"Aren’t... we meant to be looking for information? What are we even doing right now?" Elias’s smile twitched while following behind Alice. "What? New place new clothes." Alice shrugged. "I don’t see what’s wrong with that. "Plus, how am I supposed to make a good disguise if I don’t even know what people usually wear here? If I randomly pick one, wouldn’t it just turn more eyes towards me?" She stuck out her tongue while grabbing a few dresses and seeing how they look in front of a mirror. To her surprise, there were quite a few turtle neck collars with exposed shoulders or chest windows. Not only that, some of the outfit even exposed parts of the hip or even the stomach area. A type of fashion that focused on the shape of the body for the women. On the other hand, the gentlemen got suits and asymmetrical designs that mixed certain militaristic flair along with pieces of decorative armour. Of course, the women weren’t limited to just outfits that exposed their bodies. There were also modest attire but by far the most prominent were the ones that exposed the stomach and shoulder. After mixing and matching, Alice bought herself quite a few pieces that she could combine while Elias was forced to suffer through the ordeal. "Alright that’s one store down. Let’s check out some other places that I saw." Alice smiled happily as there was a bounce in her step. "Huh?! Another one???" Elias widened his eyes. "Of course! Did you think I’ll leave after just one? You have to check out all the best places so that I can make the best outfit for this region!" Alice puffed out her chest. "Then there are also the stores I want to visit for your clothes. Can’t have you wandering around with just the umbrella and what you’re wearing now after all. Even if I’m blending in, if you stick out like a sore thumb it’ll ruin the disguise." Alice framed Elias with her fingers while thinking about what outfits would suit him. "Wait I’m involved? Look, we-" Before he could finish, Alice cut him off. "Yeah yeah I know. Now come on, we can do that later. Let’s check out the next store." If Alyss could talk, she would give Elias a warning right now. Aside from mead, Alice’s next favourite thing was buying cute clothing and mixing them. A mead goblin soul with the hobbies of fashion. Their shopping took 8 whole hours. During the entire time, Elias was either forced to be a model or giving Alice his opinions on certain outfits. After visiting all of the stores, Alice understood that Extalia has an infatuation with asymmetrical designs. It wasn’t limited to male or female. No matter the style, asymmetry was always involved. Not only that, but they also enjoy wearing metal on their outfit, especially silver adornments. Perhaps it was by influence of the Moon Church or maybe even another reason, by silver is their favourite metal. With these in mind along with a few other trends that Alice had spotted, she finalised her disguise. In terms of physical appearance, Alice gave herself long black hair where the roots and inside was dyed a bright green. And to contrast this green, she gave herself a pair of bright crimson eyes. Outfit wise, she chose a cropped white jacket with tall collars and large sleeves that hid her hands. A black body suit underneath with the sides of her waist exposed but not her stomach. A pair of asymmetrical shorts with the right side extending and merging with thigh high boots. On the left, a single belt around her thigh into knee high boots with silver accessories around both ankles. Her waist had some decorative silver armour pieces with cloth attached to form a fake skirt of sorts that only covered the side and back. Looking at herself in the mirror, Alice gave herself a twirl and nodded in satisfaction. "Fufu~ I give myself a cute out of 10. Don’t you agree?" Alice asked, striking a pose with her tongue peeking out of a cheeky smile. "Arguably, despite having an outfit that matches the design choice, you stand out far more than before." Elias sighed, adjusting his sleeves. Alice had also given him a new outfit. She left his hair and glasses as is since disguising him on top of herself would be a pain. It’s not like people knew who he is to begin with. He had a black oversized suit jacket draped over his shoulders without needing his arms through the sleeves. They were attached on the underside to the real suit underneath. The suit had silver chains attached to a watch in his chest pocket and under the suit, he wore a bright red long sleeved shirt to contrast the black. Black tie tucked neatly and a set of black suit trousers and shoes. After adjusting the wrist buttons, he wore the black gloves that Alice had gotten him. "Well don’t you look just stylish." Alice smiled, adjusting his suit collar and tie. