Chapter 363 - Looking For The City Lord

"Oh? 3 huh? Which 3 and how can I find them?" Shiro asked.

However, the dwarf didn't reply. He only extended out his hand and opened his palm.

"Mn?" Shiro tilted her head.

"Damn it, money ok! Information requires money or materials. Whichever is easier for you." The dwarf frowned.

"Ohhhh in that case then how much are you looking for?"

"Eh? Wait you're actually giving me some money instead of materials?" The dwarf raised an eyebrow.

"Well why wouldn't I?" Shiro tilted her head.

After her adventurer in Miriel, she had more than enough money for now hence why she used such a high reward for the commission that Jonathan had accepted.

"Mum I think he's thinking that materials are easier to obtain." Lisandra chuckled.

"Yup. This girl's got the idea. Why are you so dumb." The dwarf shrugged as he glanced at her in disdain.

*Puchi!

'Nimue, Iziuel, you better give me a good reason not to kill this dwarf.'

{Welp don't look at me. Personally, I would very much enjoy seeing you do that.} Nimue grinned since she knew that Shiro was just joking around.

{Maybe because you need him to find the 3 dwarfs?} Iziuel replied since she thought Shiro was being serious.

'See, why can't you be cooperative like Iziuel.' Shiro sighed.

{Don't get used to it. I can promise that once Iziuel stays with you for as long as I have, she'll be like me and block your shenanigans for our own enjoyment.} Nimue replied with a shrug.

Shaking her head, Shiro turned back to the dwarf.

"In that case then what kind of material do you want?" She asked.

"Girl, you do know that there are thousands of materials, right? How the hell do you expect me to know what you have and which one I want without you showing me."

Rolling her eyes, Shiro set out all the B ranked materials that she had collected from the second prince's corpse.

"Hou hou, you know, despite you being so dumb, you have quite the bounty on you don't ya?" The dwarf chuckled while looking through the pile of materials.

Choosing three materials, he stored them in his inventory and smiled with satisfaction.

"Right then, the three dwarfs you're looking for are the highest-ranking dwarfs in this city. One is the city lord and the other two are his close aides." The dwarf grinned and quickly ran away.

". . . Wait f*ck I've been scammed!" Shiro widened her eyes and wanted to chase after him.

However, his figure had long disappeared in the crowd as Shiro could only shake her head and sigh.

"Well I suppose we did get the information that we wanted. So, I need to look for the city lord and his close aides." Shiro shrugged.

Raising her eyebrow, Lisandra only laughed since she knew that Shiro had let the dwarf run away. If she really wanted to chase after him, it was naught but a simple task for her.

"Oh mum, I swear you resemble a tsundere to some degree. You don't speak your mind, do you?" Lisandra chuckled.

"Eh? Come one, surely, not right? I'm honest, aren't I? Most of the time anyways." Shiro replied.

"Sure, whatever you say mum."

Shaking her head, Shiro then asked around to see where she could find the city lord.

Getting some directions from another dwarf, without a price this time, she made her way to the city centre.

On the way there, Shiro decided to use this time to look for some clothes with Lisandra since it wasn't as if they were too tight on time. Even if they were, since she's the commissioner, she could just tell the party to wait for her to sort everything out. She is paying them 10 silvers after all.

"Let's see, what would look cute on you Lisa." Shiro chuckled while walking into a clothes shop.

"I don't really want anything cute. If it looks ok, it looks ok. Plus, I'm in my armour most of the time so it doesn't matter." Lisandra shrugged since she wasn't too bothered. If anything, spending time with Shiro is what she enjoyed the most out of this.

"No no no. Trust me, look good and feel good. Understand?" Shiro shook her finger and smiled.

"Sure, if that's what you want mum." Lisandra smiled wearily.

"Mn, that's better. Now give me a second, I'll go ask the assistant."

Jogging away, Shiro called for one of the shop assistants.

"Excuse me, I was just wondering if you have any recommendations for my daughter. You see, she doesn't shop for clothes often, so we just want to see what kind of outfit suits her style." Shiro said as she showed the assistant Lisandra's face without her mask.

Talking for a little longer, the assistant soon showed her a few outfits that may look good on Lisandra.

The first of which is a sleeveless shirt paired with a black jacket and some jeans. The second is a slightly large hoodie, a medium to short skit and a pair of boots. As for the last set of clothes, it was a simple knitted crop top and a long skirt that was split at the sides much like a qipao.

"Which one do you like better Lisa?" Shiro asked with a smile.

"I suppose I like the first one." Lisandra replied. The second outfit seemed good but too casual. As for the third, it revealed a bit too much skin for her liking.

"In that case then can I buy three copies of the first outfit?" Shiro smiled towards the assistant.

Going up to the desk, she paid the full amount which totalled up to 3 bronze erins.

'Damn… to think one outfit would cost 1 billion USD. The dungeons have really f*cked with the economy eh?' Shiro raised an eyebrow.

Thankfully, things scaled up as the level's around the city increased. If the same outfit was to be available in lower level cities, it would only cost a few USD. However, since 90% of the people that are in this city could actually make a decent amount of money from the dungeons, 1 bronze Erin would be within their reach.

Gesturing for Lisandra to change into her new outfit, Shiro waited by the changing rooms.

"Done, you happy now mum?" Lisandra smiled softly while walking out with her new outfit. With her hands in her jean pockets, Lisandra had a rather 'cool' aura around her which caused Shiro to clap her hands in admiration.

"Very nice. Hmm… maybe I should get something else to wear as well?  To be honest, I don't exactly know why I even bothered to get these masks haha. After all, I can just use my fae illusions to change our looks." Shiro replied while whispering the last part of her sentence.

"Maybe it's just habit? You do use masks often after all." Lisandra shrugged. From what she knew, Shiro had an assortment of masks and lower face masks that she liked to use when she got the chance.

"Maybe." Shiro chuckled.

Looking around, she wondered if it was worth it to get something for herself.

{There's no point. Can't you just make it with your nanobots without buying anything?} Nimue raised her eyebrows.

'True but where's the fun in that?' Shiro shrugged.

{Is it not more reliable? Plus, don't you already have your monster cloth outfit that Aarim made for you? You don't really need to buy clothes do you?}

'Urg, you're no fun.' Shiro sighed and gave up on buying herself some outfits.

"You're not getting anything mum?" Lisandra asked curiously.

"Nah. I can just make it myself I guess."

Leaving the shop, they made their way towards the city centre once more.

Asking directions on the way there, Shiro soon found herself in front of the city hall.

From the outside, she could see that the architecture of this hall was much different to what she was used to in the other cities. Compared to their 'modern' design, this has aspects of steampunk and ancient engravings on the walls. The entire building was coloured with a mix of bronze, brown and white.  

'So, this is where the city lord is.' Shiro mused to herself before entering the building.

Inside, she could see that parts of the hall were made with a dark gold material along with some silver scattered around the place.

Looking for what seems to be a receptionist, she walked up and inquired about maybe meeting the city lord to discuss business.

"The city lord is quite busy. So, unless it is a commission that interests him or if you have a large amount of silver, I don't think he'll take your request." The receptionist shook her head.

"Hmm…" Pausing for a moment, Shiro didn't exactly want to tell the receptionist the information regarding her sword.

"Are you able to send a message to his close aides then?" She asked again.

"The city lord has many close aides, so unless you know who that is, I can't help you with that request. And even if I did, I can't guarantee that you'll be able to receive a reply since they too are quite busy." The receptionist apologised as Shiro frowned.

'Wait a minute, can't I just hack the system and send him an urgent message?'