I hadn’t seen Etienne since that incident at Notre-Dame. I talked to him a lot over the phone though, but most of our conversations revolved around things other than what we had begun to discuss that day. I thought it for the better since in my experience serious conversations always went better when held in person. It seemed Etienne was of the same opinion. Or perhaps he was just too busy with the work trip he’d found himself stranded on for the next five days.

My new running theory in that regard was that he simply picked whatever odd jobs he could with some sort of interim working agency, as the construction noises and music I’d occasionally hear in the background didn’t align with anything I had come up with so far. And maybe it was for the best, as my interest in his life was dissolving more and more each time, I thought back to the tone he’d used back there, in front of Notre-Dame.

I had told Manon that I had gotten a bad stomachache. To that, she replied with a list of links to local clinics that could take care of it in no time for me. I was left with no choice but to lie to her face and ask for a few days off for a management training course. That she gladly accepted without questions, hence giving me some time to think over the Dong-hyuk and Hyeonmin situation.

Currently, however, I had taken time off from all of that to immerse myself in the world of high fashion. Or rather regular but very expensive fashion. After all, how could I go back on my word and not go to that party Chloe had invited me to?

The ‘Galeries Lafayette’ were as splendid as I remembered them to be. Perhaps even more so than they had been in my original world, as the neo-Byzantine architecture had been further embellished with exotic gems, colour-shifting metals, and rare woods.

The circular indoor plaza, and three concentric floors above it, were all illuminated by the glass and crystal ceiling above. Its light refracted off the thousands of gems incrusted in the railings that ran along each floor, shifting in hue from an almost perfect white at the top to a pinkish hue in the ground-floor plaza.

The shopping gallery was crowded with tourists at this hour, to the greatest joy of many vendors who sold anything from handbags and jewellery to weapons and magic items. These tourists, much like myself, had arrived to watch the ‘weather show’ that happened every day at midday. With a few minutes to spare, I joined the crowd in looking around the various stands on the ground floor.

The stand closest to me sold a wide array of pendants, each of which could increase one of your stats by 1. A bold laminated sign loomed over them, informing any potential buyers that they did not stack. One of the pendants had a simple red stone, with a gold ring running around it. I recognised it as being one of the necklaces I had inherited from Laura.

It was a shame that I, much like most people in this world, didn’t actually know what the individual stats did, beyond giving an estimate of what a person was and wasn’t good at. In the book, that information was kept secret by an international organisation that closely collaborated with and sponsored many military groups. And in my personal experience, when I tried to look it up, my phone crashed and deleted all of my passwords and similar data, making me waste hours resetting everything through a combination of my ‘Memoire’ skill and changing things the old-fashioned way.

“Would you like to try one on?” A vendor asked, noticing how long I had been loitering before their stand.

“No, I’m just looking.” I replied, examining some of the other items.

It seems that the higher-end and powerful magic items were sold alongside the other luxury products on the upper floors. Before I, or the vendor, had had the time to say anything else, a piano melody started playing throughout the gallery. It was soon joined by a cello, and a violin. I raised my head, ready for the show.

Clouds gathered at the centre of the glass dome. As the tempo of the classical music picked up, these clouds began swirling around one another and growing heavier, and darker. When the music reached a crescendo, the clouds opened up and heavy rain fell onto the public. Except the rain was not made of water, and each droplet burned up like ash before ever reaching the crowd gathered at the bottom of the storm. The music continued more calmly, as the rain became more and more scarce. But then suddenly the tempo picked up again and raised the tension once more to a point where the clouds cloud no longer hold together and exploded, filling the gallery with lightning-like light.

More than a few people began clapping, and one kid ran to hide behind their parent, clearly a bit spooked by the whole show. I stood there for another moment, looking up at the ceiling with awe. When what was left of the clouds and the light effects fully vanished, I finally headed upstairs to buy what I had come here for.

“Tactical chic? That’s quite a strange requirement.” A short, dark-skinned vendor spoke.

“Well, more on the long and flowy side if possible.” I replied. “But I need something that will stop a knife from killing me.”

“What will stop a knife from killing you is not going to places where people idly wander around with knives to spare, love.” A voice with a noticeable Texan accent came from the dressing rooms.

“Don’t mind her.” The vendor before me gestured. “Cassie likes to say things like that, but at the end of the day, she’ll always get her job done. Now, if you don’t mind, could I see what we’re working with?”

“My status window?” I asked, unsure.

“That’s right.”

Laura Dubois

She/her

23

Rank not displayed

Courier

Sub-class not displayed

Skills not displayed

Luck

59/100

MP

12/100

Strength

11

Dexterity

17 = 11 + 6 (class benefit)

Constitution

8

Intelligence

14

Wisdom

10 = 13 – 3(unexpected side-effect)

Charisma

11

“Hmmm.” The vendor rubbed their chin. “Well, I see where your concern for potential stabbings is coming from. Your stats don’t look too balanced.”

Seeing the perplexed expression of the vendor, I promptly explained myself again:

“I’m not planning on getting into fights, I just want something that offers an extra layer of protection in case a fight does happen.”

The vendor nodded once more and gestured for me to follow.

I had never concerned myself with this level of practicality, especially after I discovered my immortality. But I did want to make a good impression on that man I was supposed to be bodyguarding, to maintain a decent relationship with my sister, if nothing else. Plus, if he’d requested a bodyguard, it was probably not without reason, although I had absolutely no intention of fighting anyone or anything.

“Let’s look through some of our display models, and we’ll do whatever alterations are needed.” The vendor continued, as they led me through their displays before finally stopping before their evening gown display.

“Umm… Well for starters I’d like a dress made from fabric, not monster hides.” I said, after examining the display for a short moment.

At least half of the items present there were made out of unfamiliar-looking fabrics.

“Shoulders uncovered, I presume?” The vendor asked as they began sorting through the downs.

“Yes.” I replied with a smile. For some reason I found it amusing that this vendor could tell my fashion preferences just from looking at me, or perhaps it was some sort of skill. “And floor length.”

The vendor turned around with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s a requirement of the event.” I explained.

“Okay, let’s see what we can find you.” They nodded, as they pulled the first dress off the rack.

About two and a half hours later my father was short a five-digit number, and I had finally bought my first ever evening dress. As per the dress code requirements that Chloe had sent me, it was ankle-length (or would be at least once I’d bought matching heels), with a corset-like bust and multiple overlapping straps that went over one shoulder. It had also originally come with a flowy shawl, but the vendor and I had agreed that it would not go with the wanted aesthetic.

The dress itself was a deep earthy brown, with bright red, orange and green embroidered highlights over the pleats of the skirt and corset. It did match my complexion quite nicely, but the best thing about it were the runes embroidered with almost invisible matching threads into the fabric. In addition to granting me cold and heat resistance, it gave me a temporary 15 luck points, which according to the vendor should be enough to block one knife attack.

With that all sorted out, I happily headed home.

I had a good feeling about this party tomorrow, perhaps because I had just gotten a taste of the high life; buying clothes that I could only dream of affording in my previous life. I wondered if this was a sign to give up on that slow life I had been living so far, and fully immerse myself into ‘riches and glory’ so to speak. After all, money could buy so many things in this world, so I briefly allowed myself to hope that money could also buy safety. Then I caught a glimpse of some passer-by in the distance who happened to have green hair, reminding me of those twins, and I was quickly snapped out of my idle bubble.