The outfit was a striking blend of regal elegance and sharp authority, built around a deep burgundy vest that falls to the knees with a graceful, flared silhouette. The vest is structured in smooth vertical panels with a soft sheen that catches the light with every movement.
Gold fastenings run neatly down the front, and a fitted belt is tied around the waist, from which slender silver chains drape lightly across the shoulder and belt.
The trousers were Aefia's usual office wear type and it was slightly baggy at the end, the way Aefia referred. The fabric for the trousers were black and had a slight polyester feel to it. It had darker black stripes running along it's length.
Over this, a sharply tailored black overcoat frames the form with clean lines and subtle gold piping along the seams. The cuffs are wide and richly patterned with elegant embroidery, adding a quiet sense of luxury.
At the collar, a crisp white shirt is paired with a bold red tie, creating a vivid contrast against the black layers. Draped over one shoulder is a deep red ceremonial cloak, heavy and regal, lined with intricate silver embroidery that traces its edges in refined, ornamental patterns.
A gold epaulette anchors the cloak at the shoulder, secured by an ornate brooch set with a cool blue gemstone. A silver chain runs diagonally across from shoulder to shoulder, catching light with a soft metallic gleam.
The accessories complete the look with dramatic precision. The shoes are glossy black with striking crimson red soles, their surfaces polished to a mirror finish. Fine silver chains and matching metal ornaments decorate the tops, echoing the detailing across the rest of the outfit.
With a pair of black gloves that reached the wrist, tightly fitted and laced with vivid red threading along the back. There was also an added shealth for a sword, sewn into the belt, but it was empty and was properly matching her simple kitchen knife when it is fully transformed into a sword. It was the same size and shape of the transformed sword.
Crowning the look is a sleek black top hat, perfectly shaped and finished with a bold red bow at the side. A red ruby was placed in the middle of the bow, and along the top of it. Once worn, the two end of the ribbons hang from the edge of the top hat.
The entire ensemble feels deliberate, commanding, and unmistakably sovereign. Every color, chain, gem, and fold is balanced between elegance and power. The deep reds, sharp blacks, polished metals, and flowing fabrics come together to create an outfit that speaks of rank, confidence, and controlled strength without ever needing to say a word.
The reason behind why she got such a ceremonial outfit was because Ms. Avry was willing to have Aefia represent their house, which even she doesn't know what it was. The other members all had their main colour as a saffron yellow but only Aefia had gotten a deep, dark, crimson colour with shiny ornaments and shoes.
On top of that, were the hair and sword accessories. The red keychain was to be hung at the end of the sword's hilt. It was a red gemstone with a black thread to tie it with. The casing of the gemstone, was also silver with a different sort of carving into it.
The hair accessory was a pair of fake black wings that were held together with a silver metal and it was a hair clip. Aefia held the hair clip and thought to herself, if Nada were to be here right now, she would have tried multiple attempts to steal it.
As a person who has always worn light-weight material, I think I would find this entire outfit slightly irritating to handle. Especially if it is heavy, I won't be able to do the thing I need to have done at the banquet.
There is a certain someone I would like to have a small conversation with. And that conversation would be one that will hold a lot of peoples' lives on the line. Hopefully the person stays positive about it and allows me the access needed to get hold of that particular item.
Although, I am not certain enough, is whether this really is the world where I can find that object. But even when that plan fails, I can ask for help from the mysterious creatures that helped me move between dimensions. If I am right, the person I need to speak to, would be the Duchess herself.
She has the key to the vault that has the sacred emblem in place. And it is through her authority that the vault is opened or closed. Even so, for safety measures, the vault is opened only for a short amount of time once in a month.
There are a lot of problems that I will face on that day, the first of all, is to blend in. As a non-citizen of this world, I would have to learn everything about it starting from courtesies and manners all the way to being able to name every noble and what they are known for. If the Duchess finds out, I wonder if she would send me for execution.
She stopped thinking and decided to sit at her table and open her book about Nikoan. Although she was learning about its history, the history itself wasn't enough information to help her pursue whatever goal she needed. She just two more weeks to get prepared and she couldn't waste even a second in her life to do or think nonsense.
Now that she had a mirror, she could practice talking to herself in Nikoan courtesy and act as if she was a citizen. The fun part for her was, taking off the top-hat and bowing, because it gave her a few seconds to smile, laugh or do whatever without the person in front noticing.
If this manner was still present back on Earth, she would have done it more than a hundred times in front of her all three greasy looking aunts. Especially the day the two aunts who were previously jailed, got out of their cells for the first time.
Her youngest aunt turned thin and her face was all soggy. Her eldest aunt got a much more crumbled back and her hair was at the point of fully falling off. To Aefia that day, they both looked like the evil witch-like villains she had seen in cartoons. When she came back home, she and her maid servants laughed the entire day.
***
Now this line is some weird sort of explanation for why the youngest child should be the owner of all respect and nobility. As an older sister, I would beg to differ but now, I am the 'younger sister' of this 'foster family'.
It says here that, 'During a banquet, whether the child is a girl or a boy, they should wear a full ceremonial which should have the resemblence of a noble family'. So just what is it? Do I wear a coat and suit? Or do I dress the exact same thing as the person in charge of our viscount is going to wear?
