Leaving the swordswoman behind him, he began making his way up back to the Babel for a well-deserved shower. At the time, his brain felt like it was about to melt, the lessons Eina has given him being far worse than he expected. It didn't help that he was suffering from sleep deprivation, feeling completely spent, not caring in the slightest as he mowed the monsters down, taking their magic stones, before moving on, like a machine set on autopilot. He only took an occasional glance at his pipboy's automaps module to see if he was heading in the right direction, the one he ran through in the first place.
He barely noticed when he finally reached the first floor of the Dungeon, walking past the adventurers snickering behind his back. They were snorting and glancing in his direction, their attention at the blood covering his armour, his mind too tired to deal with this nonsense. Only when he reached the showers located at the ground level of the Babel tower, he could feel himself relax a little.
Instead of taking the armour off though, he walked inside, while he was still fully clothed and let the water wash away the vast majority of the blood, leaving only an occasional spot or two. He also had to use a bit of an abraxo cleaner to wash away what remained of it, before heading back for the pub he was currently staying at.
Thankfully enough, he still had enough clarity left to not wobble his way there or simply fall over before reaching it. As he entered the building, he nodded at the Mia and the rest of the waitresses, whose names he still didn't know now that he thought of it. It didn't help that for that whole week he had to act like mute or was too tired after each lesson to speak with them.
His whole interaction with the waitresses was very simple. He would wake up early, eat breakfast handed to him by one of the waitresses, before nodding at them, taking off his helmet, eating it all up as soon as he could, while still retaining the basic manners. He would then put his helmet back on, hand over the dishes and head for the Guild. The only good thing about this arrangement is none of them struck a conversation with him, seeing how cumbersome it was to write everything down and exchange notes all the times, something he was sure Mia was very well aware of.
Maybe when he wasn't so dead tired and the pub wasn't full, he would finally get to know their names, he thought to himself, as he weaved his way through the crowd, before heading straight into his room, locking the door behind him and falling on top of the bed, his mind shutting down before it hit the bed properly.
The room he found himself in was one he remembered, painfully. It was located at Repcon HQ, not far away from Novac, with its metal floor and walls. It had two floors, the first one, the one he was located on and the second one above him, with a single set of stairs leading upstairs.
"Come and get it, you big dumb… Hey! You're not one of those things out there. Who the hell are you?," A raspy voice came from above him, the source of it, a ghoul with hunting rifle and dressed up in a simple leather outfit.
"Jason sent me down here to get rid of the 'demons'," The Courier responded, his outfit of choice a reinforced combat armour mk1. The armour itself consisted of a split breastplate, pauldrons, and abdominal ring, along with an appropriate helmet.
"And I bet he told you it's the creator's will for you to risk your ass, instead of him, right? Well, good luck with that! I'd give you a hand, but no thanks. I may look like a corpse, but I'm partial to living!" The ghoul responded with a snort.
"You don't look like the other ghouls from Bright's group," The Courier said, taking the stark differences between him and the other ghouls he met on his way there. For instance the lack of robes and the attitude that didn't buy religious speeches for a second.
"Guess the outfit gives that away, huh? I never did buy into that religious mumbo-jumbo with the robes and all that shit. It gets lonely out in the wastes, okay? And I don't have to tell you that Bright's group has got some fine-looking ghoulettes in it!" The Ghoul said, with a grin, only to notice he was given a deadpan, by the man below. "Eh… or maybe I would have to tell you… Anyway, I helped them out, and they kept me supplied with ammo and pleasant company."
"And how exactly did you end up trapped up there?" The Courier inquired. After all, the ghoul seemed rather reasonable all things considered.
"First off, I'm not trapped. This was a tactical choice, all right. I'm no match for those things out there, so I found a good defensive position, and I've been defending it, right?" He replied, only for his voice to crack, his weapon lowering in the process. "...Aw, who am I fooling? I'm trapped. Name's Harland. Pleased to meet you."
"What happened was, I was escorting folks down to work when those things attacked us. Most of the fight was upstairs, but some folks panicked and made for the basement. And I went after them. Well, turns out there were even more of those bastards down here than upstairs, and things went to shit fast. I couldn't find the others, so I fell back to this room and set up a nice little kill zone. End of story," He explained, while the Courier could feel his eyebrow raise at the confession. He had to force himself to not snort from the ridiculousness of it.
