AN: Okay, first off: Sorry Fate fans, but no Gate of Babylon or Unlimited Blade Works for Cain.

Secondly, to the shippers out there: Hold your horses there fellas. It's still quite early in the story so we'll see how this goes. I find it amazing that people are already shipping Ryuu and Cain together when they barely even talked. If it's enough to get them so worked up then I suppose this chapter would be considered a tease for those Cain X Ryuu shippers out there. Does the ship even have a name yet though?

Thirdly, to the one complaining about Cain's nonexistent sex drive: Who knows? Maybe it's because he's over 50 mentally or has done lots of depraved stuff back on earth to survive to the point where he's psyche is so damaged that things like lust, pleasure and sex became foreign concepts to him? Or, it could just be that I'm terrible at writing romance and smut and thus, rendered Cain into a dude without a functioning dick so I don't bother with it?

Truly, the lack of his sex drive is a mystery that whichever girl is interested in him will have to figure out on their own if they even want to bed him. However, I won't make it easy for them at all for I, the author, will be the ultimate cockblocker for them. Mwa ha ha. XD

-0-

Orario- Hostess of Fertility

-0-

Today is the day where our newly appointed waitress gets to learn to ropes of her role and no one is more excited about it than Anya and Syr. The rest of the staffs are just waiting for the shitshow that's to come that's normally associated with a new waitress learning her duties. They even have medical supplies as well as spare furniture and utensils on standby already.

Anya had expressed great interest in getting to know Ryuu and being her senpai. She had been talking to me about it ever since we first picked up the elf. She wanted to teach her everything she knows and wants to build up an image of being a reliable senpai to Ryuu. Since this is Anya that we're talking about, it's going to fail spectacularly in some way, shape, or form like it did the last time a new girl joined. Just like the many other times before that.

After dyeing the elf's hair, I saw Syr bringing her down into the kitchen to get started. I paid them no mind and simply minded my own business by cooking meals for the customers.

Right now the pub has just open for the evening so there isn't a lot of people yet. It's the perfect time to slowly ease Ryuu into the tasks that's expected of her.

The first task that ever new girl has to undergo is peeling vegetables and is more or less a rite of passage for the new girls. It's not hard to do and it'll let them keep their minds off things by giving them something to do, very useful distraction if that girl is carrying some baggage with her. It also gives them time to slowly let the fact that they're really working here now sink in before Mama Mia gives them more and more things to do to keep them busy.

"Well then. Please peel all of these if you would." I heard Syr said right behind me.

"Understood." Ryuu replied and I heard the sound of a bowl being placed on the table before she went on to do her task.

Things in the kitchen went on normally enough after that. I could only hear the sounds of food being made and the staffs communicating about customers' orders so everyone would know what to do in order to keep things going smoothly in the kitchen.

Then, amongst the harmonious sounds normally produced by a busy kitchen, I heard Anya spoke. "Hey newbie. Don't you know how to peel vegetables nya?"

"No. I've always been task with setting the table." Ryuu replied.

"I see nya. Well I can't leave you alone with things the way there are nya. You'll just cut yourself if you use your knife like that nya." Anya said, most likely looking very proud that she gets to help the newbie. I started wondering if I should leave it to Anya because she'll most likely get something wrong or just confuse the poor elf with her inability to explain things properly.

But then again, the cat girl has been very eager in wanting to get to know the elf so this might be a perfect moment for them to bond.

Ah well, I guess it should be fine. Even with Anya's shenanigans going on, there are still other kitchen staffs in here that could chip in and explain what Anya got wrong and help teach Ryuu the right way.

I should just let just let Anya have her moment at being a proper senpai.

That is how it's suppose to go but…

"Here, hand it over nya, I'll teach you-"

"Dont touch me!" Ryuu shouted and a loud smack echoed in the kitchen.

"Fugyah?!" Anya let out a surprised cry and I felt a strong draft of wind rushing past behind me.

CRASH

I didn't have to turn around to figure out that Anya was sent flying. I hesitantly turn my head around a bit to see just what's going on behind me.

"Kyaaaa! The vegetables!" I heard May shout in panic, more worried about the ingredients than our fellow waitress. Not that there's anything to worry about since Anya's a level 4 and can take quite a beating before going down.

I know elves don't like physical contact with strangers but holy shit, that was a very extreme reaction to being touch. If that's her normal response to being touched then I am feeling very grateful that she was unconscious when I carried her here.

"What are you doing you idiot!" Mama Mia snapped from her station.

