Chapter 27: New Incident
"H-hey Rider…can you make the wagon stop shaking so much?"
"This is the best I can do on a dirt road, Goddess Hestia. Please bear with it."
"Ueeehhh…"
Early the next morning, after the party had winded down to a close, Hestia Familia set off to the Port City of Melen, a mere three kilometers from Orario itself and was considered by many to be Orario's gateway to the sea as it rested on Lolog Lake which opened up into the sea. This allowed ships from all over the world to reach the harbor, bringing with them merchants, goods, and prospective Adventurers from their homes.
Of course, they didn't set off without anyone watching the Hearthstone Manor, even if Goibniu Familia would be working on it for the time being. Hestia had decided to ask Takemikazuchi and his Familia to watch their Home and Caster even offered to pay them for the trouble and would not allow the War God to refuse the payment. As such, the Manor was in good hands and Takemikazuchi and his Adventurers could make use any of the accommodations and food left behind during their time away, aside from the bedrooms of course but it seemed that they didn't mind.
Bell could have sworn he heard someone cheer before diving into the bath as they left though.
Hestia Familia's method of travel was a large red and gold wagon fitted with several accommodations for the trip such as cushioned seats and enough space for twelve people to ride in the back with their belongings and another two up front. The wagon was being pulled along by two horses that belonged to Rider and had been summoned alongside her. Like the Servants, they could dematerialize until they were called upon and thus didn't need a stable to rest in. The two beasts were also strong enough that the wagon and all of its passengers were pulled along without any problems and neither of them needed to stop for a break.
Of course, Welf was not told about this, and he simply thought they were normal horses that were owned by Rider.
"Lily hasn't ever been outside of Orario before," Lily said as she gazed out from underneath the canopy of the wagon with Primo, Assassin and Gina packed next to her doing the same. "It's such a nice day too…if it weren't for the sick goddess…"
"Please be quiet Miss Supporter…" Hestia groaned as she rested her head on Emma's lap while the girl was fanning her. Having had a little too much to drink at the party last night, it was only natural for Hestia to wake up with the Monster Rex of all hangovers. Although it had been much worse earlier to the point that Hestia couldn't even move, a quick concoction from Rider made with Gina's help had allowed the goddess to recover enough so she could actually join them for the trip, albeit still nursing the painful headache.
"Please be sure to drink in moderation next time, Lady Hestia," Emma said as she raised Hestia's head a bit to help her drink some water. "Also please remember to drink at least one glass of water between each cup of alcohol."
"But then I'd have to drink less…" Hestia whined. "And how come no one else is like this!?"
"Because no one else drank as much as you did, Lady Hestia," Lancer said with a soft smile, causing Hestia to let out a soft whine before wincing in pain.
"Have you been to the port before, Welf?" Bell asked his friend who shook his head in response.
"Nah, came from an inland route so I never been there before," Welf replied. "Never had a reason to go there before now either."
"It's amazing!" Gina said as she pulled her head back in. "There's a lot of fresh fish there and their prices are usually much lower than the ones you find in Orario. They're even bigger too!"
"I suppose that's only natural for a port town," Archer muttered as he looked toward the front, past Caster and Rider's heads toward the massive lake they were heading toward. "Is there a central authority in the city like the Guild?"
"Well, the Guild does have a branch office there," Gina replied. "But I think Njord Familia's the one calling most of the shots there. They own most of the fisheries from the lake all the way to the sea itself so they have a lot more pull than the Guild."
Njord Familia. It was a rather household name even in Orario in terms of food. Ninsun's meat, Demeter's vegetables, and Njord's fish. The names of those three deities carried with them a promise of quality that could not be beat when it came to food.
"Njord, huh?" Saber muttered as he and Lancer shared a glance before looking out to the port as well. "I suppose that is only natural for a god of the sea and wealth."
"Speaking of which, where exactly are we going, Caster?" Rider asked, turning to her fellow. "Is there a beach somewhere between all those docks?"
"No," Caster replied. "Although the resort inn I have booked is within the city itself, the beach destination I had in mind is much further south of the city proper. Loath I am to admit it, it was a recommendation from the Sea God himself."
"Oh? A beach vacation area recommended by Njord and one that even you approve of, Caster?" Hestia asked as she sat up, seemingly all better. "Now I really can't wait!"
"Aww, so we won't be stopping by the city first?" Gina asked.
"Was there something you wanted to buy?" Rider asked.
"Nah, I just wanted to sight see a bit."
"You shall have plenty of time to do that in the evening," Caster replied without turning around. "If not, then during the rest of the trip."
"Oh right. It's not a one day trip, ahaha…"
The wagon ride overall didn't take very long as it was only a few kilometers from the city but it was a bit tough being cramped inside the wagon with all of their luggage. But when they reached the spot that Caster was talking about, Bell thought that it was worth it.
The alcove was hidden behind some trees and rocks but there was enough room for the wagon. The spot itself was a large inlet off the lake's banks and surrounded by massive trees and boulders with massive cliffs shielding the area from view. It was frankly the perfect spot for a private outing.
After tying up the horses, the girls stayed in the wagon to change while the men got to work setting up the beach area, having worn their swimsuits from the start out of convenience.
Bell had on a blank white t-shirt with yellow trunks similar to Caster. The king had chosen to wear golden colored trunks covered in stylish scribbles along with a white sweatshirt with the front zipper open, revealing his bare chest. Saber had chosen one that looked as though it was meant for deep diving and clung tightly to his body, exposing only his arms below his elbows and legs below the knee. Archer and Welf were wearing a pair of rather simple trunks as well, with Welf's having a simple orange design at the bottom while Archer's had a black and white symbol on them that was the same as the two blades he often used.
"Anyone else feel like there's a difference in treatment between the guys and girls?" Welf asked as he skewered another large umbrella into the ground.
"It is merely the separation of tasks," Saber said as he laid the blankets under the umbrellas, drawing a rune in the air above them to blow off any sand on them, before setting up folding chairs beside them. "And I believe the reward will arrive at the same time the women exit the wagon, will it not?"
"Damn straight!"
Saber let out a soft chuckle at Welf's rather honest show of his desires.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the beach.
"…You can even make a grill…" Bell said in awe as two fully functional grills appeared in front of Archer.
"Compared to Magic Swords, this is much easier to make," Archer joked with a smile as he bent down to make sure the Magic Stone was inserted properly. "Saves space when packing as well as some money too."
"Humph, we are not so destitute that we would need to save every Valis possible," Caster said as he deposited several coolers containing meats and vegetables onto a table Archer had also created.
"I'd rather not be forced to use your money regardless," Archer said as he picked up and examined a piece of meat that was the most amazing mix of red and white marbling that Bell had ever seen. "…And just how much did you spend on this thing anyway?"
