AN: I'd like to thank everyone for their ideas and suggestions as well as answering my questions. With your help, I now know where to go with this story and will implement some of your ideas immediately.

As always, there will be mistakes since I can't spot them all on my own so do forgive me for that.

Without further ado, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

-0-

When I awoke from my slumber, I found that my entire body is sore for some reason and it didn't take me long to figure out why. Apparently, I fell off my bed at some point during the night and had been sleeping on the cold wooden floor.

I found that rather odd since I'm a very light sleeper. If I fell to the ground in my sleep then I would've woken up instantly. I groggily push myself up into a sitting position and scratch the back of my head with a yawn.

My room is still dark as the sun hasn't risen yet and even without checking, I know that it's 5 A.M right now. My internal alarm clock wouldn't let me sleep past that even if I went to sleep 5 minutes prior to wake up time. I can feel the cool morning air tingling against my skin and my breath came out with a faint white mist.

"Man, that was some strange dream last night." I muttered tiredly as I got up from the ground, fragments of last night's dream filtering through my mind in a haze. I paid it no mind and started stretching my body to work the kinks out while my thoughts idly wanders towards what I should make for breakfast today.

Once I'm done, I turn around to make the bed. My hands moved quickly and in a blink of an eye, everything was in order and my bed looks neat like no one had slept on it before. It was after I was done did I finally notice a ridiculously expensive looking book placed on the end table next to the bed. Upon seeing it, last night's memory hit me at full force and I slap myself on the face for even forgetting about it in the first place.

I let my hand drop to my side and move to pick the book up hesitantly, hoping that maybe it really was a dream and that I've never read the book at all. With the book in my hand, I flip it open and what greeted me was nothing but blank pages. I flip the pages rapidly to see if there's something left on it but alas, nothing popped out. "Oh God, it's not a dream." I groan in despair. Millions of Valis that I could've gotten from selling this thing, gone. Now it's nothing more than an over glorified paperweight.

I sighed and place the book back down, knowing full well that regretting what had happened is pointless and I should just move on.

Since I've already read it, then it must mean I've acquired some kind of magic spell by doing so. But I won't be able to tell what kind of spell I got until I update my Falna, which I'm currently banned from doing so until I'm healed. Judging by the how my back still stings slightly from being touched by the fabric of my shirt, I'd say it'll still be a while before then.

Hooo boy, I'll need an excuse ready for Miach when that happens. Maybe I can feign ignorance? No, Miach will see through me instantly if I try to straight up lie. It's a miracle in and of itself that he haven't found out that I'm a reincarnated soul yet.

Great, just great. I've just woken up and I'm already faced with a difficult situation.

You know what? Let's just put that aside from now. It's going to take a while for my back to be healed completely so I have some time. I'll probably think of something later but for now, I'm going to take a shower and make some breakfast to relax so I can stop thinking about troublesome things.

With that in mind, I start making my way towards the bathroom.

-0-

Feeling refreshed after a cold shower, I dry myself off and put on my usual black theme outfit that consist of a long sleeve shirt and trousers before heading towards the kitchen.

Once I'm there, I immediately head towards the pantry and open it's doors to gaze upon it's contents. Immediately, I was met with another problem that left me at a lost.

I stood in place for a while, not really doing anything but stare at the pantry with a frown etched onto my face. Since it's still quite early, the kitchen is illuminated by the magic lamp so I could see what I'm doing. I scan over the contents one more time and my frown deepens. Bummer, there's just so many options available for me that I just can't decide on what to make.

Should I make something lavish or just go with a simple breakfast? I mused as I rub my chin in thought.

After mulling over it for a bit, I settled on making something that doesn't require a lot of effort simply because I'm feeling a bit lazy today and began preparing the ingredients.

I took a loaf of bread and some eggs and set them aside on the kitchen table before going back to pick up a handful of potatoes and a single large onion. With the ingredients on hand, I went to collect a large bowl and started cracking some eggs in them. I add in a pinch of salt and started whisking away with a fork until it's mixed well before I put the bowl down.

I walk over to the stove and place a pan over one of it's burners. I turn the knob on it with a click but no fire came forth. I quirk an eyebrow and tried again. Another click reached my ears but there's still no fire to be found.

I crouch down and opened the door below the stove and reach my hand in. When I pulled it out, I was holding onto a transparent magic stone the size of my thumb, signifying that it had used up all of it's power.

You know why the Guild would pay Adventurers for retrieving magic stones? This is the reason.

We mainly use it to power appliances that everyone uses for their daily life like this stove here. The equipment and appliances in this world were made with magic stones in mind. The stones have magical power in them and the appliances can harness that power for themselves. Without Magic Stones, things like lighting, water purification, refrigerators, heaters and other things wouldn't be possible. Naturally, the bigger the stone, the longer it'll last. But since I only have ones the size of my thumb, mine can last for half a day at best if I use it sparingly.

It's very environment friendly too so we don't have to worry about pollution like back on earth. Hooray magic!

Should I be concerned that there's some technologically advance things on the list despite the setting of this world being somewhere near the renaissance age? Nah, it's probably one of the deity's fault that we have these unimmersive things. I'm not complaining though, sure makes my life easier in some ways.

There's also other usages for magic stones but I'm not sure what they are. Either way, magic stones are the cornerstone of society and world is entirely dependent of them. Too dependent actually. So far, I've never heard of any other method to produce other forms of energy to use. It's always magic stones this and magic stones that.

You can probably tell why that's a bad thing if you're from earth. Should the Dungeon ever run out of Magic Stones then society will collapse harder than your mama falling out of her bed.

The ones in power will try to delegate who gets the leftover magic stones and continue to enjoy the wonders of technological conveniences while the weak will have to bear with it in resentment and start living like it's the stone age again.

That won't last of course. The magic stones will run out in time since the Dungeon isn't producing it anymore. Unless someone figure out how to harness another source of energy, people will fight each other over the smallest fragment of Magic Stone.

It'll be like WW3 all over again but this time with magic and superhumans thrown into the mix.

Should I do something about it?

Fuck no. I'll probably be dead from old age already by then. Let the future generation handle that crap.

Then again, I might be thinking about it this way because I'm very bias from my experience. Who knows, maybe the Dungeon will never run out of magic stones. Maybe the world won't descent into complete senseless savagery again just because some precious resource ran out. Hell, people might actually figure out a way to produce renewable energy to keep the world running. Either way, so not my problem.

I move away from the stove and went to collect a new magic stone from it's storage. I walk back and insert it into the slot within the stove that holds magic stones and heard a click, signaling that it's now locked in place.

I close the door to the inner component of the stove and turn the knob again. This time fire spring to life and started heating up the pan. I turn around and pick up the loaf of bread and the bowl of beat up eggs and place them near the stove.

I pour some oil on the now heated pan before I took a few slices of bread and soak them in the bowl evenly. With the bread properly soaked, I put them on the pan to fry.

It wasn't long before I have three plates on the side, each with their own slices of french toast.

With one type of food done, I went on to make the next one, which is hash browns. As I was busy peeling the potatoes and onions, I noticed someone coming into the kitchen from the corner of my eye.

I glace over and saw that Naaza had just walked in, back slouched and rubbing her eye with one hand.

"Oh, morning Naaza. Rare for you to be up this early." I said to her as she shuffle sluggishly to the dinning table.

"Mmm….can't sleep….kept waking up…." She muttered tiredly as she pull back a chair and sat down on it. The moment her butt touches the chair, she immediately slouch onto the table and rest her head against her arms. It wasn't long before she started emitting cute snores as she enters Morpheus' domain.

It should be said that Naaza is extremely terrible with mornings. It usually takes a lot of effort to wake her up and she would be moody for a while afterwards.

Knowing that she's not going to be responding to anything that I say for a while, I went back to making the food.

With the potatoes and onions peeled and finely diced in their own respective bowl, I began washing the potatoes to get rid of the starch. It was then did Miach enter the kitchen as well.

"Morning Cain-kun." He greeted me with a smile

"Morning Miach-sama." I greeted back with a nod.

"I see that Naaza has already woken up already. What an uncommon sight." He commented as he walk past me to the kitchen counter.

"I know right? It's rare to have all three of us here before breakfast even began." I turn my head slightly to see what he's doing and saw that he was making coffee. He poured some coffee power into a kettle and add water into it. I grimace slightly when the scent of the coffee power reaches me. I really don't understand just why people would even drink that bitter stuff.

"That's true, but I don't think Naaza is actually with us right now." Miach replied with a chuckle as he set the pot onto the burner next to the one I left the pan on. "I'll help set up the table for you then." He said as he turn the burner on.

"Thanks Miach-sama." I smiled as he went to grab the eating utensils.

Time passes for us in a comfortable silence, silence because my stealth passive made my cooking virtually silent. Miach is sitting by the dinner table and reading today's newspaper while Naaza slept on like a child that had stayed up too late to play.

It wasn't long before I finish cooking and present the plates filled with french toasts, hash browns and scrambled eggs to my Familia. I set the food in front of them just in time to hear the kettle whistle, informing me that the coffee is ready.

I turn away from the table and went to turn off the stove. I took two mugs from the cupboard that had the chibified faces of Miach and Naaza drawn onto them to mark which one belongs to who. I poured some coffee into them and I add in milk for Naaza's and sugar cubes for Miach. I didn't get any for myself since I'm more of a tea person.

