"Where's the party at, Kara?" Phina said as she started skipping about. Her steps carried a certain happiness to them. She felt as if she was on cloud nine.
"What's up with you?" Kara smiled. "You've been acting weird since we went to that barber shop."
"I don't know. I've just been feeling happy. It's like my problems didn't matter when I talked with her, as if her hands going through my hair were like a soothing song being sung to me. They just calmed me down." Phina recalled. She was like a child in her mother's arms, slowly telling her about the day she just had and all the fun she went through.
"I guess we'll have to go back later." Kara was pleased. A powerful person was best to others when they are satisfied. "Off to the party, I guess. It's a party thrown for nobles across Loading."
"And why are we going there? To a party of nobles of all things??" Phina raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a noble." Kara smiled proudly. "My father attained the status of a 3rd-class noble using his medical expertise! He was so good at his job they made him a noble."
"Calm down, princess." Jack scoffed. "Marrow did all the work and they only made him a noble in exchange for his Neo Health Potions formula."
"Can you just not be a dick for a minute?" Kara stopped walking and looked at Jack. "At least while Phina is here?"
"Yeah, why are you such a dick to her?" Phina looked to Jack with curiosity.
"She..." Jack looked to the side his eyes full of hatred. "stole him from me."
"This is all because I'm married to your brother?! You piece of shit!!" Kara snapped, she then jumped at Jack before Phina held her back.
"Woah, calm down. Let's all calm down, okay?" Phina looked at the two nervously. 'Holy shit, where the fuck is Fardo when you need him?!'
"You took him, let's be honest." Jack smirked slightly, then looked at Kara with narrowed eyes. "You only got close to him to use his authorit-"
Smack!!
He was quickly cut off when Kara slapped him. She glared at him as she spoke. "You are by far the worst person I've ever met, Jack. Let's go, Phina."
"Uhm..." Phina looked around in panic as Kara grabbed her hand and started dragging her. Jack just looked the ground in seething rage. He could easily destroy his sister-in-law, but that wouldn't really be good for his relationship with his brother. 'Fuck this whore!! I don't need to take this!'
Jack jumped on top of a few houses before disappearing.
"We're better off without him!" Kara pulled Phina on. The looks they got made her very uncomfortable, they were in the middle of the street after all. "Let's go!"
After a few minutes of walking, Kara seemed to have calmed down. "I-I'm sorry, Seraphina. It's just...we-we just don't get along well."
"I noticed! Holy shit, what was that?!" Phina asked.
"He thinks...I got with Fardo just so I can use his authority as a Platinum-star member of the Hunting Guild." Kara rubbed her arm as she looked to the side.
"A what in the what now?" Phina said before taking a deep breath. "Look, let's just get ready for the party and meet up with Fardo later."
"We might as well just go back home. We still need a shower." Kara said as she slightly covered her nose.
Phina proceeded to smell herself.
HUURGH!!
Vomit quickly crept its way into her throat before she pushed it down. "Why did no one point this out?!"
"We were on the move. We couldn't just stop for a shower, the closest river from where we were was a whole day detour." Kara laughed at her reaction. She thought Phina just didn't care and used the party as an excuse to get her to shower.
"Let's go!! Where's your damn house?!" Phina rushed Kara along. "I smell like a dead horse!!"
Kara lead her all around town until they got to a building painted in pure gold. "I-Is that...real?"
"Of course it is!" Kara smiled. It wasn't a particularly big house. What it lacked in size was overly compensated in beauty. It was fully gold with a ton of small crystals embedded into the infrastructure. The patterns formed a four leafed clover, and it held a giant board above that said 'Lord Marrow Kinsu's Clinic'. The small building had a bunch of people around it.
"Just stay close to me." Kara smirked, then proceeded to rip off her own face.
"AHHHHHHH!!" Phina screeched in horror, but calmed down when she found out that under Kara's face...was Kara's face? "What the fuck?!"
"Calm down, it's a mask. It changes your face to make others see you randomly according to what face you want, but it's very obvious to those that know their stuff. But even if they know it's a mask, they can't act without knowing who it was for sure." Kara explained.
