Reincarnated in the Astral World

Chapter 77: Making New Friends

Josephine faces the fitting room door with a puzzled look. "Arthur, are you alright? Any issues with the clothes?" Her voice is gentle and tinged with concern.

"Not at all," Arthur's voice emerges, heavy as if he had just run several miles. "I liked them all, so choosing is hard…"

"Oh, I see…" Josephine's eyes sparkle with curiosity. 'Was that a moan I heard? Probably not.. but he's certainly one of a kind…'

"Why don't you come out and let me see how you look?"

"One minute," he aks.

Josephine waits, and after a tad more than a minute, Arthur appears, garbed in dark brown fabric and leather trousers, a casual white linen shirt, and a dark leather vest tightly embracing his chest, accentuating his defined muscles.

"Marvelous! Just marvelous!!" She smiles and claps her hands, making the *clap* sounds resonate within the shop. "Even though this set is one of the simplest, you look like a charming prince." She remarks, observing his body from every angle. "Well, it's mostly due to your handsome appearance, but fitting clothes undoubtedly helps."

"Hmm… this does feel good." Arthur enjoys the comfort of the clothes. He loves the ones his mother and Margaret made for him, but they are still amateurs, while Josephine boasts decades of experience in the craft.

Nyx also agrees and comments in his mind, 'You look so nice now… but I still prefer you naked, hehehe~'

Arthur chuckles internally with Nyx as Josephine finishes adjusting his new clothes. Margaret appears with Eve in a cute child's dress, and both are impressed by Arthur's new look.

"You are so elegant, darling~" Margaret wraps her arm around his, and together with little Eve, they resemble a perfect royal family. But a flicker of disappointment shadows Margaret's eyes. "These clothes are perfect, but I doubt we'll have many opportunities to make good use of them in the village…"

Arthur caresses her face. "Josephine has invited us to dinner at her place…"

"Really?" Margaret exclaims excitedly but then becomes hesitant. "I don't know… it doesn't seem like something your mother would enjoy."

"Hmm…" Arthur ponders. He grew up hearing Draven speak of how nobles should be honorable and lead the people toward a bright future, but Aria always expressed deep disdain for them.

His first encounter with the noble who wanted to harm Margaret was quite unpleasant, and the initial impressions at Lakeview weren't great either. 'But this old woman seems kind and honest…' He's curious if there are other nobles like Josephine.

"I think I can convince Mother to attend this dinner," he says with an expectant expression.

"I hope so!" Margaret is also especially excited; even though her favorite thing is being with Arthur, whatever the place, she is still a young village girl, and she desires to see more of the world alongside her lover, of course.

Hearing their conversation, Josephine can only think of one thing. 'What is his mother like?'

"I also hope you can come; I need to apologize for the way you were treated in my shop," she says in a courteous tone.

Arthur doesn't sense any malice in her words, making him more certain she is a good person. "What about the spoiled Lady? Won't she cause more trouble for you?"

"Oh?" Josephine is so curious about Arthur and his family that she forgets about Anastasia. "That girl really will try to cause a commotion… I don't want to tell you how to act, but I have an idea of how to quickly resolve this, if you want this old bones' advice."

"I'm listening," Arthur grows curious.

"First, you better get your combat tunic; that artifact will protect you better than my clothes."

"Alright," Arthur was expecting to get his hands dirty, so he returns to the fitting room. Margaret and Eve also head to the women's fitting room to change their clothes as well.

Meanwhile, a young man in his twenties with light brown hair rushes into the shop. "Mother, mother?!?" His tone is worried, and he quickly reaches Josephine. "What the hell is going on, mother???"

"Stay calm, dear,"

"Calm? How can I stay calm?" He shakes his head. "The whole town is already talking about how young Lady Isambard and her bodyguard were kicked out of here like dirty dogs; the Viscount's wife must know by now too, what have you done this time?"

"That's nonsense…" Josephine calmly explains to her son what happened. And when she shows the glass artifact with the record of Margaret slapping Anastasia in the face, the young man's eyes light up.

"This girl is so beautiful… and strong!" He exclaims.

