The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet
Chapter 73: Criminal in a Suit

Chapter 73: Criminal in a Suit

I can’t believe I have to change clothes twice.

I knew one day there was going to be a good chance I would be chased as some sort of criminal. Technically, ‘Celestira’ was being chased like that after the concert incident on Metous. But still, I knew that after leaving Espoiramissa, being considered a criminal at some point was likely. Why? Well, objectively speaking, comparing my life before and after landing on Espoiramissa, I lost some sanity points and my self restraint from doing physically violent things had decreased. They were just two of the examples, but they were good enough to describe my point. Of course, the plan was that when I returned to Metous, I would never purposely do anything illegal–in visible view–but I would do things that were for my safety… 

However, the fact that I made it into the news because of those worms… 

I should’ve at least broken a few of their bones… it would’ve been easy, a few tiny [Fire Arrows] fired into their knees, and maybe arms or their ribs would be a good choice as well. They weren’t high level so the breaking part would be easy, but they would still be alive and would be able to recover.

(" It’s no surprise you made it on the news with thoughts like that  ”)

You won’t be stopping making jabs anytime soon, will you?

(" To be fair, I have stopped when it comes to that one point, but I have to add the colour commentary; otherwise, your mind would be such a boring place ”)

I would disagree; my mind is a lovely place.

(" I don’t need to read your mind to know that your normal default thoughts are–family, revenge, and stars. Fun concepts, but with only three, you are lacking in variety ”)

That is simply your opinion. Which, in fact, I disagree with.

(" Congrats, you have a different opinion ”)

The plan for the moment was to get a change of clothes. Thankfully, the description of my appearance used for the news was vague and honestly, even with my initial appearance–outside of the start mask–there was no guarantee that I would be spotted. However, with all the risks I was taking anyway, I needed to reduce any of them if possible. So, a change of clothes it was. I wasn’t sure what I would get or where I would get them–which of course was a major issue for this plan, but I was sure to figure something out.

Dammit, there is nothing around here that works.

I looked around the area, and there was nothing that was working. Some said they only took Jellannax credit–a weirdly common occurrence on the second segment, but not on the third or first–and others were way too heavily in the public eye.

(" Why don’t you go back to where you bought your first set? ”)

You know that’s on the eastern side, I’m currently on the opposite side of the city.

(" And? Just sneak around ”)

That is just asking for me to get caught.

(" Not if you are smart about it ”)

What great advice.

To be honest, I was debating that option, but there were a few issues with it. Sneaking over there might be the easiest part, but as long as I kept being sneaky I should be fine. For extra precaution, I could even remove my helmet altogether, but I wasn’t sure if I felt comfortable doing that. 

Then there was the fact that if I went to the shop I went to before, they might recognise me and report me. I was uncertain about this outcome as I had no idea if the owner even watched the news, and if he did, there was a chance he didn’t catch it. The announcement was not an emergency warning or anything, it was just some news that happened. No one died and no one was actually seriously injured, not to mention that with all the extra people on Jelannax–importantly the hunters and mercenaries–there was bound to be one person who did something stupid.

Maybe… I should just steal something.

(" Pardon? ”)

I ignored Espr’s confusion and debated my plan. Thieving was dangerous, but she could get some payback against the worms that decided to make her final few days more irritating. So, I could do something that no one–besides anyone who had read any mystery stories–would think of and go back to beat up and strip them. Worms didn’t need good clothes anyway.

…Before I do something potentially stupid, let’s have a quick look around the area for a shop.

I decided to give the tried and true method of buying something another shot. I could expand my area of search and use [Star Mapping] to hopefully find a joint. I wasn’t against beating up those bastards for something, but… sadly, there were smarter options to explore.

Then, a miracle for the Colourful Club–or whatever they were called–I did find a place that would accept my currency and was private enough to not cause a fuss. 

The suit I picked up was bigger than my actual size. I chose it because I could wear it over my armour. Wearing cosmetic clothes over protective wear wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for those who worked in dangerous areas, though there were different levels to the fashion. Some people just wore basically light, thin protective gear under normal clothes, these types of protective gear were weaker than actual armour, but they still got a good hit–people who were visiting hunter guilds or just were overall concerned for their safety. Option two, people bought highly resistant clothes for their armour for hunts. These clothes didn’t protect the user, but they were hard to damage, which meant as long as you weren’t an idiot, they could be worn for multiple missions. For some people, wearing basic armour got boring, so just wearing a layer of clothes was a cheaper option than getting a custom-designed piece of armour.

I technically was also just wearing a normal shirt over my average bulk armour. There were people who did this, as getting clothes you wanted to wear that weren’t damaged easily was costly and so just buying new clothes after the previous set was damaged was a cheaper choice–or they could just take off the outer layer before fighting.

Maybe I should buy a scarf or cloth for my face…

(" Oh? Are you actually thinking about removing your helmet ”)

To that end, I’m still very unsure. 

I had been very indecisive about my decision to reveal my face or not. The reasons for not doing so were blatantly obvious, but the benefit of at least showing half my face… 

Ignoring my few extra defining traits–my hair that was constantly messy and the scars–I thought I looked pretty ordinary–maybe other people would say otherwise, but I never talk to other people about my looks objectively. My light brown hair was common, and my eyes… well, golden eyes were certainly less common, but not to the point that they were noticeable.

Still, my other physical traits would just make me stand out. I personally didn’t care about my scars, but when I was on Earth and Metous, I understood it was less of a pain if I just kept them covered up. But the one from my cheek to neck definitely made me more recognisable.

What am I even thinking… I’ll only be here for a few more days, no need to risk Dominous Hood piecing together my identity.

I knew I was being paranoid with the whole Dominous Hood being able to track me and my family just by seeing my appearance, but I was scared. If Dominous Hood hurt my family… there wasn’t much more I could do–because I was already going to burn them all to the ground. Still, I didn’t care if it was paranoia because, after thinking about it, I decided to continue siding with that thought process.

I left the store and said goodbye to the kind owner, “Thank you and have a lovely day.”

He replied, “You too, Miss.”

(" Now what are you going to do now? ”)

Firebomb the worm’s base.

(" Seriously? ”)

No, but I want to.

My outfit now was a blue oval mask with a simple suit. The jacket and other clothes I was wearing were folded and placed between my armour and the suit. I didn’t have a good place to put them, and I was planning to throw them out in a recycle bin when I got the chance.

Sigh… I kind of liked those clothes.

They had grown on me in a weird way, or that could be just because they were the first bit of fashion I had worn in months. The other bad part about the purchase was that I was now fully broke–barely a couple of scraps to my name.

Well, I guess it’s good I’m now suited up for the auction.

(" Good luck then ”)

Oh, do you think I’m going to need it?

(" No, but I’m just being courteous ”)

Appreciated.