"How did you survive, all by yourself, surrounded by Nightkin?" He asked and gestured to the headless corpse on the bottom of his feet.
It was a body of a Nightkin, one of the super mutants of West California. Former soldiers, assassins and one of the biggest threats in the history of former America. They resembled humans when it came to the general structure, but due to exposure to FEV, a Force Evolutionary Virus, their muscles were vastly bigger than that of an average person. Their purple skin was tough enough to block laser pistols and 9mm SMG without a scratch at the bare minimum and that's not taking into account their strength, speed and durability.
The Master, a figure long gone, intended to turn all the humans into these to help humanity, or that's what he believed in anyway. It turned out, the super mutants were sterile, meaning if the Vault Dweller hadn't stopped him back them, the Humanity as they knew it would be gone forever.
"I'm not delicate. Radroach meat for protein, condensation of the pipes for water, and I do my business over in the far corner. I wouldn't say it's been comfy," He answered.
"How can I help you get out of this room?" The Courier asked as he figured out, the ghoul would be willing to let him search through the room and access the records or find the stealthboys the Nightkin came here for if he helped him out.
"Ha! Well, you're polite, I'll give you that. If this was just between you and me, I'd do as you ask. But it's not. I had a friend with me when those mutant bastards came out of nowhere. She panicked and ran the wrong direction – further into the basement. She's probably dead, but I ain't leaving until I know for sure. I'd have gone looking myself, except I wouldn't last a minute out there. You, on the other hand, seem pretty resourceful. Find my friend, and I'll get out of your way," The ghoul requested, while the Courier could barely believe his ears.
This man wanted him to go into the basement, full of super-soldiers, wielding Rebar clubs, bumper swords and with enough durability to withstand high calibre bullets, to find the most likely dead ghoul. If that didn't sound insane, then he didn't know what did. The worst part was, he didn't have much of a choice.
However, before he would that, he had to make sure, on an off chance, that the stealtboys were located on the ground floor of the room, not upstairs. With his mind made up, he proceeded to carefully navigate the area, watching out for concealed explosives, bear traps and rigged shotguns. Only at the end of the room, he noticed a terminal.
His hopes raising, he clicked a single button, only for the terminal to start sparking uncontrollably. His eyes spread wide open as he ducked for cover, hugging the wall and covering his face, before the device exploded in his face, sending shrapnel towards him. He grunted at the force behind it, but the armour held strong preventing further damage. A rigged terminal, haven't seen that one in ages.
It was a very simple design, but very efficient. It allowed one to get a drop on those who tried to access private information if a bit messy. Unfortunately, it was the last place he hadn't searched beforehand, meaning he had to go upstairs. With a scowl on his lips, he drew his hunting rifle and began walking up the staircase.
As soon as he reached the top of the staircase, a sound of gunfire reached his ears, the bullet burring itself into the back of his breastplate, which took the brunt of the damage. The force behind was powerful enough to leave a painful bruise. The Courier levelled his rifle at his now hostile acquittance before he entered the VATS. Then he targeted the ghoul's head and with a single shoot blew it open, sending blood, guts and brain matter down the platform.
The Courier lowered his rifle as he walked up to the corpse of the ghoul, offering a silent prayer, his heart heavy. It was a day, he would remember forever, a day when he was forced to kill someone when he refused to be selfless and risk his own life for the sake of others.
Waking up with a jolt, he let out a sigh of relief, the memories still very much alive. It was just a dream… I hoped I wouldn't have to see this scene happen in front of my eyes again. The Ghoul's death was something he wasn't proud of, but it wasn't the first or the only time he took someone's life, even back then.
Long ago, he used to have regrets over it, but now, after the sheer amount of death he caused with his own two hands, it made things easier, he simply couldn't care anymore. Back in Mojave it was 'kill or be killed', be it bandits, tribals, hostile fauna, and flora, unlike Orario, where one was safe for the most part. It's how he got the title Lord Death of Murder Mountain and then Apocalypse Ain't Got Nothing after all.
With a groan, he made his way out of bed and headed downstairs. The Pub was pretty much empty, as most of the adventurers came here during the night to drink and party, rather than for a dinner, which was cheaper if one made them themselves. One of them was the owner herself, standing behind the counter, clearing a glass using a bit of wet cloth.
"Good morning," He greeted, the woman turning towards him.
