Ren sighed as he sat on a stool. He no longer worked or lived in the hostess anymore. In fact, he had already moved two years ago after an accident that caused him and Ryuu to be teased by Syr a lot.
The young man sighed and slumped on his chair only to raise his hand and catch a mug of beer about to lightly hit his head.
"What's wrong, Ren?" The teasing tone of her voice quickly gave away the identity of the waitress behind him. Behind him stood a beautiful silver-haired girl with silver eyes dressed in a green dress and a white apron.
"Syr... We have known each other for five years now. Can you please spend a single day of us meeting each other without you teasing me in any way whatsoever?" Ren whined as he sat up and took his order.
He looked older, the young man was now 22 years old and changed after the last five years. His eyes, or rather his right eye was no longer the same as it was from five years ago. It was now cold, calculating, and empty. His left was hidden under an eyepatch with a scar over his eye. He now wore a dark green trench coat with several of the top buttons undone.
What was the most eyecatching thing was his left arm. Or rather, what used to be his left arm. His left hand was missing, leaving him with only one arm left.
"I could, but I won't," Syr said with a smile as she looked around.
"Knowing you, you will never stop teasing any of us," Ren said with a sigh as he handed her the menu. "The usual."
"Got it!", Syr said with a smile as she took the menu away.
It has been five years since he arrived at Orario and seven years since he was summoned in this world. He was now close to his goal of reaching the end of the dungeon, the last link he has to his home. A lot of things have happened ever since he arrived in Orario, he hasn't converted to any Familia, in fact. He had a mission that was given to him by his patron.
One that he took seriously.
"If you're done monologuing, you can just eat up." Looking to the side, dark eyes met with sky blue.
"You have a shift today? Thought you were gonna go on a trip to the dungeon with the others?" Ren asked lazily as he eyed the elf. Hearing this, the elf just shrugged.
"Alise and the others decided to only travel to the lower floors to train the new ones." The elf, Ryuu Lion, is a beautiful young woman with golden-blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She has changed a lot after these five years. Well, her eyes were a lot lighter than it was as if a lot of loads has been taken off her shoulders.
"You didn't go with them?" Ren asked curiously as he watched as Ryuu set down the last of his order.
"No, you know I don't really know how to hold back." Ryuu explained as she looked at Ren. The elf and other-worlder looked at each other.
"Trust me, I know. Most of my scars came from you after all." Ren said with a smirk as he looked at her with a smile.
"You make it sound like I'm some sort of monster aiming to kill you. Sadly, I don't want to waste any energy for the things other beings can do to you."
"Yeah, it would be a shame for a golden-haired wall to waste most of her time and energy to try and squabble with someone she clearly knows that is way above her." Ren teased, causing the two to glare at each other and release a bit of their magic. A few moments of this made the two break into a small laugh. The other customers of the hostess were used to the usual banter and back and forth of the two. It has been happening for half a decade now after all. "Knowing how much you eat, I'll be able to catch up with you. My shift ends after thirty minutes. Think you can wait for me?" Ryuu asked as she looked at him.
"Sure, I'll save you a seat." Ren said as he used his hand to take a small backpack and put it on a chair on his right.
"Oh, lady Astraea wanted to invite you for dinner," Ryuu said with a rare smile.
Hearing this, Ren watched Ryuu walk away to do her job. Astraea, a greek goddess, with greek being one of the types of divinity he never wanted to be associated with (with some exceptions). He remembered that day seven years ago when he had saved the goddess unwittingly as he passed by the area. During that event from four years ago, Ryuu became an adventurer again and set up the events for her return to Orario.
"That's nice, I'll clear up some time for my schedule." Ren said as he waited for his order. Looking at the remains of his left arm, he remembered what happened the day vividly. It happened so quickly, the only reason he was still alive was that he had a shield and his armor was overloaded with years' worth of overlapping runic formulae, yet it wasn't enough, the first blow shattered his left gauntlet and cracked his shield.
The only thing he remembered and the reason as to why he survived was the wind that guided him followed by a strand of golden hair. A voice said something to me.
"Please keep her safe."