I place Miach's mug in front of him, earning a 'thanks' from the man and move on to place Naaza's in front of her. Then I proceeded to wake the girl up by gently shaking her shoulder and calling out to her. "Oh Naaza~ wakey, wakey. If you don't wake up soon, I'm gonna eat everything from your plate again."

The threat of losing her breakfast was enough to jolt the girl awake and she pushes herself off the table to sit upright, mumbling something incoherent in her sleepy state as she struggle not to fall back onto the table to sleep again.

"Here's your coffee sleepyhead." I said with an amused smile and push the mug over to her.

Naaza's eyes followed the moving mug lazily. Using her prosthetic hand, she grabbed the mug by it's side and brought it to her lips without paying much attention.

"Careful, it's hot." I warned her when I saw what she's about to do but my warning came too late as Naaza sipped the drink the moment I finished speaking. Her eyes widen immediately in shock and she coughed into her mug, causing the coffee to spray out a bit and staining a bit of her clothes with droplets. She quickly move the mug away from her lips while her eyes squeezes shut in obvious pain as she stuck her tongue out.

"Owie…."She said as she set her mug down, now visibly more awake than before.

"Well, I did warn you." I chuckled a bit as I rub her head in order to comfort her.

"Nii-san could've warned me sooner." She complained in her usual soft voice and I could feel her leaning her head against my hand in order to get more out of the head pat.

"Yes, yes. Nii-san is sorry for being so slow. Seeing that you haven't completely burnt your tongue yet, I suppose it's time to start breakfast before the devil's drink can claim another victim." I grinned as I remove my hand from her head and move back to my seat.

"Coffee isn't the devil's drink. It's a marvel created by the Gods." Naaza was quick to defend her favorite beverage with a small pout.

"So says the coffee fan. Anyway, the Gods didn't invent coffee, some hungry fellow did when he was scavenging for food. He coincidentally found the very first coffee beans while out in the wilds and started cultivating them into what they are now. Not exactly the most outstanding of beginning for what would later be known as the tongue burner of many sleepy individuals." I smirked at her.

"At least it's a better origin than a bunch of drunkards randomly putting things in their mouths and coincidentally discovering tea leaves." Naaza shot back and I gasped in shock.

"How dare speak ill about the forefathers of tea!?" I utter out in a scandalized manner while trying to keep my lips from quirking upwards to maintain my affronted look.

"I dare." Naaza replied cheekily.

"Now, now. Let's not have an argument over which drink is better so early in the morning." Miach interrupted our repartee like always with an amused smile on his face. "Let's us enjoy our meal first before they've gone cold."

""Yes, Miach-sama./Sure thing, Miach-sama."" We both replied and quiet down to eat.

By now the sun is slowly rising from the horizon and faint rays of light were shinning through the windows to illuminate the kitchen. The sounds of early birds chirping mixed with the metallic clinking of our utensils as we dig into our food somehow manage to created a serene atmosphere for us. Ignoring the fact that the Dungeon exists and the fact that Miach is a God, I couldn't help but see this scene as a normal family having breakfast together.

I smiled and continue to enjoy this peaceful morning free from any troubling thoughts and worries. At least until we finish breakfast.

-0-

With breakfast finished, I came to a daunting realization I can't procrastinate any longer. Not when Naaza had been staring at me expectantly right after she finished her food.

It's time to discuss what we talked about last night.

I managed to buy myself some time by washing the dishes but I couldn't come up with anything that would get me out of this predicament during that time.

Right now, we're both seated at opposite sides of the dinner table so we would be facing each other. We aren't alone as Miach is here with us as well. It seems that he noticed that something was up and decided to stay behind just in case he's needed. I know that he'll leave if we asked him to but we kind of actually need him for information.

I had my elbows on the table, fingers entwined together while resting my chin on my thumbs as I regard the Chienthrope in front of me carefully, my face a complete blank to masks my anxiety. Naaza on the other hand, was the very picture of calm as she stare into my eyes with firm determination behind those half lidded eyes of hers. She tilt her head towards Miach's direction while keeping her eyes on me and I frown behind my hands.

Looks like she wanted me to be the one to ask Miach about the method of leveling up but I'm feeling very reluctant to do so. I have a feeling that if Miach knows what we're up to, he would support Naaza despite his reservations on letting Naaza out into the field. After all, what good parent wouldn't want to encourage their child to follow their dreams?

"If I may, can either of you please tell me what's gotten into you two? I'm sensing that something is going on here but for the life of me, I can't figure out what." Miach was the first to spoke up after the two of us hadn't said anything for the past 15 minutes after sitting down.

Looks like I really can't delay no longer.

I close my eyes and took a deep breath before looking at my God. "Well, Miach-sama, Naaza-chan here told me last night that she wanted to gain a development ability by leveling up. But since we have no idea how one would even do so, we thought we would ask you about it." I informed him and I could see Naaza smiling slightly.

"I see." Miach nodded in his usual understanding manner. "Very well. I shall give you both the basic explanation so listen closely." We both sat up straight and paid attention to what Miach is about to say.

"In order to rank up, two conditions must first be met. The first is that you need to have at least a D rank in one of your Basic Abilities. It's the most simple one to achieve since all you need to do is to keep training until you reach that rank. The second however, is a lot more complex. It requires you to accomplish something that even the Gods themselves would be impressed with. Should you manage to fulfill these two conditions, you'll be able to rank up the next time I update your status."

"That...doesn't explain much. The first I can understand but the second one sounds very vague." I muttered as I wondered in confusion as to how one even go about accomplishing that. Gods are very fickle beings so it goes without saying that impressing them will be very hard.

I glace over to Naaza and saw that she had a confused expression on her face as well. It looks like I wasn't the only one who's at a lost on what we should do.

Miach began scratching his cheek sheepishly in return. "Well, that's why I said it's complex. To be honest, even I don't know how the Falna system works fully; I'm just using it like the rest of the Gods are. I think only the original creator of the Falna system knows everything there is to know about it."

"By the way Miach-sama, do you mean the second part literally? As in a deity needs to bare witness to your feat when you're performing it in order for it to be recognized? If that's so then does this mean we need to drag a god around with us and hope that something happens?" I asked with an amused smile. "Because I can imagine myself tying a god to my back while I perform stupid stunts all in hopes that he'll be impress with me enough to help me rank up."

"No, no. Of course not." Miach chuckled at the mental image I had conjured up for him. "That would be very inconvenient for everyone involved. Imagine having to organize everything for that to happen. You'll need to plan everything as well as finding a god with free time to watch you do it. It's actually more simple than that. The feats that you've accomplished are actually recorded down in the excellia that you've gained. So if you managed to do something impressive, I'll know when I update your status because your excellia will tell me about them."

"I see." I muttered as I thought deeply about what Miach had said. If you think about it this way, leveling up is basically just overloading the container that is your soul with a burst of excelia gained by doing something outrageously impressive. It will push the container past it's limit in order to transcend into the next level. A grand act to mark the end of your old level and the beginning of your next one. "Are there any suggestions you can give us Miach-sama, because I'm drawing blanks here."

Miach let out a thoughtful hum and rub his chin in thought. "Well, I heard that Adventurers usually defeat a powerful monster in order level up." He offers.

I shot that idea down immediately. "No! Absolutely not!" I slam my hands onto the table and stood up. "We are not doing that, ever. There will be no pointless risk taken for the sake of leveling up. Engaging against a superior enemy is not only a dumb thing to do, it's also a surefire way to get oneself killed." I said sternly as I shot Naaza a look that basically says 'Don't even think about it'.

Naaza seem to shrink under my gaze when I looked at her. It looks like she was actually considering it but thankfully, I managed to nip that idea in the bud.

Miach raise his hands in a placating manner. "Now, now. Calm down Cain-kun. I was only saying the first thing that came to mind. It doesn't have to be killing a powerful monster, there are other ways to achieve it."

I nodded and sat back down and gesture for him to continue.

"From what I know, the method to met the second condition could be something as simple as creating something never before seen. Or it could be something difficult like solving a difficult puzzle that had been plaguing the greatest minds for centuries; or resolving a tense diplomatic matter between two countries peacefully. So long as it's something truly impressive, it'll work. Killing a strong monster just so happens to be the easiest one out of all of them."

After hearing that, I simply let out a groan and began rubbing my temples. "First one sounds simple enough but the rest is almost impossible. Well Naaza, do you have any idea on what to do to get started? I'll tell you again the fighting against strong monsters is a no go."

"It really doesn't matter how, I just want to level up for the Development Ability." Naaza spoke up for the first time since this discussion started. "I know that it's unrealistic achieve a rank up just because I wanted to. I'm actually prepared to work for however long it may take. Besides, Nii-san already promised me that he'll spent time with me today so anything is fine so long as we're working towards that goal."

"I see…." I uttered out while feeling lost on what to do. "Wait, we've been so focused on the second condition that we never address the first. Naaza-chan, what is the highest rank in your stats right now?" I ask the brown haired girl.

Naaza tilt her head slightly to the side as she furrow her brows with a look of concentration on her face. Since it's been a while, she's most likely trying to remember what her stats were. "It's an E, I think, in Dexterity."

