บท 38: Mr. and Mrs. Schneider

The city of Rosenheim, a tourist spot known worldwide for its impressive rose garden, for which the city earned the nickname of the City of Roses.

However, there is another characteristic that makes the city of Rosenheim unique, and that is the broad sense of fashion that its inhabitants have, thanks to the large number of tailor shops that are scattered throughout the city, all with their unique and exquisite designs that give the city of Rosenheim a variety of garments and styles that would be impossible to see elsewhere.

In fact, for this very reason, it was something of a tradition for the maidens of the city to investigate whether any new tailor's shop had been opened in order to check out their garments. If the clothes were to the maidens' liking, then they would spread the word to their friends, and the tailor shop would gain fame and customers.

But if, on the other hand, the clothes were not to their liking, then they would not recommend the store; they might even give the tailor's shop a bad image, giving it a bad reputation and most likely the impossibility of selling.

That was how stiff the competition was for tailors in the town of Rosenheim; not just anyone could open one; the right skills were needed in order to prosper.

Two young, noble-looking women were walking through the vibrant streets of the city. Both carried parasols over their heads to prevent the strong sun from damaging their delicate skin, and as was common in the city of Rosenheim, both damsels were dressed in elegant and exquisite-looking gowns.

"Hey, I heard from a friend that a new tailor shop opened not long ago. She said that the dresses they sold were of high quality and that the owner was a very handsome man, too."

"Really?"

One of the maidens discussed her new discovery with her friend, who seemed interested in her words.

"Yes, it's actually not too far from here; do you want to go take a look?"

"That sounds good; it's been a while since a new tailor shop was opened."

With that agreed, the maidens changed their steps and headed for the new tailor shop that had popped up a few days ago.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the aforementioned new tailor shop.

"Faden und Nadel, it looks like she was right; the dresses on display are quite nice."

Both maidens stopped in front of the new tailor shop with a sign that read Faden und Nadel. A transparent glass allowed them to see some of the ready-made dresses, and they seemed to be of very good quality. Unable to contain their curiosity, the women entered the tailor's shop to take a closer look at the dresses.

Ding~

A bell rang as they opened the door, and upon hearing this, a man who was organizing various fabrics in the back approached the counter.

"Welcome, how could I help you?"

An attractive man with light brown hair and eyes, dressed in a white shirt and slacks, greeted them with a bright smile.

Both women were momentarily charmed by the man's smile. But after noticing a ring placed on his ring finger, they abandoned any attempt at coquetry.

Despite his attractive appearance, they had their pride and were not about to mess with a married man.

Then, responding to the man's attitude in kind, one of the women smiled and replied.

"We couldn't help but notice the beautiful garments on display and decided to go in and take a look."

"I understand. I have some samples, if you would be interested in seeing them."

"We'd love to."

After that, he led them to the back of the tailor shop, where several dresses of various styles were on display. Simple, more detailed, ruffled, Victorian, and also men's garments such as trench coats and vests.

Both maidens were pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the dresses. The feel of the fabrics to the touch was soft and comfortable; the materials used to create them must have been very expensive.

"Would you like to place an order?".

After a while, the man asked them with the same beaming smile as before. Both maidens, noticing that they had found a diamond in the rough, didn't think twice before nodding.

"Very well, then this way, please."

The man led them into another room, and in it was a woman who appeared to be drawing a design for a costume. This one, noticing the arrival of the man and the woman, stood up and greeted them.

"This is Mari, my wife and the one in charge of taking your measurements."

The woman named Mari was a beautiful woman with brown hair and honey-colored eyes; she didn't seem to be very talkative, so the women greeted her with a nod.

"Oh, come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself; excuse me for that; my name is Johann Schneider, the owner of this tailor shop."

The man introduced himself with a slight bow.

"A pleasure, Mr. Schneider; my name is Sophie Fischer."

"I am Laura Hoffmann."

The women also introduced themselves and then followed Mari to get their measurements taken. After that, they discussed the type of design they wanted and what materials they wanted to be used in making it.

