Chapter 2: Shopping and an unexpected purchase
As he went outside he had expected it but seeing it in person was far different from seeing it in Eric's memories. In the sky the sun was much closer, with magical beasts flying through the sky and even though this city was considered small in this world it was the size of New York city with a few massive skyscrapers that were taller than all the rest. To even be considered more than a town you need a population of over 2 million.
From his memory these 3 buildings were The Beast taming society, The Alchemist society, and The Fer Gente taming school. The Fer Gente taming school was why he moved here and spent a lot of his taming stipend on rent so his daughter could have a better chance of going there once he taught her taming and bought her a beast worth her potential. He hoped she would have great potential… looks like he was right.
Today they were going to head to the regular shopping area in town so he decided it was best to take his little friend Ora with him so he strapped on a little black bracelet on his arm and had him grab a banana to store in his backpack. "This little black bracelet let everyone know he wasn't a wild beast who somehow got through... but i doubt that anyone would think that he would be able to get past the security I'd rather not try it" Eric thought to himself as he called out to Emily happily playing with Sero who quickly said "Hello Mr. Vande"
"Hello Sero, unfortunately it's time for us to go. Thank you Mr. Urnfel" he said quickly as he saw the young man watching the two play tag Emily quickly stopped playing excusing herself "Thank you Mr. Urnfel and Sero I'll play tomorrow I hope you can start to catch up to me" she teased as she left He stomped his foot looked upset but didn't say anything just starting to run laps around the house.
Internally Eric sighed "this girl is going to be a handful when she gets older" he quickly grabbed her and carried her to the shopping area of town, on the way to the shopping area he saw many scenes which he made note of including how popular it is to have a beast helping you with your work and the general living situation easier for the public.
Some were beasts that were just cooling the area around them. They were the most popular with their tamer standing close by accepting money to stand nearby. Some were delivery monkeys or giant birds carrying people on them. He didn't see much more interesting things so he kept walking until they arrived at the shopping area.
A huge sign marked the entrance [Trelias shopping center]. Trelias being the name of the city they lived in. As they walked through the shopping center he saw that it was mostly large buildings and lots of people going in and out of them.
He noticed a big map in the area where they arrived and slowly looked for a boutique, when he found one that did seem too expensive he went towards it.
Vivian's boutique was the name of the shop they entered as a small shop on the western side. As they did they were greeted by a young woman who stood next to a little black spider. "Welcome to my shop. I'm happy to help if you need to search for anything. She said quickly as if it was automatic.
Eric smiled quickly saying "I'm looking for a suit for an interview and a few dresses". He understood if he could, it'd be best if he could get a suggestion on what to wear to an interview. She quickly led the way as she did he looked deeper at the spider next to her. The next second a few words appeared in the same blue box.
[Thread spider: ??? Age: 5 A small pet beast talented at spinning its webs Cant evolve] "Huh, that's a bit weird i haven't seen question marks with this ability yet" he had checked out a few beasts working on the streets learning that he could learn about their name and age at the least without much thought about it he quickly asked.
"What's the name of this little spider" towards the young lady. "Oh, that's not one of the Tamed beasts its unnamed currently we employ 12 thread spiders without tamers as they are the shop owner's first beasts children, we sell them occasionally when someone wants to open a tailor in the shopping district... of course we properly vet them first" she replied.
That made sense because he could remember that untamed beasts' names are important to them, so they wouldn't quickly accept a name casually. Plus if proven to be non harmful and they wish to live in society. The beast would work so it could send a portion of the money for easy food to the Beast Taming society. Some hoped to get a contract with humans, others just wanted to live in safety, Either way they were welcome if they proved unharmful, of course there is a watch of tamers to prevent any mishaps.
As Eric had this thought they'd finished walking and arrived at a private viewing area with a couch and a dressing room in the back. As they entered there were already a few dresses brought in by an older woman this time.
