Chapter 226: PIRATE CLOTHES
Chapter 226: PIRATE CLOTHES
[San Corvo — North Market — Day 43 — 10:00 AM]
What happened next was Emily’s idea.
Which meant it was inevitable from the moment she proposed it, because when Emily had an idea with that specific expression of "this is going to be good for everyone even if none of them know it yet," the universe tended to arrange itself to make it happen.
"We need new clothes," said Emily at breakfast.
"We have clothes," said Alex.
"We have the same clothes we’ve had since we left the main continent." Emily. "And we’re going to arrive at the Eastern Island where no one knows us. First impressions matter."
"And the solution is to dress like pirates?"
"The solution is to dress like people who belong to the ocean." Emily. "Which in San Corvo is the same thing."
Maya looked up from her map.
"I approve."
"Me too," said Kira without taking her eyes off the horizon.
Raven didn’t say anything, but she also didn’t say no.
Jessica opened her notebook.
"The north market has three maritime clothing stores. The west flank one has the best selection based on what I saw yesterday."
Alex looked at the team.
Then at Max.
Max raised his hands.
"Don’t drag me into this."
"You need new clothes too," said Emily.
"My clothes are perfectly—"
"Max." Emily with the same voice she used when someone was wrong and she knew it and preferred not to argue about it. "Come."
Max looked at Viktor.
Viktor took a sip of coffee.
"Don’t look at me."
"Viktor."
"I’m too old to resist Emily." Viktor stood up. "Let’s go."
---
[San Corvo — Maritime Clothing Store — 10:30 AM]
The west flank store was exactly what Jessica had described — spacious, with fabrics from four different continents hanging from ceiling to floor, the specific smell of salt and dye and wood that places had when they had been selling clothes for people who lived on the water for decades.
The owner — a small man with the most elaborate mustache Alex had ever seen in his life.
"You need ocean clothes," he said.
"Yes," said Emily.
"For combat, for travel, or to impress?"
The team looked at him.
"All three," said Maya.
The owner nodded.
"Then let’s go piece by piece."
---
The girls entered the fitting area first — a section separated by curtains at the back of the store, with the owner going back and forth with fabrics and garments according to what each one asked for.
Alex, Max, and Viktor remained in the main area with Grim.
Alex sat on one of the customer benches.
Max sat beside him.
Viktor on the other side with the coffee he somehow always had.
Grim on Alex’s shoulder looking at the fitting room curtains with his crimson flames.
**"What are they doing in there?"**
"Trying on clothes."
**"Why is it taking so long?"**
"Because trying on clothes takes time."
**"Why?"**
Alex considered how to explain the clothes‑buying process to an entity that didn’t have a body to dress.
"Because they have to see how each thing looks and decide if it’s what they wanted or if they want something else."
**"And if the first thing they try is the right one?"**
"They try it anyway to be sure."
Grim processed that.
**"That’s also inefficient."**
"It also works, at least for them... They’re girls after all."
**"Interesting."**
Max, in a low voice to Alex:
"How long do you think we’re going to be here?"
"As long as it takes," said Alex.
"That doesn’t answer the question."
"No."
---
The first fitting room curtain opened.
Emily.
The outfit she had chosen was completely different from what she usually wore — the colors Emily tended to wear on land were soft, practical, designed not to draw attention.
This was the opposite: a short dark blue sea‑leather jacket over a white shirt with the top buttons open, fitted pants with the high boots sailors used for deck work, and a wide belt with a metal buckle engraved with a wave symbol.
Her hair tied in a loose braid over her left shoulder.
She stopped in front of Alex with the expression of someone who knew she looked good but wanted confirmation anyway.
"Well?" said Emily.
Alex looked her up and down without rushing.
"The jacket fits you perfectly," said Alex. "The blue works well with your skin tone. The boots give the outfit the right weight." A pause. "And the belt balances everything."
Emily smiled.
"Is that all?"
"And you look incredible."
"That was what I was waiting for." Emily went back into the fitting room with a smile she tried to contain and didn’t quite manage.
Max looking at Alex:
"How do you know blue works with her skin tone?"
"I don’t." Alex. "But I said it with enough confidence to sound true."
Viktor:
"That also works."
---
The second fitting room curtain.
Kira came out.
