Chapter 31

All but a handful of the guests had left but now. Some had stayed, Loki for one, who's Familia were taking care of the leftover food as 'payment' for escort duty. This of course didn't include cleanup, and that would be... epic.

But so long as the food was dealt with, it could wait just a little longer.

Also among the guests who hadn't left was Demeter and Lunoire. Demeter was with Weine, and giving the dragon girl headpats for making such interesting bread, while Lunoire was helping Asuka and Chigusa stack the dirty dishes, while Delly and Maki cleaned and dried them.

Last were Shakti and Ais. Ais (under the glare of Hestia) was chatting with Bell. Shakti on the other hand was talking with me, as we moved the tables closer to the storage rooms.

"This is truly an ambitious plan, Lady Kodori." She said, "I've seen the Occulus before, but this is..."

"When I'm no longer grounded, I'll have to thank Lord Goibniu for the loan of the glass furnace." I nodded, "And just Kodori, please. Formality between friends feels weird."

"Do you believe it will work? This... communication hub?"

"I am just borrowing the idea from 'back home'. I know it will work, so long as things stay professional."

"That worries me. Considering the recent happenings with my Familia, someone might steal or abuse this tool you've made." She shook her head a little sadly.

"Hopefully, the operators catch on if it happens. I'm sure Friend Ganesha will remind them of their job. And no adventurer survives long without a decent memory for detail, so they should all remember the proper wording when talking to the Hub."

"What about lost or broken Occulus?"

"Takes about a half hour to replace, not including materials and time to warm up the furnace." I countered, "Oh, and maybe remake the bracer."

That put her at ease, at least a little, "Let us hope then." She nodded, "Is this the last one?"

"Looks like it."

'Initial' Cleanup was just getting to the point of 'find things to do' when I heard Hestia 'Grrr' angrily from someplace near the front door. I knew that particular 'Grrr' well, since it was the same one she used when 'another girl' was getting close to Bell.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Loki next to her, as they both looked though the slightly open double doors of the Manor.

"Relax." Loki said quietly, clearly amused at Hestia's jealousy, "It's not like she's going to steal him."

Curious, I got closer, putting a hand on each of their far shoulders and peeking through the door as well, "Last I recall, you were just as upset as Lady Hestia was." I said, adding a, "Though, she's right. I'm sure Ais just wants to see how far Bell has grown."

"I know!" Hestia hissed, "I just... grrr!" She took hold of one of my tails and tried to mangle it with her fierce kitten strength.

"I also wanna see how the little rookie has come along." Loki nodded, "Ooo, tail." Loki on the other hand was much more subtle in her jealous tail abuse, opting for a (still kitten weak) clenched fist.

"Well, do it quietly." I said, lowering my voice some more, "And you should know better too." I admonished Hestia, "Unless you want another lecture?"

Hestia blushed furiously, then shook her head quickly 'no'. The three of us fell silent, and watched.

Ais had borrowed one of our wooden practice weapons, while Bell, being part of the 'security' detail had his two daggers out and ready. As we fell silent, I could see the two of them settle a little more into that razor edged focus of two serious fighters about to throw down.

Bell made the first move, his feet a blur as he dashed forward. Ais, smart and experienced cookie that she was, did a quick sidestep to avoid the seemingly simple attack, then as Bell was about to pass, his left dagger missing, she made ready to bonk him on the head as he turned around.

Except, he didn't turn around.

Normally, when Bell missed a charge, he would slam on the breaks, and either roll to the side to avoid a counter attack, or spin in place and raise his guard, hoping to find an opening while his opponent's weapon was busy being blocked.

This time though, he kept going. It was just one more long step, but it was just out of reach of the wooden katana's swing. I saw what he was trying to do, but was too late to do anything about it. He finished that extra step, then lashed his arm down in an incredibly fast, all or nothing overhand swing of the Hestia Knife. The motion looked like he was either going to 'chop' or 'throw' the weapon, I could see glow of the runes on the blade distort slightly as it started to cut the air itself.

Still a smart cookie, Ais avoided this too, knowing Bell's knife wouldn't even notice if she blocked. Of course, the smart move here would be to let the dagger pass, then step in as he recovered his stance and bonk him on the head with her sword. And she was well on her way to doing it, when instead of a traditional 'retraction' of his arm by bending at the elbow and doing a half step retreat to 'reset' his stance...

