Outside of Drelik’s Spanish stucco mansion, Trevor let go of Adabelle’s hand long enough to adjust his orange tie. Once he was convinced it was straight and the knot was tight, he checked to make sure that his cream-colored three-piece suit was buttoned properly. While he normally would have double checked out of nervousness, this time it was because he still marveled at how well the clothes fit him.

  It had been a while since he had worn the suit. The tailor Kadrus sized it for him so that he was presentable when meeting King Eskretet in his castle. As someone who only had experience with suits taken off the rack with no alterations made, Trevor was still surprised at what a difference it made. Not only did it look better than something store-bought, but the range of motion he had was fantastic.

  He wasn’t the only one wearing the same clothes from the meeting with the king, Adabelle was as well. The cream-colored dress matched his suit, though her clothes had sweeping flairs of orange that matched her eyes near the bottom. It fit her beautifully, accentuating her figure without padding. A rose gold necklace with a small sword pendant rested high on her chest.

  Overall, he thought she was gorgeous. He had to distract himself with his tie to stop himself from staring, which was something she was already aware of.

  “You could look at me, you know,” she teased, checking her bun one last time to make sure her hair was in order. He glanced over at her, noting how her eyes glowed with amusement, before looking back at the front door.

  “If I do, then why would I ever want to look at the art in the gallery?” he teased back. Then, he took a breath. “Sorry, I’m just nervous. This is a big night for Drelik and I want it to go well. You know?”

  “Trevor,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you just apologize for something it wasn’t necessary to apologize for?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “Dang, got me,” he said with a chuckle. “I know what to do.”

  Holding up his hand, a jar appeared. It was made of glass and the lid had a slot in the middle of it. Several coins were already contained within. The words “apology jar” were written on the side in big letters.

  Turning to Adabelle, he made eye contact. With deliberate, almost dramatic movement, Trevor lifted his free hand over the jar. There was a flash of copper as a coin appeared. He pushed it into the slot, letting it fall in with a clink, and sent the whole thing back into his inventory.

  They shared a small laugh over the act. Honestly, the apology jar wasn’t all that necessary anymore. When Trevor had first arrived, he had been in the habit of saying sorry over every little thing whether it warranted it or not. Things he had done, things he hadn’t done but felt deserved one from someone, or even preemptively at times.

  What it did do, however, was give him an opportunity to treat his friends to a fancy meal somewhere. Rashie was the biggest fan of it, but Wayne and Adabelle certainly didn’t mind, either. Trevor mentally counted the money inside and thought it was almost time to go on what he had mentally dubbed an Apology Tour to get the last few coins he needed to cover the cost.

  Not tonight, though, he thought to himself as he offered his arm to Adabelle. Producing the invitation he had received from Drelik himself, the two walked up to the door and knocked.

  An orcish man answered, wearing a black suit and standing ramrod straight. He looked down at the two. Trevor recognized him, and he certainly recognized the two of them, but he still had to ask. “Invitation?”

  “Right here,” the inventoryman said, smiling as he handed the invitation over.

  The orc took a moment to make sure it was legitimate before putting it away and bowing. “It is an honor to have you here, Sir Trevor, Mayor Adabelle,” he greeted before gesturing inside.

  “Thanks, Forrick,” Trevor replied. As they entered he paused to lean in. “Try not to work too hard, yeah?”

  Forrick let out a strangled snort that was halfway between a cough and a chuckle. “Yeah, I’ll try,” he whispered before jerking his head towards the inside of the mansion. “You two have fun.”

  The door was closed behind them as they walked into the building. “You just know everyone these days, don’t you?” Adabelle remarked.

  Trevor simply shrugged. “I meet a lot of people when I’m out making deliveries. It’s nice,” he said. Letting his arm drop, he took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. “It also helps that I’ve always been good with names. It’s hard for me to forget people after we’ve been introduced and Forrick’s been great with all the help he’s offered to get the gallery ready.”

  She squeezed his hand and smiled as they entered the lounge.

