"... Eh? Really? They look like this?"

Mathias stared at the sample cloth curiously as an older man measured his legs, waist, torso, arms, and neck. It seemed like they did everything excessively, Mathias thought.

Normally, most commoners' clothing involved simple, undyed tunics, rough pants, boots, and the like. However, even to an Academy open to commoners', he was forced to wear a strange, satiny blend that seemed to unnaturally roll off of one's skin.

It was a pair of black pants, with angled silver strips of the same material that seemed to hug too closely to the mannequin's legs. The shirt, silver as a base, was further customized from the standardized pants, as a coloured seven-pointed star was embroidered over his heart, surrounding a black sun.

There was blue thread for water mages, green for earth, yellow for air, and red for fire. Additionally, there was a somewhat heavier cloak that could be worn overtop the shirt, standardized to the black base with silver strips, similar to one's pants.

It seemed that girls' were afforded the choice between skirts of varying lengths, different tops, and cloaks that seemed more akin to jackets if they were interested.

However, that was just because there were two similar male mannequins and six female ones. He was not aware that he could request any modification should it be reasonable and it matched the Academy's colours, namely silver and black.

Granted, he would not have changed anything anyways. It was a lot of work for something he didn't care about.

The old man did not say a single word the entire exchange, only automatically going to work on Mathias' fitting. Surprisingly, rather than just the one uniform he expected, he was given three.

One satin, one cotton, and one that seemed extremely simple and durable. In fact, he much preferred the latter one. It was just heavy, near-black dyed canvas pants, a white tunic, and a heavy cloak meant for more extreme weather.

All of this was done within a half-hour. The old man's measurements were given to three teenagers who picked out the base uniforms from large piles, modified them, embroidered them, and returned them.

He was thoroughly impressed at their efficiency and thankful that he was late so he did not have to deal with any lines.

"Thank you, Mr...?"

"..." The old man grunted, turned back to his station and began filling in paperwork.

Since he had no form of identification otherwise, the letter of acceptance was used. However, he was given it back right away, but it seemed like there were some necessary formalities on his end, so Mathias did not want to interrupt the tailor.

And then he saw Lisanna. "... Huh, you're here too."

"Of course I am, what do you expect?" She retorted irritably. "And tell me how you cleaned-"

"We're closing in the next half-an-hour," a teenage girl said from her station. "If you'd like to have your uniform made, then please do so quickly or else we cannot guarantee it being done on time."

"Yes, yes," Lisanna said irritably. "I'm ready - and don't leave!"

Mathias was halfway out the door, but Lisanna called him over.

The old man, apparently satisfied with his apprentices' work, began measuring Lisanna who seemed accustomed to the process. As per usual, he said nothing even as Lisanna said, "I'd like a dress, a short-sleeved jacket for that, the regular uniform as a spare, and heavier training attire - something more durable than the basics."

He nodded indifferently, but the girl at his side added, "modifications like that will cost ten gold. Would you like to pay for that immediately, add it to your tuition costs, or charge through your clan?"

"I'll pay immediately after the sizing," Lisanna said, adding, "you! Don't leave!"

Mathias sighed and turned to stand back at the wall.

"What is it?"

"How did you clean that place! Even those two boys said it wasn't like that before - so I'm definitely not crazy!"

"... I worked hard?"

She glanced at the embroidered patch on carefully folded clothes in Mathias' hands. "Water... no, ice mage?" He evidently was still using that to cool himself off. He did not realize it, however. "Even so, there shouldn't be any reason why you'd know a spell to clean that entire place up so quickly!"

"... Spell? Is that necessary?"

"Of course it is!" She whispered 'Ignite', and a flame moved on her palm. Her eyes narrowed as it lifted itself into the air, noticeably growing dimmer by the second. "It's too weak without a spell formation - especially when it leaves the body. I severely doubt you went on your hands and knees to clean that disgusting place."

"Uhm, I did?" At least for under the beds, as it was the most important. More so his own, but he would feel bad if he didn't even at least pretend to try for hers. "Even so, it's fine now, isn't it? Well, some of the furniture in the room itself is ruined, but the closet is fine. What's the issue?"

