"As we agreed before. This is as far as I'm willing to take ya and ya'ar group" the group leader Maria and company had been travelling with said.
They had not yet reached the chariot hill yet but it was visible in the distance.
The ride here had been far from comfortable. In fact, their group has been either ignored or outright feared by the humans. It seems like they still feared Nao, even when she was a bound demon.
We appreciate your help in this regard" Nao bowed to the group leader who had a constipated look on his face. The group behind him flinched at Nao's action.
"Ya ya. Just go before anyone sees ya with us" the group leader grumbled. The longer they travelled with the group, the more his tone reverted into that rough accent.
"Bye kid. Hope we et again" Suna waved toward the kid who looked back at her with star-struck eyes. The mother did not hesitate to move her kid's face into her bosom in an attempt to shield him from Suna.
The action made Suna's smile wilt. It left a sour after taste in Maria's mouth as well. But there was nothing to be done and their group understood it. They parted ways with the group and went their own way.
"So, how do we get to the Grand Canyon from here?" Suna asked. She was the one who was the most out of her depth here.
"There should be a connecting bus that travels from here to the Grand Canyon. It was in a travelling voucher I saw in the tropolis. I'm sure so of us could get us in there" Nao's eyes were focused on Maria as she stared at her.
Maria felt her nervousness rise as she was forcefully being stared down by Nao. Suna turned her head toward Maria as well with curious eyes.
"What? What did I do to deserve this look?" Maria asked with almost hesitation.
"Maria, were you not interested in hacking when you were young? Surely you can get three people into a tourist package. I'm sure your skills have not rusted since you do seem attached to your phone" Maria wanted to curse at Nao but she also wanted to kiss her.
Maria had been avoiding using her system in fear of being caught by Noa or anyone else. She had tried to experint when she had been young but she had often gotten dirty looks for it from her mother.
Growing up, those experints had been toned down a bit and been conducted in the safety of her room. That should have been the end of it. But sohow, her interest had not escaped Nao's eyes and she had reached a wrong conclusion.
Still, it was a valid excuse and Maria wanted to hit herself for not thinking about it herself. She could have avoided so much grief if she had thought about it before.
"I don't know how you found out about that. I thought I was being discreet with my hobby" Maria pouted to make her words seem more childish. Her behaviour was the perfect way to throw Nao off guard and to make it force on her.
"Please. I was your friend and spent too long with you. Besides, you were not being as discreet as you think you were being" Maria felt like cursing Nao out but she refrained from doing that.
If Nao knew her secret and did not say anything, how many of Maria's secrets did she know and never tell her about? The more Maria found out, the more she felt her temper rise. But she had to control her temper. She could not allow herself to lash out.
The bond between them all was too fragile to be played with like that.
"Let's get to the town first. The net signal out here is not the strongest for to hack into" in fact, Maria's system had no problem hacking into the tourist chamber from here. But Maria did not know how long it would take for her to be able to do so.
It was better to find temporary shelter and then try to hack into the mainfra. Also, get new clothes and take a healthy bath. Their group was beginning to sll.
"Whatever you say. But next ti you have such a useful skill, do tell us beforehand. It could have co handy in the tropolis" Nao almost sounded teasing and Maria felt annoyed.
What did Nao an by? Was it a jab at Maria, or sothing more? Did Nao know anything more than she was letting on? What more secrets did Nao know about Maria?
"Wait. I'm confused. First, Nao is an excellent bomb diffuser and then the orac- I an Maria turns out to be an immature hacker. Does anyone else have a talent they want to co forth with?" Suna asked with a confused glare.
She was likely trying to be intimidating but her glare ca out as rather laughter It was like a kitten trying to bare her claws. As good as Suna was, she had yet to grow into her powers and the ti for that would co once they reached the Grand Canyon.
"Yeah, Nao, would you like to tell us any more of your secrets?" Maria askes. She couldn't help herself since the opportunity just presented itself to her on a silver platter.
It only drew onto Maria that she might have made that joke in a poor attempt to get back at Nao and her secret-keeping self. Maria tensed as soon as she made that offence and looked at Nao with an apologetic look for cracking that bad joke.
She waited for the demoness to crack back at her but it didn't happen.
Nao let out a hearty laugh. She seed to have found this situation amusing at least and it drained the tension out of the group. For the first ti since they had fought, Maria felt like things would be ok.
They were strong enough to push through this hurdle and co out as stronger.
"So, do you have any suggestions or should I make one? I think we should head to the adventure guild's building here. I'm sure we can force them to shelter us" Suna's suggestion was not bad.
While there was danger following it, it was not any less than being recognized at anyplace else. If the guild knew that they were wanted, then so would the whole town.
"Let's head there then. Also, here. These are our allies so make sure to have at least so knowledge even if you don't call us by our fake nas. And for god's sake, don't slip up and call Maria by her title" Nao grilled Suna and Maria watched amused.
It was fun to see Nao nag anyone else than her.
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