A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I got another chapter for you all!
Have fun and Happy Reading ^^
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- Party -
It was a very dangerous situation. The petite girl panted continuously as she pulled her fellow adventurer away from danger. His body battered at the brutal hands of their attacker from the shadows. She, together with her other fellow familia member, helped him as they continued to flee from the monster in fear.
They arrived at another section of the floor. It was a dead end.
"We're trapped!"
RRROOOOOOOOOAAAARRRRR*
A menacing howl echoed from the passageway they just went through. The dark halls made it hard to see through until they saw a pair of red orbs glowing from the center. A slight tremor resounded through the floor as the beast planted its hard hooves on the ground with each step, slowly emerging itself in the light and revealed its monstrous form.
A minotaur.
The three were sure that minotaurs appear at the mid-floors so the sight of the said monster emerging in the upper floors was more than enough to throw them in panic and fright. As a result, one of their friends was injured in the process, unable to fight or even run.
"Marco-san... We need to tend Raul-san. H-His wounds are opening up!" The petite girl voiced out in worry, noticing her friend's state slowly worsen.
Marco, whom the girl called out, stood by in front of them, facing the approaching minotaur as it neared towards them. He wanted to help but that would leave the two of them completely defenseless from the minotaur. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Desperation ran through his veins just to save his two party members.
"Get away!"
He swung his sword carelessly, hoping to fend off the minotaur's approach by swinging the dangerous weapon in front of them. However, the monster seemed to be unhindered by his intimidation as Marco saw its stoic yet uncontrolled rage.
As their distance closes, Marco had no choice but to attack. With a single thrust of his sword towards its chest, he hoped to pierce its magic stone to kill it in one hit. He shouted furiously, pouring every bit of his strength in his hands as he gripped the weapon tightly.
CCCRRAAAAACCCKKK*
A sharp sting hung in the air only for a moment as the weapon connected through the minotaur's hard stomach.
The adventurer widened his eyes in disbelief as his sword smashed into pieces just as it collided with the monster. Instead of thinking that he might pierce the monster's flesh, it only broke his only weapon like it was nothing.
And then, the deathly swung came above him.
With a loud smack, the minotaur backhanded Marco as he flew away from the side, smashing to a nearby wall and went unconscious. The girl couldn't believe just how easy for the minotaur to defeat Marco even though he was their leader in their party. Raul, who was the other familia member beside Marco, could only move a little due to his injuries. He slowly grabbed a nearby sword from the petite girl's large pack, holding it firmly as he could despite lying down beside her.
However, despite his courage to even hold a weapon up front, it didn't bring any assurance to their safety compared to the monster's full form to their current state. Two of them are already down, leaving only the supporter to be the only one still able to stand up and walk.
Naturally, she could just leave and run but she didn't if it meant abandoning her fellow familia member behind. She just couldn't leave them like that. What kind of familia would abandon their own family?
The minotaur finally approached them, its shadow loomed over their figures as an overwhelming sense of fear coursed through them. Even Raul couldn't help the shaking feeling that he felt on his hands. It's like they're staring onto death itself.
"S-Somebody help us!" The girl could only cry out for help as the minotaur openly raised its fist to finish them. Tears flooded her eyes as the shadow loomed closer towards her.
As if to answer to her calls, a burst of flames erupted from the minotaur's face as a crimson blur went past their eyes and sent it tumbling away from them. A male figure captured the girl's eyes as he fiercely kicked the monster away and landed next to them.
"You guys alright?!" A soothing voice so sincere.
It was her first time to hear such a tone from another adventurer who came by to save them. As far as she knew, not many adventurers carry that same kind heart to help others. Most of them would probably run away to save their own skins but this person seemed rather reckless to risk his life for them.
Seeing his entrance, the two could only nod in response, seemingly in a daze before being cut off by the howling roar of the minotaur as it regained its composure and glared at the culprit responsible for the kick.
"Hey, you two... go get your friend and head back to the surface. If this continues, you might get killed." He spoke, shocking the two.
"H-Hey, don't tell me you're going to fight that thing? It's too strong! It's a monster from the 17th floor. We're no match for that thing!" Raul shouted.
"Well, it's certainly strong but that doesn't mean I don't have a chance." The person spoke, a strong confidence backing his tone of voice as he steadfastly stood before them, blocking the minotaur from getting to them any further. Any sane adventurer would think otherwise and flee while they have the chance but this is the first time the two heard of someone not backing down from a fight against a powerful monster. They could've easily mistaken him for someone looking for a death wish if not for that declaration he made.
"I don't plan on dying yet but I also don't plan on leaving you guys out here with that monster."
Those words etched in the girl's mind as the figure rushed in to confront the monster. The two could only watch in utter disbelief as the adventurer battled the minotaur on equal grounds, even able to keep up his own from its tremendous attacks that could break a skull in two.
The petite girl was staring at him intently, as if in a trance. She watched him lift the minotaur with his own bare hands and smashed it to the ground. This is the first time she saw someone this courageous.