He pulled back on his arm like he was pulling his dagger out of a block of stone.

I had just enough time to say, "Aw-" and get a half step outside before his hand and arm 'cracked' like a whip. My next word was drown out by the sudden, BOOM of air as Bell managed to break the sound barrier with his dagger.

Ais had no idea what hit her, but she managed to at least get her guard up before she was sent backwards by the sudden shock wave. Her weapon was turned into toothpicks, and she ended up someplace inside Gros's cage. Bell, knowing about the shock wave, but never 'experiencing' it, was slammed backwards onto his rear. He somehow managed to keep his Knife in hand, but it was very clear he'd broken more than a couple of bones pulling that off.

"Bell!" Hestia ran past me, while Loki ran towards the cage. All around us, I could hear every neighbourhood dog start barking, and more than a couple of concerned voices.

I was about to run over to Ais, but she seemed to be fine, and was getting all kinds of 'are you food' pokes from the Phoenix. To someone like her, it would be fine, and aside from a bit of scuffing and a grass stain or two, her clothing was fine too. Gros, grumpy yet thoughtful, stalked out of his enclosure to grumble at the birds to stop poking the puzzled looking Sword Princess.

Bell on the other hand...

"Here." I said as I knelt next to him, "Bite on this." Hestia was handling this better than I thought she would, and was already holding Bell's arm for me, "Can you hear me?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes. A little." He scrunched his face a little in discomfort, then bit down on a bit of his shirt collar, "Was that it?" He mumbled around the fabric.

"Basically." I said, "Now shh." And I started setting his fingers, "You should have been wearing proper gauntlets, and against Ais? Really?"

After a half dozen wet 'pops' he spit out the cloth with a grimace and said, "Yes... I asked if I could try something new."

"I'll leave it to Lady Hestia to punish you." I smiled, "Here." And I tapped out a couple of potion pills for him, "So long as it doesn't involve that hand until at least tomorrow." Since we adventurers can recover from all kinds of minor stuff like this after a good sleep. "But well done."

"Thank you Miss Kodori." He smiled.

"Grrr, if I ground both of you, nothing will get done!"

I was just closing the door to the nursery when I heard Takemikazuchi, "Kodori-san. You aren't trying to sneak away and skip proper rest, are you?"

"No, O-Sensei." I shook my head, "Simply visiting the lavatory."

He nodded, "It has been a busy night." He walked with me in the direction of the bathrooms, "You have brought much of the city under our banner, though we've yet to see who is here to stay, and who is here to profit."

"Very true. But, considering how diverse the Gods of the city are? Getting them all in one room to agree to at least try?" I smiled, "I try my best not to fall to pride, but I am feeling the urge to do so, just for a moment or two."

He laughed one of his rare, reserved little chuckles. "The feeling will pass I'm sure." And an even rarer attempt at a joke as well. "I'm sure you've noticed something though?"

"Many things." I nodded, "Though, I will admit dealing with Freya may have dulled my senses just a little. What in particular?"

"While we have, in effect, rallied over half of the Familia to our cause. Most of them are not dungeon Familia. Artisans, merchants, supporters... Most are not warriors."

I paused at the bathroom door, sighing the 'I hate politics' sigh. "Yes, O-Sensei, you are correct. They are the weakest, smallest, quietest voices in Orario. In a day, maybe two, three on the outside, Freya could systematically crush each and every one, and send them all back to Tenkai." But I shook my head, "But, then who would support the fighters?"

He frowned, "Your methods are becoming darker, Kodori-san."

"O-Sensei." I said quietly, "This is a race. Either we convince Freya and those who follow her that bully tactics and oppression is not the way to do things. Or, she starts sending other Gods back up, as a 'message' to fall in line, or fall to the wayside." I shook my head, "I don't see any other way."

"You are strong enough-"

"I will not make orphans out of Freya's Familia." I had to rub my wrists to dispel the sudden feeling of restraint, "And my strength will mean nothing, if the city burns because of it."

He nodded, though he continued to frown, "Can you endure this then? To be everyone's shield?"

