Alice grinned, picking up the prized, holy object up carefully... and then just shoved it in her bag with reckless abandon. Marine frowned, and raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.

"Isn't that going to squash the fygg?"

Alice shook her head, "Nope. My bag is magical~!" She raised up her hands, and wiggled her fingers.

Marine stared at her blankly, and after several moments, just simply shrugged it off. The kid's a weirdo anyway, I should be used to this. "Well, let's get back to the Abbey."

After dropping the Abbot off with the clergy people, Alice decided to go play around in the dining hall while they waited for the Abbot to wake up. As she was eating some cake (the maid insisted that it was on the house, since they brought back the Abbot), she noticed a man wearing very flamboyant clothes standing in the far corner of the room, just staring at everyone that passed by, murmuring to himself. It was then that Alice took a closer look, and she realized that the man was actually a lost spirit. At that same moment, said spirit noticed her staring at him, and quickly made to approach her before she could walk away.

"Well, well ,well! I've finally found one!" He crouched down, and started poking and prodding Alice all over (but mostly her face). "Yes! I've finally found a gorgeous little up-and-coming minstrel! What's your name, sweetie?"

"A-Awish!" Alice managed to get out, despite having her cheeks pinched continuously. The man let her go, and Alice rubbed her sore cheeks, pouting. "Alice."

"Well then, little Alice. Do you perhaps fancy followin' an old pro like me to the dizzy heights of eternal superstardom?"

"Ummmm... sure... okay!" Alice smiled nervously. She didn't really want to associate with this guy anymore, but it was common knowledge that you shouldn't upset spirits if you can help it.

"Marvelous! Here, take this little number and go model it for me, alright darling? It might be a little too big, but that could be a plus too..." The man muttered to himself as he shoved a (surprisingly solid) bundle of bright clothing into Alice's arms, and pushed her towards the ladies restroom.

. . .

Alice was NOT amused after she had figured out how to put the outfit on. It had seemed like a dress at first, but it was actually a tight, purple top with yellow frills over the revealing chest space, and a long, purple skirt that had several layers, pooling on the floor. It kept falling right off her, since it was CLEARLY made for somebody much older... and who was actually developing... so she picked up an orange sash she found just lying on the counter, and used it to secure the skirt to her tightly. There was also two yellow armbands that fit; one size fits all, apparently. Alice put her black, steel gauntlets back on, and looked at herself in the mirror.

She grimaced, "I look ridiculous."

Alice had barely even taken a single step out of the restroom before she was attacked by her flamboyant 'master', he had picked her up and was twirling her around.

"Lovely! You look absolutely, positively adorable! Everyone will be amazed by how cute you are! The perfect minstrel!...But," The 'master' set her back down, and rubbed his chin in concentration, "...there's something missing... Aha! I've got it! Turn around, dear."

Alice slowly turned around, and slumped her head forward so she wouldn't have to see people looking at her. The 'master' crouched down and tied a ribbon around her neck, with the bow on the back of her neck like you would for a kitten. He stood back up, and patted her on the head.

"Good, good! Now you look truly perfect! Now, my disciple, go! Go and spread the cult all over the land!" The man threw Alice out of the dining hall, and right into Iris's arms. The two of them blinked confusedly at one another, but Iris simply shrugged and brought Alice upstairs, purposely ignoring Alice's new style of clothing.

"Where are we going? Are we leaving already?" Alice kicked her feet lightly, liking the way her skirt flopped about.

"No, the Abbot woke up, and he wants to see us."

At the sound of the door opening, Marine turned to see Iris walk in carrying Alice, who was wearing... very questionable clothing that Marine knew for a fact that she hadn't ever seen on her before. Not only that, but it was clearly to big for her. Marine wanted to ask about it, but now wasn't the right time, so she saved her questions for later. The Abbot coughed, getting everyone's attention. Iris set Alice down on the ground, and let her waddle over towards where Sheila was sitting at a table, drinking tea with the Abbot.

The Abbot smiled at Alice as she climbed into a seat beside Sheila. "Ah, there you are little one! I must thank you four girls for helping me with my... predicament at the Tower of Trades. I sincerely apologize for the trouble I've put you girls through... I have no idea what kind of spell that strange fruit had over me, but it was clear that it was too powerful for mortals to control! Even though I simply wished for a sign on how to be a better guide for my flock...I acted disgracefully, and even violent. Again, I apologize. Is there anything at all that I may be able to do for you to show my appreciation?"

Marine narrowed her eyes, and grinned creepily. "Well... there is something... You are the Abbot, correct?"

"...You are correct. What does that have to do with what I'm asking?"

"Well, I'd certainly appreciate it if you could make me a paladin."

Marine came out of the ladies restroom, covered from head to toe in steel armor. The Abbot had given it to her as a gift, to congratulate her on her new vocation. It didn't make a lick of sense to Marine, but maybe that was just how people operated on this island. Or maybe it was simply a clergy thing. Free shit is free shit, I guess.

Putting that matter aside, Marine pointed at Alice, who was practically drowning in her purple skirt. "By the way, where the hell did you get that?"

Alice sat up, looked at her skirt dumbly, and shrugged, as if to say "Well how the hell should I know, even though I'm the one wearing it?". "The master downstairs in the bright clothes gave it to me. He said I 'look cute'. Do I?"

The three of them fell silent, not really knowing what to say. Stella flew out, took one look at Alice, and whacked her across the head. "You look like a flappin' idiot! How the flap are you going to fight if you're stumblin' all over yourself every five minutes!"

Alice puffed out her cheeks, and took out her sword. "Fine~! I'll fix it then, you party poopers."

Alice slowly cut the fabric so that the skirt now came 2cm below her knees, and jumped around a little like a little kid. "There, now I can move better!"

Marine rubbed her eyes, exasperated. "Good, now let's get going already. I want to get to the next town before nightfall."

I think that Tom Foolery is a pedophile. This is not up for debate.