Yes, Lady Funina!

"Not at all, it's just that I've lived a long time and know a little about everything," Richard said modestly, waving his hand.

After a few jokes, the atmosphere in the store became more harmonious, and Richard didn't bring up the couple's outfits for the four of them again, as that would indeed be a bit too much.

However, Lynette knew that Richard often liked to put the truth in jokes, and there was no guarantee that he might actually want it all.

If that's the case... Lynette reached out and touched the fabric, pursed her lips, and decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being.

They've turned into ostriches...

"Linette, come and try on the sample," Chiori said, handing the clothes to Linette.

“Okay.” Lynette put down her tea, stood up and glanced at Richard, only to find him looking at her expectantly, like a puppy waiting to be fed.

So Lynette decisively looked away from Richard and instead saw Clarinde next to him.

"Clorind, could you come in and give me some advice?"

“Me? No problem.” Clarind nodded and agreed without much thought, then noticed Richard staring at her.

Did I offend him unintentionally again?

Klorinde steeled herself and walked into the fitting room. The fitting room in Chihiro was very large. Because it was a high-end clothing store that provided customized services, it was not like an ordinary clothing store with a dazzling array of clothes displayed outside. There were only a few small fitting rooms.

Chiori made a sample according to Lynette's request. However, since it was just a sample, it was not as exquisite as the finished garment, but the effect was still visible.

Lynette had two outfits custom-made: one was an evening gown for formal occasions, and the other was a casual outfit more suitable for everyday wear.

The sample she's wearing now is the evening gown style. Unlike typical Western-style backless, low-cut strapless evening gowns, the one Lynette is wearing leans more towards a conservative style with an oriental flair.

Although it's a conservative style, with most of the skin covered by the fabric, the actual visual effect is excellent. The way the flesh is visible through the silk fabric creates a tantalizing, alluring effect.

Clarind reached out and touched the fabric, finding that the main garment was quite sturdy and not as 'delicate' as she had imagined. The pattern on the black lace sleeves on her hands was also very beautiful, subtly outlining a mysterious black cat.

The skirt wasn't slit very high; even when you took your highest step, only your calves were visible. However, because the skirt was made of semi-transparent silk, you could vaguely see the outline of your thighs, though not clearly.

Clarin touched the semi-transparent silk material on the hem of her skirt again and found that it was not as reliable as the upper body, giving her the feeling that she could tear it with the slightest force.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the skirt was actually divided into two layers, so even if the outer silk skirt was accidentally torn, there was no need to worry about it being too revealing.

However, just as Clarinde was about to try out the material inside again, Lynette coughed softly.

Clarin realized that if she tried on the material underneath, she would inevitably have to put her hand under Lynette's skirt, which would be too indecent and feel like a pervert.

"Miss Clorinde, you value the reliability of the fabric?" Chiori asked after noticing this.

“Yes, for some personal reasons…” Clorind replied.

Lynette looked at Clorind's undeniably lewd figure and the single button on her chest, and nodded understandingly, saying, "Indeed."

"It's for work!" Claude emphasized in a low voice.

As the strongest dueling agent, one inevitably encounters fighting scenarios when handling business. Ordinary clothes are usually inevitably damaged during fighting, and even if not because of fighting, they are easily worn out during daily training.

That's why Clarind rarely wears casual clothes; she usually goes out in her dueling agent uniform, which is reliable, sturdy, and durable, guaranteed by Fontaine Military Industry quality.

So where can I buy it?

You can't buy them because they are all distributed by the Mo Mang Palace, and the uniforms provided to agents of different levels are also different.

Therefore, most agents prepare their own uniforms, all kinds of them. It's just that because Clarinde is the 'strongest', the uniforms she is provided with are the best, and you can't buy them even if you have money, so she doesn't need to prepare her own.

Freebies always seem the best.

“If that’s the case, then the fabric I originally thought of needs to be changed.” Chiori pondered for a moment, and many sturdy and durable fabric styles flashed through her mind. She had already thought of the most suitable fabric for Clarinde.

“However, it’s difficult to make formal wear durable. But I don’t think anyone would wear a formal wear to fight, right?” Chiori paused. “Because it’s custom-made, as long as you don’t gain weight, it’s unlikely that the clothes will tear.”

As she spoke, Chiori made a "bursting out" gesture with her hand over her chest, making Clarin blush bright red.

"Miss Chiori, please stop joking."

"No, I'm serious. You probably have the best figure I've ever seen. Even that young lady from the Rose Society probably doesn't have as much of a figure as you... um... spectacular."

Claudia was too exhausted to argue about the issue of body shape. She noticed something: "Navia also ordered clothes from you, Miss Chiori?"

"Just call me Chiori. From what you're saying, you know Navia? Well, she's a regular customer of mine. Did you notice her elegant lady outfit? It's all my work. Because the Rose Guild helped me out a lot of trouble before, and elegant ladies like Navia can also serve as advertising, I gave her a friendly price."

"Lady Nafenina..."

“If Lady Funina can guarantee that she will wear the clothes I designed for her in public, I can accept the payment without charge, or I would accept payment…” Chiori replied.

