Christie felt like she was being lied to, but in all honesty, she wanted to be lied to. It was no lie when she said that she didn’t comprehend the weight of money as she simply hadn’t been taught it, but she was eager to learn. And not just about the money, but what about having friends and going out with them was. Her dearest father loved her dearly, but his love was an embrace too tight, and even if he had let her go, Christie was still feeling the sequels of the pain.

  Walking towards the actual city from the environs was a surprising experience as she had never been in a city, and when she arrived at the academy, it had been without leaving her carriage once. Even though she had been the first one to step outside of the walls at the foot of the academy, Agatha confidently took the lead and was now guiding her.

  She had met her roommate not even a week ago, yet now Christie couldn’t imagine living without her. She wasn’t able to ascertain why. Perhaps it was because she was starving for company, after all, the Valasela Estate had only five members in total, and even then, they all were way older than her. The youngest was actually her father, though one could argue for Fran?ois, considering how stoneshells aged. The thing is, she didn’t have any companions of her age. She didn’t have companions to begin with, or at least, they hadn’t felt like it.

  So yes, perhaps it was that hole that Agatha had filled, and now it was hard to think of living her life without her. She doubted this would last, especially since they had spent their whole day together as they had been doing last week, and that was why she wanted to make the most of it while it lasted.

  “The city is far more shiny than I thought,” her roommate mumbled out of nowhere.

  “How come?” Christie slightly dashed forward to put herself at her level instead of walking behind her.

  “I came here while it was pouring, do you remember?”

  “Yes, it is quite hard to forget considering the uproar you caused with your arrival,” she giggled.

  “Excuse me?” Agatha put her fists on her hips. “I was not the one bi-arguing about the room, but that girl. It was my bed.”

  “Oh, sorry…” Her laughter instantly died, and she shrank as she apologized.

  “No, no,” her roommate panicked and swayed her hands around. “Why are you apologizing?”

  “Because I made you angry…?” Christie responded softly. She didn’t want to lose her only friend because she angered her with her comments, so obviously the best answer was to tilt her head downwards and apologize.

  “You did not make me angry!” Whilst her tone was potent, it wasn’t anger that carried Agatha’s voice, but playfulness. The blonde grabbed her hands and softly tugged them. “I… uhm, this is… depths, how I explain it… You are new to friendship, right?”

  “Yes,” the redhead nodded.

  “This is basic friendship… etiquette? Sure, let us go with etiquette. Friends have fewer walls between them; they are more informal and share more volatile emotions. I am not angry at you, I am simply… being unfiltered. Raw. There is no need to be shackled down by societal norms when we are both alone. You can just be yourself. Were we not going to go for snacks during lunch time?”

  “I guess we were,” Christie struggled a bit against Agatha’s hands, but not to free herself from her grab, but to accept it. “Anyhow, I still would like to apologize for my lack of knowledge.”

  “You really do not need to,” she chuckled. “Are we not students? Maybe it is not only the academic aspect of life that we are lacking knowledge on. And besides, considering that I am even struggling even in the most basic aspects of the academy, something tells me that it is I who will end up being taught more by you.”

  “It is a give and take,” the tall girl smiled at the petite one.

  “I guess it is,” and she smiled back. Then she broke the hold. “Wait, what were we talking about in the first place?”

  “You were talking about how shiny the city was.”

  “Right, right,” she nodded deep in thought. “I said it because the stones the city is made of are just not dull, homogeneous ones, but they contain a lot of impurities that shine like metals or minerals. And it gives it, well, a shine like an agate.”

  “Now that you say that, it is true. I had not noticed. It kind of looks like an agate vein, only that on a far greater scale.”

  Soon, the desolate environs of the city grew into actual buildings. Christie supposed that rather than people not wanting to use the terrain, it was more of a strategic decision. The castle of Skyscraper Academy had been a castle once upon a time – a strategic position, and it still was – so it made sense that there wasn’t much in terms of housing surrounding it. The same couldn’t be said for the new royal castle that was built in the heart of the city and towered over every other building. A statement of power, just in a different manner than that of the floating island.

  “That is way bigger than the main academy building,” Agatha said.

  “Indeed,” Christie nodded. “Though I guess it makes sense considering that the castle that was the Skyscraper Academy was built before the modern advent of lapiloquia.”

  “The what now? Hasn’t Agatecraft always been there?”

