Aya vs the gossip sisters

I shifted my eyes as Yentl wheeled out a cart filled with various skincare products, most of which I recognized as expensive brands I wanted to try, but couldn't since I lacked the funds to buy them. 

"We should start by freshening up her skin, don't you think?" Yenta nodded.

"Not the makeup first?" Yente frowned.

"What good would it do? You don't do your makeup before doing beauty cream do you?" Yentl scowled.

"Hmm, her skin is pretty soft. What do you use?" Yenta asked.

"Um... I don't remember the name. Think it was just a green bottle," I frowned.

The triplets all turned to each other and shrugged before uncorking the cap on one of the bottles and smearing its contents all over my face.

"Shall we add the cucumbers?" Yente asked.

"It says the cream can also cover the mouth," Yentl frowned.

"Oh, no, no, NO! Then how would we chat with her? Chatting's part of the business," Yenta huffed.

"But the cucumbers-"

"She needs to see our faces to get more acquainted with us!"

Truth be told, just by looking at their faces, it's hard to tell them apart. That said, striking up a conversation is probably the best option for all of us. Just need to think of something- OH!

"So how long have you known the captain for?"

The triplets all stared at me intently before letting out a collective sigh.

"We can't say we know her, personally, in fact, she's never set foot in our shop before," Yenta frowned.

"Huh!? But aren't you her biggest fans!?"

"Yes, but she pays us no heed for she's a woman who shuns makeup and dresses, and pretty much... every product we sell... OH! We should have been an armory!" Yente cried.

"As if we could ever forge a sword. The captain would never wear sloppily forged armor by us, nor would anyone for that matter," Yentl scoffed.

"So then do you make everything here by yourselves?" I asked.

"Mostly, but we also shelve products from other manufacturers," Yenta stated.

"We also ship nationwide, but only have shops here in Traditsye," Yente added.

"Though there is no significant competition here as the nobles do love our handywork, I do think we should try expanding proper outside of Traditsye," Yentl sighed.

"Say, has the duchess come by with her new perfume yet?" I asked.

The sisters all gathered around and stared at me. "A DUCHESS WANTS TO SELL PERFUME!? WHICH ONE!?"

Uh oh, Tal might've wanted to keep this a secret. How do I get out of this?

"Uh, you know, with the blue hair... The one that's always trying to be better than Ami? What's her name?"

The triplets let out a collective, "Oh..."

"You mean Countess Mariamne van Hutsa. As far as I've heard she's only trying to surpass Ami in magic and might, not her alchemy and innovation," Yenta frowned.

"No, no, I heard she's trying to build elevators like the one Ami put in the dungeons nearby. Your information's wrong," Yente countered.

"But has she tried making perfume? I've never heard of such a thing," Yentl scowled.

"Ah, but speaking of duchesses, did you hear about House Twin D' Tal? I hear someone from it submitted a request to the guild," Yenta interjected.

"'Twin D' Tal'? I'm surprised the house still exists. They were already the lowest-ranking royal branch family, then the incident occurred, further decimating their status."

"Perhaps the request was to recruit servants. I heard the house doesn't have a single one," Yente frowned.

"Well of course the house has no servants, it was practically wiped out after some Ova Sfongia assassins raided and decimated the whole house."

"I thought they were Ova Sfongia sympathizers," Yenta interjected.

"No, no, no, you're thinking of Ararat, you dolt," Yentl scoffed.

"Right, right, Duke Ararat is the one trying to push the kingdom into closer ties with Ova Sfongia," Yente nodded.

"Um... how much longer until the cream can come off?" I nervously chuckled.

Truth be told, I could handle all the talking, but I was starting to feel bad for Tal. That was probably some stuff she didn't want others to hear, but now I heard it. I get it's not my fault as it's the sisters doing the gossiping, but still, the sooner I can get them to change the topic, the better.

"Hmm, I think it is time to remove the cream. Oo! That means we can test out the makeup," Yenta squealed.

Why are my danger senses suddenly tingling?

...

"Oh, you still at it?" Ami asked as she entered.

"Nope, she's done!" Yenta exclaimed as she spun me spun me around.

Ami recoiled in shock at my appearance. Now that my hair was tied up and my face was covered in makeup, I looked like I could pass for a noblewoman. 

"Yeah, too mature for my personality, but, they said it looks good," I nervously chuckled.

"No, they did a good job, I'm just not used to seeing you looking like this... It just, doesn't fit knowing how your personality is," Ami mumbled as she shifted her eyes away awkwardly.

"Oh? Is Ami saying she doesn't want us to sample her new perfume?" Yentl scowled.

"No, no, she looks good. Here, try it. I used a new secret mixture."

"Not yet. First, Aya must grace the town with her presence for... we'll say 15 minutes since she was such a dear. Then, we'll give your perfumes a whiff," Yente huffed. 

And so, I was off to wander around town, and instructed to direct all who inquired about my makeup to the boutique. To be honest, this part was harder than dealing with the triplets as tons of people were drawn to me. No one got touchy-feely though, so I was able to complete the job without having to swing any punches. 

After that, the triplets agreed to sample Ami's new grass perfume, and loved it to the point where they signed a deal to get it on the shelves. 

"So, going to start wearing makeup now?" Ami asked as we walked back to the guild. 

"Eh, I'll admit, some of the combinations they subjected me to did tempt me to adopt the look, but I like my beauty regiment as is. Though if we have a job where we need to dress up, now I know how to make myself look sexier," I grinned. 

"Tch, I hate noble parties," Ami scowled.

"You've been to one?" 

"Too damn many. Ugh, just thinking about them pisses me off." 

"What's so bad about them?" 

"Wanna do a late-night test on the warp bracelet?" 

"Nope! Good night!" I cried as I sped off towards the inn.