"B-but, she tried to touch-"

"I don't want any excuses! Don't go around smacking your own co-workers into the ingredients!" Mia warned her before going back to what she's doing.

"Kuuhhh..." I heard Ryuu emitting a pained sound as she stare at the knife in her hand, unsure of what to do and looking very pitiful.

"Nya! What was that for nya! That hurt nya know!" Anya cried out indignantly, leaping up from the vegetable pile as though she wasn't just shot across the room.

"I'm sorry." Ryuu bowed her head apologetically right as Syr came in from the front.

"I heard something loud just now? What happened?" Syr asked in concern.

"Ryuu knock Anya into the vegetables." May replied since she was nearer.

"Oh dear." Syr said with a worried look on her face.

"Syr! Where did you go? We've got incoming!" A voice from outside shouted and we all turn to look out the door that Syr came in. We all saw a horde of people coming in like a tidal wave.

"Anya, go outside and help Syr for now. Cain, take over and teach Ryuu how to peel properly." Mia said, causing me to turn off the stove in front of me before snapping my head towards the dwarf.

"What!?" I replied in disbelief like how a normal soldier would after being told to do a suicide mission.

"You heard me. Go teach Ryuu and get back to your station fast." Mia told me, leaving no room for discussion. "Anya, get going already."

"Okay! Good luck Cainya!" Anya quickly complied as she should after being given a direct order from Mia and quickly rushes out in fear of what would happen to her if she didn't.

I watch her vanish before turning to Syr with an expressionless look on my face. "You did tell her that you were the one who treated her wounds right?" I asked.

"Maybe?" She replied with a playful smile, apparently deciding to be coy with me.

"Syr, if I die, please tell my Familia that I love them." I said seriously.

"Stop being dramatic and get over there already." Mia said and I could feel her rolling her eyes from here. "Ryuu, this guy will be teaching you how to do things properly so do not sent him flying you hear. He's very fragile so he might not survive." Mia said while shooting me a grin and I gave her a flat stare in return. "What are you supposed to say to him, hm?" Mia turn her gaze back to the elf, causing the girl to flinch slightly before she look towards me.

"Please treat me well." Ryuu said to me, sounding like she's forcing the words out more than anything.

"Good luck Cain-san." Syr giggled before leaving me behind so she could deal with the customers. I could only let out a sigh of defeat as I knew nothing I do can change the outcome. Aw man, and here I was thinking that I could get through the day without interacting with her. Ah well, here's to hoping that I don't get killed by accident. It'll be inconvenient for me if I were to somehow die without bringing my Familia out of debt first.

Realizing that I shouldn't be procrastinating as people are coming in fast, I quickly move to stand next to Ryuu and started addressing her. "Alright, let's see how you do it first so I'll know what to correct." I said to her, gesturing for her to start peeling.

Ryuu pick up a potato with one hand and held her knife with the other. She look at both of them with uncertainty for a brief moment before she starts slicing the potato. And when I said slicing, I actually meant it. She isn't pulling off the skin at all. Instead, she's cutting off chunks of the meat along with the skin which in turn made the potato smaller with each slice.

"Okay, stop. I know what you're doing wrong now." I said when she brutalized the poor potato to the point where it's more or less a the size of a golf ball. Ryuu did as I said and look at me with a quizzing look. I have been observing her hand movements the entire time and came to the realization that she's making the same mistakes I did when I first started out. This should be an easy fix once I explain to her properly.

"First off, you're holding the knife wrongly." I told her and she look towards the knife in her hand, visibly confused. Not that I blame her, she probably doesn't think the way she's holding it as anything wrong. If you're going to stab someone with it that is. A common problem for someone who had spent too long fighting, they'll tend to hold anything like a weapon instinctively.

I went and take another knife from the drawer and return next to her. "This is how you should hold it." I said, showing her the proper way to grip the knife when it comes to peeling. "The way you're holding yours is mainly for stabbing and swinging. You need to remember that you're not holding a weapon right now, only a tool. The goal is to slice the skin off and only the skin so you need to be able to move it around fluidly." I explained to her while taking a potato of my own and started peeling it for her to see. In a brief moment, I have in my hand a perfectly peeled potato that I let her examine before gesturing for her to try it out.

"Like this?" She asked, uncertainty filling her voice as she tries to copy the way I held the knife.

"Yes." I replied while nodding. "Now try it out and don't worry about being slow at first. Believe it or not, most of the girls here started out facing the same problem as you did so don't think too badly of yourself." Still looking uncertain and somewhat confused at what I've just said, Ryuu began trying to slice the skin of the potato and did somewhat better than before. At the very least she's not going to end up with potatoes the size of a grape now. The only thing she needs now is experience and that can only be gained through time and repetition.

