Half an hour after Rika’s Triumphant outburst, we stood in front of the gate outside the Fortress Rose Dorn. We were about to enter the Fortress Town, commonly called “Roots”.

  “Are you finally telling me about the errands you have to run? You know I have csses to teach tomorrow, and Otto won’t…”

  “Yeah, yeah, stop being such a chicken and just get on with it.”

  “You wouldn’t say that if you…”

  “…knew Otto? I have known him for years, and this is not the first time one of his students has been going out the day before. You will be fine. Just live a little, you might enjoy it.”

  With these words, Rika pushed me through the wide-open gate. Contrary to the gate leading into the crater, the gate leading into Roots was wide enough for almost three wagons and only featured the most basic defenses. Security, however, was an entirely different story. Rika and I only got through so fast because everyone knew Rika and had at least heard of me.

  Rika took my hand and led me through the bustling streets. The Half-Timbered Houses along the main road towards the Fortress were at least two to three stories high with bck shingles and their walls painted in matte blue and red colors. Most were even taller than the thin inner Fortress wall they were facing. They were lined with Traveling Merchants and Housewives who sold their wares to passing Soldiers or maids on their way to the main Market.

  Flowerpots were hanging from windowsills, clotheslines strung from one side to the other, filled with all kinds of clothes, even raunchy Underwear…, and on the edge were small patches of daisies peeking through polished cobblestone. I could even make out a cat with a pigeon in its mouth being chased by a bunch of rowdy, giggling children.

  It was completely the opposite of the cold, clean, and strict Fort Rose Dorn. I had feared the people of Roots would be as cold and rough as the soldiers manning the walls.

  As I marveled at the stark difference between Fort Rose Dorn and its Roots, Rika continued to pull me along, stopping only when we arrived at our first destination.

  “Madam Marigold?”

  Instead of answering my Question, however. Rika just pulled me inside. I could hear the melodious Store bell ringing once, followed by another when the door closed behind us. The sight that met me inside was a wide room filled to the brim with dresses. As far as the eye could see, there was a paradise of ce, silk, wool, and brocade. Appearing behind the counter in the far back was a weirdly small Woman. At first, I thought she had dwarfism. Only after a few seconds did I realize she was a Gnome.

  Almost all her Proportions were like a normal Woman just shrunk down, except for two. Her, even by Human standards, broad chest was further accentuated by a deep neckline held up by a corset beneath her dress. She had red Hair held up by two golden pins with red stones tipping the ends, forming two spiraling Hair buns. Her Fingers were fitted with gold rings and ended in red colored nails. She wore a long green with gold thread embroidered dress and had the most welcoming smile I had seen in all my life, well, two lives really. She welcomed us with a booming melodic voice worthy of an Opera singer,

  “Hello, Rika and… Oh, you must be Ruby, everyone is talking about you. It is so good to finally see you.”

  “Hello Rosalia, Ruby, this is the Owner of Madam Marigold, Rosalia Marigold. Rosalia, this is my Friend Ruby, the Rumored healer. You must have heard about her?”

  Rosalia embraced my hands with hers, wiped back and forth on her toes,

  ~Jiggle~

  and said,

  “Of course, no one in Roots hasn’t heard. I don’t even want to know what might have happened to you if the Ibasan had gotten to you first. They are like beasts.”

  The Ibasan were primarily known for their continued failure to take Fort Rose Dorn and for raiding the coastlines to capture women and workers for their mines. If I had gotten to them first, I might have ended up as one of their Sex Sves.

  But if everyone in Roots has heard about me, do they also know that I arrived stark naked? Best not to think about it, I can’t control what people say.

  While I was getting red from Rosalia’s “politeness” and my stupid thoughts.

  ~Jiggle~

  Rika finally told me and Rosalia about the errand she had dragged me here for.

  “Rosalia, I need your help.”

  “For you, anything, Darling.”

  “Help me turn ‘this’ into a proper Woman.”

  I hoped someone was standing behind me for a second, but when I turned around, there was no one. Except for the three of us, the store was empty.

  “Hey, what is that supposed to…”

  “Mhm, you are right. ‘This’ simply won’t do.”

  “Come on, you two can’t just call me ‘this’...”

  But they did. And before I could protest any further, they had already stuffed me into a dressing room, throwing all kinds of dresses my way. In my past life, I hated shopping for clothes. Everything was always too long or too tight. But in this life without the constraints of sizes due to my new Body, I began hating shopping for a different reason. There was too much. Ultimately, it felt like I had tried on every dress in the store.

  Dresses of every color, dresses out of silk, dresses with a neckline so deep it would even make a harbor slut blush, dresses so thin they were almost see trough and dresses so heavy I could barely walk. Rika and Rosalia treated me like a glorified dress-up Doll, marveling over one Outfit before immediately tossing it aside for the next one. It felt that even Rosalia had forgotten her original goal of selling dresses in favor of seeing me in her Designs.

  In the end, mostly because of budget concerns, we agreed on a thin yellow summer dress and a pair of light brown ft shoes. When we finally left the store, I was ready to kiss the floor like a sailor returning from months of voyage. But Rika had other pns and dragged me from one store to the next. A jeweler with masterfully carved jade rings in the gss front. A make-up artist who polished my nails until they were shining. A florist with a rare meat-eating pnt that only bloomed every ten years but smelled like a rotten corpse. A Store that officially only sold women’s Underwear and negligee, with a secret section in the back filled with Sex Toys carved from wood and ivory, as well as a few experimental contraceptives and aphrodisiacs.

  How could all these different shops targeted towards women exist in this small Fortress town? Simple: Many Knights and nobles who are sent here for temporary service take their Wives and daughters with them. Over time, a measure that stemmed from convenience and keeping House Yuwen in check resulted in stores specifically targeting noble Ladies popping up.

  Eventually, Rika ended our shopping spree at a small bakery specializing in sweets, cookies, and cakes.

  We were sitting outside at a small table. My loot, piled next to us in small packages, consisted of a thin golden neckce featuring a teardrop ruby, a bangle carved out of white jade, Poppy seeds, a pink negligee Rika dared me to buy, and a thin bck… Ahem.

  I ordered a perfect sweet and slightly sour apple pie with a warm cup of tea, and Rika went with a slice of chiffon cake and freshly pressed orange juice.

  “Wasn’t so bad coming out of your shell now, was it?”

  “Sigh, no, it wasn’t, but could you at least give me a heads up the next time you want to pull something like this?”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you would run away or come up with some excuse.”

  “Hmph, I guess you are right.”

  “But now that I look at you, it really worked.”

  “What worked?”

  “You look like a real Woman now. Back in the Fortress, you looked boyish, almost like a man.”

  “I have always looked like a real Woman.”

  “No, you haven’t. Didn’t you notice all the looks you got today?”

  Now that she points it out, there have been a lot. It was even worse than the attention I had been given the first week after my arrival. Even a few girls were turning after me. Unable to refute her cim, I stuffed my pouting cheeks with the rest of the cake and was ready to leave when I noticed a tall figure entering the Bakery.

  “Is that...?”

  “Just keep watching.”

  Through the Bakery’s Window, I saw Averall standing shyly before a small young Woman holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Or at least I thought he looked shy judging by his twitchy legs. He was so tall I could only see him gulping. The Girl got as red as a tomato, hiding her face behind her hands. Averell’s leg began to wobble even more.

  “Is that why we are here?”

  But Rika just fshed me a knowing smile.