After discussing everything, they paid 5 gold coins each and left satisfied.

Johann and Mari watched the women leave, and after a while the woman spoke up.

"It seems these women do have decency, not like the previous one who had the nerve to flirt with you in front of me."

Mari complained, thinking about the bad experience she had earlier. She had to restrain herself from kicking out that bold woman who was flirting with her "husband" in front of her.

The man next to her, noticing her mood, hugged her from behind and said softly.

"Well, she was one of our first customers, and we couldn't give a bad impression; besides, I have the most beautiful woman in the world as my "wife.". How could I be interested in just any woman?"

"Using that word so casually, I didn't know you were so brazen, young mas-."

"Hey, what did we say earlier?"

The man interrupted her mid-sentence, and the woman blushed and said in a low tone, almost like a whisper:

"D-dear."

"Hahaha, I keep wondering why you're so embarrassed; didn't you train for covert missions and stuff?"

"It's just because you're the one I'm telling."

She said as the blush on her cheeks deepened. Thinking that enough was enough, the man left her alone and changed the subject.

"Have you heard back from the informants yet?"

"Yes, we've already located where the tribesmen are currently staying."

"That's great; Miss Lissa's men are as quick as ever."

That's right, this seemingly normal married couple were actually Arthur and Livia; they were wearing special disguises that allowed them to completely change their appearance, so you wouldn't recognize them even if you looked at them closely.

"We'll have to make contact with the Fuchsvolk and Elchvolk tribes before long."

In addition to Christa Schmetterling. Arthur was thinking about getting more forces to help him. The Reclesia family had the support of an entire organization of demons, so the more people on his side, the better.

"But we have to be careful; they are very hostile towards any human that approaches their territory, something understandable knowing their history."

The Fuchsvolk and Elchvolk tribes are tribes of beastmen who once had their village where the city of Rosenheim is now. But in a raid of the empire to expand, they hunted and banished the beastmen from their lands.

This happened a long time ago, so his hatred should have waned over the generations by now, but things started to go wrong when the Schmetterling family took over the rule of the city.

The Schmetterling family hunted down both tribes to completely extinguish them from their territory. This, since the Schmetterling family is quite discriminatory towards any being that is not human, is something widely known... That is also why, despite being involved in the business of creating scrolls and magical artifacts, they have never done business with elves or dwarves, even though it could bring them higher profits.

"Yes, they are a bunch of racists."

That's why they plan to get in contact with them to help them get revenge on the Schmetterling family, and in return he would ask for their help in taking on the Reclesia family when the time comes.

"Although I will also benefit in another way."

The Schmetterling family has a direct contract with the Reclesia family. They are their main source of scrolls and magical artifacts, and in return, the Reclesia family provides them with protection and high-quality materials at a low cost.

"So if the Schmetterling family falls, the Reclesia family will be left without their main source of scrolls and artifacts, which will consequently reduce their forces somewhat."

Of course the Reclesia family has other ways of getting artifacts and scrolls, but the Schmetterling's are their legal supplier, and with the Pendragons in the way, I don't think they would dare draw resources from their other sources.

"Which one is the closest?"

"The Fuchsvolk village is the one currently closest."

"Alright, I think we should pay them a visit tonight; get things ready."

"Yes."

With that ready, they continued their day serving the customers that came in. As they had recently opened and the number of tailor shops in Rosenheim was quite large, not many people came, but it wouldn't be long before they would become well known.

The sun slowly set and finally, when their last customer left, they closed the store and prepared to visit the Fuchsvolk tribe.

***

Arthur and Livia rode their horses in the direction of the forest outside the city. They used a specially prepared route so they would not be noticed leaving and continued for several minutes before stopping.

"It would be best to go on foot from here; we need to appear as harmless as possible so as not to make them nervous."

"I understand."

They dismounted their horses but did not tie them to any trees. They were so well trained that it wasn't necessary; besides, this way they could escape if something dangerous happened or they encountered any beasts or monsters.

"Stay here; we'll be back in a little while."

After instructing them to stay there, they both started walking.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to come without weapons?"