"Great. Now all that's left is for you to keep practicing. You can start to speed things up once you get the hang of it. I'll leave you to it so good luck, Lyon-san." I said to her before quickly moving back to my station to resume what I was doing before.

Well, that went well. I thought to myself as I marvel at how my limbs are still intact and not having a single broken bone in my body. Maybe having Ryuu around wouldn't be so bad after all if teaching her is this easy.

"Ah." I heard Ryuu made a surprised sound and before I could turn around to check what's wrong, Anya barge in from the front.

"I got a list of orders that- Munyaaa!" Anya suddenly cried out in surprise before a loud crash resounded in the kitchen.

"Kyaaaa! Anya stepped on the potato that Ryuu dropped and slip into the vegetables!" I heard May exclaimed from beside me.

I place my hand over my face and let out a small groan. Me and my big mouth.

-0-

The next day

Orario- Market Place

-0-

"Hmm? Is that Flova-san?" Naaza suddenly said, drawing my attention to where she's looking and I saw a familiar mop of gray hair within the busy street of Orario.

We were on just our way home after spending some time in the market shopping for groceries. And that was after spending most of the day inside the Dungeon violently unaliving some mobs.

"It is." I said, noticing that she isn't alone as well as Ryuu is right beside her. I noticed that they have bags on their arms as well so it would seem that they are on grocery duty as well. "Well, we're heading over there anyway so let's go greet them for a bit." I suggested since there's no need to be rude and pretend that we didn't see them.

"Alright." Naaza nodded and we proceed to walk over to them.

As we got closer, I noticed that Ryuu seemed rather unhappy for some reason as she looked like she had just swallowed a lemon. "Hello there." I said to the two girls once we got close enough.

"Hm? Oh! Cain-san. Hello." Syr greeted me cheerfully after seeing me. "And hello to you as well Naaza-san. What brings you two to this part of the market?"

"Shopping of course. Though we've just finished and is on our way back when we spotted you. Might as well say hi right?" I informed her, nodding towards the bags I have in my hands. "So, what's up with Lyon-san? She looked like she's just seen someone kicked a puppy in front of her."

Syr suddenly gained a mischievous smile on her face as she glace at Ryuu before she explained to me what had transpired not long ago.

"So instead of asking for a discount with a smile, she ended up threatening the shopkeeper with a murderous expression and got banned from that stall." I said flatly, summing up what Syr had told me in a sentence. Ryuu simply clench her jaw with a red face, glaring at me as if daring me to laugh.

"Somehow I feel sorry for him." Naaza commented.

"Now now, Naaza. It's not Lyon-san's fault that she can't smile to save someone's life." I said in a condescending manner.

"Kuhh…." Ryuu let out piteously, sounding as though my words had just stabbed her in the chest.

"Nii-san, don't bully the elf." Naaza chided me.

"Good point." I agreed as teasing Ryuu any further might not end well for me. "Anyway, we'll be going first so have fun you two." I said to the two waitresses.

"Alright, I'll be seeing you back at the pub then. Good bye for now Cain-san, Naaza-san." Syr said.

"Bye." Naaza gave Syr a small wave and we both departed down the street towards where our home is.

We both walked for a good minute or two before I spotted a beggar in the street, asking for money from people with an old looking cup in his hand. It didn't take long for him to come up to me and did the same.

Of course, being such a nice person that I am (as if), I drop the man a small pouch filled with Valis into his cup. He grabs my hand, thank me profusely and left. With him gone, I started moving again.

"Nii-san." Naaza call out to me after everything is said and done, sounding exasperated. "That was a very fat looking pouch. Just how much money did you give him?"

"10 thousand." I simply replied, causing Naaza's eyes to widen like saucers.

"You could've bought a cheep armor set or a better weapon with that amount of money. Why would you even give so much to someone Nii-san!?"

"He looked like he needs it. It's as Miach always say, we should always help someone in need, right?" I replied with a shrug.

Naaza stopped walking as what I had said sink in. "Oh no. Miach-sama's starting to corrupt Nii-san." Naaza muttered to herself in abject horror. While Naaza is having her moment and is sufficiently distracted by the thought of me being the second coming of Miach, I took the chance to place the small piece of paper that the beggar placed in my hand into my pocket.

"Come on Naaza, the sun is starting to go down already." I call out to her once I realized that she isn't following me. It was enough to break her out of her daze and she quickly jog to catch up to me.

