Chapter 428 Sea Elf

Barracuda Bay was home to the only Adventurers' Association branch in the Southern Archipelagos, drawing large numbers of adventurers year-round.

Even in the White Cliff District, the town's upper-tier area, adventurers were a common sight. The status of high-level Class Holders even surpassed that of certain nobles.

Therefore, the well-dressed father and daughter showed no particular reaction when Xia Nan walked into the tailor shop. They merely lowered their voices out of habit at the sight of a stranger and dropped their previous topic of conversation.

Out of caution, Xia Nan observed the pair very carefully.

Interestingly, their subtle reactions to his entrance were entirely different.

The middle-aged man, who appeared to be the father, looked polite and cautious. He even offered a nod in greeting when he met Xia Nan's eyes. However, his feet subconsciously shifted forward a half-step, and his left hand moved to block the space in front of his daughter. He was clearly wary of this strange adventurer who had suddenly entered the enclosed room.

The beautiful young aristocratic lady beside him, on the other hand, lacked such guardedness. She had initially glanced at Xia Nan when the door chimed open, looking away shortly after—only to seemingly realize something a moment later and cast her eyes back, stealing glance after glance.

Xia Nan figured this was due to his body's ongoing development toward a "perfect lifeform," as well as his 6 points in the Charisma attribute.

He was gradually getting used to this and did not pay it much mind. Just as he was about to ask the pair where the shop owner was, the light sound of footsteps suddenly drifted from the tailor shop's back room.

He followed the sound with his eyes just as the door was pushed open from the inside.

A tall, well-proportioned male half-elf came into view.

Unlike Hai'an and Leda, whom Xia Nan had met before, this half-elf—presumably the shop owner—was significantly taller. He stood a half-head taller than Xia Nan, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall himself.

His limbs were long but not frail, displaying clear muscle definition. It was hard to tell whether this came from a regular exercise habit or a subtle difference among racial subspecies.

Much like the vast, beautiful ocean outside the bay town, this half-elf's skin was a very pale, sea-mist blue. Its surface was smooth and delicate, almost reflective, with no excess body hair to be seen.

His teal hair was meticulously combed back, without a single stray strand at the temples. His irises were an abyssal deep green, a shade darker than his hair.

Most striking of all were the marks just beneath his elegantly contoured neck, near the collarbones: three faint yet distinct fleshy slits on each side.

Having already guessed the half-elf's identity, Xia Nan knew exactly what those slightly strange slits actually were:

—Gills.

Clearly, this was a half-blood of a human and a "sea elf."

Elves were a peculiar race of beings.

They possessed a long and glorious history, having built countless brilliant civilizations.

The vast majority of their kind had extremely high attainments in the arts, along with an immense affinity for natural forces and magical particles.

Yet perhaps it was precisely this racial trait of being the "darlings of the world," coupled with their incredibly robust environmental adaptability, that allowed elves to develop many different subspecies across the globe.

Sea elves were one such branch.

True to their name, these elves spent almost their entire lives deep in the ocean. Gills, webbed hands, dorsal fins... Their physical structure had completely evolved into that of aquatic creatures, making it rare and exceedingly difficult for them to set foot on land.

In truth, the vast majority of sea elves had little interest in anything outside their territory. They preferred to spend their time on art forms like sculpture and music, rejecting interaction with outside intelligent races.

Because of this, even expanding the scope to all of Barracuda Bay, the number of adventurers who had actually laid eyes on this unique marine elf subspecies was absolutely minuscule.

And a sea elf half-blood like the shop owner before him could only be described as "rare."

The shop owner himself did not seem to mind his racial identity in the slightest. Judging by the shop's signboard and his deliberate choice of clothing that exposed his closed gills, he even seemed quite proud of the sea elf blood flowing through his veins.

He wore a well-tailored light gray silk tunic with a round collar and narrow sleeves, layered under a dark brown leather work vest. He paired this with slim, perfectly straight trousers in the same color family as his tunic. His sole accessory was a White Gold Bracelet on his left wrist, reflecting a soft luster and engraved with a wave-like pattern.

