"It's starting to get a bit late." Lily said as he looked up at the clear sky. The stars were becoming visible at this time and the sun had just set, leaving the sky a dimly lit dark red.
"We should go find Erza. Do you remember where she ran off to?" Meliodas asked. He looked around the area of the city they were in. Wandering off with Lance and Goodwin had seemingly got them lost in this unfamiliar part of Crocus.
"I believe she went to a dessert stand back in the main square. Although by the looks of things, it seems most of the stands are starting to clean up now so I doubt she would still be there." Lily responded.
"Well we did agree to go shopping at Heart Kruz. Hopefully they're still open so we'll meet her out front." Meliodas said. He pulled out the brochure he snagged earlier when he had first arrived in the city, the brochure containing a map within. They were a few blocks away from the Heart Kruz Department Store. He looked up and beyond the buildings around him, he could see bright glowing lights in the distance coming from a building that stood a bit above the others.
"That must be it."
---
"There you two are!" Erza shouted as Meliodas and Lily approached her at the entrance of the Heart Kruz store.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. We got a bit sidetracked." Meliodas said with a cheeky smile as he thought about the previous arm wrestling incident.
"Well I suppose the same thing happened to me. I couldn't help myself when I saw those sweets…" Erza responded with a hint of embarrassment. She quickly shook off the embarrassment and looked at Meliodas and Lily suspiciously.
"And what were you two up to while I was away? I heard a loud crash while I was eating."
"Oh don't worry about that. We just made some quick money is all." Meliodas said.
"So this is the Heart Kruz store?" Lily commented, changing the subject. He looked straight up at the building in front of them, unable to hide the awe written all over his face as he hadn't seen any stores like this in Edolas. The building was five stories tall with the entire front portion being covered in glass displays showing various outfits as bright lights illuminated the entire area in front of them. There was a steady stream of people walking in and out of the glass doors in which the door handles were shaped into an "H" and "K."
"It is. The largest in all of Fiore...and they're open until 2 in the morning!" Erza exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. "I don't mind shopping here all night!"
"Well we did get a sizable amount of money from this mission." Lily commented. "What time do the trains stop departing from Crocus?"
"Latest I've seen was 10 p.m." Meliodas said. He turned around and looked at the massive clock tower sticking out of one of the nearby buildings that read "10:30 p.m."
"Well I guess we'll just shop here for a few hours then go back to our hotel." Meliodas commented.
"I suppose so." Lily sighed. 'What would I even buy. Do they have anything my size?'
"Then we'll meet up at the hotel later!" Erza shouted enthusiastically as she ran right into the building, shoving aside several people who were walking through the door.
"I don't think I've seen her this excited since I told her about Musica." Meliodas commented.
Meliodas and Lily walked into the store and looked around. Meliodas could not hide the awe on his face. The inside of the store was unlike anything he had ever seen in a store since he had been in Fiore or in his time in Britannia.
At the bottom floor were rows of various stores all under the Heart Kruz name. "HK Suits, HK Swimwear, HK Bunny Outfits" were among those to name a few. At the center of the first floor was a large marbled fountain area with many seats to rest on that surrounded the flowing fountain illuminated by many lacrima. Behind that was what appeared to be a food court for the "Heart Kruz Kitchen."
"So they even have their own restaurant." Meliodas commented.
"I think there's a battle gear store on the third floor. I would like to head up there." Lily said as he read a map of the location posted on a sign nearby. Meliodas nodded in response.
"Sounds good. I'll join you on that and-"
"Excuse me sir!" A woman's voice shouted from Meliodas' side. Meliodas looked to his left and saw a woman who appeared to be a store associate approaching him.
"You're not allowed to bring your pets in the store without a leash!" The woman continued. Meliodas looked down at Lily and Lily shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh you mean Lily? He's not my pet. He's my emergency food." Meliodas said sarcastically with a cheeky smile.
"WHAT?!" Lily exclaimed with a look of horror on his face.
"Did that cat just speak?!" The store associate questioned.
"I'm only kidding. But Pantherlily here is a member of Fairy Tail, just like me." Meliodas said. He pointed to his bare right shoulder with the Fairy Tail marking. The woman looked curiously at the mark and turned to face Lily, who turned around and displayed it on his back.
"I-I see...well then please enjoy your time shopping here at Heart Kruz!" The woman said with a sudden change of tone, switching to a happier persona.
"We will!" Meliodas replied. Meliodas and Lily walked around the bottom floor a bit longer, looking for the stairs to the next floor. On the way, Meliodas paused in front of the Bunny Outfit store. 'Hmm...this might be my only chance to get one for Elizabeth.'
"Lily! I'll meet you on the third floor in a few minutes! There's something I gotta get first!" Meliodas said as he ran into the store. Lily nodded with a look of confusion on his face. 'Why would he need to go into a bunny suit store?'
---
A few minutes later, Meliodas met up with Lily on the third floor at the "HK Battle Gear" store. The two of them walked inside and found themselves surrounded by various armor and clothes on display.
"That one looks similar to the one Erza wears." Lily said, pointing at one of the displays.
"Well she shops at Heart Kruz frequently. Although that one seems to have a sleeker design." Meliodas commented. The two of them continued walking through, looking for something in Lily's size. Suddenly, they were approached by one of the store associates.
"Welcome to HK Battlegear! Is there anything you two are looking for in particular?" The associate asked.
"Something that fits my friend Lily here." Meliodas said, pointing to Pantherlily. The store associate stared at Pantherlily for a few moments.
"Aisle five. You might find something that suits his size." The store associate said.
"Thanks." Pantherlily said, much to the associate's surprise. Meliodas walked away with Pantherlily towards the aisle, looking at various other clothing on display on the way there.
---
Several hours passed and Meliodas and Pantherlily sat at the food court. Meliodas sunk his knife into a large cut of steak and cut a piece for himself while Lily sat across the table, slurping on a large smoothie.
"What flavor did you get?" Meliodas asked.
"The menu said "Heart Kruz Royale." I don't quite know what that means but I do taste a lot of different fruits in this." Lily said before taking another slurp of the smoothie. "And I must say it's quite good."
Meliodas took another bite of the juicy steak and looked around. The store was beginning to empty out compared to earlier and a steady stream of customers walked out the door.
"Looks like they're closing soon." Meliodas commented. "I wonder where Erza is."
"By the way, what outfit did you buy? I didn't get the chance to see you try it on." Pantherlily asked. He looked towards the bag sitting on the ground at Meliodas' side.
"Something that reminded me of home." Meliodas commented. He reached into the bag and pulled out a long sleeved high collared white tunic. The collar was a red color with adjustable strings hanging down from each side. On the sleeves were golden colored signature cross symbols of Heart Kruz.
"My clothes get destroyed a lot in battle so I thought it was time for another look." Meliodas said. "I got a few more in the bag."
"You do lose your clothes a lot. If I recall, you were shirtless when I met you in Edolas and shirtless after the fight against Doryu." Lily said.
"I think I might be becoming like Gray." Meliodas responded with a light laugh. "By the way, what did you get?"
"I got a few more pants." Lily responded.
"There you two are!" Erza shouted from across the food court. Meliodas and Lily turned their heads to see Erza carrying dozens of large bags filled with clothes and various other goods.
"That's a lot of stuff you got there." Lily commented, looking at the sheer number of bags filled with clothes.
"They have clothes and armor here that is not for sale in Magnolia! Limited time only!" Erza said enthusiastically.
"Well this place is about to close soon. Shall we head to the hotel and wait for the next train?"