The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Oscar! Hurry up!" Serena skipped off the airship after it landed in the port. Her wavy red hair fluttered with the wind, her hand raised in a wave.

Opposite her liveliness, Oscar exited the airship with steady footsteps, saying farewell to the crew, who returned the farewell with some teasing about Oscar's date. They saw how Serena was close to Oscar on the airship and believed the two to be a couple. Seeing their stares and grins, Oscar wished he could correct the misunderstanding, but he was brushed off everything by their assumptions of him being too shy.

"Lad, you should take good care of your girl." The captain had a pipe in his mouth, puffing out circles of smoke with a toothy smile with missing teeth.

"I told you, captain. We're not a couple." Oscar felt like a parrot that could only say the same thing over and over again. He lost count of how many times he said these words. But, in front of him, the captain grasped his shoulder, and Oscar saw the seriousness in the captain's eyes.

"You shouldn't be so embarrassed about it. Even if you aren't a couple, the girl clearly likes you, and you don't hate her. Go for it." The captain dusted his spilled ashes off Oscar's shoulders and nodded. "Have a happy life, you hear?"

"Yes, sir," Oscar responded with a wry smile. The captain meant well, and Oscar agreed that living a happy life was the goal, but the captain was still nudging him to go to Serena. "You have a safe journey back."

After going down the stairs, a soft sensation plopped onto his chest with a poof like a pillow, one that Oscar constantly was bothered by the entire trip, the source of all the misunderstandings on the ship. Oscar stared down to see Serena sighing with delight, her green eyes met his, and her lips formed a smile with flushed cheeks.

The thought of scolding her flashed through his mind and was nearly thrown away at the sight of her loving smile, but only nearly thrown away. Oscar flicked her head with his fingers, causing her to yelp back and stare at Oscar with a pair of wet eyes, but Oscar nearly scoffed; he didn't hit too hard, and the tears were fake.

"You should be gentler with a lady." Serena rubbed her forehead over the small red spot from Oscar's flick. "You toss me like a sack of potatoes during the fight against the Crystal Guardian and flick my head despite your overwhelming physical power. What if you blew my head off?"

"You're also an Elite Exalt. That little flick wouldn't have blown your head off. How many times have I told you not to do those things?" Oscar stated dryly. "The airship's crew thought we were a couple or tried to push us together." He rubbed his face to clear his head, but the teasing stares of the crew were still stuck in his mind.

"What's odd about a hug between friends? You do it with Emily and Mary at times." Serena tilted her head with an innocent look.

"How absurd. You know your intent is different." Oscar took out a bandage and salve, handing them to Serena. "If it hurts that bad, then use these."

Serena gripped the items carefully and put them away. She stared softly at Oscar and placed her hand on his cheek. "The mission is not far from this place, but there's a place we need to visit first."

"Where?" Oscar felt a stone drop in his stomach. What was she planning? In the year he knew Serena, she was quite tricky and often tried to make moves on Oscar, to which he made sure to refuse her softly, partly because of his intense requirements for training and the other being he didn't wish to get too close to her.

To Oscar, an awful thing would be to string her along. He was certain he was in love with Celestina and didn't want Serena to keep wasting her time with him. There was no desire to let her be a rebound, not wanting her to pick up his pieces if he was rejected.

'She deserves someone better than me. She deserves someone who loves her back.' Oscar stared at Serena, who was smiling as they walked. She kept trying to cling to his arm, but he refused her advances each time.

He went on this mission because Serena looked exhausted and sad then, so he decided to comfort and reject her gently. He wasn't sure of his feelings during the Inner Hall exam, which gave Serena false hope, but now they were cemented in his heart. He followed after Serena with a brooding face but believed it was for the best, as she didn't need to be bound to him.

Uleon City was a prosperous city, much more than the other cities built for defense or on the border of dangerous regions; that was Oscar's first thought as they walked through the busy streets with activity and loud conversations.

But the key part was the lack of wanderers and other students, who normally roam around. This city was in a much safer part of the eastern region of the Brilliant Drake Empire; thus, barely any Exalts, save for the City Lord and the guards, stayed here.

Although confused about the nature of their mission, Oscar enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of this city. No other Exalts were staring at them warily or appraising them as if preparing for battle. Though, Serena's beauty had attracted several gazes from the mortals, to which Oscar saw her react with a cold smile that sent chills down everyone, even him.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination, a clothing store.

"Hello." Serena walked inside with Oscar.

A lady in a fine yellow dress came forward and bowed her head. "Welcome to Fulgir's Tailor and Boutique. How may I assist the fine students of the Pavilion today?"

Oscar blinked. Fulgir? That was Serena's family. So this entire shop belonged to her family, it was natural for her to know it existed in this city, but Oscar failed to understand why they came here.

Serena looked amused at Oscar's confusion and showed a large plaque bearing her family's sigil, the mark of their merchant company.

