Driving the Alchemy Horse was a significant drain on Ether, so the trio took turns acting as the coachman. In reality, the "horse" drove itself, while the "coachman" simply channeled a continuous supply of Ether through the silver-threaded reins.
When it was Pascal’s turn, he would just pull his hood down to block the light and squint. Consequently, there was now a carriage on the road with a coachman who wasn’t watching where he was going, frightening other pedestrians and vehicles into giving it a wide berth.
Fortunately, to avoid attracting attention, Rorschach had removed the Tower of Stars emblem. Now, it was just a well-made carriage, not nearly as grand as those belonging to the Nobility, so it didn’t draw much notice. After paying to park the carriage in the backyard of an inn, the trio officially began their shopping trip.
The people on Du Peng Avenue were indeed not as well-dressed as the gentlen and ladies on Prairie Avenue, instead being more practically wrapped in thick wool or coarse linen garnts. A closer look revealed that the shops along the street were also more modest, with the exception of one imposing facade on the left. Its gate, styled after the Old Empire, was a full story taller than the adjacent shop, and it was the most popular establishnt on the avenue.
"What kind of shop is this?" Rorschach muttered to himself, about to take a closer look, when a pedestrian behind him answered, "Young sir, if you and your companions are honest folk, that is a place you’d best not enter."
"Floran?" Rorschach turned at the familiar voice. He rembered the tall, thin man as the fisheries administrator from the Big Market.
"Rorschach Mage, fancy eting you here. We et again. I’m Floran. And you two are?"
"My fellow disciples, Pascal and Lady Paulina."
After exchanging greetings, Floran explained, "Everyone, that luxurious storefront ahead is a veritable demon cave that swallows gold. It’s a place where our *wise* Majesty generates revenue for the Royal Palace by plundering the earnings of the poor and wretched. That’s right—it’s a casino. More and more of them have been opening in Valois these past few years."
Rorschach noted with so curiosity that Floran hadn’t called it the Holy Kingdom. "Thank you for the warning. We’re on our way to buy so warm winter clothes. And you, Mr. Floran...?"
The fisheries administrator’s expression turned a little unnatural. "Oh, I’m just coming from a friend’s place. Er... a small club." He gave Pascal a deep, aningful look.
"Alright then. Goodbye, Mr. Floran."
"Farewell."
As they passed the casino entrance, Rorschach saw two brutish, burly n guarding the door. So people went in with faces full of anticipation, while others erged looking completely dejected. Rorschach shook his head and hurried away with his companions.
"Let’s start with this shop!" A sign read "Lady Pingdu," and well-tailored ready-made clothes were on display at the entrance. Rorschach and Paulina went inside, but Pascal just yawned and leaned against the doorfra, not bothering to enter.
Most of the fabrics here were not flashy, but were predominantly cal and cream-colored. Combined with the woolen material, they gave off a soft, gentle feeling. But though the sign read "Lady," the person at the counter doing the books was a young man.
Seeing them arrive, he glanced over, then hesitated. His mouth opened, but he didn’t speak to Rorschach or Paulina. Instead, he puffed out his chest and shouted forcefully toward the back of the shop: "Ma’am—we—have—custors!"
The sound of a wooden ladder creaking ca from the back of the shop, followed by an old woman’s voice. "Valon, if you can’t even greet custors, what’s the use of having you sit at the counter? I could replace you with a bell, a dog, or even a goose."
"Ma’am, I was still doing your books," Valon stamred, his face flushing red. Rorschach noticed that the young man’s clothes, though exquisitely tailored, were very worn-out, a fact that stood out starkly in a shop surrounded by new apparel.
"So, will it be the young gentleman or the pretty young lady who’d like to choose first?"
"I’ll go." Paulina had her eye on sothing from the start. She picked out a blue-green long dress, held it up, and asked Pascal at the door, "How about this one?"
"Not bad, if you ignore the season," Pascal said, glancing over his shoulder as if the movent itself took a trendous effort.
