I allowed Bean to drag me into the shop, which was full of various clothes held up on racks, or else piled up in folded stacks against the wall.

“I know where everything is,” Bean said, pridefully. “Boss Lady says it’s my best talent - after parting suckers from their coin, that is.”

“Do you always refer to your customers that way?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at Bean’s antics.

“Not in front of ‘em!” she swore, placing a hand on her heart. “I’m mostly just talking about the rich blood types, anyway - the sort who want to go slumming, without actually looking like they belong in the slum, y’know? They buy the fanciest outfits we have in stock, and don’t really care what we charge ‘em.”

“You do realize that’s what I’m here for, don’t you?” I asked, a little exasperated.

“…So it’s not just to see me?”

I flinched at that. To be honest, I’d all but forgotten about Bean, with everything that had happened… I’d done the bare minimum to make sure she would be alright, and then once satisfied I’d let her fall by the wayside.

“Just joking!” Bean said, with a smile I might have believed if I wasn’t a living lie detector. “Wouldn’t expect you to take time out of your busy schedule for someone like me, anyhow.”

“It’s not that,” I protested. “It’s just… Well, to be quite honest, up until a few hours ago, my own head was on the chopping block - literally.”

“It was?” Bean asked, perking up a little. “I mean, uh… is that why you didn’t come visit?”

“Part of it,” I replied, stifling the guilt I felt for that lie. “It was rather hard to think about anything but my own survival, to be truthful. And Bridgette did assure me that you and your sister had been saved.”

“Saved, huh?” Bean asked, with a far away look in her eyes. “I sleep on a mattress, now, y’know? Never did that before… and I fleece people from their coin the honest way, rather than just by stealing it from their pockets… and Big Sis is back, too! All thanks to you.”

“More thanks to Bridgette,” I informed her, shaking my head. “She’s the one who called upon her connections to get you situated here.”

“Would’ve been fine without that, so long as I had sis,” Bean muttered. “Didn’t need her interference.”

“Why do you dislike her so much?” I asked, deciding not to press her on just how ‘fine’ she would have been, living on the streets and stealing to survive.

“I don’t dislike her,” Bean said, nudging the ground with her foot. Another lie, obviously. “I just… She called you stupid, Lady Amelia… and she looks at Sis like there’s something wrong with her, just ‘cause she rearranged herself a little.”

“I think that was more born of ignorance than anything,” I remarked, thinking back to our recent conversation. “And I do expect it to change, after our recent conversation.”

“Maybe, but she’s still one of them richy noble types. She only even helped ‘cause you asked her to.”

“I’m one of those noble types,” I pointed out. “Or at least I used to be.” Or Amelia used to be. I didn’t really want to do a deep dive into my history at the moment, though.

“You almost died for me, though,” Bean said, her voice soft. “Nobody… nobody ever did that for me, before… Even though I betrayed you… Why’d you do that?”

“I’m not really sure,” I confessed, shaking my head. “I suppose I just wanted my death to amount to something…”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t die,” Bean murmured, kicking at the ground again. “Even if you are filthy rich.”

“Not so rich anymore,” I told her. “That thief friend of yours stole all my money - and seeing as how I’ve lost both my title, and my connection to the Duke, I don’t think I’ll be getting more any time soon.”

“Right… sorry about that,” Bean muttered, staring down at the floor.

“If you truly want to make it up to me, you can go fetch me some of those ‘fancy’ clothes, you mentioned - perhaps something a rich merchant’s daughter might wear?”

“You sure you don’t want something more plain?” Bean asked, eyeing me up and down. “If you look like you’ve got money on you, someone might stab you again.”

“I’m fairly sure I’ll stand out no matter what I wear,” I replied, shaking my head. “In which case I think it’s best to go for something made of comfortable fabric, at the very least.”

“Comfortable?” Bean asked, wrinkling her nose. “Don’t think most of those dresses look all that comfortable to me. Sure you don’t want, like, britches or something?”

“I… No. I think I’d rather keep to skirts, for the time being. My maid would likely get upset, otherwise.” Not to mention the fact that I’d need to figure out a new place from which to draw out my tentacles, if I went that route. “I don’t suppose you have anything that scream ‘adventurer’ do you?”

“You want a guild-type outfit… with a skirt?” Bean asked, staring at me blankly.

“I-if you don’t have it, we can just-”

“I do, actually,” Bean said. “Some snazzy looking gentleman came by to drop it off - ‘parently his daughter commissioned it, ‘cause she was on an adventurous streak… Or at least that’s how I heard it? Damn outfit’s been here longer than me. It’s too expensive for someone who just needs day to day wear, and we’re not exactly the usual shop for people who wanna buy gear. Not that I can imagine anyone but you having… uh… a brave enough fashion sense to wear it?”

“Brave enough, hmm?” I asked, grimacing. “Go on, then - let’s see this monstrosity of yours.”

“Well… if you insist.”

The outfit Bean proceeded to show me wasn’t actually too bad, in my opinion - though I could see right away why it might not fit the needs of their usual clientele. The top part could pass as traditional leather armor, at least from the front. The back was made of cloth, and the whole thing doubled as a corset, with stiff but somewhat flexible ribs on either side, and laces meant for tightening it about someone. The bottom, meanwhile, was a simple cloth dress, dyed brown. It went all the way down to the floor, too, making it rather impractical for the average adventurer - or guild member, as Bean had put it - but all the more perfect for me.

“I’ll take it,” I declared, eyeing it happily. “Assuming it fits at least.”