Those were the only words he remembered, but he owed her a debt of gratitude.
He just wished that he did not lose his armor, shield, kopis, and other weapons in that fight. The only thing that remained of his original gear was his beloved spear, Ignia. What was also lost was his beloved magic, Vasilissa Dolofonos was sealed away after that deathmatch.
That was three-four years ago. He remembered crawling all the way to Orario dressed nothing in rags with Ignia as a crutch.
Well, after that, I spent two weeks out of commission before going on a training spree, one that lasted for a year or two, with his trainer, the great sage, Chiron. Once he returned to Orario, Ren was no longer the same. He was more mature.
He still kept the identity of his Familia hidden, with only the select few of the waitresses of the hostess of fertility knowing of it. Hermes and Asfi know of his affiliation as well.
Time passed quickly with his musings as his order was set down by his good friend and former co-worker, Anya Fromel. It consisted mostly of meat and large amounts of mead and alcohol. Which will just be stored in his stomach. Taking the utensil, Ren started to eat his meal, both quickly and gracefully.
Half an hour must have passed or more as soon as he saw Ryuu sit down beside him wearing her casual clothes. She wore a white sleeveless shirt with black lines, a pair of short brown shorts, a pair of brown gloves, and a pair of boots, with socks (the right reaching her thigh, while the left only reached her knees,). She also wore a green cape with golden trim.
The elf said nothing as she reached in and took the extra salad that he did not eat along with a tankard of ale. Ren did not seem to care as to what Ryuu did as he was used to her taking his extra salad and ale, while he would usually steal half of her drink and/or some pieces of meat in her meals.
"How was venturing to the 40th-floor solo?" Ryuu asked her fellow green-clad adventurer.
"Good. Just ignore the fact I got eaten whole by some worms and had to fight my way through a monster train, then I am fine." Ren answered as he looked at his arm. "Congratulations,"
"Lyra and the others must have told you about it." Ryuu said with a sigh and shake of her head. The young elf was not worried about Ren telling anyone as he was her most trusted friend outside of the hostess and her Familia.
"Yeah, she said it to me after the two of us went drinking," Ren said as he downed his ale and raised his cup for more. "Luckily, Kaguya was not with us or it might have been messy."
"Tell me about it. You're not the one who has to deal with making sure that she did not go outside while naked." Shivering, Ryuu remembered the memories and the jealousy she has over her friend's well-developed figure.
"You sure I can't join your Familia?" Ren asked, earning him a look from Ryuu. "What? You jealous?" Ren teased much to Ryuu's annoyance. Ryuu merely rolled her eyes and elbowed him weakly.
"Astraea Familia is an all-female Familia you know?" Ryuu reminded him as she watched Ren start drinking his new tankard of ale.
"I know. It's just that, whenever She visits when I'm back in the house, I just want to get away as far away as I can." Ren said with a shiver as he remembered the days where she thought he was stealing him away from her.
"She can't be that bad... is she?" Ryuu asked as she looked at Ren.
"You don't know the myths, Ryuu. You don't know them." Ren told her seriously. Looking outside the window, he can see that it was close to dusk and that Ryuu's familiar should be back at their home now.
"I suppose I don't," Ryuu replied with a smile on her face. "Oh, you said your nephew was going to arrive in Orario? You're not gonna help him?"
"Knowing that boy, he will be having some difficulties in finding a Familia," Ren said after he finished his drink with a smirk. "And nope. I'll just step in and offer him some advice, that's the only way he can grow up."
"I don't know if I can call you a good person or a crazy bastard," Ryuu said calmly as her eyes met with Ren. "Besides, Shouldn't you already have a new prosthetic?"
"And be drowning in Debt? No way. I'll only get a new prosthetic made of Orichalchum with mithril ores in it and other enhancements so I can make sure I can upgrade it." Ren told her. "Besides, I am researching a new way to regrow my arm and am around 69% done."
"Let me guess, you had your student help you right?"
"Well... She often drops by to ask for some sparring. She might be a mage but I did teach her some hand-to-hand combat techniques." Ren said with a smile, remembering the day he met her, his own first apprentice.