"Nii-san, promise me that you won't turn into someone who can't manage his finances at all like Miach-sama!" Naaza pleaded once she caught up with me, grabbing me by the arm and almost knocking the bags of groceries down in the process.

"Hmm...I don't know. I kind of feel like I'm in a giving mood today." I told her with a smirk.

"Nii-san! It's not funny!" Naaza replied with a gasp, sounding utterly frightened. "I'm already having a hard time trying to stop Miach-sama from giving things for free. I don't think I can handle you being added to the mix as well."

I could only laugh lightly as I continue on my way while Naaza continues to fret. I only told her that I was kidding after a while and got smacked on my shoulder for it. But at least I manage to make her forget to ask just why I gave so much to the beggar so suffering a bit of a bruise is a price I'm willing to pay.

-0-

I went to upstairs to my room immediately after getting back, claiming that I'm going to shower and change first before getting started on dinner. But once I'm inside, I took out the paper that I received and unfold it to read what's written.

That beggar is one of the old man's. He had left a note among the files he had given me, saying that he'll sent someone over to update me on the assassination situation for the price of 10 thousand Valis. Seeing the beggar approach me specifically made me feel a sense of anxiousness as I don't know what I'm about to find out. But there was also a sense of acceptance that I can't change what I can't control. People who wants Ryuu dead are making moves on their own after all and I can only adapt to what they have in store and hope I don't screw up too badly.

My eyes scan the paper, seeing just three sentences written on it.

[Gale Wind has been discovered.

Black Cat and Black Fist has accepted a contract on her issued by the Bruno Trading Company.

The two do not have enough information about Gale at the moment and had chosen to observe their target for the time being.]

That fast!? It's only been a day since Ryuu started working at the pub. What's more is that it's two of the harder to handle ones that took the job.

I let out a small groan at how unlucky I am and remove the paper from existence via burning it.

I sighed a bit before focusing on what I can do about this situation. Syr had pretty much already adopted Ryuu at this point, so the only thing I can do is try and prevent them from coming to harm as best as I can. The good new is that the assassins aren't going to attack yet if the information is to be believed. If I were them, I'd spent at least a moderate amount of time studying my target to get a feel of their routine and gather information about their strengths. That would at least give me a few days to come up with something, maybe a week if I'm lucky.

Okay, impending attack aside, let's go over what I know about the two from their dossier.

First is Black Cat. She's an assassin with a penchant of using deadly drugs to kill her targets. If force into a fight, she is known to incorporate poison in her attacks to weaken her target before finishing them off. As an assassin, I can expect her to employ stealth and stay hidden until the time is right to strike so I'll need to be extra observant for moving shadows.

Then there's Black Fist. A bounty hunter whose M.O. is very straight forward. True to her name, she'll literally punch you to death. She doesn't use any tricks or traps as she'll just straight up rush you and fist you. It makes what she'll do predictable but no less dangerous.

And as an icing on the cake, both of them are level 4 who had succeeded in killing other level 4s before.

You know, I'm really out of my league here. I know for a fact that I can't do anything against them so I won't. It's a good thing that Ryuu is literally hiding out in one of the safest place in Orario right now. With how I often worry about the girls there getting involve, I tend to forget that they are way stronger than me and has plenty of experience repelling assassins and what not with how many of the staffs that were once targets for bounties.

It'll be fine so long as I just inform them of who might come after Ryuu. But the only one I can see actually matching the two killers is Anya so I should at least keep her updated. As crude as it may seem, I can't get anyone else involve because they'll only get in the way if those powerhouses fight. If it's just Ryuu and Anya fighting together, then the odds of repelling the attackers will be risen dramatically than Ryuu fighting alone.

But if that scenario were to come then Anya might get seriously hurt in the process. I know how much of a dolt she is so she might make a mistake during the fight.

Hmmmm. Well, there's no need to put all my eggs in one basket. I need to try something myself at the very least, I can't just sit back and do nothing when someone is planning to attack those I consider my family after all. I can't do much on my own but what about something that I can do? I could make something to prepare for the attackers. Something that would stop them in their tracks for just a few seconds…..

Well, that's an interesting idea that just popped up. I'm going to need some time to make it as well as finding the ingredient for it though. I'm not even sure if it'll even work but it's better than nothing. Maybe I can even test it out first if I finish it early.

Ah. I've been standing here for a bit too long. Time to get going if I want to make dinner and reach the pub on time.

