What!? It's not fake! Definitely don't say that to him, either!
[Fufufufu…don't worry, the more items you get, the more gold he'll have.] (Mizuki)
I respond to Zevy before the silence gets noticeable.
"Hahahaha…well we're not married, but you didn't misinterpret the nature of our relationship either, Zevy. This is Nina, my adventuring partner, and she's why we're here. We wanted to get her an assortment of clothes, a travel pack, a coin purse, and a canteen. Please feel free to suggest anything else to her that you think she'd like…I'm sure you've honed such an ability well." (Mizuki)
At my last remark, his eyes light up greedily, and he begins rubbing his hands together like a Bond villain. This guy really is just too on the nose.
After that, he leads Nina around virtually his entire store. Surprisingly, she enjoys seeing the different items and having someone explain their uses.
She ends up buying several dresses, a couple pairs of pants, several long and short-sleeve shirts, a nightgown, a robe, sandals and boots, a travel pack, a coin purse, a utility belt, and a canteen. She also insisted on numerous undergarments, including a pair of lingerie that I protested in vain, and on a small tent and two sleeping bags, even though I can teleport.
Before leaving the store, we spend four gold coins. Zevy is very pleased with our visit and insists that I should never come to his store again without my 'future wife'. For reasons I can't fathom, him and Nina get along dangerously well. We leave the store with so many items that we need to drop them off at our inn room.
While briefly at the inn, she decides to change into some of her new clothes – a blue long-sleeve shirt and black pants, both of which accentuate her figure nicely. Sensing my feelings on the matter through our connection, Nina once again spontaneously attacks me.
Eventually, we make our way to Percivil's shop for Nina's weapons and armor. Before we enter, I shoot Nina a quick message.
[Hey, Nina, the dwarf who runs this place has proven himself a real friend to me, so please be nice. Other than you, he's the only person who has some idea of what I really am.] (Mizuki)
I sense her surprise, and then she smiles at me.
[Sure, Mizuki!] (Nina)
I enter the shop with Nina, and Percivil is in the storefront for once, seemingly checking his inventory. We are the only customers in the store.
Noticing us, Percivil's face lights up.
"Aye, Mizuki! At this rate, should I just rent yah a room in the back?" (Percivil)
After finishing his jests at me, he turns his gaze to Nina. As expected, he's curious about her.
"Well now, I see that you're not as much of a lone wolf as I took yah for, Mizuki. Who might yah be, young lady?"
Nina flashes him a radiant smile, then throws her arms around me from behind. Still holding on, she responds.
"Fufufu…young lady, eh? You dwarves sure do love your flattery. I'm Nina, and I'm the woman that Mizuki here buys lingerie for. We are also adventuring partners." (Nina)
I almost wish I could have a stroke. I cannot believe she just said that. I can't take this dragon anywhere respectable.
Percivil goes silent for a moment, dumbfounded, then he suddenly erupts into raucous laughter.
"Hahahaha, oh my, Mizuki. I'm fortunate that twisting your screws is only my hobby and not my job, aye, or else this woman would be putting me out of business!" (Percivil)
After injecting his two cents, Percivil continues his raucous laughter for a few minutes. When he eventually gets ahold of himself, I sigh deeply and respond to him and Nina.
"Good to see you, Percivil. Though I would not have described it that way, our relationship is essentially as Nina said. I should mention that Nina here knows all about me, so no need to worry. On to the matter at hand, though, we're actually here to enlist your services for weapons and armor for Nina." (Mizuki)
Percivil seems to get serious and narrows his eyes at Nina. I guess he doesn't joke around about his work, huh?
"Well then, that's certainly something I can do. Do yah have any idea what kind of weapon or armor may be suited to yah?" (Percivil)
A sly smile forms on Nina's face, and she glances at me quickly, then addresses Percivil.
"Yes, there's one weapon I've seen before that I wanted to try. However, I don't know the exact type I'd need, and I want to look at other weapons as well. Armor…you can just show me whatever you think is best." (Nina)
Percivil nods at her request. Then, he begins leading her around the shop, explaining different weapons as he goes. She nods politely throughout, and she tries experimenting with a few of the weapons he shows her.
Eventually, she expresses a preference for a bow and a pair of daggers. She doesn't like any of the armor options, and she insists that she'll be fine without it – I'll have to ask about her abilities in this form later.
Percivil gets down to weapon specifics with her.
"Aye, a good combination for a lady of your build, I'd say. As for what kind of bow and daggers to use…" (Percivil)
He strokes his beard some and looks up like he's thinking. Then he looks back at Nina.
"Do yah mind telling me what your magic power level and affinity is like? That'd make it easier to recommend something for yah." (Percivil)
Nina puts a coy smile on her face and responds with a chuckle.
"Fufufufu…well I'm not really sure how to give you a good idea of my magic power. Mizuki mentioned that the guild will measure it for me, but we haven't been there yet. I'd say that you probably don't have any weapons that require too much magic power for me to wield. As for affinities…I specialize in earth spells."
Percivil seems intrigued by her comment about her magic power, and glances at me nervously, like 'if she's with him, should I be worried?'.