There was a public bath in the inn they chose, and after they unpacked their things, they went there.
The public bath was a large hall split into three parts, females, males, and unknowns.
The parts were separated by a wall that didn't reach the ceiling, so if something was said loudly on one side, it could be heard on the other parts.
Of course, Alexander, Shí Hóu, Shu, and Dam went to the male side, while Mary and Emilia went to the female side.
Before they got in, Shu stopped Mary and looked into her eyes before he breathed slowly to calm himself.
"What is it?"
Mary asked Shu. She was all flustered because of how close they were.
"About the sword, I know you don't want to break the 'adventurer's code,' but I will be happy if you keep it."
Shu said, and Mary was even more confused than before.
"What is wrong with the sword?"
Mary asked since she didn't know it was an ancestral sword.
"Ha ha ha, if there's no issue, then it's all good."
Shu said happily and went into the bathroom.
Mary stayed out for a few more seconds, confused, but then she shrugged it off as a "Shu-like thing," and her worries were cleansed.
********
"So you didn't tell her about the sword?"
Alexander said as he looked at Shu, who hid his entire body up to his nose under water, and his knees were up to his face.
"It's okay. Maybe you two will get married for real at some point, so it won't matter that you gave her your ancestral sword."
Alexander laughed awkwardly.
"So this really was your ancestral sword! I thought it looked familiar, but I wasn't sure..."
Dam said noisily. There was a sound of water splashing in one of the other parts.
"Seriously, dude?"
Alexander asked Dam and looked at him with a disapproving expression.
"What do you want?!"
Dam asked and summoned his sword.
"Shí Hóu, take Shu to Mary so he can talk with her."
Alexander said and created a sword in his hand.
Shí Hóu forcefully lifted Shu and then kicked him towards the door.
Mary, who finished drying herself and dressing up, walked out of the bath with eyes full of tears.
Everyone could hear Emilia calling her to come back and use the bath to calm down.
The first thing Mary saw as she stepped out of the door was the door to her right exploding, and from the explosion, Shu, completely naked and drenched in water, flew into the wall in front of the door.
Mary, while crying, screamed, "Pervert!" and kicked Shu in the head so hard that it made the kick she gave him when they first met a run for its money.
Alexander ran out wearing a suit he created with his powers and formed clothes over Shu's aching body.
********
With Dam injured from the fight, he lost to Alexander effortlessly, Shu, who seemed awfully depressed, and Mary, who was both confused and angry. They all went to their rooms and locked Shu and Mary in one of the three rooms they got so they would not run away.
"Can you please explain what Dam was talking about? Is the sword you gave me an ancestral sword?"
Mary asked, holding her usual sword, unsheathed in her hand, and pointed at Shu.
"When I was in the Redfox family's mansion, my grandfather gave me a sword. That sword was passed down through the generations, and he wanted me to have it. He told me I could give it to one of my friends if I'm not planning to use it. So I gave it to you."
Shu explained in terror of the 'beast' in front of him.
"You didn't give me this sword as a proposal, right?"
Mary asked.
"No."
Shu answered quietly.
Now, the room was almost entirely silent. It was as if both sides were disappointed by the outcome.
"I can't keep this sword."
Mary said quietly and handed him his ancestral sword back.
"Too bad."
Shu said.
He had a bad feeling about it. It was the same feeling as when he saw ominous futures, but he couldn't see what would happen.
He kicked the door open because the others weren't willing to open it, and he wasn't in the mood to wait.
'I'm so stupid. He must have had a reason to break the code. He can see the future, and it's not like I would complain if he really proposed...'
Mary thought to herself as she stayed alone in the room.
Shu went out of the inn and just walked alone in the darkness.
He felt like he wanted to be alone, but he was not that kind of person. The more he walked, the more the feeling he had grew.
********
Mary was angry at herself, confused by the situation, and unsure of her feelings.
She saw that fragment of the future where Shu was a broken old beastman.
