A Noble Journey

The carts stopped, the priest noting they were stopping in the small town to change at their Inn, letting them know he had sent someone ahead to make the preparations. A few minutes later, the three male Nobles would be in a changing room, Dan leaning against a wall, visibly upset. The other two were already putting on new pants, and they went through the assortments of their large travel cases.

"At least you could take off that huge fur cloak, it's not like this was supposed to be a high-maintenance social like in the city."

Ian stated, looking at Dan resting his back against a wall next to the doorway, still donning his all-white attire and cloak.

"Greeting the helpless village as one of the four royal children demands presence, how else would their savior look other than perfect?"

(You...are something else. But it's not like he's the only one. Money and power go to almost every noble's head.)

Ian thought to himself regarding Dan's egotistical statement.

"Hm? Lord Raizo, correct?" Dan questioned out loud, earning the attention of the male who had been silent for the trip so far. Somewhat surprised to hear his name, he looked curiously at Dan.

"We're all on this trip together, so if it's easier to call me Shin, it's alright."

"Alright, Shin Raizo it is. The question, What gave you that scar?"

"That's not the type of question you just ask somebody, Dan," Ian interjected into their conversation to point out Dan's obvious rudeness.

"It's alright actually, he's not the first to ask."

"It's also weird because outside of your clothes, you are oddly buff, the scar goes from your shoulder to your back. I don't think many would get to see it. Almost like you intentionally hide it, but everyone must wear clothes, so that assumption fails."

With Dan's mention, Ian looked, seeing the scar on Shin Raizo's back, he had failed to notice it prior. To Dan, it looked odd because it surprised him, yet Ian could tell.

(He's toned like an athlete or a warrior. Maybe the scar was an accident.) Ian noted mentally as he looked over the body and scar of the youngest male in the room.

Dan Aifried: "When I got my father's counsel to group us for this trip, all of our names are from noble families. That includes yours but-"

Shin Raizo: "But you've never seen me or my family at any socials or events? In truth, my family adopted me. A noblewoman and a Great Priest took mercy on a child is all my story is."

Ian Maliago: "Makes sense then, those who work for the Temple and Rise to the greater ranks are treated almost as equally as Nobles...With you being the exception Dan."

Dan Aifried: "Then it only makes me want to ask even more based on other thoughts I've had and a few rumors. Shin, did you get that scar from a demon?"

Ian Maliago: "Dan, what noble ever leaves-?"

Shin Raizo: "Hm, it was simply an accident long ago." Shin said as he finished putting on his shirt and abruptly left the changing room. Ian, standing shirtless, stood in slight shock.

"Do you think he was for real?" Ian questioned the Aifried noble.

"Probably, but he didn't exactly say no either. I had to ask for myself though."

"Why is that?" Ian questioned. Dan raised his hand to his chin in thought, letting silence fill the room for a few seconds before he spoke once again to answer Ian.

"Ian...Let's just say I dug a little deeper than I should have back in the city. I just have some questions now that Shin probably can't answer. I may just have to have a chat with the Priest."

Dan said ominously as he walked out of the dressing room. Ian silently watched him leave, visibly confused by Dan's last statement.

In the women's dressing room...

Sheilia would be seen visibly pleased with herself, twirling in her newly changed outfit.

"I like fancy dresses, but they're way too much. I can barely move in them, much less in heels!"

Sheila exclaimed as she switched from her elaborate dress to a sleeveless midriff top accompanied by a skirt, knee-high socks, and a hat to protect against the sun's rays.

"I look cute! I'll be making one hell of an impression as a cute Noble girl!"

She announced while striking a small pose. Her cheerful demeanor shifted to shock as she witnessed Cana pulling up her tightly fitting black shorts up to her hips and watching Cana's exposed cleavage, bouncing when she stood up straight, comfortably. Cana wore a black crop top covering her chest under what appeared to be something similar to an elegant red vest draping over her shoulders down to her waist. Sheilia's expression became sour with envy as she watched her friend bouncing up and down to wiggle her shorts. Cana then added a skirt over the slightly thin black material on her lower body. Subconsciously, Sheilia couldn't help but place her hands over her own chest in envy. Cana fitted on her top and vest, her top left a modest cleavage partially exposed. Noticing her friend looking from the side, Cana turned to face her friend with a playfully smug smile.

"...Flat is justice..."

Sheilia said while glaring at her friend, Cana, who held a smug smile on her face.

Cana Sigfried: "Medium is premium..."

