No Refunds

"Hmmm, I can't decide where we should go first, Mr. Arno."

"We should focus on purchasing practical gear. It would be wise to avoid splurging on unnecessary junk." I said.

We were at the center of town. This was where a majority of Stercusville's shops were located. We stood beside the town well. Erika was being quite indecisive as to which store we should go to first.

"How about we go to that one?"

She pointed at a plain looking storefront with the silhouette of a sword and shield on its sign.

"That's an armorer shop. What would we possibly have to go there for?"

"Well I thought maybe I could get some neat looking armor and maybe like a sword or something. That would be pretty useful, wouldn't it?"

"I guess it would... If we were warriors. Both of us are sorcer-... Err I should say sorcerer and future sorceress in training. We have no use for those things. What we should be looking for is gear that will enhance our magic skills."

"I guess that makes sense, bu-"

*Gurgle*

"What the heck was that?" I asked.

"Oh that was my belly. I haven't eaten anything all day." Erika responded

"Why don't you go buy something to eat then."

I pointed over to a group of stands nearby selling food.

"Are you sure it's alright we spend our money on that?"

"You worked hard today. You should eat something. I don't need you to get sick."

"Alright, do you want anything, Mr. Arno?"

"Remember, I can't eat."

"Oh sorry I forgot. I'll be right back then."

She quickly went over and purchased something to eat. Like I'd expect, she only bought junk food like cookies and other pastries. She sat beside me and proceeded to savagely shove cookies into her mouth.

"That's not very lady-like. You should really try to have a bit more etiquette when you eat."

Her cheeks looked like a squirrel's. She spoke with her mouth full.

"What do you mean?"

"Uh... Nevermind."

Teaching her proper manners was a job for another day. We had more important things to do.

"How about we check out that store?"

Erika cast her attention to a brightly colored storefront. In the front window there was a mannequin with a gray wizard hat, as well as a very ornate staff sitting on a display stand.

"This seems like it will have what we need." I said.

We went inside, where we were immediately greeted by a salesperson.

"Afternoon sir, as well to you young lady. Welcome to my store."

The man wore a half purple, half leopard print suite with a matching top hat that sat on top of his slicked back bright green hair. His mannerisms were very eccentric.

"Hello mister, my teacher and I are looking for some sorcerer stuff. We'd like to see your finest selection." Erika Said.

"Of course... By the way is that paper bag some kind of fashion statement or something."

The sales representative laughed a bit as he poked fun of me.

"Don't worry about that." I snapped.

"Someone's a stick in the mud."

The rep muttered under his breath as he went to get me some robes to try on.

I put the set of robes on in the changing room. I was cautious to make sure the rep couldn't catch any glimpse of me while I was switching garbs. I looked in the mirror at the new robe. It was brown with red accents and had a hood, as well as a piece of fabric I could pull over my mouth.

I came out from the changing room.

"Oh wow, you look really cool, Mr. Arno."

"I think I'll take it, but first I'd like to know what enchantment this robe has?"

"Of course, good sir. That particular robe has an enchantment that makes it resistant to destruction magic." The sales rep responded.

"All right, that should do perfectly. How about you, girl?"

"Hm. I think there's a few outfits I'd like to try on."

It wasn't just "a few outfits". She tried on literally every outfit in the store. I essentially had to sit through a fashion montage. It didn't help either that the sales rep egged her on.

"I think this is the one." she said.

"What kind of enchantment does it have?” I asked

"That robe's enchantment isn't particularly anything special. It just adds a slight mana boost." The rep said.

"Maybe you should consider practicality over sty-." I said.

Erika completely ignored me

"I'll take it!"

Whatever... It wasn’t the worst enchantment in the world and for someone who had very little mana as it was, it might be somewhat helpful.

The robe she chose was blue with white accents. It also came with a matching witch’s hat that had a small white heart on the tip. The outfit actually suited her well.

"Alright, now we have to get you either a wand or a staff."

"I've already found which one I want." Erika said.

"And which one would that be, young lady." The sales rep asked.

Erika pointed.

"That one right there!"

"Uh... Isn't that one a bit... Childish... And not to mention expensive." I said.

"No, that's definitely the one. We even just so happen to have just enough gold left to buy it."

The wand was sitting on a stand inside of a glass case. The sales rep had to open it with a key to get it out. He handed it to her. She waved it around in her hand.

"Yep this is definitely it. Ring us up, Mr. sales rep."

"Let's just wait a second, girl. Wouldn't you prefer something that looks a bit more... Your age. Also if you buy that we'll be back to being broke."

The wand she was dead set on purchasing looked like something a little girl would run around playing fairy princess with. Its handle was a pink and blue spiral pattern with a giant pink heart shaped crystal on its top. Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed by the thing. It made me almost not want to inform people that she was my apprentice.

"It's fine. It's not like we can't just get more money." She said.

"I get that, but I really think you should reconsider."

"Listen Mr. Arno, I get you want to save money and all, but I was the one who earned all that gold. So, I'm going to buy what I want."

She was getting a bit snippy with me.

"I know that bu-."

She held up her hand. The binding seal on the back was glowing. She gave a look as if she was saying "try me." At that moment I realized this wasn’t going to be the hill I was going to die on. I finally gave in.

Just before the sales rep rang us up he gave us a disclaimer.

"Just so you two are aware all sales are final. We have a strict no refund policy."

"Great to know." I said, sarcastically.

Despite the warning, Erika didn't care. We proceeded with the purchase and left the store with our new robes and Erika's new (and very expensive) wand.

✨✨✨

It had just gotten dark out, as we were heading back to our campsite on the edge of town. It was a relatively windy night, but it was surprisingly peaceful.

"Today was quite a productive day, wasn't it?" Erika said.

"Yes, I suppose it was."

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Well, I guess we'll-."

*Creek*

I stopped for a moment.

"Shhhh, I think someone is following us." I said.

I tried to hurry us back to our campsite, but suddenly a man in a gray hooded cloak jumped out and confronted us.

"Delivery girl, I've been looking all over for you!"

"Oh hey again mister. Thanks for that delivery quest earlier. I didn't expect your customers to tip so well." Erika said.

The man stared blankly for a moment before responding.

"... What do you mean 'tip'? That was supposed to be the customers' payment for the goods you moved! You still have that money right?"

"Oh… I'm sorry we actually just spent it."

"Who the heck is this?" I asked.

"Whatever you two purchased, you better hope you can get a refund." He said.

Erika and I looked at each other. The man was getting very irritated.

"...um, well actually... the man at the store said they had a no refund policy." Erika responded.

"You idiot! How am I going to explain this to my boss?"

If I was at my full power, there's no way I'd take this from this guy. Unfortunately though that wasn't the case at the moment. I had no choice, but to try and defuse the situation.

"I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but it seems my apprentice had some kind of misunderstanding. Perhaps we can talk this situation over." I said.

"So you're the one who is responsible for this idiot girl. You're coming too then."

"What do you mean 'coming too'?"

Suddenly two other cloaked men showed up. They drew their swords and escorted us to a wooden horse drawn carriage. They forced us into the back.

Once again, right when I thought things were looking up, it took a turn for the worst.