But still, there is one thing made me wonder. Just why would a trading company want Gale dead? They even went as far as to hire two killers who is known to be quite expensive for their services.

Why silly of me to ask, they have some secret to hide of course.

Maybe I should do a little digging on those guys while I'm at it. After all, the more information I have about what they're up to the easier it is for me to deal with them. Of course, there's still the prospect of other people popping up trying to claim Ryuu's bounty as well...

You know what? Let's find a solution for the situation at hand first before I go worrying other other potential killers coming.

-0-

Orario- Hostess of Fertility

-0-

"Alright, will that be all Miss?" I ask the customer before me with a smile. The adventurer lady gave her confirmation and I simply nodded in response. "Very well, your order will be with you shortly so please wait for a bit." I told her before leaving the table to deliver the order I had written down.

As you can see, I am not working as a cook to day and have taken up waiter duty for various reasons. The first reason is because the time has finally come to let Ryuu interact with customers and I was told by Mama Mia to keep an eye on her and run damage control if she messed up somehow. So if she were to get the order wrong, it's up to me to correct her or if she somehow managed to offend the customer's poor ego, I'll have to calm them down.

Thankfully, I don't have to do it alone because Syr is also tasked with the same thing and is sticking near Ryuu to help her out most of the time. I'm mostly just left watching how terrible the elf is at customer service and cleaning up the food that she spills.

I went into the kitchen to give May the list and saw Syr trying to teach Ryuu how to hold three plates at once.

"So I put it on my arm here?" Ryuu asked Syr as she place a plate on her right forearm.

"That's right." Syr nodded while handing another plate to Ryuu. "Now hold one more with your right hand." Ryuu took the plate from Syr with a slightly anxious expression.

"Alright, you're good to go. Now go deliver those to their respective tables Ryuu." Syr sends the elf off cheerfully and I watch her walk slowly out the door, armed with a plate with a bowl of soup on top, a plate of salad on her forearm and a plate of spaghetti. Oh boy, those will be a pain to clean up if she drops them.

"You're already teaching her how to do that? Don't you think it's a bit too early?" I spoke up after Ryuu went out the kitchen, not wanting to speak while she's still around because my voice might break her concentration and cause her to drop the plates.

"It's to help build familiarity." Syr replied. "The sooner she does it then the sooner she can get use to it no?"

"That's true but she's going to drop them you know." I pointed out.

"Well, you know what they say, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Tee hee." Syr replied, acting cutesy by knocking her head with her knuckles and stick out her tongue out slightly. Utterly devious that girl. Looks like she intents for Ryuu to get better quickly by trail and error like every else here did, herself included of course. I can't deny that it's an effective method to train someone on how to be more efficient at delivering food, but it comes with the cost of many poor innocent plates.

Ah well, it's not like I'm paying for it or anything.

"I'll go get the mop." I sighed and proceed to walk outside with a mop in hand after handing May the orders with Syr following behind me.

Once outside, I saw that Ryuu was moving as carefully as she can to her destination, trying her best to keep the plate on her forearm from falling. Sadly, I noticed immediately that she's making the rookie mistake of focusing too much of her attention on the plate on her forearm that she wasn't paying much attention to anything else.

Knowing what's going to happen next, I cover my face with both hands. "I can't watch. It's like watching a toddler walking on a tightrope." I said to no one in particular, my voice muffled by my hands.

It didn't surprise me to hear the sound of plates crashing moments after I close my eyes.

"Ryuu! What the hell are you doing!?" Mama Mia's voice came thundering from the kitchen.

"Kuuhhh...I'm so sorry." Ah, there's that pained sound again.

"Oh dear." Syr said while Ryuu was recalled to the back so Mama Mia could give her an earful.

"You know, ever since Lyon-san started here I keep getting flashbacks to when you were first starting out." I said to her, causing Syr to look a bit sheepish.

"I guess I did made some mistakes back then." Syr said, embarrassed at the memories of how she keep messing things up.

"Uh-huh. Some huh?" I replied, raising an eyebrow at her while giving her a knowing look.

"I'll go keep Mama Mia from being too hard on Ryuu." She quickly said to me and ran off to the back.

I rolled my eyes and proceed to go clean up the mess on the floor left the elf.

Since I'm here, I might as well get to the other reason why I'm working as a waiter. While I'm out here, I can at least keep an eye out for anyone who might be interested in our new waitress. In a non romantic or sexual way of course.

So, as I work on picking up the plate pieces and removing stains, I stretch my other senses out to pick out the things people are saying about Ryuu while subtly looking around.