  “You… really were not lying about lacking in the academic subjects,” the nouveau riche gave her friend a concerned look.

  “If I were to lie about my academic accomplishments, I would inflate them, not deflate them. Thank you very much. So, what did you mean by that?”

  “Agatecraft has not always been there. Far longer than we have lived, but as far as the nations of the world are concerned, it has been a recent development, only a handful of centuries.”

  “That is a long time,” her roommate recriminated her.

  “But not always,” Christie smiled at her.

  “So how came Agatecraft to be?”

  “I may know some stuff, but I am not all-knowing, Agatha. If I were to guess… maybe someone ate an agate by mistake?”

  “Knowing people, I doubt it was by mistake,” she chuckled. “But I guess the simplest explanation is the most likely one. So Agatecraft has not always been there, huh…”

  “Apparently, lapiloquia was the discipline that came first, as it is independent from the quality and timing of the ingested agate. But as you see, lithorica is the main discipline now.”

  “Wait, if lapiloquia has been discovered centuries ago and yet the Skyscraper Academy castle was built before that, how old is it?”

  “Probably another couple of centuries older,” Christie responded with a snicker. “Things can get quite old quite quickly when related to stones. You have seen it already with stoneshells, and those are alive. Imagine inanimate stone.”

  “Huh,” Agatha mused deep in thought. “I wonder how I just never thought of the scale of time…”

  “I do not think people tend…” Her words were cut in half as a child who had been sprinting crashed into her. Whilst the lad had been going fast and almost toppled her, Christie recovered fast. “Are you okay, boy?”

  “Yes! Thank you a lot! Bye!” And he sprinted away.

  “What was that?” Christie turned to ask Agatha, but the girl just sighed and picked up her spherical agate from her pendant before throwing it at the child.

  The sapphire agate flew at surprisingly high speed, even if it was only commanded by the Control command instead of Speed, and it didn’t take long to impact against the child’s legs and contort into a thin rope-like shape that locked the kid’s legs together and made him trip.

  “Agatha! Why did you do that?” She snapped at her roommate.

  “Check your coin purse,” the villager responded taciturnly as she strode towards the prone child.

  With a frown, Christie did as commanded, only to realize that she couldn’t find it. She patted her body frantically, but the pouch was nowhere to be found. “I cannot find it!”

  “Of course you cannot,” Agatha sighed again and squatted in front of the kid. She rummaged through his body for a moment as he struggled and then took out a coin purse. Her coin purse.

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  “How?” Christie proselytized in utter confusion.

  “How did he steal it?” The blonde threw the pouch at her, and the redhead caught it mid-air with a mild panic.

  “No,” she swayed her head. “How did you know?”

  “Eh, not my first time seeing pickpockets, and this one was rather obvious,” Agatha tapped the boy’s stomach with her foot. “I cannot say I have experience with them, though. What I have experience with, however, is capturing gnats that pester me. Always young boys, always stupid.”

  “Hey!” The ‘gnat’ protested on the ground.

  “Maybe we should wear uniforms instead of dresses, Christie. You are too much of an… asset? Potential target would be more appropriate, I think,” she corrected herself.

  “M-maybe for the next time,” Christie responded nervously as she walked toward the poor child. “So, what should we do with this child? Should we surrender him to the authorities?”

  The boy’s color drained from his face. It hurt Christie seeing that reaction from a child who wasn’t even ten.

  “Unless you want them to cut one of his hands, I recommend against it,” Agatha responded in a mixture of seriousness and amusement with her arms crossed.

  Now the color being drained was from Christie’s face. “Y-you are joking, right?”

  “Not at all,” she swayed her head and tapped the boy with her foot again. He seemed to have given up. “It depends on the place, but these types of punishments vary between whipping, branding, or amputation. Thankfully for the gnat, I am a woman of bountiful mercy,” Agatha looked down at the child as she puffed her chest. “How about you give us a tour of the city and we let you go scot-free? We might even buy you a skewer or something if you do a good job.”

  “Really?” The boy’s eyes glowed as if commanded by Light.

  “I mean, that depends on sister Christie here. What will it be, amputation or tour?”

  “Tour, tour!” Christie responded frantically with her hands pressed against her chest. She was getting sick just from imagining the child suffering such a fate.

  “There you have it, gnat,” Agatha removed her foot and agate from the boy. She then summoned it in her hand and hung it again on her pendant. “Come on, lead us to the market.”