"The issue is how you did it!"

"Talking is fine but please lower your voice," the girl reminded. "Unless you wish for there to be mistakes in the garments."

"Hmph, fine. And why did you pick the side closest to the closet - you didn't even discuss it with me."

"... You left. And I was the first to pick the room anyways." Normally he wouldn't care, but since he was more thorough on his bed than hers, he did not want to waste his effort if there was a shift in that principle. He took great effort in making his bed, too, after all. "It's not like it's a small room anyways, plus how often do you think you'll be in there anyway?"

Lisanna rose her eyebrow. "Well, when it comes to studying, doesn't it only make sense one is going to be doing it in their room? And since we're here, we'll need to study a lot!"

"Ahem."

"Sorry," Lisanna said automatically, raising her arms to let the tailor measure her bust and hips.

"... It's easy, isn't it?" He said unthinkingly. At least that which was tested before was painfully low-tiered in the ways of education requirements.

It made sense for those without access to proper education, like commoners, or those like nobles that were expected to be well-versed in things like rhetoric, politics, warfare, or the like in addition to basic magic theorems. Even so, it was not especially challenging for a focused course.

"Hmph, you just have too much time on your hands then."

Which was not particularly wrong as when he thought to leave, he realized he did not really have any plans. He could introduce himself to his neighbours, learn more from Elise, or take a bath, but ultimately it meant he would be spending an hour or two doing little to nothing. Maybe read a book? Though he was unsure if he brought one since he didn't think to check. He'd be gambling on his past self's preparedness.

Normally, he would be hard at work in the parlour dealing with the unreasonable demands of middle-aged women who thought themselves to be teenagers. However, that, in itself, was challenging, necessitated him to read more about magic in general, and experiment with that he could not discover in texts. He even had quite a few contacts with brothels that apparently could not deal with contracted diseases in more conventional clinics, on account of costs, reputation, and some outright bars on their entrance.

He was kept quite busy.

Now he just sat patiently in the chair, watching Lisanna's measurements finish, the first uniform offered to her, the satiny one, and a teenage girl motioning her to try it on.

Apparently, there were different expectations for men and women. She was told to try each on and even guided to a dedicated room.

Lisanna came out shortly after. "How does it look?" She asked the girl who waited patiently. Not him. It was the slim-fitting dress, that had a slit up the right hip for easier movement. The bottom half was black with silver stripes, and the top half silver, with the embroidered red seven-pointed star and black sun.

"It looks good. And how does that jacket fit? Is it tight anywhere?"

"No, it's perfect, thank you. May I ask where someone can order new furniture for their rooms? Mine was destroyed before I got there."

The girl thoughtfully raised her head before turning to the old man, scribbling on the parchment. "Hey, Master, another complaint about the furniture. Shall I go get the first-year coordinator to replace it with some of the extras?"

He just replied with a grunt. According to Mathias' ears, it was neither confirming nor denying anything, but the girl smiled. "It seems like its okay." There was no other noise rejecting that assumption. "Leave the rest to the others, but if you're inclined we do also have furniture left by old students that can also be taken. I do recommend keeping the beds because we can't guarantee we'll have other mattresses, linen, and the like that would fit, but things like desks, bookshelves, and even night-stands should be there."

"... In that case, do you mind if I take a look too?" Mathias asked.

"Ah, are you two rooming together?" The girl said with an impish smile. "Well, there are only single beds.... ah, maybe it could be that I'm mistaken?"

Lisanna was the first to reject that notion with a red-face. "No! Well, we're rooming together, but that's just because I had important matters to take of, and he was just late. That is the extent of our relationship!"

"Yes, yes," the girl said, growing disinterested towards the explanation that was not suffused with gossip. "It's fine, but in that case, we'll go after the final fitting. Hey, Mathias, is it? How does it look on her? I prefer a male's opinion over my own since I'm somewhat biased."

"It's fine?"

