Despite the recent windfall of those lovely little shiny metallic circles that warm my greedy mercenary heart, I never had quite enough, and with a few days left till the end of the week and the looming deadline for Farina's little project, I decided to pick up a few hours at the Atelier du Maiden, the little maid café in the petals district.

It was a fun way to get some extra coin, and I confess that I do sort of enjoy the attention I get from patrons, so long as they keep their hands to themselves. Of course, my little duel with Knight Cavendish was proof enough to most of what would happen if they got too feisty.

The other thing I enjoyed was the outfits. It was definitely not an accurate representation of a maid's uniform. For one thing, it was far too short, much too frilly, and definitely designed for titillation rather than functionality. I think that's why I enjoyed it.

My usual clothing tended to be a bit more utilitarian these days. When I first came to dungeon school, I tried for a more fashionable look, hoping my style would act as something unique to catch the eye. Now I wear more armor, and definitely more pouches for carrying things, as I don't much enjoy being caught under-equipped. I kept the skirt, though. Nothing wrong with a skirt over leather armor. Probably.

It felt a bit like playing dress up, and getting paid to play dress up was nice. It was so different from my usual life, it felt like taking a break from being me.

It was, thankfully, a quiet shift; I made some good tips from the regulars. I waved to my fellows as I left the back of the café, took a deep breath, shelving Astra, my maid self, and putting Alta back on.

My stomach grumbled, and I realized I hadn't had nearly enough to eat today between classes and work. Night had settled in, and the streets were lit by the yellow lights of the lamp posts and the warm glow from those businesses that were still open.

The smell of the various food carts was definitely not helping the growing sense of hunger. I made my way to the main street of the Petals District and appreciated the sight for a moment.

Petals District is what one could charitably call a red light district, but it was clean, well-run, largely safe, and people had a good time indulging in whatever hedonistic excesses were their fancy. Within reason, of course. Dangerous and illegal things were discouraged, of course, and if they still happened, it was none of my business.

In any case, my stomach was demanding noodles. Spicy, greasy noodles.

"Hey, Alta." A familiar voice came bashfully from behind me. I felt my entire soul deflate ever so slightly.

"Yes, Mariana, to what do I owe this displeasure?" I turned and glared at her over my shoulder.

"Haha, very funny. After everything we've been through, you still treat me with such enmity? I thought we were allies, nay friends even!" She said with a dramatic quaver in her voice.

"I'd rather drown in grilled glass than call you a friend! Verbal sparring aside, I'm grabbing noodles. You want some?" I said, thrusting my hand in the direction of the cart in question.

"Oh gods above, yes please. I'm starving!" She joined me, and we made our way over, the divine smell drawing us closer.

Noodle carts had been a staple of the Petals District for as long as there had been a district, and it was a lovely mix of the culinary traditions of every part of the Mortal Kingdoms. Every culture had some kind of hot noodle dish, and here in the Petals District, the different ingredients and preparation had become some kind of fusion that was unique to this one street.

It was terribly unhealthy, but soothed the soul after a long day, and calmed the gut after an evening of heavy drinking and carousing. I also wanted a big bowl of it in my face.

We sat in the pair of chairs offered at the cart, and we both placed our orders. Mariana and I had both been coming here together after work since we returned from Burgotova and the absolute nonsense that had been the wedding. The cart didn't even have a name. We just knew where to go. The goblin gentleman who ran it was just called Darg, and that was good enough. Darg's cart was like a second home. Well, fourth or fifth home for me at this point. I'd lost track.

Despite this regular ritual between Mariana and me, it was still a tense and awkward thing, with sparse conversation, and even that was filled with verbal thorns. We still had old hurts and barbs that would never truly heal, but there was more respect between us than there used to be. Was it friendship? Not particularly, but I found myself concerned more and more for Mariana's health and well-being.

I guess a good rival was hard to find. And as much as I hated to admit it, she was the closest thing I had to a rival.

We sat in silence, just basking in the smells of the noodle soup being prepared, and sipping at the drinks we had been given.

Soon enough, our bowls were handed over to us. Thick noodles in some kind of meat broth, made of some creature I had never heard of, and a spicy red sauce on top with vegetables in a plain bowl, steaming with deliciousness.

We sat there and devoured our bowls in ravenous silence.

"So, how have you been holding up? Since we got back, I mean. We haven't talked much." Mariana broke the silence first, as she set down her empty bowl.

I slurped up the last bit of the spicy broth and set mine next to hers.

"Its been, how to say, interesting. Most people don't give two halves of a ptarm dropping, but I've been getting weirdly threatening letters every so often. Something about punishing my bloodline, and nonsense like that. Word travels faster than I would have expected." I shrugged.

"Yeah, I've been getting those too. Nothing I can't handle, but it's extremely irritating. Apparently, the king decided to make their trials something of a spectacle. Probably to scare the other nobles into line. " She took a long swig of the beer Darg placed before us.

"So is your family, at least the ones without permanent prison residency, going to welcome you back? I'm sure you're itching to go back to the noble life." I commented as I took a deep breath of the delicious aroma before me.

