Sumire was smiling at her! Her report, her work... it had all been completely satisfactory! Oh, it... it made Akako happy, knowing she had satisfied her Lord... the tiny ninja blushed slightly and averted her eyes, trying not to show that she was smiling too. It was time for her to be serious, after all, this was very very import-The purple-haired girl let out a yelp of surprise as she found herself lifted into the air. It was hardly a difficult feet, and soon enough she found herself resting on her Lord's shoulder. Her blush, which had started faintly, had now grown to an intense, hot red in her cheeks. However, she did not struggle. Akako... well, okay, she would... try not to, at least... until she felt a hand briefly pat her backside.

"W-wah... L-Lord-sama..."

She couldn't help but quiver as her embarrassment swelled. As much as she felt nothing but utter adoration for her Lord... this was beyond embarrassing. There was no other way to describe it. And it became more and more clear that her Lord had absolutely no intention of putting down. And... on top of all this, the promise of a reward... it made poor Akako redden even more deeply. It was so very... very embarrassing...

Even though she could not see ahead of her, she knew by her Lord's enthusiastic greeting that they had met with the other warriors selected for this journey.

"P-p-please... L-Lord-sama..." Akako tried to keep her wavering voice down. She didn't want to embarrass herself further in front of this women... the situation was already doing that for her. "P-please p-put me d-down... th-this is embarrassing..."