"I hope so. Because if I have to walk up the side of the tower and throw Freya off of it, it will be the end of the city." It might have been the increasing need to pee, or the echos of past trauma, but I continued when I probably shouldn't have. "You are a God of War. Love may be difficult for you to understand. As twisted as it was, 'Love' was what pushed those Amazon to do what they did. Now imagine a hundred of them, loose in the city, because the one they 'Love' is now gone forever."

I could see the depth of his disappointment on his face, but also a glimmer of understanding. No, he might not have gotten 'love' but he would certainly understand 'numbers'. "Good night, Kodori-san." He said after a moment, "Visit the dojo sometime, and we can entertain the children."

Translation? I'm going to clean the floors with you, while the children laugh at your clumsy attempts to defend yourself.

"Yes O-Sensei. I look forward to the next lesson." Because I did, even if I would be used as a dust mop.

Over the next week, things in the city became... quiet. Well, okay, since I couldn't (wouldn't) go out myself, I had to rely on second hand reports. But things were starting to chug along into 'the new normal'.

The children were of course my biggest focus. Fluffy balls of energy who were slowly gaining more freedom as they learned new ways to move about and explore, they were an exhausting joy to take care of.

Bell, in light of his efforts to learn something new, got a new pair of gloves. He was a little reluctant to switch from 'metal backed' gloves to a full gauntlet, but, with me telling Welf what Bell would need, and Welf making them, they were a perfect fit and Bell instantly had the 'new shiny thing' eye sparkly happen, and all reservations were lost.

Loaner was disappointed that one more person had given in to the 'metal gauntlet' club, because that meant one less person could instantly give him headpats.

Kaede and Momiji visited, and both were quite happy to give Loaner those headpats. They were also eager to join in for a day in the dungeon. The trip was so successful, they did it again a little later in the week.

I replaced three Occulus stones. This encouraged Welf and I to redesign the bracer, since all three were lost in a similar fashion (monster teeth getting around the bracer, because a metal bracer is much better to shove into a mouth full of teeth than say, your shoulder, hand or similarly fleshy/sensitive bit). The newer model would be given out on a case by case basis, and cost a small amount as well, since metal and work wasn't free.

The 'Hub' was running smoothly. There were a few cases of 'crossed wires', where someone would get the wrong message, but otherwise, people were using them properly.

There was a sale on vegetables, advertised by the new 'central market' Occulus stone. It was also the first 'idea' someone had put in for the 'grand plan'. The 'Market Stone' required a small fee to use. (Really small. Like... 100 Valis. Enough to buy a cheap loaf of bread.) One of the artisan Familia under our banner made a primitive slot machine. Coin in, pull lever, panel opens, make sure the Hub knows you are about to advertise something, wait for the 'okay' from the Hub, advertise, and then get back to your stall as fast as you can. Adventurers hunted a good sale like they would a monster from the dungeon. Also, we missed the sale.

The 'common people' were starting to notice a little less of the Ganesha Familia, but a little more of the 'other' Familia. This was both good, and bad. I didn't want the Ganesha Familia to lose... I dunno... 'prominence?'. They were one of the top five Familia because they were 'the Familia of the people'. Not because they were a top dungeon Familia (Loki) or crafting (Hephaestus), raw power and now 'entertainment' (Freya), and Alchemy (Dain Cecht). But because they had the 'common people' behind them. They still did a lot of the stuff no one really wanted to do, but unless you were a 'non-adventurer' who worked with them, you wouldn't notice.

But the good thing about it was the 'people' were supporting us, as we supported Ganesha. Oh, and Ganesha finally managed to catch up on some sleep.

Demeter stopped by, and was practically glowing with good cheer. So bright and cheerful was she, that Yuki and Yumi forgave her for what ever obscure reason they had taken offence for in the first place, and did the 'I want that' motion to her. This only made Demeter happier. Why? Well, the first 'harvests' of some of the things I'd sent back were ready. And one of them was Garlic. With proper care, a good 'yield' for garlic was about 50 to 60 bulbs per square meter of soil. Now, to be fair, I couldn't send back many 'cloves' (the segments of the 'bulb'), and a square metre was the current crop size.