“We can resize it, if need be,” Bean told me, puffing up her chest. “Got spells for it - one for taking sizes, another for resizing outfits. Wanted to make one for sewing, too, but Sis said I shouldn’t make too many job-spells too quickly. Gotta leave room, in case things don’t work out, y’know?”

“Not particularly,” I admitted, shaking my head. “What do you mean by ‘job spells’?”

“Well… they’re spells you carve for the job, of course,” Bean replied, looking confused by my lack of knowledge. “Makes you more valuable as a worker! At least in theory… Sis says to be cautious, though, ‘cause if you fill up your whole core with them then you’ll only be good for the one job, for the rest of your life.”

“I… see…” There had been mention of specialized skills earlier, hadn’t there been? For jobs? “If there are job spells, does that mean you have personal spells, too?”

Bean hesitated at that. “Sis… Sis always said I shouldn’t,” she muttered, not quite meeting my eye. “Only rich people can afford to waste core space on stuff they want. Rest of us gotta do things that make life a bit easier.”

“But you made one, anyway, didn’t you?” I pressed, a small smile on my face. Seeing Bean like this, squirming under my attention, she looked like a normal child - rather than a starving street rat who’d do whatever it took to survive.

“Well… I mean, everyone’s gotta baby wish or two,” she hedged. “‘Cause you can’t be expected to control your power completely when you’re a baby, right? Like.. I can conjure water in my mouth, when I’m all thirsty and the like…”

“Is it just a baby spell, then?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “And here I thought perhaps you had something interesting to show me.”

“I do!” Bean replied, quickly. “Just… don’t tell Sis, okay?”

“Don’t tell me what?” a teasing voice asked, as Lilith stepped out fro behind a row of clothes.

“N-nothing!” Bean shouted out, before clasping a hand over her mouth.

“She was thinking of giving me a discount,” I replied, deciding to cover for the little one. “Said you might disapprove.”

“R-right! That!” Bean said. “T-though, uh, I wasn’t really gonna give that big a discount… It was just a sales tactic! Honest!”

“Uh-huh.” Lilith giggled, raising a hand to her mouth. “I see. Well, if that’s the outfit you intend to walk out with, I don’t see a reason not to give at least a tiny one - I was starting to think it would stay in the stacks until the end of time.”

“I suppose I can see why,” I confessed, giving it an eye. “Still, I’d like to try it.”

“This way, then,” Lilith told me, gesturing for me to follow her as she turned towards the back of the store. “There’s a small room in the back with a hand mirror. It’s not much, but you’ll be able to get at least some idea of how you look in it.”

I nodded, not saying anything for a moment as I followed Lilith to the back of the shop. When she gestured to the door, though, I hesitated a moment before reaching for the handle.

“About Bridgette… the things she said…”

“I won’t take them personally,” Lilith replied, a soft smile on her lips. “How can I, when we owe you two so much?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s… I just… I think she was perhaps even more ignorant than me, on these matters, if that makes sense? She’s a good person, though, so… don’t be surprised if she acts differently when next you meet.”

“Is that so?” Lilith asked, eyeing me with a faint hint of amusement behind her eyes. “You certainly do have a positive impression of her, but in my experience, telling people they’re wrong about you rarely leads to anything but more pushback.”

“Yes, well… Bridgette’s different… or at least I hope she is…”

“As you say,” Lilith replied, gesturing for the door again.

I wanted to say more - to apologize on Bridgette’s behalf, to tell her that I didn’t judge her for her decision, that I respected it, even, but… was it really my place to say any of it? It wasn’t as if I could understand the struggle she’d been in - I hadn’t hated my old body, and I actively liked this one, so… in the end, I merely opened the door and stepped inside.

“How do I look?” I asked, coming out a few minutes later. The outfit had gone on without a struggle - though it was a bit tight about the waist and chest alike.

“Like you need a proper fitting,” Lilith replied, looking me over. “But other than that… I think it looks nice.”

“What are you planning to use it for?” Bean asked, holding a hand out towards me.

“Well, I’m planning to join the guild,” I confessed. “And Bridgette said that it would be best to come properly attired.”

“I don’t know if I’d count that as ‘proper,’ but I guess it’s ‘attire’ alright,” Bean said, furrowing her brow as a bubble popped into existence in her palm. She blew it towards me, and I watched with interest as it expanded in size, soon as large as me - and then larger, as its walls pushed past me with a soft ‘pop.’ 

“What’s this supposed to do?”

“Measurements!” Bean replied, as the bubble began to shrink down. This time, though, I didn’t pass through the wall - instead, the wall of the bubble contorted to fit my shape, shrinking further as it did so until there was a skintight sheen of water surrounding me. “Done!”

The bubble popped, and Bean grinned. “I bet we can get it done for you in half an hour, if you’re willing to wait for it!”

“And don’t worry about the price,” Lilith added. “I’m sure your friend and I can come up with something.”

~~~

Author's Notes

As mentioned previously, I've written a quasi-canon* NSFW one-shot for what happened in that changing room, if anyone's curious. It's limited to $5+ patrons for the moment, but it'll become available to $1 patrons at the start of August.

*Quasi-canon means that you can imagine as much or as little of it happened as you'd like, but it won't be referenced in the main storyline and certain non-sexy parts of it might repeat down the line.

Other than that, I've got currently got a 5 chapter buffer on Patreon, meaning you can read up to chapter 28 for as little as $1 if you're interested~!

PS: Planning to work on a chapter of My Oni Love next. That'll bring it back up to a 2 chapter buffer, so that I can start posting to the public again when its turn next comes around. Then prooooobably more MOV? So expect a chapter Sunday or Monday in all likelihood.