The Life I Gained From Dying

Chapter 5 - New Face in Town

Knock! Knock!

"Hello? Tez?"

"Come on in." A man's voice said from inside the building. "That voice, is that Lady Aira?"

"Yes Tez, it's me." She replied with a smile on her face.

"Come right in, I'll be with you soon!"

"Take your time!"

Mai and Kaden entered Tez's establishment which was filled with various garments being displayed. From different arrangements of shirts and pants to various shoes and accessories.

"Just one guy runs this place?" Kaden asks.

"His two nieces also help out, but most of the time it's only him."

Kaden watched Mai for a few seconds as she browsed through the contents in the store with an innocent smile on her face.

"I was starting to wonder if you were capable of smiling." Kaden stated.

"... Of course I would be." She replied as the smile left her face.

"That's the first time I've seen it. To be living in a place like this I'd assume there'd be endless things to smile about, but so far you've worn a frown more than anyone I've met here."

...

No response? I guess that means something is up then. I'll leave it alone for now, since I don't think I'm close enough to pry into any personal issues right now. Can't damage this relationship. It would be nice if I could finesse this one before I return home.

"Alright Lady Aira, how can I be of assistance today." Said a large man as he entered the room.

He paused once he noticed Kaden and then walked over to him, inspecting the clothes he was wearing.

"I'm not with those Ignus people, this is just a coincidence." Kaden quickly cleared up.

He stroked his beard as he walked around Kaden and examined his attire.

"The Elders asked if you can sort him out with some new apparel Tez." Mai stated.

"You wear some interesting clothes boy. What's this for?" Tez asked as he lifted the hood on Kaden's jacket.

"It's a hoodie... you pull it over your head like this when it's raining or it gets cold."

Tez slapped both of his hands on Kaden's shoulders and shook him a bit while laughing.

"Very resourceful! I love it." Tez exclaimed as he released Kaden. "What exactly are you looking for boy."

"Um, clothes." Kaden replied holding his head.

"We do have plenty of that, yes."

"As you can tell Tez, he isn't from this land and doesn't know much to anything about appearances." Mai stated.

"Then how about this kid. Leave your current attire here with me, and in one week I'll have a custom one for you." Tez offered.

"I wouldn't mind that, but I can't walk out of here naked now can I?"

"It would be amusing but I wouldn't want my nieces to see that." Tez replied.

"I guess I'll take the cheapest t-shirt and pants you have then."

"Cheapest?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, I don't like being in debt to people so I don't want you spending too much on me." Kaden explained.