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Chapter 57: Pleasure District
"So…like this?"
"Yes…that's what the book says."
"Ya sure? It looks really weird. Well, how does it feel, Sleiphie?"
"Yes…I think there are no problems."
Lefiya glanced up from the book she had borrowed from one of her fellow Familia members to see Loki carefully tightening the bind on the siren's wing to her body. They were following directions from the book on how to take care of injured like birds and although they were unsure how it would translate to sirens, it seemed to be working fine.
For the time being, Loki had assigned Lefiya and Raul to help her take care of the siren as she didn't seem to be able to relax if one of them wasn't around. As they were currently retying her binds after wiping her down, Raul was excused for the moment and the human gratefully left the Twilight Manor to head down into the Dungeon to harvest some quartz from a pantry.
It wasn't that Sleipnir couldn't eat human food or anything like that. In fact, she seemed to enjoy the taste of the fruits that Loki had offered her even though her mouth was full of canines. When asked what she normally ate in the Dungeon, Sleipnir replied that she normally ate the monsters she killed.
"And how was the taste?"
"…"
The way she averted her eyes before quickly biting down on another apple probably meant that it tasted horrible. It may be the reason why Enhanced Species only popped up once in a blue moon. Eating other monsters may have been a last resort for the ones that couldn't get to a pantry or one of the fruits that grew in the Dungeon for food.
"Since you have to eat other monsters…I guess you couldn't get to a Pantry…a place where other monsters ate that easily, huh?"
"No," Sleipnir replied. "Everyone always tried attacking me. Only the other three and that minotaur never did."
"Wait…does that mean other monsters see monsters like Sleipnir as an enemy like humans?" Lefiya asked, turning to Loki.
"Seems like it," Loki replied, crossing her arms. "That may be why no one has made a commotion about talking monsters before."
"Umm…in the cell, only one other could talk," Sleipnir said. "The other two understood us but couldn't talk."
"So having 'intelligence' doesn't mean that you can actually talk then," Loki muttered. "That would make it even harder. Then again, I guess some monsters wouldn't have a mouth to talk out of in the first place."
Loki fell quiet again as Sleipnir finished off her snack.
"Is something on your mind, Loki?" Lefiya asked.
"Just something crazy," the goddess admitted. "I'm gonna say some things out loud to gather my thoughts so don't interrupt me until the end all right?"
As Lefiya nodded her head, her goddess began to speak.
"So we have monsters like Sleipnir here that can talk and understand words popping up in the Dungeon. There is a group within Evilus that knows about them and is actively hunting them down for their own reasons. We also know that Hestia is working with the Guild and Ganesha to popularize a new Taming Method to control monsters that make them completely docile and can completely understand orders from their Tamers. We also know that Hestia has a minotaur that can talk and understand people like Sleipnir called Berserker."
"Yes."
"Moving onto speculations, the new Taming Method, although it actually works, is nothing more than a cover that Hestia is using to bring these intelligent monsters to the surface to protect them from the Evilus group…or perhaps it's being used to prepare Orario to get used to monsters being on the surface and working with humans in order to bring up the hidden society to the surface."
"Yes."
"The reason why I think that there is a hidden society in the Dungeon is because of the scale that Hestia is going with this. If there were only one or two, then the Guild could extend the same privilege they gave to Ganesha to Hestia with Hestia keeping the Taming Method in-house. The fact that they are publicizing and pushing the method so hard tells me that there's a lot of them just waiting to pop out."
"Right."
"Then…can't we use them in some way ourselves?"
"…Huh?"
"Think about it. If there is a hidden society of monsters living in the Dungeon, then that would make them…well, I wouldn't go so far as to call them allies just yet, but we have a mutual enemy in Evilus don't we? If we combine our strength with theirs and Hestia's, cuz there's no way I'm letting that chibi sit out after what her kids did, then we can launch a massive assault on Knossos in the future. We know that there are multiple entrances up here in Orario and if they can find one of the entrances in the Dungeon, we'll be able to drive Evilus into a corner even if they can use their traps. Granted, considering Goldie blew a massive hole in the Dungeon and Knossos, most of those traps will probably be useless by now."
"…Would it really be that simple?" Lefiya asked. "I can't imagine the monster society would be all too quick to trust other mortals outside of Hestia Familia or Ganesha Familia if those groups are the ones working with them."