The two held their expressions, their focus on each other. Hearing their discussion, Aisellia giggled.

Cana & Sheilia: (I forgot she was here for a minute.)

"You two must be good friends. You remind me of my friend Laura and me a little."

Aisellia said to them cheerfully as Cana and Sheilia turned their heads towards Aisellia, who stood nonchalantly undressed. 

(She has mountains of life!)

Both Cana and Sheilia quickly exclaimed in their mind. Their eyes locked onto Aisellia lifting and removing her shirt over her head. Seeing her breasts lift with her shirt, the two girls were in awe. Both were drawn back once seeing her large breasts lifting with her shirt before falling back down, bouncing until her breasts rested naturally in her silk lace bra. Aisellia noticed the two looking at her. She seemed fairly amused by their reaction. The duo stared at her chest, instinctively covering their own chests by crossing their arms.

"Sheilia, THAT'S what unfair really looks like..."  Cana proclaimed as she and Sheilia casually moved closer to look over Aisellia's voluptuous figure and assets, closely inspecting her full figure.

"Soft thighs and a supple booty! It jiggles whenever she moves even a little!"

The two noble girls simultaneously mumbled to themselves as Aisellia's feet shifted around in place while suddenly being poked and inspected. When the duo finally gave her space, both watched silently as Aisellia hid her assets away and got dressed. 

"Damn girl, when we get back to the city, you have to show me what you do for exercise! I'd do to get a body like that!"

"Proper positioning and compromises are the answer. Most times, I like having them appear smaller. Life is just sometimes easier that way..."

Aisellia paused, glancing over to the two girls. Noting Cana's figure in her newly revealing clothes, same as Aisellia, yet the only difference was the significant gap between the women's sizes. Sheilia had her own methods of appeal. Aisellia saw that Sheilia's skirt was a miniskirt revealing more of her legs, while her thigh-high socks. These brief observations alone made her giggle. Even if their motivations differed from her own, Aisellia could see that these two enjoyed having more than a basic appeal to their appearances. Although they were Noblewomen of the highest class, they were all delighted to indulge themselves in dressing more openly than they were permitted inside the capital as women of their status.

"I mostly eat meaty dishes in the middle district, but I think my daily exercise evens it out. I have a friend who works at a little cafe. High District shops just have expensive, tiny dishes, so I only eat at those places if I have to. We High-Noble daughters know the lifestyle, courtesy dinners, Noble parties, and Parents enforcing that we meet their business partners or their sons. Sometimes a girl just likes to go to a middle district area and enjoy a meal away from all that. It's far noisier, but the noise is strangely calming."

Aisellia admitted openly, reflecting on her memories. Shelia enthusiastically took a step closer.

"Whoa! Everybody talks about how dangerous the lower grounds are for Nobles! They say it's dangerous for nobles to travel beyond the checkpoint without an armed guard, but to sit and eat at a busy establishment?! Geez, just who do you have as your knight?!"

"I have no knight to speak of..."

Cana took a step forward, standing closer to Aisellia than Sheilia. Cana curiously tilted her head as their eyes met and wasted no time speaking her mind

"So you've denied every man that's ever tried to love you, huh?"

"CANA?!" Sheilia shouted. Alarmed and unsettled by her best friend's confusingly bold question.

"What?! Stop yelling at me! She said it herself! We're all High-Noble daughters. Sheilia Ciest, of the Ciest Noble Accounting Corporation, what's the current population of Freya?! And...simple numbers for me please."

"Just over four hundred million as of this fiscal year..."

"Now out of that number, how many are nobles?"

"I'd estimate less than a million given the birthrate over the last decade. Cana please get to the point already please?"

Aisellia tilted her head curiously and smiled. Amused by Cana's very animated movements while she was speaking back and forth with her friend. To Aisellia, it seemed this was a common, comical engagement between them. For every step forward in the conversation they made, Aisellia's smile grew, and so did her amusement and patience for them.

"Now Sheilia! How many are High-Noble Families? Whose wealth makes regular nobles beg for even just our favor, our signature? HELL Aisellia! No Knight with your physique and beauty? You could have a personal army!"

"And you're wondering how a woman like me doesn't have a single knight?" Aisellia questioned cheerfully.

