There are many reasons why SinB and Yuju do not bother going in for a convincing male disguise anymore, and much of it has to do with a certain incident at a certain small town that shall remain unnamed for various reasons.

It had been a couple of months since they left home on their great adventure, and at that time, it was deemed practical to disguise themselves as men to avoid unwanted attention, especially since they (mostly SinB) did not wish for any pursuers to bring them back. Yuju had little opinion on this, since SinB was the one in charge as far as she was concerned, and she was the equivalent of a squire to her lord in this case.

There were benefits to this arrangement. Neither of the girls were ugly in any sense of the word, and dressed dashingly on horseback, they were the very picture of handsome young adventurers out on a jaunt. While they had taken some care to hide their wealth, there was no disguising that SinB was dressed a little more richly than the average traveller, with Yuju just as evidently her ‘manservant’. Youth had its disadvantages in its blindness from experience, and they had so much more to learn in the days to come.

As things were, they did leave quite a trail of broken hearts behind them in their travels, as 1) SinB was not interested in dallying with stray milkmaids, and 2) Yuju was oblivious to all the heart eyes she received every time she rescued any damsels in distress. 

And many damsels were indeed rescued, as Yuju was very conscious of the code of chivalry despite not actually being a knight, but having a swordmaster for a father, who was in fact a squire to a knight, did tend to rub off on her. SinB was a little less conscious of said code, despite being the daughter of that knight, but she wasn’t about to disagree with the free food and lodging that came along as a reward for Yuju’s white knighting behavior. There was a limit to the funds they brought from home, after all.

But we digress, and return to the unnamed town on the border of another estate, far from the great Temple of Artemis where they were currently. It was not a very large town, nor was it a very small one, which meant that it had all the facilities of a thriving area of mercantilism, with the likes of taverns and gambling halls, along with such others that shall remain unnamed as well.

The riverside docks were a bustling place, and the two young women were looking to take a trip down the great river instead of riding on the rest of the way. A good month of travel was very tiring for their backs and bums, and SinB couldn’t wait to not see a saddle for a few days. She had sores in places she didn’t even know she had until then.

But yes, we were speaking of barmaids, and where else to find one but a tavern?

Not just any tavern though, no, but the busiest one just off the docks, run by the town beauty and staffed with equally beautiful barmaids. The Honey Bee was a one stop service for all your needs, from drinks to other services, as our two hapless adventurers were about to find out.

“Hey! Don’t forget HOW we got there in the first place...don’t think I’ll let you skip that part either!”

SinB waves a fist threateningly at Yuju, who pauses long enough to sigh deeply, before continuing the tale.

Yes. Well. Normally, taverns were not their first stop in town. No, that would have been the inn, as any right thinking travellers would at least want a bed for the night. 

This would not have been a problem, normally. Unfortunately, there was the problem of the innkeeper’s daughter, and her five brothers…

“Oh just let me tell it,” SinB interjects impatiently, pulling up a seat next to Yewon.

“Yuju saved the innkeeper’s daughter from falling into the river and then the girl wanted to ‘repay the favor’ by climbing into her bed at night and…” SinB snickers at Yuju’s pinched face, then shrugs. “Anyway, angry men with pitchforks at midnight aren’t something I want to experience again.”

Yuju grunts, wiping away the cold sweat from her brow before shooting a nervous glance at the others. Eunha pats her on her arm encouragingly, which helped a little. Yuju grins, and continues on.

Ahem. BUT THEY GOT AWAY. Anyway. 

So there they were, bedraggled and harassed at an ungodly hour of the night, and the only places open were, obviously, taverns and other places of entertainment. It was not a small town, but it was also, unfortunately, not a very large one, and having angry locals on your heels was ill advised. They had to find a place to hide, and quickly.

At least they had their weapons on them, but there was no recourse to their mounts nor the rest of their belongings anymore, with the inn no longer safe for them to return to. In a fit of inspiration, SinB thought it to be an excellent idea to slip into the back entrance of a tavern and hide in the storage area until the search had passed. Yuju, not having any better ideas, agreed to this.

This was the beginning of a string of questionable decisions to be made that night, not that they knew it then, of course. The night was young, and so were they. Youth made them fearless, though they would come to have so much more to fear after this.