"Good morning, it seems like you can talk after all," Mia teased her attention on her used-to-be mute customer.
"That would be the case, yes. Thanks to a certain acquittance of mine, who spent a lot of time and effort to teach me how to speak properly," He replied, still remembering painfully the lessons Eina taught him, while Mia grinned at the response.
"You'd better make it up to her then," She said, before putting the glass away. "Now then, do you have a name or not?"
"Courier Six, it's pleasure to finally speak with you, miss Grand," He introduced himself, while the woman squeezed his hand in a powerful grip.
"The pleasure is all mine. Now then, girls, come here, our mute guest finally feels like speaking! That means you too, May" She called out, bringing the rest of the staff towards them. He could see curiosity behind their eyes, as the walked up to them, their green outfits fluttering behind them. One addition to the group was a another cat woman, who came from the kitchen. She had a short, bobbed hair and was wearing a white chef's outfit with heeled boots, an ascot and a cap.
"Courier Six," He introduced himself, bowing his head in the process.
"Courier Six, nya? That's not a name, Nya!" The brown-haired cat woman argued her gaze on top of him.
"True, but that's what people know me as. Heck, most don't even bother remembering my true name anyway, miss…?" He explained.
"Anya Formel, nya," She introduced herself, while the Courier nodded and extended his head. She looked at it for a second, before shaking it vigorously.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Formel," He said, before turning his attention to the other cat woman, with black hair and green eyes.
"Chloe Rollo," She introduced herself and the two shook hands. "Question, do you have to wear this armour all the time? The only time I have seen you take off was during breakfast."
"I don't have to, but I prefer to do so. I would rather not be caught unaware if I can help it, miss Rollo," He replied, while the just stared at him.
"What, are you afraid of getting hurt?" Mia asked, wanting to see how he would react.
"Afraid? That's inaccurate, more like used to. That doesn't mean, I like being hurt, miss Grand, thank you very much," He responded, giving the woman a deadpan, while she responded with laughter.
"Hah, you have a good head on your shoulder. Most men would deny based on principle," She said, while the Courier just chuckled.
"I know that type. However, I am not like this. After all, I am a spineless coward and a heartless bastard," He joked, while the owner gave an amused glare.
"Oh, is that so, mister bastard? Have you drowned the kitties in your life or something?" She inquired.
"Nope, only puppies," He replied and the two laughed, while the waitresses and the other cat woman just smiled at the banter between them.
Turning towards a brown-haired woman with the eyes of the same color he waited for her to introduce herself, "Lunoire Faust."
"It's pleasure to meet you, miss Faust," He said and shook hands with the woman.
"Is it possible for you to take your helmet off when meeting someone? It's rude, you know?" She asked, while the Courier just chuckled. He decided to humour the woman and took off his helmet, before offering it to her. She seemed taken back by the gesture, as the woman took a better look at his bandage covered face, with only his green eyes being visible.
"That's better, miss Faust?" He asked, while the woman smile, satisfied with the results. With only three employees left, a grey-haired human woman, the cat woman and an elf. The Courier decided to leave the elf for the last before he turned towards the human woman and waited for the response.
"Syr Flova," She introduced herself and the two shook hands. "So, I have a question for you, mister Six. Why are you covered in bandages? Were you hurt recently?"
"I was soaked in oil, set on fire and thrown down the Canyon, as a punishment for the task I failed," He said seriously, while their eyes spread wide open. The silence so thick, one could use a knife to cut through it.
"R-Really?" She asked, feeling bad about asking, only for the Courier to start chuckling uncontrollably, not able to contain his laughter.
"I am sorry, but the look on your face was too good," He said, while the woman pouted, her cheeks tainted pink, the atmosphere relaxed. "That didn't happen to me, I did meet a guy who did survive it though. Not a pleasant sight, let me tell you. As for me, well, personal reasons for the most part, also scars, I have got plenty of those."
"You do? But why?" The cat woman asked.
"I have a tendency to get into trouble, miss...?" He asked.
"May, I am a chef in here," She introduced herself.
"I see, pleased to meet you, Miss May," He said and shook the hand of the girl, who smiled in response. "Although, I am surprised, I was pretty certain miss Grand here cooked for the most part."
"Hah, I can do that, but somebody has to keep an eye on customers," She explained.
"Fair enough," He replied with a shrug.
"...Scars? How many of them do you possess?" The Elf he hadn't talked to yet, asked.