"And why are you using your own face?" Phina raised an eyebrow in skepticism.
"Because the only people who'd impersonate nobles is someone who needs their status. I took mine off for proof." Kara explained as she cleaned her face with a handkerchief.
"Proof for what?" Phina asked. She somewhat understood.
Kara smirked and started walking towards the crowd. They all turned to her with excitement but then scoffed and looked away. But they then double checked with widened eyes before they beamed.
"Lady Kinus, it is I, Lord Shack Eaton!"
"Lady Kinus, how are you? Is your father available?"
"Lady Kinus, do you remember me?"
"I am a representative from House Chinus, I am here to talk to your father and you, Lady Kinus."
"Hello, everyone. I must apologize, for I have a guest with me. Shall we head in, Enforcer?" Kara said gracefully with practiced ease.
Everyone's faces paled in horror. They all bowed at a 90 degree angle, except for the Lords. But even they had to slightly bow their heads in respect. Everyone disappeared soon after.
"God damn...an Enforcer's status is no joke, huh?" Phina said in a low voice.
"Of course." Kara said as she walked to the building and put her hand on it. A passage was then created in the wall for them. "An Enforcer is a status of ultimate power, Phina. Even the lowest soldier in the entire Enforcer's Exodia would have a status a little bit lower than a 2nd-class noble. I'd say, you have status equal to a 2nd-class noble."
"What is a 2nd-class noble anyway?" Phina said as she entered the clinic. It was quite simple on the inside. No gold, sliver, or even decorations. It was simply a white waiting room.
"Oh, right. I didn't explain that." Kara rubbed her head as she put her hand on another wall inside. It opened another passage for her. It was a simple house entrance. The floor and walls were made of wood. It was sparkling clean. Kara took off her shoes. "Take off your shoes too. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. Nobles are categorized into classes and grades. 1st-grade 1st-class nobles, or 1-1 nobles for short, are the highest categorization. Followed by 1st-grade 2nd-class nobles, or 1-2 nobles for short. It keeps going until 1-9 nobles, then goes to 2-1 and keeps going until 9-9 nobles. Most nobles are in the 5th-grade, so we usually don't specify it. I'm a 5-3 nobles and my father is a 3-3 noble. Nobles' children get their parent's grade and class but 2 grades lower."
"So I would be..." Phina tried to organize her thoughts as she followed Kara. "a 5-2?"
"Yes, that's right." Kara smiled. She opened a door in the somewhat long corridor. "This my bathroom. Take a quick shower before you hop in the bath, I'll get it ready for you. If you're done before I am, go upstairs and you'll find 2 doors. Go to the one on the right."
Phina took a deep breathe as Kara left her alone in the giant bathroom. She had bought a bunch of clothes, but she didn't change out of her enforcer uniform. She went inside the bathroom before slowly taking off her clothes. She stared at them for a while. 'Who am I? Why do I not remember anything? Will I ever remember anything? What if no one knows who I am, what then?'
Tears blurred her vision. She wiped them off as she sighed. She put the uniform just outside the door with her other bought clothes. She proceeded to look at her body. It was a somewhat pale, yet beautiful white. Barely visible scars were all over the body. On her inner thighs, arms, sides, shoulders, legs, almost every part of her body was covered with 1 or 2 small scars. The only big and obvious one was a giant bite mark on her left forearm. Phina sighed as she stepped into the shower. 'How do I turn this thing on? Actually...what do I turn on?'
All she saw was tiled floors and walls and the roof was simply white with black patterns on it. 'Maybe...?'
She reached out and touched the wall.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Whoosh.
It suddenly started raining.
"Seriously?" Phina said to herself with a chuckle. It was raining inside the bathroom! It felt so nice, relaxing and freeing. Who in their right mind would ever just take a shower in the rain with no armor, no weapons, and no proper footing. This felt exactly how it would feel to shower in the rain.
Knock! Knock!
"Kara! Are you going to that party tonight?" Phina heard Marrow's voice from outside the door.