"Which is why I'll have to bring the idea up with Hestia first," Loki replied as she tossed the apple core into the trash. "That being said, I can't ask you guys to trust an…an unknown group like that with your lives just like that. I'll leave the details to Finn though."
It still sounded like a long shot though. They didn't know if the hidden monster society had the power to combat Evilus in the first place. Depending on the species, they could be around Level 2 or 3 in strength and while normally that would be a powerful force in its own right, Evilus had the firestone bombs and now a walking armory of Magic Swords. But then again, if a minotaur like Berserker with the power in the ballpark of Level 6 could exist, there might be other monsters with that power out there. After all, unlike Adventurers they only needed to eat Magic Stones to "level up" and get stronger.
"Will you be going to see Lady Hestia today then?" Lefiya asked.
"I'm trying to decide between sending a message telling her that I'm gonna show up or just showing up uninvited in her face so she can't sneak away."
Both options sounded like showing up uninvited to Lefiya.
Lefiya then glanced back at Sleipnir who had stopped paying attention to the conversation and had went back to her favorite pastime of gazing out the window.
"So have you decided if we're going to keep her here or send her to Hestia Familia?" Lefiya asked.
"…I'd like to," Loki admitted. "I mean, intelligent talking monsters? That's the biggest, most mind-blowing revelation I've had since I first came down here. But it's not like I can just keep her as a pet since it costs a whopping ten million to do so and it's you guys that are going to have to work for that money. I guess we'll put it to a vote amongst the ones who know about her."
Only those who went into Knossos knew that Sleipnir was a talking monster. The rest of the Familia only knew that they had retrieved a siren from Knossos and were keeping it because it was important in some way because there had to have been a reason Evilus was keeping it. Many of them weren't happy but it was Loki's decision so they couldn't protest it and Lefiya and the others who knew the truth had kept silent about it.
Lefiya wasn't too sure where she stood on the matter. After what she had seen, she didn't have any personal misgivings about keeping Sleipnir with them after she had helped them against Berserker when he was cursed go fight them but she felt that the siren might be happier with others of her kind.
"Maybe I can come to a decision after talking with Bell and Primo about it," she thought to herself.
If she could find out how they felt having the world turn upside down on their heads and how they felt living with talking monsters, she might be able to form a more complete opinion on the matter.
As Lefiya nodded her head in satisfaction, the door suddenly slammed open.
"Loki, trouble!" Cruz said as he burst into the room with Tiona and Ais poking their heads in after him.
"What?" Loki asked, jumping to her feet. "Did Evilus start using Crozzo Magic Swords in the city or something?"
"I'd think you'd know about that long before I could tell you that!" the chienthrope shouted, looking horrified at the thought. "I was keeping an eye on Daedalus Street as the Captain ordered and Ishtar Familia went crazy there. They were chasing a pair of humans and one of them matched the description of Moonlit Dawn."
Lefiya found herself gaping at Cruz. Bell was being chased by Ishtar Familia?
"What is that crazy bitch planning this time?" Loki wondered with a frown before her expression changed to a bright smile. "Do you know where they went?"
"I think they were being led to the Pleasure District."
"All right, this is the perfect chance to clear the debt with that Chibi," Loki said.
"Debt?" Lefiya repeated.
"We went to get Goldie's help when Kali nabbed ya," Loki explained and Lefiya slowly nodded her head at the memory. "So now we're gonna help Hestia's little rabbit from his own amazon trouble."
"I don't think we can just walk into the Pleasure District though," Lefiya pointed out. "We suspect that Ishtar is working with Evilus, aren't we?"
"Don't worry, you just need the right disguise to blend in."
Uh oh.
"…By 'you,' you mean the general 'you' and not 'me,' right?"
The bright smile on Loki's face did little to soothe Lefiya's worries, especially not when that same smile wandered over toward Tiona and Ais as well.
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"…How did I get talked into this?"
"Aw come on, you look fine. Don't you think so, Ais?"
"Yes. But it's still embarrassing."
"Come on, we're helping Little Argonaut. Besides, it covers up more than the bikinis right?"
"Barely!"
Lefiya, Tiona and Ais had been volunteered by Loki to go into the Pleasure District to try and find Bell and rescue him.
However, the three were rather famous and would no doubt stand out if they were to just waltz on into possible enemy territory so Loki pulled out some outfits from somewhere and forced them upon them.
