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If we wanted to make sure they were safe, the first place to check was the guild, which had stepped in to cover for them. But we were not stupid enough to assume the guild was free of surveillance. Posters with our faces had made the rounds already, and if we walked as a group of five, we would be noticed instantly. Our only option would be to split up then, and try to conceal ourselves as best as we could.

“A disguise, huh. To be honest I don’t even know where to begin with that. I have no clue what kind of clothes would be considered normal… ”

Luvias looked the most troubled out of us. While she had been living with us for some time now, she was still a princess, used to having her every need taken care of by other people, and she never had to worry about picking her own outfits. She probably knew her way around dresses, but when it came to common clothes, even I knew more.

“I don’t mind wearing a disguise, but I’ll still stand out too much. Just look at my ears.”

Diaria pointed at her elongated ears as she said that. In a big city like the capital, it was not very rare to see an elf, but here in Surfour everyone would be looking at her. Almost all the people living here were humans, after all.

“I see… Well, I guess we’ll have to get a bit creative then. Diaria can wear a hood, or somehow wrap a piece of cloth around her head. Me, Karin, and Ciel, probably won’t need to change much.”
“You know, Lapis. You also stand out a lot, you’ll need to cover yourself somehow too.”
“Yeah, anyone would know it’s you from your pretty face.”

Karin and Ciel replied curtly, reminding me of the general opinion people had of my appearance. When I first came to this city I used to get hit on all the time, though lately not as much anymore. In other words, I would also need to put some more work into my disguise, like Diaria.

“Anyway, Karin and I will go find some clothes we can use, you three should wait here until we come back.”
“I don’t mind that, but are you sure you’ll go looking like that?”

I felt like it would be a bit too dangerous for them to go without changing their clothes at least a bit.

“Of course not, we’ll wear something else first. Karin, take your clothes off.”
“Huh..?! Ah, I see. I get it now.”

Ciel had already started taking her clothes off as she ordered Karin to do the same, but Karin stood there baffled for a few seconds before she seemed to understand and also undressed. I watched them, not understanding their plan, but then they exchanged their clothes and got dressed again.

“I see! That’s what you were thinking of.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty simple, but it should have an effect.”
“…You two are really smart.”

All they had done was to switch clothes, but that was enough to transform them into a green haired warrior, and a brown haired magician.

“This is so revealing it’s a bit embarrassing to be honest…”
“It’s not my fault. We trained so much so a lot of the armor broke off.”

Ciel had always worn a large robe that concealed most of her features, so having to wear Karin’s worn off armor that left her stomach exposed was embarrassing for her now. The same applied to most of us, all of our equipment heavily damaged from the rigorous training. But in a way that worked in our favor, adding another layer to our disguises.

“We’ll be going then.”
“Soon you’ll have common clothes too.”
“Thanks.”

We looked at the two walking down the alley, and then the three of us that stayed back looked at each other.

“Will they be alright?”
“Even if something happens they’re strong enough to deal with it alone. The enemy would need a dozen powerful knights to actually corner them.”

That was how effective our training had been. Even a large group of ordinary soldiers would not be able to touch them. Now I had full trust in their ability to defend themselves.

–––Ciel’s viewpoint

After splitting from the other three, Karin and I went back to the main street, not even worrying about concealing our faces. We had also changed our hairstyles, so even if we ran into someone we knew, they would not recognize us instantly.

“Huh…somehow the city feels really gloomy.”
“I know. I guess it’s because Stied’s nobles are around.”

Someone visiting the city for the first time probably would not notice, but after living for so many years here, we noticed there was something clearly different about it. Usually there were barkers outside stores, or the apprentices of merchants calling out trying to lure customers, but now they were all silent. On top of that, usually their employers would scold them for skipping work, but they just looked with bitter eyes. They all remained silent…or probably were forced to be silent.

Also, the number of booths and stands along the street had decreased, and the items being sold were also less varied. It did not look like business was going well. Were they trying to crumble the city’s economy to force them into submission? Was this something Stied was doing on purpose?

We had to hurry and drive those nobles away, or things could get ugly around here.

“Excuse me.”
“Welcome…”

I entered one of the many clothing stores along the street, and the shopkeeper greeted me with an emotionless voice.

“Are you looking for something specific? I have some nice robes for adventurers if you want.”
“Umm…I want five sets of ordinary clothes, and two broad hats that can easily cover my head. Of around my size, if possible. Also, I hope this can cover all of that.”

Usually I would pick everything myself, but could not afford spending time on that now. It was faster if the shopkeeper picked whatever was at hand. I also took out a gold coin from my pocket and showed it to the shopkeeper.

“Alright then, let me check your measurements first.”

Saying that, the shopkeeped began examining me, from the tip of my head to my feet, and then my arms. I knew this was part of the job, and not done with any sleazy thoughts, but I still felt uncomfortable feeling such an attentive gaze on me. Eventually the shopkeeper huffed slightly and walked up to a shelf, picking some clothes that were folded there.

“What do you think of these?”