Dressing for the Occasion

I took the ginger, shaved off a thin layer of skin, and grated it finely.

The kitchen filled with ginger's distinctive aroma.

"What an interesting smell."

"It's unique, right? It's good for masking gamey flavors, but this time I'm using it for a drink. Get some cups out."

"Okay."

Azu set out enough cups for everyone.

I sliced a lemon into rounds and got the honey ready.

I dropped the grated ginger with its juice into each cup, set a lemon slice on top, and added a spoonful of honey.

Then I poured in boiled water and stirred. Ginger drink, done.

"Try it."

Azu nodded and picked up her cup.

The heat from the water seeped through, warming her chilled fingertips.

She took a careful sip. Sweetness came first, then that distinctive flavor spread through her mouth.

As it slid down her throat, that alone was enough to make her whole body warm up.

"It's delicious."

"It's even used as medicine. It raises your body temperature and soothes the stomach."

"It really does warm you up. I quite like this."

"Kind of like lemonade, but different."

The girls all seemed pleased.

We had a simple meal of steamed potatoes.

Condensation had formed on the windows.

"It's going to get properly cold soon. The auction's coming up, too… Oh, that reminds me."

"What is it?"

I grabbed a measuring tape and started taking the girls' measurements.

Height first. Then bust, waist, and hips.

"W-what's going on?"

"What do you mean? Taking measurements. The auction has a dress code, so we need to wear formal attire. There's not enough time to have anything tailored, so we'll be altering ready-made pieces."

"Aah, so that's what this is about."

Elza raised her arms to make measuring easier.

Alexia was caught off guard too, but cooperated.

Last, I measured Azu and jotted everything down.

"If we head to the shop now, there's plenty of time. Want to pick out your own outfits?"

"Oh my, that sounds lovely."

"I'm in. Of course I'm going."

"I'm fine either way…"

We ended up going as a group of four.

The shop we were heading to was a step above the usual.

I'd already gotten the girls everything they needed as adventurers, but none of them had anything suitable for a formal event.

Elza could probably get by with her priestess robes, and Alexia technically had a dress.

But Azu had nothing of the sort.

Buying only for Azu seemed unfair, so I decided to get outfits for all three while I was at it.

A saleswoman came over to greet us as we entered.

"These three need something for a dress code event."

"Certainly," she said with a bow, and led us to the back.

I'd given the rough sizes upfront, so she brought out several options.

I was ready to just buy something on the spot, but was told it'd be better to try things on first. I agreed.

The saleswoman helped, and Elza went first.

After trying on a few dresses, she settled on a purple one.

She pinched the hem and lifted it just enough to show her ankles.

"Well? Am I cute?"

"It looks great on you."

"Getting a straight compliment like that is embarrassing, you know."

Next was Alexia.

A blue dress looked nice, but they went with a red one to complement her hair.

"It's been a while since I've worn anything like this. The fabric really does feel different from my usual clothes."

She certainly looked the part standing there.

Former nobility, after all. Just standing there with one hand on her hip, she looked charming.

Last was Azu. At the saleswoman's suggestion, she went with a black dress.

"Silver hair and black, huh."

The black really did tighten up the overall look. I'd assumed white would suit her best, but that was a blind spot.

"D-does it look okay? It's not weird?"

Azu kept fidgeting with the fabric. She didn't seem confident.

"You're fine. It really suits you, you look so cute. Right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. She's plenty attractive."

Elza prompted me, and I gave a halfhearted answer.

It really did suit her well.

When I said so, Azu's cheeks colored slightly.

"Then I'm glad."

Apparently dresses required matching undergarments as well.

Getting a full set for each of them wasn't cheap, but girls their age deserved to enjoy this sort of thing.

Even as slaves, it was better that they had room to enjoy dressing up.

The shop would deliver everything once the alterations were done.

When we stepped outside, rain had started falling despite the clear skies just minutes before.

We made a dash back to the shop.

The rain grew heavier as we ran. By the time we arrived, our clothes were a bit damp.

"Well, that was something."

"It was really coming down."

"Yeah. Getting soaked in this weather would've been miserable. Good thing we made it back in time."

"Indeed. We'd have caught a cold."

Customer traffic was light, likely thanks to the rain.

Not a bad thing for Mina on her first day as a trainee.

I checked on her from a distance. She was following Sara's instructions and working diligently.

No worries there.

The shop would need to be left in the staff's hands again while we were at the auction.

I toweled off my damp hair.

From there until the auction, we took things easy.

I didn't push Azu and the others too hard either.

Partly because the cold just sapped any motivation.

Quest postings at the Adventurer's Guild were sparse this time of year too.

No point scrambling for slim pickings.

Instead, I had them help around the shop.

Firewood sold well once the cold set in, so they spent time splitting logs in the back yard, hauling goods from the warehouse, and so on.

After a stretch of peaceful days, the auction date finally drew near.

It was the mules' first outing in a while.

We hitched them to the wagon and set off.

The mules weren't great with cold, but we had Alexia.

She used fire magic to faintly envelop the mules in warmth as our cold-weather measure.

I left the shop in the employees' hands, and we hit the road.