"Ah, that's disappointing," she said with a strained smile. "Well, whatever. This one is done. As you may or may not know, assuming you were that late, the satin-base is for formal occasions, like celebrations and galas, whereas the cotton is for normal school-life. The training attire is just that; training attire. Please do not mix them up as repairs may only be provided for the latter two, but if we see unreasonable damage or you bring it too often, there will be additional costs."

"I understand. I don't care much about the costs, but I suppose I'll be wasting your time." Lisanna said.

"... Wait, that means I actually have to wear that one?" Mathias said irritably. He wanted the choice to just disregard it. "It feels wierd and uncomfortable."

The old man's eyes flashed dangerously, but Mathias rose his hands disarmingly. "Ugh, I'm... I'm just not used to such things."

"...! ..."

The tailor's fury averted, the girl sighed. "You best get used to it. Few can expect audiences with employers wearing things like the training clothes which may, by your appearance, be more to your liking. Even the cotton uniform is only used because it is easier to work with and repair and the school's preferred material is just too expensive to fix for commoners."

"Even so... well, whatever. Actually, is there a curfew?"

She blinked before shaking her head. "Yes and no. You may not leave the property before the sun-rise or after dark, but you may return. Of course, you'll be reprimanded, but it isn't the end of the world. You'll be forbidden to leave, however. And consequences exist for intentionally trying to sneak out at those times - rather severe ones."

""Huh?""

"That's way too early," Mathias said.

Lisanna countered, "that's way too late to open the gate."

"... Well, it is what it is. Anyways, here are the rest to try on."

As Mathias had nothing better to do, he gave several 'fines' when his opinion was called for and waited until he could see the furniture.

The beds seemed to be a no-go, but the rest was fair game as they met with a sleepy-eyed coordinator, Natalie. It seemed far too early in the night to be that tired, but she did her job valiantly.

"Take whatever you want, but I'm not helping you move them."

Lisanna yawned too.

"...?"

He opted to look around the wide storage room she had unlocked. The storage room was almost twice the size of his entire house. However, it was filled to the brim with little more than a foot-wide path to get between the larger pieces.

"... Which did you want?" He asked Lisanna who pointed to a pair of white bookshelves, matching nightstands, and desks.

"... Really?"

"Yeah, it's fine, isn't it?" She said with making a movement to go towards the exact furthest-most point in the storage room.

The furthest-most point in a room without more than a foot-wide landing every five or six meters.

'If I had something better to do...' he thought irritably before shaking his head. 'She clearly doesn't like me much so at least this way I can smooth things over.'

He started shimmying through the narrow path, occasionally pushing the other furniture further away to give him more room to navigate.

Since he was already struggling with moving his legs, he scratched the first nightstand within reach excessively. However, it was just on the one side so it could be easily hidden. The other had a small scratch from a particularly tall bookshelf that he had to dodge, carrying it completely overhead. How people moved it in without accruing damage in the first place astounded him.

The bookshelf was impossible until he created a bigger path, but he got it out after an hour of struggling. The desks he immediately gave up on.

"... I refuse," he said to Lisanna who came back from carrying the two nightstands upstairs.

"Why? What's the point of getting the rest if it isn't even going to match?"

"... Again, who the hell spends that much time in their room awake enough to care?"

"I do! I mean, look, I'll help, but I don't exactly see much in-"

"Ah, you two. You can come back tomorrow. Just call on me again, but it is too late. Wash up and go to bed, tomorrow will be the first day, after all."

The first-year coordinator, Natalie said tiredly, not bothering to hide the exhaustion on her face. Clearly today was one of the more tiring days to be in her position, dealing with petty feuds, rivalries, and being the source of all clarifications before it could spiral into more problematic situations. And, of course, having her sleep interrupted by the two late-comers who wanted nothing more than to get some furniture.

It just wasn't worth the effort at this point.

"... That makes things easier, thank you, Natalie."

"Hey! I'm not giving up on those desks yet, especially after I put those nightstands away!"

"... Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Anyways, are you going to help me move this thing or not?"

"I was waiting for you!"