But, a bulb would have eight to ten cloves, and thus six or seven bulbs would mean another square metre of crop. Now, she did admit to 'cheating' a little, using magic stone fertilizer, and the next crop would be grown at a natural pace. But she just couldn't wait it seemed, and wanted to share a little of it with us, before she started to expand the land dedicated to it.

So, I quietly sent out Loaner to inform a few people about an impending pasta night.

Takemikazuchi made good on his hidden promise of beating the stuffing out of me in the most polite way possible, every day, and the dojo floor had never been cleaner, much to the detriment of my tails.

But it was the last two days of that week however, that had the most 'interesting' things happen.

"Odds." I greeted the many pocketed, scruffy looking, Palum. "You look a little worn out." I knelt down, Kei and Toshi observing her as well as I got to her eye level. She'd gotten a new vest, with all kinds of little pockets and loops, a staple of any tinkerer on the go.

"I just finished moving into the new workshop. It's only... maybe three times as big? But for me, that's like six times the space!" She grinned, dispelling some of the dark circles under her eyes, "Add that to keeping up with your commission... well, I'm kinda tired." She looked at Kei and Toshi, "If my hands were cleaner, I'd tickle you. I'm not food!"

Toshi tried to boop her, even saying 'oop' as he flailed an arm at her. Kei however pouted a little, then hid against my shoulder. "Well, now that you have a moment of free time, and more space, I'd like to show you something." I hugged the children a little closer, "After I put these two someplace quieter."

After a quick stop inside the manor, dropping off the two children, spending a moment or two giving them and the rest of them in the living room a little attention, and introducing Odds to the Gods who were watching over them, we headed to the workshop.

"I am still very jealous of your set up here." Odds admitted, "But it's a bit tall for me."

"The only Palum living here isn't much for making things." I said, "But, when she does help, she uses this." We entered the 'hot' section of the workshop, and I pulled out a little two step stool. "Tell me, what is the most common thing you are asked to make, not including the array for the new ice box?"

She thought for a moment, "Nails. Nails or door hinges." She said, "Heck, you can even use a nail in the door hinge, if you can make it nice and round. Stuff with moving parts is a pain to make though."

I nodded, because yes, it would be a pain to make. And most hinges in Orario were big clunky (by modern standards) 'loop and peg' designs. Of course, without mass production methods, and having to make each part manually, 'simple' was best.

"What I am about to show you, is similar to the machine they use for making metal scales." I said with a smile.

"Didn't you make that?"

"Yes and no." I replied, "As with many of the things I brought with me from 'back home', I simply brought an idea that wasn't 'here', from there. Lady Hephaestus bought the design from me when I showed her."

"They expanded that to arrow heads too, right?"

"Indeed. All it would take from there is a little hardening, and you can make arrow heads all day, by the hundreds." I motioned to the steps, "The overall name of the technique is called a 'template'. Making something to allow you to make something else, exactly the same way every time."

She motioned to some of the moulds we had stacked around the smithy, "Yeah, we do that already though. I mean, you've got all these here." She then added, "Also jealous of these."

"Yes, we use those to speed up our production of things. This dish here for shoulders, this one for elbows, the horn of the anvil for horse shoes. No, this is one step further. A specific template for exactly one thing. But, a step beyond a 'stamp'." I motioned to our new 'arrow head stamp'

"But that would mean you could only use it for one thing... oh! Like making enough hinges for a house, all at once! But that would take up space in the shop..."

"This makes it impractical for anything BUT something you make lots of." I nodded, "But, it also does one more thing." I went silent, wondering if she'd get it without me telling her.

"Well... oh... oh! If it's made the exact same every time, you can replace a broken part easily!"

"Very good. As well, the ones making the door can make it the exact same, or even help you by notching the wood to make space for your hinges. This means that they can use the same size tool for all of your hinges. Meaning less work for you, and them, and it all gets done faster in the end."

She nodded, "Okay, I'm sold on the idea... but how do you make one?"

"Well, you think of your 'end result' and make a 'mirror' image of it..."

