Shopping Trip

After taking a moment to adjust herself, Louise, accompanied by Xander, entered the headmaster's office.

"Ah, miss Louise. Please have a seat" an old man that reminded Xander of Gandalf with his long white hair that is only matched by his long white beard.

"Greetings headmaster" Louise bowed

"Yo" Xander eloquently greeted one of the most powerful wizards in the Tristian kingdom

"XANDER! Show some respect" Louise was understandably mollified "Headmaster Osmond a powerful square mage and the headmaster of the greatest magical academy in the world"

"..." Xander looked at the old man for a second "He doesn't look that much of a square... more of a perv if you ask me"

"YES!" the green haired woman shouted "finally someone saw through that wise façade he puts on"

All eyes turned to the woman, who started to blush as what she said finally registered with her "sorry" she squeaked and sat back busying herself with her paperwork.

"Ahem" all eyes turned back to Colbert "maybe we should focus on Louise and Mr-"

"Just Xander" Xander interrupted

"Right, Xander" Colbert corrected himself "would you please tell the headmaster what you told me?"

Xander nodded and proceeded to tell them the bare minimum, basically what he said earlier that day "basically, if she wants to perform the magic everyone else is doing, she first needs to identify and isolate the energy most prominent in her body at the moment, then use the comparatively miniscule amount of elemental energy to perform the magic you teach" Xander concluded

Looking around he saw blank stares all around he sighed "I'll teach her how to wield her magic, in return I would like access to the library"

"Done" the headmaster accepted immediately

"Headmaster" the green haired secretary growled "you can't just accept anyone as a teacher without looking into their background as well as their education first"

"I'm sure it will be fine Longueville" the headmaster waved her off

Longueville couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips as she turned to Xander "I'll get you staff identification immediately as well as upfront payment to get a change of clothing more appropriate for the position of a Tristian academy professor"

Xander looked at what he was wearing for first time in a while and understood what she meant. He was wearing a blue hoodie, dark blue jeans and blue sneakers.

"Yeah, I should probably get a better outfit" he turned to Louise "would you be my guide miss Vallière?" he bowed at the waist

Blushing Louise spoke softly "it would be my pleasure" she curtsied in return

"Great, tomorrow will be a day off to offer the students a chance to interact and bond with their familiars" Colbert supplied "you can go to the city then. I'll go prepare a carriage"

"That won't be necessary" Xander grinned "I have my own way of transportation"

---

*Next Day*

"Ready?" Xander asked as he revved his bike's engine

"Are you sure this is safe?" Louise asked apprehensively as she eyed the strange contraption

"Yes" Xander answered for the thousandth time

"I must say, this machine looks strange" Colbert supplied "at any rate, the crown princess of Tristian was pleased that her friend successfully summoned a familiar and so has decided to gift Mr-"

"Just Xander"

"...right... her highness has decided to gift Xander with a single request"

Xander took a moment to consider it, then requested what all men want "I want a personal maid"

"Um, is that all?" asked a flabbergasted Colbert

"And a noble title" Xander saw Colbert's confusion so he explained "just enough to prevent idiots from thinking they can strong arm me into doing their bidding and I have to break their arms to make them see the error of their ways and that they can't really strong arm me" Xander finished his rant with a huff

"Seems like you're talking from experience" Colbert commented, ever so slightly amused

"You have no idea" Xander smiled tiredly "anyways, let's go Louise"

"Wait" Colbert called "I'll have the maid you wanted join you"

---

*BGM Bad to the Bone*

"AAAAAAHHHH" shouted Louise as Xander sped on his VMAX. She held on to him as she was in his lap, this being only possible because of her small size.

"AAAAAHHHH" shouted Siesta. She was the maid assigned to insure all Xander's needs were seen to. She understood what that meant, Xander understood what that meant and Louise understood what that meant but no one commented on it.

Apparently news of Xander's power reached the capital and the princess decided to stop the nobles from rushing at her childhood friend with their idiocy and so she claimed Xander as under her direct protection with her gifting him a request.

If it also helps Tristian gain a powerful ally then all the better.

Xander decided to ignore it all and just enjoy the rushing wind as he tore the rode, literally "how are you enjoying the ride?" he asked over the rushing wind

"SLOW DOWN" Louise shouted "I'm too young to die"

"I have to agree with Miss Louise" Siesta whimpered "please slowdown"

Xander rolled his eyes 'Such drama queens. I'm barely going over 200 km/h.' (125 mile/h)

The bike Xander is using may look like a VMAX, but it isn't. Throughout the 500 years Xander lived as a vamp, he never stopped upgrading his bike. Runes that add power, toughness, stability and speed were engraved on the bike alongside countless others. A new more advanced engine added from the AGE universe and several miniscule electrical upgrades.

