~Ashley~

I leaned back on the patio and basked in the late morning sun with my hands behind my head. My belly was full to the point of bursting with the tastiest food I had ever eaten. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sara giving me the stink eye while glancing back and forth between me and my feet propped up on the table. I tried my best to hide my smile and simply closed my eyes in apparent ignorance and quickly started nodding off. Unfortunately, my nap was prematurely interrupted as Sara took it upon herself to knock my legs off the table, I even stubbed my toe in the process.

“Ouch!” I yelped in exaggerated pain. I was about to complain about the physical abuse, which was totally unwarranted; however, my chair, which I had balanced precariously on two legs, started tipping over.

“Eek!” I squealed and braced myself. With eyes closed tight with one hand stretched out to protect my head and the other over my eyes in a dramatic pose, I awaited my impending doom.

Before I crashed to the floor, which would surely result in my untimely demise, the falling stopped. I opened my eyes to find Avery’s outstretched leg between the back of my chair and the floorboards below.

“My hero!” I praised with fluttering eyes and hands crossed over my heart. I looked extra cute, if I say so myself. Pointing an accusing finger at Sara, I pleaded to my knight lacking armour, “That vile woman assaulted me in my slumber, such a treacherous guardian! You must slay her to save me.”

Sara made an extra rude gesture, “Next time you might act like a lady instead of some ruffian, humph!”

“Oh no,” Hellen spoke in mock horror, “I’ll have to look over you very thoroughly for injuries.”

Lisa rolled her eyes before standing up to leave. “I need to report to my father. Gotta inform him of the trip. Sigh. He’ll probably make a big fuss about it but mother will glare at him until he agrees.”

“I’ll walk with you part-way,” Sara said, “I need to report the details of the expedition to the Budding Order and get their official seal of approval before we can leave.”

As the two left, I reclaimed my rightful place by returning my feet to the table, even though I was now lying on the floor. I closed my eyes, content to resume my nap with a slight smile on my lips as Hellen stroked her fingers up my legs. She had to check for injuries, after all.

Unfortunately, my savior had other plans.

“Come along you two,” Avery waved and started walking away without even waiting for me to climb up.

“That’s not how you rescue a damsel in distress!” I pouted, before hurrying with Hellen to catch up to his quickly departing figure.

Hellen and I walked through the streets with locked arms as we followed behind Avery. So far, I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this young master. He was a quiet observer for the most part and only interacted with their group when there was a purpose. She would have thought the young man was just shy but his actions in the bath proved it was nothing of the sort. Perhaps he thought having a skilled tongue was enough to steal her heart away?

Regardless, I enjoyed Hellens company and needed to make sure the mischievous flower was a permanent part of the package. If so, it might be enough of a treat to win me over, as long as I kept getting to go on adventures.

“So, where exactly are we going?” I asked, realizing we had wandered into an unfamiliar part of the city.

“We need to get supplies for the trip.” Hellen answered.

“What exactly do we need?”

Avery turned and eyed me up and down with a playful smirk, “Clothes for one. Multiple sets most likely. You also lack proper armor and weaponry. In addition, we should have your rank evaluated before we leave for the trip. It will help to have some experience on file when you apply for leave on your next adventure.”

Looking down, I realized I hadn't bothered getting dressed. It’s a very minor offence that most people overlook, especially when outside of the areas with high human density. Still, I scrunched my brow in confusion. Normally some nosy guard would have pestered me about it by now.

Hellen poked my nose, causing me to go cross-eyed for a moment.

“It’s nice following around a bigshot noble, isn’t it?” she teased.

As the realization dawned on me, I pulled Hellen up to Avery and yanked him into the middle of our group, linking his arms to our chain.

I walked through the streets with my chest puffed out and my nose turned slightly up. Anytime a guard eyed me, I stuck my tongue out and pulled Avery closer. Hellen noticed my shenanigans and giggled each time. Soon we started tugging the noble back and forth as if fighting over a toy.

“Well, if you both want me close so badly I can only accommodate,” Avery proudly declared and put his arms around both our waists before pulling us close. Behind his back, Hellen’s interlocked her fingers with mine.

As we walked, we received numerous odd looks. Some even pointed fingers, but I was enjoying my newfound freedom and easily disregarded the attention of others. As I heard the hushed whispers that discussed the lecherous Avery Necime forcing his newest mistress to strut around nude, I couldn’t help but giggle. Some thought he was challenging other young masters by showing his ability to get women, others argued it was a statement about being above the guard's notice. Looking up, I saw the corner of Avery’s lip twitch in amusement as he watched my antics. I stuck my tongue out at him. He was cute when trying to hide his smile.

“Here we are,” Avery said, gesturing to a storefront.

The building was relatively small, with several other sheds tightly packed around it. If it wasn’t for the clanking of hammers hitting metal and the stench of freshly tanned leather, I would have thought the place was a cluster of slums. Looking up, the sign read: ‘The Blood Shed’

Walking inside, I saw the building tightly packed with racks of weapons and armor. As I gaped at the arsenal on display, I nearly bumped my head into the butt of a halberd hanging from the rafters. I couldn’t help but wonder if it's their customer’s blood they are trying to shed.

I wandered off in my search for something interesting and stumbled upon a section filled with stacks of illustrations for equipment designed for more exotic equipment.

After a few seconds of flipping through papers, I started looking at a drawing of an oddly shaped bladed armor that was made to bend freely in any direction.

Is this made for some tentacle creature? I wondered.

I looked over the documents and saw numerous variations on the designs, including one that replaced the blades of the head of a war hammer instead. The last page had a few lines that finally shed some light on the design's purpose.

Apparently the item was called a snout gauntlet and designed for a race of creatures called Trux. A drawing showed a herd of elephant-like creatures charging into a pack of demonic beasts while swinging an armored truck with an axe attached.