It was only then, the battle ended with the appearance of other adventurers from another familia to eliminate the monster. Apparently, the boy was struggling against it and was fortunate enough to be saved in the last second.
The girl felt like she had been spacing out for quite awhile as soon as her mind snapped back to reality. The adventurer rushed back to them, offering a hand to her as soon as the battle was over. Raul had fallen unconscious due to his injuries which all the more made sense of him to help her and the others. As she was the only one conscious enough to witness the aftermath, she stared at the pink-haired adventurer in admiration.
"Are you okay?"
And that was the last thing she saw of him.
...
Wendy opened her eyes as the light of the morning sun shook her body awake, warding off the remnants of her sleepiness as she rose from her bed. A small yawn escaped from her lips as she stretched her arms upward before turning her gaze towards the window beside her. The sight of the West Main flooding with people indicated the perfect time to go out and venture down to the dungeon.
She hopped off from her bed and proceeded towards a small mirror to fix her messy hair.
A few minutes of her personal hygiene, the blue-haired girl eventually went out of her room and proceeded downstairs leading to the hall where most of her other familia members are situated at.
The Robaul Familia. It's the name of the familia Wendy is currently affiliated with. Their god, Robaul, tends to his children caringly as most of any other god would around Orario. They were a small familia coupled only with several children who mostly go out and venture into the dungeon to earn their familia's earnings. However, like most of other small familias, they don't hold that much luxury and simply worked steadily like normal people along with their deities, Robaul included.
The god, on the other hand, didn't really mind experiencing the labors of the Lower World as it was one of the things that could offer for coming down and living alongside with the mortals aside from fame and entertainment.
Unfortunately, after the recent incident involving a minotaur, the familia had called off for any dungeon exploration on the familia members as both Marco and Raul who served as their leaders in leading the party is unable to return yet. The rest have little to no experience of the dungeon save for the supporters that came along with them often.
Wendy was one of the frequent supporters that tagged along with the two but even she couldn't handle the floor all by herself. She needed a party to be able to progress forward along with her level as a reliable supporter. With the two still currently recuperating, it's natural for her to stay away for any dungeon exploring at the moment.
The girl made her way over to the hall as she greeted her god sitting at the long table in glee.
"Good morning, Robaul-sama."
The old god turned to see the blue-haired girl beside him with a smile, offering her a smile of his own. "Ah, good morning, Wendy. I hope your sleep has given you enough energy to start the day."
The girl nodded. "I sure did, Robaul-sama. Though I won't be tiring myself that much compared to what I usually do in the dungeon."
"I know what you mean but as things go as they are right now, it's still impossible for both Marco and Raul to go out in the dungeon even if they are treated of their injuries. Their mental health should be also treated as well for their safety."
The girl understood what her god is trying to say. It's not like everyone could go back in the dungeon after experiencing that kind of incident a few weeks back. Even she was uncertain to venture down all by herself, expecting to encounter the same scenario that would lead to her own death. As such, the performance of the adventurer is also affected if their mental state is not dealt with properly.
She nodded in agreement before continuing the conversation. "I understand. I hope Marco-san and Raul-san would recover soon."
The god lightly shook his head in assurance.
"I'm sure they will although I'm surprised that you're not as mentally affected compared to those two. Normally, you would be the most affected among the group since you're not used to seeing things like that." He pondered in thought, slightly narrowing his eyes towards her in worry.
"Well, it's not that I'm not scared. It's just umm..." She paused, collecting her previous thoughts towards the adventurer who saved them the other day. His figure standing before them, stretching out a hand towards her as he looked at them with genuine concern surfaced in her mind.
Wendy thought that because of him, she felt safe despite how the situation had turned out for them a few minutes back. Perhaps of his sincere actions is what gave her the feeling of security.
She was so lost in thought that Robaul almost mistook her for dozing off while standing which prompted him to snap her out of her daze.
"Something on your mind, child?" The voice of his caused her to stutter as she faltered on her words.
"I-It's nothing... It's just that... I still haven't expressed my thanks to the one who saved us from that minotaur the other day."
Robaul's eyes perked up in realization. "Ah, you mean the savior that you kept talking about. From what I heard, he's currently part of the Hestia Familia."
"Hestia Familia?" Wendy tilted her head in confusion.
"It was rather new familia. I suppose they're the same as us but from what I think, he was the only child Hestia currently has at the moment. Even though they started a few months back, they didn't seem to have made any recruitments until now."
"Is that so?" Wendy pondered in thought as she finally heard some information regarding the adventurer.
"What does Hestia's child have to do with anything?" He asked, curious about how the girl mentioned him in their conversation.
"Well... I was thinking about thanking him for saving us."
"I see... I also forgot to thank Hestia for saving my children. I'm thinking of visiting her familia some time to express my gratitude except for one thing..." He lowered his head, his face bearing a rather complicated expression.
