I arrived in an empty tent, Lucy having apparently already packed up her bedroll. Exiting myself, I stretched my arms towards the sky and let loose with my best impression of a yawn.

“Eena!” Lucy called out, hurrying to embrace me. “You’re awake!”

“And you’re already dressed,” I remarked, noting the armor that once more adorned her form. It was rather hard to ignore, what with my body being pressed against it. “Did I truly oversleep that much?”

Lucy shook her head. “It’s not that!” she promised me. “I just smelled Dyona’s cooking.”

“Cooking?” I asked, belatedly sniffing the air. My nose quickly caught the scent wafting from the campfire where Dyona was cooking slices of what almost looked like bacon on a pan she held over the blaze.

“My Lady makes a point of procuring fresh ingredients whenever possible,” Dyona informed me without lifting her gaze from the makeshift stove. “It’s part of why we travel by carriage. She hates travel rations.”

I swore I saw a flicker of a smile on Dyona’s lips as she said that last part, but it was gone too quickly for me to be certain. Even reviewing the memory left me unsure if I was looking at a sign of affection or just a random twitch of her lips.

Regardless, it was nowhere to be seen a moment later when a yawning Grell walked out of the carriage. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Fried pork rations and eggs. You’re free to eat the first while we await the latter - assuming you wish to show off your gluttonous side in front of our guests, that is?”

“Bah, they’ve already seen plenty of it yesterday,” Grell remarked. “And I’m sure Eena here won’t mind. The Heroine said you have a good appetite too, yeah?”

“I enjoy food, if that’s what you mean,” I replied. “Though I would hardly describe myself as gluttonous…”

Lucy giggled at that for some reason before plopping down on the ground and gesturing for me to sit besides her. “Come on! We can snuggle up together until breakfast is done being cooked.”

“As lovely as that sounds, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least offer my help making breakfast.”

“You can cook?” Lucy asked, looking at me with surprise.

“A little. Abigail taught me.” 

“The offer is appreciated, My Lady, but I can assure you that I have things handled,” Dyona replied. “Why don’t you sit down with your girlfriend? I’m sure the Heroine missed you during your brief absence, seeing as how she was out here half an hour before you.”

I froze briefly at the mention of absence, only for my posture to thaw a moment later when Dyona clarified. For a moment I thought she’d been suggesting she was aware I wasn’t around last night. 

“Well, if you insist,” I agreed, shaking the worry off and settling on the ground next to Lucy and leaning against her. Though I wouldn’t exactly call it cuddling, what with her armor in between the two of us, I would certainly call it a pleasant way to spend time before breakfast. Even if I couldn’t feel the warmth of her flesh, simply knowing she was next to me provided a warmth all of its own.

From there the day passed in much the same way as the previous had. We ate a simple meal, waited for Dyona to enter the carriage, and then picked it up so that we could continue towards the city.

It was a straightforward, if slightly boring, journey and thanks to our efforts we had the city in sight before nightfall. We did have to pick up our pace a little in order to make it to the gates before they closed.

“Are you doing alright?” I asked Grell as the guards waved us through. They’d been a bit bewildered by the sight of three girls carrying a carriage, but they didn’t ask any questions after noticing Lucy. I suppose such feats of strength were expected from the Heroine and her companions.

“I’m fine!” Grell insisted.

“You certainly don’t look at it,” I pressed. She was panting, drenched in sweat, and trembling faintly. The run had taken a surprising amount out of her, despite the ease with which she’d previously helped us.

“It’s nothing,” Grell insisted, flashing me a grin. “I’m just low on magical power, is all - used most of it enhancing my muscles.”

“Enhancing your muscles?” I frowned. “I wasn’t aware that was something one could do.” In fact, the only people I knew of who could do that were-

F

“It’s because I’m from a blessed bloodline! I’m able to use my magic to reinforce my muscles! It’s definitely my favorite way of using magic! Not that there’s anything wrong with doing fancy ]tricks, but there’s nothing quite like just punching problems away, you know?”

“My Lady-” Diona called out from within the carriage. Whatever she was about to say, though, it was too late.

“So that’s where I know you from!” Lucy exclaimed before slapping a hand over her mouth. “Uh… I mean… Sorry? I won’t tell anyone!”

Grell slumped - a gesture I didn’t exactly appreciate, considering we were still carrying a carriage, but which I could forgive under the circumstances. “Crap... I forgot you’d be aware of this sort of thing…” 

I merely shrugged. “I won’t ask, though I’ll admit to assuming your true identity has something to do with the origin of such a bloodline?” Blessed bloodlines were usually a ‘highborn’ thing according to what I’d been told. It would make sense for Lucy - or rather, the Heroine - to know a thing or two about them.