As the boss of a tailor shop, his taste in clothing went without saying. Simple yet presentable, serious yet not stiff—a work outfit that perfectly matched his character.

Walking out from the back room, he carried two sizable rolls of fabric in his arms, yet his posture showed no signs of clumsiness or haste. With a steady gait, he approached the wooden reception table and gently placed the two rolls of fabric down at identical angles:

"Apologies for keeping the two of you waiting, Baron, Miss Ellie."

With an apologetic look on his face, the half-elf did not stop moving. He pulled a roll of thick paper tied with a dark blue ribbon from beneath the counter, faced it toward the approaching father and daughter, and slowly unrolled it onto the table.

"Based on the measurements from last time, as well as Miss Ellie's personal aura and preferences, I have designed a total of three options."

"Among them, the one I believe suits you best is this one," the half-elf introduced, tapping a finger—longer and more slender than a normal human's—gently against the blueprint.

"The primary material uses multi-layered composite Ice-White Cloud Satin. This fabric possesses a unique, pearl-like luster. It maintains its drape while providing an excellent sense of fluidity when the skirt sways. The texture is soft, without any cheap glare."

Participating in the custom tailoring of a gown for the very first time, the young aristocratic lady stared at the designs on the table with shining eyes.

Pointing at the intricate decorations around the waist of the dress in the sketch, she asked, "Mr. Celianne, are these... pearls?"

"You could understand it that way." The tailor shop owner, Celianne, maintained a meticulous attitude. He took a sample pearl about half the size of a fingernail from his pocket and handed it to the aristocratic lady across the table. "I plan to use seventy-two rice-white pearls of similar size here. This will keep the costs within your prescribed limits while maximizing the gown's overall aesthetic, ensuring that under any lighting, its total luster will appear as natural as sea foam."

The aristocratic lady stared intently at the pearl catching rainbow light between her fingers, completely entranced.

Her father, the Baron standing to the side, noticed the crucial detail and asked, "Seventy-two? What about the weight and durability?"

"Please rest assured, I have factored all of that in," Celianne said, flipping the blueprint to the next page to reveal a sheet densely packed with formulas and data.

"The overall weight has been evenly distributed. Even the most vigorous movement will not warp the fabric. Every single pearl will have multiple anchor points on the garment, making them far more secure than standard buttons. There is no need to worry about them falling off."

"Furthermore..."

The half-elf's slender fingers swept through the air in an arc, casually smoothing out the slightly ruffled blueprints before pointing toward a separate stack of apricot-gray fabric nearby.

"The primary gown's color palette is designed to highlight Miss Ellie's own radiance. However, if we stopped there, it would appear a bit too monotonous."

"Therefore, I have designed an additional shawl to pair with it. The apricot-gray color echoes the young lady's beautiful eyes. With the two combined, Miss Ellie will be the most dazzling pearl at the banquet."

Hearing the half-elf say this, a satisfied expression appeared on the Baron's face.

This proposal far exceeded his expectations, and the price was well within their previously set budget. He could not help but nod slightly, looking at his daughter beside him.

"Impeccable, Mr. Celianne. Ellie, what do you think?"

"It's so beautiful. It's exactly as I dreamed..." The young woman had already imagined the scene of wearing the gown countless times in her mind. "Let's do it exactly as you said, Mr. Celianne!"

Only then did the half-elf give a small nod.

"Thank you both for your trust. According to the plan, we will now enter the mockup phase. Please return in ten days for a fitting, Miss Ellie."

"During this time, please be sure to maintain a diet and routine similar to today's to ensure the accuracy of the upcoming fitting," he added finally.

The father and daughter departed, thoroughly satisfied.

As Miss Ellie walked out the door, she still clutched the sample pearl Celianne had gifted her, clearly filled with immense anticipation for the finished gown.

Xia Nan stood to the side, not speaking a word the entire time.

While waiting politely and patiently, he had been secretly scrutinizing the half-elf's every move.

His observation skills, boosted by his Perception attribute, went without saying. In just a few minutes, he had roughly figured out the man's personality.

Much like the neat, spotless environment of the tailor shop, this sea elf half-blood named Celianne was incredibly rigorous and serious when it came to his profession. He even showed traces of an obsessive compulsion leaning toward perfectionism.

