Rhamn's words were like cold water upon the excited Cyril.
A trip of such type would not take only a day or two.
Unless they are planning on skipping their studies, they need to wait until the holiday before doing anything of the sort.
It seems like Rose thought of that as well. She slightly restrained herself, but there was still an unobvious spark in her eyes.
"Why doesn't the Empire build an outpost there?" Asked Cyril something else that bothered him.
The Empire would definitely not miss a chance to somehow expand it's territory.
"Because that mana vein is a secret right now. The Empire is simply unaware of it!" Myra whispered with a weird pride.
"So don't spread this information to people who have no business knowing it," she warned.
"Let's go there on a winter break." Rose said with a convinced nod.
Camping out in the wilds sounded like a lot of fun. Everyone was in agreement.
It was late October right now; they didn't have to wait too long.
"Isn't there some holiday soon?" With this reminder, asked Cyril.
"Hollowing is soon, yes." Rose nodded as a matter of fact.
"Speaking of this, did any of you prepare a costume this year? I heard the academy was planning some event on that day," Rose continued while staring at Myra and Cyril.
Right, there was this as well.
As Cyril didn't celebrate it in the past, he completely forgot about such a thing.
"What is this holiday about?" curiously asked Rhamn.
Something about warding off evil spirits. An old church superstition. Cyril replied vaguely.
For some time already, the Empire was trying to go away from religion.
They didn't outright sever ties, but their relationship wasn't particularly close.
Over time, this led to some holidays being slightly distorted or trivialized.
As a result, in recent years, Hollowing was presented to the public primarily as a festive celebration, but people liked it.
"I am not sure yet... Cyril, what about you?" said Myra.
"Same here. Maybe I'll visit a clothing store soon and decide there," Cyril casually replied.
"How about we all go together then? Sounds fun," Rose said with a smile.
"Go where?" Suddenly Edmund's voice appeared from the side.
While they were absorbed in the conversation, they didn't even notice his approach.
Edmund sat on an unoccupied chair nearby and crossed his legs.
He still looked rather disheveled, with deep eye bags. It looks like he didn't get a good sleep.
"We are going to go choose costumes for Halloween. There is nothing else to do today anyways," Myra said with a shrug.
They originally planned on resuming their zoo trip today, but for certain reasons that wasn't possible at the moment.
"You are in the mood to go shopping right now!?" Edmund said in surprise.
The others looked at him in confusion, unsure of why he was reacting like this.
Seeing this, Edmund only wiped his face and tiredly replied, "Whatever, count me out. I'll use this opportunity to visit home..."
"Sure. And are you free on the winter break?" next asked Cyril.
Edmund thought for a few seconds with a tilted head before shaking it. "No, sorry. I have plans."
Such an answer disappointed Cyril slightly. His friend was rather different lately.
He wasn't sure if it was in a good way.
They explained their plans for going camping but still received a negative answer.
So the group said goodbye to Edmund and left the hotel, searching for any stores nearby.
This was the center of the city, so there was going to be a good clothes store around and probably even one selling some carnival costumes.
...
"Cyril, don't you live somewhere in the center? Do you know any good shops around?" asked Rose on the way.
"...Not really. I never paid attention to that stuff," replied Cyril.
He wasn't the only case this time. Many nobles refuse to go shopping by themselves, unless it's in some famous and trendy place, of course.
Most of the purchases are done by servants. Even in Cyril's case, Ophelia was usually responsible for shopping.
"No matter, we'll take a walk. There is plenty of time anyways." Myra quickly said.
Her state of mind was rather good right now. Cyril expected her to fall into depression again, but thankfully that wasn't the case.
Though her eyes appeared slightly more tired right now.
First the group decided to visit a local cafe to eat some quick breakfast. Thankfully there was one letting pets inside.
The few people around them all talked about the recent event.
No one was nervous about what happened, only discussing the anomalous weather over the zoo and rumors of escaped beasts.
Strangely, no one mentioned the giant serpent destroying a building in a single move.
The people were treating this as some exciting gossip and nothing more.
Quickly finishing their breakfast, the group walked on the street, paying attention to anything the people said.
They still heard no one mention Theches in conversations. It's like no one actually knew it was even in the park.
"Strange..." Rose found this perplexing.
"The Empire might've used some spell to hide what was happening in the zoo from people," Myra said after thinking for a bit.