“Nah, it’s fine… The Heroine’s the main one I needed to hide from anyways… Dad’s going to be pissed if this gets back to him…”

“It won’t!” Lucy promised. “I’ll keep your secret! I don’t really get why it needs to be a secret in the first place, though…”

“Because I’m a screw up,” Grell answered with a shrug. “An utter failure of a noblewoman. I mean, have you met me? I’m basically a diplomatic incident waiting to happen.”

“That’s-” 

“It’s fine,” Grell interrupted. “Seriously, I really am fine with it. I definitely prefer the life of an adventurer to that of a noble lady anyways.”

“But what about your family?” Lucy pressed.

“What about them?” Grell asked.

“My Lady visited her family just last week,” Dyona remarked, leaning out of the carriage window. “They’re on remarkably good terms.”

“Oh, that, Right,” Grell agreed. “We’re actually way closer than when I actually lived there. We used to fight all the time, and not the fun sort of fight, either. The whole becoming an adventurer and hiding my real name thing was my… Well, Dyona’s idea actually.”

“I was rather worried about your position in the household if things continued as they were,” Dyona said. “Which in turn would affect my position as your maid. Besides, I’d always wanted to see the world. Now I can be paid to look after you in the process.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Grell replied, rolling her eyes. “You only stay with me for the money.”

“Just as you only stay with me because you couldn’t survive on your own. It’s a fine arrangement, don’t you think?”

“I think we’re here,” Grell replied, tilting her head in the direction of a large inn. “Let’s park this thing and get rooms, alright? Hopefully they’ll have four.”

“Three,” Lucy corrected. “I’ll be sleeping with Eena!”

“Is that… allowed?” Grell asked.

“Of course!” Lucy declared. “Or at least it should be. Why shouldn’t a girl sleep with a girl she loves?”

“You mean… in the same bed, right?” Dyona asked cautiously.

“Among other things!” Lucy said. “I’m sure the Goddess wouldn’t mind, though! I mean, why would she give me such strong urges if she didn’t want me to give into them?”

“To… test you…?” Grell offered. “Maybe?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re committing blasphemy,” Dyona remarked drily.

“Probably!” Lucy agreed casually. “I’d get a really angry letter from the church if the Grand Patriarch found out, too! I guess we both have secrets we want to keep from spreading, right?”

For some reason, neither Grell and Dyona seemed able to muster a response to that.

“You’re ready, then?” Eena asked me.

“I am!” I promised. Not for the first time, either. That was fine, though! I knew Eena was just nervous - I was a little nervous, too! I mean, this was only my second date ever, and I was doing it without her. Plus, I was going to the tower by myself! If anything went wrong, I’d be in big trouble…

It was fine, though! I knew that Abigail would have my back, and I was sure I could rely on Eena’s family if things got bad. More importantly though, it was worth the risk. I would never get close to Abigail if I didn’t put myself out there  and I was determined to at least try and see if the three of us could all find happiness together!

Besides, I sort of wanted to see what life was like in the tower. What the people there were like. I knew in my heart that they were almost the same as humans, but I still wanted to see it with my eyes so that when I stood in front of other humans and told them I believed in demons I would  have firsthand experiences I could share… More experiences than sleeping with or dating them, that is, though that was also an important part!.

Obviously  I was going to be telling Abigail everything I was thinking! It wouldn’t do to sour our relationship by keeping secrets after all, and while I didn’t really think of it as sinister or anything like that, I knew that keeping it quiet might make it seem like I had  an ulterior motive to going out with her.

“Alright then,” Eena said before reaching out to grab my hands and plant a kiss on my lips. “Have fun on your date.”

“I will!” I promised. I then started picturing Devilla’s bedroom. I could feel the teleportation circle seeking out my holy magic, just like she’d told me it would. I gave it access and was whisked away to the tower.

~~~

Author's Notes

It's another short chapter, I know - pretty much for the exact same reason as last time, too. I want the date to be its own thing. Considering said thing will be over 8,000 words long, I hope you'll forgive me for the shortness of its predecessor. We'll be getting to that next week, though! (Or, if you really want to read it now, Patreon is currently five chapters ahead, and you can still join for as little as a dollar~! You'll get two chapters of Naughty Magic, too.)

Many thanks to FallingLeaf, as always, for the wonderful job of editing!

PS: Apologies for the relatively late chapter. Depression's made it hard to post everywhere I need to, rather than giving up after one or two places...