Is she, being with him, the thing that caused it, or is it how to prevent it?
She went out to get a drink at whichever bar she found first.
"So, why are you not telling him your feelings?"
The demon god, Danniel, asked her out of nowhere.
She jumped out of fear and then sighed in relief.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"I'm talking about the fact that you have feelings for Shu and won't confess even if someone threatened the life of your father."
Danniel said with a casual tone.
"I don't."
Mary said, now in her head, because she had set foot in the bar.
"Sigh... I guess there's nothing I can do. At least don't get too drunk."
Danniel advised the girl.
Six hours later...
"So, you like me, ah?"
Mary heard Shu's voice and felt a warmth she hadn't felt in a long time.
'Hmm... Shu... Wait, Shu?!'
Mary suddenly opened her eyes.
"What's going on!"
Mary shouted as she jumped from her sleeping position.
"You were drunk, and some guys were hitting on you, so I told them to piss off. They weren't willing to, but then you told them I was your boyfriend. After we walked away, you clung to me and kept telling me that you liked me for a while and that you wanted us to date."
Shu explained, and she could see almost sadistic satisfaction on his face.
"And why was I sleeping on you?"
Mary asked, grasping at straws that there was any bit of dignity that she could keep.
"You passed out and were holding onto me, and by the time we reached the inn, it was closed, and I was too tired to do anything else, so I jumped on the roof and fell asleep."
Shu explained, and Mary felt so embarrassed that she thought he could probably see steam coming out of her head.
"So, you like me?"
Shu asked with the smuggest expression you could ever imagine.
"I don't know, Danny says I am, but I don't think so."
Mary answered.
They both sat there in silence, listening to the chirping birds, and by the time the others checked out from the inn, they were waiting at the entrance and looking happy.
"Why are you so happy? Are you two dating now?"
Alexander asked.
"I wonder."
Mary answered, and Alexander looked in Shu's direction to see if he could get a confirmation. But instead, he was greeted with a condescending expression mocking him for even suggesting that Shu would ruin this.
"Why don't you just tell him that the two of you are not dating?"
Danniel asked Mary, with a tone that made it clear he knew her answer, but he couldn't wait to hear it.
"It's more fun this way."
Mary answered in her head.
Most of the group walked behind this time. Only Shu and Mary walked in the front, and the two were talking and laughing. No one could figure out if they were dating or not.
It wasn't helping that Mary had Shu's ancestral sword tied to her belt.
"I'm sick of guessing."
Emilia said and walked to the front.
"So, Shu, would you date me?"
Emilia asked Shu with the most playful tone she could make and pushed herself onto him.
Shu shot a look at Mary and answered.
"No."
"So, why does she have the ancestral sword?"
Emilia asked. She could clearly see through the deception of these two.
"The real issue wasn't the code. It was the implications of what it meant."
Mary answered.
"Which is to say...?"
Emilia asked.
"It was the idea that he proposed to me that stressed me. Not the 'adventurer's code.' Even though I grew up as an adventurer, Armageddon was an adventurer with no honor, and he didn't care much for the code, so I was never taught to care too much. But I am not ready to date anyone, let alone get married, and with that perv? Ew."
Mary explained.
As they walked, they stumbled on a battalion of troops from Antony's army.
"Get out of the way!"
The soldiers shouted at them.
"Are you ready?"
Shu asked as he put on his mask and brass knuckles.
Mary unsheathed the ancestral sword with a swift motion. And flames appeared as a shockwave in the shape of a crescent moon that flew toward her enemies.
Those flames affected whoever she deemed her enemy, and their color was red.
The first two rows turned to ash, and Mary's eyes showed how excited she was to see how powerful she was with this weapon.
"That's dope! And to think you were about to reject this weapon."
Shí Hóu said as he jumped into the battle with his stave.
"You gotta admit, it does seem crazy to reject this sword."
Shu said to Mary as he ran into battle as well.
After ten minutes, they defeated an entire battalion of Antony's troops.