"Too many to count, miss…?" He responded.
"Ryuu Lion," She introduced herself, but instead of shaking his hand, she only glanced at it, before turning his attention to his head.
"Don't leave me hanging there, partner. It's the basic curtsey to shake hands," He said, but the Elf was unmoved, while everyone stared at him like he just lost his mind.
"You don't know much about Elves, do you?" Syr asked while the other waitresses played with the helmet, even May seemed curious about it.
"Don't suppose they are allergic to touch?" He tried, while everyone just chuckled, except Ryuu that is.
"No, silly. Elves do not allow someone they don't trust to touch their skin," Syr explained, causing the Courier to drop his hand in the process.
"I see, that explains it. Having said, miss Ryuu, with all due respect, if your kind truly feels like this, then I don't see it surviving for a very long time," He said, the murmurs stopping in an instant.
Ryuu eyes narrowed, glaring at the man, who didn't seem to be bothered by it. "And what makes you say that?"
"My past experience with a similar group, although far more xenophobic than Elves, last I checked. Want to hear a story about them? Just a quick note, it's going take a couple of minutes of your life," He warned, but the Elf nodded regardless.
"You asked for it. See, there was this group calling themselves Brotherhood of Steel. They possessed magical weapons and armour, far more powerful than anyone else in the country," The Courier began telling his tale, making sure to avoid certain compromising details of it. "However, they were not the most welcoming group. In fact, from what I have gathered, The Brotherhood of Steel used to send unwanted applicants to an area called 'the Glow' on a "fool's quest," referring to it by the moniker the "Ancient Order," just to laugh about it later when they ended up dead because of the high amount of monsters in the area."
That got the reaction out of the group, everyone staring intently at him, even Mia was interested in the tale it seemed, not to mention Ryuu, who was listening intently. He continued, "However, over the years, while they were stuck in their castles, the world changed around them, making them fear for their position. There were other groups, which could not manufacture the same quality of weapons and armour, but they had numbers and bodies to spare. For every twenty ordinary soldiers, one of their fell and soon they had to go into hiding, becoming nothing more but a bunch of raiders in better than average equipment."
"...That's not where the story ends, does it?" Ryuu inquired her attention on the Courier.
He shook his head in the response. "Far from it, after the war, they only sent out small patrols to explore the area, with some agents hiding in plain sight. One of which I have met in person, going by the name of Veronica Santangelo. She was one of the smarter ones, she could see with her very own eyes that the Brotherhood was failing. We began travelling together and at one point she decided to show proof to the Elder that there are better ways to live than hiding from the world, waiting for everyone else to die out."
"Did it work?" Syr asked, her curiosity getting better of her.
"They tried to murder her," He answered, earning gasp of shock from the woman, while everyone else frowned. "That's not even the end of it. They tried to murder her when she made contact with another group that spread knowledge and medical attention around them. An entire outpost was butchered on the very suspicion, she might have told them even a fraction of what they knew."
"You were there when that happened," Ryuu guessed, while the Courier nodded in response.
"Been there, saw it with my own eyes, including her death, by her former family. All I could do was run," He lied the last part, his story finished. "That's why, miss Lion, I warn you and the rest of your kind. If you keep going along this path, chances are you will end up the same as them."
He was about to leave, giving them some time to think it through before he decided to try one last thing. Standing in front of the Elf, he asked, his hand extended, "So what will it be, miss Lion?"
She looked at the hand, her disgust to those she deemed unworthy fighting against the story the man just told. However, one thing became certain the longer she thought about it, this man was different from the rest. He didn't stare, didn't ogle them, always looking right into their eyes, including the past week she barely saw him.
And the story he just told her, it wasn't made up, maybe not the most detailed one, but true nevertheless. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't feel any disgust towards him. Slowly raising her hand, she returned the handshake, feeling the warm fingers around her hand, before he squeezed gently and smiled underneath the bandages, before letting go.
"It seems like there is hope for you after all. Now then, I am going to head out to the Dungeon, otherwise, I am pretty sure, miss Mia will kick me out," He said, before putting on the helmet, the waitresses gave back.
"You can be certain of that, I don't need any freeloaders at my fine establishment," She voiced her opinion, while the Courier chuckled.