"I hear you're looking for a suit to wear to an interview..." she paused looking him up and down then a gentle smile creeped on her face. "It might take a few days to get it adjusted to fit you right, I hope you won't mind waiting"
Eric thought for a moment then said "It should be fine, I just hope it doesn't take longer than 7 days" the tailor gave a slight chuckle and replied "it shouldn't be more than 3 days young man... but if you can wait the three days it will look perfect on you."
"Well if she's confident enough to say that then I absolutely don't mind" Eric thought to himself as he gave a gentle nod and said " well I'd like to start with her dresses anyways hopefully she can go visit the Tamable beast shop next door once she's done"
"Oh yay, me and Ora can check out the newborn beasts that are popular this year" Emily said while hurrying to try on outfits so she could leave to see the pet beasts. While she poked around and looked for colors she liked he grabbed a suit off the rack and took it to the dressing room.
As he put the suit on he noticed it was a bit large on him but fit his main aesthetic. A dark grey suit blazer lined with black thread vertically throughout with a pale blue under shirt that had fashionable buttons on it; as well as pants that matched the blazer.
"Fantastic... I might be able to use this for proper events too" Eric thought to himself as he changed back and stepped out of the dressing room suit in hands.
As he did he saw the young lady coming towards the now empty dressing room with a swaddle of clothes and beckoning Emily to follow she did so politely, as he saw the old lady approaching she called to him "young man would you like me to make this suit fit you"
"Oh yes I very much would like that" he chuckled lightly then asked "what may I call you ma'am" she looked up and scanned the young man a moment before she nodded saying surely "I'm Vivian, I suppose i should ask the same as I'll be measuring you once your daughters done."
Eric once again let a chuckle slip through. He had thought that there was a possibility she was Vivian but he'd learn that unless he looked too long at people he wouldn't get the blue light so he'd avoid using it in case someone could sense it. He still didn't fully understand how this ability or power worked so he refused to take any chances and offend someone. Or accidentally use the name of someone he didn't know. That could cause problems
"I'm Eric" he smiled as he handed the tux over to the woman who took it and gestured toward the seat saying "get comfortable with a young girl like her she'll need to see many styles so she can decide what she likes best.
And like it had been queued up by the universe Emily stepped out of the dressing rom in a classic princess styled beautiful light pink dress embroidered with white flowers throughout. As she twirled Eric wanted to snap a photo of how adorable this moment was but before he could as he focused on her the blue box appeared [Emily Vande Age: 7.3 Beast tamer potential: Legendary Destined to have unique beasts]
He would've stumbled into his chair if he wasn't already sitting. "This was the first time I'd actively checked her. I was too scared of the blue box when it had caught me off guard and I figured it wouldn't show anything too crazy but what's this... destined to have unique beasts. This power seems to be deeper than I thought if it can see destiny" Eric thought to himself as he kept a wide smile on his face.
"You look adorable Emily," he said. He wasn't lying either; he finally looked deeper at her. With light brunette hair and being little shorter than other girls of her age, but not by much with rosy chubby cheeks on her face and a little farmers tan making her absolutely adorable.
"I like this, it feels nice but i still prefer pants, it'll make catching Sero quicker if i don't have to worry about getting caught on the floor." Emily said still smiling looking at her ankles now covered by the dress, she walked over to the dressing room and took two more dresses out and handed them to Eric asking with big eyes "I only want these for dresses can I get a few shirts and pants"
Looking at her Eric smiled and took one hand out from under the dress to ruffle her hair as he said "Of course Emily why don't you go try don't you try some on then" as he finished his sentence she took off happily. He lightly laughed as she ran off to go search through the pants and shirts a lot more excited than she had been when she saw the dresses.
She quickly grabbed a few different pants walking over to the shirts taking time to find colors that she liked. It seems she preferred the darker shades of pink or purple with a few light blue shirts also tucked in the pile she grabbed. By the time she had 4 shirts the young lady assistant started to take them from her and place them inside the dressing room.
