After waiting a few more minutes, we caught a glimpse of someone who we think should be Michelle. Petite and a curvy body along with her rosy skin were obvious even through a distance. Not only that. A colourful pin, a butterfly this time, was sitting on top of her head which should already been a clear sign that it was her. There was never a day where I saw her without any accessory on her head.
The only thing that was putting us at a dilemma if whether the girl who see across is really Michelle is due to the person who she was along with. Next to her or better to say, the man cuddling her was far from being just a friend by the looks of it.
"Oi! Isn't that Michi? He really got a boyfriend!"
"It's not really our business, but somehow I feel like we lost."
"Ooo~ Now they are kissing in public. It may just be the cheeks, but I never though Michi can be this daring in public. We should interrogate her later."
After watching our friend say goodbye to her what we assume his boyfriend, she saw us and immediately shoo away the guy. It looks like she is still embarrasses introducing him to us even with how she acted. I guess this solves her strange behaviour every time we invite her to places.
She humbly lowered her head while she was walking towards us trying to act like we saw nothing between the two of them. Of course, nothing goes by us especially when we saw it first-hand. Aria was the first one to pounce on her.
"hehehe~ I guess our lady friend has something to say to us."
"It's not what you think. We're not official yet."
"Yet? You're here kissing already and still not official yet. What does it take for you to become official, a night in a love hotel?"
"That's a bit crude, isn't it? We should let them be. One of us finally is finally got a boyfriend, so we should be happy for Michelle. Although I must say that we still have our standard for the man who is dating our friend."
It may sound hypocritical yet, I will try talking through Michelle if that man shows any sign of hurting our dear friend. That goes for the same for Aria, and most likely they will do the same when it comes to me if I met someone. But that talk is for the far future since today we have more things to do.
Now that we are complete, we followed Aria to where she wants to go first which is the furniture shop she told me earlier. Aria was ruthless when it comes to the questions about Michelle's secrets while we were walking around the mall.
When Michelle was almost cornered by Aria, foldable desks, Pad cabinets, and even televisions were line up on the display when we saw the store. This seems to be a good time to shop since selected prices are supposedly 30% off only until this day.
Aria went ahead and type her desired furniture and styles of it in one of the screen catalogue near the entrance. I much rather prefer window shopping when looking for things because there is joy in seeing nice things which trigger your impulse to buy. However, it seems like Aria has decided what to purchase already, and we were only able to look at what she has been scrolling at.
Looking around while Aria is do her thing, the models promoting the products here were either mascots or celebrities in real life. I will be weirded out if any of these products have correlation with New World.
Although there is an exception in here and that is the custom made sofas and bed for using the ETHER Link. A fantasy warrioress, almost look like cosplay, is introducing the advantages of having this products on supporting your inanimate body during a playthrough of New World. This got me intrigued, so I went ahead and used the unoccupied screen catalogue.
"You're also buying something, Cherry?"
"Something caught my interest."
The payment is also done in this screen catalogue, so it did not even consume minutes of our time before I completed my purchase. At the same time, Aria was also satisfied with her purchases and has already checked out. Her list was quite long when checking out that is why Michelle was not able to avoid asking her.
"Are you sure you're able to buy this plenty. Not to mention, none of it were your average looking chairs and tables. "
"Our earning in New World is almost identical, Michi. You should know that I am more capable to purchase all of these. There's even some excess due to the sale. Never thought I've got the timing right just for the sale to end today."
"I'm glad you are able to fulfil what you want… I bet your parents are extremely happy and proud of you."
*Smiles* "Yea, they can't believe that I was able improve our life through a game. I should also thank you two."
"Geez, don't make this emotional, Aria. Come on! Time to hop on the next store."
Michelle went outside waiting for us to check out which is done through a simple scan of the receipt and our watches. Our addresses were automatically filled up through this act. We just need to wait 4-8 hours before our items will be delivered at our house. I should be able to reach home before the package arrive.
Purchasing furniture was really the only reason why Aria invited us to go with her in the first place, but our fun does not end there. Michelle leads the way to one of the clothing stores which is famous for having trendy outfits for women.
The only one who has experience going in here seems to be her as seen by the hesitant face of Aria and my indifferent expression. She basically forced us to choose some clothes to try and wear. I got a feeling if we do not leave with at least a new dress, we will not be hearing the end of Michelle.
She went ahead first and picked at least three, or maybe more different pair of fashionable clothes on the display. We have no interest of doing the same, so we were saying our opinions while Michelle tried them one by one. She got a good fashion sense, and the way she presented it, she can be a model if it was not for her height.
However, giving out our opinions on every dress was useless because she bought them all anyway. I thought we were done for this shop after she checked out, but Michelle has already dragged Aria on one of the changing rooms while I was not aware. I can hear shrieks and laughing voice mix together.
'Maybe I should pick something while I'm here.'
The whole ordeal was done after me and Aria has a bag of newly bought clothes each. She looks haggard as hell compared to Michelle who enjoys the situation. Unfortunate for our part, the shopping spree is just beginning.
A total of eleven different clothing outlets and two jewellery shop. The whole spree lasted almost three hours resulting for the three of us, even Michelle, to be dead tired. The outside was already starting to get dark, but we are not planning to go home so soon to play New World. This might be the first big break we have away from the game.
It is not like it is mandatory to play the game every single day for almost half the day. Our Guild Leader was also not strict concerning our attendance as long as we have a proper reason. We placed this responsibility within ourselves because we want to get ahead on others quickly. Seeing for ourselves the benefits of the strong, we cannot help but do it.
The money we earn from playing the game is just secondary for me. I am happier from observing the progress Cherry Winter has in the world of Astrea. Like Mystic Xiye's recognition even outside the game, being recognized for your hard work is something I found amazing after we were beheld when we reached top ten of the City Rankings.
Not only that, I also created connections with some of the residents of Twilight City which I always look forward to when entering the New World. Interacting with those AI has a certain feeling to it compared to what I am used to.
As I am thinking about the things I am going to do as soon as I log in, the smell of hot mocha hits my nose.
"You're sure you don't want any drinks, Cherry?"
"I'm good. I've done my share of sweet things for today."
"You can simply order a non-sweet drink, but I guess you're in a diet today… Anyway, are all the preparation done for the Territorial War later?"