From a customer's perspective, having a craftsman with such personality traits craft their goods was naturally for the best.

It was just... at least up until this point, whether from the interior decor or the exchange between the owner and the customers just now, this [Pearl Spun Yarn] seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary, high-end custom tailor shop catering to non-adventurers.

It did not look like it had anything to do with processing monster loot or customizing enchanted gear.

However, figuring that Hera would not lie to him about something like this, Xia Nan temporarily set his doubts aside.

He waited until the father and daughter had completely left the shop, the wooden door swinging shut to the chime of the bell.

Only then did he step forward to the opposite side of the counter.

"[Pearl Spun Yarn], how may I help you?"

Having poured himself a large glass of water and downed it in one gulp, the sea elf half-blood Celianne flashed a smile in greeting as he tied the ribbon back around the blueprints and returned them beneath the counter. Along the way, he casually straightened a pen holder that had been knocked askew during the fabric presentation.

With no intention of speaking in riddles, Xia Nan directly stated his purpose.

"Hera from the Three-Legged Sea Dog sent me. She said you could help me process some loot materials and also provide customization services for enchanted equipment. Is that correct?"

Celianne did not look surprised. With Xia Nan's sharp appearance and the twin swords on his back, any ordinary person with common sense could tell he was an adventurer.

"Of course," Celianne nodded slightly. Knowing the black-haired young man before him was straightforward, he did not need to engage in the roundabout banter required for the noble clients in the White Cliff District. He answered cleanly, "May I ask what materials you need processed..."

Xia Nan slipped off his backpack, which held the Shark Beast material samples, and laid out a small scrap of shark skin, an auxiliary fin, a single claw, some bone and tendon, and the most important piece—the swim bladder—one by one on the counter.

They had all been cleaned beforehand, so there was no blood or other filth left on them.

Celianne was equally polite and patient. He stood quietly behind the counter, waiting for Xia Nan to finish arranging everything. Only after receiving his nod of approval did the half-elf reach out, picking up the items one by one to examine them closely.

The half-elf appraised them with utmost focus. He spent a long time scrutinizing even the Shark Beast's tendons and sinews.

Fascinatingly, when he inspected the swim bladder, the closed gills on the lower side of his neck twitched slightly, as if betraying the fluctuation of his inner emotions.

This naturally reminded Xia Nan of the knowledge he had learned about sea elves.

From what he understood, those elven subspecies living in the deep sea had essentially become fully aquatic creatures that breathed through gills.

If they came ashore without magical support, they would quickly suffocate to death.

However, the sea elf half-blood in front of him showed no signs of oxygen deprivation. Clearly, his respiratory system took after his human bloodline.

He wondered if the gills on Celianne's neck had completely atrophied, losing their ability to breathe underwater, or if the man had two distinct respiratory systems in his body, allowing him to survive using his gills whenever he entered the water.

Xia Nan felt that if he were a biologist, he would be intensely fascinated by the anatomy of this otherworldly hybrid.

Unfortunately, it had not been long since his transmigration, and he had not interacted with many people or things yet.

If he had to name a creature whose anatomy he truly understood, it would probably only be goblins.

He even knew exactly how many bones were in those green-skinned goblins' bodies.

Amidst his musings, the half-elf finished his appraisal.

His brows were noticeably knitted together.

His dark green eyes darted back and forth over the Shark Beast materials on the table.

Celianne was very honest. He did not make things up just because the origin of these materials exceeded the scope of his knowledge. Instead, he took the initiative to express his confusion to Xia Nan.

"I am truly sorry, uh..."

"Xia Nan."

"Mr. Xia Nan. I'll just speak frankly. From what I can analyze, these materials should come from a massive, shark-type monster. I would guess its Challenge Rating is no lower than '3'."

"But in all honesty, I just ran through every monster in my head that matches the characteristics of these materials, and I could not find a single one that corresponds to them."

"Of course, this is definitely an issue with my own capabilities and limited knowledge, and I have no intention of forcing you."

"But if possible, in order to more accurately appraise the value of these materials, could I ask you to reveal a little about their origin?"