Well, upon Lefiya and Ais in any case. Tiona willingly put hers on as it was no different than her usual wear. It was indeed the swimsuit incident all over again.
The outfits supposedly came from a desert country to the southeast of Orario consisting of a small top to cover their breasts but left their shoulders, back, and stomach exposed, with a pareo that barely covered their underwear while showing off their legs.
Frankly, it fell right at home with amazon wear but it still gave off a rather exotic feeling. They were apparently worn by women on festivals as they danced to try and draw the eyes of their beloved ones like an indirect marriage proposal.
Lefiya's outfit was pink and flowery, adorned with several sunflowers and bronze ornaments that felt a bit cold against her bare skin. She was at least thankful that the pareo reached down to her ankles and covered most of her legs but having her so much of her skin exposed made it hard for her to walk as she was desperately trying to cover herself up as much as possible.
Ais's outfit was a soft ocean blue in color with lotus decorations adorning her head. Her top covered a bit more of her skin than Lefiya's, with a cloth covering the space between her neck and chest, but as it was transparent, it did little in the long run. That said, the silk ribbons flowing down her arms gave Ais a rather regal and dignified impression like that of a water princess. If the situation had been different, Lefiya would have loved to admire the outfit a bit more.
As said earlier, Tiona's outfit was similar to her usual wear but she had swapped her white chest band for an orange one and her yellow pareo was swapped for a white one. Her golden bracelets and anklets were swapped with more ornamental ones with dangling bangles that jingled with every bouncy step she took.
"Well, at least we don't stand out," Tiona pointed out as she gestured toward the street where the night workers that wore just as little as the three of them were walking around or calling out to the men that were purveying the street, and more than a few women too. "Still, there sure are a lot of people. Can we really find him in here?"
"If he's trapped here he probably would be doing his best to hide himself," Lefiya noted. "But his white hair and red eyes stand out a lot so most likely he's wearing a cloak or something as a disguise since there are plenty of those types around."
As she said that, a small group of cloaked figures walked past them as if to prove her point.
"…This way."
Ais suddenly started moving down the street, prompting the other two to follow.
"Umm, how are you so sure?" Tiona asked.
"Bell still has Argonaut with him," Ais said, surprising the other two girls. "I can find him like this."
"Well, I guess it's cause he's still 'Master' after all or something, right?" Tiona asked. "But how do you know how to find him?"
"The wind led me to him after we met him in the Dungeon the first time. He was talking to Lord Hermes on the walls."
"And you didn't bring me along!? I wanted to talk to him more too!"
"Miss Tiona, worry about that later!" Lefiya hissed as people turned toward their direction at her shout. "Let's hurry and get out of the way."
Still, Lefiya had never taken a step into the Pleasure District during her entire time in Orario and she was a little miffed that that streak had been broken in such a way.
The Pleasure Quarter was a place that slept during the day and only showed its true colors at night.
It went without saying that no average citizens lived here and the district had a lonely, desolate feel to it.
Buildings designed to look like things the citizens of Orario had never seen before loomed behind all the scantily clad prostitutes. Some roofs were built to resemble the stark triangles of the Far East, other structures looked like they belonged to desert nomads, and still others were built out of solid stone like the castles in the north. It was no doubt a strategy to encourage as many customers as possible to come back and see a different style each time.
Prostitutes of all shapes and sizes in all manner of dress also littered the streets and Lefiya couldn't believe that there were more than a handful of elven women calling out to men of all races as they walked past. She always thought that her kin could do with putting aside their pride and be more open to the other races but seeing the far extreme made her head spin.
As the three of them walked down the street, a man came up to them, no doubt thinking they were amongst the multitude of prostitutes that made the Pleasure Quarter their home.
"Hey you three!" The human called out to them, allowing Lefiya to smell a strong hint of alchohol. "One of you mind keeping me company real fast? I got an appointment later but nothing to do until then."
However, Ais walked right past them without looking at him. While Tiona swatted his hand away. He then moved toward Lefiya who quickly placed Tiona between her and the man.
"Sorry, we're busy right now," said the amazon. "And you stink of booze. Go bother someone else."
"Aw, don't be like that baby, just a quick-"
The man made a move to grab Lefiya's wrist, which prompted Tiona to backhand him without looking at him. Unfortunately, her Level 6 strength wasn't something that could be understated and the man when flying to the other side of the street.