"It was a prize," Caster answered with a smirk. "Do not fret over such small details."
Archer shook his head as he turned the grills on to pre-heat them in preparation for cooking all the meat and veggies in front of them.
"Since utensils are a bit inconvenient here…" Archer muttered to himself before reaching into one of his bags where he pulled out a large container of wooden skewers. "Let's make them into kebabs for the most part."
As Archer began cutting up the veggies into large chunks, Bell was about to ask if there was anything he could do to help when Hestia's voice reached to them.
"All right, boys! We're ready!"
Bell instinctively turned toward the goddess's voice…and saw paradise.
When the gods descended, they brought with them not only the Falna, but their divine and otherworldly culture and inventions. These inventions included what was commonly referred to as the Three Sacred Treasures. Naturally, like everything else in the world, what these Three Sacred Treasures are differed between each race and cultural groups. Things such as fake ears people could wear to mimic an animal person or the elastic material used in Saber and Lancer's swimsuits, or even the legendary sailor uniforms. Though debates raged on amongst those whose eyes were opened by the gods which were the best to truly be included in the Three Sacred Treasures (which usually resulted in bloodshed), there was one item that was unanimously declared by all to belong in the top spot.
And that was the bikini.
And today, at this moment, Bell had decidedly joined the faction that espoused such words. All the women in his Familia were wearing bikinis of different colors and designs, from the simple pure white ringed one of Rider's to Hestia's bold blue one with a wavy ocean design on them. The sole exception was Assassin who was wearing a one piece with horizontal blue and white stripes and a pair of glasses with dark lenses used to block the sunlight from reaching one's eyes.
Welf let out a loud cheer as Hestia boldly strode forward, leading the other girls toward Bell who had no idea where to look. The goddess's swimsuit was just barely containing her massive treasures and the same went for Rider.
Saber also had gone completely quiet as his gaze was completely locked onto Lancer's dark purple and black one with a feathery design on the side with her long white hair carefully bundled up into braids.
Only Archer and Caster seemed to have been able to keep their wits on them.
"Well, what do you think, Bell?" Hestia asked with a smile.
"Y-you all look amazing, Goddess," Bell said as he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering.
"Umm…it's embarrassing if you stare too much, Bell," Emma said as she was shyly covering the area in front of her stomach which wasn't covered by the frilly red swimsuit she was wearing.
"I-I'm sorry!" Bell replied quickly as he turned his head to the side.
"Well, he is a young man after all," Rider said as she patted his head as she walked past to help Archer with the grill. "Can you make another table for me?"
"You don't need to help, Rider," Archer said even though he made another table to serve as a workplace for Rider. "This is a trip to welcome you into the Familia. So take the chance to just sit back and relax."
"Oh but I find cooking to be a relaxing activity," she replied with a smile. "Aren't you the same?"
"…Well, I won't deny that."
"Good boy. Now let me grill a bit of this meat first…"
As the preparations for lunch started a bit early, one group felt the need to play to their heart's content in the meantime.
"Let's go, let's go!" Gina shout as she, Primo and Assassin ran past them with squeals of glee, intending to dive straight into the water.
"Get back here you three!" Lily called out as she ran after the younger, yet still taller than her, girls while waving a small bottle in her hand. "Put on this lotion or you're going to regret it when your skin starts peeling like a fruit! And Lily will tell you, it's not fun!"
"And don't forget your stretches!" Hestia shouted as she ran after Lily.
"""Kaaaaay!""" Came the reply from the three girls in unison.
As everyone aside from Archer and Rider started to stretch, Caster ignored them all and sat down on a folding chair under an umbrella and closed his eyes with the intent in a nap.
As they were finishing up their warm-ups, a loud shriek caught Bell's ears in the direction of the wagon. He turned just in time to see a familiar red haired goddess running toward them.
"Gaaah! I thought that Emblem reminded me of someone!" The goddess Loki shouted as she gripped the sides of her head in dismay. "It was you guys after all, damn it!"
It would seem that Hestia Familia was not the only Familia that wanted to use this inlet as a vacation spot. Behind the goddess were several members of Loki Familia that Bell had seen before on the Eighteenth Floor camp…or rather only a portion of the female members seemed to be here.
"Geh! Loki!" Hestia growled as she jumped up to her feet and glared at her enemy. "As you can see, we were here first!" The smaller goddess gestured toward the already set up grills, tables, chairs, umbrellas and beach blankets. "So find your own spot!"
"Ngh…no way! There's plenty of room for everyone! And I didn't walk all the way here just to find another spot…stop waving those things in front of me!"
"Oh? What could you possibly be talking about? Could it possibly be these babies here that you could never have?"
"Grrrrrrrrrrr!"
Before the argument between the two goddesses could go further though, Rider suddenly appeared beside them and shoved two pieces of meat into their mouths, silencing the two goddesses immediately and causing them both to fall forward into the sand.
"So soft…" Hestia gasped with tears flowing out of her eyes as she started chewing.
"Meltin…" Loki added, also in tears. "It's like the meat's meltin in my mouth…"
"Now now, Lady Goddesses," Rider said with a smile. "The day is too beautiful to ruin with such a nonsensical argument. Also, Goddess Hestia, Caster had only just fallen asleep. Let's be neighborly and let them join us after coming all the way here before you wake Caster up with your arguing."
"F-fine," Hestia said as she and Loki both stood up, both still chewing and savoring the flavor of the meat in their mouths. "Out of consideration for Gil, I'll let you join us."
"W-well aint that kind of ya…" Loki said as she swallowed.
"My apologies, Lady Hestia," the green haired elf that Bell recognized as the object of Primo's admiration, Riveria Los Alf, said. Of course, Primo was so starstruck at seeing Riveria that she didn't even blink when Gina and Assassin waved their hands in front of her eyes. "We were planing on doing some investigating around this area. We didn't plan on interrupting your vacation."
"It's fine, Miss Elf," Hestia said, waving the apology off. "There's plenty of room for you guys to do whatever you came here for. Just keep us out of it! I don't even want to know what you're investigating!"
"As you wish," Riveria said with a smile and a bow.
Seeing that Hestia had allowed them to join, the girls of the Loki Familia walked pass the two still glaring goddesses to look around the inlet…with more than a few of them throwing glances at Bell and the other guys…although Bell felt like the looks he was getting was different than those of Welf and the male Servants…
"Don't worry about it, Bell," Emma said with a kind smile. "You're just as cool as the others."
It was't a compliment out of pity but one straight from her heart which made Bell kind of happy but he knew that he didn't compare to his Servants or even Welf at all. He really wanted to grow a bit more muscle at the very least.
"Anyway!" Loki suddenly called out as she stepped away from Hestia. "You guy probably don't want to stand out on the beach like that do ya?"
She was talking to her Familia members who had came to the lake still dressed in their traveling clothes.
