Entralling Bloom

21.) Window Shopping

Rosalind

As the group continued with the shopping trip, Rosalind noticed that Albedo kept sneaking the occasional glance at her. She wondered if there was something he wanted to say, but he and Lisa were indulging in some gentle banter about potion-making.

And -given that being a literal other-worldly topic for her- Rosalind didn't see much room or cause for interjection.

Instead, she simply walked alongside the pair while Amber and Klee ran ahead of the group, causing a ruckus as the raced across the brick road.

Those two match each other's energy perfectly, Rosalind thought as she observed them.

Klee skipped along the stone streets, avoiding the cracks between each brick while Amber followed suit, tallying each of the "points" they earned for hopping across the bricks without touching a crevice.

With that system in place, Ros calculated as she watched, one could quickly earn loads of points by making huge leaps. But, I suppose leaping increases the risk of jumping too far and hitting a crack in the sidewalk, which meant losing forfeiting all points for the distance you covered.

Klee had the lead with 25 points, while Amber lagged with 20. Upon closer inspection, however, one could see that the Outrider was carefully maintaining a five-brick gap to let her pint-sized playmate win.

Ros watched them silently, off in her little world as she scanned the stores around her for any outfits that caught her eye.

Klee asked me what I would wear to the party and I think I've settled on looking out for a nice midi dress. A shin-length dress should appear casual but not too informal. Plus, looser outfits look better on me given my thicker build.

Choosing a dress also means I won't have to worry about finding a matching top and bottom which will save me both money and time.

Hmm, Ros pondered. I have 2,500 mora in savings. Back on Earth, it's said that one should have at least 3 or 4 rent payments saved up as a safety precaution before leasing a place...

"Ugh," She sighed aloud, vexed once again by her current financial situation.

I'll need to have three times my current savings before I can move out of the attic. I honestly have no idea how much I'll be spending today too.

The average price of a semi-formal dress in Mondstadt is can't be more than a couple of hundred Mora, can it?This outing shouldn't set me too far back... Oh but then I'll need to buy groceries this week...

"Ros..." A distant voice called.

2,500 minus say 500 mora if I'm frugal about my groceries...

Ros!" Lisa snapped.

"H-huh?"

"You're muttering, dear."

"Oh! my bad" Ros squeaked.

Ack, I got too caught up in my thoughts again. Hopefully, I didn't say anything too loudly.

"Think nothing of it," Albedo replied.

Lisa's expression softened in agreement.