"I' want to go to the school," Jun announced to the party after they had finished eating. Nodding, Gareth handed her a purse that clinked with coins. "I thought you might Jun, but even if you didn't decide on that, we all agreed you deserve an equal share of the money we earned from the goblins and the snake." The rest of the party nodded their heads, with Sara and Corin smiling encouragingly at her to take the purse.

Peeking inside, Jun saw a single gold coin and a handful of silver. They had explained as they walked that a couple silver was enough to pay for a room at an inn and food. Their lunch had only cost a couple copper pieces each. At 10 copper to a silver, and 100 silver to a gold, the amount of money they just handed here was easily enough for a couple of months! "This is too much!" she protested, trying to push the purse back over.

Placing it firmly in her hands, Gareth shook his head. "No, your spells saved us. Between the bounty and the snake, we gained 9 gold and 35 silver, which just over 90 silver will be used to cover the party's expenses. The rest we split 6 ways. Besides, even if you get a scholarship at the school, you'll still need some money for yourself."

As the party nodded along with Gareth's words, Sara and Cecilia stood and dragged Jun up with them. "Now that that's settled, we have some girl things to do! We'll meet you at the Admin building later."

Ignoring Jun's protests, the two women dragged her out of the cafe and down the street. As they dragged Jun along, the two women began to teach Jun about the city and point out things of interest along the way.

"This is the Expedition Quarter," Sara said casually, one arm hooked around Jun's. "Anything you might need for trips into the forest, or if you need to sell something from there, you can do that right here!"

Cecilia grunted in agreement. "Yeah, though the merchants here will take you for all you're worth if you give them half a chance. Better deals to be had in the other quarters if you know where to look." The warrior woman gestured to a shop and they stopped so Jun could get a good look. The shop was filled with shiny weapons, each looking fancy and powerful to Jun's untrained eyes, reminding her of the functional but beautiful design of her own weapon. A young man in fine clothing stood at the counter as the shop keeper gestured at a sword with gold veins running up its blade and a gem large glowing gem at the base of the hilt. "That kid over there is getting scammed good. At a glance the gold is just gilding over plain steel, and the gem is probably just a basic glow enchantment or low level fire enhancement."

"You can also tell a lot about a shop by who goes in there. Look at the people going in and the ones walking past," Sara added, covertly gesturing at the people around them.

Jun looked closer at the few customers in the store. They all wore bright clothes with lace, frills, and silver or gold colored threads. Not a one had even a speck of dust or grime anywhere, not even on their polished boots. Jun was sure if she shook any of their hands they would all lack calluses from hard work. "They all look rich... and soft," she finally said to Cecilia's approving nod.

"Exactly! They're probably all freshly arrived noble kids who have only heard stories of heroes and done basic training with their family's trainers, and they're freshly off their leashes. A merchant's child would have too good of an eye for low quality goods, and a scholarship kid wouldn't be able to afford any of the weapons in this shop."

The merchant glared at them as he overheard Cecilia's critique. "How dare you impugn my reputation! I sell only the finest of recovered artifacts and master pieces from renowned artisans!"

Shrugging, Cecilia and Sara guided Jun away from the shop as the the merchant shouted at them, demanding money for "unjust harm to his reputation." It was only after Shiori slunk out of an alley the next street over that Jun realized she'd lost track of her Master for a bit, but Shiori didn't explain where she'd disappeared to, and with Cecilia and Sara there, Jun couldn't think of a way to ask without coming off as crazy.

Sara guided them deeper into the district where they came to a two story stone building that looked to be a restaurant or inn of some kind. The inside wasn't what Jun expected. An grandmotherly looking woman sat behind a counter between two doors obscured curtains. As she saw Sara walk through the door, her face lit up in a warm smile.

"Sara! It's been so long! How have you been deary?"

Sara walked over to the counter and took the woman's hands in her own with a smile. "Grandma Deedee! You act like I wasn't just in here last week! We just returned from the Forest, and brought a new friend with us!"

"Honored Elder," Cecilia said, nodding at the woman as she joined Sara at the counter.

"And Cecilia's with you too! Now where's this new friend of yours?" Grandma Deedee said, adjusting her glasses and peering around the small room.

Jun felt Shiori's fur brush against her as she slipped past and jumped up to the counter, letting out a loud meow as she did!

"Oh what a beautiful black kitty! Is this your new friend Sara?" Grandma Deedee let out a giggle like she was a young maiden again as she let Shiori sniff her gnarled fingers.

"Make that two new friends," Sara said, giggling with Grandma Deedee as she scratched Shiori under the chin.

