"Wow...." Amy said with trembling eyes, running her fingers against a green textile in amazement, "Not only is this the most beautiful princess gown I've ever seen, but it's also of unbelievably high quality. The dressmaker must be renowned...."
Kaze smiled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to regain his composure. The black-haired woman hadn't even set foot in the store yet--she was examining the display model! It was unreasonably cute.
"Nonsense." Crux scoffed, waving her hand dismissively, "To say this decrepit garment is the pinnacle of dressmaking is offensive. You cannot compare mortal threads to Sky Plane wares; even Ida Killian is bereft of even basic mortal textile work.
Come inside; there's much to learn if you wish to live in the Mortal Plane."
The emperor couldn't help but smile, watching the cat woman--wearing a horrifyingly cute frog hoodie--declare the superiority of mortal textiles. He didn't know what was more ironic: her stunning reversal in recognizing mortal talents or that she didn't lose her pompous attitude. She simply appropriated [mortal threads] as part of her culture and then declared her superiority again.
Crux was proud and willing to fight--always. That was something he loved about her.
"I can't believe this...." Amy gulped, looking through the rows of dresses on the wall, "Did you collect an artisan's life work? Perhaps many?"
"Many." Kaze smiled gently. He didn't have the heart to tell her that all the clothing was machine-made as she looked at the dresses in wonder, imagining herself in them. "Now try some on.
We're not leaving this store until you have your three favorite [princess dresses]. It's all free."
The cultivator was in the process of saying [I don't have compensation for one, let alone three!] when he added the last part. Then she panicked further. "I-I cannot possibly accept this."
"You must accept it; I cannot have an Immortal Skye representative wearing the beleaguered garb of the Killian faction." Kaze declared matter-of-factly, "Therefore, as the leader of Immortal Skye, I am duty-bound to provide clothing for you--this once. After today, you will earn it like Crux."
"I can... earn them?" Amy said confusedly, "As in taking it from my compensation?"
? "As a reward, similar to cultivation techniques in the Sky Plane." The emperor smiled, "For example, if a certain mischievous divine beast were to help you find three dresses you love, I'm inclined to give her another textile."
Crux stopped moving, cradling multiple cocktail dresses. She was strategizing on how to leave with all three when the emperor abruptly called her out and gave her an opportunity. "That dress before you would be unbefitting to your form."
Amy turned and found the cat woman a foot away, shamelessly grabbing her hand with manic eyes. "W-What?"
"You do not want that dress." Crux restated brazenly, "While I am unversed in mortal dresses, I know the kinds that make women here look like [floozies]."
Amy cocked her head to the size. "What's a floo-zie?"
"It's a woman who's...." The Pantheran princess began, realizing she had picked up the word from someone who used it so universally that it had lost meaning. "Kaze, what is a floozy?"
Kaze frowned, raising his eyebrows with a mocking gaze. "Must you teach her Kiera's abhorrent, uncouth jargon?"
"Should it be accurate and communicate my ideas." Crux huffed, "While I'm not certain what the lexical definition of [floozy] is, the little one has pointed out enough examples to [prove] its accuracy and consistency. If you deprive me of a definition, I shall explain it with the language I possess, crude and deserving as it may be."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, shocked and exasperated that he was in his current position. However, to save Immortal Skye from succumbing to Kiera's apocalyptic dictionary, he chose to concede and give her an explanation.
"A floozy is a derogatory term for a woman with multiple casual sexual partners." Kaze explained, making Amy blush to the tip of her ears. "Usually, the word is tied to women who dress in scantily clad attire and act promiscuously.
However, my partner Kiera uses the term to describe any woman who is brave enough to look at or whisper about me. Therefore, using that word is generally to disdain the female population aside from Evalyn and Crux."
"Thank you; that definition was survivable." Crux nodded, turning back to the woman, "Now that you understand what a floozy is, it will be easier to prevent you from becoming one."
Amy swallowed nervously, shifting between Kaze's vexed expression and Crux's declaration. "O-Okay."