"Oliver… my son," Josephine pats his face. "You better not get close to that girl; it was her husband who kicked Anastasia's bodyguard out of here like a rag doll."

"Oh? I'm not surprised she has a husband already," Oliver comments with a tone more curious than disappointed. "Who is that man?"

"Me," Arthur's voice echoes in a firm tone as he comes out of the fitting room.

"Whoah!" Oliver is impressed by Arthur's appearance and aura, but despite a hint of envy in his eyes, he smiles amiably and extends his hand. "Oliver Drummond, at your service."

Arthur wondered if all his interactions with nobles would be problematic, but Josephine's son bears the same kind and malice-free look, though he seems a bit concerned while his mother remains calm.

"Arthur Fletcher," he shakes Oliver's hand, trying to be friendly as well.

"Arthur… such a strong name, isn't it?" Oliver laughs. "Now I see why my mother sided with you; well, there's no lack of reasons for her to thwart a spoiled young Lady, but you and your wife certainly seem like interesting people."

"It wasn't my intention to cause trouble," Arthur remarks, but even he can't deny he has been acting more proudly lately, a sentiment that runs in his veins due to the Leonheart heritage, a gift from his father indeed.

"I see, but now we have to deal with this…" Oliver glances at his mother with a sad expression. "Our family isn't exactly popular in Lakeview; if it weren't for my mother making clothes better than anyone else in the whole Lumindell, we surely would have been banished or worse."

"Don't worry," Josephine comments confidently. "The Isambard family is no big deal; I have an idea on how to easily deal with them; it's just…" She glimpses at Arthur. "I guess I can trust in your skills based on how you dealt with that Elite Warrior, right?"

"As long as it's not a Champion, I can kill," Arthur responds, making Oliver and Josephine laugh.

"Alright, then let's do it this way…"

¨¨¨¨¨

Half an hour later.

The commotion in front of Josephine's shop grows uncontrollably, hundreds of people, nobles and commoners, guards and servants, all waiting to see what will happen when two of the most influential families in Lakeview publicly face off.

"Madam Drummond has gone too far in disrespecting young Lady Isambard,"

"She wouldn't do something like that, I'm sure the girl is overdoing it,"

"But I saw with my own eyes how the Isambard family's bodyguard was thrown through the door like an old dog,"

"Really? Maybe he offended Madam Drummond first,"

"But it was a young man who kicked the old man out,"

"Was it young Master Drummond?"

"No, he looked different... I couldn't see sufficiently, but the guy's hair had the purest shade of blond,"

"Who could that be?"

"Nobody knows yet, Madam Drummond isn't letting anyone into the shop,"

"She also closed the curtains, so we can't even see what's happening inside,"

"My maid said she saw that mysterious guy entering the shop a while ago with a beautiful woman with black hair,"

"What happened in there?"

"I don't know, so we have to-"

"Look, Lady Isambard is coming back!"

"And it looks like she brought the whole family…"

Everyone's attention is drawn to Anastasia, who walks briskly alongside a man in his forties and several other younger men, as well as her bodyguard and other old men.

"See, Father, everyone came to see you put that stupid old hag in her place!" Anastasia comments with her angry eyes sparkling with arrogance.

"Of course, my little princess, nobody gets away after hurting you, not even her," The man pats Anastasia as they reach the front of the clothing store.

"Josephine!!!" He shouts, using his cultivation to make his voice echo for a mile. "You can't hide from me!"

Under everyone's gaze, the store's door opens, and Josephine appears with a calm and confident expression. "We were expecting you, Dmitri," She gestures for him to enter the shop. "Let's settle this inside, it doesn't need to be a public spectacle… unless you're that desperate for attention?"

"I…" Dmitri clenches his teeth but still enters the shop, followed by Anastasia and her closest relatives, while the rest of her group stays guard at the door.

"Where are they???" Dmitri asks but immediately sees Arthur sitting calmly on the sofa with Eve in his lap and Margaret hugging his arm. The confident expression on his face arouses fury inside Dmitri. "Who the hell do you think you are to hurt my daughter?!?"

"They are honored guests of my family," Josephine comments while glancing at Arthur with a gentle smile.