"Ain't that the truth? Now, then, I am off, have a nice day, everyone," The Courier bid his farewell, leaving the pub behind him. He didn't see as the Ryuu Lion stared at the hand he squeezed, trying to force herself to feel any disgust, only to fail miserably. Syr Flova smiling at her friend.
"I'm honestly shocked you let him touch you, much less doing it yourself," She said, looking as the adventurer left for the Dungeon.
She watched as the man left, his back with a bull painted on his back, going through the door's frame. She looked at her hand once again, a memory appearing from the clouds of the mind. It was a message, from a friend. She told her that if there ever was a man that could grab her hand, she mustn't let him go. Her eyes watching the man leave, until she could no longer see him.
"That went well, I think," The Courier muttered to himself, as he slowly walked towards the Dungeon. He made some good conversation, introduced himself and even told them a bit about himself, just a bit though. He was trying to avoid doing so, but when he heard about the Elves and their culture, he couldn't help himself.
As he walked towards the Dungeon, he realized, he hadn't gone shopping for about a month. It didn't help that, he couldn't speak not so long ago, thus making barter impossible. Still, now that he had a pretty good amount of Valis, he could at least check out the stores Eina mentioned. He shuddered as he remembered the lessons he went through with her.
Shaking his head, he headed to Babel, before finding what looked like an elevator, similar to the ones in Mojave. The key difference being powered by magic stones the monsters dropped. With a click of a button, he rode the device to the fourth floor, all by himself. When the door opened with a ring, he could feel his jaw drop a little.
Weapons, dozens of weapons everywhere he looked. The shops were displaying their best wares, such as axes, swords, shields, staffs, mails and such. As he walked up to one of the displays and looked at the price tag, he choked. T-Thirty million Valis?! That's crazy! How can anyone afford to shop at his place? As he stared at the well made long sword, an attendant came up to him.
"Hello there, sir. May I help you with choosing a weapon?" The man, with wolf ears and a tail asked, smiling friendly at the Courier.
"Depends, don't suppose you have weapons that cost less than one million, Valis, here?" The Courier asked, still shocked by the prices.
"I am afraid not on this floor at least. However, the Hephaestus Familia sells their wares from fourth to the eighth floor. Those higher offer lower quality equipment, if you wish to know," He responded.
"I see… That's useful, thanks, I will check those out instead. Have a nice day," He said, before leaving and going upstairs.
This floor was similar to the floor he visited, but much less grandeur. The weapons he saw were made from simple steel and lower-quality materials. The prices were reflected in that, most below hundred thousand Valis. As he walked up to a set of metal armour, he could only scowl at the quality of it. It was really poor, compared to what even Legion produced.
The armour he was wearing currently was a proof of that, as it had very similar protection to that of T-45D, a suit of power armour. While the armour in front of him was worse than common metal armours back in his world. In fact, it was so weak, it wouldn't be able to stop a bullet, something a gecko-backed reinforced leather armour could do.
However, he didn't come here to buy superior equipment, as he was pretty sure the one he possessed was ways above almost everything in Orario. What he needed were replacement parts or replacement armour in this case. Even the armour he possessed would get damaged, bent and broken, so when it's durability was compromised, he could always repair it.
He also needed some simple weapons that worked similar to the likes of super sledge and katana. In general, there were four types of melee weapons, bladed and blunt, with an additional two depending on if one needed one or two hands to wield it properly. However, thanks to jury-rigging all he needed were the equivalents of one-handed and two-handed weapons in a good condition. To put simply, he could fix a katana with a rolling pin and a super sledge with a pool cue, because they both were similar in ways they operated. Pool cues needed both hands to wield properly, while rolling pin only one, same thing with super sledge and katana.
Slowly, he began gathering a whole lot of weapons and armour, putting them on a counter, with a clerk behind it. Only when he was done, the Clerk began counting all the things he chose, which in turn cost quite a bit, considering the sheer amount, forcing him to use over half of the money he had left. Under his helmet, the Courier frowned at the amount of money he spent.
While he still technically had things from his world, he was trying to keep them for the future. It didn't help that nobody here ever heard of transistors, vacuum tubes or kevlar, not to mention things like laser beams and plasma. It also meant that the supply of ammo he possessed was limited and using it in the Dungeon would force him to make bullets of his own. Not to mention, he still possessed MF Hyperbreeder Alpha, which he was pretty sure Familias would gladly kill him over.