Hmm, just one rank short for meeting the requirement. So it took her five years to get an E rank in her stats huh? Well, unlike me, she has always been more of a range supporter than a front-line fighter and only fought when she needed to. It would make sense for her stats to only be this far along if she tries to avoid conflict as much as she could. "It looks like we'll have to raise your stats first before we can think of doing something impressive to wow the gods."

"Then... we can go into the Dungeon and train for today." She suggested, the look on her face showed that she didn't like that idea but is willing to push aside her distaste in order to get what she wants.

I grimaced and frowned. "Does it have to be the Dungeon? We can still raise your stats even if we don't go there you know."

"Of course it has to be. The Dungeon is the fastest way to gain excellia. Have you forgotten that you were the one who said I get to decide on what we'll be doing? Does Nii-san intent to take back his words? I'll be really sad you know?" Naaza said all that flatly with a stoic look on her face. Her eyes however, seem to be saying that she'll really be upset if I did.

She knows that I'm not one break promises so her words sort of put me in a bind right now. "Is there really no way I can dissuade you from doing so?"

"No." Came an instant reply.

"Figures." I murmured before giving Miach a pleading look that's saying 'please stop her'.

Miach seem to notice my reluctance in this entire affair. "You are against the idea." He stated, knowing that I don't support Naaza's idea of entering the Dungeon.

"Yes." I answered while Naaza frowned slightly at my answer.

"May I ask why?" He asked.

"Why? Miach-sama, Naaza wants to enter the Dungeon. The very place where she almost lost her life. I don't want her to put herself in danger again."

"I'm not some porcelain doll that you need to protect constantly Nii-san. I can look after myself just fine." Naaza said to me testily as she cross her arms in front of her. It seems that she is tired of me watching over her like a mother hen whenever we're together. I suppose I have been overprotective of her as of late but to be fair, she did lost her arm and almost died in front of me.

"You can hate me all you want Naaza, but your life and safety takes priority over everything else for me." I said steadfastly.

We both glared at each other, our stubborn wills are clashing against one another and neither are willing to give any ground, just like all the other times we had arguments with each other.

But, before we can start a squabble over this, Miach interrupted us. "Now, now. Settle down children. Don't start a fight over this. We can talk this over like civilized people." Miach chided us and we both back down reluctantly. "Well then, at least now you know how we feel when you want to go to the Dungeon, Cain-kun." He said while giving me a knowing look. I found myself feeling guilty at his words and shrink down in my seat.

That's true. I must've caused a lot of worry and anxiety for my Familia when I asked to be an Adventurer back then. They were both against it but yet I persisted in making my unreasonable request until I manage to change their mind. "We've allowed you to do what you want back then so it's only fair that you give Naaza the same treatment right?"

I grimaced like I had just been struck. His words did more damage to me than Naaza's puppy dog eyes ever could. "But aren't you worried Miach-sama?"

"I am worried, just as I worry about your safety every day Cain-kun. But still, if that's what Naaza wants then what else can I do but to support her wishes? You can't honestly expect us to keep Naaza locked up here forever so she could be safe now do you? It would be like keeping her in a gilded cage." He reasoned. "Naaza is a person, Cain-kun, not an object for you to keep locked away because you're afraid she'll get hurt. She has her own desires and wishes that she wants to fulfill. As a member of the same Familia, I expect that you'll do your best to support her just as she supported you. Besides, it's not like she'll going alone. You'll be by her side won't you?"

I purse my lip into a thin line as his words shook my resolve. I slowly turn my eyes towards Naaza and saw that she was looking at me with a hopeful expression. She wants to do this, I can see it in her eyes that she had already set her heart and mind on this, come hell or high water, she will not deter from the path she had set for herself. Stubborn to the bitter end, just like me. Oh God, what have I created.

My thoughts turn towards the past and I remembered all the things she had done for me up until this point.

She was there to keep my company when I was younger. She stuck with me still back when I still haven't learned how to enjoy life and taught me how to feel again in her own little unique way. She complains about me a lot but yet she didn't leave me to my own reclusive ways like others in our Familia did when they labeled me as a weird child.

Even if she didn't know it, she had dragged this tired and battered soul out of it's dark and empty cage to see the world in a new light.

Frankly, I owe her a lot and I don't think I can ever repay her for all she had done for me. But still, a debt was owed, and what's left of my broken humanity felt obliged to do the honorable thing, to repay that debt. I suppose I can start by letting her have her way. I let out a groan as I find the last piece of resistance in me giving up like the French did when the war started. "Fine, let's do it." I grumbled.

"Yes!" Naaza shot her arms up victoriously at my declaration while Miach just smiled happily at both of us. I just pouted slightly at how excited Naaza is for this.

But before she could burst out of her seat from excitement, I spoke up. "I guess that means that the restriction is lifted then?" I asked her.

She paused "Huh? What restriction?" She replied with a questioning tilt of her head.

I merely smirked at her confused look. "Have you forgotten that you forbid me to enter the Dungeon until I'm fully healed? Since you want me to enter the Dungeon with you, I'm assuming that you're lifting the restriction."

Naaza's eye widen slightly as she remembered that particular fact and the excitement in her eyes turned into one of disappointment. "You're right…. It wouldn't be much of a punishment if we just lift it after a single day. I guess I'll just have to wait until you get better first."

"So, what do you want to do in the meantime?" I asked, wondering what we can do until I get better.

"….I don't know." Naaza looks as lost as I am on what to do right now. Looks like she was so focused on thinking about getting a Development Ability, she neglected to think of anything else if her plan didn't work out.

"If you two are unable to think of anything, I may have an idea to suggest." Miach spoke up and we both turn our attention towards him. "While you're both waiting, why not take the time to practice. Naaza's skills are bound to be rusty after being idle for so long right?" He offered and we both smiled at the idea.

Naaza hop up from her chair and nodded. "Right then. I'll go get my bow and arrows. Nii-san, wait for me at the entrance please." I gave her a small nod and she ran off in a hurry.

The moment she was gone from sight, I turn back to my God. "Wait, if we're both gone, what are we going to do about the store? Do we have to close it in the meantime?" I ask as the thought suddenly came to mind.

"Of course not. I'll run the shop while you two are out." Miach informed me. "You two haven't spent much time together lately and I don't want it be spoiled because you're both worrying about the store. So don't worry about this place and go have fun."

"You sure?"

"Certainly."

"You're not going to give out free stuff to customers are you?" I narrowed my eyes at him accusingly.

"O-of course not." Miach stuttered, looking mildly offended that I would even think that.

"Your stutter just now doesn't fill me with confidence Miach-sama."

"You're simply imagining things Cain-kun."

"Okay, I'm ready." Naaza's voice rang from the front of the store. "Nii-san? Are you ready to go yet?"

I look over towards the door that connects to the kitchen and back to my God. "Right then, I'll be going now Miach-sama. Thanks for volunteering to looking after the shop for us." I bowed and got up from my seat.

"It's nothing Cain-kun. It's the least I could do for you both." He gave me a small smile as I walk away.

I stopped at the doorway and look over my shoulder at him. "Remember, no freebies. We're running a business, not a charity." I told him sternly. Miach simply looked hurt by my lack of faith in his ability to look after the store properly. I rolled my eyes at his reaction and walk towards the front door where I spot Naaza waiting for me there. She had slung a bow over her shoulder and is wearing a quiver filled with arrows on her back.

"So, how are we going to do this? You shoot at things while I watched or you shoot at me while I dodge. Personally, I prefer the latter since we'd both get some training in." I asked her as I walk up to her.

Naaza looked at me incredulously and shook her head. "I'd rather not do something that dangerous Nii-san."

"Okay, your choice." I shrugged, thinking that I can probably do something else while she trains. "So the former then?"

"That'll be the wisest choice seeing that I have been out of practice for a while now. We can go to the Training Hall and rent a spot for the day. Seeing that it's still quite early, we won't have to wait in a queue." Naaza told me as she open the door and walk out. I followed after her and close the door behind me. We both started walking down the street with Naaza leading me.

"Hmmm…..the Training Hall huh." I began mulling over that idea as I scratch my chin. "Can't say that I've ever been there before."

The Training Hall, though it's named that way it's not actually a hall but an extremely large building with multiple facilities owned by the Guild. People from all walks of life can use it for their own convenience so long as they pay a small free beforehand. Kinda reminds me of a gym to be honest. It's pretty cheep too since most people don't go there on account of the fact that there's another training spot readily available for everyone in the form of the Dungeon.

The people who go there are mostly beginners who just want to make use of the equipment that the Hall provides for training in order to get used to fighting. If you're lucky, you'll get to see some veterans there as well, though they're mostly there just to instruct the rookies of their own Familia. If you've got the cash, you can also hire a personal trainer there to teach you the basics.

But you don't have to go to the Hall to train if you don't want to. You can practice anywhere you want in Orario so long as you don't bother or accidentally hurt anyone. I'm guessing that Naaza just wants to make use of the target dummies there. We have some money to spare so I guess it's okay to go there.

"Ne, Nii-san?" Naaza spoke up as we entered the main street.

"Yes, Naaza-chan?" I replied with a quirk eyebrow.

"Are you going to be watching me while I practice?" She asked, sounding a bit uncertain.

"Yep. Are you nervous that I'll be watching?"

