In the department store, Alexander watched as his sisters browsed items displayed on the shelves. They were perusing products that got their attention. The products range from cosmetics, apparel, and foods, more specifically, boxes of chocolates.

“Hey, brother, let’s say I want this,” Anastasia grabbed a box of chocolate from the display shelves and showed it to him. “How will you pay for it?”

“Out of everything you could have chosen, you chose a box of chocolates?” Alexander incredulously asked her sister. He shook his head at his sister, who was still staring at the box of chocolates in her hand. Well, maybe she was just asking how things work in the department store so she grabbed the closest product on the shelves. Because honestly speaking, the Winter Palace had everything in the kitchen. Whatever the royal family requests to eat, the chef will cook it.

“After picking the things you’d like to buy, you can approach the counter and pay the clerk the total cost of your purchase with either cash or card,” Alexander explained.

“Card?” Anastasia tilted her to the side, puzzled. “Some sort of calling card?”

“You’ll see it later. For now, I want you and your sisters to feel the spirit of the department store. Once finished, then we can go to the counter and show you how the cards work,” Alexander said. “Run along now, but behave yourself, and don’t get too far from us.”

“Okay,” Anastasia turned to her heels and walked away. She didn’t return the box of chocolates to its original place so Alexander deduced that she’d like to buy that one.

“Papa, why can’t I freely roam around like my aunts? I want to see the department store too.”

“Well, I don’t want you to get yourself hurt while you roam around. Also, it makes my heart at ease when you are within my reach. We’ll explore the department store together, and if you find something that you like, don’t hesitate to ask me, I can give you everything you want.”

“Really?!” Anya beamed at her father. He nodded at his daughter. It’s not bad to spoil his children for once. In the future, he’ll teach her proper manners that she can learn and use once she’s out of the real world. He had a fair share of seeing spoiled kids once but the reason that their kids act like that is they overindulge their child with affection to the point their kid is going to be programmed to think they are getting what they want if they ask for it.

That behavior would ultimately come back to bite them in the ass eventually though. In short, it’s okay to spoil your child but don’t overdo it to the point they’ll become dependent and weak as everything they need is provided by the giver.

The three girls ran down the aisle, stopping in front of each display, and checking out what kind of things they wanted. Alexander simply followed them along with Rolan whose fingers are constantly on his earplugs to get a continuous security update around the perimeter of Alexander.

And then they reached peculiar stairs where the steps are leveled with the floor but seconds later, it’ll jut out.

The sisters made them wonder what was causing the phenomena. Alexander stood behind them and spoke. “That’s an escalator. It is a power-driven set of stairs arranged like an endless belt that ascends or descends continuously. This way, you won’t have to walk your way up or down. You simply stand on the steps and let it take you up or down.”

“Oh, that is quite easy. It’s the first time I have seen it,” Tiffania commented.

Of course, it will be the first time they’d do so. Even though escalators have long since made their appearance forty or fifty years ago in this world’s history, the fact that they are cooped up inside the Winter Palace means they’ll be ignorant of world development, especially in the field of science and technology, As those things aren’t widely published.

One by one, they stepped on the escalators. They mouthed and gasped as the escalator took them to the second level. There a new set of products came into view. Unlike the first floor which only consists of apparel and assortments of confectionaries, on this floor, it was the appliances section built and made by one of the subsidiaries of Imperial Dynamic Systems that focused on building and manufacturing home appliances.

Alexander took a glance at their expressions and as expected, it didn’t interest them. Well, that’s understandable as they have never done house chores in their life. It was done by a group of servants in the Winter Palace. And the electrical appliances that aren’t related to chores such as heat pumps, well they failed to see their purpose in the first place. How are they going to know in the first place?

“I don’t find anything interesting on this floor. Can we move on now?” Tiffania suggested.

“Yeah me too. I don’t know anything about this section. Maybe on the third level, there will be some things that we are familiar with,” Christina agreed.

With a unanimous decision, they went to the third floor. And there, they saw things that are familiar to them. Accessories! Accessories that are made of diamonds, gold, and rare gems. The price tag was high, enough to make Alexander spin despite his large reserves of gold in the bank.

His sisters lived in a lavish setting, so it’s no wonder that they’ll be attracted to accessories. Alexander simply followed them while peering his eyes on the display glass containing necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings.

Money has been no issue to Alexander but imagining himself buying those accessories would feel like a waste of money for him. But this is supposed to be the day when he took a day off from work and unwind with his family. So should they want one, he wouldn’t stop them.

“I think I like this one!” Christina said, pointing at the diamond necklace.

“I like this earring,” Anastasia pointed at the diamond earring.

Alexander clicked his tongue and sighed inwardly. Oh, they are pointing at expensive accessories. It seems like he’ll have to put out a large amount of money on these purchases.

“How about you Anya? Do you want some too?” Alexander asked, thinking that she might want one.

Anya hummed. “No, I don’t like it. I like storybooks more, as it helps me sleep at night.”

Alexander patted Anya’s head with his hand gently, touched by his daughter’s answer.

“I don’t like it too,” Tiffania announced. “If I have a fortune, I would use it to buy more scientific books. I’m sure there’s a bookstore outside the department store.”

Despite saying that, she didn’t earn a pat on the head as Alexander thought she was too old for that.

“Okay, if there’s nothing else, let’s proceed to the clerk.”

***

At the clerk. Anastasia and Christina handed their items and the clerk scanned them using a laser. It made a beep at every barcode scanned.

“That will be nine hundred and sixty thousand rubles. How would you like to pay for it, Your Majesty? Your Imperial Highnesses?”

Alexander pulled out his wallet and picked out his card. “Here.”

“A card then,” the clerk checked the card and swiped it on an analog-style credit card machine.

“Please wait for about ten minutes as we process this request,” the clerk politely said.

“Ten minutes? Why will it take that long?” Anastasia asked.

“Because it’s a complicated system that no one has ever used. But I’m sure in the following years, it’ll be faster.”

Ten minutes later, the clerk packed their items in a paper bag.

“Thank you for your patronage, please come back again,” the clerk politely bowed.

“Where to next, brother? The bookstore?” Christina asked.

“Yeah bookstore and,” Alexander checked his note. “And we watch a movie.”