"Ah…"
Tiona let out a small gasp when she realized what she had just did and could only offer a small "Oops" as the crowd all looked in their direction.
"Nice punch, Miss Berbera!"
"Same scene, different asshole."
"That's what you get for being touchy even after they say 'No.'"
However, instead of screaming or calling for guards, the crowd simply laughed at the drunk and cheered for her before going about their business.
Rather than being wary, it seemed that someone being punched out by an amazon, or one of the "Berbera," was a common sight here. Granted, considering that this was the City of Adventurers, they would need guards to keep the customers from being too handy.
Nevertheless, Ais decide to take the opportunity to pick up the pace with the two of them following close behind her.
"We're going rather far, aren't we?" Tiona noted.
"Cruz did say he came from Daedalus Street," Lefiya recalled. "He must be somewhere at the far end then if he couldn't find an opportunity to move. Someone else was with him too, right? There were two humans?"
"Think it was that girl, Emma or something? She's only Level 1 right? Although she was strong enough to knock out a Level 3 when she started glowing."
"Probably another Rare Skill of some sort. She touched their pallum Supporter each time she used it."
Something conditional then, with heavy drawbacks since she collapsed right after bringing a captured flag back to their castle.
As her thoughts wandered back to the War Game, Ais suddenly stopped, prompting the other girls to stop as well.
"What's wrong?" Tiona asked.
"He's close," Ais replied as she turned her head to look across the street. Lefiya turned her head as well but could only see two silver-haired women walking together. A brief look of confusion suddenly flashed across the blonde's face. "…?"
"Really? Where?" Tiona asked as she scanned up and down the street.
"…Was Bell a girl after all?" The Sword Princess muttered to herself.
The words rang in Lefiya's ears as she stared wide-eyed at the two "women" again.
"…He didn't…" she began as she ran across the street just as the long haired one turned around to look and their red eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing!?"
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"Hmm…now which one will look good?" Syr was saying as she walked through the line of outfits.
"…On you, right?" Bell desperately asked but received no answer. "Right!?"
"It'll be the easiest way to get you out," Syr said airily and Bell didn't need to see her to know she was wearing a big smile on her face. "After all, if you try to leave 'as a man,' you'll simply be called out or approached by one of the working girls and your cover will be blown, right?"
"Guh…grr…"
He had no way to refute that.
"But don't worry. I'm not doing this just because I find it fun. There aren't only amazon outfits here. There are plenty of other costumes to choose from that could cover your entire body."
"Why would they have so many costumes here?" Assassin asked innocently. "Do they play in them?"
"Uhh…well…I'm sure some people do enjoy playing in them," Syr said quickly. "Although I suspect it's only for a very small audience."
"Start by mincing two onions before sautéing one of them over low heat for thirty minutes…"
Bell refused to try and read through the euphemism and focused as hard as he focused on one of Archer's cookbook recipes to clear his mind.
"All right, I think this will do," Syr said before Bell heard some cloth being rustled.
Bell immediately crouched low to the ground, pressed his face against the wall, slammed his eyes shut, covered his ears and began reciting more of the hamburger recipe.
He felt Assassin's tiny finger poke at him a few minutes later and he allowed himself to open one eye.
"Syr's done, Mommy," Assassin said as she yanked his arm out to talk to him.
With Assassin's assurance, Bell slowly turned around and choked on his breath.
Syr's sundress had been replaced by a long green dress designed with various bronze plants. Leaves, ivy, vines…all sort of plant life were weaved into the fabric with bronze colored thread, making it look as though it was a costume for a goddess that ruled over the earth like the Goddess Demeter. The dress flowed down to her ankles only on her left side and was diagonally cut so that the right side stopped right in the middle of her thigh, emphasizing her legs over anything else.
"Well, how do I look?" Syr asked, spinning around, allowing her dress to bloom like a flower.
Like a goddess!
"Like a goddess," Bell repeated without thinking before he quickly slapped a hand over his blabbermouth and turned away just in time to miss Syr flinch and hold her cheeks in her hands.
"M-my Bell," she stuttered slightly. "I didn't think you could actually say it."
"Mommy did it!" Assassin cheered before patting his head. "Good job. Good job."
Bell just wanted to bury himself in the floor and cry.
"Anyway, it's time for your makeover…Belle."