"Of course not." She replied with a confident huff. "I'm just wondering what you'll be doing while we're there. It'll be boring for you if you just sat and watch the entire time won't it?"

"Ah, you're referring to my crippling inability to sit still aren't you?"

"Yes." She confirms with a nod, a bit of worry seeping into her tone. "Are you going to be alright if I don't pay attention to you for a bit?" I could react indignantly at her lack of faith in me but I won't, mostly because she's right to worry. If I'm not doing anything, I'd probably go bug some other Adventurer there for fun and got into trouble because of it.

Is there something that I do there that won't disturb Naaza's training? I thought before an idea struck me. I could feel a light bulb lit up above my head as I slam my fist into my open palm. Oh wait! There is!

"I have an idea." I declared with a wide grin.

"And I'm suddenly feeling very worried." She replied wryly.

I merely rolled my eyes at her before continuing. "You can teach me how to use a bow while we're there." I suggested, looking at her with a smile.

Naaza blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting me to say that. She's most likely thinking that I would suggest something ridiculously comical or some crazy plot like ruling over the city. To be fair, I did gave that idea some thought before, but I dropped it after I realized that it'll be too much work. "Why? Nii-san never seemed interested in using a bow before."

"That's true. At least until now." I answered her. "So far I've stuck to melee weapons because it's the easiest option available to me. But then I thought, 'Why not keep my choices open?' Having a range attack would be great for me to thin out groups before I engage them up close so it'll definitely help a lot. You can teach me the basics after you're done and I can learn by watching you. This way, you get to polish your archery skills and teach me at the same time. It'll be like a brother and sister bonding session."

She smiled softly at the idea and nodded. "Okay. Sounds nice."

"Great. Let's get going then. The sooner we reach there, the more time we'll have to mess around." I said before I took off with a sprint, leaving my little sister behind in the dust. "Last one there has to wash the dishes for tonight." I told her as I started laughing like a villain.

"Hey! No fair Nii-san. That's cheating." She whined as she started running to catch up with me.

-0-

Orario- North West Street, Training Hall

-0-

When we reached the Training Hall, we immediately went to rent a spot in the Archery range from the counter. The cost for the rental is a cheep 300 Valis price, the same amount for a meal in a restaurant. They do want rookies to come and get some practice in after all, so they can't set their price too high or it'll just push away customers. After that, we were lead outside by a staff member to a wide field behind the building where targets were set up.

There were multiple sets of wooden columns to mark a spot for archers to stand in, each comes with their own targets set at different distances. Just by looking at the place, it easily reminds me of a gun range. The one that we rented had it's target set at an easy 100 meter away from the shooting point. It comes the form of a wooden plank with a picture of a Goblin on it. We were left to our own devices afterwards.

I stood back and watch as Naaza took out her bow gets herself ready to start shooting. While she's doing some basic warm ups, I took the time to look around the area. I easily noticed that there's not a lot of people using the range right now. Understandable, since most adventurers prefer using swords and magic nowadays for some inane reason like it probably looks cool or something. They don't seem to realize that they would be going face to face with creatures that wants nothing more than to rip their heads off. I blame the stories of heroes filling their heads back when they were kids.

After Naaza was ready, she got into a stance by setting her feet shoulder-width apart and her back straight. She held out her bow to face the target with her right arm. She retrieve an arrow from the quiver with her other hand and notched it on bowstring.

I kept my mouth shut as I observe her, taking in every minute detail that she's doing. Right now Naaza is taking a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she immediately drew her bow to it's full draw and I can easily hear the sound of the bow bending itself as it's string was drawn back. Naaza aimed for a brief moment before she let go of the arrow. The bow snapped back into it's original shape while sending the projectile flying forward at full speed.

The arrow flew straight and true, the sound of wind being cut as the projectile soar through the air reaches my ear and it ended with a soft thunk as the tip of the arrow bury itself into the wooden frame of the target.

I clap my hands and smile. "Nice. You hit it's shoulder."

Naaza however, frowned and simple shook her head. "I was aiming for the head." She clarifies and began the process of preparing another arrow and I started observing her again. She ready herself for another shot, drawing her arrow once more and aimed. "...Nii-san, you're staring very intensely at me." She said as her eyes shifted over to me while her ears flapped slightly. Because of how intensely I'm staring at her, I manage to notice a very faint pinkish hue starting to form on her cheeks. Is she getting embarrassed? D'awwww. That's cute.

I grinned and shrugged. "Well, I am trying to learn by watching so I kinda need to be staring at you. Please ignore me and continue."

Naaza pouted at me before looking back to the target. She took a deep breath before releasing her arrow. The arrow struck the target with a thud and this time, it hit the torso, dead center. I simply smiled at the sight and wanted to clap my hands again. But seeing how Naaza had a frown on her face, I decide against it and ask her what's wrong. "Naaza-chan? Is there something wrong?"

Naaza shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I'm just annoyed that my arrows aren't going where I want them to."

"Well, we can't get back the skills that we've neglected in just a few tries, especially if you didn't use them in a while. Just keep shooting, you'll get back to your old level eventually. Don't worry, this idiot will stay by your side and keep your company." I encouraged her.

"At least you aren't denying that you're an idiot Nii-san." She replied with a soft smile.

"Well sadly for you, I'm an idiot that you're stuck with for life." I shot back with a smile of my own.

After that, we stayed in a comfortable silence as Naaza work to regain her lost skill with the bow. Time flew by with the sounds of arrows being fired as well as some of my commentaries to fill in the silence.

-0-

Twang

Thud

"God damn it." I muttered, staring at the arrow on the ground that had missed the target by a large margarine. I took another arrow our of my quiver and notch it on my bow before taking aim again.

A while ago, Naaza had finished completely familiarizing herself with her bow again. And by completely, I meant completely. Every shot she fired hit where she wanted it to hit. Not every shot hit precisely where she wanted it to of course, but they were close enough that it didn't matter.

By that point, she was already firing off her arrows rapidly like she's firing a pistol and I could only wonder if my little sister is also a prodigy with the bow as well.

Since she's already done with her practice, it was my turn. I stepped into the shooting zone with my own short bow and arrows; rented from the Training Hall for the measly price of 500 Valis since I don't have my own. Can't use Naaza's because it's specially made for her and I don't want to break it by accident. After that, Naaza gave me the basic Archery 101 for dummies as well as spending some time adjusting my posture before standing back to let me shoot.

According to my body clock, it had been approximately 1 hour since then and I can tell you that I haven't been able to hit the target even once since my turn started. Naaza stayed nearby to watch, interjecting with advice when she could and helping me with the stances but so far, still no improvement for me.

Thwap

Thud

"Ow! Fffffffffff-" I stopped myself from swearing out loud as I hop in place on one foot while holding onto the other one. Yes, that's right. Somehow, I managed to shoot myself in foot. Thankfully, the training arrows had their tips blunted to prevent idiots from accidentally shooting others or themselves, case in point here. The tip of the arrow had some kind of paint on to mark the places it had hit instead. "How is that even possible!?" I questioned to the Gods above while rubbing my poor abused foot.

"I-I don't know Nii-san. Maybe you w-were just unlucky. Don't give up hope though. I b-believe in you Nii-san." Thank you Naaza-chan, your Nii-san is very touched by your words but your encouragement kinda falls short when you're obviously struggling not to laugh at me. I look towards Naaza with a very blank stare and I saw that she had her lips pursed tightly into a thin line and her shoulders were shaking with mirth.

"Alright! One more try!" I announced and tried again.

Twang

The arrow was released with a whoosh. It flew straight and proper like it's suppose to, just not straight at where I wanted it to go. The arrow manage to hit one of the large rocks that's out in the field and rebound it back straight at me.

Against all odds, the arrow somehow flew right back and smack against my forehead, causing me to crouch down and cradle it while letting out a silent scream of frustration. Once the pain subsided, I stood back up and wipe the red mark off my forehead, my eye twitching in annoyance at the utter lack of progress that I've made. I glare at the target with enough intensity to kill a normal person if looks could kill.

This is so embarrassing. I wouldn't have this kind of problem if I were using a gun.

"I don't like the look of that wooden Goblin. Its smug aura mocks me."

"Snirk-"

I glace away from the target and look towards the source of the odd noise that I've just heard. There, I found that Naaza had already doubled over onto the floor while holding onto her stomach and is using one hand to keep her mouth shut.

"Oh ha hardy ha." I deadpanned and that was enough to break whatever restrain that Naaza had as she burst out chuckling. Once she got herself under control, she at least had the decency to look embarrassed as she got up from the floor. I simply smile at her before looking back at my target. I pull another arrow again and proceed to fire it.

Twack

Thud

"Oh hey!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Congratulations, Nii-san. You finally hit the target." Naaza clap her hands excitedly and I can tell from her tone that she's happy for me.

"Yeah, it only took me like, a hundred and seventeen tries to accomplish it." I said as I look at the red mark on the wooden target. The arrow struck at the furthest edge of the plank instead of Goblin painted on it but hey, at least I managed to hit it.

"You were keeping count?" Naaza asked with a surprised look.

"Yep." I simply replied. It's critical to be aware of your own ammo expenditure after all. That way you can avoid embarrassing clicks during a firefight. Still, the amount of times I had to go and collect my arrows during my practice was a massive pain in the butt for me.