Jun just stared at her Master, a powerful magic user who could probably level the building they were in on a whim, sitting on a counter purring and demanding pets. She knew her Master was a cat, but the absolute shamelessness with which she demanded pets from random people just didn't mesh with the image of a powerful mage Jun had in her mind! Jun was so busy being dumbfounded by the scene that she didn't notice Sara beckoning her and only shook out of it when Cecilia dragged her to the counter.

"Grandma Deedee, this is our other new friend Jun, Jun, this is Grandma Deedee" Sara said, introducing her. "It's her first time in the city."

"My my, well hello dear! As young Sara has pointed out, I am Deidre, though most everyone calls me Deedee, Grandma, or Grandma Deedee," Deidre said warmly, reminding her of a kindly grandmother. "You look like you've had a rough time of things deary, well you've come to the right place!" Without waiting for a reply, the elderly woman came out from behind the counter, revealing her to be about the same height as Jun, though stooped a bit with age. Grabbing her by the hand, Deidre led Jun through one of the curtains into a hallway with sliding wood and wax paper doors on one side. "Don't worry about a thing, Grandma will take care of you deary," she said, patting Jun on the arm. Sara and Cecilia followed close behind, Sara with a smile and Cecilia with a smirk.

The grandmotherly woman led them through one of the doors into a larger room that had benches and cubby holes on either side, and a sliding wood and waxed paper door on the other end. Deidre motioned Jun to the side as Sara and Cecilia followed them in, and started stripping! Jun couldn't help but stare with a blush at the two women casually getting naked in front of her. What was happening?! Turning to look at the elderly woman with a question on her face, her blush deepened when she saw the woman's knowing smile.

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"Well deary? You can't bath in that heavy coat now can you?" she said lightly.

"Strip kitten. You need a bath," Shiori's voice filled her ears as she came in and nuzzled up against Deidre.

Sighing and fighting down her blush, Jun slipped off her pack and shoved it into a cubby before stripping down and putting her borrowed coat and tattered clothes in the provided basket alongside her crude boots. Her weapon she leaned against the corner, copying what Cecilia and Sara did with their own weapons. Standing there before 3 other women naked as the day she was born was a new experience for her, and the heat traveling down her neck and shoulders just made her even more embarrassed!

"There we go deary! Now off you pop to get cleaned up while we get those clothes of yours cleaned up!" Deidre made a shooing motion towards Jun before slipping back out of the room, Shiori following close behind.

"Come on Jun!" Sara yelled as she slid the other door open to reveal a stone tiled room with backless chairs, a fountain, and a large pool of steaming water. Jun jumped as Cecilia's callused hands gripped her shoulders and began steering her through the door.

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Jun sighed as she soaked in the warm water, watching curls of steam rise up from the murky surface. The heat was doing wonders for her tense muscles and caused her thoroughly scrubbed skin to tingle slightly as it healed. The light cleansing enchantment on the pool ensured that the water remained clean, and helped to rejuvenate her even more. Her already warm cheeks flushed and her skin tingled even more as fresh memories played through her mind.

She couldn't help but glance at where the two women were casually chatting a short distance away in the steamy pool. Closing her eyes and leaning back, Jun couldn't help but go over her memories again while luxuriating in the hot water. She was glad Sara and Cecilia brought her here, she never thought taking a bath could be so exhilarating and relaxing!

A soft fingertip poking her in the cheek pulled Jun out of her daydreams to see Sara crouched next to her, wrapped in a towel. "As relaxing as it is here, we still have to get you situated at the school!"

"Just five more minutes..." Jun mumbled, not wanting to move.

"Nope! Hand!" Sara demanded, and Jun reluctantly gave her her hand. With a strength belying the woman's small frame, she pulled Jun up, forcing Jun to get out of the pool or be dragged out. Sara handed Jun a second towel to go with the one Sara had helped her wrap her hair in and she toweled dry before wrapping her body in the luxuriously soft towel. Leaving the bathing area, Jun was surprised to see Cecilia already sliding her armor over her clothes, the armor now gleaming as if freshly cleaned. Sara also quickly dressed, her clothes now much cleaner than when they'd first arrived.

Going to her cubby, Jun was shocked to find that her clothes were missing, and instead replaced with pair of soft sandals and a creamy white robe with a leaf pattern embroidered in green that reminded Jun of a kimono. The door to the room slid open to let a young woman through. Seeing Jun holding the kimono-like robe, she bowed to her. "Apologies Miss Jun, but the clothes you came in with were unfortunately too damaged to clean or repair and had to be disposed of. Grandma Deedee has gifted you a set of replacement clothes as an apology and welcome gift to the city." Without waiting for a response, the young woman straightened herself up and left the room again.

