Question Niki.

"Something the matter?" you ask.

Niki shakes her head. "No... Well, maybe. You just spilled your guts all over, and now I feel kinda bad. I haven't exactly been telling the whole truth of myself either."

"What do you mean?"

She sighs. "All right. I'll spill too. There's no way I'm being the one that doesn't play along. But you guys have to promise that my secret won't get out either, all right?"

The three of you nod.

"All right," Niki begins. "To tell you the honest truth, I left the desert when I was pretty young. I won't bore you with the details, but I actually ended up among the nations of regular old humans, like this one. I grew up poor, but I was strong. I survived. So I barely know anything about my own people, honestly. I have hardly any memories of growing up there."

"So how you talk isn't just how they speak over there," you say. "I guess that makes sense."

"Definitely not, no. I'm not a very good model on what sunhearts are like. Though, I did return one day when I was older. My people considered me an outcast for leaving. It wasn't that they were hostile, but when I mentioned I wanted to go through with the Rite of the Sun, especially twice, they weren't too happy. But I managed to get someone to do it for me. When the rest found out, I was banished for going against their wishes."

"I see... That's why you'd rather us not go there, huh?"

"Yeah. They wouldn't be too thrilled to see me again. But I swear I'll use the power I was given to become the strongest adventurer around regardless. Then they'll be proud. I assume."

I never thought she'd have gone through so much. I just assumed she travelled away from her homeland to seek new experiences or something.

"Not many take the Rite twice, but look at me now," she boasts. "Though, I could have done with putting them elsewhere..."

"It seems that the weakness effect the marks normally have reacted in an interesting way, considering the sensitivity of the areas," Eva says.

Niki nods. "Yeah, well I thought it was clever. Put them in places nobody would see. Nobody told me that nobody ever places the marks upon erogenous zones, and what would happen."

"So is the tickling thing from the marks as well?" you tease.

She blushes. "You shut your mouth!"