A weapon that had an infinite supply of ammo, only needing some maintenance here and there. It was also powerful enough to easily take care of level 1 and 2 monsters on the bare minimum. Yeah, there was no way he was going to show off his gear without some damn good reason. The last thing he needed is a bunch of gods pestering him all the time.
So, with his supplies packed in the duffel bag, he left for the elevator, riding down the bottom floor and hiding his new equipment inside the pipboy. Once he was on the ground floor, he made his way to the entrance of the Dungeon, going to the bottom of it, an occasional glance sent his way.
Without wasting any more time, he decided to go through each floor, clearing all the monsters along the way. One of the new monsters he found on the floors second to fourth was a Dungeon Lizard, Eina told him about. It was basically an oversized lizard, that tried to bite through his armour, only to get squashed like a bug for its efforts.
This went on until he finally reached the staircase to the fifth floor when he decided to call it a day. Making his way back to the Guild, he made sure Eina wasn't there anymore, the sun setting down in the distance. Dumping the contents on the tray, he received fifty thousand Valis for his effort, which was far less than he expected. That's not good, that bird was worth way more than what I have gathered over the distance of four floors. Then again, I haven't seen it again this time.
The more he thought about it, the less lucrative upper floors became. In fact, the amount of Valis he earned, wasn't even enough to pay for all the equipment he bought in a single day. It was still pretty decent cash and he wouldn't be fixing his gear all the time. However, he still had to buy a big patch of land to house his shape shuttle, build a hangar and pay for all the materials.
The cost of which, would rack up in millions of Valis, most likely. I will be stuck here for quite a while, won't I? The Courier sighed, as the reality finally came crashing down on top of him. Back in Mojave, he could easily get rich, by gathering stuff, fixing weapons and selling them to merchants. However, this wouldn't work here, as everything was meant to be of the highest quality to attract possible sellers. Jury-rigging won't be that useful here, will it? Just my luck…
Shaking his head, he began making his way back to the Hostess of Fertility, before looking around and seeing it packed to the brim with adventurers of different shapes and kinds enjoying drinks, food and the view of certain waitresses. The Courier snorted as the men made their intentions clear towards the employees. Really, those guys. I mean, sure, they are all attractive in their own way, but why not ask them out instead?
Then as he was about to go upstairs, he noticed a mop of clear white hair, along with red ruby eyes, sitting in the corner. Wait a second, isn't that the kid from the Dungeon? Yeah, it's him alright. Well then, let's say hello. With his mind made up, he walked up to the lone figure, whose eyes spread wide open as soon as he saw him.
"What's up, kid? No longer drenched in blood, I see," The Courier greeted.
"Y-You! The man from the Dungeon!" He sputtered out, while the Courier chuckled.
"Easy there, kid. I am not here to make fun of you," He answered before sitting down on the chair opposite to him. "Was it really necessary to run though?"
"I-I didn't mean, to… I am sorry!" He bowed, while the Courier waved his hand in response.
"It's fine, no harm done. So, what's your name anyway?" He asked while the boy calmed down a bit.
"Bell Cranel," He introduced himself, extending his hand in greeting.
"Courier Six," He responded, while the boy blinked in response. "Yeah, I know, not much of a name. I get it quite often. Now then, I am going to order something, you want anything?" He asked, but the boy shook his head, he already had a plate full of spaghetti. Raising his hand, he waited for one of the waitresses to arrive.
"Good evening, mister Six. Would you like to order something?" Ryuu asked, with a plate on her chest.
"Good evening, miss Lion. I would like to order a plate of spaghetti and a jug of juice," He ordered, while the woman nodded. She turned towards the boy, but he only shook his head. Though, the Courier didn't miss as he sent an occasional glance towards her, most likely the result of her beauty. "Like what you see," He teased, while the boy sputtered the juice he was drinking, thus making him laugh at his expense. "You are so easy to tease, Bell." The boy sent him a pleading look, before looking down dejected.
After that, the Courier decided he had enough fun and waited for the order to arrive. It didn't take long, the sight of which just made him giddy inside. It was fresh, hot and smelled so delicious. It definitely beats eating raw meat, cooked dog meat or two-hundred-year-old food scavenged at Madre. With a nod, he let Ryuu go, the woman following him with her eyes for a moment.
