"Oh, and one other thing," Plutia said softly, finishing her drink. "You've been getting special treatment of sorts because of your righteous actions, but you managed to build up enough divinity to properly be at the level of using tier 3 miracles now congratulations." She stood up and we followed her out.
"Keeping the bandits alive, and rescuing as well as caring for Mochi, were all big contributions to that end, regardless of reasoning. You won't be getting special treatment anymore though. Or more accurately I can't give it to you anymore."
"Right… Special treatment like punching me in the stomach when I try to leave instead of helping… I'm not sure it counts as righteous action if I'm really just being pressured into doing it."
She sighed, rolling her eyes, and after staring at me for a moment she bounced forward, wrapping her arms around me. "Why are you always like this…"
"I should be asking you that…" I growled.
She let go and stepped back, looking at me again as if I had somehow turned into a rabbit. Raising her hand along with one of her eyebrows she measured my height compared to hers and only seemed more confused. "You're still short. But something different."
'She seriously didn't notice? I'm not even sure how to answer that… I mean… What's the most obvious change? She can't see my scars through my clothes, my hair is healthier, but similar. "I guess, my skin is smoother and stuff… Is that what you mean? I am a couple of inches taller too."
"No, that's not it."
I put my hands in my pockets glancing at Mochi who just shrugged. 'Mochi never saw my original body, so she wouldn't know… But she isn't going to drop this till she figures it out…' "My chest got bigger too, is that what you mean?"
"No, it's pretty much the same…"
My body stiffened slightly. 'She's saying… I look that same?'
"What? But you're chest is supper small now." Mochi leaned out from my side and stepped over next to Plutia copying after her as they inspected me with their eyes.
'I don't want to hear that from a girl that looks like an 8-year-old…' I folded my arms with a growl. "What then, come on, what is it?" 'although it makes sense she'd think that comparing it to before…'
Plutia turned to Mochi and whispered. "What do you mean small now?"
"Oh, they used to be super huge, bigger than yours, all the guys thought they were really pretty, they wouldn't stop talking about her."
'Maybe I should have killed them after all…'
"Oho? What kinds of things did they say about her?"
Mochi lightly placed a finger against her chin, tilting her head. Uhm, you know, like how her body was amazing, and they would cut off their left arm if it meant they could be with her.
'Cutting off a limb… Seriously?' I let out a sigh of relief. 'Honestly, I was a little worried about what might come out of her mouth… Asking someone what they overheard bandits say about a girl they desire seems like a dangerous question…' I shook my head, looking down the street. 'There is still some time left today… We shouldn't be supper far away from the Blackstone Forge guild tower. Maybe I can get the materials I need. Let's see, my enchanting has gotten better, with practice I bet I could refine Azure steal into Vethrian steal, I just need to purchase some busted-up equipment and melt it down. That's usually cheaper since I save them the trouble of scraping it themselves. Although It's tricky melting down steal because I have to re-balance the carbon…'
"Yeah, apparently there was a hole in her door, but she always changed off to the side so no one got to see them."
"What?" my voice cracked as they just kept going.
"I'm still jealous, it would have been fun to see her like that, a cold battle-hardened warrior with nothing to cover her bountiful femininity but a single piece of cloth. So cool!
"What the heck are you saying!"
"Hm… I'm kinda curious about what they looked like, is it just like a really big muscle? Can you do the thing guys do that makes it bounce?" She suddenly paused and they both stared at me "Why is her face red?" Mochi asked.
"You two are such…"
"She must be thinking about it. I can see it now, the fearsome warrior all battered, her clothes torn from the treacherous battle, and after she wins by a hair a dashing knight offers her his cloak and carries her to safety!"
'Such children…' "What are you even saying…" I grumbled, tightening my arms around myself.
Mochi gasped. "How did you know about that?"
"Know about…" I mumbled. "What? So that really happened?" My voice cracked again. "But I thought…"
"I know the dashing knight." She smirked, putting her hands on her hips and sticking out her chest. "He told me everything, after healing her he wrapped her up in his cloak to make sure she was covered while they carried her through town after he healed her."
'My clothes? And… But wait, I thought Lola… She can't use healing magic though… So was it that blond knight that was with her? I really should have asked more about what happened…'
"Her face is even more red now, does that mean something happened after that?"
Plutia smiled mischievously. "Oh, I wonder…" She suddenly chuckled, grabbing some of my hair. "Ah! That's it, your hair is longer than it used to be. That's what I was noticing. And on that note, gotta go bye!"
"PLUTIA!" I shouted, taking a few steps behind her before I stopped. "She was talking so loudly… In the middle of the street…" I whined. 'And she somehow always knows right when I'm about to snap and jumps away…'
Mochi suddenly grabbed my hand again as if worried I'd leave her behind. "S-sorry… We weren't trying to make you mad…"
In an instant I felt calm again, all it took was one look at her worried face. "It's fine, I'm not mad at you…" I sighed, looking around at all the people staring at me. 'But how am I supposed to show my face now… The craziest part about this is that she's so immature she doesn't even know what she just implied… Me… With a holly knight? And us… Together?' I took a deep breath to calm my mind. It didn't exactly work… But it was enough for me to get moving to our next destination and as I walked I eventually felt the heat drain from my face again and my heart rate began to slow. 'Why me… I'll need to be on guard more when Mochi is around Plutia… Or she'll pick up bad habits… Shouldn't it be the other way around? Ugh…'
"Are you sure you're not mad?"
I sighed again, shaking my head and smiling once we were alone again. "Yeah well… A cheerful heart is good medicine, right? I'll be fine. Just a little embarrassed was all."
"Hm… You were super cool though…"
'Even if I was mad… I doubt I'd be able to stay that way for long… Honestly, this girl should be the saint…'