[center][h2]Kochiya Sanae[/h2][h3]Nieve — Red Light District[/h3][/center]

Sanae was hard-pressed to hide the slight blush that crossed her face at their benefactor's comments, both due to the situation at hand and the fleeting images that passed through her mind before she could shoo them away.

"I'd rather not engage in any of that talk," the green-haired girl replied with a slight glare. "We're here to solve a problem, and I'd prefer that we keep it at that."

Regardless of her feelings on the matter (or the oddity of someone screaming in an alleyway nearby), Sanae continued following behind Qing'e in silence. The rough overview of the situation she had provided en route to their final destination—wherever [i]that[/i] happened to be—certainly [i]sounded[/i] like a curse of some sort to her, at least. Coupled with where they were and how unlikely the residents here would be to have someone look into the matter, the whole situation had to at least be curse-[i]adjacent[/i].

Eventually, though, Sanae began to feel a stifling presence bearing down upon her. As the trio continued pressing forward, that presence—whose malicious weight she seemed to feel far more than her peers—only grew stronger and stronger. When the woman leading the way finally stopped in front of an abandoned brothel, whose appearance seemed pristine, though, that presence was suffocating.

"This is bad news..." she complained as she whipped out her gohei. "You said that this place is abandoned, right? I'm not as trigger-happy as some of the people I know, but something like this..."

[@DracoLunaris][@VitaVitaAR]

[hr][center][h3]Nieve — City Streets[/h3][/center]

"Friendly duel?" the guard responded, apparently shocked that Youmu had even suggested that such a thing wouldn't warrant a response from them. "Miss, we have multiple people here claiming that the two of you were swinging at each other with enough strength to break stone—and by the looks of things, that seems to have been the case. If you're swinging your weapons around with that much force, then you were very much putting lives at risk here. Now, just hand over your swords and come with us, or we'll have to take you in by force. You've cause enough problems here as-is."

Any further attempts to dissuade the guards would be met with equally hard-headed resistance to the idea, especially considering the situation at hand. As for whether or not to cede the argument or abandon it outright would be a decision left to the swordswoman that had been left 'holding the bag', so to speak.

It would explain why Musashi had fled at the first sign of interference, at least.

[@VitaVitaAR][@Raineh Daze]
[hr][center][h3]Nieve — Mages' Guild[/h3][/center]

With the three travelers having made clear their intention to stay, Serena nodded her head and returned their statement with a smile—though it seemed to be one more practiced than genuine if one attempted to examine the tiniest hints of her facade.

"Well, we'll see in due time as to whether or not Father decides to take action," she responded, "but your aid is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, however, I don't believe that it would be fair to simply provide any favoritism towards you and yours, regardless of what your intent might be. Please understand that despite my title, I don't [i]actually[/i] hold that much power..."

There was a brief pause as Serena's words hung in the air, but the slightest hint of a grin on her face immediately gave the minister at her side cause for concern.

"At least, that [i]would[/i] be the case if we spoke with regards to charity. I do not know of your circumstances with that merchant caravan you claim to have arrived with, but if you would be willing to aid me as assistants I might be able to figure something out."

"Princess, I do believe that is called embezzlement—"

"I'm not embezzling anything! I'd be giving them legitimate tasks and paying them accordingly!" Serena responded indignantly before turning back towards the group of girls in front of her. "Ahem. Well, there you have it, then. Of course, you're free to refuse; I'm not crazy enough to strongarm you into helping, and I won't make you do anything [i]too[/i] crazy... Probably. So how about it?"

[@Izurich][@Drifting Pollen][@Rezod92]