In the end, I'd made her a simple 'jig'. Put your freshly made thin metal plate down, slide a rod through a pair of holes to represent the 'peg' of the hinge, hammer part of the plate around the rod to make a loop, then slide the rod back out. Do it three times per 'hinge' and all you need is a peg, some nails, and a door. Done. Sure, you would still need that peg, those nails, and maybe drill a couple of holes into the flat parts to make hammering easier, but still. No more back and forth from the forge, anvil, workbench and back again if you got it wrong.

So, after giving in to the urge to headpat the industrious yet still adorable mini-mechanic, I sent her on her way home to figure out how to make more 'templates' for her other projects. Like the ice box.

The second thing to happen, giving us even more reason to have a pasta night, was the two Oni becoming part of the Takemikazuchi Familia.

Eina, the Oni, myself, Haruhime, Astraea, Takemikazuchi and the children were gathered around the biggest table in the living room. On that table was an ink stone, a pair of recently used calligraphy brushes, and some official looking papers, as well as the usual cups of tea.

"Well." Eina, ever the professional, even with Kei snoozing on her shoulder, was unphased by the two massive Oni kneeling across from her. Between them, on the table, were a pair of application forms. "I think this is the first time I've seen someone use a paintbrush to fill in an application."

"We find quills a little..." Okakai rumbled, "Flimsy."

"And it is still neater than her writing." Fukawa added, looking over to me.

"You hear that Tatsuo? Someone is teasing me." I said, "Can O-ma have a hug?"

The little boy's reply was to say something like, "blu-eeeeblea!" and giggle at me. Sadly, no hug followed.

"There there Ko-san." Haruhime gave my shoulder a pat, and I felt better.

"But yes, regardless of what you used to write, the forms are clear and official. But I'm curious why you asked me to come here?" Eina asked, smiling, but otherwise ignoring my plight.

"As we explained, we carry a cursed bloodline. True, our mothers were human, but our father was..." Fukawa looked for a word, probably to follow the unspoken 'no swearing' rule we had in the house.

"Cast out by the gods." Okakai supplied, "To the point where his form was similar to ours. Feral, bestial, monstrous."

"To be candid, none of us are sure my Falna will work." Takemikazuchi said.

"But Kodori...?" Eina frowned, prompting Kei to pout at her, then try to boop her nose.

"My origins are more on the divine side. I can, and have, taken on a similar 'corruption'. But they were born with it, and have mastered it." I explained.

There was a moment of silence, save for a small giggle as Eina returned the nose boop, and gave Kei a finger to nibble on.

"You are quite strong already." Astraea said, "And have refused to try so far. What is different?"

The two Oni looked to her, "Two things." They said together.

"First, is that we promised." Okakai said, "We faced the one known as the Black Minotaur. And while we could have killed him, we did not beat him."

"While we have accomplished much with our own strength, together, or apart, in the short time we've been here, we have encountered much that has proven difficult to overcome." Fukawa added, "Satisfying to do so, but difficult. And while we are unsure exactly how far we have been, it was not the bottom."

"Second." Okakai hesitated, "We have not always been this... civilized. For a time, we were much like our father. True, we grew to adulthood as most children do, but our size and strength set us apart from others, and we became drunk on its instant gratification to attain what we desired."

In short? They were Oni who hit things until they got their way.

"But, we were tamed, shown our errors, and while we still walk the path of violence, we are not slaves to it." Fukawa again added to his brother's explanation. "This... ritual. Of a God granting their blessing, to ones like us who carry the curse our father was given."

"A chance at redemption." They said together.

Silence fell over the room, until a little giggle came from under the table. "Yumi, you shouldn't try and eat Okakai's ankle." Followed by a gentle extraction of said child.

"Good hunting instinct." Okakai said, "I wasn't going to stop her." He shrugged.

"Well, I hope this works then." Eina said, "If it does not, would you still like me to file this?"

"We wouldn't mind." Fukawa said, "But, would that not be... frowned upon?"

"We would consider the two of you as 'supporters'. There are occasionally people who don't join a Familia, and instead join parties to clean the kills, simply to earn money." Eina explained.

"You would be the most powerful interns ever." I laughed, the joke going over everyone but the Oni, "But, are you sure? Like me, this might change you. Lady Hestia's blessing worked with my divine nature. But you two..." I shook my head, "I don't know."

"Oni, or something similar, did exist before we descended, much like the Kitsune." Takemikazuchi said, "Perhaps it will be as it was with you, working with your 'monstrous' nature."