"What's wrong, Robaul-sama?" Wendy asked, puzzled by her god's sudden change of expression.
"I don't even know where they are right now."
Wendy fell short from her chair comically as soon as she heard his words. She recovered from her fall before putting a sweatdrop over her head towards the old god. "I-Is that really something to be worried about?"
"Well, I guess it's not that big of a deal. Aside from that, I'm also thinking about some things lately." Robaul pondered once again.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, with Marco and Raul being out of the exploration at the moment, there are still others who can replace their roles as adventurers until the time of their full recovery. I shouldn't make any short pauses to the others' progress as well. As such, I'm thinking of splitting another party from my children to continue dungeon exploring. We can't earn anything if we don't send some of our members in the dungeon." He explained.
"So does that mean, we can continue venturing into the dungeon?" Wendy asked for confirmation in which the god nodded in response.
"Porco and Riz should be the perfect candidates as leading adventurers on the other party. They might not be as good as the two but they can earn enough along with the others that might be willing to come along."
"Others? Am I not part of the new party?"
"Well, considering that you're the most experienced supporter in the familia. I wouldn't want to hold your progress on the upper floors. You have to party up with another familia until the two could come back." He answered.
"Party... with another familia? I haven't heard of anything like that." She replied in confusion.
Partying with other familias is rather rare in occurrences. Most parties are circled tightly on their own familia but there are others who are desperate for partying up with members of the different familia in order to further progress level and experience. Some small familias with few members had to party with other familias in order to boost their capabilities as well as their progress in the deeper floors.
Wendy would be fine tagging along with the new party set up by Robaul but it won't be as much productive as she always had with the two since their party had been exploring on both the 8th and 9th floors. The abundance of monsters is much more prominent which in turn brings more rewards and item drops compared to the 5th and 7th floors.
"It's not as frequent to see that kind of partying but this could be the only way for you to continue your current progress as a supporter," Robaul added.
"But how are we going to get a party with other familias?" Wendy asked in confusion.
"Well, that child from the Hestia Familia could be a perfect choice for you to start. As far as I heard, he doesn't have any party members joining him at the moment."
"R-Really?" Hearing this, Wendy stammered as soon as Robaul mentioned the pinkette once again.
"I'm sure... It might be also a perfect chance for you to express your gratitude to him, you know."
"I-Is that so?" She muttered with a pause as she began to think about a possible thing. However, she also thought that he might decline her offer since she's just a low-level supporter. She thought that he would prefer those who have higher experience and level than her since she might weigh him down.
Robaul sighed inwardly as he saw through her current thoughts.
Confidence is one of her weak points, judging from the uncertainty growing on her face every time she thinks too hard on the subject. As clumsy as she might be, she also had a bad habit of belittling herself.
The god thought that having to party with Hestia's child might just help her erase that mindset even just a little.
He smiled inwardly as he proceeded to speak. "You shouldn't worry about your level at the moment. I'm sure that child would be glad to have you in his party."
Placing a hand on the child's head, Robaul smiled sincerely as Wendy eventually got over her thoughts and gave a beaming expression.
"Yes!"
...
The Guild is currently having its hectic work yet. The incident of the Monster Feria event had piled up a lot of papers for the members to look into before signing them individually. Papers regarding its situation, its cause, etc. all piled up into one massive stockpile which the members find rather tedious and annoying to look at.
Not to mention, the advising of adventurers adding to that responsibility for the Guild members is just too much.
Eina squinted her eyes, staring suspiciously at the pinkette in front of her who was grinning like it was his best day.
"So mind telling me why you're looking so happy today?" The half-elf couldn't hold in her curiosity, seeing how carefree his attitude was despite what happened a few days back.
She swore that she was almost close to breaking into tears when she heard that the trapped adventurer was Natsu himself. She didn't even realize just how worried she was when she finally saw him, lying down unconsciously with a lot of bruises and injuries. Added to that, the current state he had for excessively releasing a lot of magic which gave him magic deficiency almost felt like it was too much for him to even stay alive in this world.
Miraculously, he was able to pull through. Even going as far to defeat the monsters all by himself save for the last one which was disposed of by the Sword Princess after successfully calling out help from the other adventurers who happen to be near in the coliseum.
Nevertheless, the incident was resolved and none of the adventurers or people are killed in the process.
"Hmm? Oh yes. I wanted to ask you about partying." He asked.
"Oh, and why would that be?" Eina inquired.
"Well, Goddess said that the recruitment might take a while longer since we originally planned it during the Monster Feria but, you know..."
"I see... so you were asking about partying with other familias."
The pinkette nodded a few times as Eina collected her thoughts for a moment, releasing a quick breath before speaking.
"For starters, do you know anything about partying?" She asked. The pinkette turned his head away for a moment, a hand placed on his chin as he pondered through his collection of knowledge that he read under her tutelage.
"Not really... Except that it's good for making you go into deeper dungeon floors."
