Chapter 3: Disrobing
"I don't mean to say that you being nude is something bad," the shy girl giggled, "it's just very unusual for our town."
They sat on tree stumps to catch their breath and have a little talk, both Katrina and Sophia needed a bit of rest. The solar elf sat carefully, as if scared to make her clothes even dirtier, and embarrassingly clutched her robe when she realized her bra was showing. Katrina, on the other hand, nearly laid down on the stump with her elbows down, and spread her legs to allow the breeze and the warm sun to caress her nude figure.
"I've already realized that," the knight joked as she saw Sophia glancing at her pussy and turning her eyes away, blushing, "I'm from the east, lived in a small town hidden in the Golden Forest which tolerated... No, even encouraged a lot of nudity."
"Oh, what was that town?" Asked the blonde with interest, taking a sip from Katrina's water flask.
"No matter," Katrina's tone suddenly became somber, "it's in the past anyway."
"Oh..."
"As to why I'm naked," a smile appeared on the fire knight's face again, she was eager to steer the conversation in a happier direction, "there are three main reasons."
"First," she bent one of her fingers, "is practicality. The magic overall circulates within your body better if it's not constrained by anything. The snobbish wizards with their new magic systems have forgotten about it, but it's still true. Speaking of which, you saw that my magic is lighting myself on fire. I'm naturally fireproof as part of my wielding abilities, but any clothing or armor would just burn down in seconds. It's just not worth bothering with that."
"But... You could've enchanted your clothing to be fireproof as well!" Sophia said with another giggle.
"Yes. My scabbard's fireproof, by the way. But having it on clothing would mean that the fire can't get out and I can't burn my enemies. How would I be able to deliver all my moves, huh, priestess?" She suddenly lifted her leg up and ignited her toe, causing the blonde girl to flinch.
"The second reason is cost. Armor is expensive, and taking care of it is a chore. The same goes for clothing, even if on a smaller scale. If I don't need them to fight, I'd rather go without it," the nude girl smiled.
"Hm, but you could've worn some kind of a robe or a coat when out of fight, then take it off. You know, so you'd still have..." Sophia let her new friend finish the thought for her.
"Well, that's where we come to my third reason. I just love being naked, permanently. It gives you an amazing, almost divine feeling that you can't get from anything else. Plus, it's good for your health. The body needs air, and a lot of it, just like fire does. And it goes without saying that others like it too," Katrina suggestively jiggled her large breasts.
"He-he, I guess," Sophia smiled with shyness. Even if she seemed embarrassed by Katrina's behavior, there was a part of her that clearly enjoyed this, for some reason.
"Well, your turn," Katrina pointed at the blonde girl with her foot, "tell me about yourself, what such cute sun priestess is doing in this scary forest? Also, how are folks in your local solar church? Because having them on my side would've been great. Will returning you fill them with gratitude that I can then use?"
"Uh... I don't think... It will," Sophia got uncomfortable, and not in a fun giggly way like before, "I'm an exile. They turned me away for disobeying the church's laws."
"You were disobeying laws? Seriously?" Katrina carefully stared at the pointy-eared blonde, who seemed like an incarnation of innocence.
"That's a long story. I don't think you'll be interested... But that's why I got caught in this forest. My home's nearby, I just needed some time to breathe and think about everything. The outskirts are dangerous, though, and I wasn't careful enough. I don't know much about the mages. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to delve into this topic that much."
"Understood," Katrina nodded and jumped up from the stumb. Sophia's gaze froze on the redhead's amazing body as she saw it from below, it was truly a nice angle.
"I get you don't need a ride to the town, then? I must go then, time fr me to meet your Mayor."
"Oh... No, I don't. Goodbye, then," Sophia turned away awkwardly.
But when the redhead approached Ash, she heard the blonde shout behind her back, just as she expected.
"Wait," her voice was full of doubt, yet she forced herself to press on, "please, take me with you. Even if I'm an exile, I still have powers! You're a great fighter, but if you ever get wounded I can heal you. I can also blind your enemies with the sunlight. I won't be a liability, I promise!"
Katrina, who waited for exactly this to happen, turned toward the blonde and scratched her chin
"You know, heaving my own healer doesn't sound half bad. But I do have one rule that you must follow if you want to join me."
"Sure! Anything. You saved my life, gave me water, and were so nice to me. I'm obligated to help you!" The blonde's eyes were shining with hope.
"Take all of your clothes off. To join me, you'll have to be naked," Katrina grinned and Sophia suddenly became silent.
"W-what?" The priestess asked as if the naked knight just told her to jump off a bridge, "but... Why?"
"Again, three reasons. First of all, as far as I know, you sunwielders use old magic that benefits from sunrays shining over you. It will only be logical for you to be nude so the sun can cover your whole body and give you more energy. We're going to deal with strong foes in this town, and I want you to be at maximum strength. Secondly, your robe is already dirty, and it will get even dirtier in fights. Washing it or buying a new one will be wasteful, and wasting time on this mission is deadly. Thirdly... Well, that's just how my image goes. And if you're going to be my healer, you have to support it. Sounds good?" The knight folded her arms across her bare chest, making her beautiful breasts seem even bigger for a second. She was shining with confidence.
Sophia had no idea what to respond. The arguments Katrina presented were simply too good, and she clearly didn't care about any sort of modesty in the slightest. But the blonde girl wasn't raised this way, a thought of appearing butt-naked on the streets of her own town was so frightening she couldn't even let them into her head. It felt like a wild fever dream.
But, on the other hand, Katrina was her savior. The priestess owed her life to this crazy nude woman. Plus, the redhead's quest was that of righteousness and justice. Refusing to help her save Sophia's own hometown would go against all of the blonde's beliefs and moral values. Besides, she didn't even have a place to go now that she was exiled... It was a nightmarish dilemma.
"I... I'm sorry, I can't!" She finally exclaimed, her eyes on the verge of tears, "it's just not how I was raised, this seems too much for me. I... I wish you luck on your quest, Katrina. Thank you for saving me, but that's..."
"That's alright," Katrina nodded, "I get that some folks just aren't cut for this lifestyle like I am. Don't beat yourself too much over it. If I'll get wounded, I'll make sure to come to your house and use your healing at its fullest!"
The nude knight gave her friend a playful wink and jumped on her horse. As Sophia watched the redhead's gorgeous braid and her naked taut butt getting farther and farther away, the inner conflict within the priestess' mind only grew stronger. But her decision was probably for the best, the elf wasn't cut for fighting and would probably only slow her savior down, so there was nothing to worry about...
Katrina passed a wooden sign stating that Zardiw was already nearby and turned her gaze forward. The morning fog have already dissipated, now the nude knight could clearly see the gray stones of city walls and bright purple banners of Tholcing on the horizon. She drove Ash to gallop, then a sudden familiar shout made her slow the horse down.
"Wait!" Sophia cried out as she ran to Katrina, trying to keep up with Ash on her own two feet.
The elf was out of breath, covered in road dust, and barely keeping herself from falling down. The nude redhead jumped down and grabbed Sophia by the hips, allowing her to rest for a bit.
"Girl, what the hell are you doing?" She asked with a mixture of concern and admiration, "humans can't gallop, you know."
"I... I changed my mind," Sophia replied in a quiet tone as if saying this word was physically hard for her, "I'm going to get n... n... Naked! If that's what it takes to be on your side."
"Wow," now Katrina was the only one looking at the elf with awe, "a surprise, but a very welcomed one! What made you change your decision, priestess?"