Taking off his helmet and putting it aside, he rubbed his hands, only to notice the boy looking at him with his jaw in a shape of an o. With an evil grin, he decided to tease the boy a little more. "Like something you see, Bell? Although just to be clear, I prefer women."
"Gah! No! I didn't mean to stare, I…," He started, while the Courier just laughed at him, the boy glaring at him.
"Man, you are so easy to tease, I swear," He responded before digging in and letting his taste buds be delighted by homemade cooking. This is great, heck it's better than most of the things I have eaten back in Mojave. Only Brahmin Wellington and Deathclaw Omelet can compare! He had yet another reason to come here. And considering the amount of food he needed on a regular basis, it was easy to afford. Better than using his own supplies by a lot.
The two sat in silence, eating their food, only for the boy to finish before him. The waitresses, Syr, if he remembered correctly walked up to him before he paid for his meal, talked to her for a moment, before walking up to the Courier.
"I am going home, the goddess is probably getting worried. Thanks for saving me back there," The boy said, while the Courier turned towards him.
"You're welcome, Bell. Give me a sign, if you need any help. It would be a shame, if you died too early," He joked, while the boy smiled wryly.
"Yeah… Say, what level are you? I mean, you survived that club to the head?" He asked while the Courier shrugged.
"Not that high, level three with a skill that makes me harder to kill," He lied, while the boy's eyes went wide open.
"You have a skill? That's so awesome, I want one too," He complained, while the Courier chuckled.
"You will get a skill sooner or later, just give it enough time. Besides, everyone starts at zero, who knows, you might even become a first-class level adventurer if you give it your all," He answered, while the boy beamed at him.
"You're right, all I have to do is give it my all. Thanks, Six, you're a good guy," He said, before leaving the man alone with his thoughts. Me, a good guy? I haven't heard that one in ages.
Just as he was enjoying himself, the door swung open and a big group of about new customers entered the pub, going straight to an empty tables, most likely reserved beforehand. Turning his gaze towards them, he noticed a certain blond swordswoman he had met recently. The whispers echoing around the bar.
"So that's them." "… They're the 'giant-killer Familia', eh?" "Aren't they first-class all-stars?!" "Who's the Sword Princess I've heard so much about?" People spoke around.
Only then he noticed the rest of the company and tensed a bit, at two Amazons going with them. However, they either didn't notice or didn't care, their gaze waving past him. He sighed with relief at that. He read the dossier regarding Ishtar Familia, the one who most likely chased him when he first arrived, but that didn't mean he wasn't a bit paranoid around the Amazons.
The rest of the group was pretty odd, to say the least. There was a Pallum, two Elves, a Dwarf, the Amazoness, a werewolf and a goddess Loki herself among the group. He could feel his mood dropping, so with a scowl, he quickly focused on the dish in front of him to get away from the woman as soon as possible.
He was ready to go when he heard a sentence that made him stop in his tracks. "You know the one! About those Minotaurs that ran away on the way back! Remember, ye finished off the last one on the fifth floor? And then, ya know, Tomato Boy and Bloody Tin Can!"
His gaze turned towards the werewolf who spoke it, the same one, he saw in the Dungeon in his barely coherent state. "Got himself corned like a Lil' bunny! Shakin' like one too! I almost couldn't bear to watch! Those two took the full blast of that stinky cow's blood, got soaked. Looked like two bright-red tomatoes! So, Tomato Boy and Bloody Tin Can! Gya-ha-ha-ha – Ow, my ribs…!"
"And get this! Tomato Boy, he ran away screaming his head off! While the Tin Can, said hello, before leaving like it was completely normal! Geeh! Our princess rescues two idiots and they just bugger off!" He continued, the crowd laughing, while the Courier snorted. It does seem pretty pathetic, now that I think about it. Eina did quite a number on me, might as well set things right.
With his mind made up, he stood up, before walking up to the group. "That's harsh, but not inaccurate."
The pub was silenced almost instantly, everyone's gaze turning to the newcomer. Ais' eyes went wide open, while the werewolf just glared at him, before his eyes shone in recognition, his finger pointed at him. "You're that Bloody Tin Can from the Dungeon! What, did you come here to grovel in front of Ais' for saving your stupid worthless life?" The werewolf asked, laughing as much as the lungs could let him.
"I was fine, thank you very much. Although, it was quite rude of me to leave just like that. So, miss Wallenstein, I apologize," He said, while the woman just blinked at him.