By the time Emily was done there were a dozen shirts and 5 pants waiting for her in the dressing room. She tried one on and stepped out looking a little uncomfortable. Eric chuckled as he said "It seems you don't like tight pants.?"
Emily looked up nodding her head profusely. This time she had a very pretty blouse style shirt and black leather pants, she thought it looked cool and wanted to try it but it was way too tight against her legs so she quickly went back into the dressing room to find something different.
This time as she came out she didn't look uncomfortable but instead a little like she didn't like the look as much as she thought she would. "Well she is wearing the same blouse and brown sweatpants... I can't really judge her" Eric thought to himself as he looked up and said "If you don't like how it looks try a different shirt" he suggested as she looked sadder by the moment.
"Your right dad" Emily said a little dejected as she walked into the dressing room again to change her shirt. The assistant, having heard Eric had already prepared a shirt and handed it to Emily as she stepped back into the dressing room.
Stepping out of the dressing room Emily looked very happy. "I like this shirt and pants. It feels like it can keep me warm while running" she said while doing little laps around the chair Eric was in. This time she was in the same sweatpants but a warm looking long sleeve shirt in a dark purple color. To his surprise neither Vivian or her assistant got mad, Instead they watched with a smile as Emily happily ran around.
Eric caught Emily in a hug saying "I'm glad you like it but you have a few other pants to try ok" Emily giggled saying "yes dad, i just really like these ones" as she went back into the dressing room. As she ran back Eric couldn't help thinking "my god she's adorable."
As she continued and tried on clothes she found the t-shirt style and blouse style shirts most comfortable with a pair of blue jeans that weren't too tight for her to move around. She quickly gathered the t-shirts and blouses with the pair of sweatpants and the long sleeve "I'd like these shirts in a few colors and a few of these pants, please?" she looked up to Eric's eyes big.
He had checked his bank account to make sure this body's memories were fully right and it was. He'd saved up $250'000 for his daughter's school already, a very respectable and honestly impressive amount. Considering he'd spent most of his savings 2 years ago.
As he looked at the prices of the clothes he smiled at Emily saying "of course, do you want to keep looking at clothes or go and look at the beasts." Emily looked around the store for a second then quickly shook her head and replied. "I'd rather go look at beasts... this was fun but looking at beasts are more fun"
Eric simply gave a short laugh, patted her on the head then looked at Ora who was standing in the area outside the dressing room "Okay, but Ora will have to walk with you ok?" he said giving a nod to Ora and Emily who happily answered "yes dad, c'mon Ora we get to look at the pups"
She quickly went over grabbing Oras' hand. The monkey who was a little smaller than her happily let her take him out to look at the younger beasts.
Eric watched as they went out the door and across the broad walkway into the tamable beast store across from them. He knew it would only take 10 minutes or so to get measured and Vivian was quick to work, leading him into the dressing room to take his measurements.
As he was finished and was leaving the dressing room he heard crying and saw Emily had entered the store with a ball of fluff and a man following close behind her. Ora was carrying Emily as she cried and Eric looked up extremely mad at the young man who was next to her. "What's the meaning of this!" He demanded.
Just then he heard a soft voice barely able to speak over the tears. "Dad, it's my fault, we're going to go broke" Emily said, still crying.
----
10 minutes ago
Emily and Ora headed into the Tamable beast store as they were greeted by a young man. "Hello miss, would you like an escort around?" the young man with a nametag said. She read the nametag and with a gentle smile said "Yes thank you, Brad."
As Brad led her around she explained "I just want to see the popular tamable beasts then look at some of the pups please." Hearing this Brad walked towards the elevator leading her in and pressed the third floor button.
As the elevator went up floors Brad quickly explained "the third floor has some of the most popular Tamable pet beasts, the second floor is the tamable pup area where we will head in a little bit." Emily nodded happily at him. She really wanted to see the most popular pet beasts on the market.
As the elevator door opened Emily quickly took Ora and walked through the large area she noticed that at the end was 4 glass "cages" that were massive. They reached the ceiling of the third floor in height and were long and wide.
