Chapter 53: Chapter 53 : Strapped Up

The next day…

‘We have much to do today, let’s get to it.’

Ralf sprang out of his bed following the thought. Today was the day they ceased playing turtles. They had many things to accomplish. Knowing this, Ralf sped through his regular tasks.

“Thanks, Greg,” Ralf said as he handed over the revolver to the brown bearded alcoholic.

“You could keep it for longer. Don’t you have more tests to run with it?”

Ralf shook his head. “Nope. And after today, I’ll have one of my own.”

“Oh, you’re heading out.”

“Yeah. Been here for a while now, looking to stretch my legs.”

“Oh,” Greg rubbed his beard. “Your last outing caused quite the stir. You haven’t heard it while here, but your name’s been buzzing around town nonstop.”

“Mm, really,” Ralf’s lips curled up.

‘An attention seeker,’ Greg commented as he spotted the change that overcame the young man’s expression.

“Yeah. You have to be careful out there, okay. Not all attention is positive.”

“Will do,” Ralf patted Greg’s shoulder before turning to leave. “Don’t hit the bottle too hard Greg, I’ll come back with an interesting story to tell.

“Haha, sure sure. I expect nothing less.”

Leaving the property, Ralf’s Psi rushed ahead and shaped up to form a sleek and stylish motorbike. Hopping on, he gripped the handles and did a twist for twist’s sake before having the bike’s back wheel rotate forward. In motion, Ralf followed the branch-like paved paths to the Orchard District’s entrance. After trading a few words with the guards present, he headed out.

Moving on the roads, Ralf noticed many gazes gravitating towards him. Greg’s earlier words passed through his head, but taking in the looks he was receiving, Ralf believed it had nothing to with the rumours.

‘To half of the onlookers, I am the epitome of cool, and the other half, I’m the epitome of lame haa…’

Not wanting to linger and face the weird looks he was getting from the non- psionics, he sped up. Taking a few corners, he reached the main road and followed it westward.

His first destination was a clothing store. He was in need of more clothes. Since returning to his own world, Ralf had been stuck sporting one outfit. This wasn’t as disgusting as it sounded. The outfit had been cleaned very regularly with Telekinetic powers, a method of cleaning that was far superior to any washing machine. First, Hana did it, and now that they had powers, the duo had taken over the task.

Still, while they could wear the same outfit perpetually without issue, their current outfit didn’t match their style. And thus, Ralf headed to a clothing store. Not just any clothing store, but Ventos.

Owned by the Merchant Association’s Fifth Pillar, Ventos was an international brand of clothing. The clothing chain catered to individually tailored attire and gear. The culture around flashy and unconventional outfits that many super and regular humans bought into made it a very profitable enterprise. It was a heavyweight in the clothing industry.

Adventurers were a prime demographic, so wherever there was an Adventurer Association branch, a Ventos was sure to be close.

The duo bought into this culture as well. They were psionics now, so they believed they should dress like one, eccentrically. No, whether it was commonplace or not, the duo’s chuuni inclination would drive them into this direction regardless.

Importantly, Ralf’s trip to Ventos wasn’t to buy or put in an order, it was to collect.

Through Greg’s assistance, they had already put in an order. The attire’s design had been created in the Mental Space before Rei, using his top-notch drawing skills, recreated it, specifying the exact dimensions and everything.

Ventos worked quickly, and yesterday, Greg informed them that their order was ready for pickup.

‘There it is.’

Finding ‘Ventos’ in gold lettering on the signboard, Ralf pulled off to the sidewalk, dismissed his bike, and walked up to the building.

Entering, he moved through the aisles of flashy clothing and gear. Passing by them, he recalled them on several Adventurers while at the Adventurer Association branch. Arriving at the counter, he was greeted by the smiling face of a middle-aged man.

“What can I do for you today, young man?”

“My name is Ralf, I placed an order. Has it arrived yet?”

“Mmm.” At the mention of his name, the old man’s eyes flickered; the look he gave subtly shifted, “I see, you’re Greg’s little friend. Yes, it’s arrived. I’ll get it for you, right away.”

The employee’s Rank 3 Telekinetic Psi lost its mellowness and rushed to the storeroom at the back. A few seconds later, a large box came rolling towards the counter on a Psi gurney.

Once it arrived, the middle-aged man interlaced his fingers. “That’s it. Everything’s there, designed exactly as specified. You can try it on in the changing room to your right.”

“Will do.”

Ralf picked it up with his telekinesis and headed over. In the sizable, multiple mirror booth, he undressed, opened the box, and began changing.

He started with the white t-shirt. It didn’t stand out visually, but it was comfy and of high quality. Next, he put on the black combat pants and accompanying black belt.