"Man to think that this place got such a hottie here now, I think I'll be coming here more often."

"She's cold and beautiful but a bit clumsy."

"-like a fairy."

"I want her to step on me with a look of disgust on her face."

Ignoring the last bit, nothing seems out of place. Everyone seem to treats the sight of Ryuu like a new waitress who's not use to her job yet.

Well, not everyone. I did notice someone's gaze here that's unlike the others. Unlike the other patrons in the pub who gaze at Ryuu with fascination and wonder or just outright lecherous, this one is more analytical and observant. In fact, this person had been looking at Ryuu the entire time she was here.

There, sitting by her lonesome at the corner of the pub is a girl with medium length brown hair and a pair of brown eyes. She wore a scarf on her neck, a short sleeveless white top, short brown shorts and a pair of brown boots. She was also wearing a pair of black gloves with steel plating stitched on the back and her arms were wrapped in bandages. There's no weapons visible on her person but I doubt she would ever need any. After all, her profile matches the one for a certain Black Fist.

I briefly wonder if I should just sic Anya at her right now but thought better of it. Too much collateral damage. Instead, I finish cleaning up and went to put the mop back in storage

A while later Syr came by while I was busy cleaning a table to tell me that she got a letter from a very curious courier. That perked my interest. "She seemed rather interested in our pub." Syr told me as she help herself to wiping the table for me while I pick up all the plates and mugs onto my tray.

"Oh? Did she ask about anything in particular?" I asked, having a feeling that it's not just some normal courier if Syr actually took the time to inform me about it. She probably thinks that something is off about that person and is keeping her promise of keeping me updated.

"Hmm, not much. She only asked about Ryuu since she witnessed her being scolded by Mama Mia and wondered what's going on." Syr informed me as we both went to the back so I can wash the dishes.

Having a hunch, I decide to ask another question. "Is that courier a cat person?"

"Hm? Oh my! Have you finally reach the age where you're interested in girls already Cain-san?" Syr gasped in surprise. "How cruel. Even though you're already surrounded by us beautiful ladies you're still going after other women. What would May and Anya think if they found out about you asking about other cat girls?" Syr bemoaned dramatically.

"Well, that is if my wife didn't find out and kill me first." I replied, straight faced.

"Wait, what?" Syr said with eyes wide in genuine surprise this time. I decided to savour it for a moment because catching Syr off guard is very hard thing to accomplish. Upon seeing the smug smile on my face, Syr realize that I was joking and pouted at me.

"But seriously though, is she a cat person?"

"Yes." Syr nodded, confirming my theory. Looks like Black Cat is doing her own digging too. "It looks like we have people sniffing about again so you best not do anything rash Cain-san." Syr told me, wearing a stern expression.

"I know, I know. It's the same old deal as always. Not like I can do much against those monsters anyway." I reassured her. "Anyway, let's get back to work. I dread to imagine what kind of mess Lyon-san would conjure up while we weren't keeping an eye on her."

Of course, just as soon as I finish my sentence we both heard the sound of glass crashing onto the floor.

"You again!?" Mama Mia's voice roared so loudly that she was almost shaking the entire pub with it.

"Me and my big mouth." I muttered as I place a hand over my face while Syr gave a dry laugh.

-0-

A Few Days Later

Orario- Hostess of Fertility

-0-

Several days had passed since Ryuu started working here. Had she gotten any better at her job you ask? Absolutely. If you squint real hard, you just might be able to make out the amount of progress she has made adjusting to the life of a waitress.

Okay, I kid. She's doing rather well-ish.

The vegetables that she prepares are actually decent sized now, if you consider a potato smaller than your palm to be decent anyway. She's still not allowed to do shopping trips alone and always had Syr accompanying her. She's gotten better at taking orders but would still mess up if they're complicated. Anya is still trying her best to be a reliable senpai to her and failing and there were times where I had to cut in and help the elf out when Syr is busy with other customers herself.

All in all, it's not that different from when a new girl joins the pub.

I also haven't been idle these past few days as I've spent my free time in acquiring the ingredients for my little project. In fact, I've already got them all. You could say that I'm almost finish with it, I'm just trying to finish creating it before I test it.

I've also been illegally entering places own by the Bruno Trading Company. You know, to gather dirt on those guys. So far, I've found very interesting deals that they've made that could be considered illegal under Guild law but nothing to really pinpoint just why they want Gale Wind dead yet. Frankly, I think it's time I start digging through the higher ups of the company, maybe I'll find something more useful there.

