Author's note: Don't Own HxH or Damanchi
"Good morning, Ladies," I said, smiling because I was in a good mood.I felt as refreshed as ever. Working on Zetsu has really fixed my sleeping pattern.
"Good morning, Jack meow, my good friend Lunoire Faust will be your waitress today," The cheerful cat girl said as a girl with brown hair and eyes led to my seat.
" , your complimentary breakfast won't be ready for another 10 minutes, so have a seat and feel free to call me over if you want to ask for anything." said.
"I would like some water and if you would please sit with me if you're not busy," I asked as I wanted some more information on a particular subject. Knowledge is worth more than money in some instances.
The girl made a strange face before reverting back." Of course, I will be with you in a minute. Let me go grab some water for you." She said before walking to the kitchen.
She returned swiftly and placed two cups of water on the table.
She started the conversation by saying, " , thank you for staying at the Hostess of Fertility. People usually come here for lunch and dinner."
"Well, I heard from an acquaintance that the hostess offered lodging. Plus, the fact that the hostess is close to the Babel makes it a wonderful location for an aspiring adventurer like myself." I said purposely as I wanted to steer the conversation towards a particular topic.
"An adventurer? What Familia are you in?" She asked politely.
I see, she is also fishing for information, not that I blame her. After all, I am an unknown. In that case, half-truths should work if she starts asking the wrong type of questions, or perhaps flirting if that is a viable option.
"I am currently thinking about which one I should join. After all, there are so many Familias that I have heard some are not so accepting of neophytes." I replied before taking a small sip.
"I'm sure you will find the right one." she said reassuringly.
"Thank you, I hope so too, but what Familia should I avoid?" I asked a throwaway question.
The goal was to get an answer to a question on scaling in the profile of all the Familia in the area. Each member was marked on a scale of levels 1 through 7. I want to know the difference between levels and compare myself to them. Each of these girls, bar the silver-haired girl is stronger than Bell, and Bell is level one. From my first foray into the dungeon, I believe I could make it through the first three levels before getting stuck in the fourth if I scaled it I can get her to say her level, that would be her boon for me. Though truthfully, I'm tempted to find an active adventure as they may be more likely to answer that question than the maids. However, I had nothing else to do for now, so why not.
"I would suggest avoiding Ishtar." she scrunched her nose when she said that name.
"Any particular reason?" I responded with one raised eyebrow.
She smiled before saying sarcastically, "Well, I don't think you want to be a prostitute, and you don't look like an amazon."
"You're right on both parts," I chuckled. So Ishtar is whoremonger... not surprising, to say the least.
"Guess I'll continue looking around though I wonder...hmm they say a level one can get through the first 9 floors. How hard is the 10 - 15th floors?"
"I don't know personally, I have heard from the customers that you should be level 2 before entering those floors." She responded casually.
Hmm, how about a different approach.
"I see, say care for a bet," Hmph, arm wrestling should help understand the power scaling. I knew I was only around a mid-level one currently in terms of power compared to other level one Adventures I have encountered, and this girl was stronger than Bell. Plus, this will be a good test of Ren.
"A bet? That is more of Chloe's things, but I'm interested," She commented.
I pulled several coins out of my pocket but only showed a 100 valis coin. Then I flicked my wrist 4 more times, revealing 500 valis in total to the waitress.
"Arm wrestling, if you win, you get 500 valis; if I win, you get to pay for my lunch and dinner." I smiled at her casually, trying to get to accept the very one-sided proposal.
"Take the bet," the black cat maid said as she watched the presiding with excitement.
"I'm sure you can beat him," The elf maid said offhandedly.
"Well, if you guys insist, , I will take you on that bet." She said as she rolled up her sleeve and got into position.
I grasped her and simply said, "You may begin whenever you are ready."
Whoa, she is already overpowering me. So that is the difference in strength between a level one and someone at least level 2 plus.
With each second, my hand was slowly being pulled towards the table. So it was time to try out Ren.
I gave the maid waitress a slight smirk before increasing the output of my aura to its maximum.
narrowed her eyes as she slowly forced her back to the starting position. Let's see how strong you really are, .
"Nyah, your quite strong, ," The cat maid said.
"Impressive for someone who does not have Falna." My opponent commented.
"Thank you, but it seems like you have me at a disadvantage still." I replied as a bead of sweat fell down my face. Meanwhile, my opponent did look like she was tired at all.
She just shrugged. "Guess I'm a bit stronger than you."