The Trux walk on all fours and at first glance they might be confused as a beast; however, they are a sentient species. They lack the dexterity provided by hands; as a result, they mostly rely on others to craft their items. Many tribes of Trux travel as merchant caravans through long stretches of the wildlands without need of packed provisions because they are capable of eating nearly any vegetation. Few would dare attack the herds of creatures their size, so many other species pay generously to travel with them for added safety.

I was pulled out of my reverie, literally, when Hellen jerked me away from the display. My pouting only caused her to stick out her tongue as she dragged me back to their group. I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw the weapons available.

There were spears, axes, maces, and swords. Lots and lots of swords, at least twice as many as all the other weapons combined. I didn’t have anything against these weapons, but I wanted something exciting, exotic, and fun!

“I doubt you have any proper training,” Avery commented, “Do you have a preference?”

I gave the weapons a second glance and scrunched up my nose, “Is there anything less… normal?”

“Are you planning to grow an elephant trunk?” Hellen snickered, “If not, you’ll have to use normal weapons like the rest of us.”

“You would need adequate mastery over some type of magic for anything special. Just think of this as a temporary weapon. I’ll get you something nicer when you get more powerful,” Avery promised.

I considered the weapons more critically before settling on a metallic whip with numerous attached fangs. It looked like it would be fun to learn and would have some purpose outside of combat. As she examined the item, a store clerk spoke.

“That's the hundred Feng Braid. It contains the fangs of multiple beasts; including wolves, tigers, and serpents. A portion of each beast's essence was used in the forging process, so aspects of poison and swiftness are embowed within. The cord was woven using needles gathered from the prime trees, increasing its toxicity and lightning affinity. Plus, if chosen by the weapon, it might allow some degree of mental control over the weapon itself.”

My eyes lit up as my hand shot out to grab the weapon, but Avery was faster and blocked my path.

“Even basic armour would stop a whip. Besides, how would you use this in a forest where it would get snagged on every branch and vine? Even in an alleyway this would be nearly useless.”

I sighed before moving on to look at the boring weapons—those commonly chosen by others. My eyes widened once more as they landed on a pair of beautiful jeweled daggers with curved blades. As I reached for them, Avery blocked her yet again.

“You already have claws for close range. With a bit of body cultivation, they will be far more deadly than this florid scrap iron.”

I let out a growl of annoyance, but trusted he was right. I had heard of people strengthening themselves through mystical means and was sure my infernal bloodline would help somehow, but the orphanage wasn’t the best place to learn these things. Still, it was frustrating.

Hellen reached out, offering the hilt of a mace with a wide smile. I glared at Avery with scepticism before accepting the weapon to look it over.

The total length of the mace was around 120 cm. (4 feet). The business end divided into two halves; one flanged while the other a spike resembling a large thorn. The shaft was entirely metal, with intricate designs of two spiraling trees and other floral patterns running its length. The grip resembled a grassy meadow billowing in the wind and ended in a blunted triangle designed to look like a metallic stone pillar.

I waved around the hefty weapon to get a feel for the weight. It was a bit heavy, but I could shift my arms a bit more to add some extra muscle. Besides, surely body cultivation would make me stronger. As she looked it over, the salesman started his pitch.

“This fine weapon was forged with an alloy of abyssal steel, allowing its bond to alter its weight to a limited degree. The artistic depictions aren’t just for show either; they were first engraved before being filled with alchemically treated bronze, silver, and greenthorn. These enchantments will help reduce fatigue and increase muscle recovery. Many use this not just for battle but also for training, as you won’t wake up nearly as sore the next morning. Despite the obvious quality, this item can be yours for only forty-five hundred petals.”

I blinked, “Is that a lot?” I had no idea what weapons went for, I only knew food stalls sold their skewers for five to ten petals.

Avery shook her head, “Not really, in fact for a high-quality weapon I would expect to pay twice that much. What’s the catch?”

“Well, the abyssal steel was purchased through a third party,” the clerk explained, “Its exact alloy can’t be determined by any of our smiths. Of course we gave a few tests to make sure it could give a good pounding, but few who can afford a weapon like this will gamble on an unknown metal.”

Avery glanced at the mace one more time before nodding with a slight smile. “I think I’ll take that bet. Now it's time for clothes and armour.”

“I’m fine with just my fur, I don’t need–Ouch!”

Hellen was giggling after giving Ashley a light swat with the flat of her blade.

Spinning around, I glared and shook my new mace menacingly, but Hellen just stuck out her tongue from behind a shield that she picked out for herself.

I felt a sharp pain on my rear and quickly spun around again to find Avery quickly retracting her hand, holding a long thorn-like dagger. I saw the traitor smiling mischievously for just a second as he turned away to act like nothing happened. I let out a low growl of anger, despite having a grin on my face as well. I enjoyed the teasing, but I will get my vengeance!

Our fun was interrupted when the shop clerk loudly cleared his throat. “Ahem, we have a training field outside if you wish to test your new equipment.”

With blushed faces, the trio went back to their shopping. Hellen and Avery forced me to get clothes for the journey, mostly by throwing them at me despite my protests.

In the end they equipped me with a mace, spear, shield, and some chain armor. Avery bought me a few cute tunics as well, but they were too hot and it's annoying to take on and off. I refused to wear them around town, especially now that I have a noble to scare the guards away.

Hellen also had her gear improved by adding a shield and sword, both made from living ironwood. Using nature magic, she could make the wood change shape at will. The sword was grown using a secret technique of the Necime family, allowing the wood to absorb the properties of different alchemical baths. She sang praises of its versatility as we left the store and started our journey to the combatant’s corridor where my examination would take place.