If someone were to ask Naya how she felt about living in a big city... she'd say she hated it, detested it even. 

When she had to walk through the crowded streets with all eyes in the vicinity glued to her ears, she felt like a commodity at a museum. 

It wasn't as prominent the first few days in Rozen, but now, news of her presence had evidently spread; it was as if people were purposefully coming to look at the newest attraction. 

"I think we're famous now..." Rula mumbled beside her, a gold coin clutched in her hands.

Naya learned earlier that the gold coin was the first Rula obtained from Sal when she turned in the Flameclaw quest.

It was adorable how sentimental she was over it. 

When Rula woke up, it ended up precisely as Naya predicted the night before; Rula had not paid any attention to the proceedings. So, after a quick explanation, Rula was now nervously fidgeting with the golden coin as they made their way to the Hall.

During her talk with Sal, Naya insisted the meeting be held at the Hall; she did not want to walk to that castle. As for inconveniencing the nobility? She couldn't care less, even after Sal explained it.

While they walked down the road, Naya felt a tug on her hand. 

"Look, Naya!" 

The environment around her was loud enough to make Naya hate it, with so much chatter, footsteps, and various sounds of civilization that she almost wanted to block her ears.

I could do that for you. Or at least lower their sensitivity.

Unnecessary. I will learn to deal with it.

Though it was a convenient tool and effectively took away a significant weakness, Naya didn't want to rely on others to handle minor inconveniences.

You can do that? Verala asked with a noticeable awe.

Of course.

That... shouldn't be possible. Verala spoke low, a near mumble as if she were a researcher scanning her tools. It was the same tone Naya had heard her mother have when she was creating a new artifact. Even the Devil, which behaved similarly to you two, couldn't control any facet of my body.

Rula pulled on Naya's hand again, "Naya?" she looked up at Naya with a slight head tilt, "You shouldn't space out in the middle of the road."

Naya's ears twitched. 

She had been listening to Verala and Lia. She was curious about her link with Lia and just how it functioned. Since Verala mentioned it, it was odd that Lia could do something to Naya's body she couldn't do herself.

I don't quite know how it works; it's just like moving an arm for me.

Interesting... Verala mumbled but didn't continue.

"Anyway, look!" Rula pulled Naya's arm to the right, forcing her to turn her body.

Rula looked at a building with tall windows on both sides of the entrance, displaying sharp-looking outfits. There were dresses for women, suits for men, and even some unisex adventurer gear. 

The sign read, "Dress to Impress."

A clothing store, now that Rula mentioned it...

Naya looked over herself.

She hadn't considered what she wore, which she now realized was a great folly. It wasn't that she looked terrible, but she certainly didn't look like a noble Elf. 

When Naya left home, she only picked up a simple set of armor to wear and hadn't considered anything else. A simple, grey chest piece with no sleeves and shoulder guards attached. The thin armor extended to form a skirt, and she tied it at her waist. As for pants, they were simple form-fitting black leather. 

The armor had scratches in various places, her pants had a tear near her bottom leg, and it all around made her appear like a vagabond.

Naya switched to investigate Rula, only for her ears to twitch.

Rula was watching her check herself with a knowing smirk.

"You shouldn't be looking at me like that; look at yourself!" 

"I know! That's why I suggest the store!" 

It seemed like it was an impossible task to embarrass Rula, who was willfully ignorant of any social norms.

You aren't really one to-

Shut up.

Lia chuckled. Fine, fine.

What? Did I miss something? Verala asked curiously.

No. 

Naya had forgotten that not both the voices in her mind could know what she thought about. She made a mental note to do the meditation again at some point to see what Verala looked like. In fact, that would be the best step to figure out how to eject her, and she felt like a fool for not thinking of it earlier.

Rula tugged on Naya's hand again.

"Fine, we are in no hurry." 

Immediately after she finished the sentence, Rula tugged Naya forward and toward the clothing store. 

A bell rang when Rula pushed the door open, and hurried footsteps came from the back of the shop immediately after.

The woman who ran forward wore a beautiful ocean blue form-fitting dress with white floral designs embroidered. The bottoms of it were gold trimmed, and she gave off a much different image than a shop owner.

"Woah!" Rula exclaimed as the woman entered fully into view. 

"Welcome to my humble clothing store, Madam Naya!" 

She had dark blue hair down to her lower back and light blue eyes. She was beautiful, but her sound was a normal feminine voice, not something Naya would remember like Verala's and Loriel's. 

Which wasn't to diminish the shopkeeper's beauty, but Naya realized again that, unless breathtakingly beautiful, appearances themselves weren't of much concern to her.

Then, Naya's ears perked. "You know me?"

She was so focused on the woman's appearance that she had forgotten the woman used her name.

It wasn't too surprising since more people seemed to be aware. But she wasn't throwing her name out to everyone who walked by, so it was a little odd how quickly it spread.

"Forgive my rudeness." The shopkeeper bowed slightly, a mimic of noble mannerisms. "But this shop is close to the Adventurer's Hall, and they frequent my shop, so I catch wind of things quickly."

Naya nodded. 

That made sense, but it did make her wonder who was babbling to the shopkeeper.

Probably a lovestruck adventurer trying to keep a conversation going. I imagine she has quite a bit of... popularity. Lia placed emphasis on the last word, which struck Naya as odd.

Why did you say it like that?

Well, let's just say she is quite... bountiful. You may not care, but a lot of others do. Verala spoke with barely constrained laughter.

It took Naya a moment, but when she realized what they meant, her ears twitched, and she felt her face heat up. Yet still, she couldn't stop herself from glancing.

The woman had a large chest, the top of which was revealed in her dress.

Humans!

Naya snapped her gaze back up to the shopkeeper's eyes.