‘It’s much lighter than it looks,’ Ralf thought as kicked his feet out. He showed an approving look as he examined the special pockets and slots.

Next, he slipped on black combat boots. He circled the booth with it on. ‘Light, spongy for impacts and comfortable, perfect.’ Finishing the thought, Ralf brought out the next item- items.

Two finger-less gloves floated out of the box. They were a mismatched pair, with one being white and the other, black. Using his telekinesis, Ralf slipped them on, white on his left side and black on his right. The next item was brought out, a knee-length twin-tail trench coat.

Ralf didn’t rush to drape it on his shoulders but instead took a moment to observe the design.

When deciding the basic look, Ralf and Rei had no issues. They had a very similar sense of fashion. Where they ended up clashing was the choice of colour scheme. Rei fancied black, while Ralf was more partial to an all-white outfit. Eventually, they met each other halfway. Their compromise could clearly be seen on the coat.

The button-less coat had a white left half and a black right half, with a thin silver line separating the two colours. This wasn’t the only instance of silver. While not obvious at a glance, when looking closely, one would find silver threads all over the outfit.

After a few more seconds of examination, Ralf thrust his arms through its sleeves.

Swoosh!

‘Oooh, this is so cool.’ Doing a sharp turn and seeing the coat’s tail end flap brought a satisfied smile to his face. ‘We’ll definitely turn a few heads like this.’ Picturing the looks he’d receive, Ralf grew giddy. ‘Don’t lose yourself, Ralf. Let’s wrap this up.’ Reining in his excitement, he continued on.

The next thing that popped out of the box was a pair of earrings. Now, earrings weren’t exactly their thing, but once a certain type of earring crossed their minds, it hooked in and never let go.

A smooth orb with a metal hat connected by two circular silver links, in other words, potara earrings. The duo added their own touches to the basic design, instead of the smooth metal hat, the orb ‘holders’ were designed to appear like upside-down silver crowns. Also, instead of the green or the orange they usually were, the duo’s orbs were black and white - or rather, one was black and the other was white.

*Puncture* *Puncture*

Using a Psi needle, Ralf made the holes. He floated the earrings to his ears and was about to equip them, but suddenly paused as an idea struck him. Instead of placing the earrings on the correct side, as he had with the gloves, he put the black coloured earring on the white side and the white coloured earring on the black side.

‘Excellent. Very Yin Yang, perfect.’

Bobbing his head back and forth, Ralf watched the orbs’ swaying motions with a smile on his face. Pausing, he zeroed in on his ear lobe. ‘Oh, already healed up. Our regeneration is the only thing that we’ve been unable to accurately measure. We’ll have to get to it sometime, maybe at the branch’s medical ward.’

Having the thought, Ralf’s attention shifted to the box. Driving his Psi in, he retrieved the final item, a black combat harness. Ralf floated it above him, before dropping it down in place. Using his telekinesis, he tightened the straps around his outfit.

‘And done,’ Ralf commented as he made the final adjustment. He took a look in mirrors and smiled a satisfied smile. His final look was both neat and stylish, as intended. Satisfied with the result, he called Rei over.

[[Not bad not bad. Just like we designed it, and it feels great too.]] Rei took over the body and did a few punches. Noticing Ralf’s change, he paused. [[Hmm, Yin Yang?]]

[[Yeah, what do you think? Neat right.]]

[[Very.]]

While Rei moved about, in a similar manner Ralf had earlier, Ralf used his telekinesis to fold up his previous clothes and placed them in the empty box. Finally, he hooked on the black waist bag on his harness at his back. Patting it, he took control of the body once again.

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His left hand moved to the left side of his face. Psi gathered around his eye before shaping into a scouter.

“Beep bop beep bop beep bop…yep yep, drip level’s over nine thousand.” Showing a cheeky smile to the mirror Ralf removed the scouter and crushed it into blue particles with a stomp.

Rei smiled a wry smile. [[Ralf, I have plenty to do. Fill those empty slots, okay.]]

[[On it.]]

[[Good, see you.]]

The Mental Link dissolved and Ralf was once again alone in the booth. He gave himself a last once over before exiting.

“Oh, splendid.” The clerk voiced as he saw Ralf swaggering out. “Ralf, is everything to your satisfaction?”

Ralf nodded deeply. “Yes, Ventos lives up to their name,” he glanced around, “I’ll definitely place a few more orders in the near future.”

The duo intended their current outfit to be their base one. They planned to have other variants that incorporated dots, lines and even chess king pieces into their outfit. The latter was a bit much even with their chess prowess but the duo was determined to one day don such an outfit.