"In addition, we were probably one of the last remaining civilians in there. Maybe no one actually saw it," she guessed.
That would certainly explain why no one was panicking right now.
"Thanks for that, I suppose. Otherwise the shops here would be closed," said Rose.
After walking for some time, they finally turned onto a wide street lined with various shops and businesses.
There were quite a few people here, young and not so much, enjoying their weekend.
The group quickly found a store selling costumes, accessories, and all kinds of decorations and entered it.
Clerks inside nervously eyed the butterfly and the kitten on Cyril's shoulder but didn't say anything in the end.
The selection here was quite good, with many costumes even enhanced by magic.
Like a dark robe with a special texture, appearing as if made out of a flowing starry river.
Glowing patterns, ghostly translucent parts, and all kinds of tricks were used to make the clothes look special.
There was certainly a wide selection here.
Everyone from the group started going around the shop, each seeking something pleasing.
What the hell is this? thought Cyril while looking at some of the costumes.
Whoever made these definitely didn't know the word restraint.
Some shined so brightly, Cyril felt that person could replace a light source in a room.
"Yes, they are quite ugly... Oh, what about that one?" Rhamn excitedly pointed to a mannequin.
It was a luxurious black tailcoat paired with leather gloves, its buttons engraved with a bat motif.
At the mannequin's feet was awkwardly placed a golden goblet, painted red inside.
From the looks of it, this was a vampire costume.
...Really?
On one hand, it looked quite showy, but it also felt odd for Cyril to dress this way after being threatened by an actual vampire just recently.
"That's why it's more fun this way. And among the male outfits, this one is on the less extreme side, I would say." Rhamn seemed pleased with the costume.
Cyril looked over the outfit once more, trying to imagine himself wearing it. It still felt slightly off.
Especially considering that makeup was also part of the costume, he didn't like the idea of painting his face.
...Can't you just make my face look more pale? Cyril thought of something.
"That's not a bad idea. It would look even better that way too." Rhamn nodded with satisfaction.
In such a manner they can go even further and directly change his body to make it appear more vampire-like.
This idea was simple to do and required fewer preparations on Cyril's part as well, so he quite liked it.
I'll take it then.
"Nice," Rhamn made a fist pump.
Without wasting any time, Cyril approached the clerk and proceeded to buy the outfit.
Now, with a bag in hand, he turned to look at his companions. They still haven't finished choosing their own.
Cyril approached Myra first, who was looking at a female knight costume with a struggling expression.
"You are thinking of taking that?" asked Cyril out of nowhere.
Myra almost jumped in place, turning to look at him in a startle.
"Y-Yeah, it's not bad." She said, her face turning slightly red.
The costume differed a little from the actual uniform Cyril saw.
The creators clearly took a few liberties so that it outlines the figure of the wearer more.
"I think it's good because of the enchantment on it!" Myra quickly said.
With her words, Cyril focused a bit more and realized that the magic here made it almost legitimate armor.
Who knows why a Hollowing suit needed to have its protection enhanced, but such was indeed the case.
The price was suitably much higher than the others around it, but Myra had the money to spare.
"It certainly looks good." Cyril nodded in understanding.
At his words, Myra's face became brighter. "Then I am taking it," and she went to the clerk.
"Who does she think she is? She doesn't even have the body for that kind of costume," Rhamn said in contempt, looking at Myra's athletic but rather modest body.
I think it fits...
"You are both done already?" Rose walked in too, looking at the optimistic Myra over at the counter.
"Yeah, I got a vampire suit and this knight one for Myra," Cyril said while showing her the outfits.
Rose only raised her eyebrow at Myra's choice.
She cleared her throat and started speaking, "I am also done. I will take that scientist uniform." Rose pointed to a white coat hanging in the corner.
"...Isn't it a bit too normal?" said Cyril after a pause.
This seemed like something Rose would normally wear in the future.
"I'll think of something else to add," Rose calmly said and went to the counter as well.
The clerks of this store were rather excited to have these students as customers.
When the group was leaving, they enthusiastically waved them goodbye, asking to visit again sometime.
Now the three were outside, all holding bags of the same style.
Their shopping journey went by rather quickly. They still had time to do something else in the meantime.
Tomorrow there was a test, but no one here was worried about it.
"I planned to go buy some normal clothes as well. Do you want to come with me?" Cyril proposed.
He might as well use this opportunity to update his wardrobe. Walking in a torn outfit was a bit eye-catching.