"Well, it's one part of the lesson but there are parts of it that you must know when you try to make a party. You see, every party has two types as you might call it. First is the adventurers that lead and do all the monster killing. Second is the supporters, who by its namesake, supports the adventurers in terms of slaying monsters, collecting loot, and even more. And while the latter doesn't necessarily contribute to killing monsters, they are reliable and can serve a major role in terms of the overall performance of a party."
"Oooooh~~" Natsu gaped in awe as Eina continued on her lectures.
"Because of this, party members can easily develop a chemistry between them, operating sufficiently as both adventurers and supporters that make the overall party a successful one. That's why in higher familias, they incorporate the same strategy where both two can cover each of their own weaknesses."
"Does that mean I have a weakness too?" He asked curiously.
"Well considering that your recklessness is my number one concern, I guess it counts pretty much as a weakness on your part." She blankly replied back.
"But I'm actually trying to be careful now." He protested.
"Not when the incident that happened a few weeks back! Do you even remember how long you've been out cold?" She scolded, causing the pinkette to sweatdrop in the process.
"H-Hey, it can't be helped. It's not like I didn't want to do it either way but my goddess was in danger at that time so I had no choice." He reasoned, earning the half-elf a breath of sigh in the process.
"I know... But what I'm talking about is you, Natsu. You've been always placed under dangerous situations. In fact, you almost died! Do you know just how frightened I was when I heard you got a magic deficiency?" She replied, a hint of concern visible in her tone of voice.
"I know what I did is wrong and I'm sorry for making you worry, Eina..." He replied, catching the half-elf off guard after hearing his last statement.
"N-No, I-I mean, that was not what I-meant! I'm just saying that you should take care of yourself, o-okay?! There are people who would feel sad if you were gone, you know." She stuttered, a firm blush colored her cheeks as she kept flailing her hands in denial of his understanding towards her previous statement.
Although, her last statement held some truth in it since she might be one of those people who will get affected if such a thing happened to him.
"Yes. Thanks, Eina." Natsu smiled; a joyful expression drew across his face as the half-elf gave a smile of her own towards him.
It looks like they finally settled back once again. It didn't take long as she eventually returned back to the topic. "Now then, going back to our discussion..."
...
After immersing himself in Eina's lectures, Natsu journeyed on his way towards the dungeon to start his daily dungeon exploration. He learned a lot about the nature of partying and how familias use them to strengthen the effectiveness of each individual as they continue to work together in the process. It was an essential part of being an adventurer since no one really had the power to go down deeper into the floors alone.
The pinkette traveled near the fountain located just a few meters away from the dungeon entrance before he noticed an unfamiliar figure spying on him from a tree just a few meters in the opposite direction. He glanced over his back, seeing the suspicious figure hid away just in time but the pinkette had already seen enough to know that someone's standing behind it after catching a glimpse of its hair.
A long silky blue hair.
He deduced the height of the figure judging from its stature before hiding itself back into cover.
A kid? Or a dwarf? Perhaps even a crooked thief?
Natsu didn't know but one thing's for sure is that he didn't like being spied upon.
He soon turned his back and continued his pace towards the dungeon entrance. At the same time, the figure also followed slowly, poking its head every time it made a new place to hide into before peeking again to survey the pinkette.
Natsu would've easily mistaken the figure to be some kind of a shady adventurer looking to threaten him if not for the poor approach it had been making every time it tries to tail him close to its sight. Anyone would've noticed it right away and glance back to catch it in the act but he decided to play along and try to lure it out further.
He arrived at the dungeon entrance as multiple adventurers walked down the large stairs leading the 1st Floor. The stalker walked along the crowd, effectively blending itself but Natsu had kept track of its scent and simply walked on further a few meters ahead.
Afterward, he made a quick turn to the left just before he could proceed down to the stairs leading to the dungeon. He expected it to not follow since he pretty much led themselves away from the crowd but surprisingly, found it tailing him regardless.
Is it feigning on purpose? Or just outright oblivious?
He didn't know but he will soon find out later on as he made another turn to the left, finding another passageway leading back to the city. As his figure disappeared from the corner, the figure broke into a sprint, hoping to catch him in its sights. But as it turned to the same corner, it didn't find the pinkette it was looking for. Instead, there was nothing over a few distance away leading to the stairs back to the city.
A moment of confusion was drawn on its face but it stopped as Natsu appeared behind it, therefore shocking it.
"So mind telling why you're following me?" He asked straightforwardly.
The figure could only mutter a light 'kyaa' in its voice, causing the pinkette to squint his eyes in surprise as well. The tone of the voice was enough to deduce that it's a female. At the same time, he caught sight of her blue hair cascaded down onto her shoulders as the girl quickly turned around to face him in panic.
"A girl?"
"I-I-I... umm... that was..." The girl stuttered, a tad bit afraid of being found out by him for stalking.