It took quite a bit of effort to avoid looking down.

She did notice it, after all, as much as she wanted to pretend to be above it.

"What can I do for you today, Madam Naya?"

"Just..." Naya played it cool and lightly cleared her throat. "Just Naya."

Luckily, her head had been lowered from her bow, lest she would have seen Naya's embarrassment.

She thought she was above physical beauty mere moments ago. 

Rula was looking up at her suspiciously. Of course, she wouldn't let anything slip by. The Halfling seemed to be pretty attentive to Naya's mood changes.

"With pleasure, Naya! Any type of clothing you need, I have. If not, I can make it for you!" 

"Really?!" Rula jumped excitedly.

"Of course!" The shopkeeper held her head high, her pride in her work clear as day.

Rula released Naya's hand and ran to the shopkeeper, "I'm Rula!"

"A pleasure, Rula. I'm Selene, and don't you worry, I will happily cater to your clothing needs as well."

The last bit was odd, but Naya figured it was to let her know she didn't feel negative about Halflings.

She seems eager.

Naturally. Can you imagine how popular she would be if people discovered she makes stuff for an Elf? 

But it's only once.

Nonsense! Verala spoke as if offended. A lady must have a vast wardrobe, especially if she engages in brutal combat.

She seemed passionate, which caught Naya off guard.

Well, she's right, but maybe not a vast wardrobe, just a couple outfits. Last thing you want is to be stuck wearing damaged clothing again. Lia added.

That's... right.

Naya could imagine what would happen if the damage had been worse. She had no spare outfits with her.

"Do you two have an idea of what type of clothing you want?" Selene looked between Naya and Rula.

"Something pretty, easy to move around in, but also makes me look strong!" 

"That's... quite a list, Rula..."

Rula deflated instantly, "No good?"

Selene reached down and patted her head, "Of course not! I can make that no problems."

Naya walked up to the two while she investigated the shelves of outfits scattered throughout the shop.

There were outfits of all kinds, from simplistic adventurer's leather garbs to flowing colorful dresses. She also carried more private types of clothing, which Naya had to dart her eyes away from to avoid the reminder of the earlier conversation.

"Do you have anything in mind, Naya?"

Even Rula was eagerly watching Naya, awaiting what she would say as if she were going to order something extravagant.

Naya thought about it.

She didn't need anything fancy; she had no intention of dressing fancy for the humans, regardless of the occasion. Elaborate clothing wasn't any good either. She already stood out enough outside Aleria with her heritage. But there was her image to consider, which made the decision difficult.

Take Sophia as an example. She certainly isn't dressed beautifully, but her outfit style makes her far more imposing. I think that's the image you like as well.

That human certainly has an odd sense of style, but it fits her surprisingly well.

I have no desire to be that... extravagant.

Admittedly, she liked how Sophia dressed, with her black leather pants, white shirt, and red overcoat. It, along with her attitude, struck an imposing figure.

"If you're having trouble deciding, I can show you some style examples."

Naya lightly shook her head, "No need." 

"Ooh~ I can't wait!" Rula seemed more excited about Naya's clothing than she did about her own.

"I prefer darker colors, with nothing covering my arms and easy to move around in." 

"Boring!" Rula immediately shouted, "That's no good! It has to be awesome too!"

Selene chuckled, "You needn't worry, Naya, Rula; I can take care of it as long as you're alright with me using my imagination a little."

"I'd pre-"

"Absolutely! We're staying at the Golden Pig Inn up the road! send word when they're done!" Rula ran toward the door and swiped Naya's hand on the way.

Naya didn't resist and nodded toward Selene's apologetic smile as they exited the shop.

She takes this very seriously, as any lady should. Verala spoke like a proud mother.

Naya wanted to rebuke Verala for how close she was acting, but the conversation the prior night still rang in her mind. To her, it was akin to bullying someone dying. 

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to eject her. She just didn't want to finish the dead feeling like a murderer. Which put her in a difficult spot, and sometimes she wished her emotions could be turned off. 

If it was intentional, Verala did a good job acting. Regardless, Verala hadn't acted like a monster since the beginning, even in a body, so it was hard to muster the cold, murderous desire anymore.

"Let's eat something!" 

Rula pulled Naya along, further down the road, but not toward the Dragon Plaza in the distance.

"We're going to be late." 

"Please!" Rula shook her head and smirked, "You don't care, and neither do I! We're important people now; we can get away with it!"

Naya decided to go along with it. 

When she thought about it, they didn't agree on a specific time, just that it would be the next morning.

Rula pulled her to various places, where she picked up a bunch of nonsensical items. 

At the first stall, she bought some sort of apple covered in chocolate, which Naya thought was delicious. She then moved to a bunch of different food stalls, sampling pretty much anything that looked interesting.

Naya had to put a stop to it, lest Rula end up becoming like the rotund innkeeper. 

But then Rula went on to purchase a lot of knickknacks and gimmicky objects. She even bought an odd glass that resembled a telescope, yet was only a circular glass on a small handle. Rula kept it up to her right eye almost the rest of the trip, which made it look amusing.

They likely spent a good few hours eating and picking up random items.

"Rula, we must go now." Naya anchored herself, which nearly caused Rula to stumble. 

"Okay, okay! I'm satisfied for now, but the city is so cool!" Rula couldn't keep the excitement from her voice, which seemed a pitch higher than usual. 

Naya didn't want to ruin her jovial mood, and she found herself resenting Sal a little for the meeting.

There can be plenty of times like this in the future; your duty will not lost forever.

I know.

It almost felt like that was a motivation on its own for Naya to continue on. Rula's bright, cheerful smile was something she came to treasure.

Now that I think about it, I believe you forgot to give the shopkeeper your measurements. Verala had to ruin Naya's moment.

Oh.