Hers was functional first, everything else after: dark pants with multiple pockets on the sides, a short long‑sleeved tunic with a V‑neck opening, and over it a short cloak that reached her waist — something designed not to hinder the movement of her bow arm.
No accessories.
No adornments.
She stopped in front of Alex with her usual expression.
Alex looked at her.
"The short cloak was the right choice," he said. "With your height and the bow, something longer would be a problem in combat. This way it isn’t." A pause. "And the simple lines work for you. You don’t need more than that."
Kira nodded.
She didn’t exactly smile.
But her expression shifted a degree.
Deep down, she also wanted to be praised.
"Do the pockets have enough capacity for the enchanted arrows?" asked Kira.
"I have no idea," said Alex. "But you’ll find out, and if not, the owner can add more."
Kira looked at the owner.
"Can you add more pockets?"
The owner already had thread in hand.
"Of course."
---
The third fitting room curtain.
Maya.
Maya had gone in the complete opposite direction from Kira.
A wide sea‑fabric skirt in blue‑green that moved with her instead of against her, a blouse with wide sleeves that fell well and had internal pockets where Maya had immediately stored a folded map, and a wide waistband from which two small parchment rolls were already hanging.
Akari on her shoulder with an outfit coordinated unintentionally because the blue‑green of Maya highlighted the fox’s golden eyes in a way neither of them had planned but that worked perfectly.
Maya stopped in front of Alex.
"The skirt was the right choice," said Alex. "It moves well. The internal pockets are smart — they don’t interrupt the outfit’s line." A pause. "And the green suits you. The specific blue‑green connects to the ocean without being obvious."
"And Akari?"
Alex looked at the fox.
"Akari always looks good."
Akari meowed once with the energy of someone who already knew that.
Maya laughed.
"That’s my outfit." She went back to the fitting room to get the map she had forgotten inside.
---
The fourth fitting room curtain.
Raven.
The team — including Max and Viktor — didn’t expect Raven to have chosen something different from what she usually wore. Raven wore black. Raven wore things that didn’t draw attention.
What came out of the fitting room was black, yes.
But it wasn’t what anyone expected.
A long jacket — almost knee‑length — of leather treated with sea oil that gave it a sheen.
Beneath it, a dark fabric inner garment that left her shoulders bare.
Thigh‑high boots with side laces.
And on her hip, hanging from a double belt, the exact space where Raven carried F3’s scythe when it was active.
Her loose hair falling over her shoulders.
She stopped in front of Alex.
She didn’t say anything.
Alex looked at her for a second longer than the others.
"The long jacket was the right choice," said Alex. "The length gives it weight without removing movement. The treated leather will last." A pause. "And you’re wearing your hair down."
"I noticed," said Raven.
"It suits you."
"I know." Raven. "Anything else?"
"It’s the first time I’ve seen you like this."
Raven looked at him for a moment.
"So?"
"And I hope it’s not the last. You look very sexy."
Raven went back into the fitting room without answering.
But Max, who had been watching with the discretion of someone who had never had discretion in his life, said in a very low voice to Viktor:
"Did you see that?"
"I saw," said Viktor with the same volume.
"Was that what I think it was?"
"Yes."
---
The fifth curtain wasn’t from any of the fitting rooms the team had been using.
It was from the back of the store — the area where the owner kept the most specific garments, the ones that weren’t in the display window because they were for customers with particular criteria.
Seraph came out from there.
Marine combat pants — the kind with knee reinforcement that elite sailors used — in dark gray.
A short work jacket with a high collar and side buttons that captains wore.
And over that, nothing — no cloak, no extra layers.
Her hair in its usual tied‑back style, but neater than usual.
She stopped in front of Alex, and he became uncomfortable for a few seconds since he hadn’t expected Seraph to want his opinion.
Alex looked at her.
"The high collar is correct," said Alex. "It protects F2’s channel in combat without hindering movement." A pause.
"And the captain’s jacket makes sense — on the Eastern Island, no one is going to question the authority of someone who looks like that."
Seraph nodded.
"That was what I was evaluating."
"It also suits you."
"That’s secondary."
"I know." Alex. "But it’s true anyway."
Seraph went back to the owner’s area to confirm the adjustments without another response.
Max looking at Viktor:
"Seraph too?"
Viktor:
"Seraph too..."
---
The sixth curtain.
Jessica.