"If you like it, you can pair it with this..." The proprietress brought a shawl and draped it over Paulina’s shoulders. Now she was dressed in the common fashion for won in Valuva.
The old woman then turned, retrieved a light-yellow woolen Cloak from inside the shop, and fastened it on Paulina. "You can wear this when you go out. Indoors, the first two pieces are enough, and if you feel cold, you can also wear a cotton lining underneath..."
Behind the counter, young Valon’s eyes lit up as if he’d thought of sothing, but he then drooped his head in disappointnt and went back to flipping through the ledger in his hands.
"I’ll take this whole set, then." Paulina was pleased with the proprietress’s recomndation. The lady imdiately pulled out a tape asure and had her go to the fitting room to take her asurents and alter the clothes.
The shop didn’t have much nswear, so Rorschach waited. When Paulina erged, the items were being bundled up.
"That will be seven Silver Coins. Altering it to your size will take ti, so you can pay a deposit of three coins now and co back to pick it up after tomorrow."
"How long would it take at the earliest? We won’t have ti to co back here after today."
The lady looked troubled. "Well, this young lady has a fine figure, so it won’t require many alterations... The very earliest would be after three this afternoon. Co back and check then. I’ll put a rush on the tailoring for you."
Paulina thought for a mont, then counted out seven Silver Coins from her leather pouch. "Then I’ll have to trouble you to rush it. I’ll pay you in full."
The next shop specialized in n’s clothing. Rorschach bought ready-made clothes that didn’t need altering, and he only picked simple styles, passing on anything that would require a servant’s help to wear.
"Let’s go eat." Rorschach rembered they were near "Valuva’s Stomach," so the restaurants in the area should have fresh food. "Thanks for bringing here, Senior Sister. Let treat you to a al."
"Huh? How was that any help?" Paulina was about to decline when Pascal sidled up to them. "What about , Junior Brother Rorschach?"
"Of course that includes you, Senior Brother..."
"You certainly aren’t shy..."
Getting from Du Peng Avenue to the Big Market required crossing the Seine River. As they walked onto the bridge, they found that a large crowd of onlookers had gathered, nearly blocking the way.
"Soone jumped into the river!"
"Should we save them?" Paulina asked in a low voice.
"What is there to hesitate about?" Pascal had already taken off his coat and was rolling up his sleeves, ready to jump in.
"We’ll save him, but not from the bridge." Rorschach, recalling their encounter at the Big Market when they entered the city, had the other two hurry with him to the opposite bank.
In the eyes of the onlookers, the young man who had jumped into the river was flailing instinctively at first, but now he was on the verge of sinking. "Heavens, won’t soone save him! In God’s na!" "It’s so cold! Both the rescuer and the one being rescued will get sick!" The onlookers with the clearest view chattered back and forth on the bridge.
Just then, a miracle occurred. A swift current caught the man and unceremoniously shoved him directly toward the bank. Two quick-thinking pedestrians reached out for the drowning man, and the river itself seed to help, giving another push with its waves. The young man was saved!
"He’s sure to freeze to death!" "He jumped in himself, what’s the point of saving him?" the other onlookers muttered as they dispersed.
"SPUTTER! COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... Sir, you’re a Mage, aren’t you..." Only the man himself could have clearly felt the unnatural force that had firmly supported him and carried him to the bank.
"Why did you save ? Why save soone who has nothing, who was desperate enough to throw himself in the river... Sigh. Regardless, thank you..."
"You’re... Valon?"
"You’re Lady Pingdu’s custors!"
"You were perfectly fine this morning. What happened?"
The young man gave a miserable smile and shivered. Seeing this, Paulina made a series of hand gestures. When she finished, Valon was astonished to find that although he was still soaking wet, he no longer felt the cold.
"Thank you, you’re truly kind! But I’m afraid your efforts were wasted... After you left, my creditors ca to the shop. When the proprietress found out I’d been to the casino and was in debt, she fired . I have nothing now! Only this tattered piece of Donkey Hide that so old man gave ..."
As he spoke, he pulled a piece of gray hide from his shirt, on which several lines of text were branded.
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