I handed the shop assistant the note Lilia-san had written for me. Mitsunaga-kun’s title was that of a Viscount, but since the bride was Princess Cattleya, the Royal Family was involved to a certain extent. Because of that, the wedding was being treated as a Count-equivalent affair rather than a standard Viscount's ceremony.
I had no idea which outfits would be appropriate for that specific social grade, so I figured it was best to leave those details to the professional.
Since the men’s and women’s sections were in different areas, another assistant stepped in to guide Aoi-chan and Hina-chan toward the corner where the formal dresses were displayed.
In the meantime, I started filling out a questionnaire the assistant had given me. It asked for things like height, weight, preferred colors, and fabrics. A shop of this prestige likely had a massive inventory, so they probably used these details to narrow down the selection. They mentioned I could leave any fields blank if I wasn't comfortable sharing, so it didn't seem strictly mandatory, but...
Thinking it over, I filled in the height column with 170cm. Alright, fine, my actual height was 169.6cm. But look, writing down decimals is just awkward, and 170 is a much cleaner number for the assistant to work with. Exactly. This was just me being considerate.
Making that excuse to myself in my head, I handed the paper back to the assistant.
"Let me see... Oh?"
"Ah, did I miss something?"
"No, not at all. It is simply that you wrote 170cm here. You have such a striking presence that I assumed you were taller. My apologies for speaking out of turn."
"Oh... R-Really? I look that way?"
"Yes. Perhaps it is because your posture is so sharp and dignified? Personally, I would have guessed you were at least 175cm. But I digress. Please wait a moment while I select a few options for you to try."
I see... I see! So I looked like I was 175cm, huh? Well, I suppose it couldn't be helped. Five centimeters is basically a rounding error, after all. It’s only natural for someone to make that mistake at a glance.
Still, man... Okay, fine. "I'll buy the most expensive one out of the candidates he brings back."
I know, I know! It was obviously just lip service. He’d seen me hesitate for a split second when I got to the height section, realized I had a bit of a complex about it, and tailored his comment accordingly. It was a classic piece of sales talk designed to make the customer feel good so they'd spend more. I was fully aware of that.
...But regardless of the intent, being told I looked like I was 175cm made me happy. Since I was definitely going to buy something anyway, there was no harm in splurging on something high-end.
While I was lost in those thoughts, I noticed Aoi-chan and Hina-chan looking at dresses some distance away. They both looked... a bit pale. Specifically, they had that exact same look on their faces that I'd seen on Sieg-san once before.
Since my assistant was still off picking out clothes, I walked over to check on them.
"You two don't look so good. Is everything okay?"
"Ah, Kaito-senpai... Well, we were prepared for this, but..."
"As expected of a place that's a Purveyor to the Nobility. Even at the lower grades, the prices are right at the edge of our budget, and there are hardly any choices... I mean, Hina-chan and I aren't nobles, so we don't strictly need dresses this fancy, but given how often we're around Lilia-san and you, we felt like we needed something that wouldn't look out of place."
They hadn't been adventurers for very long. Even though they were taking on a decent number of requests, they weren't exactly rolling in enough cash to be extravagant. I could see how shopping at a high-end boutique would be a major blow to their finances.
"Excuse me," I said, calling out to the assistant helping them. "Could you find the best dresses possible for these two? You can put the bill on my tab."
"Kaito-san!?"
"Senpai!?"
"Think of it as a gift for my favorite juniors for once. It’s not like I’m anyone special, but fortunately, I have more than enough money to spare."
"Ugh, b-but still..."
"It’s a special occasion, and I’d like to see you both in beautiful dresses too. Just let me spoil you a bit today, okay?"
I gave their heads a light pat and headed back to the gentlemen's section. I wasn't planning on buying anything top-of-the-line for myself, so this was well within my means. To be honest, if I didn't spend my money on things like this, I’d never have a reason to use it at all. I surprisingly rarely buy expensive things... Was the liquor I bought at Kaori-san’s place the other day my first big purchase in ages?
Either way, this would open up their options so they could pick something they actually liked.
When I got back, my assistant had lined up several outfits for me.
"These designs are currently the most popular trends," he explained.
"Are these the patterns?"
"Precisely. There are also specific trends for the buttons. Currently, the mainstream style is..."
He went into a detailed explanation about the embroidery patterns on the jackets and the various shapes and sizes of the buttons. To be honest, the differences weren't nearly as obvious as they were with women’s dresses. Even with several options in front of me, I couldn't really tell which was "better," so I just went with the most expensive one he recommended.
Serious-senpai: "This protagonist is getting better and better at handling women by the day..."
???: "Well, Kaito-san has always been strong against girls who are younger or a bit shy. On the other hand, he’s still pretty weak against those who have that mature, 'older sister' aura about them."
Serious-senpai: "Basically, he’s strong when he’s the one taking the lead, but weak when he’s on the receiving end? He has a natural bonus against younger girls, people in lonely or special circumstances, and those who lack confidence... Oh, and a special effectiveness against Alice."
???: "...I still don't understand why Alice-chan is categorized in a class all her own. But the fact remains that Kaito-san is terrifyingly effective against her specifically... so I can't really deny it."