“Bye, have a good day.” A shopkeeper said. They waved at their customers as the shop was soon left empty. A warm smile was spread across their lips. It persisted until the front doors closed shut. Then, it immediately disappeared. The shopkeeper fell to their knees.

Intimidating was the best word to describe the two customers who just left.

“Ah, what a lovely little shop. I got so many new things.” Lust said as she stretched. Shopping was hard work. It was a delicate craft that required the right amount of balance between buying necessary novel items and purchasing everything that looked interesting. This task was arduous, but Lust was up to the challenge. She promised to return home with interesting gifts for both Gluttony and some of the other demons she was friends with. Not wanting to forget anything, she turned to check her current inventory.

Xander was following closely behind the sin. The two almost ran into each other when she suddenly decided to stop. She grabbed one of the numerous bags that her friend was holding. They were the enchanted bags with limitless insides that were given to The Unnamed Team by the king. It was the perfect way to hold every item that Lust decided to purchase, but it did nothing for its content’s weight. The duo had been to enough shops to point out that glaring design flaw. Xander was struggling to carry each seemingly light bag. He wished for nothing more than a cart to ease his day spent with the sin. Meanwhile, Lust had no issue carrying the bags, but it would have been rude for a gentleman to push his duties onto his partner.

“I’m happy you’re happy,” Xander said between heavy breaths. The bags were starting to become much more tedious. Lust casually grabbing and dropping them back onto him only made it worse. He slowly started to regret taking on his current mission. He should have put up more resistance when his team picked him to watch the sin. It may have been done via random selection, but Xander could have vetoed the results or invoked the best two out of three rule. To make matters worse, Lust had no money, so he was the one footing every bill.

“That leaves us with one last place. Let’s go to the dress shop.” Lust said. She had a mental list of shops that she wanted to see for herself. Greed never held back when he told stories about the capital. Of course, most of his interest was in cheaper shops or sales. Lust had to take everything he said with a grain of salt. She decided to visit the places she was told about both out of respect for her friend and genuine interest in their items.

“Dress shop? You don’t have anything to wear?” Xander said with a confused voice. Lust had plenty of personal effects. All of the sins did. They were incredibly powerful beings that could take whatever they wanted or have their demonic underlings make for them. It wasn’t hard to imagine how monstrously cluttered their rooms were. Lust was especially odd in this case. She should have had a plethora of outfits. The past few hours alone had shown her passion for fashion and high-end accessories. So, why would she yearn for anything made by ordinary humans?

“Nothing that wouldn’t cause problems for the humans,” Lust said with a smile. Humans were sensitive creatures, especially their nobility. They had things like rules and laws against certain looks and public displays of affection that flew by Lust’s head. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem. The sin would either break the rule with glee or move to a place that didn’t enforce such a ridiculous notion. That wasn't an option in this case. Lust wanted to stay with The Unnamed Team, so there were conflicting issues. She wanted to stay, but the only clothes that she had were ones made by succubi and other demons. It would have been a major issue to draw attention to herself given that she was a sin. Hence, the need to go dress shopping.

“Right, that. Well, I guess we need to get you something. Do you want me to grab someone else? Someone that's better at helping you pick clothes?” Xander said. He wanted to get out of the situation if he could. Lust was difficult to handle by himself. He’d gladly grab another person to help him in his endeavors. The dress shop simply provided the perfect excuse. He knew nothing about fashion. He especially knew nothing about women’s clothing. Lust would absolutely prefer a different person to give her advice.

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense. You probably don’t want to see me dolled up until our night together.” Lust said. Her smile shined bright. It was almost blinding and heavily contrasted with her torn thoughts. She didn’t want Xander to leave, but customs were things to abide by. She’d be rude to blatantly ignore them, especially since they involved a friend.

“I’m sorry?” Xander said. He was beyond befuddled. Not seeing her? That was odd. She was right in front of him. He could see her at that very moment. They were far past the point of hiding from each other. Whatever custom she was referring to was lost on him, so Lust had elaborate.

“Don’t humans have a practice of not seeing their partners before a major event? I can’t think of anything more major than us going to the ball together.” Lust said. She was confused over Xander’s confusion. It should have been common knowledge. Of course, the practice was mostly used before weddings, but neither person recognized that detail.

“What?” Xander said. His bewilderment started to morph into a panic. He tried to reanalyze the conversation as quickly as possible. When did they get on this topic? Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Why couldn’t he be that smooth? Wait, what was going on? Those were the kinds of thoughts that plagued his mind, some more often than others.

“We’re going to the ball together, right?” Lust asked outright. It was clear that beating around the bush wouldn’t help. Xander was obviously not the type to pick up hints. Subtlety would get the sin nowhere. Fortunately, she was more than willing to be direct in her approach.

“Well…” Xander said. He tried to look for an answer. It wasn’t as if he disliked the sin. They got along fine enough, but the ball would act as the team’s debut into high society. Nobles and monarchs alike would be looking to see how The Unnamed Team presented themselves and who they brought as partners. Bringing a sin might cause problems. Then again, Xander’s team wasn’t known for following every detailed rule, and he was somewhat fond of Lust for a variety of reasons, not the least of which coincided with her name and skill. Thankfully, his new partner was more than willing to make the decision for him.

“We’re going to the ball together.”