"Uhm...it's me, Seraphina! Kara said she'd be upstairs readying a bath for me! She's on the room to the right of the stairs!" Phina knew he couldn't see through the door, but she covered herself with her arms. She then remembered that she left her clothes outside of the bathroom...right on the floor. She then prayed within herself, 'Please, don't see them. Please, don't see them. Please, don't see them.'
"Alright, thanks. Enjoy your time at our house, Seraphina." Marrow said with a cheerful voice. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"T-Thank you!" Phina slouched near a wall. 'Looks like he didn't see them. That would've been bad for actual first impressions.'
She finished her shower really quickly and slowly opened the door. Her clothes were still right there, both new and old, as well as a folded towel besides them. Phina covered herself with the towel before quickly going up the stairs.
All she saw was a painting of a beautiful woman in a fancy dress. Her thin eyes looked enchanting. Her thin lips rose in a simple, yet captivating, smile. Her gorgeous black hair was exactly the same as Kara's. Her perking breasts would cause many men to forget their own existence for a few seconds.
Click.
The door to her left opened as Marrow walked out. He looked deep in thought before looking up with a smile. "Hello, Seraphina. That door over there is Kara's room."
He pointed to the door on the right of Phina. Phina's face turned as red as a tomato as she slowly walked towards Kara's room. "T-Thanks..."
Click. Bang!
She quickly opened and closed the door. Marrow chuckled to himself as he looked at the painting, "She finally has an actual friend, my love."
He slowly took his glasses. Marrow always wore his signature red shirt and white lab coat. His wrinkles made him look way older than he actually was. The man was barely 60, yet he looked 80 with his fully white hair, wrinkles, and hunched back. He looked at the glasses his wife made for him before she died as a small tear fell down his face. It wasn't a tear of sadness, it was one of happiness.
"You done with the shower?" Kara asked the panicked Phina.
Phina turned around to see giant room. She thought that the 6x6x6 bathroom was huge, but this...this was insane! It was at least 20 meters across! It was a huge forest with a few hot springs and a giant king sized mattress held in the air by vines!! Where did all this space come from?!
"Impressed?" Kara smirked. "Since my dad help the royal family directly, he got this clinic. It's a spatial treasure. These kinds of treasures can never be created, they can only be found. It is said that God-ranks leave for the Edge to find these treasures for us. Anyway, forget about that! It's bath time! Come on!"
Kara dragged Phina by the arm again. Phina was struggling to keep her towel on as she was being dragged. Kara took her to one of the hot springs. "Take your time, the party is in the evening. I'll get your clothes here. When you're done put your clothes on and just relax, I'll be back in a bit."
"Where are you going?" Phina asked as she dipped her feet in.
"I'll go visit Fardo...and apologize to Jack, I think I took it too far this time." Kara sighed. "It's not like he wants to follow me everywhere."
Kara left the room as Phina slowly let go of her towel and put it to the side. She slowly got into the water. The moment she sat in, she felt unbelievable pleasure.
"Holy shit..." Phina moaned as all the tension in her muscles was washed away. Her mind blanked as she relaxed in the water. She didn't even care that Kara was looking at her naked while she was in the bath. Kara dropped the clothes and left.
A few minutes later, Phina started sweat a little. "I'll just go down and wash off quickly before I put some clothes on."
She threw her towel on her shoulder since Kara wasn't home and Marrow probably had patients at his clinic. She went down and took another quick shower and toweled off. She went upstairs and paused a little.
'...' Phina paused when in between the 2 doors. 'Which door was it?'
She opened the one on the right cautiously. "Phew...I got the right one."
She picked one of the shirts she bought along with one of the sweatpants Kara choose for her. She looked at the weirdly placed mirror that was hanging on Kara's door. She looked weird to herself. She wore a white sleeveless shirt and black sweatpants. Her giant scar and muscular body made her look like a hardened veteran when she could barely hold a sword. She then started thinking about how she looked a little like Fardo. 'He must have it the worst. His brother and wife practically want to kill each other...maybe he should just let them hate each other, rather than trying to force them to get along.'