing the chance to explore the marketplace while she was at it.

“I told you, Fern, here I’m called Jade. Please call me by my in-game name.” I laughed and quickly swept Fern away to the tailor shops.

Behind me, Fern muttered something under her breath.

“Pfft!” Ryuu made a strange sound, and turned his face away. Was it a sudden sneeze? His face looked strangely screwed up, as if he were trying not to sneeze again. Someone, whoever it is: if you're spreading rumors about Ryuu-then keep going! I don't care if this guy sneezes 100 times in a row!

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At the marketplace, I headed straight for the clothing store-er ahem! My mistake. I headed straight for Mitzy’s Tailor shop.

While there were several places one could acquire clothing from, Mitzy’s Tailor shop had the cutest selection out of all of them. The clothing was themed after dandelions. So naturally, bright and sunny yellows, crisp and mellow greens, sky blues, and cloud whites were the colors for these clothes.

I quickly grabbed several outfits that I thought fit Fern’s character, and had her try them on. As I expected, each piece was just perfect for her, and I really wanted to buy all of them-but I only had enough extra funds for three outfits. Oh the agony!

Finally, after considering all seven outfits, Fern picked an everyday outfit, a fun outfit, and a more formal outfit. The everyday outfit was a green and blue plaid skirt, with a matching white T-shirt and a grass-green vest-that had dandelion pom-poms for buttons. The fun outfit was a straw hat, paired with a white one-piece dress, with small dandelions embroidered at the hem. The formal outfit was a sky blue robe, coupled with a pair of snow white boots. There were also some small white dandelion pompoms atttached to the sleeves, adding to its cuteness.

I had only just enough to pay for them, thank goodness! It’s a good thing Fern doesn’t understand the currency very well yet. Otherwise, she might yell at me for buying such expensive clothes.

Well, after all, it’s an adventure game. Most people aim to buy armor and run quickly off to the main city, instead of picking out decorated cloth. It can’t be helped.

After all, the capital is the only place where you can start a guild and get your main class. But blacksmith is a production-type job, which means you can keep it as a secondary-therefore it’s somewhat if an exception. You’re only allowed to have three secondary jobs aside from your main class, and these can be acquired in scattered locations.

Immediately, Fern donned her everyday outfit, and I took her to the Mayor’s house to get registered.

On our walk there, I noticed us drawing some peculiar stares from other people. While their faces were pleasant, I recognized them for what they were: fellow fluff enthusiasts! I immediately glared at them when Fern wasn’t looking, causing them to quickly withdraw their eyes.

Oh? You don’t think that I considered those people to be my comrades, did you? Of course not. They’re all my rivals for the attentions of the denizens of the fluffy kingdom. There is no way that I will allow them to steal away my adorable Fern!

I continued to glare until I noticed something soft brush up against my hand. Glancing down, I realized it was Fern’s tail. My nose twitched. While I was very tempted to pet it, I am not some sort of pervert. I draw a clear line between furry animals and furry people.

But…it was somewhat too much of a trial to bear the ticklish feeling on my hand the rest of the way there. So, I opened up a bit of space between us by walking ahead.

“The Mayor’s is this way.” Ryuu pointed out when I picked a pathway once we got to a fork in the road.

“As expected of Jade~ Always bad with directions!” Fern chuckled.

“Shut up! If I get too lost, I can always just use a map!” I retorted.

“But, can you even read the map?” She countered.

“Of course, I can read a map! North is always up, after all!” I answered.

“Jade…didn’t you notice that your map is always turned in the direction you are facing? Up is not always north in this game.” Fern said, seeming surprised that I hadn’t noticed yet.

“Well then! That’s why I have you here!” I said. “We’ll be a team. I’ll fight the bad guys, and you handle the map. Win-win, right?”

Fern laughed and nodded her head. “Sure! Otherwise it’d probably take you your whole life to finish this game~”

“Or I could decide not to take you to the mayor’s house…” I said.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it!” Fern said with her adorable smile. Then she turned around. “Eh? Where did Ryuu go?”

I looked at Ryuu, confused, but then I realized that he was not always visible to others.

“Um…He’ll be back. He usually disappears like that.” I replied. “By the way, what kind of AID did you get?”

“Ah. Yes. The Aid.” Fern replied with a somewhat strange face.

“Hmm?” Don’t tell me…she got another weirdo? I wondered. “What’s wrong?”

“No, I just forgot, since she’s been in standby mode the whole time.” Fern replied. “She’s really pretty, though!”

“Is there something odd about her personality, then?” I asked.

“No? She doesn’t talk unless asked, but she seemed good, for an AID.” Fern said. “Why are you asking about this? Is there something wrong with your AID?”

Girl, you have no idea. “Not really! Just small talk to pass the time. Look! We’re almost there!” I pointed up ahead to Big Kuma’s walled house.

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While Jade was trying to convince Fern to go shopping, Fern muttered. “Yup. A Perfect Oriental Princess.”

“Pfft!” Ryuu, who happened to overhear Fern couldn’t help but turn his face away as a laugh escaped him as he recalled Jade’s own words about them:

‘Selfish, spend-happy cut-throats who run around causing chaos behind the scenes, happily laughing with their noses to the air, ignoring commoners as if they were nothing more than a nest of ants! At best, they’re happy little air-heads. At worst, they’re treacherous demons.’

It was a long while before he was able to fully regain his straight face.

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