Natsu could see that she was having a hard time speaking due to embarrassment. She seemed to be an innocent girl if not for the stalking she did earlier for some reason. Regardless, her timid response was enough to convince him that she's a harmless person.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you or anything though I don't recall seeing girls stalking someone as of late." He said, dispelling his caution towards the girl to ease her nervousness. He knelt down, matching the level of the girl's height before letting out a friendly approach in the process.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"It's fine. It's not like I'm mad or anything. Anyways, do you perhaps have any business with me?" He gave the girl the time to calm herself as she tried to regain her composure before answering his question.
"Y-Yes."
"Me?"
"Y-Yes... Do... Do you remember that time with the minotaur?" She asked, prompting him to recall a particular incident that involved a certain party being chased around by the said monster. It took only a few seconds before he finally remembered and glanced back at the girl in realization.
"Ah! Are you that girl along with two more adventurers back then. I'm sure you were because I kinda remember your hair but I can't seem to recall much since I've been bummed out a lot recently." Natsu shook his head.
"Yes... I'm that girl that you saved the other day. M-My name is Wendy Marvell. I-I'm from the Robaul Familia."
"Natsu Dragneel, from the Hestia Familia. Nice to meet you, Wendy." Natsu grinned, reaching out a hand towards girl which somehow surprised her for a moment before accepting the handshake.
"N-Nice to meet you too, N-Natsu-san." The timid girl quickly answered with a stutter.
"So what brings you here, Wendy? Why are you following me?"
"W-Well, the thing is... I mean, I-I was curious if you're interested in partying..."
Natsu's eyes perked up. He was also absorbed with the whole partying thing that he almost forgot that he was currently talking to her.
"Really? I was just thinking about it recently. To be honest, I'm not really experienced about it since I never partied yet." He said, earning quite a short delight from the petite girl in front of him for some reason. Though at the same time, this is her first time hearing someone never knowing about partying.
After all, most people who strived to become adventurers become familiar with the mechanics of adventuring inside Orario as it was a basic thing.
"I-Is that so? You've never been to a party before?" She inquired.
"Yeah. Mostly, it's only me who goes down to the dungeon and earn by myself but I do get some benefits from time to time."
"Oh..."
So he was only a lone adventurer at the moment. Wendy pretty much understood his situation since she heard that he was currently the only child of their familia. Getting to party with someone mostly involve those on the same familia. On the other hand, it was also a good chance for her to show him the basics of partying despite being on different familias.
It looks like Robaul's insights on his situation were right.
"Well then, would you like to partner with me, Natsu-san?" She proposed, somehow surprising the boy in the process.
"S-Seriously? Is it okay for me to join your group? I mean, I'm just me."
"I-It's fine. You saved me and my friends back then. I don't really mind at all, Natsu-san."
"I see..." Natsu pondered for a moment before ushering a wide smile across his face, looking back at the blue-haired girl in anticipation. "Well, although I might be inexperienced, I look forward to partying with you, Wendy."
Wendy lit her face in joy as the pinkette reached out a hand towards her. A slight pause went between them as the girl slowly reached her own and shook hands.
"T-Then, I'll be your care, Natsu-san."
- The next morning -
Natsu had already departed from the church as soon as the sun rose up. With a quick update on his status from his goddess, he didn't bother checking up the results from her and went on his way much to Hestia's dismay.
The goddess fumed peevishly at his rather hasty approach but decided to overlook everything for now since it was his first day of partying with another familia. Although she was assured that the party was only temporary, she was still conscious of his partner being female. It was so sudden of him to bring this up last night since she didn't expect him to be invited out to a party but nevertheless, she reluctantly agreed.
...
The path towards the dungeon lies within his sights as he arrived at the fountain where their meeting is supposedly held. Countless adventurers walked past the fountain and into the stairs leading to the dungeon to start their day. Most of them come in pairs and some come in groups as far as five or six.
Natsu waited for a few more minutes, standing near the fountain in patience.
It was then a feminine voice resounded in his ears as he turned towards the direction where he saw the petite blue-haired girl approaching him. A large bag was seen carried around her back, making it seem like a heavy thing to carry though Wendy seemed experienced enough to hold it easily despite her timid-like stature. A small smile grew on his face as she waved her hand towards him.
"Natsu-san!"
"Heya, Wendy! Good morning!" He greeted. The girl stammered for a moment, forgetting to greet him much to her chagrin.
"O-Oh, good morning to you too, Natsu-san!"
"Natsu is just fine. I don't mind with the formalities, you know. Anyways, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"Yosh, let's get going!"
Walking in the same direction as most of the adventurers, the two trudged their way down to the dungeon floors, starting their day as a party.
...
Hestia walked around the giant library located in the southwest part of the city, hoping to look for more clues regarding on Natsu's unknown power. Ever since getting his recent status check after a few weeks on the Monster Feria incident, more dramatic changes have started to take root on the child's abilities. The numbers don't lie after recently checking his status awhile ago. It was fortunate of her to see that he wasn't as eager to see his status otherwise, she would've faked the numbers a slight bit since she was pretty much unsure of what would happen if he saw it.