  Just a few weeks ago, this place had been hectic. There were easels and paintings scattered haphazardly around. Well taken care of, just placed everywhere. Sculptures had been moved to one of the corners and left to collect dust, including one of a large, seven-legged spider that loomed over the others. It had been a mess.

  Now, it was being used to host the guests before the grand reopening started properly. Trevor had been expecting to walk in and see the art immediately, but figured that would probably come later on in the evening after everyone had arrived.

  Plus, it wasn’t like they were sitting in an empty room. A server with a tray was quick to bring the newcomers refreshments in the form of wine, small sandwiches, and crackers with cheese. They both took a glass and some food as they looked around. Wine wasn’t Trevor’s favorite by any means, but he would drink it when the mood was right.

  A crowd had already gathered, split, and started mingling with each other. For the grand reopening, there were only a handful of guests. Many of them were the nobles in the area, whom Trevor recognized from the times he went to spend Adabelle’s lunch break with her. The rest were business owners and other powerful figures.

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  Trevor pulled away from Adabelle, her tail slipping from his wrist, but didn’t stray far from her as he looked over the room. “I don’t see Drelik here,” he observed.

  “He might be waiting for everyone to arrive or doing some final checks,” Adabelle mused. “Or preparing to reveal something that’s been private so far? Cindal was pretty prolific, I’m sure there’s some pieces of hers that haven’t been shown publicly before.”

  Trevor nodded. That made sense to him. “He’s probably out in the garden, then. That’s where the Floatstone pieces are, but maybe there’s more now?”

  “He didn’t get your help on this?” she asked, moving closer and taking his hand.

  “No. He didn’t let me help because I was going to be here as a guest.”

  Adabelle hummed. “I assume he’ll make an appearance sometime soon. Why don’t we walk around and mingle until then? That is what we’re supposed to do here, you know.”

  “I know,” he replied, bumping into her slightly with his hip. She bumped back, but they both stood up straight as they were approached by two other guests.

  “Mayor Adabelle, Trevor,” a gnome greeted with a bow. His flamboyant pink hair rose high into the air with a black ribbon swirling through it. The black suit he wore was finely made and covered in colorful pins common in gnomish attire, which was a far cry from the plain outfit he usually had at his shop.

  “Thimbleden, it’s good to see you,” Adabelle returned before greeting his companion. “And you, too, Corrin.”

  “Hello, you two,” the black-haired elf replied with a smile. “You’re both so cute, matching like that.”

  Corrin—the owner of Corrin’s Couture, a store that had been a staple of Tosa since the early times—focused intensely on the couple before running her hand over her long braid. She was dressed in a very frilly yellow dress with black highlights. Trevor was almost reminded of a bee or wasp, but he had to admit that it did look nice on her.

  “Those are Kadrus’ designs, aren’t they?” she continued, giving her braid a small tug.

  “That’s a good eye, Corrin,” Trevor answered with a smile. “We received them as gifts in Eskretet.”

  “Lucky!” she said before sighing wistfully. “I worked under him for nearly fifteen years as an apprentice before Jackson invited me here to Tosa. He did a really good job for the both of you.”

  “Thank you so much,” Adabelle replied. “You’re looking lovely as always, too.”

  “Oh, you’re too kind,” Corrin laughed.

  “Have either of you seen Drelik yet?” Trevor asked, looking around again but not seeing him.

  Thimbleden shook his head. “Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

  Trevor nodded. “Yeah, that's what Adabelle told me. I’d just like to see him, is all. Congratulate him on the reopening and all that.”

  “He really wants this night to go well,” his girlfriend explained, patting Trevor on the hand. “Call it secondhand nervousness if you must.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You and Drelik go back to, what? Your second day in this world?” Thimbleden asked, looking up at Trevor.

  “That’s right. Jackson’s letter pointed me to you, and you had an issue I was uniquely qualified to solve,” he confirmed with a nod.