"I am guessing you were a former warrior or an adventurer?" I asked.
"I used to be an adventurer." She answered.
"Oh, so what level are you?" I asked bluntly as it seemed like she let her guard down temporally.
"That's my secret." She replied.
"Fair enough, I concede." I replied as I stopped releasing my aura. My hand was slammed into the table, and the little audience around me stared a bit bewildered at my resignation. Truthfully, as soon as I realized that even at full strength, I was no match for the overpowered waitress, I decided to conserve my energy for the dungeon. Plus, I got my question answered, though it will require some assumptions, though I can say for certain these maids are dangerous. In an intriguing way. I smiled
"Good match, maybe next time." She smiled slyly at me.
"Next time I'll give you a better match, but it is nice to be in such pleasant company. Thank you for indulging me, ." I winked at her while depositing her winning in front of her.
"Did you feel that energy he released?" Ryuu asked impassively as the man known as Jack walked out of the establishment. During the arm-wrestling match, he released some energy that allowed him to match Luniore for a bit.
"I did, if he was telling the truth about not having a familia then this guy will be in trouble once he joins one," Lunoire replied softly.
"Nyaa~, are you into him Luniore? I saw looking at you," Anya interjected, completely changing the topic.
"I admit he cleans up well, but he's not my type." She stated as a matter of fact.
To her, Jack was two things. He seems like the type to use a woman for his goals or go after a woman who can keep up with his ambition. If it was not for years of experience, that kind of mask he puts on would have tricked her; nevertheless, she could tell this was an act he puts on to appear friendly, though what makes the act tricky is he was genuinely putting some effort to be kind it's just he was looking for something, and he found it.
"Meow nya~, then what is your type meow?" Anya asked.
The question brought her back to reality. She looked at her friend Anya before answering, "I just want a husband that would take care of me and let me laze around." she blushed, though she hunched her back a bit.
Ryuu set her hand on her friend getting her attention.
"I think you'll find someone." Ryuu said.
"Thanks" Lunior half-smiled.
"I just want a harem of cute boys," Chloe said out of nowhere.
Everyone just stared at her for a second before getting back to work.
"What?" Chloe said, as if she had not said anything weird.
"Let's just get ready for the lunch crowd," Ryuu said as she began to sweep the floor.
Another day, another dungeon run. And another goblin was decapitated.
I looked around the cavern and found there were no more enemies around, so I started picking up the monster crystals.
"Hey, Jack." I turned to my right and spotted Bell Cranel.
"Hello Bell, how are you doing?" I greeted amiably.
"Alright, just heading back for the day," He said.
"If that's the case, why don't you walk with me? I could use some company."
I was pretty bored, to be honest. I did want to advance further into the third level as the 4th level and beyond are currently above my risk tolerance. And the monsters on the 3rd level are something I may have over-estimated. They increased in speed and strength slightly, only their numbers increased drastically.
"Sure, so how goes the search for a Familia?" He asked as we started to make our way out the dungeon.
"I narrowed it down to three Familias, though I never asked what Familia are you from." I said though I wanted to make a visit to Herme's Familia.
"Hestia, I'm actually her first child," Bell replied earnestly.
"Hestia...I see Bell take some of these." I said as I offered a handful of crystals.
"Um, Jack, what for? I can't accept these." He said.
"It's not charity, just some debts that I am paying off." I replied.
"What debts?" He asked.
"Your goddess helped me out while I was in a tough situation, so these crystals should be enough monetary compensation." I explained.
"Oh, um, I don't think my goddess would accept it." He answered.
"Really? Then take it anyway and present it to her. Let her donate it to a cause she believes in." I insisted, if only for my sake. I hated the idea of owing favours to someone while not getting any sort of benefit out of an arrangement.
"Okay, if you feel strongly about that, Jack." He sighed as he took the monster's droppings.
"Thanks, this is where we split, I have an interview to attend. See ya later Bell." I said.
"Good luck, Jack, we should celebrate once you find a familia."Bell yelled out.
"Sure, and you'll be paying right?" I inquired.
"Of course!" Bell said without thinking.
"Well, then I'll hold you to it." I said casually as I headed towards my destination.
"You're Mr. Kennedy?" A beautiful girl with aqua blue hair and cyan-colored eyes said as she looked at me.
"Yes, I am, and what is your name?" I said casually.
"Asfi Al Andromeda." She responded before pulling out some papers. "I will be handling your interview."
Author's Notes- Well here is a update, I hope you guys enjoyed it.