While Lenora would have preferred to spend the rest of the evening hiding in a hole, tucked into a fetal position, she didn't.
Instead, she pulled herself back up and stared at the mirror for a couple of minutes.
She was familiar with this room. She was familiar with the bed, the wardrobes, the unassuming walls, and dark ceiling. After all, she spent nearly all her free time here.
This is not the time to waste. It didn't matter if she was perceived as shameless or haughty or even downright unappealing, she had things she needed to do. Staying here and wasting time were not some of those things.
That being said… she couldn't just run outside in towels either.
Is that maid… that damn maid…. Frustrated, she walked out of her room. "You there," she addressed one of the soldiers.
"Yes, maam?"
"Strip."
"What?"
A bit thin for a soldier, but he was quite tall and held his spear with practiced hands. He wore a tight black leather shirt and pants, and chainmail on top.
"You heard me. Strip."
"Bu-but-"
"Strip!"
***
Smells… Lenora groaned and wanted to throw the clothes out. But that was not an option. It was either these worn clothes and armor, or the towels. Or her wet clothes.
She put them on. While they were a decent fit, the pants were larger than she anticipated and had to fold them at the end. She somehow tucked the leather shirt in, and put on the chain mail.
She looked like a child. A child wearing adult clothes.
Pungent, baggy yet tight; loose and uncomfortable, but for now, this had to do.
Sighing for one last time, she tried her best not to take in any of the aroma from the dress and move out. The soldier was still here and he was standing proud in his underwear. He did shiver every now and then though.
"I apologize for doing this but I'll return them washed later. And I will make it up somehow," she said, walking out.
Demons- scary people. Some even termed them monsters. And that these people were of the bloodthirsty bunch and were always looking to kill.
Yet, the soldier before her, was looking away with a faint blush. Was he that embarrassed? Lenora couldn't help but giggle. However, that giggle slowly faded as she realized that the man wasn't necessarily embarrassed of standing there like that. After all, he kept stealing glances at her, and particularly at her curves.
It took her a second but she understood it well enough. This was a man's dress and a man's armor. It wasn't made to fit her body. Which was why, while it made some parts of her look rather baggy, it emphasized some other parts that she might not have wanted to emphasize.
"Anyway," she derailed her thoughts and brought her mind back on the topic. As in, "Escort me to the backyard."
Lenora got three treasures from Alberto.
Cape of Xarx.
Ring of Ele.
Wand of San.
She'd used all three of them before. And she knew she couldn't live without them. But controlling these in her current body was going to be a chore. Precisely why she needed practice.
She was already practicing with the Ring of Ele.
As in, she kept the other relics within the ring. It took little mana to store and withdraw things from the ring and it was also the easiest of the three to use. She just needed the knowledge of how to- which she already possessed.
"This way," the guard said.
The other two, however, would require manual practice.
Lenora stared at the empty plains before her. A very… nostalgic feeling.
Behind her, the demon lord's castle stood on high ground. Black, made of wood, and just pointy. It sort of looked like a church, but at the same time, it sort of didn't. On first glance, most ordinary people would just assume it to be an abandoned building. The building itself was far larger on the inside than the outside but that was a different matter.
The backyard was just as bland as she remembered. When Lenora first came here and shut herself for a few days, she developed a longing for the outside. A longing that was shattered by the reality.
Orange sky, that bordered on crimson. Stale earth, devoid of green; almost like she was on mars. Endless plains of absolutely nothing; no trees, no animals, not even grass. And certainly, no civilization. They were in the literal middle of nowhere. What's worse, it smelled like ass. (Not literally)
Right now, the nothingness didn't bother her in the least.
It brought back a certain nostalgia but also a fear of sort. If I can't do this, it'll all repeat. And this time, she may not be able to come back a second time.
Gulping, Lenora focused and produced a cape from the ring. It just manifested from one point in a split second. A purple cape that attached to the wearer via a jewel. It mostly hung on the neck and covered the whole body, almost floating near the edges. It fit Lenora to a t. If Lenora was a bit taller, the cape would have still fit as it changed shapes based on the wearer.
Let's see… Up!
Mana trickled out of her and made way into the cape. "Ow!" A thump. She felt a thump from the ground. Like something had kicked her bottom. She lifted up a fair bit, but nothing more than a typical jump's worth.
But why my butt? Lenora might or might not have forgotten that the sacred treasures all bore will of their own and the cape in particular was sort of degenerate in nature.
She sighed, but didn't give up. It was just the first time. She still had the rest of the evening.
And she was going to figure this out.
Probably.