If that is the case, then tell me the location of our viscount's mansion and let me ask them what they are wearing to the banquet so I won't make the mistake of 'accidentally breaking the rule'. I don't know why, but I feel like the Duchess could be the Queen of Hearts. Or maybe I am making it seem like that.
Aefia put down her pen and closed the cover of her half empty notebook. She pressed her forehead against her fist while her elbows rested on top of her table's surface. She mumbled to herself a few things while in that position.
In the world of web-novels and mangas, I had learnt of many different ways that a main character could get into a fantasy world. Some transmigrated, others got isekai'd into it during their sleep, some got sent there when they died in a dungeon.
So now my question is, how exactly did I and fourteen others get into this world? What exactly are we? Transmigrator, Necromancers, Vivomancer, Acolyte, Bard, Druid, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock or a Regressor? Maybe a reincarnator?
When it comes to fantasy, there are so many things that can come to a person's mind. The fantasy itself can tell how creative a person's imagination is. But mostly of which, some people flip, twist and remake to add a new story to the same genre and type.
She moved to a new position. Let's just say, a lot of things may have a lot of meanings. The different terms used to describe a character's magic type is also a variety.
For example, a transmigrator is a person whose soul or consciousness has been taken from one world or one body to another in another world and another body.
A Necromancer is a person whose magic practice involves the manipulation of the deceased, including raising corpses and commanding spirits.
A Vivomancer is a person whose magic practice involves the manipulation of living things, such as accelerated healing, life-force control, or biological manipulation.
An Acolyte is a person whose role is that of a novice or assistant, typically serving a priest or religious figure in sacred rites and duties.
A Bard is a person whose skill lies in using music, poetry, and storytelling to inspire others, weave magical effects, and chronicle important events.
A Druid is a person whose magic is drawn from the wilderness, giving them the ability to command natural elements and often shapeshift into animals.
A Paladin is a person whose strength is that of a holy warrior, bound by sacred oaths to serve a divine power or righteous cause with protective abilities.
A Sorcerer is a person whose magical power is inherent, stemming from an innate talent, mysterious bloodline, or a supernatural gift they were born with.
A Warlock is a person whose magical power is gained through a formal pact or agreement with a powerful supernatural entity.
A Regressor is a person whose life is relived after a significant event, allowing them to return to an earlier point in time with their future knowledge intact.
A Reincarnator is a person whose soul has been reborn into a new body after death, often retaining some memories or skills from a past life.
And for each one of us in this competition, we all can do two or more things that a simple fantasy term does. For me, I know that I am more close to nothing. Although, I feel like my element could mean that I am more of a Warlock.
Anyway, I can't spend my time pursuing my thoughts into all this non-sense. For now, all I am is a mage or a seer who has psychic abilities. I don't know why I am thinking about this, it's not like that's of any use.
She got up from her chair, checked the time on her pocket watch and stood at the centre of her room. She closed her eyes and felt the sensation of falling into a void. When she could feel herself penetrating through thick layers of atmosphere, she opened her eyes and changed her position mid-air.
She dropped to the ground with her knees bent and stood up straight. She was back at Hellas, in front of the citadel she had discovered the a few days ago. She walked towards a fragile point of the citadel and triggered a vibration through which caused the attention of several demons to divert to the origin of the vibration.
She slammed her sword tight into the concrete and left it there before looking for a clean place to sit down while she waited for them to arrive. Meanwhile, she opened her system and scrolled through a bunch of things.
Oh look! There is a shop online in this system! If it is what I think it is, I will consider buying a few things with the weird currency that I seemed to have stacked up on due to past battles.
Many footsteps approached at once but Aefia remained calm. She stayed seated and continued scrolling through her screen. She was looking into the things available in the shop which appeared in her system.
"Look! It's a human!" A demon shouted upon reaching the threshold. "She has come back to slaughter another one of us! But today, we will fight back!" The other demons cheered along.
Aefia smiled while staying silent. After a while, she stood up and spoke. "Do you not know? This is my only source of strength and this is my training field. Anyone who enters it is considered my opponent. And in my territory, I make sure that the rules are followed.
"The rules are always the same. It is same for yesterday, the day before yesterday and even today. The first rule itself states that anyone who enters my territory, is taken as wanting to challenge me. Therefore, I mistake a lot of you as my opponent.
"Secondly, I always make sure to trigger some sort of vibration that I am not sure off. But I seemed to have used it as my 'daily check-in'. If you think it was a battle cry, I would forgive you anyway.
"Thirdly, if someone chooses to enter my territory and choose to fight me, well, you are welcome to enjoy my hostility as a host. I will let you all be my guest, but the way in which I treat my guest, may not seem appropriate to you. Like I said, my territory, my rules. You called this upon yourselves, so unless you are really willing to fight, you may stay inside this territory."
Many of the demons stepped back. The first demon stayed his ground while looking at his friends with a shocked expression. "Do you think you can incite us with your fluency?! She is just lying! She isn't strong enough to defeat all of us in once! Watch me attack her first!"
The demon ran at Aefia while she slowly walked towards her sword. She dropped the bandage covering her left eye while holding the hilt of her sword.
Sling! The demon's head dropped to the floor first, followed by his body.
The others started running towards different direction. "Run, but you have already set track on my territory." She laughed.