Magic and power radiated from the bike, so much so in fact, that Xander believes the bike is almost sentient.

But only almost.

The three hour ride by horse took about 45 minutes by bike. This surprised Louise and Siesta, but they both ganged up on Xander the second they got off the bike. The forced Xander to promise them to go slower on the way back "Puppy dog eyes are an omniversal thing I tell you" he grumbled

Somewhere in the Omni-verse Dante and Rex agreed and Xander gained a system notification

[For coming up with the correct conclusion about an existential truth Mind stat +2]

Xander stared blankly at the notification for a moment before nodding 'I can live with that'

---

It's been three hours and Xander and Louise failed to agree on an outfit. Xander always went for casual, while Louise always went with something that was impractical. In the end Xander decided to make his own, and so they went to a fabric shop.

It took 15 minutes and by the end of it, Xander had bought a couple dozen yards of fabric to add to his collection... the chief engineer learned sewing as a hobby and the fact it is at Master level is just because... just BECAUSE.

---

As they exited the shop Xander turned to look around "Hey Louise" Xander called gaining the witch's attention "do you know any potion shops around?"

Louise tilted her head "Yes, why?"

"I'll need to scan the ingredients to understand how potions work in this world" he explained as he walked with her towards their destination, Siesta following behind them dutifully. Xander did tell her to walk alongside them, but she refused to saying it was inappropriate. Xander wouldn't force her to do it if she didn't want to... yet.

---

The potions shop was as expected filled with all kinds of potions and ingredients. Though it didn't have any potion books, it did have a booklet containing a list of ingredients alongside the potions they're used in.

Xander went to the shop keeper with the booklet in his hand "Excuse me"

The shop keeper turned, took one look at Xander's hoodie and jeans and raised his nose haughtily "and what do you want plebeian"

Xander paused, literally paused... as in when someone pauses the game paused.

The world turned to black and white and a circle of light about a meter in radius surrounded Xander. Xander took a deep breath and contemplated what he should do at the moment.

In the pause world, time stops for all but the gamer. He can't interact with anyone, nor regenerate health and Mana. He is basically given time to think, and that is all.

So Xander focused himself and again praised himself for 500 points well spent and resumed the world.

The sound of a fist impacting a face reverberated across the shop followed closely by a thud...

So maybe he should've stayed a bit longer in the pause world...

---

"I can't believe you just hit him" Louise shouted "he is the best potioneer in the city"

"But not the only one" Xander pointed out as he shoved the ingredients' box into his inventory "and besides, the bastard had the audacity to offer me a gold coin to leave his shop" Xander growled "I'll show him, I'll put him out of business" he swore

Louise shot him a deadpan look "Right"

Xander opened his mouth to retort but paused, he looked to the right where he saw a weapons shop "C'mon" he called as he headed towards it

"What is it?" Louise asked

"I'm getting a sword" he smiled as Scarlet supplied him with information

---

"Good day" the shop keeper greeted

"Good day to you too" Xander greeted back as he turned to a barrel in the corner and looked in it. It took him a moment but he came out with a rusty old sword.

"How much is this?" Xander asked

"150 gold coins" the shop keeper answered

Xander didn't argue and placed two gold bars in front of the shop keeper. Each of the bars is worth around 5000 gold coins. Keep in mind that 3000 gold coins can buy you a decent house with a yard.

"Just because you are ignorant about the treasure you have doesn't mean I shouldn't pay you properly" Xander explained to the flabbergasted shop keeper and turned to leave

As the shop door closed behind him he heard a thank you from the shop keeper followed by a come again.

When Xander exited the store he saw Louise and Siesta engaged in a heated discussion. Not wanting to interrupt them he went invisible and approached them to listen in... Like the good future boyfriend he is.

"I'm telling you Xander is not the type to do that" Louise spoke, her tone filled with irritation and frustration

"Yes Miss Louise" Siesta agreed, but the lack of conviction behind her words was shining as bright as the sun

"Why are you like this?" Louise demanded angrily

Siesta lowered her head at that "I understand that that is what Miss Louise sees" Siesta spoke softly, her eyes sad, she looked up with a wary smile "but I had aristocrat boys, students of the academy, be nice to me before. In the end they all want the same thing. I hear what they say miss and it's not nice"

Louise wanted to reply but was interrupted by Xander revealing himself "well it's a good thing that I'm neither an aristocrat nor a student of the academy" he supplied

"Ah, m-m-master Xander" Siesta spluttered nervously "I- uh- I mean-"

Xander turned to look in a certain direction "I smell something nice from that way, let's go get some lunch" he smiled as he took both Louise and Siesta's arms into his and walked to a nearby diner.

His words weren't going to convince Siesta he's different, but his actions will. For now though, let's start with a nice lunch.