Enter Labirynth

Raya: Though Celestia is a city in Artenia, it doesn’t fall within the spheres of influence of Duke Lagrimas or Duke Drogo. And since it’s incredibly far from the capital city, Solaris, they are effectively self governed. Officially, their stance is neutral but truthfully they are on the Royalists’ side because of their secret dealings with the crown. In summary, Celestia is mostly closed off, effectively a fortress, and politically against Lagrimas and Drogo, making it easily the safest place for us to stay. We only need to convince Count Telantra to shelter us.

One day before arriving at the fortress magic labyrinth city, Celestia, Raya and I ironed out our plan.

Adam: We should try our best not to be seen until we meet the Count then. Do you have a plan to meet him without anyone knowing who we are?

Raya: Well, it’s simple really…

- - - - - - -

Adam: Id heard stories but I didn't think it would be this bad…

People dressed in dirty rags lined the streets. The foul stench of piss and shit was omnipresent here. Even though it was daytime, it was still dark and dingy due to the tall buildings and floating rock covering the skies.

The slums. Supposedly Raya’s “contact” was located here. They were supposedly an information broker that worked under Count Telantra.

After following Raya around for a while she walked up to an unassuming door and knocked in a specific way. A sketchy man appeared and talked to Raya for a second then opened the door to let her in.

Raya: wait here for a moment Adam.

Oh… Well now i just feel useless.

I thought about such things as I looked around while waiting.

Soon enough Raya reappeared and nodded to me. I followed her as she walked away.

Hold on, am I just some kind of dog or something?

Nah, I'm just her bitch.

Raya: Our audience is this afternoon. For now we should get cleaned up and get new gear. I've heard that Count Telantra is something of a neat freak.

Adam: Okay…So we’re going shopping?!

Raya: Yes…

For some reason she went into thought at my question. I guess she’s wondering what she should buy. I wonder what would be best. We don’t have much money but at least I didn’t drop my wallet back when Rock sent me flying.

- - - - - - -

The two of us were able to take a break and have fun for once. And now that we were out of the slums and in the market, Celestia finally showed its beauty. Floating carriages carried people about as we walked the bustling streets. When we finally entered what looked like a clothing shop, we were shocked at how the layout of the store used both the ceiling and floor to hold items. It seems that clothing for men was on the floor while clothing for women was on the ceiling.

We separated at first to find our respective things but when I looked up, our eyes met and after a moment we both smiled.

Raya: We only need one dress so come here and help me pick.

I jumped up and gravity reversed for me. Spinning midair, I made a graceful landing and then accompanied Raya to the dressing rooms.

After she changed I gave my thoughts on each one.

The first was red and frilly, to which I responded “cute”.

The second was green and simple, to which I responded “cute”.

The third was blue and a bit more mature than the second one, to which I responded “cute”.

I need better words to describe these kinds of things. As I thought about my uselessness, Raya asked the dreaded question.

Raya: So which one is best?

Chat, I think I’m cooked. Honestly they all look fine to me but Raya’s eyes are saying that there is a correct choice.

Wait, I think I can clutch this up. Obviously, the red one with frills is automatically disqualified. Raya’s personality directly clashes with all of what frills stand for. That leaves it between green and blue…

Yes, of course… I see it now.

Raya’s hair color is dark blue which would look bad if she wore clothes of the same color! Meanwhile, her eyes are green which would stand out if she matched her dress’s color to it.

All of that deliberation happened on the spot within two seconds.

Adam: It’s a hard choice but definitely the green one. It matches your eyes.

I said that with all the confidence that I could muster but inside I’m shaking violently for some reason.

Raya puffs her cheeks and frowns for a second.

Shit-

Raya: If you say so then I’ll go with that one. Alright, yeah that works.

A sigh of relief as I passed the test. Looks like I cooked today.

Raya: Let’s see what you chose for yourself.

Adam: uhhhhh

So apparently my picks were dogwater. After Raya picked something out for me, we paid and left the store. It ended up being more expensive than I’d thought, about 3/4 of our funds burned just like that. With so little money left, we couldn’t afford any other equipment so we just ate some food instead.

After just walking around and burning some time we went to a bathhouse, cleaned ourselves, and changed into our new clothes. Honestly I was just happy to be wearing something without bloodstains on it.

Sadly we had to return to the slums once more.

- - - - - - -

???: Here, put these over your heads. We can’t have you seeing this.

The shady man from earlier handed us cloth bags inside the building we had visited earlier. After Raya and I looked at one another, we put the bags on our heads.

The shady man led us down some hallways and then into some box where we told to sit down. After a moment, the box started moving. After what felt like an hour and multiple changes in directions, it stopped and we were let out. After walking down some more hallways, the bags were taken off our heads.

???: Wait here until Count Telantra is ready for you.

With that, the shady man left the room. It seemed to be a waiting room but it was more lavish than anything I’d seen in quite a while. A maid stood in the corner and watched us.

Raya seemed uncomfortable as she sat on the expensive couch so I sat next to her. We waited in silence until a butler ushered us to the audience hall.

It was unnecessarily large and sitting at the end of it on a throne was a man who could only be Count Telantra. He was lean and dressed in exquisite garbs that could rival a king’s. Then he narrowed his fox eyes and smiled as he spoke.

Telantra: So the young Dragon is alive after all. I had expected your brother to come here with you but this pathetic boy is clearly not him.

Great, I hate him already.