"Well, I think that's enough for today." I said as I let my bow down to my side and I turn to look towards the wall where a clock was hanging. "It's getting pretty late already and I don't want to make Mama Mia angry by showing up late on my first day of reemployment."

"Okay." Naaza nodded without any complains and began storing her arrows into her quiver while I went to collect mine on the ground.

With everything picked up, I did a double check on my arrow count to see if I'm missing any since I'd need to pay for any arrows that I broke or lost. With everything in place, I went to the counter with Naaza to return the items before leaving the Training Hall.

We both walked out of the building and started heading down the street with me leading the way. While we were walking, I perked up when I heard some faint melody coming from somewhere that sounded very familiar. After looking around a bit, I found out that it was coming from Naaza. She was humming the lullaby that I would sing to herself with a faint smile on her face as she walked by my side.

It would seem that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself back there. I think watching me train in the way of the bow put her in a good mood. Maybe it's because we got closer somehow by using the same type of weapon? Or maybe, it's because I hit myself more often than the target. Probably the latter. "Today sure has been an interesting day. Did you have fun Naaza-chan?" I spoke up after listening to her hum for a while.

"Mnn." Naaza nodded and voice out her agreement happily. "How about you Nii-san? Did you enjoy your time there?"

"I guess so. It's frustrating that I couldn't hit anything but myself but I had fun since we got to practice together. At least we learned that I'm more of a danger to myself than I am to my enemies when I'm using a bow."

I heard Naaza let out a cute little snort before she attempt to suppress her giggles. "Are you going to stop trying to use the bow then, Nii-san?" She asked me with a look of concern after she got herself under control. "I'll understand if you want to stop practicing after experiencing something so discouraging." She told me, a bit of disappointment leaking into her voice as she did so.

"Course not. I'm not someone who does things half-way. If anything, my constant failures only got me more fired up. I'm going to keep on practicing until I can hit my targets with every shot like you. So until then, please keep on teaching me okay?" I told her with a grin and she smiled back at me and nodded.

"By the way Nii-san, where are we going?" She asked once she seem to realize that we're not taking the way back to our home.

"Hmm? Oh. I thought I should stop by the Guild for a bit since we're already close by. I need to inform my Advisor that I won't be entering the Dungeon for a while before I forget. You don't have to follow me if you don't want to Naaza-chan."

Naaza shook her head slightly. "It's alright, I'll follow you."

"You sure? I'm just dropping by for a bit and we'll be leaving immediately after." I told her and she nodded. "Ah well, suit yourself. Let's get going then." I gesture for her to follow and start walking towards the Guild.

-0-

Orario-Guild

-0-

"You went to the seventh Floor!? Without your party to boot!? How on earth can you do something so reckless Maris-san!?" Eina's voice rang out clear as day within the Guild's halls.

"I can handle myself just fine Eina-san." A girl's voice replied heatedly. "I'm plenty strong already so this much is a piece of cake for me."

"But still-"

You know, when I arrived at the Guild, I was expecting my trip here to be an easy one. All I wanted to do is to drop by Misha's desk, tell her that I won't be Dungeon diving for a while and head back home to prepare for my part-time job.

Turns out life has a better idea.

For some reason, we walked in just in time to catch Eina arguing about something with her assigned Adventurer, Maris Hackard. Again.

Maris is a young teenage girl with a thin frame and is slightly taller than me. She's got short blue hair and eyes of the same shade and is often seen donning her leather armor.

From what I can tell from the shouting I've heard, it's something about her entering a floor that she wasn't ready for yet. Gee kiddo, don't you know you shouldn't recklessly enter a floor that you're not authorized to enter? They forbid you from going there for a reason ya know? I thought to myself like the hypocrite that I am.

Ignoring their quarrel, I glace around the scene for a bit. By now, they had already attracted some attention from nearby Adventurers and everyone is watching the Guild drama unfold with varied amount of interest. No one's doing anything to stop them since Adventurers shouting at Guild employees is a regular occurrence. Some say it strengthen the bonds between them or something so they just let them shout at each other unless things get physical.

I also spotted Misha sitting on her spot next to Eina with a worried look on her face while the two girls argue with each other. I can see that Eina slowly losing her cool and professional demeanor and is getting more emotional in her responses.

The pink haired Advisor finally spotted me by chance and wave me over. Since I wanted to talk to her anyway, I decided to head on over. I wave back and started walk past a few staring Adventurers to her desk with Naaza following behind me.

Once there, I look at Misha with an amused smile on my face and since we're right next to Eina, we can hear them arguing just fine. "What's going on here?" I asked Misha while filtering out the shouting that's going on right next to my ear.

"Oh, you know, the usual." She told me with a wry laugh as she glance over to the side. "Maris did something she shouldn't and Eina scolded her for it, which in turn lead to Maris being defensive and started arguing back."

"Yes, I can tell from that much from their argument." I grinned at her before getting to the point of my visit. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that I won't be entering the Dungeon for a while so don't freak out of I don't come over to the Guild for a few days."

It took a moment for Misha to process what I've said and she blinked in surprise. "What? How come?" She asked curiously.

"I'm on break right now. I've been charging into the Dungeon nonstop for half a year you know, a bit of rest now and then will do me some good." I told her, which is technically true. The only part I left out is that I was forced to go on break by my Familia.

"I see." Misha nodded in understanding. "You've been working very hard all this time so make sure to get plenty of rest so you don't burn yourself out okay?" She told me worryingly as her eyes shone with concern.

"Don't worry, I will." I reassured her with a grin and she gave me a dazzling smile in return.

"By the way, since you're already here..." Misha trailed off while tilting her head towards the arguing pair.

I raise my eyebrow in confusion, wondering just what it is that she wanted. She nods her head towards the two again and this time she gave me a meaningful look as well.

Ah! I see….Misha was looking to me for help in dealing with those two. I thought to myself as I gave her a thumbs up. I quickly turn my attention to the pair and started pondering on what I can do to resolve this situation.

The main reason why they're arguing is because Maris is upset that Eina thinks lowly of her strength, I think. Then, all I need to do is to encourage Maris right? With that in mind, I called out to the blue haired teen. "Hey Maris-san." At my call, she and Eina both turn to look at me, both looking confuse at my sudden interruption. "Git gud scrub!" I told her with a grin, using the age old traditional phrase used for encouraging rookies back in the day. Sadly, Maris didn't appreciate it as much and started to glare at me. I wonder what I did wrong?

Misha whack the back of my head with her clipboard. "That's not what I meant! I wanted you to defuse the situation, not pour oil onto it!" She complained to me.

"Well you should've been clearer. I don't speak head tilts you know." I replied with a satisfied smirk as I rub the back of my head.

Misha seem to gain a look of realization and she pointed a finger at me. "You did it on purpose!" She accused.

"Guilty. But hey, at least I stopped them from arguing." I laughed lightly before turning my attention back to the other two. "Seriously though, Maris-san, you shouldn't rush something like this. It's how rookies get themselves killed early on in their Adventurer career you know. Eina-san is only thinking about your safety and well-being when she told you that you shouldn't go there, so getting mad at her for caring about you is kind of mean of you." I told her but my words seem to not register with the peeved female as she look like she'd rather argue about it with me too.

Well shit, if the sensible approach isn't working then I suppose a bit of guilt tripping is my best option here. "Are you really going to push a friend away just because you don't like how they're worried about you?" I quickly interrupted her before she could say anything.

"Think about how Eina-san would feel when she got the news of your death. It'll hurt her to learn that you died and she'll mourn for you, thinking that it's her fault that you died. She'll have to deal with the guilt of failing you and blaming herself for your death. She'll be constantly plagued with the thoughts that maybe she could've done something different to prevent it and maybe you'll still be alive then." I'm laying it a bit thick here but from what I've learned from dealing with headstrong females, sometimes all out is the only way to get them to listen to you.

Maris visibly deflates a bit at my words so I guess I manage to get through her somehow. Yay, guilt trip for the win. Maris looked contemplative for a moment before she took a deep breath and turn to apologize to Eina. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you Eina-san." She muttered out as she bowed her head low.

Eina seem surprised that Maris would even listen to me and quickly reassured the girl that it's alright. "It's fine Maris-san. I'm just glad that you returned safe and sound so please, lift your head."

I turn to Misha and gave her a thumps up with a grin on my face. She responded with a thumps up of her own.

"I'm sorry if I sounded like I don't have any faith in your strength Maris-san." Eina gave an apology of her own and I saw that her ears lowered themselves a bit. "It's just that entering the seventh floor alone is pretty reckless. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it if you went with your party but not when you're alone. You are plenty strong already Maris-san. You're making progress much faster then most Adventurers who started out the same time as you." She praised the girl happily.

Eina's words cause Maris to pout with a bit of red flushing on her cheeks and she quickly look away from Eina's eyes.

Gasp! What's this!? Is Maris developing feelings for Eina? Am I witnessing the start of what would eventually become a relationship? Does Maris actually swing that way!? This is groundbreaking news! Go Maris! Strike while the iron is hot! I'm rooting for you! Ganbatte! Jokes aside, I'm glad that they manage to make up.