This was the first time Emily noticed this room was massive in comparison to normal rooms as well having a 15 foot high ceiling. She walked over to the first "cage" and inside was a golden pony running around a small tree planted for it inside.
As she looked Brad started his classic salesman lines "A lightning pony, a low tier beast its called that because it envelops itself in lightning. This particular beast is popular because they are good rides for out in the wilds, as they are faster than most other wild beasts of their rank, they can also evolve to high tier beasts." as he said that last line if anyone was paying attention you would see pride in his face.
Emily nodded, smiling as the pony was running around the tree. She got bored watching it quickly and walked toward the next "cage". Inside she saw a larger beast she couldn't quite remember off the top of her head so she looked towards Brad. This beast was sleeping under a waterfall
Brad, noticing her, quickly went back into his salesman persona saying "this is the water hippo, a low tier beast it's called this because it has great control over water magic and loves to sit in the water. This pet beast is known for its large size and ability to create water shields from birth, its always popular because of that as well. It also gets to evolve to a mid tier beast"
When he finished talking she nodded her head and glanced at the hippo one more time before deciding to walk to the next "cage". "I hope my first summon is fluffier than that" she thought to herself. As she got in front of it she noticed she could hardly see inside of it.
Brad quickly got to work this time without her having to look at him he said "This is the shadow ape" as he pushed a button in front of the cage it got a bit brighter and a monkey a bit larger than Ora sat atop a tree branch avoiding the light the best it could he continued after pressing the button again to make it darker again "this pet beast is popular amongst those wishing to become beast fighters, mainly because its quite adept at using shadows and naturally loves to live in them... young ones are quite scared of light and fire and are aggressive in them so those that wish to contract one must have a shadow room. It can also get up to high level".
"Oh wow, Ora still is cooler though" she said as she saw the little monkey getting a straight back to look bigger than the shadow monkey. A giggle slipped through as she took Ora to the next "cage" to see the last beast before she would head downstairs... She still had beast pups to play with.
As they approached the last cage this time Brad started his salesman spiel before she could look in... luckily too because even though it was bright all she saw were some toys in it and no beasts inside "this is ghost hand, its named that because it looks just like a hand but is born invisible. This beast can't control its invisibility, it is born with this ability and it is popular for it's use of psychic powers, this beast can get to mid grade but is still popular amongst beast fighters."
As Emily stared into the glass a hint of disappointment crossed over her face because she couldn't see it. As she couldn't see anything and was quite bored she said "I want to see the beast pups now please" Brad nodded his head leading the way to the elevator.
As Emily arrived on the second floor an entirely different scenes, different areas were caged off and some beasts were allowed to roam around. She had been to other tamable beast shops before so she knew that the ones in the cage were a little more hostile and required parents to enter them. So she walked over to an open area and saw a black and white ball laying in the middle of the floor.
The ball of fur unfurled and looked up at her letting a small growl out. "Rowr" the beast got on its feet and hugged around her leg. Emily picked up the ball of fur, calling out to the little one "oh, you look like a Bao" she said casually.
A bright light appeared and suddenly a book appeared in front of her and the panda had disappeared. The young man let out a gasp "someone first beast has been through link taming". He thought quickly got a hold of himself.
"Ahem young lady I'll need to speak to your parents, they will have to purchase this beast" at those words Emily immediately burst into tears and said "he's at the tailors".
----
Back in the present
"And that is what happened sir" Brad said as Eric got less and less upset as the story went on. Eric lowered his head a little saying "what's the price of the beast she picked out". Brad looked up at the young man and sighed "it's usually around 300k but with the circumstances, we would be willing to sell at cost of 200k"
Eric let out a deep sigh and said "I can't let you only go even, we can only pay $225'000 I hope that will be ok" the young man brightened up saying "yes sir, thank you very much". He had picked up Emily during his story so she was lightly crying into his shoulder.
Eric thought to himself as he walked over to the Tamable beast shop "well this is an unexpected purchase".