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 Taking a few steps back, she showed what he looked like in the mirror. "I’ll admit, it does look nice. But I don’t see how this is necessary." Elias sighed, brushing his hair back slightly. "It just is okay? Also how do you feel about a pair of red earrings? I think it’ll contrast nicely." Alice rubbed her hands together. "I’ll pass. It’s already been 8 hours and this is the third outfit you’ve had me test out. Any more than this and I won’t play along." Elias frowned. "You say that but you stuck through it for 8 hours ,haven’t you? What’s a few more minutes?" Alice smirked as Elias fell silent. Clicking his tongue, he looked out of the store. "I’ll admit it was necessary for four hours. But eight? Isn’t that a little excessive?" He mumbled. After leaving the Abyss through the gateway, they arrived in the city of Cyradil. First came the liberation from the miasma. The sensation of being able to breathe properly without any issues. Next came the view of the clear blue sky and sun. The feeling of safety and people chatting happily around them. The common folk walked without issue, ignorant of the things happening outside of their perception. But Elias could sense several eyes scanning the entire place and tracking Hunters through the city. They were wary of those who held power and observed carefully. Thus he acted as though he didn’t know they were being watched. He acted as a tourist, enjoying the view of the city and in part, it wasn’t inaccurate. Despite working around Nethril and the surrounding cities and towns, Elias never went up to the surface. But what greeted him was a city of white marble stacked along the mountainside. A giant building crowned in gold and silver sat in the centre with towering archways and towers flanking the sides. Waterfalls and fountains filled the main square while giant tree roots coiled around the city, poking out from the ground before diving back in. A city merged with nature, that’s the best way he could describe it, pristine and sacred. Large blue banners were strung from the balconies and rooftops, fluttering in the wind as the crest of Extalia was embroidered into the fabric. Elven guards and human guards would occasionally patrol the city, keeping public order but that was not where the gazes that he sensed originated from. They were simply a front, a distraction from the true guards hidden away in the shadows. While shopping, Elias could sense the guards staring at them, but couldn’t quite pinpoint their whereabouts. It was during the fourth hour did he finally sense their disappearance, yet Alice continued without care. And now, with Alice being satisfied with her outfit, could they finally get back on track. Four hours wasted more than needed. "Excessive? I don’t think so." Alice smiled knowingly, revealing her sharp teeth. "The last ones left just now. There were two more that kept an eye on us." She didn’t use vision in fear of notifying them. Instead, she observed the energy surrounding them. There were certain strands that would always follow no matter where she went. They were observing their actions, their movements, their conversation. She couldn’t feel their stares but they were there, watching, observing, possibly reporting. It was only now, after they finally left, did Alice end their shopping spree. Of course, she was also happy that she had the chance to shop to her hearts content so if anything, she was grateful. Elias furrowed his brows. He knew Alice’s detection range was rather crazy considering what she demonstrated in Nethril but this goes beyond just range. She was seeing something he wasn’t. "Don’t tell me... If you wanted to, you could’ve found me even though I was hiding." Elias forced a smile, cold sweat running down his back. Alice gave him a glance and smiled. "I could’ve, but if I did, you wouldn’t have a good impression and probably try to run away no?" Hearing this, Elias scratched his hair and sighed. If a freak with that level of detection appeared in the city, he would immediately flee from the city. "Damn..." He muttered. The world was a large place, freaks and anomalies are common when looking at the big picture. "Don’t worry about it. Not many people can properly hide when I try to find them. But since we sent eight hours, we should start gathering information properly now." Alice gave her body a stretch. "Finally. What’s our next destination?" "Let’s hit up all the taverns. I want to see what me- rumours are floating around." ". . . You were about to say mead weren’t you?" "I don’t know what you mean. Now let’s go~ the taverns wait for us!"