Nevertheless, she needed some answers to come up with if the time comes for him to progress further, especially on his level.
Pacing through catalogs and rows of different book sections, she grabbed a handful of somewhat related topics about Falna and the history of the gods descending down into the Lower World as well as the mechanics of the Familia system.
At times like these, people don't have the leisure to read ever since the gods decided to live down with the mortals a long time ago. Hestia was more than motivated to look through all of it since it was also for the sake of her child.
She carefully scanned the books, sifting through pages of any related topics that might explain the unnatural phenomenon on the pinkette's status change.
"It looks like there aren't any books relating to dragons." She whispered to herself, trying to find anything about the dragon topics as well.
As she recalled, Natsu's status is most likely related to those mythical beings.
Like gods, dragons are what some might call, the strongest creatures ever existed in the world. Records of ancient histories pertaining to these creatures are long since erased which put her research to a halt, finding that they weren't as many sources that could lead her to find out more about the dragons. The dragons living down on the deeper floors are different compared to the dragons that once roamed the earth since time immemorial.
She even heard that they have the ability to speak much like the mortals unlike those from the dungeon which only spews flames and destruction whenever someone enters their territory.
It just dawned on her just how vague the history of the world that even she, as a goddess, couldn't even begin to understand.
She sighed, slumping her head down on the table in front of her as she couldn't take in all the things that have been bothering with them ever since that day. There are just too many mysteries even to these books. And that's not to say about Natsu's background as well.
Where did he come from? Who were his parents?
Why did she even bother coming in here?
Hestia was just about to flip the table out of frustration until a voice suddenly caused her to jolt back up to meet the figure beside her.
"It's quite rare to find you in this kind of place, Hestia."
The petite goddess didn't even bother to look at her a second time as she could easily discern the figure's identity just by noticing the beautified presence surrounding her very figure. All the males sitting around the vicinity are simply charmed by her presence as she stood in front of the twin-tailed goddess with a soft smile.
Her silver hair graced behind her back along with a silver-white dress suited for some noble parties. Hestia wondered about her presence being here in this place as well but decided to ignore it for now and greeted the fellow goddess.
"Freya."
The beautiful goddess offered a light bow towards her before speaking. "It's been awhile since we last talked. I wonder why we haven't had a bit of a long conversation together."
"It's just that I'm not used to dealing with you, that's all."
Now don't get her wrong. It's not that she dislikes her or something. She just couldn't get used in associating with someone who's leading one of the most influential and powerful familias in Orario. Not to mention her personality as a goddess of beauty. As far as she heard, the goddess had quite of a habit of enticing men, gods and mortals alike, just by her presence alone.
Freya smiled despite her reply and simply moved her attention next to the books she was currently reading.
"So what brings you here, reading all these books? I never thought of you to be quite the bookworm." She lightly teased.
"A-Ah this... It's just that I happen to think about reading. Nothing important really." Hestia tried to hide her intentions as able as she could since leaking the information about her child's progress would stir a lot of attention from other deities in the process.
What she didn't notice, however, is that Freya was pondering by herself, easily seeing through her lie but decided to play along.
"Is that so? Well, you wouldn't mind me accompanying you for awhile, would you?"
"Is it alright? Do you have anything to do with your familia right now? I mean, it's quite rare for you to go out here just to have a chat." Hestia asked, earning a slight surprise after seeing her taking a seat beside her.
"What? Am I forbidden to walk outside and chat with the other goddesses every once in a while?"
"Well, it's not that it's forbidden..."
"Then that makes it okay for me, right?" She said so with delight which was something that Hestia wouldn't come to expect since Freya doesn't always put much joy on anything trivial to her.
Normally, she would've just passed along and tended to her own matters but for some reason, she decided to accompany her. Aside from the lack of bodyguards she had with her, the petite goddess also finds it confusing regarding her fellow goddess' attitude.
She couldn't put it but let's just say that she's rather proactive.
However, she simply ignored it for now and returned to her previous venture as she took another book and opened it. A short silence assailed in the air before Hestia heard her asking about something.
"I heard that you finally got a child under your familia." A sudden change of topic caused her to stop reading and turned towards her in anticipation.
"Pretty much. He's a good child though he had a habit of being reckless all the time." She answered, not revealing too much of her child's information since she wanted to conceal it, especially from other deities.
"So I've heard. I also heard that you were also involved in the Monster Feria event. It's been hard for you." Freya replied, earning quite an eye for the other goddess as she turned her gaze away from the book and stared at the silver-haired goddess in the process.
"It was an accident. We wouldn't have gotten out alive if it weren't for Loki. As far as I hated admitting it, she did a good job lending a hand." She hissed, a bitter face was drawn to her expression.
Freya could only giggle, seeing how both the two goddesses still couldn't acknowledge each other.
"I figured she would be snickering at her home, waiting for you to come by and prostrate in front of her."
