After the meal, as always, the dishwashing followed.
However, in today’s kitchen, there were two shadows.
It was Dayton and Yerna.
Since getting married, the two often did the dishes together like this.
Even though washing the dishes was usually boring and tedious, it became quite a pleasant time when they chatted while moving their hands together.
Moreover, the time was reduced quite substantially.
-Clatter, clatter.
“Today, there aren’t many dishes. We’ll finish quickly,” Dayton said, scrubbing the sponge on a plate and handing it to Yerna.
-Splash-, tap.
Yerna took the soapy plate, rinsed it in water, dried it, and placed it in the cupboard, continuing the conversation.
“Yeah, lately, Luke hasn’t been eating that much. I guess that’s why.”
Just a few days ago, he was eating at the same level as Pyris, who usually consumed an unusually large amount of food.
Maybe it’s because Pyris is a spirit, but her portion was so extraordinary that it was hard to understand where all that food went, while Luke was never that much of an eater.
The sudden change in a child’s eating habits could be worrying.
However, when asked if he was troubled, Luke simply replied, “Lately, I’ve just been craving food strangely,” and that was all, so they let it go.
Still, he certainly seemed to be eating too much, but Luke’s dolls also helped with meal preparation, and since Luke had earned money from his prize and scholarships, it wasn’t a burden.
It was just that Dayton had caused a minor trouble by jokingly teasing Luke, “Suddenly, you’ve got an appetite? Are you…?”
But the child, who used to eat over ten servings, had suddenly dropped to a normal two servings today.
Naturally, this was a cause for concern.
“So what’s going on this time?”
“I don’t know…”
However, no matter how much adults thought about it, they couldn’t know a child’s mind.
After all, how could they, who were merely ordinary people, hope to understand the thoughts of a genius girl who graduated from Tigr Academy in just one year?
In the end, as initially expected, the dishwashing was soon done.
As Yerna wiped her wet hands on a towel, Luke came down from his room.
“Mom, I need winter clothes to wear outside. Let’s go to the clothing store,” he said.
At Luke’s words, Yerna nodded as if she suddenly realized something.
“Oh, right. Speaking of which, the clothes we bought last time must not fit anymore.”
She remembered having bought a ton of winter clothes for Luke last winter, but she hadn’t realized that Luke had grown so much since then and that he was now incomparable to the Luke of before.
In the end, the clothes she had bought for him had barely been worn and had all ended up going to Pyris and Diana, while Luke had no winter clothes at all.
Well, the weather has been getting chilly recently.
It might be cold to wear his usual clothes.
“Okay, let’s go buy some. Are you getting ready to go? I’ll start the car,” she said.
“Yes!”
As he replied and headed back to his room, Yerna and Dayton exchanged glances and nodded.
“Now that I think about it, he’s probably dieting to buy new clothes.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Was the sudden decrease in his eating habits really because of clothes?
Well, after all, Luke is a girl, so maybe it was something he was concerned about.
But somehow, it didn’t seem like Luke would gain much weight from all that eating…
Perhaps it was because the binge-eating period hadn’t been that long?
Well, as long as it’s not excessive dieting…
—–
A few weeks ago, since obtaining the clue “Ruchest” in a facility in Rienne Forest, Luke had been steadily gathering information about the company Ruchest.
He was very curious about why such a company had set foot into the demonized “Draigand.”
Well, the sources of information were quite limited; Luke could only scrape together whatever data he could find using the computer’s telepathic network.
Ruchest, a multinational medical corporation.
A rather large company that develops and distributes a wide variety of medications.
They have ventured into everything from simple cold medicine to research on treatments for various rare incurable diseases, and even emotional suppression drugs for mana accumulation syndrome patients.
Moreover, they also showed interest in using Dragon Hearts in medical treatment, and numerous families invest in or support them.
It was a place that seemed to be larger and more powerful than expected.
However, after a whole day spent searching the network, the information he gathered was all there was.
No matter how much more he tried to search, there didn’t seem to be any usable information beyond that.
But he wasn’t disappointed.
He hadn’t harbored much hope for significant searches from the beginning.
If the corporation were smart, they wouldn’t reveal critical information in such public places.
Therefore, to acquire proper information, he needed to somehow make contact with someone from Ruchest.
And not just anyone, but someone in a pretty high position within the corporation…
Regardless, he had managed to gather some ideas through his searches about how to approach this matter.
“Ruchest is said to have a business presentation next week at a building conference hall near Rienne Forest…”
However, the business presentation was not open to the general public but only to investors.
Naturally, this was a presentation for investors.
Even if Luke pooled all his money, he wouldn’t be able to reach the status of an investor that would get an invitation to such a meeting, and even if he had that amount to invest, it would already be too late.