"Well...Yeah! A Knight is pledged from the Academy or a noble family with a lineage of Knighthood, swears loyalty to your family in return for favor, legacy, and honor. We all know everyone simply wants to come up in the world, and I can tell we all respect that...but"

"But that leaves a White Knight, Someone, who swears their white cloth to you, signifying their loyalty and dedication to you alone. People in love who swear on their virginity for the possibility of being chosen one day as their husband or wife...or until death. I would find it cruel for me to have knights, knowing how they feel, knowing they'd give their life for me for some false version of love. As for protection, I have a friend in the middle district. Practically everyone down there either sees her as an older or younger sister. As a noble, I was treated poorly at first, but with my friend being the fighter she is, no one could touch me, and there's a woman at a special tavern everyone calls Momma. So now I can eat all the hearty meals I want because Momma says I'm good for business! I attract a crowd, and I have money. It might sound bad, but it's simply the reality of the situation. She makes me do the cleaning, and I force her to take my money. She hates it, but she loves that place. So I refuse to let it fall behind. So if you ever get tired of tiny dishes, I could take you ladies any time!"

Aisellia smiled playfully. A look of determination came over Cana and Sheilia simultaneously.

"Get ready Sheilia! We're gonna start seeing the middle-class area and eating total hooligans! He-he!"

"I was ready before you were!"

The two said, looking at Aisellia's body, both simultaneously nodding in agreement with each other. Aisellia giggled at the two.

"Well...they're not all hooligans exactly." Aisellia humbly noted to Cana.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"

Aisellia Rae: "It's ok, I knew what you meant. I can tell you two aren't like the extreme majority of Noble girls. Our city is massive, and the financial difference between High, middle, and low class respectively, is exponential."

Sheilia Ciest: "It's one of the reasons Cana and I wanted to go on this expedition, not just to broaden our horizons as noblewomen."

Cana Sigfried: "But also to see the world as it is. Most nobles, as you said, get stuck in their stuck-up world. Nobles stay in the highlands and live lavishly, with the guarded blockades blocking districts from one another, nobles never leave there. They just hire someone to go outside the district for them if they want anything. Some things work out for everyone."

Aisellia Rae: "It's sad but true. No one, even the middle district ever leaves the city, and those in the low quarters..."

Sheilia Ciest: "Simply can't..."

Aisellia Rae: "Sheilia?"

Sheilia Ciest: "I might be the princess type stuck in a tower every day, but I've done my own research into the city. With Cana's help, of course. We've dreamed of one day breaking the class barrier and opening opportunities for those communities to build and grow properly. One day, all of Freya will be able to live a fair quality of life!"

Aisellia Rae: "Then it's settled! Since I work for my parents, my business pass can get all three of us passed the district gate. I can show you two a few nice things. Some things aren't as bad as the nobles make them seem; even with their struggles, they are more lively people than we're used to in Highground."

She said, winking her eye, leading Cana and Sheilia to share a smile at each other before taking each of Aisellia's hands into their own. 

Cana Sigfried: "From this day we're all in it together!"

A few minutes later...

The male nobles and the priest could be seen standing next to the cart they had ridden in. The three women stepped from the building and walked up to the group. A short row of accompanied men heads turned, only for the priest to briefly pause before quickly turning away to hide his face.

"I'll be riding in the leading cart today as head of the Expedition, It's far more pleasing to be greeted immediately by an ambassador of the capital." He said while hastily walking away towards the front horse-drawn cart.

"Did...the Priest just gawk at us? I guess we are just a bit overloading for a man of the cloth."

Cana mumbled. Aisellia snickered over the matter and the fact that they were thinking the same thing. The women confidently returned their eyes to the male nobles who stood, faces flushed red, their mouths agape, and eyes opened wide. Shin snapped back to reality, catching himself and simply hopping into the back of the cart. Ian and Dan, however, stood stuck, unaware of how hard they were staring as the girls smiled at Ian in confidence together side by side.

"Okay boys, your few seconds of freebies are up! Stare again and we'll kill you kindly! Please and thank you!"

Hearing Cana's cheerful declaration, the two snapped out of their trance-like state, immediately fixing their posture. Ian and Dan raised their hands to their mouth and awkwardly coughed, but as much as Ian's body wanted to avert his gaze, his eyes remained glued to Cana's cleavage with a side glance. Dan's eyes moved from Cana's body and immediately locked on Aisellia's. Noticing this, Aisellia folded her arms over her breasts and turned away from the boys, having Dan's jaw drop again and earning Ian's lowered gaze as well.

"Dan, pick up your jaw and stop now. You don't get any seconds." Aisellia demanded of him.

"Why not?! Looking is free and it's not hurting you..."

"For the thousandth time, that's up to me who is free to look...not you...Geez I hate this fucker!"