Everyone had forgotten Jessica was also in the fitting rooms — which was a mistake because Jessica never missed anything that was happening, including a modeling competition no one had explicitly included her in but that she had decided was valuable information anyway.
What came out of the sixth fitting room made Max choke on his coffee.
Jessica had chosen with the same precision with which she did everything.
The result was a short structured tunic in dark cream with geometric embroidery on the edges that was specific to the Eastern Island — she had found that fabric at the back of the store and had asked the owner about its origin before deciding whether to use it — and her blouse with a V‑neckline.
Tight, very tight dark pants.
No accessories except her backpack, which she carried slung over one shoulder with her notebook sticking out of the outer pocket.
She stopped in front of Alex with her usual expression.
"The Eastern Island geometric embroidery is smart," said Alex. "At the Threshold Port, you’re not going to draw attention with that." A pause. "And the dark‑cream palette works well with your skin tone."
"I calculated that." Jessica opening her notebook. "I also calculated that the informal competition that occurred over the last twenty minutes has an ambiguous result because each outfit was optimized for different criteria and therefore they are not directly comparable."
The other five looked at her.
"Were you taking notes throughout all of that?" said Maya.
"I took notes and I also participated." Jessica. "They’re compatible activities."
---
The owner evaluated the entire group with the satisfaction of someone who had just done a week’s work in a single morning.
"And for the gentlemen?" he said, looking at Alex, Max, and Viktor.
The three looked at each other.
"Basic sailing clothes," said Alex. "Functional."
"Nothing more specific?"
"The girls are going to choose," said Maya before Alex could finish.
Alex looked at her.
"They’re going to choose what?"
"Your clothes." Maya with the expression of someone who had just made a decision and was certain it was the right one. "All of them."
"That’s going to take—"
"As long as it takes," said Emily, using exactly the words Alex had used with Max an hour earlier.
Alex looked at Max.
Max raised his hands.
"Don’t look at me. I didn’t choose this."
---
What followed was a negotiation that the store owner later described, in the tavern that night, as "the most interesting half hour of his week, possibly his month."
Six women arguing about what Alex should wear with the intensity of a war council — each with different criteria, each convinced their criterion was the right one, all reaching partial agreements that lasted until someone added a variable the others hadn’t considered.
Emily wanted something that looked good on him without effort.
Kira wanted something that wouldn’t hinder combat movement.
Maya wanted something that worked in different Eastern Island contexts.
Raven wanted something that complemented the Harvester’s attire when it activated.
Seraph wanted something that projected authority without being obvious about it.
Jessica wanted something that was statistically unlikely to be remembered in a witness description.
Alex on the customer bench listening to the six simultaneous conversations.
Grim on his shoulder.
**"How much longer?"**
"As long as it takes," said Alex.
**"You already said that earlier."**
"And it’s still true."
**"Doesn’t it bother you?"**
Alex looked at the team — the six discussing with the energy of people who for the first time in weeks had a problem that didn’t require any active Fragments to solve.
"No," said Alex.
**"Why not?"**
"Because they look good like this."
Grim looked at the team.
**"Arguing?"**
"Being normal people without worrying about what will happen later."
Grim’s crimson flames looked at the group for a moment.
**"Yes,"** he finally said. **"That’s also interesting."**
---
The final result was a black sailing jacket with colored lines on the edges that Emily had insisted on including and that Kira had accepted because they didn’t affect movement, marine work pants that Maya had selected for their versatility, and the boots Seraph had chosen before anyone else because they were the most correct for combat and no one could argue against them.
Alex put it on.
He stood in front of the six.
The six looked at him.
"Well?" said Alex.
Two seconds of silence.
"Good," said Raven.
"Very good," said Emily.
"Functional and aesthetically correct," said Kira.
"Versatile," said Maya.
"Authority without being obvious," said Seraph.
"Statistically difficult to describe with precision," said Jessica.
Alex looked at the owner.
"I’ll take it."
The owner nodded with the expression of someone who already knew it was going to end like that.
Max bought the first thing Emily pointed at without asking.
Viktor bought the first thing he saw in the display window.
They both paid and left before anyone could change their minds.
---
[San Corvo — North Market — 1:30 PM]
The San Corvo market at midday with the sun high and the port active and the smell of food coming from the south sector where the food stalls were concentrated.
"Hungry," said Max.
"Me too," said Viktor.
Emily looking toward the south sector:
"Lunch?"
"Lunch," said the team.