  “The Floatstone incident, wasn’t it?” Corrin asked, tapping her chin in thought. “That would have been a pain if it had been left floating just outside Thimbleden’s shop. Especially with how long it took for the wainwrights to fix all the trouble those detestable gremlins did around town.”

  “They were just kids,” Trevor defended. When the elf harrumphed, he just changed the subject. After all, they had caused a lot of damage, but the thought that there was something more behind the scenes had stayed with him ever since they fled town. “That is right, though. I was able to take care of the Floatstone. It was my first delivery, and it came right here to Drelik.”

  “Let me tell you, those things are a pain to transit,” Thimbleden said with a sigh. “You have to get the right kind of magic to line your vessel with, then you have to transport it all the way from the Floating Isles. I’ve heard it’s a beautiful place, but let’s just say that Drelik paid a pretty platinum to get that rock here.”

  “Maybe Trevor should offer his services up to whoever’s in charge there,” Adabelle replied, rubbing her boyfriend’s back with her tail. “After all, I doubt they’ve got anything nearly as efficient as you. Except maybe one of the Anderson Bags that you and Melvirn made, but they would have to get their hands on one first.”

  “The Anderson Bags could probably help, but he’s still having trouble sourcing all the materials for the next batch. As for offering my services directly? Oof, I think that’d take me away from home for too long,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I’d miss you and Tosa too much. Now, a visit and maybe a quest or two? That sounds wonderful. Honestly, Thimbleden had me at Floating Isles.”

  “There’s a species of fish that lives there called… Oh, what was it,” Corrin trailed off as she looked at the ceiling in thought. She twiddled with her braid and pursed her lips in concentration. “Starburst Spearfish, I think. They have the most beautiful scales that shine all colors of the rainbow when the light hits them. I once saw a noblewoman in Eskretet wear a dress covered in them for a performance, and it was breathtaking. Let me tell you, I was enamored on sight.”

  “Are they hard to find?” Adabelle asked with a slight frown. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before, but if it’s as great as you say I feel as though there would be a lot of dresses like that around.”

  “I’m not sure,” the elf admitted, biting her lip. “Maybe they’re just rare these days.”

  Trevor wore a thin smile, having an idea of what might have happened but not wanting to break the mood. “If I’m ever out that way, I’ll take a look for you,” he offered instead. “I can’t promise anything, obviously, but there’s no reason not to give it a try.”

  Corrin looked at him and beamed. “That would be wonderful, Trevor. Thank you.”

  “It might be sooner than you expect, too,” Thimbleden said before taking a drink of wine.

  “What makes you say that?” Trevor asked.

  The gnome leaned in after looking around conspiratorially. “Just think about it. Drelik’s about to show off whatever he did to that Floatstone, right? It’s going to be a huge hit. I’d bet that, by the end of the month, I’m going to get more orders for the same stuff. Should that happen, can I count on you?”

  The inventoryman smiled. “Yeah. Absolutely no problem. You send me that way, I’ll bring it back and deliver it to where it needs to go.” He glanced at Corrin. “And, if I do end up going, I’ll look for any of these fish for you, too. Hopefully it’s just something simple like it’s hard for the scales to keep their luster, or something. If that’s the case, then I’ve got a piece of inventory space where time doesn’t flow right. That should keep it safe until I get back.”

  “You’re a good man, Trevor,” Thimbleden said with a grin. “I can always count on you.”

  “He is always reliable, isn’t he?” Adabelle bragged, wrapping her arm around his.

  Trevor shrugged bashfully at the compliments. “I’m just doing what I can,” he said in an effort to downplay himself.

  Just as it seemed like Corrin was about to join in, the sound of a spoon striking a glass repeatedly rang out through the lounge. Everyone turned to see Drelik wearing a fine, red and white dwarven robe where the patterns seemed to make his pure white beard look larger than it already was. The elderly dwarf was far from his prime, but he still stood tall and proud, and there was an excited twinkle in his eye.

  He looked around the room, his gaze lingering on Trevor and Adabelle for a moment, before smiling. It looked like the grand reopening was about to start.