Alice and Yuuki lied back down on their towels. The Sun was getting quite low, so the air was getting cooler and cooler. Warm winds came from the sea and brought with them a salty smell.

“I can see some people on sailboats, but does no one swim in the water?” Yuuki asked a few minutes after laying back down.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but there are quite a lot of people here. If you take your clothes off, that’s the problem, if you don’t, they’ll become see through anyway.” Rose answered.

“Water repellent enchantments are beyond simple.” Yuuki said, in a slightly disappointed tone.

“You can enchant things?”

Everyone turned on their side and looked at Rose in a way that said: ‘Did you seriously ask that?’.

“If it’s not forbidden, I’m taking a dip.” She sprung up and walked slowly to the shore. Just before touching the water, she stopped and looked around with a barely noticeable smile. She then jumped up, nearly eighty feet into the air, spinning and turning, before hitting the surface. There was no splash, it was as if she hadn’t even touched the water. Completely submerged, she was in relatively deep water, but she wanted to go further. With a single motion, she accelerated herself to a speed far beyond what any aquatic animal could reach. The wave she created behind her was quite noticeable, but not to the point where it splashed water on everyone nearby.

Alice soon followed, taking a running start and jumping just as high up, before hitting the water. Because she already had quite a lot of momentum, she didn’t need to displace as much water to catch up to Yuuki.

“It’s beautiful.” Alice said when she finally caught up. The vixen was floating above an expanse of corals. The vibrant colors of the surroundings, and the fish moving around was truly breathtaking. Good thing neither of them needed to breathe.

“In my word, there were similar places. Not many though, most of them were destroyed.” Yuuki said melancholicly.

Alice let out a sigh as she swam closer and wrapped Yuuki in an embrace. “Want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to talk about. This place is beautiful and I wouldn’t want it to disappear.” She answered, reciprocating the hug.

“You should take up gardening. A hobby could take your mind off things every so often. Plus, I bet you could make something even prettier than this.” Alice said, gently rubbing her cheek to Yuuki’s.

“Somewhere I don’t need to worry about interruptions. I like it.” Yuuki smiled gently. “Speaking about looks, I would like your help with something.”

“Anything you need.” Came the answer without skipping a beat.

“Mystra said I should change what my soul ‘looks’ like. Could help my identity problem, or something like that.”

“What do you mean ‘something like that’? Were you even paying attention to her?” Alice asked, chuckling mid sentence.

“Not really. In my defense, I had a headache so bad I almost destroyed the world.”

Alice let out a hearty laugh and Yuuki looked at her face with a warm smile.

“Alright, sure. When do you want your makeover to be?” Alice said after wiping her cheeks, a motion that was redundant as the water already carried away her tears.

“I was thinking tonight, when everyone else is asleep. Should give us some time.”

“Sounds good to me. We should really go back now.” The wolf-kin girl was preparing to swim, but Yuuki grabbed her forearm.

“Hold on, I have an idea.” As she said that, the both of them were teleported back to the beach, completely dry. She also used a powerful illusion spell that prevented people from really noticing them. They casually walked back to their group, only dropping the spell after they had already laid down.

Unfortunately, this surprise did not shock the group in the slightest, as they had been mostly desensitized by their (mainly Yuuki’s) absurd acts.

“It’s getting a bit cold, I think we should go home now.” Rose suggested.

“Will the seven of us all sleep in the same room?” Asked Helen with a slight blush.

“You say that like you have any dignity.” Igraine said, struggling not to laugh.

“Hey!” The upset vampire yelled.

“Miss Helen’s behavior is quite childish.” Amanda added salt to the wound.

“Like you’re any better. You use your lady’s chest as if it were your pillow.” Helen fired back.

“What are you saying, you hag?” Amanda’s blush was fierce as a tomato and red as a lion.

“As amusing as you two are, could you keep it down. I would like to be able to walk in this city without everyone staring.” Igraine said, still calmly sunbathing.

“You gave up that chance the moment you joined our group.” Alice shook her head, and smiled, revealing her teeth.

“She’s right, you know.” Rose concurred.

“Yeah...”  Even Cassandra joined the conversation just to agree.

“Before we head back to our residence, do you want to join us and have a drink?” Yuuki asked, her face back to the more usual, blank expression.

“Finally, alcohol. Yes please.” Igraine said as she got up and stretched.

In the end, everyone agreed to join, even Cassandra, who didn’t want to be left out. They made their way to the meadery that was agreed upon with Gus and company. Yuuki did cheat a bit by using magic to search the city for them, not wanting to ask for directions.

The seven women entered the seemingly very high-end facility, the ten guys from before already sitting at a large table, still half empty.

“Here so early? We haven’t even had the first three rounds.” One of them joked.

“Yes, killing the Kraken went faster than expected.” Alice quipped as she went to sit down, Yuuki right next to her and the rest of the group behind them.

After some short introductions and pleasantries, they got to the point.

“So, what do you think about joining us?”

“Not particularly interested. I lied so we’d meet and we could discuss… a business proposal.” Yuuki said, her face betraying no emotion. If she had any at that moment. “How would you like to work for me?”

Everyone else at the table was confused except for Alice. “We don’t really work for anyone. we just… go with the flow.” Sam, a human who seemed to be the leader answered, with an unreadable look.

“Excuse me ladies, what can I get you?” A waiter came to take their orders.

“Spiced mead.” Yuuki answered, and the rest of them also placed their orders.

“Molten chocolate.” Said Alice with a smile.

“I’m afraid that’s not on the menu.” The waiter said, completely professional.

“Here.” Yuuki took out a mug full of it and handed it to Alice.

“That magic is certainly impressive, but I’m afraid you can’t take in drinks from outside.”

“And if I were to buy the establishment?” Yuuki asked with a sly smile. She then snapped her fingers and three large open chests filled with gold coins appeared behind her. “You can have someone check to make sure they’re real. In the meantime, get our orders, would you?”

The waiter, flustered, bowed and left.

Yuuki turned her attention to Sam. “Would you like to see the Kraken next?”