Given Funina's status and popularity in Fontainebleau, countless designers would be scrambling to design clothes for her. They would be willing to pay for it, let alone charge a fee.

"Speaking of which, Lady Funina is definitely coming today, right? But why haven't we seen her yet?" Chiori asked.

"Lady Funina doesn't want to miss any trial, so she should be a little late. Judging by the time, she should be arriving soon..." Just as Clarinde finished speaking, Funina's voice came from outside the dressing room.

"Richard? Why are you alone? Where are Claudia and the others?"

"Inside the fitting room..."

"Wow, why do you look like that? It's like someone stole the dessert you've been looking forward to for so long."

The three women in the fitting room exchanged glances, and finally Claude couldn't help but say, "Why don't we let Richard in?"

After all, the sample clothes Lynette was wearing weren't anything shameful, and although the room was called a fitting room, it was actually a small discussion room used by designers to discuss designs with customers. If you really wanted to change clothes, there was a small partition between the two rooms.

Matryoshka dolls belong to yes.

“Hmm…” Linnie nodded, preparing to open the door and call someone in, only to find Richard already standing at the door, raising his hand to knock.

"I came here on behalf of Funina to ask."

"In that case, let Lady Funina come in."

"Don't worry..."

Richard finally got to the fitting room, but contrary to his expectations, he didn't see anything erotic. Lynette then went into a small cubicle and changed into several more sample outfits.

Li noticed that the product did not match the description and wanted to lodge a strong protest, but unsurprisingly, it was rejected outright, and he was almost expelled from the execution ground.

"What kind of clothes does Lady Funina want to design? Like the traditional evening gowns commonly seen in Fontaine, or dresses with exotic flair..." Chiori gave Funina several examples.

But then Funina looked at Richard with a questioning gaze. Chiori was somewhat surprised to see this, as she seemed not to have expected that Funina would actually ask Richard for his opinion.

When a girl starts asking a guy for advice on her clothing and actively tries to get closer to him, it already tells a lot.

Lynette has a rival now... and the rival is actually the god of Fontaine.

Of course, it's possible that it's not what Chiori imagined, but that possibility is extremely low. After all, even the most obtuse person could sense that the way Funina looked at Richard was completely different from how she looked at others.

“As for formal wear, Funinna should have no shortage of it, right?” Richard said after thinking for a moment. Since it wasn’t a work setting, he didn’t use any honorifics.

“Indeed.” Funina thought of the dresses in her wardrobe that she had only worn once and never touched again. If she hadn’t gone through several rounds of cleaning out the dresses over the centuries, her wardrobe would have been bursting at the seams long ago, wouldn’t it?

“However, considering how often Lady Funina wears formal attire, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it everyday wear, would it?” Clorind said.

If Clorind wears uniforms almost all year round, then Frynn must wear formal dresses all year round, right?

However, there are many types of formal wear. For example, the formal wear worn by Funina tends to be more neutral. Compared to evening gowns, which can only be worn in certain situations, Funina's formal wear is more practical and can be worn as everyday clothes.

At most, she might attract some attention, but Funina is the kind of woman who naturally attracts attention wherever she goes. In addition, given her status as a deity, no one would think it's wrong no matter how grand and extravagant her attire is.

After all, she is Funinna!

“Then let’s design a truly everyday outfit for Lady Funina. While haute couture gowns best showcase a designer’s skill, everyday clothes reveal a designer’s ingenuity. I believe that with Miss Chiori’s talent, she can definitely design a stunning piece,” Richard said.

"Even if you flatter me, I won't give you a discount." Chiori crossed her arms, a faint smile on her face.

Upon hearing this, Funina suddenly thought of a question. She tugged at Richard's sleeve, then pulled him aside and whispered, "I heard that the cost of living here is quite high. Is your salary enough? If not, I have quite a bit of savings that I don't usually need. I can lend you some."

Other girls only care about whether the clothes you buy for them are expensive, but a girl like Fu Ningna cares about whether you have enough money.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that? We agreed beforehand that this was a loan, not a gift, and that I had to pay it back. After all, you were the one who said you'd buy me clothes..." Funina reminded her, then, seemingly realizing that her words were a bit harsh, added softly, "But if I didn't have the money, I didn't say when I'd pay it back..."

There was no requirement to repay it by a certain date, and no interest, so it was basically no different from giving it away. The only difference might be that it sounded better legally, probably because Funina was mindful of someone's pride.

She really made me cry to death.

"Don't worry, Lady Funina, money is not a problem. Even if I have to eat dirt for the next month, I will keep my promise!"

Upon hearing this, Funina immediately pictured Richard pitifully digging for food in the wilderness, and quickly said, "Actually, the clothes don't need to be too expensive. How about I pay half for Clarinde's share? After all, she's my secretary..."

Just then, Chiori walked over with a price list. "Excuse me, Mr. Richard, this is the price list. We need to pay a deposit. If there are no problems, you can sign here."

“Okay, no problem.” Richard glanced at the numbers on the checkbook, signed his name, wrote a string of numbers on the checkbook, signed it, tore it off, and handed it to Chiori.