I hmm'ed, and nodded. "Possible." I looked down at Tatsuo, "O-ma hopes for their good fortune."

That got me the hug I missed, but also came with a bit of drool. Still a win. "Come." Takemikazuchi said, "We will be out soon, perhaps you should start on dinner, so that Eina-san can join?"

"I'm not sure I'm allowed to leave." Eina said with a smile, "I wouldn't want to wake them up." Since Kei had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

It was the weirdest feeling. While Weine, myself, and Bell went about preparing dinner, I had the weirdest feeling of... dread? Something similar to waiting for news of someone in a hospital. I hadn't known them long, but the two Oni had been reliable companions during my time back on Earth. Sure, they were 'violent' and 'monsters'. But so was I. Hestia's gift had elevated me, changed me, and in the end motivated me to become what I was now.

The Oni deserved that same chance. They overcame their nature to become 'civilized', and followed a code of honour that was on par with Bell. Tempered more by 'realism' but still loyal, honest, and willing to step in for someone weaker than themselves. They deserved this.

It was about here though, that I was given a poke remind me to pay attention and not burn dinner.

And, as always, the unfailing messenger returned in the arms of the last guest to arrive. Ryuu, her arm and hand supporting and scroofling the happy white fox joined us at the table. Along with Demeter, Eina, Kaede, Momiji and Shakti, we had a full table.

Except for the two Oni and Takemikazuchi. It had been over an hour, and they had not returned from the Dojo yet.

After everything had been laid out on the table though, and we had just started to wonder if we should go check on them, the three of them emerged from the hallway.

And they had changed. In a way, the change wasn't very subtle. Their overall 'size and shape' hadn't changed at all. They were still a pair of nearly identical walls of muscle. But now, Okakai's blood red skin and Fukawa's night blue tones had lightened. For Okakai, it was a shift to something close to 'rose'. Not quite pink, but certainly not blood red. Fukawa on the other hand, had become almost a methane blue. That wasn't all however. Their horns, formerly sharp stubs, were now curved and sharp. They had about the same 'volume' as before, but were longer, slightly thinner, and dangerous looking. Works of art instead of crude implements.

And for the first time since I'd known them, they looked exhausted. Though, if this is what had happened over the last hour or so, I could certainly imagine why.

There was silence as they entered the room, the Oni all but shuffling towards their usual spots, while Takemikazuchi sat between them this time. This was broken by seven children all making the 'I want that' grabby hands at them and babbling happily.

While Haruhime and I tried to distract them all from the fact they had to wait to visit their new favourite chew toys, Takemikazuchi spoke.

"I would like to welcome the two brothers, Okakai and Fukawa, to my Familia." He put a hand on each of their shoulders, "As you can see, the gift has changed them somewhat, but, they are still the honourable and valiant souls you know."

Aisha broke the serious atmosphere by saying, "I think I liked the other colour better."

Some laughed a little nervously, but the Oni chuckled in their usual seismic manner, "It will take some getting used to." They said together.

"Good thing the Guild doesn't use photo ID." Maki said, "Love the horns though."

The Oni nodded, while most others were puzzled a little by the first half of the comment. "I suppose I will be putting you down as fresh level one adventurers then."

"Oh boy... And you thought Bell caused a fuss when he hit level two..." Welf laughed, "If I had to guess they'd both be around level five, and that was before-"

"No." They said together again.

Again, silence.

"I have given them my blessing. But could not gift them with Falna." Takemikazuchi said, "There is too much... demon in them."

I felt my heart sink a little. "But Ko-san..."

"I was young, basically a newborn." I said, "My Kitsune nature was small and weak."

The two Oni nodded, "What you see before you is more of... a tempering of what was there. A cursed nature run through with divine purpose." Okakai said.

"We may never be able to accept the same gift as all of you, but we have taken Takemikazuchi-sama's blood, and in time it will grow as our father's blood has."

"So..." Delly tried to translate for those unfamiliar with how 'demons' worked on Earth, "You've taken in some of Lord Takemikazuchi's power, and it will grow on its own, instead of being 'updated' in bursts like the rest of us?"

"Yes." The two of them said.

