"We'll need to get you some proper armor," Ember said while she and Beatrice got dressed after their shower.
"Ah!? Shopping!? With Beatrice!?" Tabitha sprung back to life, elbowing Olivia in the face by accident.
"Ow! The hell!?" Olivia cursed from the rude awakening, trying to figure out just what exactly happened.
"Shopping?" Beatrice raised an eyebrow. The succubus could no imagine walking into a shop to buy some armor like she would to go buy a loaf of bread. And considering that even buying a loaf of bread seemed to pose a challenge in this city, she couldn't help but ask, "Does such a thing as 'shopping' even exist here?"
"For those that know where to look, and have something of value to offer," Ember said. "And no-these two are not coming."
"Aw! Why not!?" Tabitha pouted.
"Because if you had two brain cells to put together, you'd be able to figure out that under these conditions nobody is allowed to just sell or buy armor and weapons that are actually good," Ember said. "Which you should have known anyway if you were capable of thinking of anything other than cocks."
"Like you thought of mine earlier?" Tabitha asked.
"... I'm not endangering my contacts by bringing more people than necessary," Ember insisted. "Nor am I waiting for you two to get into a presentable state."
"Oh, I can go like this, no problem!" Tabitha said cheerfully.
"And that's the problem," Ember said. "Olivia, it looks like you know where the games will be held, right?"
"Yes," Olivia confirmed without much joy, rubbing her bruised cheek.
"We'll be there at sunset," Ember said. "Whether you come or not is up to you. But unless you plan to go there as free entertainment, I suggest you get cleaned first."
"I don't need reminders to cleanse my body after sex with you," Olivia said.
"Cute," Ember said flatly and went toward the door.
Beatrice appreciated Ember's haste but did not immediately follow the redhead out of the room. Instead, Beatrice looked to the bed where Rafaelia was still sleeping. Beatrice did not want to wake up the fox girl after such an intense intercourse and asked, "Does anyone have anything to write with?"
"I can burn a note if you want to," Ember said and lit a small fire on her finger.
"I can carve one," Olivia said as she looked around to locate her belongings.
"N-no, that's fine," Beatrice said, having no intention of leaving such a barbaric message behind. "I'll ask downstairs... Will you two be coming to this Forge of Champions?"
"Of course!" Tabitha said. "But can't I come with you now?"
"Ember is right on this one—the quicker we are the better," Beatrice said. "Meet us there, and don't get into trouble!"
"Alright," Tabitha said with a sullen voice and posture.
Olivia was obviously hesitant in giving her reply. Seeing this, Beatrice added, "You don't have to come. I have no illusions that this is a dangerous endeavor for many reasons."
"Yes, she's better off staying here and babysitting the kitty," Ember said with a smile.
"I'll be there," Olivia said, rising to the challenge.
"Good! See you soon, then," Beatrice said and walked out of the room together with Ember.
"Ember, would Belmot's men be there?" Beatrice asked Ember as they walked down the hall toward the stairs. "As the supposed upholders of the law and order, they shouldn't even show their faces at such illegal games, correct?"
"Correct," Ember confirmed. "With that said, it would be foolish to even assume that they are not well informed about what happens there, especially concerning potential strong fighters."
"The better I perform, the bigger the target on my back," Beatrice concluded. "That much is to be expected."
"True, but also do not think of yourself too highly just yet," Ember said. "It's not like you're the first one to get into a fight with the grunts of the Purple Capes. Your little fox friend murdered three of them shortly before you and Olivia sprung into action, and that's also not even close to an exception. They have a lot to deal with, so their first priority will not be to talk with every spy and informant on their payroll in the entire city to be on the lookout for three non-descript young women that beat up six armed men."
"They won't mention that part," Beatrice assumed.
"Which keep them from increasing the priority on this, for now," Ember pointed out. "And as for the Forge of Champions, it will take several dominant victories before anyone even cares to remember your name for longer than a minute. And to that end, it's the reason why we need to change up your appearance for when you start piling up victories."
Beatrice smiled, glad to have such a capable bodyguard at her side, and said, "You really put a lot of thought into my earlier little desire for some combat experience."
"Not really," Ember shrugged. "Basic logic and deductive reasoning can only be impressive when compared to those two sluts who are barely capable of more complex thoughts than animals."
Beatrice shook her head, getting used to the idea that it will take a lot more than half an hour of wild sex to impress Ember.
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