Rejoin the party.

After coming down the stairway, you reenter the main tavern area of the Hungry Cyclops with Time following behind. It isn't much different than when you left it. Both Eva and Niki are sitting by the fire with a bowl of fruit next to nearly emptied mugs. They seem happy, especially just to spend time with one another and chat. They may bicker at times, but it's all in good fun. All your allies care deeply for each other, just as you do them.

Time runs a finger down through your hair. "I'm going to head out for now, Hero King."

"Thanks for everything. You made accepting the quest more thrilling than the quest usually is."

She smirks. "Anytime. Now you be safe, all right? Good luck."

"I will, and thank you. I'm sure we'll meet again."

The two of you part ways for now. You march across the room and towards your allies. Both Eva and Niki turns their heads in tandem and welcome your arrival. Not far from them, Xiaoqing and Snow lean on the wall beyond the fireplace. The latter turns first, looking to you just as she touches her tongue to the top of a freshly peeled banana. Xiaoqing smiles and waves.

"Looks like you all found some tasty snacks, huh?" you comment.

"And they were on the house!" Eva exclaims. "Guess it pays to know people."

Niki nudges her with an elbow.

Quickly, the bunny covers her mouth. "Uhm. I mean, we paid for them."

You stare at Niki, and the longer you do, the more nervous she gets.

Finally she blurts out, "All right! I was gonna pocket the coins you gave me. I'm a terrible person!"

"You're not quite the rogue you wish you were," you say with a chuckle. Then you hold out your hand and await a return of payment.

Niki stands and awkwardly shuffles around her breastplate. "Uhm. I can't--Haha. This is awkward. I slipped them all inside, but they're stuck in there now."

"Guess you'll have to take it off!" Eva shouts.

"Not so loud..." With a grumble, she undoes the straps of her armour. As soon as it looks, she pays out like a slot machine. The coins fall out to the carpet below. She gives her breasts a shake, and one more, stuck to her skin, catches up to the rest. "Th-There we go."

Eva crawls down onto the floor to recover them, though her attire nearly betrays her as she does. "Sorry about that, Kyle. Just having a bit of fun is all."

"It's fine, it's fine. But where's Amara?" you ask.

"She really had to pee," says Niki as she puts her top back into place.

You notice Snow reach for her blade as her eyes dart past you. It causes you to turn in alarm, and as you do, your Kitty Senses tingle. Amara is not far from the counter on the opposite side of the room, though there's something wrong. A man you don't recognized is interacting with her in some way, and the conversation doesn't feel mutual. You can't quite make out the words through the chatter of the room, but that's not required. You know when Amara is uncomfortable.

Eva's ears twitch. "He's insisting that Amara is on the menu."

You look to the bunny. "Hold my hand."

"Wh-What?" She stands and takes hold.

Then the second she does, you say the command word, "Shuffle."

In a flash, both you and Amara switch places. She's safely being held by Eva, while you now stand face-to-face with the creep who wouldn't leave her alone.

"Shit!" The man nearly wets his pants upon the sudden appearance of an intimidating, cloaked figure. He stumbles back, tripping over the leg of a table. He crashes to the ground. Then in a scramble, he pulls himself back up quickly and looks like he's more than ready to scrap. "You some kinda fucking wizard? Bring that hot blonde back over here."

Without even waiting for you to say anything, he throws the first punch.

You catch his fist in your palm. "Well now I'm glad they put people's names in that book," you say calmly. "You're right about one thing. She is hot. But everything else in your life is wrong. So get lost before you disturb the patrons even more."

"Or what, huh?"

"You have no spatial awareness at all." Somehow, from the tone of those words, you strike him deeply with fear.

He looks nervously around him. First, right behind where he stands, he notices a terrifying sunheart warrior with piercing red eyes. Nearby stands a chilling woman with pale blue hair and a strange hat. The elf he tried to harass holds the hand of a bunnyfolk grasping an ornate orange wand. Then farther into the shadows, he spots the glint of an arrowhead, and the focused stare of a catfolk a half second away from releasing a shot that would pierce between his eyes.

"Oh... Oh fuck," he mutters in a panic. When he tries to run, he simply bounces off Niki's unmoving body and falls again to the ground.

Then at a rapid pace, the devil from behind the counter not only launches himself smoothly over the counter top, but sprints to the altercation with blinding speed. His finely polished shoe presses down on the rude man's chest and he looks to you with genuine sincerity in his eyes. "I am deeply sorry it took me this long. Of course the moment I step away is the rare time a despicable man has the balls to try something, though that's merely an excuse."

"It is all right," speaks Amara as she approaches. "The man did not affect me at all. Though I am deeply moved by the actions of the Hero King." She looks to you with a warm, blushing smile. Then unable to hold in her joy, she giggles and hurries into your arms. "These rings are incredibly useful, yes?"

"Guys like that kinda ruin the whole reputation of these establishments," Niki comments.

Eva nods. "Yeah. And you literally pay people to have sex with you here. Why are you hitting on one of the few people who won't? Some people are so stupid."

The bartender lifts the man from the ground and delivers a precision chop to his shoulder blade. It knocks him clean out. Then he lifts him over his shoulder with ease and gives you a nod. "Thank you for not covering these floors in blood. It's terrible to clean. I have no doubts you could have ended this man in an instant, even without your entourage. We get all sorts of... I'll say, powerful folks, in places like ours. I could tell straight away. But you... You're different than some leader of a criminal gang, or something of the like. This ending aside, I hope you enjoyed your stay at the Hungry Cyclops. We'll be happy to service you again."

"I did," you say with a smile.

"Five star on Google," Xiaoqing jests.

"Nobody's going to understand that but me."

Eva looks to you with determination. "No! I totally get it."

"Oh do you now? Because it's very specifically from Earth."

"Yeah but--" She swallows nervously, caught in her lie. "I remember everything you've told me about Earth, so I can probably piece it together."

Snow steps up close beside you and whispers, "If you have what you need, we should depart. Like the bartender said, powerful people frequent places like brothels. I knew it would happen eventually, but I'm sure every action you take puts some sort of a target on your head."

You nod. "Let's head out, everyone. We've got our quest. Time to adventure."

"Yahoo!" Niki claps her hands together with a booming slap. "Finally. My stomach is happy, and now I get to beat up skeletons, or slimes, or hobgoblins, or something like that. This is gonna be a good day."