The response of the staff in the clothing shop was a bit more muted than the response of the Librarian had been, but Karl could see that every eye in the room was still tracking him as he walked past the ladies' fashion to the men's section in the back.
"Elven fashion is a bit odd, but I suppose it would be best if I fit in, right?
I don't know what they usually wear around here to meet with wealthy people, but I suspect that my usual outfits made of spider silk might not be the right option."
The shop staff laughed, assuming that Karl was joking, until they got close and realized that he really was wearing robes made of Demonic Spider silk. How he had agreed to that, when foxes were notoriously picky about everything, was a mystery.
But Dreamcloth was pleasant to every species.
"Wele Lord Customer. Wele, Magus. Is there something in particular that we can help you with?"
Karl smiled at the young shopkeeper.
"Yes, we have been invited to the Ancient Oak Restaurant for a dinner, and I was hoping to have something suitable to local fashion for the event. Do you have something suitable? I'm not the best versed in Elven fashion sensibilities."
"Do you know many Elves? I can smell that you're not local. You smell like another planet."
Karl nodded. "I do, but they're either Forest Elven Nature Priestesses or Dark Elves. Neither of those helps me in this situation. Though, the Dark Elves would be fine with what I'm wearing for a formal occasion."
The shopkeeper nodded. Epic Grade Immortal Spider Silk was absolutely acceptable for any formal occasion with the Dark Elves.
"Well, if that's what you're used to, we have some wonderful options here. This style of robe is traditional for mages and other magic users. Might I ask what your specialty is?"
"I'm a Pet Sitter, or a Beast Master, if that is more familiar to you."
The Elf frowned. "You're a Ranger?"
The mage burst out laughing. "No, not at all. He has bonded beasts like a Ranger, but they're Immortal beasts, proper monsters. I think that giving him mage type fashion would be best. He's not a melee warrior sort, for certain."
"Interesting. So, Elven formal wear is separated by your skills?"
"Indeed. Elves tend to hyperfocus on certain skills for centuries at a time, so they build their entire wardrobe to suit that task. It's just more convenient if all your clothes suit everything that you're planning to do.
If you're not fighting in melee bat, then these are lovely.
Or would you prefer something more like the bards? Slightly seductive and flamboyant?
Karl winked at her and the shopkeeper blushed while the mage sighed.
"Kindly do not start another incident."
"We've still got bodyguards from the last one, I'm sure it's fine."
"You have no idea how hard [Fox Charm] hits people when your soul power is that high. The average fox isn't bad, but whatever method you use has made your soul power incredibly high, and even restrained your aura is affecting everyone around you."
Karl focused for a second, and then let a bit of his own aura slip to counteract Fox Charm.
"No, that's not better at all," the shopkeeper shouted, then covered her mouth.
[Oh, so she's into the dark and dangerous sort.] Rae noted.
"I really should have stayed disguised as a Tengu or a cat or something."
"You can transform?"
Karl nodded. "I can pick from quite a few options, actually. The issue is most of them are either demonic in nature, or unsuitable for indoor usage. I don't think that the shop would hold up well to a World Dragon or a Soulfire Elemental."
"Yeah, that would be a disaster. The Dreamweaving talent imbues spiritual energy into the clothing. Soulfire would destroy the entire shop, even if it didn't burn the cloth.
But if you would like to test fashion, we can have you transform and see if the outfits would suit your other forms."
Karl nodded, and shifted to his customary Snow Tiger form, the one that everyone called a Cat Demon.
"Oh, now that is unexpected from a fox. Are all your forms designed to be characters in a romance novel?"
Karl frowned. "My other one that works is human, like this."
He shifted again, and everyone gave him strange looks.
"That's not human. Like, it's human shaped, but I don't think that anyone would mistake that for an actual human."
"Damn, people are just too polite. I thought that it was pretty good, other than the eyes."
What Karl didn't know was that Elves didn't go entirely by external appearance, but by aura, pheromones, and magical presence. Karl's human form had most of the appearance, but none of the other parts matched anymore, thanks to the many skills that had changed his constitution.
Plus, the auras of the beasts merged with his when he wasn't hiding his true nature, and that definitely didn't feel human.
Even when he was a mander, people noticed that much.
"Alright, for the event, I suggest that you go as a fox. The cat would be the next option, but the cat demons have an unsavoury reputation. It might not make your life easier for people to see you that way, instead of as a nine-tailed fox."
"We will give you a few options to pick from, and you can pick one for the evening. I remend the white and gold, to go with your white fur."
She held up an elegant Elven robe, and Karl carefully took it from her hands, then equipped it.
The clerk gasped, but Karl shrugged. "If I put it on, it's mine. I'll buy everything that I agree to try on. Just keep notes."
"I think that she's wondering how you put on clothes without changing."
"Oh, that part. It's a System Function. Very convenient."
The mage could already feel the headache building. Nothing that Karl did made any sort of sense, and he was afraid to tell the strange fox that it was customary to bring a gift for the host at such a formal event.
The Gods only knew what he would do.
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