However, the building itself was not completely off-limits.
It seemed that alongside the business presentation, there would also be an industrial exhibition, so many people were expected to come and go.
Then he could blend into the crowd and sneak in without trouble.
But to do that, he would need the appropriate attire.
His thin clothes had already drawn comments from Homiru, the dwarf and Umi’s father, before, and would definitely attract attention in this weather.
After all, everyone else would be bundled up in coats and scarves in this chilly weather.
Wearing such thin clothes meant for warm spring weather would undoubtedly draw curious looks.
Thus, Luke needed thick clothing that would allow him to mingle with the crowd.
But since his existing winter clothes no longer fit, he had no choice but to buy new ones.
Of course, using the network, buying clothes was relatively easy.
In a world where a fridge can be brought right to your door with just a couple of commands, wouldn’t buying clothes be possible too?
At first, he was hesitant about the quality of the items, but after getting accustomed to a few purchases, he built up a level of trust, and now he knew his body size well enough, leaving no reason not to buy through the network.
It saved time; it was convenient.
However, clothes are something you wear, right?
Because of that, he felt somewhat reluctant to buy without seeing it with his own eyes.
Moreover, what if the clothes didn’t fit right or looked awkward when he actually tried them on?
What if the quality was so poor that he couldn’t even do a small enchantment on it after receiving it?
Unlike when purchasing magic devices, clothes rarely come with specifications.
In such a case, returning it would take time and effort.
Instead of wasting such resources, it would be better to try it on in person and decide.
After discussing this with Yerna, they arrived at a clothing store that looked quite sizable.
It seemed like a place where they could find any kind of clothing they wanted.
However, Luke didn’t plan to buy anything too expensive.
What mattered to Luke was merely that the clothing was unremarkable enough to blend into the crowd and strong enough to withstand various enchantments, with a stable magical structure.
Thus, Luke turned his attention toward a pile of clothing marked “Special Sale!”
While rummaging through it, he found a long cape that looked just right.
“Oho-. This is…”
It was a long cape with a large hood.
He remembered wearing such garments during his travels in the past.
Luke momentarily got lost in memories.
The cape had various advantages.
First, it was easy to put on and take off, and regardless of how much he grew, it could be worn without any issues; it provided excellent warmth, practically the same as moving while covered with a blanket.
Not only that, but it could serve practical purposes, such as hiding his hands inside the cape to surprise an adversary, spreading it out as a mat, or using it as a blanket when sleeping outside.
Moreover, having a big hood also allowed him to hide his face, making it very convenient for concealing his identity.
The cape was a garment with an endless list of benefits.
Additionally, it seemed to be made of sufficiently sturdy material to withstand various enchantments.
“Hmmm-.”
As he draped it over his shoulders, the familiar feeling wrapped around his body.
Pulling down the hood provided just enough cover, such that if viewed from above, it wouldn’t expose his face without needing additional magical measures.
Furthermore, the hood itself was large and wide, so his ears were also comfortable.
“Let’s see…”
With the long cape on, Luke checked himself in the mirror to see if there was anything awkward about it.
After turning around in front of the mirror, he felt that nothing seemed particularly awkward or unusual.
On the contrary, he felt a sense of nostalgia recalling the times when he traveled with his companions.
“Hehe, good. I found something nice.”
As he was putting the cape in order with a satisfied expression, Yerna arrived back late after parking the car, and was taken aback seeing Luke’s appearance.
“Oh my, a hooded cape?”
That was something only the old Forest Keepers used to wear.
Or perhaps, those old men who had no interest in fashion.
In any case, it was an outfit that didn’t go well with Luke.
“Uh, Luke. You’re not seriously planning to buy that, are you?”
“Oh, yes. Doesn’t it look good?”
At the moment Yerna saw Luke’s smiling face, she thought that no matter what he wore, he would look cute. But this was still not right.
She had to speak up.
“Well, it looks fine, but…”
“What’s wrong with it? Old wizards used to wear it often.”
It was indeed true that old wizards had worn such outfits.
When Luke tilted his head in confusion, Yerna scratched her cheek and continued.
“That’s quite out of fashion, though. Nowadays only old people in the countryside wear those. I was just a bit surprised that our Luke likes something like that.”
“…What? This is clothing that only old people in a rural area wear?”
At the mention of ‘clothing for old people,’ Luke stiffened.
No wonder he hadn’t seen anyone wearing something like this lately.
“Uh… but if you really want to buy it, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
“…No.”
Well, even though he personally fit the description of an ‘old man who is out of fashion,’ nobody else saw him that way…
Luke took the long cape he was wearing off and said, “I should pick something more trendy to wear outside.”
If he wanted to avoid standing out, that is.