Seeing this, the shop worker staggered but managed to hold still and act professionally. "May I know who young miss is?"

"Serena Fulgir, daughter of the company head, Aulus Fulgir. I have come without an appointment, but there's no problem, right?" Serena looked very professional while talking to Oscar, and he thought someone had replaced her. The piercing look in her eyes and calm face was a testament to her merchant background.

"It is no problem, young miss. What is the nature of your visit?"

"Specially tailored clothing for him." Serena held up Oscar's hand with her own. A bashful look on her face.

The shop worker was shocked, staring at her interlocked hands. She had never heard about their young miss having a man and stared at Oscar with interest. Her eyes that looked over many prized goods appraised Oscar, but her smile slightly cracked. 'The young miss likes this type? He seems kind and isn't ugly, but his face isn't handsome.'

"Any problems?" Serena could tell the shop worker was judging Oscar's appearance; her voice dropped to cold levels. No one was allowed to demean Oscar in front of her.

Oscar tried to move his hand away, but Serena held it firmly, and he didn't want to cause a scene here, so he gave in and let her hold. He was grateful to Serena for sticking up for him; the stares of the shop worker were making him uncomfortable.

"Ahem. None at all. I will take you to the dressing room."

"Good. Prepare a wide array of clothing. We have a long day ahead of us."

Pushed by Serena, Oscar entered a large room with a long veil covering a portion of it, the dressing room. He glanced at Serena, who sat down on a luxurious couch and sipped some tea.

"We're shopping for clothes?"

"Take it as a gift from me to you. You should have more clothing in your closet and different kinds for separate occasions."

Oscar wanted to say more, but the shop worker came through the door with other assistants, pulling a large rack of various clothing. Seeing the long stretch before him, Oscar twitched at the prospect of a long day.

"Young miss, the clothes are here."

"Good job. You can leave us be. We'll be here for a while." Serena wished for this private moment with Oscar, so she hurried the workers out. She turned toward Oscar with eyes shining like a child with a new toy. "Let's get started!"

The long day had begun.

"Oh, how great~!" Serena sighed blissfully.

Oscar felt uncomfortable in his new clothing; he had never worn such luxurious-looking clothing as not even the Pavilion's uniform was like this. He wore a black suit with a long tailcoat, white gloves, and a monocle.

"Next!" Serena got another outfit from the coat rack. "This one is more casual."

Oscar groaned as they had been at this for hours but went into the veiled part of the room and got dressed. It was a pair of brown trousers with suspenders over a clean white dress shirt. He felt more comfortable with this one and showed himself to Serena, who exclaimed with a squeal.

"Casual fits you so well." Serena circled Oscar to see each angle.

"Are we done?" Oscar sighed, seeing it was nighttime from the window.

"One more!" Serena took out another clothing set. "I've had an eye on this one from the start."

Passed the new clothing, Oscar realized there was no chance of the mission being done today. Back in the cover of the veil, he put on a black dress shirt made of cotton, black pants that fit his legs well, and a red vest with a green tie. A sense of relief washed over him, knowing this was the last one, but he soon frowned after seeing Serena was gone.

"Serena?"

"Coming!" Serena's energetic voice resounded from behind another veiled part of the room.

She came out in all her splendor, and Oscar felt his breath taken away by the wondrous sight in front of him. Serena had her iconic wing hairpin on her wavy red hair, but she wore a low-cut dark blue dress, with the skirt resembling a pair of butterfly wings. A soft white shawl tied around her front, covering parts of her shoulder and chest, but allowing a space part in the middle where her cleavage was present.

Serena put her hands together near her lips with a bright expression. "I knew that suited you best."

"Oh. Thanks." Oscar had never seen someone dressed like Serena, so this was the first time he was affected by one's appearance. Although he only saw her as a friend, there was no helping a natural attraction to beauty, which was inherent to everyone.

"How about me?" Serena stepped closer to Oscar, who could smell a sweet perfume on her. Her eyes twinkled like stars, and her skirt fluttered around, resembling the flapping of butterfly wings.

"You look beautiful," Oscar said honestly. From an objective point of view, she was beautiful, and he didn't like to talk as if avoiding the topic but preferred to be direct. She was beautiful; that was the truth.

But a sinking feeling fell in Oscar's heart. She was doing all this because she loved him, but he didn't love her back. Like Uncle Carlson, he had to get truthful and not hold back to let her be free. His mouth parted, feeling dry, but the words slowly spilled forth. "Serena, I-"

"Hold on." Serena placed her finger on his lips to stop him from talking. "We can't waste such good clothing without doing anything. Let's get something to eat, ok?"

Oscar wanted to continue talking, but he saw a complicated gaze in her eyes. Of course, she had to know what he was about to say. As a discerning merchant's daughter, his intentions had to be easy to figure out.

"Ok. Let's eat. Lead the way." Oscar nodded, deciding to indulge her a bit longer.