"I expected as much. Not only are you connected with several organizations, but you are also close with both Hephaestus and Loki Familia as well."
"Of course, my best friend and personal smith are in the Hephaestus Familia while I share my students' apprenticeships with others in the Loki Familia," Ren said with a smile. He hummed as Ryuu chuckled lightly and they both shared one last drink. Paying for the meal and drinks of the two, Ren found his wallet a bit lighter than usual.
Once the two had rested well enough, they both stood up and said goodbye to the waitresses and Mia before heading their way. Ren hummed as he reached in his pocket, pulling out a cigar and lit it with a small flame.
"That stinks." Ryuu said as they walked through the streets of Orario, a trail of smoke coming out of the cigar.
"Well, it helps calm the nerves you know," Ren said calmly as he raised the cigar over her head to prevent her from catching it. "And no, I paid a good amount of money for this so you can't steal it."
Sighing, the elf merely looked annoyed at her green coat-wearing friend before they stopped in the fountain of the plaza.
"Mortals, especially humans... I can't understand how they can keep on living knowing that they will die one day. They don't live as long as elves and spirits, nor do they have the strength of other races." Ryuu mused as the duo of green-clad adventurers looked up at the sky.
"True, compared to other races, humans are weaker, slower, and live shorter than them." Ren agreed as he took a huff of his cigar and blew some smoke out. "What we call life is a pilgrimage that accrues suffering. But it is not just only a tale of death and separation." Ren said with a smile as he began to quote something. Ryuu merely looked at her friend in surprise and listened to what he said.
"Of course, nothing is eternal, and pain awaits us all in the end." Ren grabbed the sleeve of where his arm used to be while remembering that lone eye. "But, that does not make life a story of despair. No, not at all. It is a fight against death and separation in what precious little time one is given. It is a repetition of meeting and parting, despite knowing there's an end. "
"The life of humans might be short and filled with pain, separation, and suffering, but each one of them has a story to tell." Taking a small huff of his cigar, Ren blew some smoke out in the shape of a hoop with a smile. "The stories of these humans and mortals are dazzling, brief journeys, like the twinkling of the stars. They are stories of love and hope." Ren said to Ryuu with a smile as he bit onto his cigar and playfully rubbed her head. Ryuu did nothing to stop Ren and just smiled at his answer to his question.
"Besides, one day, the age of the gods will come to an end and the world will be ruled by all the collective knowledge of all the different races combined," Ren said as he looked to the stars, his hand still on Ryuu's head. "The only thing we can do now is to not only trust what will happen in the future but to also wait and hope." Ren said with a smile as he walked ahead of Ryuu.
"Wait and hope..." Ryuu repeated with a smile as she followed Ren. The human and Elf walked together side by side.
Reaching the gate of Ryuu's Familia home, Ren smiled as he looked at her.
"The dinner is in next week. Wear something nice." Ryuu reminded him. She knew him for years and knew that he will just usually wear the first thing he sees in his drawer or something.
"You don't need to remind me. I already have formal wear ready." Ren replied to the elf with a smirk.
"... Let me guess. It has chainmail all over it?" Hearing this, Ren nodded and lifted up his shirt to reveal a chainmail shirt. "Figures. Next week okay?"
"Got you." He said with a smile and gently patted her head. Ren soon turned around and left with a wave.
The young elf just smiled and weakly waved back.
Hey, It's me! I'm back.
I'm sorry for the hiatus but I have been very busy due to College. I decided for a time skip to happen as this will generate a lot of mystery while keeping it open as to what happened during the last five years. This is a list of some events that happened with the story.
- Ren lost his left arm and eye.
- Astraea Familia has been rebuilt, and apparently, Lyra and Kaguya are still alive
- There was someone that saved him and the only thing he remembers about them is golden strands and a request to keep her safe.
- He has a female mage student and other apprentices that he shares with Loki Familia.
- He has his magic, Vasilissa Dolofonos (killer queen) sealed away.
- He has a good relationship with Astraea Familia.
I also chose the time skip as it allows me to be a lazy bastard as well allow Bell to appear early.