"That's why I brought you all a change of clothes!"
Everyone stared at the goddess as she struck a strange pose and opened the large bulky bag she had been carrying on her own. And as if it was the most natural thing in the world, it contained swimsuits.
X-x-X-x-X
"It's paradise," Welf muttered. "No, the promised land!"
"While I understand and share your appreciation of our surroundings, please mind and control yourself," Saber warned him as he placed a hand on Welf's shoulder.
Bell himself wanted to look as much as he could reasonably get away with but the cold stares of his goddess and Lily prevented him from truly appreciating the sight in front of him like the others.
Loki had commandeered their wagon and forced her girls to change into swimsuits of their own. Their shy forms covering their exposed skin was almost too much for him to bear.
"Come on guys, there's nothing to be shy about," Tiona said.
"Easy for you to say…" Aki muttered. "You Amazons expose yourself like this all the time."
"I mean, the Hestia Familia girls don't have a problem with it," Tione pointed out as Gina nodded her head in agreement.
"I suppose it's the difference of willingly putting it on and being forced to," Emma replied with a soft laugh.
"Why is this more embarrassing than the baths?" Lefiya muttered, her blush reaching all the way to her ears as she glanced over toward Bell who quickly averted his gaze although he couldn't tell if it was for her sake or his own.
"Is it because there are men here too?" Another golden-haired elf suggested. Bell didn't know her name but he did recall her being there when he was being "interrogated" about Spirits and their roles in Legends.
To the side, Bell dared to chance a glance at Ais, wearing a white two piece with a long pareo-style skirt that dangled down to her knees.
"No! I have to stop looking at them all with impure eyes! I need to cool my head!"
"Uooooooaaaahhhhh!" Slamming his eyes shut, Bell let out a roar as he ran as fast as he could toward the lake and dived in with a splash.
"Ahh! That's not fair, Mommy!" Assassin said as she picked up a circular tube filled with air and ran in after him. "We wanted to be first!"
"Wait up, Jack!" Gina said as she ran in as well.
"Hey wait…where's Riveria?" Loki asked as she looked around. "Where's my darling adorable little Riveria?"
"I believe she has yet to come out of our wagon, Goddess Loki," Saber answered as he pointed back at the Hestia Familia wagon.
"Whaaaaat? C'mon, I need to see the goods! Hurry up or I'll put that thing on for ya!"
Loki hadn't taken even two steps toward the wagon before the golden-haired elf, Lefiya, and Primo dived at the goddess.
"You will do no such thing!"
"Stop right there, Loki!"
"I won't let you defile Lady Riveria like that!"
The three of them tackled Loki into the sand, causing the goddess to let out a scream of surprise…before it devolved into extremely satisfied laughter at the bare skin pressing against from all sides.
"…Loki appears to be about what I expected," Lancer noted as Saber chuckled beside her with his arm around her shoulders.
"Umm…by the way, who are you?" Lefiya asked Primo as she restrained Loki's arm.
"Oh, umm, my name is Primo Libera," the youngest elf of the group replied, sitting on top of Loki's legs. "I'm the Mage for Hestia Familia's Second Team…and you two are Lefiya Virdis and Alicia Forestlight, right!? I'm a huge fan of all of you along with Lady Riveria!"
"My, how cute," Alicia said with a giggle. "Another ally against Loki's perversions is always welcome."
"Madam, are you all right?" Rider asked as she peered inside the wagon. "Do you need any assistance? No? You wish to remain inside? Very well, I'll let the others know."
Of course, Riveria did not actually speak up at all, having completely froze with the cloth pressed against her chest, still fully clothed.
And throughout this chaos, Caster remained asleep, purposely shutting himself off from the outside world.
X-x-X-x-X
As things began to calm down a bit, Hestia and Loki Familia began to mingle with one another without any problems despite the animosity of their two goddesses.
"T-this is Ninsun Familia's top grade beef isn't it?" Aki asked Rider as she held a plate in her shaking hands. "Are you sure it's okay to share it with us?"
"The more the merrier," Rider replied with a smile. "Consider it a reward for your hard work in putting up with that goddess of yours."
"Normally I would say that I don't need your pity but I won't reject it this time~"
"Just be sure to give your thanks to Lord Caster," Lily said as her head popped up beside Rider. "Though as he is currently asleep, please wait until he is awake before doing so."
"Ahaha, got it."
A bit further out in the sand, there was a small commotion as a net had been set up courtesy of Archer as he and Saber stood on one side and Tione and Tiona on the other side with Archer holding a beach ball in hand and a rather amused smile on his face.
"Got it?" He called out. "Don't go easy on us just because we're Level 1!"
"Wasn't gonna!" Tiona replied with her own eager smile.
"I believe the gods would say, 'Good luck and have fun,'" Saber said as he adjusted his glasses slightly before taking a ready stance.
"Back to you, Saber," Tione nodded as she did the same.
"Then on your mark," Lancer said as she stood to the side of the impromptu court, holding a whistle Archer had projected to her lips. "Get set…!"
Pweeeee!
The sharp whistle was the signal for Archer to toss the ball high into the air before jumping after it. Then with perfect form, he spiked it straight toward Tiona. The Amazon's eyes widened in surprise for a split second before a massive grin replaced it. She caught the ball with her forearms and bounced it up high.
"Tione!"
"Nice pass!"
Tione appeared right behind the ball and smashed it back down. The ball cut through the air like a knife as it shot to the spot right behind Saber.
"Too slow!"
In a flash, Saber moved toward the location of the ball and uppercutted it back upwards toward Archer. The other man then smacked the ball up, allowing Saber to punch it back toward the Amazons' side of the court.
"Not bad, but not enough!"
Tiona intercepted it and knocked it toward Tione who set the ball up for her younger sister, allowing her to smash it toward Archer.
"Faster than usual! As expected of Level 6!"
The back and forth exchange of blows and compliments went on as the cheers from the crowd slowly fell into silent in awe.
"Careful there!" Rider called out. "You might break the ball if you play too roughly!"
"That's what you're worried about!?" Lefiya asked.
"No worries," Archer called back as he smashed the ball away. "If it pops, I'll make a new one!"
"Please stop before it comes to that, Master Archer!" Lily begged but Archer simply chuckled and shook his head. "Uuu…"
Then…
"Damn!" Saber misjudged his position and the ball slammed into the sand, kicking up a storm.
Tiona was about to cheer for her victory but Lancer's whistle cut her off.
"Out of bounds," Lancer declared. "Point, Hestia Familia."
Indeed, the crater the ball had been sent into was just outside the border depicted by the net pole.
"Aww man…" Tiona groaned as she rubbed her head. "So close."
"Get your head in the game, Tiona!" Tione chastised.
On the other side of the court though Saber shook his head in self-disappointment.
