"Eh? It's you two again?"
The same mustached driver from before looked the couple up and down.
"Yikes, your bruises got worse, dude. No wonder you couldn't get any action last time. I didn't catch a good look at your face that time."
Without waiting for a response, the driver jabbed his finger at the back seat.
"I'm driving my buddy's car this time, mine broke down. No doing the funky in here, alright?"
Elric wasn't sure how to respond right away, and it took him a few seconds to respond.
"Wasn't planning on it. Please just take us back to the same place as before."
"Eh, boring. Hop in, let's go."
Elric peered into the back seat before entering. It looked a lot dirtier than before, but it was also definitely a different car.
"Driver, does your buddy have similar hobbies as you?"
"Hm? Not sure what you mean."
Letting out a sigh, Elric climbed into the car.
"Well, we don't really have time to call for a different cab. Ember, sit up front. I at least have long pants on."
"Hmph. I'm telling you that the back seat is fine, but whatever. Get in, I'll drive you there right away. Rude customers."
Thirty tense minutes later, the couple arrived at the clothing store and hopped out of the cab. Just like before, West was waiting for them outside.
"West, don't you have anything better to do with your time? Why are you always sitting out here waiting for us?"
West ran his hand through his hair and smirked.
"Huh, I was just able to predict your exact arrival time. I haven't wasted anything waiting out here."
Just as he finished speaking, one of his workers poked their head out from the doors.
"Boss, you've been sitting out there for half an hour! When are you going to come back? We need to help you get ready for the party!"
West's face instantly soured, and Ember had to hide her laughter with her hand.
"You heard nothing. Let's go inside."
It seemed that just like the previous time, West had tried to organize a grand welcoming for the couple. This time, though, all of the workers had gotten tired of waiting for their unclear arrival time, and had all decided to go back to work.
"Oi! Makeup artists, where are you? Elric's going to need a lot of work on his face, y'all need to hurry if you want to make him look decent before we leave!"
'I get that I have some bruises, but why does everyone keep insulting my face! I'm normally pretty good-looking!'
Brought by his calls, a few people gathered around the couple. One artist was assigned to Ember, and she would also be receiving help from the same Madam Sela who helped pick out and customize a dress for her.
Elric received three helpers, but all of them were makeup artists. One was also a regular assistant in the store, though, so he could also receive help with his outfit.
Somehow, West was the one who looked the most unhappy when he saw the people coming over.
"Wait, no! Leonard, who told you to come?!"
A man looking to be in his early thirties grinned as he approached.
"I'll be helping out all three of you… but I think I know who'll be the most fun."
Leonard snipped his fingers together like they were scissors, sending a chill running up West's spine.
"No! My luxurious hair!"
The hairdresser let out an evil laugh as he mimed using a shaver.
"I wonder how you'd look bald…"
"NO!!!! The hair stays!"
After tormenting West for a bit, Leonard turned to observe Elric and Ember.
"Hm, not bad. Bruises here will look pretty good once you folks are done with his makeup. This girl on the other hand…"
Reaching up, Leonard grabbed a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers.
"Hm, yep. I can do something good with you! Sister Sela already showed me your dress. I'll make you steal the whole party!"
Elric wasn't sure what to think of the hairdresser's actions. He could see that the man definitely wasn't a romantic threat, though.
"Bruises, I'll help you out after I shave off the boss's hair. I'll save the best for last!"
Leonard shot a wink at Ember, then grabbed West's wrist and started pulling him away.
"No! Someone, save me! Please! I can't lose my hair, it's all I have left!"
Elric wasn't sure if it was a normal thing for a clothing store to have this many high-level staff members. A professional hairdresser, multiple high quality designers, and five makeup artists. He understood the designers. But a hairdresser and all of those makeup artists? Except for fashion shows, when would they be useful?
Elric didn't intend to get into the fashion business, so he eventually decided to just abandon his train of thought. If West wanted to have all of these people on his payroll and it helped Elric out, he naturally wouldn't complain.
After following the makeup artists into a side room, all three of them got to work on his face as he sat there. It certainly felt odd, but he figured it was a necessary thing.
The three workers chatted amongst themselves as they worked, and would sometimes include Elric in the conversation as well. He couldn't really answer, though, as they asked him to keep as still as possible.
It didn't take nearly as long as he'd been expecting when the trio finished with his makeup. Just before they could hold up a mirror for Elric to see the results, Leonard walked into the room.
"Oo! Nice, nice. He is actually pretty decent without those bruises! I can do something with this!"
The hairdresser hurried over to Elric's side, then began messing with his hair.
"Cough, can I see what my face looks like right now?"
Leonard shook his head.
"Nope! Let me finish my work first!"
—
—
Some time later, after everyone had finished getting makeovers.
Elric made his way back out to the lobby, and saw that West was already there waiting. The fellow Villainous looked over as he approached, and his face lit up in shock when he saw Elric's appearance.
"Damn! I guess you aren't actually ugly! I was wondering how you pulled someone like Ember, but it makes a bit more sense now."
Elric's dark brown hair had been styled with a part just left of center. It was the type of haircut one might see on an older gentleman, but combined with Elric's youthful and handsome face, it created a different attraction.
Elric was also wearing his new suit. Only a bit of his white dress shirt could be seen, covered up by both his gold-laced black tie, and a dark suit with golden embroidery.
"Did you really think I was that ugly before?"
West nodded his head.
The fellow chatter's hairstyle looked fairly similar to before, but was now cleaner and a bit shorter. Instead of looking overly flamboyant, he now just looked like someone who cared deeply about their appearance.
Similar to Elric, he was wearing a dark suit, but instead of golden embroidery, his was icy-blue in color, and looked more like fragmented ice than the spiraling embroidery worn by Elric.
"Wow, that looks kinda cool. Did CosplayNow share his dress with you?"
West shook his head.
"Nope, but he did share the color. Also… he's saying to call him 'Eira' from now on, I guess that was his previous username. It helps that it also sounds like a female name, too."
As they were chatting, the two men heard a noise on the other side of the room, and both of them looked up at the same time.
Neither of them had words that could describe what they saw.
"Wo… Is that really Ember?"