"It doesn't matter who's prettier or attracts more guys among us!" Katrina embraced Vina and patted her head, "We are all friends, and that won't change anything."
"Cough, I'll still find a way to use this," Vina detached herself from the princess and left the bathroom. "Well, we've been here long enough. By the way, Yuki, what should we wear while our clothes are being cleaned?"
"Oh, I can offer you suitable yukatas. They will be comfortable, and your clothes will be ready in a couple of hours."
After bathing, the girls headed towards the exit.
"Phew, we almost didn't notice," I said with relief, stepping away from the partition. "Well, at least they found something to do in there."
"And they ranked Liri so low," Algo clenched his fists angrily.
"In my opinion, it was fair," Werner nodded contentedly.
"Yeah, of course he's satisfied," I shrugged, theatrically raising my hands. "Let's go too, or they might suspect something."
We gathered at the exit, but I noticed a faint movement in the far corner. Carefully sticking to the wall to remain out of sight, I approached three holes in the fence. It was strange that they were on the men's side, but just in case, I listened.
"Hehe, Grain-sama..."
"Yes, he's quite well-built. I love strong men."
"Hey, we're supposed to be guarding the perimeter so they don't peek at us, not the other way around."
"Oh come on, you're interested too."
Oh, those... I quietly approached the openings and knocked on the wall.
"Kyaaya, they noticed us!" The girls tried to escape, but I called out to them.
"Halt! Did you do what I asked?"
"Eh? Krito-sama..." The three girls exchanged glances. "Yes, we and Liri set up traps, as you instructed, but are you sure the slope can hold?"
"If Liri took it seriously, then it should," I stepped away from the openings and walked towards the changing room, but first added, "Sigh, peeking is not nice!"
The three figures blushed and hurriedly ran away from the bathing area.
At the exit, an unusual set of clothing awaited us. The local kimonos were difficult to put on, and without Hiren's help, we wouldn't have managed. Judging by the banging and falls from the other side, the girls also encountered some challenges with dressing in the local attire. But the result was worth it; the girls looked stunning in the bright kimonos, although they moved somewhat clumsily in them. Seleria was the only one dissatisfied.
"Hmm, Yuki, don't you have something more comfortable? Princess Seleria tried to free her hands, but the long sleeves restricted her movements."
"Well, we only have this kind of clothing and shinobi attire, but I don't think..." Yuki began.
"Here! This is what I prefer. Unlike the others, I'll still have to ride in this," Seleria hugged the shinobi leader and nudged her towards the warehouse with clothes.
"You all look beautiful," I gave an embarrassed look to Katrina in her yellow kimono. Her hair was no longer strained, gathered together with several hairpins, and only the belt with a gold plate stood out against the unfamiliar attire. Other girls were also dressed in kimonos of suitable colors. They all looked very elegant, and Rizel, in her silvery kimono and with such a beautiful braid, resembled a mythical creature from fairy tales.
"Hmm, seems to impress the guys," Vina, rolling up her long sleeves, happily rubbed her chin. "Maybe we should include these in the cafe's attire. The guys would like it."
As always, the girl was only thinking about profit, but it was not the time to relax yet. I had already warned everyone to drink as little as possible and, as soon as our clothes were ready, to change into them quickly.
In the center of the square, in front of the gates, tables were set with treats for all the inhabitants. Although provisions were their top concern, they wanted to celebrate getting rid of the monster at any cost. The clan greeted us with enthusiastic applause, and Yuki stepped forward to deliver a solemn speech.
"People of the Yukitori Clan, welcome our heroes!" The crowd erupted into applause. "These brave young men and women saved us from ancient evil that threatened the entire world. What thousands of our best warriors couldn't achieve, these courageous heroes accomplished. And leading them into battle was..."
The girl looked at her sister with sadness and hope. There were skeptical murmurs in the crowd, and fellow clan members were not yet ready to forgive the warrior, but Yuki wanted them to understand her.
"Leading them into battle was our finest warrior and my sister, Asura. Yes, she broke our clan's rules and went to foreign lands to study at the Academy. But she did it for the sake of the clan; she found loyal friends and reliable allies there who saved all of us. I don't want our foolish laws to prevent me from embracing my sister, who protected us regardless of our feelings!" Yuki finished and rushed towards her sister. She embraced Asura, and the crowd greeted it with hesitant applause.