"Apologies, that was my miss," Saber said as if he was disappointed that they had scored a point in such a way.
"No worries, Saber" Archer replied as he picked up the ball again. "We just need to kick it into higher gear then!"
"Agreed!"
"…This isn't just a friendly game anymore, is it?" Hestia asked off to the side where she sat on a blanket with with Loki, the two goddesses enjoying several grilled meat and vegetables skewers sitting on a plate between them as they watched the back and forth spiking which was slowly reaching to the point of lethality if it were to hit someone without a Falna. Such as the two goddess themselves.
"At this point I'm just happy they're playing beach volleyball instead of sparring with their weapons," Loki muttered and Hestia couldn't help but nod in agreement. It would seem that the Trickster Goddess wasn't batting an eye at the Servants keeping up with her Level 6 Amazon twins.
"Oh…I heard several of your kids Leveled Up again," Hestia added blankly as she watched another pillar of sand get kicked up to the shrieks of some of the girls. "Congratulations. That's…what, seven Level 6s now?"
"Yep and thanks. Gratz to you too for getting those three bombshells and cute lolis in too."
"…Thanks…I think."
"You uh…you're not gonna make me pay you back for this meat, are ya? Cuz we're kinda, maybe, a little bit broke right now."
"…Let's call it even for the sandwich party."
"Well, okay then!"
"You accepted that quite easily, didn't you? Maybe I should charge you per head instead."
"Nope! No take backs! It's free! You said so already!"
Hestia sighed and shook her head before poking Loki in the side with her skewer, causing Loki to yelp.
"What!?" She demanded.
"Eyes off the married woman," Hestia said simply as Loki was staring a bit too hard at Lancer for Hestia's liking.
"I wasn't-wait, married? To who?"
Hestia simply pointed at Saber who had winked at Lancer before serving, causing Lancer to blush and look away.
"…Talk about picture perfect," Loki muttered as Hestia couldn't help but nod her head in agreement.
Out in the water, another group of people were enjoying themselves.
"They're really going at it…" Bell said in amazement while walking in the chest high water and pulling along a rather satisfied looking Primo lying on top of her water ring.
"Really now," Primo said with a long sigh. "I don't know how that's supposed to be relaxing at all. Sorry for asking you to do this, Bell."
"No worries, this is pretty fun as well…ah, here comes a big wave."
"Ooooooohhhh. This is the life~"
A small waved brushed by them, bringing the water up close to Bell's chin even as he stood on his tiptoes but Primo simply rode the wave like a champ as he released her, allowing her to spin a bit as she was carried along by the water. The young elf was so content with her situation that she didn't see the pair of brown and white shadows closing in below her.
"Boom!"
"Shark attack!"
"KYAAAH!?"
Gina and Assassin surfaced at the same time, knocking Primo out of her ring and into the water, causing her to flail around a bit before Bell quickly grabbed her and pulled her up and out of the water.
"Bleh…salty…" the elf stuck her tongue out to spit out the water before turning and glaring at the two shorter girls. "Why you…"
"Ah, she's mad."
"Run away, run away!"
"GET BACK HERE!"
"Don't do that again you two!" Bell called out after them. "It's dangerous!"
""Kaay!""
"When I get my hands on you two, you both are gonna be so sorry!"
Bell let out a chuckle as he grabbed the ring and watched the two girls swim away from the angry elf splashing water at them. He then felt something brush by him and let out a yelp when Emma and Welf surfaced right next to him.
"Woah, sorry there Bell," Welf said with a smile as Emma let out a small cough to get the water out of her throat.
"Trying to see who can hold their breath longer?" Bell asked and the two nodded.
"Yes…" Emma replied with a small frown.
"I don't know if its my bigger body or because I'm Level 2, but I'm winning, easily," Welf said with a smile as Emma's frown turned into a small pout.
"Muu…I was the best in my village though…and making faces underwater is cheating, Welf!"
"All's fair in love and war! After all, just look at that game."
The two members of Hestia Familia turned just in time to see another explosion of sand kick up followed by the two men slapping their hand against the other's.
"Who's winning?" Emma asked.
"I think we are," Bell replied. "Though that's only because the first ball landed out-of-bounds."
"…Hey you two…"
Emma and Bell turned toward Welf who was still looking at Saber and Archer playing against the Amazon Twins.
"Amazon and Jormungand are Level 6…" he began. "Their Level Ups were announced just after we got back from the Boss Fight…so how is a pair of Level 1s keeping up with them?"
"Umm…" Bell began but Emma beat him to it.
"I'm sorry Welf," Emma replied apologetically. "But that's a Hestia Familia secret so we can't say…"
"Yeah I figured," the man nodded. "…But they are still Level 1 right? You guys aren't hiding their Levels?"
"That's right. Everyone except for Lily and Bell are still Level 1."
Welf nodded his head again as he took it in. Before he could say anything else though, Rider called out to him from the waterline.
"Welf! The cuts you wanted are done!" The woman said and Welf's expression went from pensive to sheer glee in no time flat.
"Yes! Coming, Rider!" Welf shouted back. "Sorry, gotta get me some grub!"
"Enjoy yourself," Emma said with a smile and a wave as Welf waddled through the water back to the sand. Emma then turned toward Bell. "You really want to tell him, don't you?"
"Yes…" Bell admitted with a nod. "He shared his past with us but we're still keeping secrets from him like this. It feels like we don't trust him enough."
"I don't know if I can say I feel the same way you do since I haven't known him for as long," Emma began. "But I do agree that it doesn't feel right to keep a secret from your friend. But it's Caster's orders after all. We can't really do much against that."
Bell could only sadly nod in agreement, feeling slightly disappointed in himself that he had to have his junior remind him of something like that.
First rule of Hestia Familia: The King's word is law.
And Bell had no desire to go against it. Both because he was absolutely terrified of Caster's fury and because he would be betraying one person's trust for another. Why couldn't things just be simple? Or at the very least, why couldn't the Falna take into account the Servants' previous life as well?
As Bell struggled with his own thoughts, Emma scanned the beach and her eyes fell onto a lone girl who was sitting under one of the umbrellas next to a sleeping king.
"Hey Bell," Emma whispered. "That girl over there doesn't look like she's having too much fun. Why don't we invite her for a swim?"
Bell turned toward the direction Emma was pointing at and he saw that she had been referring to Ais. Although the girl was watching the volleyball match between the Amazons and the Servants, she didn't seem to want to join…or even stand up out of embarrassment of her outfit.
"I agree it's not fair for her to be the only one not having fun but…shouldn't we leave that to her Familia members?" Bell asked.
"Come on, it wouldn't hurt to ask," Emma said with a smile as she dragged him to the shore. "No need to be shy."
"I-I'm not being…shy…"
"Then come on!"
