My Wight Wife is in the Model Contest! 7

Your car pulls alongside the designated hobby shop, the location of the final battle. Across from you sits Adele, next to you your wife. She holds a red velvet covered box in her magical grip. The box contains her masterwork – the finest, most refined hand-grenade of an Redanner model ever assembled.

The door is pulled open by your chauffeur and you step out, arm in arm with your wife as a crowd of onlookers take photos. The arrival of a wight is enough to bring out a diverse group of people. Fashion maniacs, undead scholars and historians, other undead women who admire their authority and power. No hobby shop in the world has seen a crowd like this. Amanda is either an idiot or a genius.

You take a moment to play up to the paparazzi to keep them happy, Adele lazily floats by and into the shop without a word spared. You follow her and enter into a rather spacious open plan floor. There are tables everywhere covered with simple builds to complete, multi-part dioramas that depict intense battles.

“I will submit my model to the judges. Adele, you may begin your search for an appropriate husband.”

“Yes Lady Aumont.” You have a feeling that letting Adele do that unsupervised is a bad idea, but before you can object, she’s already gone. You sigh. Hopefully, she won’t cause too much trouble while you’re here.

Amanda is emitting a smug aura that is so strong you can smell it. She stands beside a model so overdone that you’d be surprised if it were still capable of movement. “Lady Amount, it surprised me to see your miserable face in my stronghold.”

You hold up a finger, “Ah, isn’t this just a model shop?”

She shoots you a glare that could freeze water, “Everything in this ward belongs to me, including that trophy. We’ll see who the real secondary is after I destroy your wife’s precious model.”

Amanda’s work is that of the titular Redanner X-Cross, a spin-off suit from one of the many manga. The usual colour scheme of blue and red has been painted over with a reflective gold and pearl white. Several of the pieces are unfamiliar to you, taken from other kits to give it a unique spin.

Cecille giggles, “Oh, such unbecoming confidence. You may be assured in your knowledge of Redanner, but your manners seem to be lacking for a lady of your station.” You can see the spark flying between these two. Cecille places the box down onto the table and pulls away the fabric, revealing the incredibly rare and fragile model, perfectly painted and posed just as your wife wanted.

“I-Is that a titan grade V1 UBR-348-X?!”

Cecille’s smile threatens to split her cheeks in twain, “Oui. And not only that, a custom painted, joint reinforced titan grade UBR-348-X. If I do say so myself, it is perfection.”

Amanda gets up in your wife’s face, a clash between vibrant red and blue fabric, “You waste your time on these token measures, enhancing the parts that cannot even be seen from the outside! My model is beautiful and perfect, and it won’t break no matter what!”

Cecille scoffs, “Pah, worthless prattle! Models are meant to be posed. They are three dimensional objects! What good is a model without joints? Without a sense of life? You have removed the simple joys of the model; you have created a mere statue!”

“I believe all that anime has filled what little space still exists within that dullard brain of yours! You will not win over the judges by waving money at them!”

“Money is of no concern; a true model maker would judge it on the quality of the build!”

The argument has attracted more onlookers than the incredibly eye-catching work that it started over. You put your hands on Cecille’s back, “Now now, you should always act the lady Cecille.”

Cecille backs away and fluffs up her hair, “Hmph. Oui. I shall be the adult and end this debate here.”

Amanda storms off in a huff. You and Cecille take the time to spectate the festivities and see all of the amazing models that the other people have brought with them. There are a few dozen of various sizes and scales. Now unconcerned with public appearances, she can openly indulge in her hobby without worry. You occasionally spy Adele floating around the shop, presumably on the hunt for someone who can endure her long-winded theorizing about fictional robots.

An hour passes as the last of the contestants arrive and lay out their own displays. Everyone is called to the front of the store, where the owner is waiting. “And now, the winner as chosen by our panel of experts!” the man announces, he opens the golden envelope and smiles, “It’s a good one.”

There’s electricity in the air. The two wights stare holes through each other, teeth clenched. Their rivalry will be decided in one shot, whoever wins the competition will lay their claim to being the superior fan of Redanner.

“John, Emma and Philia’s excellent diorama!”

…

“Huh?”

A group of young children cheer and run to the front of the crowd, accepting the small trophy and collection of vouchers to use in-store, “Well done you three! Our judges thought that it captured the drama of the franchise perfectly. The terrain and the painting were top notch, and the extra effort put into the explosion effects put it over the edge. All the more impressive that it was done with only high-class kits!”

The crowd applaud, finding no issue with the judgement being handed down. Amanda is catatonic, her eyes glazed over after being destroyed by mere children. Cecille on the other hand doesn’t seem to mind so much, “Oui. A most excellent display. Perhaps limiting yourself to lower quality kits brings out the best in your work.”

The children seem positively elated at the praise they’ve received from a real noble lady, even more than the physical reward they earned for their victory. You laugh as Amanda handles the loss with far less grace.

“Lady Amanda, don’t be so sour! This was for fun after all,” you chide her.

“Beaten by a mere child…”

Cecille snaps her fingers, “Hello? Lady Amanda?”

That’ll take a while to wear off. Adele finally appears with a nervous looking man by her side, “I have successfully acquired a husband, as requested.”

He bows his head, “My lord!” The man has wild curly hair and thick glasses, he’s the very image of a hobby shop inhabitant.
“You didn’t just steal this man from the crowd, did you?”

He shakes his head, “No my lord. We had a rousing discussion about the physical properties of the fictional metallic alloy used in the construction of the Redanner, and how it could be imitated in real life…”

Adele cuts in, “The only logical conclusion is that he meets the description of a husband, am I wrong?”

You scratch the back of your head, “I suppose not. Well done Adele. Just to double check, you do agree to this?”

“Yes Lord Aumont.”

“Excellent! If you’d like to move into the manor, we have room to spare. Maybe another soul in that lab of hers will encourage her to clean it up once in a while.” He chuckles nervously. You can almost guarantee that his home is just as bad.

“Cecille, darling, is Amanda awake?”

Amanda has been escorted out of the building by her guards. Oh dear. The children crowd around Cecille, she leans down to listen to them and you silently urge her dress to stay up enough to hide her nipples from them. She gives them a pat on the head and straightens up before showing the entire store her assets.

She seems a bit shy suddenly, “Cecille, is something wrong?”

“No husband. I was just thinking that we’ve seen so many children recently. I couldn’t help but find myself wanting one of our own.”
You smile, you’re on board with the idea. You just need to ask, “Adele?” You look back to find the lich missing. “Oh. I suppose we’ll have to explain later…”

“Where is that girl?” Cecille asks, “Anything less than consummating her marriage will make me very upset!” You know that monsters have a very liberal definition of marriage but asking a man in the hobby shop is pushing it a bit too far for you. The two have barely even gotten to know each other yet.

You clap your hands together, “Contest visited, Adele married. A successful excursion! Remember to invite Lady Amanda to our next ball. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“A delightful idea darling.”