Bell had no idea how he knew, but he just knew Syr had already came up with a name for his soon to be disguise that he had no input over.
"Let's…let's just get this over with…" Bell weakly muttered as he sat down on a crate in front of a small mirror on the wall.
"Excellent! Now then, considering…well…everything about you…I think we should have you become just a 'normal' girl rather than one of the workers here."
"Huh?"
"As in we'll try to make you be a country girl who came to Orario to find work and has managed to make a bit of money here. Let's pretend you are one of the maids at your Familia inn."
"But why would one of them come here?"
"Jeez, Bell…don't make me answer that," Syr said with a blush. "Girls can love girls too, don't you know?"
Bell wanted to kill his brain before he could ask any other stupid questions.
"All right, put this on," Syr said as she held up a simple white and brown dress that seemed extremely out of place for where they were. It didn't even have any embroidery in it.
As Bell grudgingly started undressing, he was extremely aware of someone burning a hole in his back as soon as he took off his shirt.
"Mommy, Syr's nose is bleeding…"
"N-no it isn't! Jack, please stop joking like that!"
Bell didn't turn around and instead threw on the dress without any care left in the world, wanting to get out of this predicament as quickly as possible.
"Now then, close your eyes for a moment. I'm just going to apply a little bit of make up on your face. Not too much if we want to keep to the theme. Just enough to mask your manly-er…more masculine parts."
Remembering Ais Wallenstein's "mistake" back on the Eighteenth Floor, Bell supposed he should be happy that he had any to cover up.
He kept his eyes closed as he felt a brush softly run across his face. After a minute or two, Syr's hand suddenly froze in the middle of applying the make up. He then heard her take a few steps back to the costume area before she hurried back and plopped something on top of his head. A wig? She then gently pulled the edges of his eyes up and down a bit before letting them slack.
"…Hey Bell?" Syr slowly began. "Does the name Alfia mean anything to you?"
"Umm…are you talking about one of Hera Familia's old Level 7s?" Bell asked. "I heard the name but nothing really more specific than that."
"Then…how about Meteria?"
"Umm, I don't think I've ever heard of her before. Was she also a Hera Familia Adventurer?"
"…"
Syr suddenly fell quiet and her hands stopped moving.
"Syr?"
Bell opened his eyes and found himself staring at a cute, white-haired girl through the mirror. Of course, that girl was actually Bell himself. If he had had a twin sister, Bell felt that she might have looked something like this. However, he didn't feel like praising Syr's skill at all.
"I guess we're done then?" Bell asked, feeling exhausted as he turned to look at Syr but the girl seemed to be frozen in place. "Syr?"
Syr seemed to be thinking deeply about something, opening her mouth and closing her mouth for a moment before biting her lip. It looked as though she wanted to say or ask something but didn't know if she should.
"No, it's nothing," Syr decided with a shake of her head. "Forget about that for now. We should hurry and leave before someone comes in."
"Right…"
Bell got up and turned to Assassin. The tiny Servant just looked up at him with a blank expression and Bell was too afraid to ask for her thoughts.
"Mommy looks weird," she finally said after a minute.
"Is that all you have to say?" Syr asked with a sly smile. "Nothing like it looks good or that it suits him?"
"Syr…"
"Or that he looks like a real mommy?"
"Syr!"
"No," Assassin said, ignoring Bell wringing his hands in front of a giggling Syr. "Mommy just looks weird. We like the normal Mommy."
Syr looked a bit disappointed at that but quickly gestured for them to leave.
The three of them took to the street and Bell braced himself for the inevitably of being caught. Assassin had taken to the rooftops and Bell felt her dematerialize to stay as hidden as possible while Syr had wrapped her arm around his own and led him down the street. However, contrary to his predictions, he and Syr managed to go along their way without anyone sparing them a second glance. Granted, the street wasn't that filled to begin with, but there were still a few dozen people making their way around, yet he and Syr seemed to be blending in without trouble.
Even the weapon holding amazons didn't stop them as they made their way past, even though they were stopping people walking around in cloaks.
"Looks like it's working out," Syr whispered.
"For how much longer?" Bell wondered. "Won't people get suspicious if we're just walking around?"
"Not everyone that comes here goes into a building," Syr replied. "Some people don't even come here to share a bed with a prostitute but just want to talk or walk around with a beautiful woman as a way to relax."
