For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

Really Good Business

- At the Hostess -

As Loki put down her glass of Soma wine, it was time for the serious talk.

Loki "Filvis told us that there are at least 3 more creatures that are former Astraea members. We are not sure how many there are, but there could be up 10 missing members who could have been turned into creatures. Revis was their former captain. The remaining creatures would likely have less power than Revis and Filvis, but the corrupted spirit is probably trying to create more jewel fetus that can be used to create demi spirits. The demi spirits are direct threats. Also what got Revis to level 7 power was a demi spirit magic crystal."

As if reading Loki's mind, Freya "It is amazing how these stories always escalate. How much time do we have"

Loki "Filvis also said that about 1 month minimum to generate a jewel fetus after attachment to a pantry. Then at least 2 weeks of continuous feeding for a parasiticized entity. What is worse is that floor 59 to 66 are jungles created to generate jewel fetuses. And there could be more of the same floors below that but we just do not know. We also do not know what they have kept in reserve"

Freya "So we need to strike in less than 1 month"

Loki "That is our thought, and Ryuu is going to try to find Astraea to see if she knows anything else about those former members. In the mean time, Bell needs to train hard"

Bell "I understand Lady Loki"

Ais "Bell, I am sorry I cannot help"

Bell "Ais, the best thing for me is to know that you are safe"

Ais crying "But you will be in danger and I cannot help. I am so useless"

As they hugged Ais, Bell "I can fight my best if I know you are safe"

Ryuu "We will leave tomorrow morning and hope to be back in 2 weeks"

At that point, Ryuu went to pack along with Syr, Anya, Chloe and Lunoire.

- At the Folkvangr -

With the urgency of the situation and the potential of 10 creatures, Bell's training got even more intense.

Bell, Ottar and Filvis continued to take turns sparring and being healed. Loki, Lefiya, Freya and Ais were watching the entire training. Finn, Gareth, Bete, Tiona and Tione also came over to train, particularly against Filvis.

When Bell went against Ottar, he was clearly improving by leaps and bounds. The same was true with Filvis. Haruhime joined them some of the time to boost different combatants.

It was important for the Loki members to get experience fighting against a creature, so their time with Filvis was important.

- On the Way to a Far Away Village in the North -

Having procured horses for the trip, the girls were having a great time. Providing protection escort was Allen up front and 2 Gulliver Brothers in the rear. With such heavy protection, what monsters that dared challenge were quickly diced up.

The last time Ryuu received a letter from Astraea, she was at a far away location towards the Dragon Valley up north. She was living in a farming small village that had a few retired adventurers who provided protection. Apparently life was basic and sort of tough, but Astraea did not want to be Orario any more with the bad memories of her loss.

- In the Evenings at the Hostess -

The idea of having Bell and Ais serving customers in maid outfits were a shock in Orario. Business was very very good. Mia was quite happy seeing $ signs in her eyes but she did worry about the girls on the trip.

The very first group of customers that evening were the Loki executives. Loki, Finn, Riveria, Tiona, Tione, Bete and Gareth were there, as well as Lefiya and Filvis.

Loki "Aissy-poo, are you waiting on us today"

Ais "Welcome, I will show you to your table" with Riveria punishing Loki's naughty hand headed towards Ais' butt.

The second group of customers was Freya, Ottar, Haruhime, Lili and Welf. Bell went over to take them to their table.

Freya "Bell, you look so cute in that uniform" making Bell super embarrassed in his maid skirt and Mia lol.

Lili "Bell sama, you look really good in that lol" earning laughs from Welf while Haruhime was too embarrassed to comment or even look.

The third group was Mord, Scot and a few other adventurers who were bought to their table by a temporary maid that Mia hired.

Mord "Bell is wearing a skirt - that is quite a treat!"

Scot yelled from across the restaurant "Bell, come sit on my lap lol"

The fourth group was Hermes and Asfi, who was brought to their table by Mia herself. That was one way to keep Hermes' mouth shut.

The fifth was Hephaestus and Tsubaki, who was brought to their table by Ais. Hephaestus was really enjoying the strange scene in the Hostess. Tsubaki licked her licks look at Bell.

Business was so good that customers were lining up outside the pub. Seeing the huge wait, Momma decided to put out some tables outside the restaurant for outdoor dining for customers who did not want to wait. The problem was there were not enough waitresses to handle the customers. May was also going crazy cooking for too many people.

Finn "lol, they cannot handle this much business"

Loki "yes, this is a crazy scene."

Riveria "poor Ais is going to have to use ariel to get to all the tables in time"

Seeing Ais suffer, Lefiya immediately got up and asked Mia for a maid outfit. Filvis, Tiona and Tione soon followed. That made the atmosphere in the pub even more surreal.

Loki "Wow, all my girls are going to moonlight at the Hostess now!"

Freya also saw that the Hostess was going out of control with business. With Lefiya and her friends helping out, the kitchen could not keep up.

Freya "Ais dear, could you please ariel back to the Folkvangr and get my best chef and an assistant here at the fastest pace possible?"

Ais nodded "Yes, I will do it immediately"

So Ais left for Folkvangr and Bell covered her tables including Loki's table. As Bell bought the food, Bete had a naughty look and was having evil thoughts of revenge. While Bell was serving, wolvie's long tail flipped Bell's skirt making Bell scream and very embarrassed. However, Mia saw everything and quickly grabbed the offending tail. Not only that, but said tail was severely punished, making Bete roll around the ground in pain for his bad behavior.

Finn "Mia, your punishment is much needed."

Riveria "Mia, I think this is good for Bete in the long term"

Mia winked "No one touches my girls", making Bell pout.

By that time, Ais returned with a chef who immediately went in the kitchen to help May. Ais then left again to pick up an assistant.

- By the end of the first week -

The Hostess was making money like it has never done. With the Loki girls working there along with Bell in a skirt, everyone wanted to eat there. All the guy adventurers wanted to be served by the Loki girls, as this was the only chance for them to get near them. Bell's fans in the city all wanted to see him in a maid outfit. By the end of the week, Bell's butt had been pinched over 20 times by different girls, but his skirt was never flipped again after Bete's punishment. On the other hand, no one dared touch the Loki girls. Groups from the Freya familia, Loki familia and the Hermes familia came everyday to eat and have fun. Word was that even the Xenos wanted to go but could not work out the political situation...

For training, Bell was fighting like at least like an advanced level 6 by the end of the week. So it got easier for Ais to watch, as Bell received less and less lap pillows as the days went by. The fights against Ottar and Filvis were no longer very lopsided. Bell had also clearly started to surpass Finn and Gareth. Bell stats took a huge jump:

level 5

strength: 630

endurance: 762

agility: 623

dexterity: 584

magic: 789

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

- Remote Village Far North of Orario -

After a long week of travel, the girls and their protection escort reached their destination. There was no monster worth mention as Allen and the 2 Gulliver brothers were a substantial overkill.

As they walked around the village, it appear to have less than 50 inhabitants. A few came to greet them.

Village man "Welcome, can we help you? Where are you going?"

Ryuu "We are looking for Goddess Astraea. Could you be so kind to direct us to her"

Village lady "May I ask why you are looking for the goddess?"

Ryuu "She is actually my goddess"

Village man "Oh then I will take you to her now"

At the end of the village was a small modest hut. When they knocked on the door, a lady with long brown hair and a long skirt opened the door.

A teary Ryuu "Lady Astraea!"

A teary Astraea "Ryuu, it has been a long time" ...