A sage sent by an overlord.

“Oh,” the newcomer said, a sage colored with various reds, oranges, and whites. She had a lollipop in her mouth, and she seemed to swap it from side to side in thought once she laid eyes on the two residents of the floating rock.

“Hello there,” Traitor greeted amiably.

The sage blinked, “Did you just not say ‘dood’?” It had quite literally been centuries since Sigma had considered how odd that was, and he had never asked his companion why she didn’t, but also suspected that she wouldn’t remember anyway. In their conversations with each other, it had been revealed at some point that she hadn’t started as a prinny, whatever she truly was before, so Sigma suspected her not using the typical speaking pattern was a result of that.

“Uh,” Traitor began but seemed to be floundering.

“I’ve had her drop the act,” Sigma said, stepping in for his friend, “we’ve been stuck here together for a long time, and it got old pretty quick.”

“Oh,” the sage nodded.

“I’m Sigma, by the way, and this is Traitor. Don’t let the name fool you, she’s nice, I promise.”

“I am Iris the Phoenix,” the newcomer replied.

“Are you an outsider?” Traitor asked.

Iris nodded, “I am, and I believe you are the two innocents my overlord is looking for.”

Sigma stood up, his full height still being quite short, and smiled at Iris, “If you’re here to get us out, that would be greatly appreciated. I don’t really know how I got here, but I know I’m not from the item world originally. I also know that one can only count stars so many times before one needs something else to count.”

“Same here,” Traitor agreed.

Iris seemed to blush for a moment, for a reason that Sigma couldn’t quite identify, then she asked, “Did you say your name was ‘Sigma’?”

“Yep.”

“Are… are you aware of what item you’re inside of right now?”

“No,” but he did know, and knew why she asked.

Traitor also knew and remained quiet.

Iris was quiet for a moment, “I suppose it will be easier to just show you. Come on then, let’s get out of here.”

“Are we really leaving?” Traitor asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Iris replied as she walked back toward the base panel, “I can’t guarantee what’ll happen once you’re out, but you’ll get out. I wouldn’t be worried, though, my overlord is pretty laid-back. Plus, you’re…” she stopped herself, blushing again for some reason, “… nevermind. Just don’t worry about it.”

Sigma stroked his chin thoughtfully at her reaction, turned to Traitor and shrugged, then began following her. They stepped out of the item world and emerged back into the real world in a flash of bright light.

They had emerged into what looked like some sort of armory with a multitude of weapons and equipment stocked throughout the many shelves. They appeared next to a pedestal which was holding an item that was mildly embarrassing for Sigma. It was his own pair of purple boxer briefs.

“So… these are yours?” Iris asked, her slight blush evident.

Sigma did not reply, but nodded sheepishly, blushing as well. From beside him, Traitor let out a small giggle.

“I… see. They’re cute,” she concluded then snatched them up and walked toward a door that exited into a corridor. “Come on.”

Once the shame had subsided, Sigma couldn’t help but grin.

He was hit with a sudden and refreshing wave of nostalgia. This was a place he recognized from a long-distant past. Though there were subtle differences that only time and age could account for, it was largely the same. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the very place he had been sealed away one-thousand years ago. This meant even though a millennium had passed, he was still on the same netherworld, a place he knew by the name of Zeldias.

In the interest of keeping the past behind him, however, he would act as though he did not know this. Dwelling on that for even a bare second made him remember how gruesome and bloody those times were. He found himself suddenly worried that he may be dragged into something like that again, especially if he was found by the servant of an overlord.

“Where are we?” Traitor asked. She, too, was playing dumb.

“This is castle Heltopia, the home of my mistress, the overlord,” Iris replied.

“And what’s going to happen to me and Traitor?” Sigma asked.

Iris shrugged, “That depends on what my overlord has to say about you. We’re a bit ****, if the fact that we bothered to enter the item world of someone’s underwear didn’t make that obvious.”

“What Netherworld are we on?” Traitor asked.

“Don’t even remember that much?” Iris turned a curious glance back at her.

