Shower and head out.

You let the water fall over your body within the shower stall. It's ultimately uneventful, but it relaxes your muscles and gives you some time to think about everything that's transpired over the last couple days. Amara, Snow, Alice, Niki, and Jelly are out there somewhere roughing up some criminals for any information you can use. You're not even certain if you can find them, though you did say the Way Inn could be a meeting place if need be. They haven't showed up at the academy, so perhaps everything is fine. They're troublesome girls, but it's also a tough team to take down.

The cool air of morning is refreshing against your wet brown hair. It's certainly somewhere around summer time. Given the climate, you don't feel like this is the sort of empire to become a snowy wonderland come winter time, though you wonder what it's like. Eva might actually need to put on something new.

Speaking of Eva, she's standing up ahead on the side of the path by herself--skirt wafting in the breeze. You walk up to her, and she turns to meet your entrance with a smile.

"So we just come back tomorrow, right?" she asks.

"That's right. If all goes well, when we return to Lady Sulta tomorrow, she'll have information on how to weaken the Demon King. Man. All this extra work just because I managed to lose that stupid amulet."

"Don't say that. If he didn't get it from you then, he would have just pushed even harder, and one of us could have been killed."

"I guess you're right. And maybe this'll give us the element of surprise."

"Davella won't be able to report back at least."

"I can't believe this is really happening... What happens when we find his weakness? We find and raid his lair? That's too much to think about. I don't feel like we've come far enough to be reaching the Demon King already. At level 7?"

"Oh, I levelled up too!" Eva exclaims. "I'm still behind you by a single level though. I wonder if I'll ever surpass you. Then I'll become the new party leader."

"Is that how that works? I thought you all elected me."

"And Ms. Labing said she wanted to give me a gift! Apparently it's a cute new outfit. I have been wearing this same thing for a long time, I guess."

"I thought she already gave you one."

Once again, Eva blushes. "I'm n-not wearing that!"

"And you got that sweet new magic item too." You look down at the hilt of your blade. "I know I have a couple already, but it'd be cool to have more..."

"You sword is neat though. It glows! It doesn't do anything else though, right?"

You purse your lips and look away. "Well, this is kind of embarrassing to say, but it has a pretty stupid power in reality. It actually only glows when it detects someone nearby who's aroused."

She says nothing for a moment. "Don't make fun of me!"

"I wish I was joking!"

Her eyes peer down at the sword, and then she looks at you. Suddenly, a smirk forms on her face, and she moves a hand up to her lips to hide her snickering.

"Don't laugh at me," you say.

"I'm... n-not," she mumbles.

"The ring is cool at least!"

She can't contain it any longer, and burst into a fit of laughter. "It sure is, you pervert!"

I didn't make the weapon, damn it. "Can we just get moving now?"

"Yes, yes. Come on. Let's see if they've come back to the inn at all."

You turn to see a couple students looking right at your direction and whispering to each other. When they notice you look back, they get embarrassed and turn away. They start quickly walking the other direction in hopes of still appearing nonchalant. You unfortunately don't have the hearing to know what they were saying, but when you turn back to Eva, you can see her face as red as a tomato.

She puts her hands over her face and turns away.

"You all right?" you ask and put a hand on her shoulder.

She peeks an eye back to you. "I guess... we were a little noisy," she struggles to say.