The table was not overflowing with food, but there was clearly more than the clan's inhabitants had seen in the last few months. Ragni wanted to dig into the food right away, but I stopped her. These were probably the last supplies of the clan, as they would be leaving the fortress after this night.
They seated us at the head of the central table, and the celebration began. Amidst peaceful music, the fortress's inhabitants mingled with each other. Three familiar girls tried to surround Grain again, but every time they approached him, unknown underground pushes pushed them back. Vina was trying to negotiate the purchase of a batch of kimonos for the cafe. And inconspicuously, one shinobi sat down next to us.
The girl in a black suit took a seat gracefully. A semi-transparent mesh clung to her tanned skin, and the black silk outfit with a deep neckline was clearly too small for her. She covered her head and face with a neatly tied black mask.
"Umm, Seleria?" Even though she concealed her face, among the shinobi, there was no one with tanned skin and red eyes.
"Acha, busted so quickly. I hoped you wouldn't figure it out right away," the princess removed her mask. Her red hair was gathered in a neat bun, so it didn't protrude under the mask.
"Well, it's hard not to recognize you," Vina stared at the girl's chest. "Hardly anyone around here would have your cup size."
"What can I do!" Seleria blushed and tried to hide from the merchant's gaze, but she couldn't fully succeed. Indeed, the local girls had remarkably slim figures.
"Mmm, " Vina made blissful sounds. "We should buy several sets of such costumes. Hehehe."
The girls looked at the merchant with caution; her ideas usually led to even more embarrassing moments.
After a while, I moved closer to Kageyuki.
"Hey, clan leader, care to share your plans for the future?" Thanks to my advice, none of the warriors were drinking, so we could talk properly.
"The dragon is dead, we are free..." Yuki lowered her eyes sadly. "But it's unlikely to change anything. We won't be able to return to our lands; the baron will continue to hunt us down. Besides, there's nothing left for us there. The best course of action is to leave these lands."
"Be careful; the baron must have already learned about his big ally's death and will block all exits from the province."
"They might come to us," Hilda overheard our conversation. "Whatever happens here, your clan is a legend for the northern peoples. My father will be happy to welcome you, and no demands from the Veranian nobles will make him give you up."
"Thank you," Yuki smiled warmly at the princess. "Then I think there will be no objections if we head north."
"Cough, Krito," Kurone nudged me from the other side. "The shadows that were following us. Looks like they're back."
"That means I was right. Whoever they are, they are preparing for an attack," I signaled to the others. "Yuki, I hope our clothes are ready."
"You're planning to leave?" At first, the shinobi was surprised but understood the reason for my concern.
"Tell your people to be prepared; we will also need to get ready." We entered the main building where our uniforms were already prepared.
"Seleria, are you going to wear that?" The girl followed us wearing shinobi attire.
"Well, you guys are going to fight, and fighting in these robes is impossible."
"But won't it hinder you?" Her attire was too loose for her figure.
"Well, it's not the most unusual outfit I've fought in." Seleria was already used to the revealing clothing of eastern warriors and moved gracefully and silently in it.
"But will you be able to fight in this condition?" I worried about her well-being. Even if she used the power of earth flames, the crimson fire still required a bit of her blood.
"Well, it's hard to say," Seleria extended her hand and focused on the tip of her index finger. Sweat formed on her forehead from the effort, but all she could produce couldn't compare even to the flame of a candle. "I've used up almost all my mana. Thanks to the dragon's blood, I managed to survive, but I'll need a few more days to fully recover."
"Then maybe you should stay?" Kat hugged her friend. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Don't worry; I can defend myself even without magic," Seleria turned to Yuki. "Can I borrow a couple of kunai from you?"
"They're kunai, but they're meant for throwing. Are you sure two will be enough?" Yuki handed the princess two knives from her waist bag.
"Yes, if they're the ones I'm thinking of, this will be enough," Seleria smirked and adjusted the mask on her face, fully concealing it from others.
"Krito, the shadows are dispersing. Now I can see this entire army. There are many more people gathered here than in the baron's guard."
"Let's go to the courtyard; we need to lead the residents to safety."