But there they were, at the back alley behind the Honey Bee tavern, and thinking “what could possibly go wrong?”. (So many things, that’s what.)

The back door was locked, but SinB, with her sharp eyes, noticed a flapping window on the second floor, which was just reachable if the two worked together. Which they did, and quickly, thanks to a misspent youth involving escaping boring poetry lessons through inconveniently placed windows. As well as experience from stealing apples from the orchard in midsummer (though why they needed to steal anything when SinB’s dad owned the orchard was in fact, questionable). 

The pounding feet stampeding through the alley they just barely escaped spoke of the wisdom (they thought) of their choices, and the two were about to congratulate each other when some… sounds came to their attention. 

Yuju’s eyes widened, for while she was very oblivious to most things with regards to herself, growing up around the grounds where most of the servants were also meant that she had come upon not-so-secret trysts between the servants and occasionally, visiting nobility seeking discretion. Servants were largely invisible, and they were everywhere, so Yuju had at least heard and seen a few things she was probably not supposed to, but she knew enough to keep shut. 

SinB, on the other hand, was a lot more sheltered in that respect, despite her willingness to play with Yuju growing up, despite the differences in rank. There were only so many children her age growing up, and Yuju was the daughter of her father’s squire. It was perhaps inevitable that they grew close, but most of it involved SinB dragging a reluctant Yuju into trouble. Someone had to take the blame, and poor, honest Yuju ended up being the scapegoat most of the time.

But regardless, here they were now, with Yuju wanting to get out before someone noticed they were not supposed to be here, and SinB, being the innocently curious one, wanting to investigate the odd noises. SinB however, was the master, and Yuju only her squire. Any objections were thereby overruled, much to Yuju’s chagrin.

The less said about what happened later, the better. SinB got a very unforgettable lesson about biology, while Yuju was wise enough to stay out of the direct line of fire for that one. Look, she had enough of accidentally wandering into stables before, this was not an experience she wished to repeat.

But yes, in the end, they (well, SinB mostly) were caught redhanded by the barmaid from the tavern downstairs, and if not for the kindness of the person they had barged in on, SinB might have been thrashed to within an inch of her life. 

Especially after hearing about the adventure the pair had at the inn, which left the tavernkeeper, as well as the barmaid, and the patron they had so innocently barged in on, rolling about in fits of laughter, much to the chagrin of the embarrassed young pair of adventurers.

“See, kids, this is why I only save women without hiding my gender,” says the patron, who, despite the semi-masculine garb she was sporting, was most definitely a dashing example of a female cavalier, and was clear-eyed enough to spot the fact that the two of them were crossdressing.

SinB and Yuju blinked slowly, SinB trying to process the fact that okay, so this very nice lady was in fact getting busy with another woman earlier (that was possible? That was possible indeed), while Yuju contemplated the advice on not getting misunderstood thanks to being mistaken as a man. Two very different lessons gleaned from one simple statement.

“Oi, Byul, stop teaching the kids all the wrong things, and when are you going to pay your tab anyway?” The fiery tavernkeep glowered at the nonchalant woman lounged in a corner. “Also, stop seducing all the girls upstairs, they don’t even charge you anything anymore because of it, stop taking advantage.”

“Hey, it makes the ladies happy to see me, why change?” The cavalier grinned unrepentantly, eyeing the tavernkeep audaciously. “Maybe if you spent more time with me you would change your mind…”

“Pfft, you wish. Hwasa, if you will please? She broke the latch on the second floor window again, didn’t she? Search her for coin first then kick her out.” The tavernkeep rolled her eyes.

The busty barmaid cracked her knuckles ominously, and the cavalier scooted rapidly to her feet, not forgetting to haul a bewildered SinB and Yuju along with her as they made a swift escape through the back door. 

Many things were learned that night, and in the several nights after, spent in the company of the smoothtalking cavalier known as Moonbyul, who helpfully took the innocent pair under her wing as they made a swift escape downriver. 

Some things were probably best not to be spoken of, and perhaps, this should have been one of them. We do not speak of the brothel incident, alright? 

But that was how SinB got beaten by a barmaid, and secondarily realized that hey, women could fall for women too! Which, perhaps, was what changed her life the most. Who could tell?