Roxy and Sylphy chatting happily in front of a pile of clothing.
As expected of girls.
Completely opposite of that 'anything would do' red-haired girl.
"Um, Rudi, what do you think?"
"Norn is a little short in winter coats, maybe a new one for her?"
I gave Sylphy my opinion when she asked.
Both girls nod in approval.
"Ah, this overcoat looks quite nice... How about Aisha-chan?"
"A few days ago Aisha mentioned that her boots are feeling a bit small."
"Boots? That sounds good. Let's go with that."
Our targets decided, we begin to shop around.
With options so plentiful, we quickly found the perfect fits for both of them.
For Norn, a brightly colored overcoat; for Aisha, a pair of embroidered boots.
Both a little on the big side, but since they're still growing, it should be fine.
Afterwards we browsed the store for a little more.
I said no reason that we can only give one, since that wasn't a complete lie.
But the truth is I wanted to find a present for Roxy.
"Do you think Aisha will like this fabric brooch?"
"Yeah, she seems to like flowers."
"No, maybe it's too mature?"
"Say, what does Norn-chan like?"
"Norn... Well, I don't ever recall her talking about her likes and such..."
"Norn-san seems to like armor and horses and swords and such boyish things."
"Eh, how does Roxy know?"
"I really want to get along with her."
We walk and chat.
"..."
Suddenly, Roxy stops in her tracks.
A robe catches her eyes.
A Magician's robe and hat on prominent display.
Sized for an adult male, they're probably too big for Roxy.
Looking longingly at the hat, she removes her own.
Then, nearly in tears she stares down at her own hat.
The hat looks rather ancient in comparison.
She probably wore this back in Buina Village too.
While not in complete tatters, it's visibly frayed after being around the block a few times.
But the black coloring helps that from becoming obvious.
Roxy replaces her hat back on herself, and slowly on her tippy toes, reaches for the hat on display.
She flips it around, eventually locates the price tag, dismay befalls her face.
Instantly she puts the hat back into place.
Looks like it's too expensive.
"Sigh..."
Roxy sighs, as if nothing happened, she heads back toward me.
"Hey, Rudi."
Suddenly I noticed Sylphy besides me.
"That's it."
"Yep."
Sylphy and I are in agreement.
With that, Roxy's gift has been decided as well.
Afterwards, I placed an order for the overcoat, the boots, and secretly the hat as well before heading out.
Pick up is the day of the party.
Gift wrap is included as well.
I can't wait!