"Like hell that would happen!"
Hestia stood up in defiance, comically refusing to accept the tease though, in a sense, she would've gotten so since she was technically saved by her regardless of anything. It is as if Loki owed her for saving both her and Natsu in the process which is why she felt really annoyed when Freya talked her about it.
But as the conversation was going, Freya slowly stood up from her seat. "Ah, it looks like I have to go."
"Already?" Hestia asked in confusion.
"It is just as you said, there are things I needed to do with my familia. I'm afraid I won't do as much time in accompanying you, Hestia. But I do enjoy our conversation." She smiled.
"Same here but I'm still not used to it."
Freya giggled yet again, amused by her frankness as she walked back to the entrance, leaving the goddess one more glimpse before heading off in the distance. Hestia merely stood from her position, puzzled at the sudden turn of events.
While she didn't hold anything against the goddess, she figured that she just didn't come here to merely have a chat. Nevertheless, nothing seemed to be leaked out from her lips regarding the pinkette and decided to forget all of it and returned back to her books once again.
...
Natsu and Wendy easily journeyed down straight to the 9th floor. They progressed steadily, defeating monsters along the way and even tested out their abilities as party members. So far, they got quite a good chemistry in their teamwork as the former provided with extreme offensives in clearing out monsters with his magic while the latter displayed good support by means of defeating other monsters and surveying the course of the battle. At the same time, she also had quite a talent for collecting loots in a short amount of time due to her experience as a supporter back when she was still partying with her own familia.
On the other hand, the girl had also witnessed the pinkette's unique abilities as an adventurer in terms of magic. While she had seen a lot of adventurers dabbling in magic, it was her first time seeing someone who can chant a spell in short amount of time.
As far she knows, most mages strengthen their magic through long chants, depending on how powerful it was. The longer the chant, the powerful the magic becomes. For Natsu, the rule doesn't apply to him as his chants merely go around in one phrase while also delivering a powerful spell as a result without much an effort.
...
Clearing another section of the floor, the two took their fifth break as they settled in to pause and collect all the loot they gathered from the defeated monsters.
"All right. This should be fine for now."
"Yes!"
Wendy proceeded to collect the magic stones while Natsu sat at the corner to wait. They've been walking for almost two hours, trying to venture down deep further into the dungeon. This is by far, their deepest exploration yet.
A few minutes went by and Natsu decided to help out with the collecting. "Do you mind letting me help?"
"E-Eh?" Wendy stuttered, surprised to hear a proposal from the pinkette.
"There's more of them around since we've been like fighting fifty of them at once. It'll be much easier if I helped."
"U-Uhm... S-Sure." The girl reluctantly agreed as Natsu proceeded to pick up the stones as well.
To think that she would see an adventurer offering help in doing a supporter's job. This is the first time she actually saw someone lending a hand. In truth, she could've declined his offer since something like this is normal for a supporter like her but for some reason, she couldn't.
She had a feeling that Natsu would insist despite her refusal later on.
What a strange man.
It didn't take long as they finally got all the magic stones and placed over a huge sack where they put all their drops and loot of today's dungeon exploring. Natsu and Wendy settled right next to their stuff as the former brought out a bento from his backpack and opened it.
"Let's take a short break. It's been awhile since we had our breakfast. We kinda need more energy if we're going to continue our exploration." Natsu offered.
"Of course." Wendy agreed, taking out her lunch as well.
They opened their lunch and started eating whilst continuing their conversation together. Eventually, the two talked a lot about each other starting from their pasts and even got to know each other in a short amount of time. However, the two didn't expect to prolong their conversation as they went on, not minding the time they've been sitting out in the open on the dungeon.
Needless to say, they didn't mind at all.
...
"So what's it like in your familia, Wendy? I mean, how's it for you?"
"It's a really great familia. Robaul-sama takes good care of us. Ever since I arrived at Orario with my grandmother, he offered us a place to stay and eventually, we settled in as members of his familia."
"Heeeeeeh~~" Natsu mused. "Maybe I should pay a visit to your familia if I had the chance. Goddess had kept in touch with other familias. I'm sure she'll be happy to meet your god too as well."
"R-Really? Do you think so?"
"Yeah! It wouldn't be bad to party with the others too. Plus, it's better than being alone out here. I guess being in a party is a lot more fun than I thought it would." He smiled.
"Right!" Wendy nodded cheerily.
"So what do you want to ask me about?" Natsu asked.
"Oh right. I was wondering where you're from before coming to Orario. I mean, I'm sure you've been somewhere before coming here."
A short pause went up in the air as the pinkette pondered himself for a moment at the sudden question. It didn't take long as he looked back at her and spoke. "Well, I guess I come from a small village called Magnolia. My father and I lived there when I was young but..."
"Is something wrong?" Wendy turned to ask, noticing a slight hesitation from his statement.
"Well... it's just that my dad disappeared one day without saying anything."