"So you say, but what about him." Maris pointed a finger at me after she recovered from Eina's praise. "We both registered at the same time but he already reached the eighth floor! The eighth! I read that it takes an average person about a year to be able to reach that point. What's more is that he's also going solo too."

Ah yes, I forgot to mention that we registered at the Guild together so that's why I'm so familiar with her. We met by chance in the Guild when I entered the building for the first time and she asked me if I knew where the registration is. I told her that I wanted to register as an Adventurer as well and that lead to us looking for the registration area and signing up together.

In all honesty, I didn't really think much about Maris back then since I thought she's just another face in the crowd who I'll never meet again. Who knew she'd turn out to be Eina's charge and we'll be meeting frequently.

"Well, for starters, Cain-san's stats met the requirements for that floor already." Misha decided to speak on my behalf after Maris' question. Yep, all my stats are within the required ranks for that floor after half of year of constantly pushing myself to the point of near collapse. "He's allowed to go there solo because he has a good head on his shoulders and won't do something recklessly stupid like charging into a floor he's not authorized to enter!" She proudly declares while I turn away and started coughing awkwardly.

There's no way I can tell them that I've reached the 10th floor already and barely made it out alive. I thought to myself. Because of my actions, I just so happen to see that Naaza had a contemplative look on her. Our eyes met and a smile slowly start to form on her face. My eyes widen as I realized what she's thinking.The little rascal wants to rat me out.

I place both my hands together in front of my face and started begging her silently not to with a pleading look on my face.

She simply held out her hand as if asking for a bribe.

"A dozen Jagamarukuns." I whisper to her.

She nodded happily and let her hand down, accepting my bribe and remain silent on what I had done yesterday. I sigh in relief and turn my attention back to the others. While our little under the table deal was going on, Maris and Misha was still busy discussing about me.

"How did he get so strong so fast anyway? Surely you can tell me something that can help me." Maris ask Misha in hopes of learning my secrets.

"Sorry, but I'm not allowed to share my Adventurer's secrets. We Guild employees are sworn to keep their charges' details to ourselves." Misha tutted at her smugly.

"Maris-san, you shouldn't be prying at other Adventurer's details like that." Eina chided her with a small smile on her face, glad that the topic has shifted to something lighter now.

Maris pouted at both of them before she gained a mischievous smile on her face. "Well, if I can't ask you two then I'll ask the guy himself." She said to them before turning to face me. "So Cain-san, can you please tell me how you manage to reach the eighth floor on your own?"

"My bullheaded stubbornness." I replied immediately with a deadpan. "I also don't take my enemies head on like you do, and there's also careful planning, traps and underhanded tactics to make my journey there easier while I grind endlessly to raise my stats."

Maris looked disheartened by my answer. "That's the complete opposite of how I do things." She noted.

"Well, not everyone does things the same way. We all have our own preferred method of doing things. You work best in a party while I work best while I'm on my own. The only thing I can tell you is to trust in your party and cover each other's backs and shortcomings. So long as you move slowly and steadily as a cohesive unit, you'll eventually reach the goal that you're after." I tried encouraging her, thinking back to my old squad of misfits and all the cool shit we managed to pull off together. I probably would've died a lot of times already if it weren't for those cunts. I hope that they're enjoying themselves, wherever they may be.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. They're great friends and all but I just don't like the feeling of being left behind by my rival you know. I really want to get stronger as soon as possible too."

"Rival? Who?" I asked in curiosity and was met with a pointed stare.

"Me?" I pointed to myself in confusion.

"Yes, you. Who else could it be." Maris rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"That's news to me. Since when did we become rivals?" I asked her and she looked hurt by my question.

"Right after we signed up of course! I told you that 'we may have signed up together but I'd be leaving you in the dust soon' didn't I?" She reminded me and I manage to recall that particular tidbit.

"That was a declaration of rivalry?" I asked her incredulously and she nodded seriously. "Sorry but I really wasn't paying much attention back then so I thought it was just some friendly parting words at the time. In my defense, I was more concern on how to earn a ton of Valis in the shortest amount of time back then." I informed her and she just drop her shoulders in defeat.

"Ugh, he never even considered me as a rival. Why am I getting so worked up for if that's the case?" I heard her mutter to herself, disheartened by recent revelations.

"Well, if it makes your feel any better, my growth phase had just ended since I've discovered a noticeable drop in my stat gain about a week ago so I won't be reaching any new floors anytime soon." I told her, hoping that it'll satisfy her somehow. "You're a spirited and headstrong girl, I'm sure you'll be able to catch up immediately if you put your mind into it." My words cause Maris to perk up and beam a smile at me.

"Yeah! You're right. I'll be able to beat you in no time so just you wait." She declared confidently.

"Maris! Are you done yet? We're heading out already." We all heard a girl call out from the distance and we all turn to look. There, we saw a guy and a girl both standing a bit away from where we are and the girl is waving to Maris.

Maris quickly wave back to them and bid us goodbye. "Well, my party is calling so I'll be leaving now. See you guys later. And Eina, I'm sorry again for shouting at you." She told us and ran off to meet up with her party.

I watch her leave before saying what's on my mind. "I seriously don't understand women." I muttered seriously as I wondered why they're so difficult to comprehend. Seriously, one moment they're angry and then one moment they're not before they suddenly turn sad for no reason. How are they capable of shifting through so many emotions in such a short amount of time? "Honestly, one of life's greatest mysteries. I wonder if I will be able to solve it one day?"

"Maybe you can start by trying to listen to them?" Misha offered.

"Truly, it's the biggest puzzle to baffle scholars from all eras. It might be difficult enough for whoever to crack the code to level up." I continued while ignoring Misha, causing the girls around me to roll their eyes.

"By the way Cain-san," Misha call out to me and I quirk my eyebrow at her, silently asking her what's up. "Have you checked the notice board yet?" She asked.

"No, why?"

"Well, the Guild posted something very shocking this morning so I think you should check it out."

"I see. Well, can't hurt to give it a look. I'll be right back then." I told her as I start to move to where the board is.

"I'll stay and talk to Flott-san for a bit." Naaza said to me as I walk away.

"Hm, okay then. Have fun you two." I briefly wondered just what Naaza wanted to talk with Misha about before turning my thoughts to the board that Misha mentioned.

I went over there and saw that there's some people gathered there already. I move past them easily enough with my secret market skill and reach the front and started looking the latest notice.

It didn't take me long to locate it and I started reading about it with my interest quickly growing with each sentence.

Oh. Oh my. Misha wasn't kidding, this is shocking news indeed.

To summarize everything that I've just read, it's news about the Rudra Familia and the one causing a ruckus around the city for a while.

After an attack that happened last night on one of Rudra Familia's home, the Ganesha Familia arrive to search the premise for any survivors and clues that might lead them to whoever attacked them. By doing so, they discovered that the Rudra Familia is part of Evilus from the evidences stored inside the building.

The notice warn Adventurers not to hunt down people from Rudra Familia themselves in order to maintain public order and is required to report to people from the Ganesha Familia or the Guild if they ever spotted anyone from the Rudra Familia or if they knew one of their hiding spots.

Well, it's a good thing that I killed that guy from before. Who knows what kind of trouble he'll stir up if he manage to survive. Then again, he did seem rather unstable at the time so he'll probably just fall into some mad obsession about something and die trying to achieve it or something.

It seems that the Guild had also revoked someone's status as an adventurer that goes by the named 'Gale Wind' and branded them as a fugitive with a hefty bounty on their head for causing a disturbance in the city by eliminating people from the Rudra Familia themselves.

My mind immediately flash back to the green blur that I saw last night and I wondered if it could be the same person.

I look at the bounty itself and frowned immediately. The information that I could find on the paper is scarce. In fact, it's pretty much empty save for the name, level, the Familia that the person belonged to and the bounty. There's not even a portrait of the person in question on it.

That by itself raises a big flag for me.

The guild keeps all information about Adventurers that registered with them in their archives. Someone like Gale Wind should've been registered or at least recorded in their archives due to their level alone but yet, there's almost nothing in regards to Gale written on the bounty.

Hmm, the Astraea Familia huh….I mulled over it thoughtfully before turning back to the receptionist area.

I saw Naaza and Misha were talking with each other rather happily there but I didn't pay attention to what they're saying. "Hey Misha." I spoke up when I stopped next to them, causing the two to jolt in surprise.

"Eeep! Cain-san! You surprised me." She said with a pitiful sounding whine as she place a hand over her heart and let out a sigh.

"Nii-san, you really need to start wearing a bell." Naaza complained, mostly because I've been scaring her a lot with my sudden appearances due to my stealth skill.

"Sorry about that." I said unapologetically with a smirk before getting to the point. "Misha-san, what can you tell me about the Astraea Familia." I asked her, completely serious and business like.

Misha blinked at my abrupt change in demeanor but smiled soon after. "He he, I knew you'd want to ask me that after reading the notice so I prepared the information beforehand just in case you ever drop by." She said proudly and procure a file from under her desk.

I nodded and retrieve it from her hands, grateful for her forethought as it saved me some time.

"Nii-san, is something wrong?" Naaza asked me in concern as I read through the file, eyes darting from line to line rapidly.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about Naaza-chan. Just want to make sure of something first before I come to a conclusion on what I've just discovered." I told her as I finish up on reading the file and memorizing it. "Thanks for this Misha-san." I gave the file back to the pinked haired girl. "This is everything about them yes?"