With a small whine, Bell found himself back on the shore.
"Excuse me," Emma said as they stood in front of Ais.
"Yes?" The girl replied as she looked up at the two of them.
"Isn't it boring just to sit on the side?" Emma asked. "Why not come for a swim?"
At Emma's suggestion, Ais's face seemed to pale a bit as she shook her head so fast that Bell was worried it might come off.
"N-no, I'm fine here," she said quickly as she turned around and away from the water to look at the cliffside. "Really…"
Bell and Emma shared a glance at the girl's strange behavior.
"Umm…Miss Wallenstein," Bell began. "Are you afraid of the water?"
Ais's body gave a violent jerk at Bell's question, confirming his suspicions.
"B-but aren't the Twenty-Fifth to Twenty-Seventh Floors full of water?" Bell asked. "How did you get past them if you're scared of water?"
"I…can use my magic to get out if I fall in. If I can touch the bottom…it's also fine…I'm not afraid of water…I just…can't swim…"
"Ahh…that's why you had no problem in the-ah wait…never mind! I'm sorry!"
Bell quickly apologized and looked away as Ais's cheeks started to redden, prompting a confused Emma to look between the two of them. She seemed to be putting the clues together as she turned toward Bell with a sly smile on her face.
"Bell, are you a pervert?" She asked.
"I'M SORRY!"
"Oh my…"
Though Emma seemed to have meant it as a joke, it looked as though there was something she did not know about Bell and Ais.
"But for you to be unable to swim…" Emma continued as she touched her hands together. "Despite being a Legendary Adventurer, Miss Wallenstein is rather cute…ah I'm sorry, that's kinda rude to say to someone older than me, isn't it?"
Ais just shook her head to say that she didn't mind, although she did seem embarrassed by the compliment regardless.
"What are you three talking about?" Lefiya asked as she came over carrying a plate loaded with food for Ais.
"Ah, Miss Lefiya," Bell greeted her. "We were just surprised that Miss Wallenstein couldn't swim and-"
"Miss Ais, you can't swim!?" Lefiya repeated rather loudly, causing Ais to tearfully reach toward Lefiya to try and quiet her but it was far too late. Lefiya's voice had carried across the beach and everyone seemed to have heard her. Even Tiona, who was in still the middle of the volleyball game, heard and her movements stopped in surprise…right in the middle of trying to intercept an attack from Archer, causing the ball to bounce off her arms and smack her right in the face.
"Ah…" Archer winced as Tiona flew back and hit the ground with a thud. "Oi Tiona! Are you all right?"
"G-Gimme…a minute…" Tiona replied, her eyes spinning as her sister rushed over to check on her.
X-x-X-x-X
Once Tiona was back on her feet, no worse for wear, Loki pulled her Familia to the side to discuss their plans.
Meanwhile, Hestia Familia was now preparing the food proper with the sound of sizzling meat and vegetables rising up against the cries of birds and sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline.
"Should we consider something besides just the meat?" Saber asked as he walked back to the wagon. "Perhaps some fish would be good for a change of pace…oh, my apologies."
Ignoring the still frozen High Elf clutching the swimsuit against her chest, having not made a single bit of progress in getting undressed, Saber withdrew one of his daggers from his luggage and headed toward the water.
"Oh good idea, Saber," Rider said. "Some fish would be perfect as well."
"…Do we even know what's edible though?" Archer asked.
"There is no problem," Saber replied as he slightly adjusted his glasses. "My crystalized wisdom shall see me through."
"…You mean your glasses?" Welf asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I'll help you look, Mister Saber!" Gina said as she grabbed one of her daggers as well as a branch from one of the nearby trees. "There are a few monsters mixed in with the fishes after all and I don't think anyone wants to try eating a monster…"
"How would you tell the difference?" Rider asked.
"The ones with Magic Stones are monsters, I suppose," Archer pointed out. "Well, I guess we'll have to properly gut everything you bring back to make sure they're edible."
"I will return soon," Saber said as he nodded toward Lancer.
"Be safe you two," Lancer said as with a smile and a wave.
"Do you think we'll find any shellfish in the sandbanks too?" Primo asked as she pointed at the shoreline.
"Only one way to find out!" Hestia said as she pointed a finger at Archer. "Archer! Rakes, shovels and buckets now!"
"Am I just a convenient store to you?" The man asked with a wry smile as several of them appeared on the table.
"Of course not!" Hestia said as she, Assassin and Primo each grabbed a bucket. "After all, it's not like I'm paying for anything! Wahahahaha!"
"That is some crazy convenient magic there, man," Welf said as Archer let out a long sigh with a shrug as Rider giggled into her hand behind him. "You'll put us smiths out of business."
"Sure, except they're just temporary things," Archer replied. "They'll disappear by the time we leave. That way we won't have to carry them back and we won't be ruining this beach with litter."
"They do know that even if they do find clams and the like it takes quite a while to filter the sand out, right?" Rider asked as she watched the four of them dig in the sand.
"Well, if we can't eat them all we can just put them back."
As everyone else was busy doing their own thing, Lancer, Bell and Emma sat down on their blankets beside the still napping Caster.
"He is sleeping right?" Emma asked as she peered at the king who was completely still save for the rising of his chest with his breathing. "He's not faking it, right?"
"Even if he is, we should not disturb him," Lancer said, looking toward the Loki Familia party as Tiona and Tione dove under the waves, both of them holding a short blade the same color as the sea.
"Yeah, he's probably really tired either way," Bell said, remembering how angry he had made him two night ago just by visiting him rather late.
Bell then stretched his arms over his head and flopped back onto the blanket, which felt delightfully warm thanks to the sand underneath it. Oh no, now he wanted to just sleep the day away like this as well. His face must have loosened up tremendously as he heard Emma giggle before lying down on her stomach beside him.
"Ahh…I'm really glad I joined this Familia," Emma said with a relaxed smile.
"And we're happy to have you," Bell said as his eyes wandered over toward Emma. Bell's gaze took in Emma's figure as her light pink skin was pristine and unmarred by any blemishes or scars. As if she had never been injured at all. Bell let out a sigh of relief. His carelessness hadn't scarred the girl in front of him forever and it was now nothing more than a and scary memory for her. He knew he was being as overprotective over her as Archer and Saber were over him and he found that he no longer had the right to feel annoyed at them for it.
Caster's words from the other night still rang in his head but he just couldn't help it. He was her senior, both as an Adventurer and as a Familia member. He felt…responsible for her in a way he never had been before…which was strange since he wasn't nearly this overprotective of Lily. Was it because the pallum had more experience in the Dungeon than he did?
"…You're staring a bit too much, Bell," Emma said as she opened her eyes and turned to look into Bell's own with a blush on her face. "You perv."