But for now, I really should get back to work instead of thinking about it too much since it's distracting. With today being one of those days where I can't go to the Dungeon, I have been spending my free time helping out at the pub.

I spent the day working side by side with May, cooking meals and chatting with her when there's time to. She's been thinking up new recipes that she wants to try out when there's time and is bouncing off ideas with me to see what could be changed or improve upon her recipe.

"How about….if I mix it with cheese?" May asked me, her hand constantly stirring the pot of soup before her.

"Well, I can see it working if you were to spread it on top and then bake it. But mixing it like that would probably result in a weird texture, as well as a sticky pan." I told her, sprinkling salt and then adding sauce to vegetables that I'm in the middling of stir-frying.

"Hmm, I guess you're right about that. I guess I'll try baking it like you've said. Ehe he. I can't wait to try it out." May said, smiling happily with the thought of many kind of food we've just talked about filling her mind.

"I'm sure you'll get the chance."

"When I do make them...erm...will you...try them out Cain-kun?" May asked rather demurely all of the sudden.

"Do you even need to ask? Of course I would." I replied instantly.

"Really?" May's entire body seem to perk up at my reply.

"Yeah, what kind of idiot would say no to free food, am I right?"

"O-oh. Right. Of course."

"If you two are quite done flirting, I'm still waiting for our customer's dish so I can put the dressing on it." One of the kitchen staff said behind our backs.

"W-w-we weren't flirting!" May exclaimed quickly looking away with a flush on her face, prompting other girl to roll her eyes with a smile.

"Sure, sure. I've just finished anyway." I said while moving the food from the wok to a plate before giving it to her. "Well, that should be the last one on the list. I'll go check if we have any new orders that just came in, be back in a bit." I told them.

"Alright then. I'll be taking the dish to a waitress. Sorry for intruding on you two." The girl said with a sly giggle, causing May to sputter something that I didn't quite catch as I left the area.

On my way to see if there's more food to cook, I spotted the only elf among the staff doing the dishes and my steps slow to a halt when I saw her expression.

Ryuu was working silently with eyes completely void of life. She had the look of a lost soul with no place in the world, unable to properly fit in and unsure of what to do.

I noticed footsteps coming from behind me and I turn my head around. Syr came walking up to me and is looking at Ryuu just like I was. "How's Ryuu doing?" She asked me.

"Well, she is slowly getting better at her job if that's what you want to know. Could do without all the gloom though." I replied, gesturing at melancholic aura surrounding the elf like it's actually something physical.

Syr continues to observe Ryuu while humming slightly. "Does the sight of her like this reminds you of someone Cain-san?" Syr asked after a moment, looking at me with a meaningful smile. "Is that why you're worried about her?"

I snorted before giving her a smirk. "You could've just straight out say that she's acting like how I was instead of being all obscure and cryptic." I told her, causing her to stick her tongue out playfully at me. "But yeah, I guess I am a bit concerned. From what I can see, she's too scared to move forward from her past. Got too much doubt in her heart and mind. If only there's a busybody around who just couldn't leave people alone to wallow in their miseries. But just where on earth can we find such a person?" I said in mock wonder, looking at the girl beside me.

"Oh my. I have no idea you would think so highly of me Cain-san." Syr place a hand over her cheek, pretending to be shy.

"Huh, I never said anything about you though. So why are you getting all bashful for?" I replied, pretending to look confused and causing Syr to lightly punch my shoulder with a small giggle. I chuckled alongside her for a moment before waving her off. "Go work your magic Syr, I'll cover for you two so you don't get into too much trouble." It's not like there's much to do right now. May and the rest can handle the cooking without me just fine.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do." Syr said and walk right to Ryuu's side.

I stayed where I am, watching a predator in it's natural habitat, pretending to be harmless and friendly in order to let it's prey lower it's guard. It didn't take long before they strike up a conversation and Syr proceed to drag Ryuu off to somewhere, taking off their aprons and leaving through the back door.

This is where I seamlessly took over Ryuu's dish washing duties and wondered what Syr had in mind in cheering our resident elf up.

-0-

Some time had passed since the two left but when I heard a commotion coming from the back of the pub, I had a feeling that they're back. I stopped what I was doing and went to see what's up.

I didn't go all the way and merely look out one of the windows that a bit away from where the commotion is. Once I looked outside, I immediately spotted most of staffs waiting outside with Anya at the forefront. Even without asking, I immediately knew that Anya was the one responsible for roping everyone outside. It didn't take long for me to spot Syr and Ryuu coming into view.