Livia asked a little nervously, since they didn't even carry their storage rings.

"Don't worry about that; the Fuchsvolk tribe, though hostile towards humans, won't attack if they don't see a threat, though it might be another story with the Elchvolk."

Swoosh-!

As they spoke, an arrow flew out of the darkness and landed right in front of them. It was followed by a shrill voice.

"Stop!"

Looking up, in the trees were hundreds of glowing eyes watching them. Remaining calm, they raised their hands, and Arthur spoke.

"Calm down; we're not here to fight."

"How do we know it's not a lie?"

"We are not armed, and you can check the surroundings. There is no group waiting to ambush you or anything similar."

"..."

They were silent for a while; after a while, one of the figures came down from the tree. Showing a woman with a body completely covered in reddish fur; she had fox ears and a fox tail, and her face had the features of one with an elongated snout.

"What do you want?"

She asked as she eyed them warily.

"We just want to talk, that's all."

Arthur said and stepped forward.

"Stay back."

However, the woman pointed her bow at him, preventing him from approaching.

"Very well, I'll stay here. I think we got off on the wrong foot; how about we introduce ourselves first? My name is Arthur."

"Schnellana, what do you want here?"

The woman introduced herself, but still with wariness in her eyes.

"Hello Schnellana, as I said before, we just came to talk."

"And what exactly do you want to talk about?"

"A way for you to stop being chased by the Schmetterling."

At his words, Schnellana's eyes twitched. She pointed her bow at Arthur with a piercing gaze and asked him in a cold voice.

"What do you mean?"

"I understand that you may not believe it; I'm a complete stranger offering you the solution to a problem your tribe has faced for years, but I assure you it's true."

"And how do you expect me to believe that?"

"I can swear an oath here and now, in the name of the goddess Artemis."

"!!!"

Schnellana looked very surprised when she heard his words, and rightly so. Swearing an oath in the name of a god was something that was not to be done in the garter.

As I said before, gods exist in this world, and they can sense anything that has to do with them: offerings, prayers, oaths, and even if you call their names with a strong wish, they might even appear in front of you.

When an oath was made in the name of a god, the god would automatically take notice. Breaking this oath would be like spitting on the god's name, which obviously carried a severe punishment.

"But it can't be just any god; it has to be one that the person is devoted to."

That's why I chose the goddess Artemis, the goddess of wild animals, hunting, vegetation, chastity, and childbirth.

The Fuchsvolk, being a tribe of hunters and beastmen, were very devoted to this goddess.

Schnellana looked him straight in the eye as if to determine whether he was lying or not. After a while, she lowered her bow and spoke.

"Follow me."

***

"What is the meaning of this, Schnellana?"

Sitting on top of a cushion was a small old man with his body completely covered in hair. His hair was so abundant that it was difficult to notice his features unless you looked closely. At his sides were two burly, intimidating-looking Beastmen.

"Why did you bring these humans to the village? Even though you are my granddaughter, this is something I could not allow."

"Grandfather, please allow me to explain."

Kneeling, Schnellana looked at her grandfather with respect and began to explain the situation.

"These two humans here came unarmed, and we confirmed that there was no group following them, and..."

"And?"

"They said they had a way for that family of mages to stop chasing us."

The mood of the room became solemn, and the old man on the cushion spoke in a calm but firm voice.

"And you believed them that?".

"They said they were willing to take an oath in the name of the goddess Artemis."

The room became silent once more; the old man on the cushion turned his gaze to Arthur and Livia, who were kneeling next to Schnellana and in the same calm tone, but this time conveying the weight of his words asked them.

"Do you really have a way for my people to stop being hunted by those wizards?"

Arthur looked directly at the old man and answered without hesitation.

"Yes, I have a way."

The old man held his gaze on Arthur for a while; finally he let out a slight sigh, and what he said next confirmed to Arthur his success.

"Prepare the ceremonial room."

***

A/N: MY EXAMS ARE FINALLY OVER!!! Sorry for not uploading for so long. I was busy studying for my exams, but I finally finished most of them.