Chapter 30: In Search for the Perfect Cloak (2)

"Ah! Wel…come."

Andrea. She has been the saleswoman of the Guzzi Cloaks and Armaments store for exactly a week now; and a week ago, there was nothing but smiles on her face. But as soon as she realized that cloaks were not really in fashion with the wealthy people of Concretespire, she quickly became bored of her work.

They still pay her her wage, of course, because just a single buyer a day would make her reach her quota… for the entire week– a testament to how ridiculously expensive their items were. But still, she was already lucky if even a single customer entered the shop.

She couldn't figure out why they didn't like cloaks… when they were so wonderful. She actually already bought her own sewing machine with all of her savings, now all she needed was to save up for fabrics and she could make her own.

She was passionate about cloaks– it was sad to see that others were not.

And so, when a customer finally entered after a few days of not having one, Andrea could not help but almost jump from her seat; the cloak that Guzzi provided for her, almost flowing with the wind as she rushed to the door.

But alas, as soon as she saw Zero entering the shop– her excitement quickly died down. How could it not…

…when Zero's cloak was completely tattered!?

"S… sir! We need to replace your cloak immediately!"

And without Zero even saying anything yet, Andrea quickly guided Zero deeper inside the shop, making him stand on some sort of platform.

"..." Zero was about to walk away to look at the cloaks displayed, but Andrea pushed her back to the platform… and started measuring everything she could measure with a tape.

[Some of the Readers of Fate are raising their eyebrows, 'Everything?', they asked.]

"Hm…"

"Hmhm…"

Andrea then wrote something on a piece of paper as she nodded to herself, looking back and forth between the paper and Zero,

"The cloak is a little short for you, the most ideal for someone of your height should be just above the ankles… yours almost go above your knees that it might as well be a poncho," Andrea then dropped her pen on the table as she looked at Zero; and as soon as she saw the look of indifference in Zero's eyes, she quickly took in a small gulp,

"D… did you want it short? S… sorry, I got a little too excited, sir," Andrea then let out a short but deep breath, before pushing her cloak to the side and doing a curtsy,

"My name is Andrea, and I would be assisting you today."

So different.

This Andrea seemed so different from Zeni, Zero thought. If he had the choice, he would probably replace Zeni with this woman.

[Reader of Fate: J the Gamer, gifted Zero a Dragon. Overtaking Sulir'spaz as the Top 1 Gift Contributor.]

[Some of the Readers of Fate are wondering if Zero can ride the Dragon.]

[Some of the Readers of Fate are asking if the dragon could eat Zeni.]

"..." For the Readers of Fate to suddenly become active, could it be… they were disagreeing with him? Did they like Zeni?

[Some of–]

"Sir? Is something the matter? Would you like some water?"

Zero then tilted his head to the side to get rid of the words popping up almost endlessly in front of him as Andrea walked closer to him.

"...No. I… don't drink water," Zero shook his head.

"O…kay?" Andrea slightly squinted her eyes, before the smile on her face once again returned, "Would you like me to help you unrobe your cloak?"

"...No," Zero once again shook his head before starting to untangle his cloak– and due to its tattered and worn-out state, it almost ripped as it fluttered to the ground.

"Ah, let me pick– Augh!"

Andrea was about to pick up the fallen cloak, but as soon as she got near– a very intense… smell bombarded her nose like a bomb. If it wasn't for her immediately holding her breath, then she was sure she would have hurled right there and then.

But now, the problem was that she inhaled some of the smell– making her dizzy and want to cough at the same time.

But still, the smile on her face remained as she took a few steps back. She then turned to look at Zero and finally saw how dirty his clothes were under the cloak. No, perhaps dirty was an understatement– Andrea could even see some sort of animal guts hanging in his pocket.

"S… Sir," Andrea then stuttered as she tried her hardest not to cover her nose, "It… is actually store policy that… that guests should take a shower first before fitting the cloaks. L… Let me guide you there!"

"..." Zero looked at Andrea for a few seconds, before nodding his head and following her even deeper into the store.

"We have a tub and a shower inside, sir. Please, take your time."

"I–"

"I'll provide you with clean white clothes for free so we can throw away your old ones."

And before Zero could even say anything, Andrea gently nudged her inside the bathroom of the store– gently closing the door on him before he could even turn around.

"..." Zero could only stare at the room he was suddenly in– completely not knowing what he should even do there. Still, Zero tried to explore the small room… until he saw his reflection for the first time in a very long time.

"Hm…" Zero stared at his pale blue eyes for a few seconds; tilting his head in curiosity before touching his long, disheveled grey hair. Even though he doesn't remember much from when he was still just a mindless zombie, he knew that his hair shouldn't be this long…

…and most importantly– half of his face should be gone.

But now… all that remained were scars. They still filled half of his face, of course… but any traces from his mindless zombie days were gone. Perhaps the only thing he could recognize was the color of his skin, which was almost as grey as his hair.

"..."

Zero then slowly turned his head down, only to see his hand holding some sort of knob… a faucet? And almost instinctively, he turned it and water started coming out of the thing.

"...Shower," Zero then blinked a couple of times as he turned his head towards the shower at the end of the bathroom, "That…

…is a shower."

***

Andrea was now wearing a surgical mask– trying to fan away the unflattering odor that filled up the entire shop. And even though she already threw the old cloak away outside the dumpster, the smell seemed to have still remained.

"..." She probably needed to wash all the cloaks in the store at this point. She didn't really mind, though– she was barely even doing anything.

"Ah!" Andrea then quickly closed the door again as she heard Zero stepping out of the bathroom, "Did you see the clothes I left for you? They–"

And before Andrea could finish her words, she got her answer. After all…

…Zero was completely naked.

[Some of the Readers of Fate are saying, 'That's my boy'.]