"S-sorry!" Bell said, not having realized how his concern must have looked from her point of view. He quickly turned away, looking straight up at the blue sky past the umbrella. It really was a nice day after all.
"Mommy!" Assassin's face suddenly popped up in his field of view, causing Bell to yelp and sit up. "Look at all these clams we found!"
As Assassin shoved a bucket full of the things in Bell's face, Primo walked over to Emma with a sly smile and placed a few on her back, causing the older girl to shriek.
"Be careful you two," Lancer chastised them as she picked up the clams from Emma's back and tossed them into Assassin's bucket. "You'll wake our Captain."
""Sorry!""
Primo and Assassin apologized in unison before walking over toward the grills.
"Geez…those two…" Emma sighed as she buried her face in her hands as Lancer giggled into her hand.
"Come to think of it, have the two of you eaten yet?" Lancer asked. "You should hurry before Loki's Familia comes back for more."
"What about you, Lancer?" Emma asked as she and Bell stood up.
"Of course, I shall partake as well," Lancer nodded as she followed suit.
After a bit, Loki came back with the rest of her Familia and they started mingling a bit once more with Aki and Lefiya offering to help with the cooking.
"But this sauce is really amazing…" Aki muttered as she layered it over the meat which was promptly stolen by Loki. "Where did you guys get it?"
"It's homemade actually," Rider replied with a smile.
"Eh? Really?" Lefiya asked in surprise. "Did you make it, Miss Rider?"
"No, it was Archer who did," Rider said, gesturing toward the man who sported a self-satisfied grin. "His skills are pretty amazing after all. Well beyond my own."
"No, I only have the advantage because I had access to more seasonings and recipes in my area," Archer pointed out. "The fact that everyone praises your cooking as well means that once you are more familiar with them you'll surpass me in no time."
"Oh there you go acting all humble again…"
"Uwah…there's a flirting couple over here too!" Primo stage whispered to Lily who nodded her head in agreement.
"Who's flirting!?" Archer called out as the elf and pallum giggled and ran away.
As time passed, Saber and Gina returned with several skewered fish in tow but the Amazon twins were nowhere to be seen.
"…And I thought Welf had a good lung capacity," Emma muttered as she stared out at the lake.
"That's Level 6 for ya," Loki said. "Combined with the Development Ability Dive, they could last for an hour down there no problem. Ah, pass me a few more of those skewers. Are those clams ready yet? Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any alchohol to go with them, do ya?"
"It takes about an hour to remove the salt and sand from the clams," Rider said to the curious goddess poking at the clams sitting in the tub. "You could eat them now if you don't mind the grit though."
"Uhhh…yeah, I think I'll wait," Loki replied as she leaned in close to the tub to watch the spewing shellfish…only to get water squirted into her face by one of the clams. "Mugyah!?"
"I'm truly sorry about this…" Lefiya said as she lowered her head to Hestia in response to her own goddess's lack of restraint.
"Don't worry about it," Hestia said with a wave of her hand. "I've prepared myself for this to happen the moment I invited you all to join us. I've known her longer than you guys have after all."
"It would be unfortunate if the food was gone before they return," Saber said as he turned toward the lake. "Should I go looking for them?"
"No need," Loki replied. "They'll be back sooner or later….hmm? Something wrong, Archie?"
Archer's hands had stopped moving as he was staring out into the lake with a frown.
"There's a ship in the distance," Archer replied as he quickly got back to work without taking his eyes off of the lake. "About four kilometers out…bearing an emblem of a Familia I don't recognize."
"And?" Hestia asked. "Lots of foreign Familia travel to Port Melen to reach Orario. What makes this one so eye-catching?"
"I only see Amazoness on board…and there seems to be a goddess with them."
Loki's eyes opened slightly as she stared out into the distance as well but couldn't see it. She then turned toward Ais who was staring out into the lake as well.
"Do you see it too, Ais?" Loki asked and Ais nodded her head.
"Yes…but I can't make out any people."
She then described the emblem, causing Gina's eyes to open wide in shock.
"T-that's…Kali Familia," she said as Loki turned her head toward her.
"Kali Familia?" Bell asked.
"It's a Familia based in Telskyura, the country of the Amazons," Loki explained for Bell's sake as well as the others. "As the name implies, it's run by Kali, who I get along with just about as well as chibi over there."
"Do you want me to cut you off from the food or something?" Hestia demanded as Loki fell to her knees to beg for mercy. "Though I would say you were way worse to her than you ever were to me back in Tenkai. Duels to the death over and over."
"Yeah yeah, enough about the past," Loki waved the words away as she jumped back to her feet. "Hey Archie, does that goddess have a creepy ass mask and red hair?"
"Yeah."
"Shit, it is her then," Loki sighed. "What a way to spoil my vacation."
"Is that all there is to it, Goddess Loki?"
Bell jumped as he wheeled around toward Caster whose eyes had finally open.
"Oh, when did you wake up, Goldie?"
"The moment when Kali Familia was mentioned," Caster replied as he sat up. "In exchange for me overlooking the consumption of my prizes, tell me what you know about the Familia and the land of Amazons."
"Well, first off, it's a powerful country off the south east coast," Loki began. "Like Ares with Rakia, the entire country itself is one big Familia, though Rakia ain't got shit on them. Pretty nasty monsters make that peninsula their breeding ground and death matches are held daily there…between the monsters and fellow Amazons."
At that everyone glanced over at Gina who quickly shook her head.
"I uh…was born outside of the country," Gina admitted. "Mom was too but she told me she visited once when she was part of a traveling Familia before settling down with Dad. She shared some old stories about it but never really had anything good to say about the country…"
"Did they tell you anything about the customs?" Primo asked and Gina nodded her head.
"Yeah. Death matches supposedly happen every day like Lady Loki said," Gina continued. "But that country was always like that, even a thousand years ago. Goddess Kali didn't change it when she came down and took over. Duels to the death are just part of the way of life in that country."
"Then… Miss Tiona and Miss Tione?" Lefiya began and Loki shrugged her shoulders.
"Not for me to say," the goddess replied but she didn't have to. Such an answer was enough.
"And their war strength?" Caster asked.
"Well, you know…Amazons," Loki replied with another shrug. "Just Amazons. Any man on that peninsula is either a slave or a living dil-"
"FINISH THAT LINE AND I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET IT!" Hestia screamed as she clamped her hands over Assassin's ears.
"Fine," Loki replied as she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, rumor has it that they got two captains running the place and that they're both Level 6?"
Loki turned toward Gina again for confirmation.
"I'm not sure?" Gina replied, tilting her head to the side. "I've only heard that they were Level 5s at the highest. I wouldn't be surprised it if were true however if they had to fight other Level 5s and the like every day. Like they pit the same Levels up against each other. Level 2s vs Level 2s to make Level 3s. Level 3s vs Level 3s to make Level 4s and so on."