The girl stopped, immediately blaming herself for bringing up such a very sensitive topic. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to... I mean, I didn't know."
She tried to apologize but Natsu simply raised a hand for reassurance. "It's alright. It's been a year since it happened and I've been traveling around looking for him and eventually came into this city."
"Have you found any clues to where he's gone to?"
"Not one bit to be honest. It's a pain really. But it's not that I'm mad or sad because of it. There must be a reason for him to suddenly go off to like that without telling me. Plus, I met some great people along the way and I'm happy to be part of familia." He smiled, solemnly staring at his hand affectionately thinking back of his first encounter with his Goddess until the time they formed the Hestia Familia together.
Wendy merely stared at the boy in wonder. It looks like the depressing atmosphere was averted at least. She didn't know about the circumstances surrounding the pinkette but it looks that he doesn't seem to mind at all anymore.
...
After a few minutes, the two eventually noticed the time they took and decided to call off today's dungeon exploring.
"It's getting late. Let's head back to the surface."
In his request, the petite supporter nodded as they eventually traveled their way back to the surface and traded their loot at the Guild where they got all their money from all that monster killing. Surprisingly, the amount that they accumulated exceeded their expectations as they were handed out a pair of medium sized pouches, each containing an estimated amount of 22,000 valis which is more obtained in a party of five Level 1 adventurers.
The two were so occupied in learning their chemistry that they forgot to count just how much value they've been collecting a while back.
As a result, they could only drop their jaws in shock as the guild exchange gave them the pouches.
"44,000 valis?! We got that much?!" Natsu started his cycle of disbelief followed but the petite girl beside him.
"Awawawawa―This is too much..." Wendy was flustered in thought since this is the first time she actually earned this much. A worth of valis like this could cover their three-day dungeon exploration ahead in her own familia.
"Yosh, I'm so gonna eat a lot tonight. Here, Wendy!" He quickly grabbed the other pouch and handed next to her hands, much to her surprise.
"Are you sure with splitting in half, Natsu-san? I mean, I didn't do much so..." She tried to speak but was cut short.
"What are you saying? You earned it. You saved me awhile back from those Killer Ants, remember? Plus, You got good eyes since you've been carefully looking forward from our battles earlier. I would've gotten myself hurt if not for your warnings so thank you for that, Wendy!" He complimented, earning a light blush from the girl which in turn caused her to hide it in the process.
"T-Thank you, Natsu-san."
"Don't mention it. Anyways, I have to go. Goddess will surely have my neck if I'm not back in time. I'll see you tomorrow, Wendy!"
As quick as he could be, the pinkette parted ways and had already broken off to a sprint back to the West Main while the blue-haired girl waved off from the distance and eventually walked to the other direction as well.
While night has already fallen, shops and pubs opened for the adventurers who came from the dungeon to accommodate. The city lights lit up beautifully around the four Main streets as people roam around to relax.
Natsu slowed his pace to a brisk as he tries to wade through the crowd. The night is still young and the number of people going out around town continues to increase. He promised to meet with Hestia and eat at the Benevolent Mistress for dinner but it seems like he was already walking late on their time schedule.
He'll have to make an excuse for that matter.
As he made his way, he felt a bump on his shoulder as he walked close to an unsuspecting figure.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to―" He was cut off as soon as he heard a voice speaking at the same time as him.
"I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
A few moments, their eyes met for the first time. It was also their first time ever meeting each other face to face as the pinkette was left staring at a seemingly beautiful woman before him. A long radiant golden hair graced down all around her back in a neat manner. She wore a white battlecloth with black trims along with a pair of arm covers and long blue boots. While she was mostly seen wearing a set of armors, the woman had none of that, exposing her slender body in just a thin of a cloth. A short black skirt accompanied her lower clothes.
A brief silence went between them as the woman seem slightly surprised at his presence. Natsu is the same as well, mostly to the fact that he recognized the woman right away due to her reputation as one of the leading adventurers that everyone strives to.
"Oi, Ais! Why did you stop? Did something step on your shoe?" Another girl peered over her shoulder, revealing a dark-skinned woman particular called an Amazoness. Unlike the golden-haired girl, she wore a rather revealing set of clothes.
However, at that moment, the two could only stand in the spot as they were left staring at each other.
A string of fate had made its first knot.
A/N: And chapter stops here. How'd you like the double chapter? Before any of you could ask, I was just deeply motivated to write this chapter in just a few days thanks to reading the novel once again. At the same time, this also gave me more information on what I would write concerning the plot of the story in the far future. As stated in the last statement, there will be a connection between the two in the future as well. If you read the spin-off novel of the original series, you would know that Ais' background is seriously hella lot of ground to uncover.
Also, Wendy's role as a supporter of the story will be forever painted that way but I have some plans for Lili and Welf as well. I'm still trying out various things on characters and see how they fit in the world of another crossover.
Anyways, tell me what you think of this chapter and I'll see you all again in the next chapter.
- The wiErDos send their regards...