"Hm, this will complicate the paperwork a little." Eina sighed.

"After dinner!" Ouka declared, "This smells amazing, and it's getting cold."

It looked like Takemikazuchi was about to admonish Ouka for the true, but mildly impolite and impatient comment, but with everyone eyeing the food like it was going to be their last meal, he simply nodded, "Very well." He smiled, and we all dug in.

Dinner was indeed a success. I did however warn them about the 'dangers' of eating too much garlic, but with Jiru's help and my alchemy kit, I had breath mints on hand for everyone. Shakti went home with a gift of pasta and a mint for Ganesha, since he was still busy and couldn't attend personally. Demeter also went home, but without any takeout. She did however have a renewed interest in growing more garlic, and I could already see the gears in her head turning on how long it would take to grow, expand, and cultivate enough to supply Orario. Along with other things, like mint and candy leaf to counter what would be a pandemic of bad breath throughout the city.

Eina stayed, eyeing the paperwork critically. Ryuu also stayed, mostly because Mia had actually given her a night off from dish washing, because Chloe had thrown out one too many patrons that night. Momiji and Kaede were going to sleep over, since they were planning on joining another dungeon trip in the morning, and wanted to also join the morning sparring.

So, we settled to chat.

"Master Welf brought up an interesting point, but, since this has never happened before, I'm not sure how to proceed." Eina said, "As I said before, it's not unheard of for someone without Falna to enter the dungeon. But you are both very strong."

"Miss Eina told me once that even a goblin is as strong as a normal person." Bell said.

"I agree." I nodded, "Even if they're shorter than Lilly, they're quite mean." I scratched my leg a little, feeling my very first 'goblin bite' itch a little with the memory.

"However, Master Welf and those here seem to agree you would be equal to someone who is level five, at least." Eina continued, "And while you don't have the same gift, you are part of Lord Takemikazuchi's Familia now."

"I get what you mean now." Maki said, "Not much in the way of scientific types."

I nodded, while Aisha raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Maki shied a little from look, but recovered with, "Where we're from, we have standardized testing for almost everything." She considered a moment as she gathered her thoughts, "It's kind of like how we use water to measure things. Water is everywhere, so we use it as a 'standard'. Our education system is the same. We have 'tests' that compare what you remember, to what you were taught, and score you on it."

She was gathering steam now, and I felt a little pride as well, seeing this former 'delinquent' teach people on academics. "This is expanded to all kinds of things. Taking a 'known' quantity, and testing something against it." She looked around at everyone, noticing she was losing people, "Ah! A touchstone." She referred to the tool merchants used to test the quality of precious metal coins, "You know a pure gold coin will leave a mark on it, while one that is less pure will leave a different mark."

Our resident master of metal, and our best supporter nodded, "Lilly knows this tool!" She said.

"Ah, I see your meaning." Eina said with a nod, "But aside from the occasional tournament, we don't have anything 'standard' to test adventurers with, aside from the numbers on their backs."

"With the various Familia rivalries, most are not eager to test themselves against others like we do here." Mikoto said, "And what you are suggesting sounds like making our strength more... public."

This, right here, was the problem I had when Kurin 'turned off' my magic. I had no idea how strong I was without it, and when faced with the question, I froze. I then spend a couple hours in a gym with Akeno and Koneko trying to put a real number to my strength. It just wasn't done here in Orario.

"Well, I'm level four. Bell is five. Ryuu is five. We've all fought with them." Aisha said, "Sure, we don't go all out in training, we do fight seriously enough."

"And they are very strong." Bell said with a nod, "Apart or together."

Eina considered, then nodded, "Very well, I will put them in as level five." She scribbled something extra, "As witnessed by Aisha Belka and Bell Cranell."

Hestia groaned, "Oh no..." All eyes turned to her, "If you do that, our taxes go up."

"Worry not, Hestia-sama." Okakai said seriously, "We will bring honour and fortune to this house."

"It is our way. If we do not work, we do not eat." Fukawa agreed, "We'll be sure you there is enough flour for cookies."

"Yay!" Weine cheered, arms in the air. In her lap, Yuki made a similar pose, yet didn't seem to know why, her face confused looking.