Tucked into the basket underneath the robes, Jun saw a set of underwear, socks, and other ornaments tucked away. The underwear reminded her of the modern panties she'd seen on Earth and a matching bralette, similar to what she'd seen in commercials or when she had dated Ash back on Earth. Putting most of her new clothes on was intuitive, but when she got to the robes she was stumped.

Jun was so busy struggling with it that she didn't notice Sara until the elf woman approached Jun and admired the robe she held. "It seems Grandma Deedee likes you! That's a nice set of robes she gave you. Do you need help with it?"

"Y-Yeah... I've never worn anything like this before..." Jun said, looking down with embarrassment.

Accepting the invitation, Sara quickly helped Jun wrap the robe up correctly, securing it with a wide belt that matched the embroidery of the robe. As Jun admired how comfortable the clothing was despite the complexity of putting it on, Sara quickly put her hair up and secured it with a white hair pin that matched the robe. Finishing her work, Sara stepped away from Jun gave an approving nod at her work. "Wow, that outfit matches you perfectly!"

Cecilia turned from where she was securing her two-handed sword to her back and gave Jun an assessing look before nodding. "You look like a noble daughter from an old family," she said, before returning to gathering her things.

Sara left Jun to finish gathering her things, and soon the three of them were walking back into the front lobby where Grandma Deed sat at the counter, a purring Shiori polishing off the last of a plate of meat. As Jun entered the lobby, Grandma Deedee got up and walked around her, casually adjusting Jun's robes. "You're such a pretty girl deary," she said with a smile. "I'm glad my old robes fit you so well."

"Thank you Grandma Deedee!" Jun said with a smile, bowing to hide the tears that had started welling up. Her, a pretty girl? She'd never thought she'd hear that from another person, and the compliment brought up complicated feelings inside of her. Happiness. Satisfaction. Sadness. Fear. She couldn't help feeling a bit like an impostor standing there.

A soft, gnarled hand pushed her head up, and she saw Grandma Deedee in front of her with a warm smile on her face as she dabbed at the tears leaking from Jun's eyes. "There there deary, Grandma's got you," she said, pulling Jun into a hug.

"Now, a little friend told me you're due up at the Academy, so hurry along!" Grandma Deedee made a shooing motion at Jun, shoving her handkerchief into Jun's hands as she motioned towards the door where Sara and Cecilia waited.

"Wait! How much do I owe you?" Jun asked, fumbling for her coin purse with the handkerchief in one hand and her war wand in the other.

Shaking her head, Grandma Deedee made another shooing motion towards the others by the door "Don't worry about it, it's already been taken care of!"

Joining Sara and Cecilia, Jun turned back and bowed in thanks again towards the matronly proprietor as Shiori jumped off the counter, licking her chops as she padded over to the three women.

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Chuckling to herself, Grandma Deedee watched as the four of them left her bath house before settling in at the counter and pulling out a pen and piece of paper. "She and her companion are interesting ones alright." Penning a quick message and sealing it in an envelope, Grandma Deedee summoned one of her assistants and handed to her. "See that that gets to the headmaster at the Academy as quick as you can deary!"

"Yes Grandma!" the girl said. The girl's shadow seemed to grow and swallow her, and soon Grandma Deedee was alone again.

"Interesting indeed," she murmured to herself with a smile.

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Jun's new friends guided her across the city until they arrived in what they called the Academic Quarter. Shops selling stationary and books replaced the shops for adventuring supplies, but there somehow seemed to be even more restaurants and taverns promising alcoholic treats lining the streets.

The center of the district opened up into a large square, with one side dominated by a wall with a single gate manned by guards in uniforms different from those guards manning the city's walls. Students dressed in a uniform freely moved through the gate. Rising above the wall, Jun could see several towers and the tops of several buildings, and an arch above the gate proudly proclaimed the place as "Forest's Edge Academy."

Cecilia led the way, creating a path through the sea of students followed closely behind by Sara. Jun couldn't help but notice as most of the men, and a fair number of the women, seemed to be staring at her and eyeing her up and down. Blushing, Jun quickened her pace until she was following right behind Cecilia, with Sara bringing up the rear as they moved through the campus.

It wasn't long before the 3 of them approached a building helpfully labeled the "Administrative Building" by a plaque mounted to the side of the entrance. Gareth, Lane, and Corin stood idling in front of the building, perking up when they saw the 3 women.

"Are you ready?" Gareth asked Jun, skipping all formalities.

"Yes, I think so," Jun said, shoving down the butterflies in her stomach. Ready to move forward, she placed her foot on the steps leading to the imposing double doors of the building, Shiori at her side, and her new friends close behind.