"Yep, everything I could find is right here." She replied and I went through the info in my head with a contemplating look on my face.

What Misha gave me was the Guild's public information on the Astraea Familia. That Familia's rank was at B before it's destruction and it had a total of eleven members, all of them- second- tier adventurers. The most noticeable achievement that they have on record is that they've reached the forty-first floor and cleared twenty-one floor bosses. They've also managed to apprehend a lot of criminals and destroy their organizations during the Dark ages without suffering a single casualty.

Bloody hell, these people all sounded monstrous.

There were also information about the members of the Familia and that's where I ran into another flag. There were a lot of info about them and their own personal achievements but the only thing missing from there was Gale's. There's not much information about this 'Gale Wind' to be found at all while the rest are fully detailed and fleshed out. The only thing about Gale there is the same as on the bounty, it's almost like the rest of her info was erased completely from record.

The black ops side of me is telling me that this is a cover up and I agree with it completely. The guild is covering for this 'Gale Wind' person and I'm not sure why. Just what is the Guild up to?

"Did you learn what you needed to Cain-san?" Misha asked me as she store the file away under her desk.

I nodded in response. "Yeah...Thanks again Misha-san, you were a great help."

She beamed at me happily and started scratching her cheek with her finger with an embarrassed flush on her face. "Ehehe, I'm just glad I could help."

"Well, with our business here finished, it's time for us to leave. I have somewhere I need to be after this. Goodbye Misha-san and you too Eina-san." I informed her and bid the two Advisors farewell.

I left the Guild with Naaza in tow and we both walk back home in relative silence. I was too busy thinking about what the Guild is up to to offer any meaningful conversation and Naaza knew not to bother me when I'm in deep thought. She seemed content to just be by my side and was humming the same tune as before while we walked.

-0-

Orario- Blue Pharmacy

-0-

When we got back, I spotted Miach sitting behind the counter. He welcomed us home with a bright smile on his face. "Ah, Cain, Naaza, welcome home you two."

""We're back."" we both replied as we split up to do our own thing.

"So, did you two have fun?" Miach asked curiously.

"Yep." I replied as I walk behind the counter next to Miach.

"Mnn." Naaza nodded happily as she went upstairs to store her bow and arrows.

"Glad to hear it." Miach chuckled a bit after see Naaza in such a cheerful state. "But you seemed to be troubled Cain-kun. Is something wrong?" He asked me in concern after seeing my expression.

I shook my head slightly as I started rummaging through the store shelves, earning a raised eyebrow from my God at what I'm doing. "Nothing much. Just something that I'm having trouble figuring out. It's nothing really." Even after all that pondering, I'm still unsure as to why the Guild did what they did. So the best I can do now is to wait and see since I can't really do anything about it. Well, so long as it doesn't affect my Familia, I don't see why I should bother with what the Guild is doing.

"By the way Miach-sama," I spoke up after finishing my inspection of the shelves. "There seem to be a few potions missing from the shelves but yet I don't see any money in the cash drawer." I inform him with smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes.

Miach's eyes widen at what he had heard and cold sweat began to pour from his brows. "Care to explain just why we're missing some potions O'Miach-sama?" My sickening sweet voice came from my mouth like thick honey but to Miach's ears, they sounded like a scythe being sharpened at a grinder, causing him to visibly blanch at my voice.

-0-

After reprimanding Miach and banning him from coffee for a few days, which cause him to despair at my diabolical punishment, I took a quick shower before changing my clothes to one that looked completely similar to the one I was wearing before. What? I only have sets of the same clothing since it was on sale.

With that done, I went to cook a quick dinner and set it aside for my Familia to eat when they want to.

I bid my them goodbye right afterwards while ignoring the sulking Miach sitting in a corner as I head over to my part time job. By now the sun is slowly setting and the streets were being filled with people returning from work and the Dungeon. The sky is getting very cloudy so I'm guessing it's going to rain soon as well.

I entered the pub from the back door and greeted the staffs there. "Sup." I waved to them as I walk through the door, causing the girls there to shoot back greetings on their own. They didn't stop to chat with me since customers are starting to come in and they need to start preparing the food and the ingredients or the orders will start piling up.

While they're working, I simply move to the changing room where the employees store their uniforms and change there. I promptly entered the room and went to my own little cupboard.

I opened it and took out my own special uniform. Since I've been working here for so long, Mia decided to give me my very own uniform that makes me look like a butler. She originally gave me a dress at first and that's when everyone found out that I'm a guy….anyway, my uniform consist of a white apron, a white long sleeve button up shirt along with black pants and shoes. It even comes with a black bow tie too. Bow ties are cool.

I took off my shirt and proceed to put the white shirt on. I was stopped from properly putting it on when I notice that I can't button them. I tried again more forcefully but failed to get the buttons to come together. "Aw man." I groaned as I took it off.

"What's wrong Cainnya?" I heard Anya ask me. I turn around and saw her behind me, still in the middle of buttoning her green dress.

"My uniform doesn't fit anymore." I complained in dejection as I held up the shirt for her to see.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that a few of the girls are still in the middle of changing here. Do I care? Not really. Do they care? Nope. We've been changing together since I was a kid and my sex drive had died a long time ago, so I don't really feel anything when I see them changing. They seem to know that I don't see them that way even as I grew up and just accepted that I'm a weird kid and rolled with it.

"It's normal isn't it? Cainya is still a growing guy after all nya." Anya told me with a confused tilt of her head as she put on her red tie.

"I guess so. But still, having a uniform makes me feel like I'm part of the family." I pouted as I put the shirt back into the cupboard.

"Aww, don't worry nya. We all see you as part of the family even without the uniform so don't feel down nya." Anya patted me in the back comfortingly and the rest of the girls still in the room all voiced their agreement.

"I still wanna wearing a cool looking uniform though." I muttered in discontent. Think of the cool bow ties that I won't be wearing.

"I see nya….wait! I have an idea nya!" Anya said before running off to the side in a hurry. I chose to ignored her in favor of putting on my shirt and when I'm done, I heard Anya came back. "Here you go Cainya! Put this on instead nya." I heard Anya say, followed by some giggling from the rest of the girls. I turn around to look at what she has with a confused expression on my face. That confusion soon turned into one of disgust when I saw what it is that Anya is holding.

"Stop trying to put me in a dress Nyanya!" I cried out while glaring at the green dress with absolute loathing in my eyes, causing the girls around me to burst out into fits of giggles.

"But Cainya would look great in a dress nya. You still have a cute face right now so let's not waste this chance before you're fully grown up nya." Anya replied excitedly with stars shinning in her eyes as she tries to push the dress onto me.

"I'm not cute, I'm manly god damnit!" I shouted as I dodge her and ran out of the room in shame while the rest of the girls have laugh in amusement at our byplay.

-0-

After what had transpired in the changing room, things went along as normal. I worked and did my part at the pub. I would work as a chief as needed or shift my role to a waiter if the front is being overwhelmed. With my help, the workload has been lighten in both areas and everyone is grateful for it.

Right now, I'm manning the front, helping Syr and Anya. As I was collecting dishes from empty tables with deft hands, I heard something crash in the kitchen that is followed by some shouting.

"You stupid cat! Look at what you've done!" Mia's voice came thundering through.

"Munya! I'm so sorry nya!" Anya's voice followed, sounding utterly terrified of Mia's wrath.

I would say that I feel sorry for her, but she did insult my masculinity not long ago so yeah, she deserves it.

After listening to a bit of scolding and crying that's followed by a loud thunk, Mia came out of the kitchen, looking none to happy about what had happened and beckons me and Syr over. We both move to her without missing a beat, not wanting her wrath to be transferred over to us.

"Right, here's what I need you two to do. Because of a certain someone, we lost a pot of stew that I had been working on. I would remake it but the ingredients needed for it are out so I need you two to go and buy them quickly. Am I understood?"

""Yes, Mama Mia."" We both replied dutifully.

Mia nodded and handed Syr a piece of paper that had the things we need to buy written on them. "Good. The shop that we frequent should still be open at this time but it won't be for long so you two need to hop to it. Cain, you're the man here so I expect you to do your part as a gentlemen alright?" She told me while giving me a meaningful look.

Translated: Protect Syr from any danger because of what's happening in Orario lately.

While I could've finish this task quicker on my own, I won't be able to get as much of a discount as Syr would have with her wily charms. An entire pot of stew can sell for a lot of due to it's many servings so saving money is the goal here.

I nodded with a serious look on my face and started moving to the kitchen. "Come on Syr-chan, we need to move fast before the shop closes." I said as I took off my apron.

"Ah! Coming!" She quickly follows as she took off hers.

Ignoring the sight of Anya laying on the ground with a still smoking bump on her head, I walk through the kitchen and went into the changing room. Once there, I open my cupboard and put the apron inside. Then, I took out my item pouch and dagger that I had stored in there beforehand.

I tie the pouch onto my waist and strap the dagger on my forearm under my sleeve. That way, it can remain conceal from sight to let people assume that I'm unarmed. If any ruffians decided to have a go at me, I can pop the blade out Assassin's Creed style and be ready for any engagement instantly.