***
"You think it's marvelous?" Amy frowned slightly, looking at the frilly blue dress that didn't fit or match her appearance. It was still beyond her wildest dreams but felt lackluster in the sea of choices. "Is this a mortal trend?"
"No, no! Marvelous!" Crux snapped, "Horrid, blasphemous, vile--let's get you out of that as quickly as possible."
The black-haired cultivator had never been so confused in her life. She could tell Crux knew what [marvelous] really means, but she still used it for the opposite. It was so strange.
ZIP!
"You mustn't dally, woman." Crux demanded, unzipping the dress down to her lower back, "We have yet to visit the lingerie section, and our trip will lack meaning without it!"
Amy blushed aggressively, checking to ensure the cat woman had closed the dressing room door. She was grateful to find it was. "Lingerie? What's that?"
"Art." The Pantheran princess declared, "You'll see."
***
"What... do you think?" Amy blushed, looking away bashfully with her fist in front of her mouth, "Does it meet your expectations for an Immortal Skye representative?"
Kaze studied the light yellow sundress with subtle white accents. The simplicity made her black hair pop, highlighting the subtle green tones in her olive eyes. He felt the choice was charming because she could get the same color in the Sky Plane, but the fit and curves in the dress were far more flattering. "I think it's charming; keep it--I look forward to seeing the next one."
Her eyes sparked with a bright smile, ecstatic that she got to keep the dress. "Yes!"
She scampered back into the dressing room, where Crux thrust another dress into her hand.
***
"You look stunning." Kaze declared charmingly, studying a black cocktail dress on the blushing woman's face, "It brings out a confident air that befits your character."
"Is... it okay for someone like me... to wear this?" Amy asked nervously, looking at the silky cocktail dress. She had never seen something so majestic, let alone felt it.
Andrew Killian's daughter and perhaps the nobility might wear something similar in the Sky Plane. However, few would ever get to see it. It seemed legendary--too much for someone like her.
"Do you think so lowly of Immortal Skye that we couldn't provide our representatives with attire of this quality?" He taunted delusively, "If you continue asking such needless questions, I'll make you choose a [fourth] as punishment."
The poor cultivator tried to apologize before her brain connected his words to his victorious smirk, arrogantly declaring he had trapped her. After thinking carefully, she came to a conclusion: he had!
"Worry not, Amy Ryas." Kaze chuckled, watching her solve social calculus equations to find a response, "If these clothes had grades, you hold an earth-grade dress when I possess sacred-grade textiles. I am not giving you a priceless treasure; so please, for your job, choose your third to your heart's content."
Amy's eyes welled with tears, gazing at the dress longingly. She turned around not to show weakness, which she felt incapable of doing. "R-Right away!"
The emperor smiled gently. While his gesture seemed considerate on Earth, it was beyond comprehension to Sky Plane cultivators and held profound meaning. It was special.
Kaze thought he enjoyed his new life because he didn't need to suffer to survive. However, he was learning that what he enjoyed most was sharing that with others.
Seeing Amy look at dresses with excruciating excitement and anxiety made him smile. He felt he would spoil her and Crux that day to keep that moment alive. In the meantime, he'd plan his rewards for Evalyn--in addition to the priceless one that was coming her way.
***
"What is this!?" Amy cried, holding a small white, textured garment. "I feel like I'm holding onto a piece of art right now! I've never seen a painting with this degree of uniformity; it's like everything here is perfect!"
"Is it not?" Crux asked with sparkling eyes, "Look how the flowers move from the thighs up, spreading out. While your purity remains in the garden, moving up gets increasingly lewd and chaotic yet the art counterbalances--I love it."
Kaze didn't know what reaction to have, hearing the cultivators express the grand virtues of lewd lingerie. However, he let them have fun, silently pondering the wonderful surprises that he would give Evalyn.
While the emperor had one that surpassed any mortal gift, he now resolved to give her a day of fun. If two battle-worn Sky Plane cultivators could giggle over panties, he was certain he could get her to have a good time.
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