The Devil Away was finally open, and people flooded into the building for all manner of reasons. Some rushed to the counter with their requests, and others eyed the curiosities lying on the shelves. And then there were the gawkers who'd only come to eye the mascot girls dressed in an outfit that they'd never seen before.
Her curves made them drool, and that long, open back while she was leaning against the window was such an eye turner that even some of the women couldn't help but stare at her fine skin leading down until the slightest crack of her butt.
Trying to avoid all the staring, Freya stared at the street with a look of pure misery. Waving at the passerby's, she had zoned out so much that nothing felt real, almost as if she was in a dream where not even her own thoughts existed. The quiet she enjoyed, but the many glances drinking in her body eventually snapped her out of her head multiple times.
'This is so embarrassing…' Beyond thankful for the mask, she could hear the chatter behind her. Both Aura and Okio were showing customers around. One only dealt with females while the other dealt with the men; all the while, she had to deal with them all in her own way.
"Ey! Why don't you come with us?" Said a young man amongst a group of many, his eyes were leering at Freya's chest, and the smirk on his face reflected just what kind of man he was, as well as the nature of his friends surrounding him.
"Hmm," glancing downward, Freya stared back. "Minstril's kid? Want me to tell your mother what you're doing with your hooligan friends, you little runt?"
The man recoiled at her word, and the arrogant look in his eyes turned to horror.
"How did you…"
"And tell your, good-for-nothing father, that the next time he brings a whore to the inn, Freya's gonna tell your cross-eyed mother what she saw!" Blurting out everything that she could to let out some anger, Freya almost growled at the man like a feral animal. "Now, feck off before I shove a peg up your bastard arse!"
"What the fuck?" Confused as to how a woman whom he had assumed to be a slave knew so much about him, the man simply turned and began walking away with his friends. Cursing under his breath and insulting the woman's appearance as if he hadn't tried to woo her just then.
'Balls haven't dropped, and the rascal thinks that he can talk to me that way.' Watching the guy disappear, Freya noticed Zephyr walking up beside her. Turning her head, she looked at him and asked.
"What? This outfit wasn't enough to humiliate me, and now I'm not even allowed to defend myself?"
"Don't worry, I'm not here for that." Leaning against the window frame, Zephyr turned his eyes to her. "Besides that mask makes it so that only the person you're speaking to can hear you. Other exceptions are Cecilia and me, but for the most part, nobody else heard anything that you just said."
Struck with wonder, Freya almost pulled the mask off her face to check on it, but the reminder that some people might still recognize her despite the makeup kept her from doing it.
"How do you have such things?" She asked, eyes furrowed with a hint of suspicion.
"Secrets of the trade, can't tell you. I'm sure you understand." Zephyr's reply, however, was exactly what she'd expected.
"Does one of the secrets involve dressing me like a hooker?" Freya scoffed and looked away.
"It does seem to work," with a smile on his face, Zephyr turned his head to the front as well. "Having a beautiful woman as the mascot, it was Cecilia's idea, but after seeing you in that outfit, I have to be honest, even I would've been lured inside."
"Easy there," shooting him a sideways glance, Freya wore a tense look again. "If that's your twist at a flirt, I might have to remind you that you have two slave girls already, and from the sound of it, one of them is quite too needy for there to be any room for another."
Laughing it off, Zephyr placed a hand on top of her shoulder. Freya's eyes turned to the touch, but as the trader boy had been respectful to her thus far, she didn't brush his hand off instantly.
"You don't have to wear it from tomorrow if you don't want to," squeezing her shoulder, Zephyr retreated his hand. "I'll talk to Cecilia, she's gonna listen. Although I can't say I wouldn't miss seeing you in such a perfectly luring outfit."
"I'm sure, I'm sure~" Scoffing with a smile, Freya felt slightly more at ease. To her, Zephyr's honesty made him seem more genuine and truthworthy–at least more than the man she had had that wretched one-night stand with. "Not the most polite use of words, but at least you're not saying all the right things that you think I want to hear just so that you can get your way with me."
Staring at the street again, Freya hoped that her own son would be the same. Honest, even if it came at the cost of being a little too blunt. Kind words to her were just that, kind words. They meant little if there wasn't enough action to back them up, and this offer by Custer for her not to be forced into the dress if she didn't want to wear it was a prime example of that.
"Still, I will take you up on that offer." Accepting Custer's suggestion not to be a lewd bunny girl every day, Freya decided to turn her attention back to work, but then she saw him. "W-what's he doing here?"
Pressing her hand against her mask, she made sure that it was on properly. The person she was freaking out over was none other than her own son, Rudy. Coming to her to talk about confessing his love towards Roxanne, but the way in which she was dressed, Freya had no intentions of talking to him one bit.
"Don't tell him that this is me!" Grabbing Zephyr's arm, Freya squeezed it until her fingers were imprinted onto his skin. "The last thing I want is for him to see me like this!"
While still in the middle of the conversation, Rudy walked in through the front door and was looking around until his eyes met hers. For a moment, his eyes squinted in recognition, but once he gave her a thorough look, the hero shook his head and confirmed to himself that there was no way that this person was his mother.
Still with a blush, he began walking closer–his gait a bit wobbly from the sight of the scantily dressed woman to his front.
'Oh shit…' Being seen in a strange way by her son, Freya already knew that this encounter was about to be a mess.