"When you allow Kodori to leave the house again, it would have happened anyhow." Ryuu said quietly, "I wonder if I will still be doing dishes by then."

Hestia sighed, while we all laughed.

"Bell?" Ryuu started, "I hear you did something new?"

"It was very loud." Haruhime said, giving Bell the slightest of glares, "When the rainy season comes we will have to comfort them even more than usual Ko-san."

I smiled and nodded, because I was perfectly fine with more cuddle time with our children. "I showed him 'Slap the Wave'." I said, "And he managed to do something similar with his dagger."

Ryuu nodded, knowing what I meant. Bell nodded as well, "It hurt a lot. But I think I did okay? Miss Ais was surprised as well."

"Hurting yourself when you attack is too reckless!" Hestia grumbled, "Even if you sent that Ais whosawhatsit flying!"

Bell rubbed the back of his head, "Now now." I said to Hestia, "When I was learning to do it, I was much worse."

"Yup!" Delly chimed in, "Both her hands up the the elbows were bandaged up. All kinds of broken bones and fractures."

"I had to modify my gauntlets a little more, just so my fingers wouldn't bend backwards when ever I did it." I nodded, "But, Welf and I made him something for it already."

"How did you overcome it?" Ryuu asked.

"The barrier?" Bell replied with a question of his own. Ryuu nodded though, and he continued, "Well... We met someone in the dungeon the other day. Just before we were trapped at the bottom of the basin. He used a red whip, and it made a similar sound to Kodori's punch." He made a 'whip-crack' motion with his hand, "So I tried to copy that with my own arm." He rubbed his shoulder a little, "It didn't work on the first swing, so I tried even harder on the second, and it happened!"

There were a few quiet 'congratulations' from around the room, but Ryuu asked, "Red whip?"

"Yeah. I remember. Poor guy was with Ironbeard." Ouka said, "He looked lucky to have gotten away from that moss monster."

"Yes. He was missing an ear, and most of an arm." Asuka added, touching a hand to her left ear, then her right arm.

"Something about his wounds though, they seemed old, already healed over." Chigusa said quietly.

"Sister?" I said, noticing that Ryuu was trying to contain herself. Some emotion was bubbling inside her, and she was fighting it.

She looked at me, her eyes full of something close to fury even though her voice was glass smooth and calm, "Slaver Cat."

Everyone else picked up on her mood, since she almost never acted emotional at all, "You know, we never got a name." Welf said, "Too much going on, and he ran away before it was all over."

"Ryuu?" Astraea put a hand on her shoulder, "Is that...?"

"Yes." Ryuu said sharply, "He was one of the ones responsible for the death of my Familia."

"But..." Bell hesitated. He probably knew the story as well, but didn't know if he should mention it.

Ryuu though, her secretive nature suppressed by her anger, answered for him, "I was the one who did that to him." She said, "I didn't expect him to live through it." She frowned, "From your story, and him being there, I suspect he was the one who led that moss monster to Ironbeard's party."

"But that would mean..." Haruhime started, "A monster tamer?"

"Monster slaver." Ryuu corrected, "He broke the monsters he 'tamed', making them savage to anyone but him."

She made to stand up, but I stopped her, "Sister." She paused, half out of her seat, "Calmly. We can talk to Ironbeard in the morning, get information, and plan."

"I will not let him get away this time." She said, as angry as I'd ever heard her.

"And he will not get away, Miss Ryuu." Bell said, looking to Eina for a moment, "But we do not just run into the dungeon."

Eina nodded, but didn't smile. She probably knew we were basically planning to murder someone. "I think, before this topic goes further, I will retire for the night." She said, executing her right to 'plausible deniability'.

"I could do with a bit of air." Welf said, getting up.

"Lilly too!" Standing as well.

"We solve our problems together." Astraea said, giving Ryuu's sleeve the smallest of tugs, "That's what this Alliance means."

Ryuu was still fuming a little, but she finally nodded, and we all relaxed a little.

NOTES

Ha! I think that worked out rather well.

Anyhow, some things happening! More things on the way! Woo! See you in five days with MORE THINGS! But not all the things. That's Lilly's job.

Daeore on Ko-fi, if you want to toss a coin to your writer.

Daeore on Inkitt, if you want to read my book, Were Too?