They both shook their heads, both knowing perfectly well.

“Nudist Beach,” Iris replied. This was not what either of them expected to hear her say. Sigma momentarily wondered if maybe his undershorts had been transported to some other netherworld in the thousand years he was inside them. But the familiarity of the marble columns and masonry this palace made him reconsider this idea.

“Sorry, what?” Sigma blinked, instead thinking he may have misheard her.

As if to quell that notion entirely, the two passed by what Sigma and Traitor both remembered to be a small garden courtyard, but which was now evidently a pool with crystal clear water. Relaxing in and around the pool were a number of girls wearing absolutely nothing. No swimsuits, no towels, no modesty. Nothing. Just bouncy, fluffy, bare breasts topped with cute perky nipples.

Sigma felt his nose bleed. A flat-chested archer was splashing water at a medium-sized lady samurai playfully in the pool, the latter’s boobs jiggling in a manner Sigma could only describe as “happily”. A naked female armor knight was standing watch, but with an emphasis on watch, her flushed cheeks betraying that she enjoyed the view almost as much as the skull mage.

This was the most erotic visual stimulation Sigma had received in centuries. The only other time was when by chance a porn magazine drifted by the rock in the item world. A magazine he swiftly disposed of once Traitor woke up that day.

Even Traitor would have been blushing a little if she wasn’t a prinny and wasn’t already red, as she fancied women just as much as she fancied men.

“Nudist Beach,” Iris repeated. “It used to be called something different I think, something like… Veldus… nah that doesn’t sound right. Anyway, one of the overlords rebranded and renamed it. Now it’s one big nudist colony and resort. Three, technically.”

“Wh-really?” Sigma stammered, fumbling for a handkerchief to wipe his nose.

“Yep,” Iris replied, “people like it here, it’s nice. Casual nudity anywhere is not only allowed but encouraged, hell, some places it’s required. Nobody really minds if things get naughty either, it’s a pervert’s paradise and a frequent tourist destination.”

It was at this point Sigma began to realize something very important. He was the only guy he’d seen so far, unless the occasional prinny servants were men. And it was at this point that he realized that he had never truly considered the genders of prinnies before, and how unusual it was for Traitor to be explicitly female, as few prinnies seemed to care about the concept.

But the lack of any men was concerning him, “So uh, where are all the guys?” he asked, slightly hesitantly.

“Oh, so this netherworld is broken apart into three different sections because of an ancient battle that took place a long time ago. When this place was rebranded as Nudist Beach, each of those three sections became segregated based on appearance. We’re currently on the section that has all of the demons with feminine appearances, there’s another with only masculine appearances, and the third one is completely free for anyone, no restrictions.”

“Is it going to be a problem that I’m here?” Sigma asked.

Iris looked over at him, “Well, that’s ultimately up to the overlord. If I had to guess, though, she probably wouldn’t care if you were over here, I don’t think many others would either.”

“How come?”

“Well,” Iris seemed to hesitate, blushing, “because you’re kinda cute.”

It was Sigma’s turn to blush fiercely again. This pretty Sage just called him cute. He hadn’t been so brazenly complimented in earnest in over a thousand years. Iris was reminding him of one of his teachers who was also a sage.

“Also, you’re not, like, a beefy mancake. That definitely wouldn’t fit the general aesthetic of this place,” Iris added, almost hastily.

The conversation had turned awkward, so they just continued down the white marble corridors without saying much. They passed by a number of iron knights and female fighters standing guard, some of whom were missing pieces of armor that added to a general sexiness. Many of them got flushed cheeks when they saw Sigma, and he was beginning to understand that these were signs that they found him cute. This only served to make him a little embarrassed as he marched on, even though he was the most clothed out of anyone else here.

Eventually, however, they came to a large set of double doors that were already wide open. This was a small detail but already it stood out as a very symbolic one to the mage that represented the general mood around here. Come on in, the water’s fine, the open door seemed to imply. This was likely the chambers of the overlord, and Sigma had grown very eager to meet her. He wondered if it would be someone he recognized.