Aisellia exclaimed. Slightly irritated by Dan's comment, Sheilia began speaking before Aisellia continued calling him out on it.

"Don't be such a piece of shit Dan. Our skin has to breathe in the heat. High-end feminine clothes tend to be suffocating, tight, or outright uncomfortable in the name of fashion. It's a terrible idea to go into an incredibly hot area, and there's no room for your body heat to vent."

"Yeah, are you two such kids that you're offended by a woman's natural body? Does it offend you that we want to look a little sexy now that we're free?"

Cana chimed in smugly, leaning forward purposely to lure Ian into peeking down at her exposed cleavage. She smirked mischievously, catching him unable to withhold himself from instinctively staring before frantically shifting his eyes away, knowing Cana was watching his face the entire time. Aisellia, holding her arms folded over her chest, began walking towards the cart, her outfit's construction of a neckline leaving her chest plenty visible through the opening.

"I think they are Cana." Aisellia began by supporting Cana's train of thought and continuing the notion.

"Nothing wrong or shameful about the appeal of a woman's body. If you got it, I think it's okay to show a little or a lot, whichever a woman can be more comfortable with herself and how she looks. Everyone has ways they enjoy dressing, I think it's simply awful to judge someone based on how they like wearing their clothing. When you can judge actually terrible people, like Dan there."

"Hee-hee, I believe so too Aisellia!"  Cana agreed before following her new friend into the cart, soon followed by the males. Sheilia, however, stood still. Her face riddled with envious rage, her hands were placed on her chest, glaring as the rest made their way to the back of their cart.

"...Flat is justice."

A short time later...

Shin was sitting up front with the driver, taking the priest's former place. Ian sat quietly, his eyes attempting to look in any direction other than Cana, who sat across from him. It looked painful, trying to keep his eyes from straying as she spoke to Sheilia, who sat between Aisellia and herself on one side of the cart. At his breaking point, he assured himself that a glance would be fine. His eyes slowly shifted, widening at the sight in front of him. The moment his eyes looked at her cleavage, his eyes caught sight of her breasts bouncing with the road, seeming each time to almost spill out of her clothes, or at least that's how it appeared in his eyes. Now, across the border into the new country, the dirt road they traveled on was bumpier than the stone roads they were used to.

"Hm? Ian, are you stuck again?"  Cana asked teasingly. Ian's eyes shot up to meet hers, realizing he was caught, quickly turning his head.

"I uuuh!" Ian responded, attempting to look away, but his eyes ended up immediately on Aisellia's chest. Instantly noticing hers were much larger than Cana's, having a larger bounce to them. Aisellia quickly glanced at Ian from the side of her eyes as well, shortly breaking her casual gaze, returning her ice-cold glare to Dan, watching him to ensure his eyes were elsewhere else except for her body, of which he seemed frozen stiff to ensure his eyes were held away. Aisellia began noticing Ian's gaze once again, slowly turning her head, and smirking.

"Try to ease up a little Ian."

Aisellia said before Cana continued from there.

"We're aware of bodies and how they look in these outfits. Honestly, it's part of the reason we like these outfits. Nothing wrong with liking what you see as long as you're not rude or creepy about it.  Just a girl tip for you."

Aisellia and Cana shared a playful laugh at the expense of the men.

Cana Sigfried: "You are a man who just sees what he likes. Women aren't stupid as to wear things like this and not expect some glances...well, some are. As long as you're not rude, a glance or two isn't bad or anything, but that's totally up to the girl you're dealing with. So be careful."

Aisellia Rae: "Quite frankly, I think it would be an interesting development if you weren't struggling to keep your eyes off them as you were. We didn't do it for you guys, of course, honestly speaking."

Aisellia smugly revealed quickly, causing Cana to blush and evade her eyes to no one but Aisellia's notice

"For the sake of my healthiness as a man, I must also-!"

Dan exclaimed, feeling he would get away with it as Ian did, aimed to turn his head and fully gaze upon the women's bodies, but his face was stopped by a single finger of Aisellia's. Her finger pressed against the side of his head, thus stopping it from turning fully.

"Eyes stay outside the cart, creep..." Aisellia sternly commanded him. This move caught the other nobles by surprise. Each noble froze in place in shock. Dan, fearfully following her command, was even more of a surprise to the nobles. But he growled under his breath.

(Stupid bitch...How dare she touch me after being so entitled? I'm still royalty and the most important envoy on this trip. An Aifried gets what he wants, Aisellia Noel Rae.)