Aziel could only sigh and nod upon seeing Lydia's great enthusiasm and let himself be dragged towards the garage.
Though he felt that buying clothes would be rather pointless as they would mostly be shredded to pieces just by him transforming, he ultimately decided to just go along with it.
Jumping into the luxurious car, the two were zapped across the streets, taking advantage of the light traffic that was usually the case between the morning- and lunchtime rush hours.
The two soon found themselves at a rather luxurious-looking place, the Greytop Central Plaza.
Greytop Central Plaza was very large and had an impressively elegant interior construction design. The architecture was exotic, with more than 3 fully decked out floors filled with dozens upon dozens of smaller boutiques and shops. Each floor was so vast that they each had their own nameplates as well!
The sides were decorated with numerous precious vegetation as well as colorful blooming flowers could be seen blooming everywhere. It was almost as if you didn't step into a giant building complex but instead into a separate community entirely.
Driving into the parking lot, Aziel could see many well-dressed handsome men and beautiful women, possessing the bearings of the wealthy, more sophisticated, the higher echelons of society. For Aziel he was reminded of the pompous and arrogant nobles of his own world.
In just ten minutes, he saw dozens of luxury cars, some similar to theirs, while others looked slicker, more compact. Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ferrari - the world's top most precious vehicles lined up one after another, most of which Aziel couldn't even tell as the thugs he had absorbed were on the opposite end of the social spectrum. Still, he could tell that each of these, cost at least as much as Lydia's some maybe even more.
"Come, honey, let's go. We have a lot of shops to visit! I can't have my ma-... *khm* you flung around in such rags, after all!" Lydia exclaimed with excitement, turning her cheeks bright red as she almost blurted out something she didn't mean to.
To mask her rising embarrassment, he quickly reached for Aziel's hand who was still befuddled by all that he was witnessing for the first time, and pulled him away, into the first floor of the plaza itself, soon making their way to what they simply called the 'Clothing District'.
Aziel's head was swinging from left to right wildly as he was taking his time to take in all the new stimuli he was experiencing. The wonders of this world just kept on coming, amazing him to no end!
Whilst he gained a great deal of information from those he absorbed, the lives they lived and the experiences they accumulated were nothing like what he was seeing.
Still, as he continued to take in the wondrous sights, and looked around to see the sea of people that filled up the floors and the shops, he couldn't help but be reminded of the Marketplaces of the bigger cities. People of a wide variety came and gathered there as well, gathering spices, food, materials, or whatever they could find.
Thinking about it, he recalled the place where the most precious, most exotic, and unique items and materials usually found their new owners. The place where usually only the wealthiest gathered... the Auction House!
Darting his gaze around, he searched for a board, or a sign for it, but found nothing of the sort as they made their way through the thick of the crowd.
Eventually, his curiosity peaking, he decided to ask.
"Are there... any special shops? Hidden ones perhaps?" He asked, pulling on Lydia's hand, urging her to slow down.
"Special or hidden shops? What do you mean, Aziel?" She asked, though her gaze didn't look too confused.
"Places where only the rich or those more powerful visit. Hidden houses, gatherings or perhaps events where you can find more... exotic, rarer commodities... or even artifacts of the old times...." Aziel responded, taking an extra second before continuing. "...Auctions, I believe they should be called."
"Huh? How do you..." Lydia grow surprised at Aziel's words. Looking around as if she was suddenly alarmed by something, she pulled him towards an empties corner before leaning closer.
"How do you know about these?" She asked in a hushed tone, reaching to grab his shoulders.
Aziel however, didn't like this sudden change in demeanor. His eyes suddenly blared up, as a sliver of his internal force was released around them, giving a slight pressure to the woman.
Lydia suddenly felt as the air first turned colder, then thicker, almost palpable. She felt as even breathing was becoming more and more of a chore whilst an increased weight began to pressure her, pressing her down to the ground. She had to use all her strength just to remain to stand and not to fall down on her knees.
She was scared, terrified by this inexplicable sensation, this mystical force. Seeing the glaring, glowing eyes of what she thought of as her newest boy toy... she was frightened!
It seemed that her conquest may not have been what she had thought of. The handsome man with a beastly passion in bed... maybe the roles were actually reversed and that their nightly playful tease of words was the truth?
"Hmm..." Aziel smirked seeing the usually confident's woman perplexed look on her face. It was rather satisfying to see her in such a state, to be honest. "...Based on your reaction, I can safely say that you do know of the existence of such a place."
"W-well, t-that's-"
Before Lydia could finish her confused stammering, Aziel spoke up once again. His tone was now colder, carrying more power behind it.
"Enough, woman. Answer me this: Do you have a way to get into such a place? Do you know where and how often they meet? What do they usually sell?"
Lydia suddenly felt compelled to answer. Suddenly all the thoughts and worries were washed away from both her heart and mind and the only thing that mattered was to appease this young man.
Unbeknownst to her, and unseen due to the clothes covering her body, a strange mark appeared suddenly over at her womb... Glowing bright lines of milky white taking the form of a strange runic symbol that most likely would be unknown to the wisest creature of this world.
It was the emblem of the House Vor'thega, a special marking that compelled a slave to obey the words of his or her master.
Last night, during the crescendo of their entanglement last night, Aziel poured more than just his seeds into Lydia's hungry womb. By infusing his very own essence together with a wisp of his own refined internal energy, his [Aether] as well as utilizing the moment of euphoria where her mental resistance was basically nullified, Aziel formed a Magical Contract with her, binding her under his will.
Basically, she was made a slave, albeit this fact has so far remained unknown to her.
Whilst such an action may not have been the kindest route to take, and that it could be said that he abused their warm welcome and hospitality, it wasn't as if he forced himself on the woman. No, she came onto him, seeing nothing more than her newest boy toy that she could enjoy. It's not that he was planning to utilize the contract to any of the family's detriment! Seeing how wealthy they were and that he would need someone that could guide him into how this world truly worked, Aziel decided to just use the freely offered opportunity.
Because of his knowledge and understanding of this world, despite spanning several million years, was still effectively nonexistent.
Compelled by the force beyond her understanding as well as not consciously aware, Lydia's raging heart and racing thoughts calmed down by a single thought from her Master. Her usually present seductive smile reappeared on her face as she waved her hand in a teasing, playful manner.
"Of course, I do honey! What do you, who am I?!" She said, pulling out a black card from her handbag. The card hard a thin cold rimming with no images, no words on it, but a single RFID chip, reminiscent of the modern bank cards. She waved the card between her index and middle fingers in front of Aziel as she teasingly remarked.
"Not only do I have information about them, but I have this VIP card to boot!"