"You mean they just come here to complain about their daily lives to people who will listen?"
"Yes. There are many ways to vent out one's frustrations after all. Though I would prefer you do it by spending money eating our pub's food rather than go here or to the Casino. Oh, thank you again for your help back then."
"You're welcome…and I suddenly feel very sympathetic to Miss Ryuu right now…"
Syr could only let out another mischievous giggle at that, telling Bell that he was correct in thinking that it was her idea to have the elf crossdress as well.
"Is it okay to talk about what you were doing there?" Bell asked, looking around for a moment to see if anyone was paying them any extra attention.
"It was nothing big. Ryuu got asked to help someone who was taken to be sold and we managed to save her. Although we ended up also discovering that the owner was a fake that had stolen the real owner's identity after he had died while traveling to Orario. He was even a criminal that Ryuu had taken down in the past."
"…That sounds like the plot from a mystery novel series."
"Doesn't it!?"
Syr looked really excited about that part, making Bell wonder if he should give something other than hero stories a shot.
As if reading Bell's mind, Syr spoke up.
"I do have a few books that I've finished reading," she said with a smile. "Would you like to borrow one? You can pay me back by visiting the pub to discuss it."
It did sound nice. The only thing Bell had read with real interest were myths and legends of heroes and there wasn't anyone in the Familia he could discuss them with.
Primo was interested in old elven tales but the ones she heard were so different from the ones Bell's grandfather had told him that their discussions simply confused each other.
Gina also became interested in heroes after the recent festival but as she only had just dipped her feet into that ocean, the only discussions they had so far were ones where she asked Bell for recommendations on where to start. Naturally, he recommended Dungeon Oratoria, the Gods' version.
"Sure, that sounds fun," Bell decided. It was a decent hobby to pick up while the Dungeon was still in a flux.
"Great! I'll bring it by once we're out of here."
Just as Bell nodded his head, he felt something prick at the back of his neck.
Someone was staring intently their way. Multiple someones.
Oh no, were they acting too suspicious?
"…The wind is blowing."
The wind?
"What are you doing!?"
No sooner did he think that did someone grab his arm from behind.
Bell immediately turned around and found himself face-to-face with a red-faced elf.
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"So that's what happened…"
"Yes…"
"You got it rough, don't you, Little Argonaut?"
"Yes…"
Bell could only listlessly nod his head to Tiona Hiryute's questions after he and Syr finished explaining what had happened after they hid themselves in a small alleyway.
"Well, you did a good job," Tiona said to Syr. "I couldn't recognize him at all."
"Thank you," Syr said with a proud smile.
"It suits him a bit too well actually."
"Those were the words I wanted to hear!"
"Not me!" Bell helplessly cut in.
"But, why would you be targeted like this?" Lefiya asked as Ais was holding both of Assassin's hands while the Servant was jumping up and down excitedly. "Is the Goddess Ishtar planning on declaring war against your Familia?"
"I don't know," Bell replied. "I know she sent an invitation to Caster but…Caster has made his…dislike…of Lady Ishtar well known since the first day he joined the Familia."
More like the first ten minutes, but who's counting.
"Ahh, that would do it," Syr chimed in. "She's probably going after you to strike back at him then."
"Even though fighting between Familias is illegal in Orario outside a War Game?" Lefiya asked in surprise while Syr simply shrugged.
"A powerful Familia like Ishtar Familia would only get a fine and the incident would be swept under the rug. And she'll probably keep on trying after that…"
"The Guild has no true power in Orario. Only what power the Gods allow them to have."
It was something Caster said on occasion. The Guild had no power to force compliance on any Familia. They had to rely on powerful Familias like Ganesha or Loki as a threat to force weaker Familias and their Gods to play by their rules. But when faced against a peer power like Ishtar Familia, the Guild can't afford to have two Familias of that size come to blows, lest their overall power weaken and neither Loki nor Ganesha Familias would willingly get involved like that either.
The only power the Guild had was that they were the ones to set the rules for the Gods' Game. Nothing more, nothing less.
If one was powerful enough they can flaunt the rules and no one could do anything about it, the Guild least of all.
That was why groups like Evilus can exist.
"I guess we're getting another War Game in the future then?" Tiona asked.
"I'm not so sure," Syr replied as if only realizing something herself. "Remember, both Familia Gods need to agree to it for a War Game to take place. Ishtar Familia could just refuse and continue their little scheme and there's nothing the Guild could do to stop it."