  The child stood up from the ground and dusted his lackluster clothes. “A thank you will not kill you.”

  Agatha put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Thank you for conserving your hand?”

  “Y-yes, that works,” he giggled nervously. “Follow me, good ladies.”

  “Come, Christie,” her roommate offered her a hand as the boy pranced in front of them.

  “R-right…” Christie was as unsettled as the child, but she couldn’t deny this was the best possible outcome, so she accepted Agatha’s hand, and they followed him.

  As they walked with their hands held together, Agatha closed in on her and whispered in her ear. “Give the purse, I think he will try to steal it back.”

  Christie almost protested, but as the blonde put a hand on her lips to keep silent, she knew it was better to listen to her. It was true, after all, that she didn’t know the weight of the money. And the redhead doubted a friend would steal from her. She handed her the pocket and she stashed it on a hidden pocket in her skirt. A very hidden one. Christie tilted her head and looked at her with confusion.

  “Advantages of making your own clothes,” Agatha beamed a smile at her and then directed to the boy. “So is Knight’s Ascent always bustling with gnats?”

  Christie was actually thankful for that change of subject, for she found herself blushing for some unknown reason. She wasn’t sure why but having Agatha’s face so close as she also held her hand made her skip a heartbeat. She hasn’t noticed, right?

  “Much as any city, I guess,” the boy shrugged without looking at them.

  The rest of the day turned into a blur from then on as the child led them across the city and through the many stalls of the market. Knight’s Ascent boasted the biggest marketplace Christie had ever seen – not that she had seen many – and they both noticed soon that it was impossible to see it all. They looked around a handful of stalls during their stroll, nothing more than cheap paraphernalia, but it soon became one of the best days in her life. Christie didn’t need to buy anything or tour famous places; she was more than satisfied by walking alongside her friend. She felt her heart – which was normally a vibrating yet cold agate – brim with a warmer, human touch.

  Whilst the first stalls they stopped at were ones that sold pastries like churros and ensaimadas, they ended up fulfilling the promise Agatha made to the boy and bought pork and vegetables skewers for everyone. Well, Christie’s money did, but seeing those expressions of happiness made it worth it. Not that she knew the value of money just yet.

  Once the crown in the sky was well past its zenith and threatened to settle on the horizon, they bid their goodbyes to the boy.

  “I told you he would not try to steal from me again,” Christie lectured the blond girl.

  “To be fair, you did not say anything. You just looked at me funny.”

  “One and the same.” To reinforce her point, the redhead booped the petite girl on the nose.

  Agatha frowned. “Did you just boop me?”

  “Oh, sorry!” Christie panicked and took a step backward. “Y-you… I… uhm… you kind of reminded me of Fran?ois for a moment because he is always mocking me and I do that stuff to him…”

  “You do not need to apologize,” she broke out in a laughing fit. “I mean, yes, it was weird, but I am not… against it. Though I recommend not doing that to other people.”

  “I never would!” The nouveau riche protested in indignation. “I only did it because it was you!”

  “Because it was me, huh?” Agatha said smugly.

  “I… uhm…” Christie blushed as the words she had blurted out now caught up to her. “Did we not come here to buy some streetwear for me?”

  “Sure, follow me,” the villager said, albeit whilst giving her an all-knowing look.

  As it would seem, Agatha had interrogated the boy as she was delighting in the pastries, for she had a solid understanding of the streets, even if she was even less acquainted with Knight’s Landing than Christie.

  “The good thing about big cities is that they have stores with pre-made goodies,” Agatha said as she opened the door to a store. “Normally we would need to go to a tailor or a seamstress and making new clothes would take days, but we can just buy clothes that are already made!”

  “I understand the concept of clothes shopping, but… what about buying clothes that fit me?” Christie asked with a tone no softer than a whisper.

  “I mean, you are… voluminous? No, that is not the word. It makes me look like I am calling you fat… Meh,” the mock sapphire shrugged in defeat. “What I meant to say is that you are so tall that you can just buy clothes meant for adults. And even then, you have a seamstress at hand,” Agatha grabbed her skirt and performed a cordial bow.

  “Were you not against toying with my clothes?” The redhead raised a brow.

  “Against toying with good clothes,” the blonde corrected. “Not to badmouth the tailor who made your future streetwear, but I am far more comfortable working with linen than velvet. Having said so, let us buy you some clothes!”

