Time passed for what felt like a lifetime. It was quiet, not even the supposed ruckus downstairs was heard. Nilo and Leslie could have easily scurried off to town, and enjoy whatever their current freedom possessed, yet they did no such thing. Both of them waited patiently and planned out a scenario in their heads of what to do once Eeira was out. They were like two children bored out of their minds, waiting for their parents to finish their affairs. Nilo even thought of taking a short nap, but couldn't go through with it.

The sound of the dressing room opening up emerged once again, breaking both Nilo and Leslie out of their trance, and forcing them to stand in a straight line with straight postures before the entrance like two soldiers greeting their superiors. Luna was the first to climb up, with a mischievous smile on her face. Crow followed right behind her, he stretched his arms as if he just finished working out. And finally, the queen of the night, or so Crow called her, came through.

Her outlandish appearance was met by a jaw drop from Leslie, and an impressed remark from Nilo. It left a confounding impression on almost everyone in the room. Normally, you would see a girl turn from a beggar to a refined lady at the hands of Crow, but now… it wasn't exactly the opposite effect. Eeira maintained that refined look on her, yet one could tell from her face (or how Crow made her face look like) that she had been through wars. She was no longer the snarky doctor that Nilo had been stuck with for a while — at least on a surface level. She had become a hunter, a veteran hunter at that — on a surface level, Nilo reminded himself. A white linen long-sleeved frilly shirt coated her from the top, which was loosened a bit from the chest area (but not too much), covered by a dark brown corset vest from the stomach area (and a weapon holster on the waist), wrapped neatly by a belt of the same color, all cloaked by a black long short-sleeved leather coat. From the bottom, she was swathed in dark green breeches and brown boots. As for the last touch, the cherry on the top, it was a white high-crowned, brimmed hat. Of course, none of that would be convincing enough if her face wasn't as tainted as Crow made it out be. Despite all the faint marks of "dirt" on her face, she hadn't lost her femininity. All that was left was to hand her an actual weapon and the get-up would be complete.

With a not-so-pleased state, she stepped forward and almost tripped if it weren't for Crow's quick reflex to catch her.

'Ugh… This is worse than a formal gown!' She straightened her posture, baring an infuriated expression on her face — she almost looked threatening.

'You will get used to it, kiddo. Don't worry,' Crow laughed.

'But I don't want to!!' She complained like a child throwing a tantrum.

'Oh come on, Eeira!' Luna circled around her, looking at every part of her attire, 'This… By this town's… rather unique taste... this is tantalizing, believe me. Have you seen any of Lejin's previous lieutenants? They'll pick you in a heartbeat.'

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

The fact that Lejin had many like Dara under his command bothered Nilo. He wondered if anyone around here knew about where she was, or even who she was. It was baffling how even when Lejin was at his lowest, he still maintained a form of power. Outside the town, his influence might have decreased drastically — considering it wasn't that long since Nilo took out his brigade — but inside the town, his word ruled above all — but not after the mayor's, of course.

'Now that you're done with whatever dress-up this was,' Leslie approached Eeira, 'I have something special for you. May give us a great advantage in this "infiltration," or so to speak. But… but, first of all — and this is very important, I can't stress this enough — you ever been to one of the empire cities? A-At least, tell me you're familiar with the technology?' He grabbed an earpiece from his pocket, 'Because this—'

��I'm not a dullard. I know what an earphone is!' She snatched it from Leslie's hands, 'You want to eavesdrop on what's happening inside, correct?'

'Yeah… but that's not all…,' Leslie pulled a small case from his magic pocket, opened it, and held a chip quarter the size of his fingertips. 'Now this one… this is the most important one. You only need to stick to the front of your coat. That way, not only will we gain the audio, but also, the visual information.'

'Wouldn't a pen—'

'No!!' Leslie shouted, 'You honestly believe a pen can get past them?'

'And an earphone will?' Nilo asked, 'That whatever visual thingy of yours might pass under their radar, but I doubt that earphones can be the same. Even if you try to disguise it as part of the attire, it won't work.'

'Why are you so… content on bringing every single one of my ideas down?'

'I'm not— I'm being realistic here, tell me I am wrong?' Nilo looked at Eeira and the others.

'The technorunner is correct,' Crow answered, 'They'd have to be blind to not notice the earphone. And who could say that they might not have a system of their own that detects such things?'

'I am totally lost here…' Luna backed away to the counter.

Leslie thought to himself for a moment, 'Look, we can have her wear it, and if they discover it… so what? We have a back-up already. Sure, we might lose sound, but we'd still have the upper hand with the camera chip.'

'The problem is, Leslie, they might search her. If they do that, they might find the chip. Who knows? Every possibility must be taken into consideration,' Nilo explained, 'And going by your logic of having the upper hand, then why not just go with only the chip from the start? It's the safest and best method.'

'I—'

'Enough chit-chat!' Eeira placed her hand on her forehead, 'I'm taking the chip, and that's it. We're moving on! We don't have much time till the manor's doors close.'

Everyone in the room was impressed by Eeira's sudden confidence. She was not just looking the part anymore, she was living it. Nilo handed her his revolver for extra measures if things were to go south, and it was a nice addition to her appearance.

'You know how to use it?' He asked.

'I have had some training back at the farmstead, yeah! Don't worry about me.'

'Keep in mind that you don't have an earphone, meaning we will not be able to contact you.'

'Yes yes, I know.'

Eeira stood in front of the exit. Beyond that door was the unknown, she felt that once she stepped out, her life as she knew it would change, she knew it. Fate was a mischievous deity. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed the doors wide open, continuing her new beginning.