"I see…'cannibalization,' huh?" Saber muttered. "Battles meant to sift out those without ability. They feed upon each other in order to grow stronger…"
"It is only something a Familia encompassing an entire country can accomplish," Lancer added with a nod. "But to be able to afford to sacrifice so many of their number…the population growth must be rather high."
"Well, they're Amazons after all," Loki pointed out.
"I don't feel happy when you say it like that, Lady Loki!" Gina protested.
Two Level 6's…and from a Familia outside Orario. They were rare enough in the city where the Dungeon exists but for them to achieve it outside the city where monsters were weaker was an amazing achievement…but was it worth the cost?
"It's easy to forget that there exists a whole world outside the walls of Orario," a royal voice spoke up.
Primo let out a squeak of surprise before hiding behind Bell. Turning around, Bell noticed that Riveria had finally stepped out from the wagon…although she was still fully dressed. It would seem that the talk of Kali Familia had snapped her out of her stupor.
"Are you all right, Lady Riveria?" Alicia asked and Riveria nodded.
"I'm fine, where are the twins?" The High Elf asked.
"Still underwater," Ais replied as she turned back to the ship which was slowly heading toward the port.
"Hmm…it would be best if they returned without seeing the ship," Riveria said.
Seeing that no one was in the mood for eating, Rider turned off the grill and everyone was quiet as they watched the ship move across the lake.
"…!"
Caster suddenly got to his feet with sharp eyes glaring out toward the boat.
"Lord Caster?" Lily asked. "What's wrong?"
Her answer came in a loud explosion of water as massive tentacles broke through the surface of the water and started grappling the Kali Familia boat.
"What the hell is that!?" Welf shouted as Bell got a horrible feeling of déjà vu.
"Miss Lefiya, are those…?" He began and Lefiya nodded her head.
"Violas!" Lefiya answered.
Soon after, the head of the giant plant-like monster exploded out of the lake as well.
"Ais! Everyone, go go go!" Loki shouted as Ais sped off toward the water, completely forgetting her fear with Saber and Lancer making to follow her. But before they could hit the water, something jumped off the boat and sent the head of the creature flying in a single strike, freeing the boat from its grasp.
"…Tione and Tiona have surfaced," Archer said, spotting the twins staring at the figure that had killed the viola.
"Shit!" Loki cursed as she looked around. She then clapped her hands together in apology toward Hestia. "Uhh, sorry to eat and run, Chibi, but we gotta-"
"Just go before there's a war in the middle of Melen," Hesita said waving her off.
Loki thanked Hestia for being understanding and quickly had her Familia members change back into their regular clothes back in the wagon before they quickly made their way to Melen.
"I suppose the vacation's over?" Saber asked Caster who sat back down on his chair.
"Why would it be?" Caster asked as he flipped his legs back onto the chair as well. "The motives of Kali Familia have nothing to do with us. We have no one directly connected to them after all."
"But what about Miss Tiona and the others?" Bell asked.
"What about them? That is Loki Familia's business, not ours. Unless you wish to challenge the Level 6 Captains?"
Bell let out a grimace as he reluctantly shook his head. He could barely handle Saber's basic training course right now. There was no way he could fight someone on par with Loki Familia's elite. As everyone else returned to relaxing, Bell just couldn't connect the image of the smiling hero loving Amazon girl to someone killing other people in death matches.
"Don't think about it too hard, Bell."
Bell blinked as a plate of grilled meat and veggies appeared in front of him. Looking up he saw that it was Archer offering it to him.
"Archer…"
"Wherever they came from or whatever their past is, they're still who they appear to be," Archer said as Bell accepted the plate. "Tiona won't be happy if you worry about her like that."
Bell looked up from the plate into Archer's smiling face and nodded.
"Yeah…you're right," he said as he started eating. "Thanks."
"No problem."
Bell wasn't sure if he could completely let it go, but he pushed aside those thoughts for the time being. He was on vacation and he didn't want to ruin it for the others by being a downer. So, he'll enjoy himself a bit.
As he sat down on one of the chairs, he looked toward the shoreline where Saber and Lancer were sitting side by side, with Lancer resting her head on Saber's shoulder. Gina and Assassin waved at Bell and the others to get their attention before standing a few meters behind the couple with their arms curved to form a circle…no, a heart like a frame around the pair causing Emma and Welf to laugh while Hestia ran to get them to stop.
Perhaps it was best just to let things remain peaceful after all.
X-x-X-x-X
As the sun started to set, Hestia Familia plus Welf headed to the port to check into the resort inn that Caster had reserved for them.
"Heh…it's Far Eastern style," Hestia noted as she ran her hand across one of the straw mats of the room. "Didn't think you were interested in it, Caster."
"I am not," Caster replied. "This inn was the only one that could accommodate our number at the time of my reservation and is fit to my standards."
"Caster…did you forget who you're talking to?" Hestia asked with a sly smile as Caster turned his head away. "You can't lie to a goddess."
The Servant merely grunted in response.
"Mmm…I really should have invited Take and his kids along after all," Hestia mumbled as she turned back to look around the room. "He really deserves a break for working so hard all the time…I know I wanted someone to reward me and tell me that I did a good job!"
The suite they had was a massive room on the top floor that was separated down the middle by a large sliding door for the men and women. Both sides had a large low to the ground table and several cushions to sit around in their inn provided robes. There was also an opening out to the balcony where one could enjoy the night sky. There was even a massive wooden bathtub in a split off in the corner of the room.
"Still interested in paying for your share, Welf?" Saber asked the young man as Welf stared sweating a bit.
"W-well, I am being paid a lot to work on Bell and the girls' equipment so…" Welf began with a gulp.
"Now now, you should be enjoying yourself, Welf," Rider said as she appeared behind him and started massaging his shoulders. "Not worrying over the little details."
"Y-yes Ma'am…sure…"
"Is it really okay for Us to stay here?" Assassin asked as she looked around the room. "It looks expensive."
"I-I wonder about that too…" Primo muttered, looking just as uncomfortable as Assassin was as the two of them sat in a corner, hugging their knees to the chest, looking too afraid to touch anything.
"It's fine you two," Emma said as she and Gina pulled them out of the corner and onto a cushion around the center table. "We paid for it after all."
"Please be seated everyone," Lancer suddenly called out from the front of the room where an employee was standing. "The food has arrived."
Hearing that, everyone quickly moved to the center of the room with Caster and Hestia sitting at the opposite ends. The food consisted of several small portions of various cuts of meat, fishes and vegetable dishes all carefully arranged on personal trays from the colors of the plates themselves to the positioning of the food. It was clear that presentation was a rather important part of the meal itself in this place.