Once I'm done, I exited the room and move towards the backdoor. I took a pair of brown waterproof ponchos hanging on a rack next to the exit and handed one to Syr as she came over.

"Hmm? Are we going to need them Cain-san?" she asked curiously as she took it from my hand.

"I'm not sure but it's better to be safe than sorry since the sky was filled with dark clouds when I was coming over to work." I informed her and she nodded. I kept my poncho hanging over my shoulder and opened the door for Syr, bowing my head down and gesturing towards the door with my free hand. "Well, ladies first."

Syr giggled and step outside with a skip in her steps. "My, what a gentleman you are Cain-san."

"Of course I am, Mama Mia would have my hide if I wasn't." I grinned as I followed her and close the door before we both started running towards the market place.

-0-

The sky is crying. That's the impression that I'm getting when I'm being pelted by the rain.

We had already finish our impromptu shopping trip when the sky decided that it had just finish reading the latest tearjerker and started bawling down on us.

We were running down the street back to the pub while I keep my pace the same as Syr's since she's slower than me. I'm currently holding onto a brown bag filled with ingredients and I'm keeping them dry by placing them near my chest and using my poncho as a shield.

"And this is why you always bring a cloak of some sort with you when you're not sure if it's going to rain or not." I muttered before letting out a sigh, feeling annoyed that the cuffs of my pants are now soaked and uncomfortably sticking against my skin.

"Over here Cain-san. I know a shortcut." Syr told me and suddenly change directions towards the nearby alley.

"Really? Wait, is this a legit shortcut or one of those shortcuts that is actually the longer route because you wanted to sight see?" I ask her while following her into it, keeping my senses alert and ready since we're entering a dark and shady area.

"Mou, Cain-san, I know when not to play around you know." Syr told me with a small pout. "This is a real one, trust me." She assured me and I nodded.

We both continue to run down the alley with Syr leading me, taking multiple turns that would no doubt confuse someone who's not used to navigating complex alleyways. Just as we reached a particular spot, my eyes spotted something in the dark in front of us. I quickly move ahead of Syr and put my hand out in front of her to bar her path. She pull to a stop with a skid, almost tripping over because of the wet ground and collided with my arm with a faint 'oof'. She look at me with a puzzled look while I kept my focus ahead of us.

"Cain-san? What is it?" She asked me in curiosity.

"There's something up ahead." I told her, voice cold and tense while readying for trouble. My tone seem to clue Syr in that I'm not joking around and she look to the front apprehensively.

I let my hand down and reach towards my pouch. I search through it for a bit and pulled out a small glass sphere with a small needle sticking out of it and a small shard of magic stone inside.

"What's that Cain-san?" Syr asked me as she saw what I'm holding.

"A flare." I answer her question while getting ready to throw it ahead.

"I've never heard of it before, what does it do?"

"Of course you haven't, this is still a work in progress after all. It's not like I go around announcing everything I make you know. Anyway, just wait and see." Little known fact, you can turn magic stones into an improvised flare provided you know how to.

I discovered this by chance when I crack a stone accidentally when I was trying to remove it from a monster. There was a flash of light before the stone disintegrates along with the monster and it made me wondered.

After that I began to experiment to the smallest shards and found out that they all produce that kind of light when cracked, not destroyed.

The magic energy from the stone will leak out of the crack, resulting in the light that I saw; how bright the light depends on the quality of the stone. Obviously, the light doesn't last very long, not even a second to be honest, as the energy dispersed into the air.

So I thought to myself, what if I can stop it from dispersing?

And thus, that discovery lead to the creation of an improvised flare. The glass sphere will keep the energy from dispersing too quickly and letting the light to shine through while the needle is there to crack the stone within when I press it in. Simple design, but effective as it had proven itself to be while I was exploring in the Dungeon.

I press the needle in with my thumb and it pierce through the stone within, letting the energy stored inside the stone out and light up the sphere with a faint light.

"Oh, so that's what it does." Syr commented in surprise at the light in my hand.

I toss the sphere ahead and it bounce on the floor once or twice before rolling forward. As it did so, it also illuminate the area around it in a small radius. The flare keep on rolling until it's light manage to revealed a figure laying on the ground.

"It's a person." I observed, examining the figure with a cautious eye as I let my combat trace take over.

Small, lithe frame, obviously female and covered in blood. Wounded? Possibly, but not certain. Laying as bait with companions nearby maybe? I scan over the roofs and the immediate area for any signs of people laying in ambush but found none so far.

As I was contemplating on what to do, Syr finally saw the person and gasped. "Cain-san, someone's hurt!" She exclaimed as she ran ahead.

"Syr! Get back here!" I warned her but she ignored me and went towards the potentially dangerous individual's side and I quickly followed. Damn that girl and her lack of danger awareness!

I pull out my dagger just as Syr kneel down beside the girl and stop just behind her, body tensed and ready to act if the downed girl decides to do something.

"Are you alright?" Syr asked the girl as she her held onto the girl's hand. There was a slight shift of the girl's head as she look up to Syr but she didn't respond and she slowly closes her eyes. I can see that the girl had already lost conscious.

Now that she's not going to be a threat of any kind, I sheath my dagger away and took the chance to examine the girl more closely.

Now that I'm nearer, I can tell that she's an elf due to her long, pointy ears. When I look at her face, I can only describe her as an ethereal beauty. With her pale white skin and delicate features, I might mistake her for a fairy it wasn't for the blood and grime covering her. Right now she's wearing a green cloak, white sleeveless shirt, green shorts and brown long boots. There's pair of short swords strapped onto her sides and a wooden sword laying beside her.

My eyes widen slightly in recognition as the green blur from last night came to mind as well as the information I got from the Guild about a certain Adventurer on a killing spree. It would certainly match all the green equipment that the girl has on her.

"Syr, we should leave and forget what we saw. Like, right now." I recommended tensely as the flare finally died out, leaving us in the dark once more. Preferably before anyone comes to finish this girl off and think we're also related to her. I don't think I can fight them off considering that this girl is a level 4 and heavily wounded. If someone can do this much damage to her then I'm as good as dead when facing them.

"You're going to leave her?! You can't Cain-san, we need to save her." Syr seemed appalled by my suggestion and I frowned. Syr is the most perspicacious person that I know and I trust her judgment on other people's character impeccably. If she tells you to be careful around someone even though they are perfectly normal, then you best have a knife at the ready just in case they ever try anything.

Seeing that Syr wanted to save this girl, she must've seen the good in her during their short interaction and wanted to save her. Then again, Gale Wind is from the Astraea Familia, a Familia whose main purpose is to keep the peace and serve justice so it goes without saying that Gale is a good person.

But even so, Gale is now a fugitive with a large bounty on her head. As much as I am thankful for everything that they have done, I'm simply not strong enough to protect anyone right now if someone stronger than me shows up. In the end, the safety of Syr takes priority here.

"Possibly? Look Syr, we have no idea who this is and whoever hurt her this badly might come after us if we decide to get involve." I informed her.

Syr frowned as she looked down at the hand that she's been holding. A brief moment passed before she spoke again. "You leave me no choice then." I heard her say and a sense of dread seem to fill me.

She immediately look back up at me and I was immediately assaulted by a pair of bright silver puppy dog eyes.

"Urgh." I let out as if I had been physically assaulted and took a step back. Oh no. Cute things, my only weakness.

I tried to fight the desire to want to appease those eyes of hers but as always, I failed and my resistance crumbled like wet tissue paper within a moment. I sigh and relented. "One of these days Syr, you're going to bite off more than you can chew." I said as I shook my head and the girl gave me a bright smile in return. Damn that girl and her wily charms.

I move and kneel over beside the unconscious girl and did a quick check up on her wounds. Hmm, the most notable wounds are the large lacerations on her sides and the injures on her arms. She should survive so long as I stop the bleeding first and I can check on the rest of her wounds later.

Just to be on the safe side, I should disarm her first before I do anything else.

I handed the groceries that I'm carrying to Syr as well as the wooden sword on the ground. I remove the pair of short swords from Gale and tie them next to my item pouch and proceed to pick the unconscious girl up in a princess carry. I adjust myself and move my poncho over to cover the girl to protect her from the rain. "Come on Syr, we need to hurry before she bleeds out." I told her, absentmindedly thinking about cold the elf's skin is to the touch and how light she is as I started running back to the pub. I move carefully and steadily, keeping my hold on the girl firm yet gentle so I won't aggravate her wounds further by moving her around carelessly.

"Okay! I'll be right behind you Cain-san." Syr told me happily as she followed. We both ran down the alley with the sound of Syr's splashing footsteps accompanying us on our journey back to the pub.

-0-

AN: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

By the way, the next chapter might come out in 3-4 weeks. Strong emphasis on might. It might take longer or it might not, who knows. Because of that, this chapter is extra long to make up for the wait time.

As for why, Warframe is getting some new Primes. I'd like to farm them first before I start working on the next chapter and that might take a while. 3-4 weeks is my shortest estimated time needed to get everything done.

RNGesus and Lootcifer willing, I might be able to get all of them within a few days and can go back to writing sooner but we'll see.

If any of you are Warframe players, I wish you the best of luck on getting those new Primes. If any of you wish to add me to your friend's list, my game name is the same as this one so feel free to add me. Maybe we'll meet out in the Grindfields one of these days. XD