"What little they talk to me, they say theyre waiting for things to calm down in the capital a bit, make deals with your sister and all that, but I'm increasingly getting the feeling they're finding excuses not to welcome me back." She sighed before likewise taking a whiff of the bowl.

"The king technically owes you a favor after all that. You could get him to put some pressure on." I suggested.

"Nah. Too much effort, too much could go wrong. It would be nice, but...well, you know how it goes. In any case, I don't want to talk about. We got noodles to eat!" Mariana's face lit up in delight.

For a few moments, we sat in relative silence, only the sound of our slurping of noodles and both paired with the satisfied gulping of beer breaking the quiet, and even that faded in the sea of the noises of the Revenstahd nightlife.

I put my bowl down to take a break from my ravenous attack and turned to look at Mariana.

"So, how's the whole 'Nips and Tips' priestess thing working out for you?" I asked, finally breaking the silence. Plus, I was genuinely curious.

She groaned and put her head on the small counter.

"I hate it. The money is good, but it's getting kind of old being topless all night. I'm so tempted to quit and just live off the king's money, but I want to save up for when school is done. Also, there's the whole holy magic thing." She sighed, her cheek pressed against the surface, squishing it in an admittedly adorable way. Sad, but adorable. Like a depressed kitten.

"Still not sure what's up with that, huh?" I asked, taking a delicious sip of the beer. So good!

"Yeah. I asked the other girls and the owner if it had happened to anyone else. It has, but it was long enough ago that I can't ask tthose it happened it. I'm half afraid if I quit, I'll lose the magic, and it's so handy and takes so much less work than regular magic." She groaned.

"I imagine your boobs get cold, too." I couldn't help myself.

She glared at me.

"Yes, you could say that. I'm just glad I have someone who can commiserate, even if you're not quite flaunting it as much as me. Not that you have much to flaunt." She smirked a very punch-worthy smirk.

"You're not going to rile me up that way, titty priestess. I'm immune to your barbs! I'm perfectly fine with how I look, thank you very much." I huffed proudly.

"You could always visit, you know. See what life is like in the less prissy part of the Petals District." Mariana laughed, and downed her entire beer in one go. That was admittedly impressive.

"I'm good, thanks. I'm fine with staying on the 'prissy' side, as you call it. I have all the beautiful women in my life I can handle." This was more like it. Being friendly to Mariana was still new and weird to me, but the barbs and cattiness I could deal with.

"Ah, yes, your spellsong." The smirk dropped a bit. "I admit I'm jealous."

"Of having a girlfriend? Understandable."

"Friends in general. I don't really like hanging out with the girls at the Church, and I don't really have any fellow students I party with. I'm usually flying solo, or just work with whoever I'm stuck with. You know, groups missing a member or something. The whole wedding thing really hasn't helped any." She knocked back another full glass of beer almost as soon as Darg poured it.

That was a bit heavier and more honest than I expected, honestly. I sighed internally and knew I was going to probably regret this.

"Tell you what, you can start coming on more assignments and stuff with my crew. I can't promise you'll make friends with all of them. They're pretty out there, but we could use a holy magic user. For healing more than anything, I guess." I sipped on my second beer after saying this, trying to cover up my expression.

"You're just trying to be nice, aren't you? You think I need the pity of Alta Marchesi?" Mariana growled bitterly as she downed another glass of beer. "Because you're absolutely correct. I totally need that pity, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. Don't mention it, my pride is wounded enough from making that offer." I slapped my money on the countertop. "Its on me tonight, blondie. Can you get home fine?"

"Of course I can! I'm the divinely blessed titty priestess! No harm shall befall my bosom this evening!" She stood and declared, wobbling a bit as she did so.

"Yeah, no. C'mon, you." I thanked Darg for the food and drink, as I propped Mariana against my shoulder. She was a light thing, much lighter than I would have expected.

"See you when I see you, gals. Be safe, now! Knights and Mages be about, and you know how I feel about those types." Darg warned.

"They should worry about us! Two powerful warriors we be!" Mariana said with a stumbling giggle. I had lost track of how many glasses she had, but it was definitely too many.

"Aye, that's true. Now git!" Darg laughed and shooed us off. The goblin was a good soul, and that was one of the biggest reasons I kept going back to his cart. It certainly wasn't for the beer selection.

It was an awkward walk back to the dorms, but I managed well enough, depositing her in her room before making my way back.

I cursed the chill of the building, wondering why they never managed to fix the heating after all these months. It was driving me mad, and I hated sleeping in multiple layers of covers and sleep clothes.

As I lay there under the covers, I started making mental plans for tomorrow, which was the day that Farina and I had decided on for our little investigation adventure. Another late night out, it seemed.

I felt myself drift off to the sound of breathing and the soft snores of my roommates. It had become its own sort of lullaby over the past several months, and at this point, I couldn't imagine what sleeping in a room by myself would even be like. The memory of those lonely nights of my past was long gone now, and good riddance.

I snuggled deeper into my blankets as the soft darkness of rest overtook me.