"It's so pretty that it's almost a waste to eat it," Primo muttered as Emma nodded her head beside her. To their side though, Assassin and Gina had no problem stuffing their faces immediately. Across from them, Welf also had no qualms about eating as quickly as he could.
"At least savor the food," Archer muttered with a sigh.
Bell on the other hand had no idea where to start. He was both intimidated by the obviously expensive and foreign food in front of him and the fact that it felt wrong to disturb such a beautiful tray by picking off the food.
"Is something the matter, Caster?"
Hearing Rider's question, Bell looked up and saw that the woman and Lily were looking at Caster who had not even made a move to pick up his utensils and start eating. The Familia Captain was wearing a deep frown with his arms folded in front of his chest with his eyes glancing over toward his right shoulder as if sensing something that no one else could see.
"Is the food not to your liking, Lord Caster?" Lily asked.
"I have no objections to the meal," Caster replied. "I was merely contemplating on something irrelevant. Do not mind me."
Saying that he finally moved to eat.
Seeing that Caster hard started eating, Bell and the others who had yet to touch the food themselves quickly started as well, with Bell carefully eying Archer's tray to see where he should start.
"Hey Archer, you're from the Far East right?" Gina asked. "What do you think of the food here?"
"Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to try high-class food such as this before so I have no comparison to make," Archer replied. "But I will say that it isn't bad."
"So what do tomorrow's plans look like?" Primo asked. "Just free time?"
"There is nothing particularly scheduled for tomorrow," Caster replied. "You are free to do as you wish. So long as you avoid the Kali Familia Amazons."
"Hmm…I wonder if any of the ships are merchants bringing along rare materials," Welf wondered as he looked out the window. "Wanna take a look, Bell? Emma?"
"Would there be materials that are better than what you can find in the Dungeon?" Emma asked.
"Who knows? That's why it's good to check it out, right? And even if there aren't, you might find something that is good enough for your current level."
"You have a point there…all right, I'm in!"
"Same here," Bell nodded. It might be a good idea to just walk around and window shop once in a while.
"Since we're going to sightseeing…Caster, allowance!" Hestia said with a smile as she held her out expectantly causing Caster to let out a grunt while leaning forward at the goddess's audacity. "Come on, I know you already set aside a budget for that!"
Caster responded by opening up his treasury over Hestia's head and dropping a bag onto the goddess's head, causing her to scream in pain and fall back, clutching her head as the bag fell onto the mat and spilled out its coins everywhere.
"A-are you okay, Goddess?" Bell asked as he rushed over to Hestia to help her back up.
"Ugh…a simple 'Okay,' would have worked, Gil…" Hestia groaned as she sat up, rubbing the slight bump on her head.
"'Okay,' would you like another?" Caster asked with a rather dangerous looking smile while holding up his hand.
"Eek! Bell, save me!"
"The Captain can joke around when he feels like it, huh?" Gina asked as she leaned over toward Emma to whisper into her ear.
"I think he's quite serious though…ahaha…" Emma pointed out with a wry smile.
X-x-X-x-X
"All right, now that dinner's done, time to play until we drop!" Hestia said as she held up two stacks of playing cards. "So let's play cards until we all clonk out!"
"Oh? What kind of game?" Rider asked as she placed a hand on Gina who was sitting in her lap and resting her head on Rider's chest with a rather relaxed expression..
"Let's just do something simple like Old Maid," Hestia said as she opened the pack. She then turned to the male members of the party. "You boys play too!"
"All right," Bell nodded.
"Sure, I'm down for a few rounds," Welf agreed as the two of them stood up and walked over.
"That means all of you!"
Archer and Saber glanced at each other before letting out a sigh in unison and walking over, leaving Caster alone by the window. The Servant looked toward Hestia who was giving him an expectant look before letting out a growl and standing up to come over as well.
"Fine," the king said as he sat down beside Rider. "But you will regret inviting me into this trivial game."
"Hoho, is that a challenge, Gil?" Hestia asked as she started shuffling the cards.
"It is a promise, Goddess Hestia."
"All right, you're on!"
…
An hour and several games later, Hestia was reduced to a sobbing wreck on the mat, holding a single card in her hand that slipped out onto the floor and revealed itself to be the Joker card.
"…Ten losses in a row," Lily noted with a raised eyebrow in surprise. "Lily did not think that it was possible to be that unlucky."
"I told you did I not?" Caster asked with a smirk. "That you will regret inviting me."
By some luck or miracle, Hestia had lost every single game they played. Even though Primo and Bell had terrible poker faces, Hestia still somehow ended up with the Joker at the end while Caster was always the first one to empty his hand with Bell a close second.
"Ueeeehhh…" Hestia sobbed as she clung onto Bell's waist. "Bell! Share some of your luck with me!"
"I don't know how to do that even if I wanted to," Bell pointed out before looking at the others. "Though I think it might be time to call it a night."
Gina, Primo and Assassin were leaning against each other, their breaths steady and soft as they were unable to keep their eyes open for as long as the others.
"Such a lovely sight," Lancer noted as she picked up Assassin in her arms while Rider and Emma got the other two. "Perhaps we should put these three to bed…and take care of the other business now?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Welf asked as the other mortals plus Hestia turned toward the Servant.
"There has been a striped owl watching us a few rooftops away ever since we entered the suite," Saber reported. "It has not moved an inch all this time."
"Eh? What? No way!?" Hestia babbled as she quickly looked between the Servants but none of them refuted Saber's claims or questioned them.
"It would not do to refuse such an obvious invitation," Caster said as he glanced at Archer before standing up. "Keep watch. In the meantime, I shall see what this interloper wants."
"Got it," Archer replied with a nod.
"B-be careful," Hestia said as Caster simply huffed, telling the goddess that her worry was unnecessary.
Then as Caster left the suite and shut the door behind him, Bell could feel his presence weaken and move quickly into the night sky.
X-x-X-x-X
Caster's feet touched down on a rooftop several buildings away from the inn next to it. "It" being the white feathered owl perched on the smokestack in front of him. One that had been staring at their party for hours on end without moving.
"…You have five minutes to relay your message before I find your appearance insulting, mongrel," Caster said as he glared at the owl.
The owl let out a hoot before flying away. In its place, a black shadow appeared on the building to Caster's left.
"My apologies, oh Spirit King for pulling you away from your celebration and to meet you in such a form."
The unknown figure was draped in cloth the color of night, and the space beneath their hood was so dark that it erased any facial features. Black gloves decorated with intricate patterns completely encased its hands. Not a single strip of skin was exposed to determine their identity.
"Do not waste what time I have given you," Caster said impatiently, not bothering to turn to face the figure. "Say your piece or begone."
"Very well," the figure nodded, their voice had a strange echo to it, mimicking both a male and female voice at the same time to further hide their identity. "Oh great Spirit King…this one is called Fels. I wish for your aid in protecting Orario's future."