"It's… fine," She settled on, while the Courier nodded in response.
"Hey! Don't ignore me, you asshole!" Bete growled, the Courier barely sparing him a glance.
"Anyway, I am Six, Courier Six. Pleased to meet you," He introduced himself, tipping his helmet at them.
The first one to get over the newcomer was the Pallum, who stood up, a smile on his face. "The pleasure is all ours. I am Finn Deimne, the captain of the Loki Familia and that's Bete Loga, one of our strongest members," He said, gesturing towards the werewolf, who tsked, while still glaring daggers at him. After that, each member stood up and introduced themselves, the group being evidently curious about him.
"If you don't me asking, Bete said here Ais' saved your and that other person's life. Is that not true?" Finn asked.
"Hardly, the Minotaur used my head a target practice and I barely felt it," He admitted, while Finn's eyebrow raised, turning towards the goddess Loki, who nodded at him, confirming he was telling the truth.
"I see, then you must be a pretty strong adventurer, what Familia are you from?" He questioned, while the Courier smiled under his helmet.
"Trade secret," He replied, earning a chuckle from the Pallum.
"I bet that nobody wanted him so he is a member of some low tier Familia," Bete said, while everyone else glared at him.
"Say, you said you survived a hit to the head from a Minotaur! Are you level three perhaps?" Tiona, an Amazon asked.
"Won't tell," He said, while the girl pouted, her sister Tione smiling at the response.
"Hah, you're not much of a talker, friend, are you?" The dwarf said while the Courier chuckled.
"Quite the opposite, Mister Gareth. It's just the fact that there is a certain goddess here, going by name of Loki, sitting right in front of me. And the last thing I want to say is something that could be used against me," He stated, while the Loki opened her eyes slightly.
The gods in Orario could tell truth from fiction, which meant he had to be extra careful around them. However, he wasn't sure how it worked exactly, simply because there was subjective truth and objective truth. A person could like strawberries, but someone else could hate them. Both of their opinions would be correct.
However, one couldn't lie to a god, if they knew it was false. He couldn't lie about his experience and knowledge, but what happened if someone told him that there were dragons in the world, without knowing it was true or not? He simply didn't want to risk it.
"Hoo? Is that so? Do you have a dark and troubled past that shouldn't see the light of day?" She teased, while the Courier snorted.
"Wouldn't you like to know. Anyway, it was a pleasure, but I am afraid I am getting tired. Enjoy the evening, Loki Familia," He said and just as he was about to leave, only for the goddess to stand in front of him, blocking his way out.
"Say, wouldn't you be interested in joining my Familia?" She asked, a small smile plastered on her face. Loki didn't have the same ability as Freya, allowing her to see the brilliance and colour of the soul. What she did have was experience, she knew what to look for in adventurers and which of them looked the most promising. And the Courier was plenty strong, simply by the event that transpired recently.
The Courier had to kick his mind into overdrive, as he desperately tried to figure out what to say, without telling too much about himself, including the fact, he had no Falna. "No, I do not wish to join your Familia. I have got no reason to do so," He said, trying to outmanoeuvre the goddess, but she wouldn't let him.
"Why not? There are plenty of strong members in our group, you could earn more money or level up faster with us," She countered, while the Courier frowned under his helmet. As much as he hated to admit it, she was making a good argument.
"You are correct, I could do so in your Familia. However, here is the thing. I don't want to join your Familia or any other Familia, I am happy with my current situation," He said, which was true. He was better off going in the Dungeon solo, fewer people to see him, smaller chances of his past becoming known. And joining a Familia collided with this goal, far more than anything else.
"Are you sure about that? Most people would kill for a chance to be invited to my Familia," She countered.
"I am sure, I don't mind working with you, but I do not intend to become a member of your Familia," He replied, the two starring off before finally, the goddess let go.
"It seems like, I can't convince you just yet. However, my offer still stands, I do not intend to give up," She responded with a smile, while the Courier chuckled.
"I have never expected otherwise, you gods have a hard time giving up on things that draw your attention, don't you?" He said, before saying his goodbyes and leaving for his room.
"Did you really mean it, Loki?" Riveria asked while Loki watched as the man left the pub.
She smiled at Elf. "Of course I meant it, he is strong, very strong in fact. I can tell that much, but it seems I might need to try a different approach," She answered, before going back to her Familia to try to grope Ais or the waitresses.