When Funina noticed Richard's checkbook, she immediately realized that Richard, who used such a checkbook, could not possibly be broke because of a few pieces of clothing.

It's obvious this guy is just messing with me!

Thinking of this, Funina couldn't help but pout and glare at Richard.

"Lady Funina can tell Miss Chiori whatever she wants. The deposit has already been paid." Richard said with a smile.

"Then give me the most expensive one, I'll make you feel bad for spending money like this!"

PS: Kurushi, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a toothache, so I just got up and started writing o(ini)o

Volume 1: Chapter 106 Clarind's 'Heartbeat'

After discussing the design requirements, Chiori informed everyone that because there were too many clothing samples to make, it would be impossible to finish them in one afternoon. In addition, the concept also needed time, so they could go back first. Once the samples were made, the staff of Chiori House would come to notify them.

After all, Clarinde alone had several sets custom-made, most of which were haute couture. Adding the other three, they had directly taken up Chioriya's production capacity for the next month.

Of course, Chiori wasn't the only fashion designer at Chiori's shop, but Richard, with his money, wanted all the clothes to be designed by Chiori herself.

The question is simply that I love Chiori's designs, and since I have the money, I want the best.

However, the reality is...

Even if Chiori is very capable, she can't possibly produce so many works all at once. When it comes time to test the samples, in order not to waste everyone's time, she will most likely have Chlorinde and the others try them on one by one when they have time, and then make adjustments based on the results of the try-ons and their personal opinions.

This changed the original group of four into a solo operation. As the funder of the costume design, it is perfectly reasonable for Richard to be present when trying on the samples to see the effect, right?

In that case, the separate solo activity becomes a duo activity, and you can even enjoy the rare beautiful scenery firsthand. After all, the reason why a sample is a sample is because it still has many imperfections compared to the finished product. And the reasons for these imperfections are varied, such as an ill-fitting size that makes it too tight, or an unreasonable design that makes it too revealing...

In short, it's sure to be a great watch, and Richard is already looking forward to it. After all, he made the dumplings specifically for this dish of vinegar!

"You seem quite happy?" Lynette said after she finished discussing the design requirements with Chiori and suddenly noticed Richard's smug smile.

“After all, having new clothes to wear is always a happy thing,” Richard replied with a smile.

“I don’t know why you’re happy, but it’s definitely not because of the clothes, or at least not entirely,” Lynette said confidently.

After confirming the time for her next visit to the store with Claudia, Chiori said to Richard, "About your clothing samples..."

“No need for me, ladies first,” Richard said generously.

“I understand, then…” Chiori looked at Lynette, “Linette has tried on the samples almost all, so she can basically move on to the next stage. When Lynette comes to try on the finished clothes next time, how about you come along to try on the samples too?”

“No problem. By the way, how long will it take for Clarinde and Furness to make their samples?” Richard readily agreed and then asked the question he was most concerned about.

“Because I heard from Clond that she will be attending an important event soon and doesn’t have a suitable dress, I will prioritize Ms. Clond’s dress. Therefore, the dress may be completed sooner than Linette’s.”

"As for Ms. Funina's attire, I need to put more thought into the design, and it may take a while, but it will definitely be completed within a month," Chiori said methodically.

"The specific schedule should be like this..." Chiori filled out a process form and handed it to Richard.

The above outlines the general process, with the production order of samples and finished products roughly as follows: Clarinde > Lynette > Furnessa > Richard.

The specific time had been communicated, so Richard and the others didn't linger any longer, since it was getting late. The four of them found a restaurant, had a simple meal, and then decided to go home.

Before parting ways, Richard specifically told Clarinde, "Let me know when you go to try on the samples. I'll come with you. If they look good, I can settle the balance on the spot."

Claude agreed without hesitation, but hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about I pay the remaining balance? After all, it's my clothes..."

Clarin looked at the bill, and the long string of numbers made her feel a little embarrassed to accept Richard's kindness. Although she knew he was rich, she didn't think it was a matter of course for others to spend money on her.

More importantly, it would be fine if she had actually helped Richard, but the problem is that this time she not only didn't help Richard, but also schemed against him. Even though he was the one who started it, so he had no choice but to suffer the consequences, Claude has a heart of gold.

To put it bluntly, I feel guilty and can't be like Richard, who can scheme against people as easily as eating bread.

"What are you saying? What kind of talk is that? Do you want me to be a person who breaks their word and always keeps their promises? I don't like what you just said, take it back." Richard's words were so righteous and indignant, probably the most righteous episode this month.

“Ah…oh…” Clorind did not expect Richard to react so strongly, as if she had taken away some opportunity from Richard by paying the final payment.

It was just a stroke of luck, a chance to feast one's eyes.

Richard nodded in satisfaction after seeing that Clarinde had been intimidated, and said, "Just call me when you're ready to go."

"Hmm," Clarinde replied blankly.

——————

It was another weekend, and Clarinde received a message from Chiori saying that the clothing samples were all made and asking when she could come to the store to try them on, or that Chiori could offer home service.

But in that case... it would cost extra.