  The store they entered was… rustic. Christie did not know how to describe it as she had never entered a store before, so her mind lacked any form of fulcrum to support her comparison. What she knew wasn’t normal was the thick walls, low ceiling, and lack of natural light. This was due to the fact that houses in Knight’s Ascent were rather... uncouth. Buildings were clearly mass-produced through lapiloquia, and it showed.

  Maybe it was because of the late hour, but there was only the shopkeeper inside, who greeted them casually. The lighting on the store was clearly born from her as a handful of agates were placed atop small protrusions in the walls that glowed with the Light command. Christie didn’t get much time to observe the store as Agatha rushed for the shopkeeper, and in a minute, they already had a mountain of clothing ready for her.

  “Uhm… I feel like this is too much clothing, Agatha. I do not know if we can carry it back to the academy.”

  Her roommate chuckled. “We are not going to buy it all, silly goose!” Silly goose? Christie frowned as she had never heard the expression. “You just need to try them all and see which one fits you better, both in size and looks.”

  “I feel like it is still too much clothing. We do not have enough time before the curfew.”

  “There is a curfew?” Christie nodded at her question. “Then make haste! We need at least one attire ready for you!”

  The nouveau riche sighed in defeat and made her way to the changing room, though it was more appropriate to call it a changing closet. Christie made quick work of her red dress, or at least, made the quickest work she could. She didn’t hesitate before trying on the first outfit, some kind of plain, brown dress.

  “We better buy at least one outfit,” she said as she changed, “because I doubt I will have enough time to change back to my dress.”

  “That depends on you!” Agatha shouted from the other side of the curtain. “Now show me!”

  “One minute,” the redhead responded lethargically. As fun as the day had been, it had taken a toll on her body, and she was now feeling the consequences. Christie opened the curtains of the changing closet a minute later. “So, what do you think?”

  “Hmm…” The seamstress grunted and made a grimace. “I mean, the dress is cute, but it does not fit you at all. Try another one.”

  Without protesting, Christie closed the curtain and changed into another outfit. Whilst she may be tired, she took a liking to her roommate’s brutal honesty. If it had been her dearest father, he would have praised her beauty and cuteness all the time without heeding the attire.

  The next outfit was even simpler, a blouse and a dull, red skirt. She opened the curtains without much hope, mostly because she already had a very similar attire in her closet, albeit made out of better textiles.

  “Sacred be the earth!” Agatha cursed.

  “Is it that bad?” Christie grimaced.

  “Bad? Darling, you look gorgeous! The contrast between your vivacious hair and the dull skirt is superb! You really are a precious doll, Christie!”

  The redhead didn’t even hear the last sentence as her mind lingered on the first words the blonde had said. Darling? Gorgeous? She couldn’t help but blush even if she guessed it was only hearsay.

  “R-really?” She embraced her body nervously.

  “Of course! This one is definitely a must-buy! But we still have time, so try a handful more. While you were changing, I already picked some more.”

  “Okay!” Christie accepted the clothes even if there was already a mountain of clothes she hadn’t tried in the closet. Her body was brimming with excitement at doing something that she had read friends did, but also at being complimented so much. Her dearest father did it so often that she forgot how genuine compliments could be.

  What followed was a blur similar to the stroll across the market they did as she proceeded to try more and more outfits. Her visage reddened more and more in a mixture of exhaustion and embarrassment as the compliments kept flowing, but she couldn’t stop. The clothes were cute, but cute was also the bouncy and springy reactions Agatha gave to the many attires. To her.

  Though by the tenth attire, Christie had had enough as she was panting by then.

  “Can… can we stop?” She said between ragged breaths.

  “Sure! Three attires are certainly must-buy, but I guess those are more than enough for today. Could I… toy with one of them?” The seamstress asked sheepishly as she fidgeted with her hanging agate.

  “You can toy with all of them if we march at once,” Christie responded in exasperation.

  “That is a promise! I will pay for you, change back, and we can go back!”

  Christie collapsed on the ground in the changing room. Her legs were trembling and her agates were starting to bubble up, yet even with her painful exhaustion, she couldn’t help but smile. She had done normal girl stuff with another girl. Graduation and education no longer mattered; the dread from living in the Valasela Estate had vanished. She was satisfied, she was happy, she was looking forward to tomorrow.

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