They met up and Anya went to greet them. They started talking but I couldn't hear what they're saying from this distance so I studied Ryuu instead. I immediately noticed a large difference in the elf. The air of gloominess is gone and Ryuu's features are a bit softer now.

And so it is that another lost soul has been dragged out of the pit of misery by Syr's busybodiness. Truly, a kind hearted witch indeed.

While I thought that, Anya seem to thrust her hand forward towards Ryuu's. However, Ryuu responded instinctively and slap it away. The pleasant air that was there while they were chatting happily was gone in that instance and everything seemed to just froze. Ryuu looked panicked at what she had just done but I wasn't worried. After all, this is Anya that we're talking about. A silly little slap wouldn't do much to deter her at all.

True to my expectations, Anya was quick to recover and said something that cause Ryuu to look like she's dealing with a particularly stubborn person, something that I can sympathise with.

All of the sudden, Syr proceed to hug Ryuu from behind, wrapping both her arms around her neck and pressing her cheek against hers. Anya seem offended by this while Ryuu just grow redder with each passing second. Anya continues to try and touch Ryuu's hand but the elf just deftly counters each of her attempt while the rest of the girls cheers and clap, laughing together in enjoyment.

Their horseplay was soon interrupted when Mama Mia bellowed from within the pub. "Hey, you stupid girls! Ain't every last one of you skipping work?!"

The girls were quick to disperse, running back into the pub to do what they were suppose to, leaving Ryuu and Syr behind to slowly walk back in. It was there did Ryuu say something to Syr and to my surprise, she was wearing a smile on her face.

Yes. This is much better. A smile suited her much more than that hopeless expression. I thought to myself with a small smiled of my own and went back to work myself, ignoring Mama Mia's shouting about how gutsy everyone is to dare to slack off.

-0-

A Few Days Later

Orario, middle of the night-?

-0-

"So, is everything ready?" An old dwarf spoke within a dimly lit room.

"Yes. I've already prepared the men. With both Black Cat and Black Fist making their moves tomorrow, this is the only chance we'll get to eliminate three of our major obstacles in one go." A human male replied.

"Good, good. Once we got rid of them all, we'll be able to do as we please without those troublemakers getting in the way. Truly, Gale has done us a huge favor in eliminating Evilus and paving way for us to remake Orario with us at the helm. But as long as she's still alive, there's a risk of her finding out our connection to Evilus and coming after us. Well, we won't have to worry about that anymore soon." The dwarf let out a chuckle that sounded almost slimy.

"It's a shame that they're gone though. They were such profitable business partners, not that I'd actually miss having them around with them being as crazy as they are. It's a good thing that we made sure no one else knew of Gale's survival and location, otherwise there might be other people getting involve and making a mess out of everything." The human said, joining in with a typical evil laugh.

And here I am, sitting on top of the roof while the two men continue to laugh diabolically like they're some hotshot masterminds and I get to hear every little detail.

Why you ask? Because they had their window open.

I can't help but be disappointed at them. I mean really? If you're going to talk about your evil plans you might as well do it somewhere private or in a secret lair. Instead, they're talking about it like they're talking about the weather right inside a public inn. Honestly, villains these days have no class.

But still, I wasn't expecting that I'd get to overhear something so important today. This was suppose to be a routine dirt gathering but hey, I ain't complaining. I've already gathered more than enough dirt to put this company out of business ten times over and isn't quite sure what to do next until I came across these two wannabe villains.

So this company have made deals with Evilus before I see. And the reason why they want Ryuu gone is because they're scared of her finding out the connection that they had. They also seem to have issue with Black Cat and Black Fist and is using this chance to get rid of them all. Well, this sums everything up nicely.

Now I just need to make sure Ryuu survives the attack tomorrow before I deal with these guys. If I spook them too soon then they might run off and go underground and I know from experience just how much of a pain it is to drag them out when that happens.

I got up from from the tile and started to walk away, mind churning on ideas on what to do next. I've already finished my pet project and it worked nicely as anticipated as the testing had proven. All the dirt that I have gathered on them is nicely set aside and neatly arranged and awaiting to be released. I think I've just about done all that I can do already.

"So….tomorrow huh." I muttered as I jump off the roof and landed onto the next. "Looks like it's going to be a busy day for me." I sighed as I wander into the dark, vanishing from sight as I melt into the shadows.

-0-

AN: Thanks for reading and don't forget to tell me what you think about this chapter. Was it good? Was it bad? Tell me so I would know.

Next up is the conclusion of the Familia Chronical story which everyone already knows the ending to.