“Excellent excellent. Ventos welcomes your future patronage young man. ”

Ralf sent a final wave before making his exit. Now outside, he orientated himself westward and strode to his next destination.

Moving down the sidewalk, onlookers’ eyes gravitated to his eccentric appearance. Talks naturally followed. Hearing them, a slight smile surfaced on Ralf’s face.

A hundred meters later, Ralf arrived before a sign bearing the words, ‘Golden Gun.’ He entered.

‘Whoa…’

Entering the shop, his eyes captured a sight that left him dazed.

Guns!

Pistols, revolvers, shotguns, machine guns, rifles; neatly placed on racks or hung up the walls, guns filled his vision wherever he looked. The arsenal would leave a hillbilly drowning in his own drool. Even Ralf, who was an ardent sword lover felt his allegiance to the blade shake slightly, just slightly. After remembering the satisfaction of slicing foes up close, he held fast.

Collecting himself, Ralf tightened his relaxed face. Calmer, his gaze drifted to the opposite end of the large space and found a long counter manned by a twenty-something-year-old female. From the looks of it, she hadn’t even registered his existence, seemingly too engrossed in what Ralf guessed was gun maintenance. Seeing the subtle smile that hung from her face as she worked, Ralf had no doubt the identity of this person.

‘Greg didn’t lie, she’s definitely a gun nut.’

He approached the counter.

“Good day,” he called out.

“Oh, a customer, and a new face too. Welcome to the Golden Gun, what can I do for you today, young man?”

“I’m Ralf, Greg’s friend.”

Hearing this, Jenny’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you’re Ralf, the super genius everyone’s been talking about.”

“I suppose,” Ralf said with an obvious look of glee.

Jenny smiled herself. “That’s quite the eye-grabbing outfit you’ve got on,” she said as dragged her gaze over his figure. After a final zigzag, she ended with a nod. ‘Super rad, especially those earrings.”

“Thanks, thanks.”

“Is my stuff ready?”

“Of course of course.”

Jenny retrieved two boxes from beneath the counter and pushed them towards Ralf. “Go ahead.”

Ralf didn’t hesitate and popped the tops off the two boxes, and feasted his eyes on the contents.

As ordered, a machine gun and a pistol. Ralf picked them up one at a time, examining their quality with physical senses and Psi Scan alike.

“This is fine work,” he said as he finished his inspection.

Jenny pounded her fist against her chest. “As it should be, at Golden Gun, we pride ourselves on quality. I personally oversee everything that goes out here,” she said as she swirled her Rank 3 Telekinetic Psi around her finger. “Misfires? Jams?” she shook her finger side to side with some sass, “You’ll never get those with one of our products, rest assured.”

“Hm, I guess I know where I’ll be getting my guns from now then.”

Jenny smiled. It wasn’t like she was lacking business, but another customer was always welcomed. She floated over two boxes of ammo and placed them beside the gun boxes.

“Everything you ordered. Anything else?”

Ralf’s eyes began roaming at the question. “You wouldn’t have any grendo weapons for sale?”

At his words, Jenny’s whole being slumped down. A long sigh escaped her lips as her face pressed against the hardwood. “No…I don’t haaaa. The Duke’s forces monopolize its use and sale. I can’t even get my hands on one haaa…”

“Oh…that’s a shame.”

Grendo weapons were fearsome things, known for their power, speed, and lethality. It was weapons advised as ‘psionic killers’, and for good reason, it was responsible for plenty of upsets throughout history.

If Ralf could get one, his confidence would shoot up no less than a million percent. They were just that powerful.

“Really is,” Jenny added before letting off another sign.

No grendo weapons to be had, Ralf chose what was readily available. “I’ll take this and this, I guess,” he said as he retrieved a knife and leg holster. “Hey, you don’t sell swords here, do you?”

“Nope, but I can hook you up. What are you looking for?”

At the question, Ralf illustrated his answer with his Psi. Not content with these projections, he floated over some dirt from a pot plant and moulded it into the shape of his kodachi. Compressing the dirt with his telekinesis, he placed the finished product before Jenny.

“Hmm, I see. Not my preferred metal, but I’ll deliver this baby to your hands in no time.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Switching from one exchange to the next, Ralf paid for his items, and after slotting everything in place, he turned to leave.

“Ralf, if you want, you can use the backroom to test those weapons.”

“I’m good. I’ll test them out in the field.”

“Oh, be safe out there yeah.”

“Thanks. See you again Jenny.”

“See you, Ralf.”

Ralf left the store. Moving to the edge of the sidewalk, he materialized his Psi Bike and hopped on.

‘Now, to the Adventurer Association we go.’

Swoosh!

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