As Ishtar Familia was the de facto ruler of the Pleasure Quarter, they made plenty of money so they wouldn't need the Guild to exchange magic stones. They also no doubt took customers from all sorts of foreign delegates, meaning they no doubt had plenty of connections outside of Orario and within. If the Guild pushed too far, Ishtar Familia might be able to retaliate by using their connections. After all, who knew what juicy secrets they plucked from customers who weren't of the sound mind after a pleasant evening doing who knows what.
And it was neither feasible nor practical for the Guild to ban people from entering the Pleasure Quarter. They would have a riot from all walks of life on their hands. Both from tourists and Orario's own citizens.
Just like the Grand Casino, the Pleasure Quarter could be said to be its own extralegal territory…and not all of their attempts at Bell need to be on the surface either.
As the implications sank in, everyone present had a dark look on their face, except for Assassin.
"Well for now, let's worry about that later," Syr said tapping her cheek as if to reset her expression. "Can we ask you girls help us get out of here?"
"Of course," Tiona replied. "That's why we were here in the first place!"
Ais had a curious expression as she looked at Syr, probably wondering why she was with Bell in the first place, but didn't say anything about it.
"So how do we do this?" Tiona asked. "Will it be suspicious if we just walk in a group?"
"As long as not too many men call out to us, it should be fine," Syr replied. "The same goes for the Berbera. It would be best if we stuck to the emptier roads and away from places they are searching."
"The roof?" Assassin suggested, causing them all to look up.
"I think if they are still looking for you guys, the Berbera definitely would have people up there," Lefiya pointed out.
"People don't usually look up though…" Assassin said dejectedly as Bell patted her back.
"After seeing you in sneaking around during the War Game, I bet you'd be used to thinking that," Tiona said, patting the tiny Servant on the head as well.
"So the best thing to do for now would be to just act natural and walk toward the exit back to the Shopping District," Syr said.
Since no one else had any other ideas, they decided to go with that.
Unfortunately, it meant they couldn't stay on the side roads forever. Eventually they reached the main street where the Berbera were keeping watch at a checkpoint.
"Yep, looks like they're checking everyone coming in and out," Tiona noted as they watched someone in a cloak try to get past, only to be shoved against a wall and have their hood removed. "Yikes, a bit rough, aren't they?"
"How would we get past them?" Lefiya asked. "I don't think they'll let us past just because we are…"
Her voice slowly died as she glanced back at Bell.
"It hurts more if you trail off like that…" came the boy's weak reply.
"Sorry…"
"Hmm, we can have either me or Ais carry you out," Tiona suggested. "None of them should be fast enough to chase after us then Miss Waitress and Lefiya can leave normally after us."
"It's…a good idea but I feel like crying if we do that."
"Is now really the time to try and save what little pride you have left?" Lefiya asked as Bell could only let out a sob.
"Can't you girls just blow your way through them?" Syr asked.
"Loki doesn't want us to cause a scene if we can help it," Ais replied.
"Because the last thing we need is for Ishtar Familia to come demanding us money for damages," Lefiya added as Syr nodded her head with a "Fair enough."
"Then, would you happen to know any spells that can make us invisible?"
"Even if I did, if they have a Mage with them over there, they would be able to read the flow of magic and find us instantly."
"I see…sounds complicated."
"Mommy, it's getting late," Assassin said as she tugged on Bell's dress. "The welcome party."
"Ahh…right…" Bell muttered as he looked up at the orange sky. "Everyone will definitely be worried."
From what he could tell, Archer's presence seemed to be back home so he and Gina must have started cooking already. Saber was still in the direction of Daedalus though…causing Bell to wonder just what it was that held him up. Was he fighting a tough opponent?
He could use a Command Spell to bring Saber right to him, but that seemed like a complete waste and he would have to explain it to the girls somehow. It just wasn't worth it to use something so precious on something as ridiculous as this.
This was no time to be hung up about how they were going to escape. The best thing to do was to just break right through and get back to Central Street where they can't harass him freely…even if it means running through the street in a dress and causing trouble for everyone and never be able to live it down.
No hero's journey is made without sacrifice!
But as soon as he made peace with the incoming humiliation, a familiar voice called out to them.
"Now there's some faces I didn't expect to see here."
The girls all turned around in shock while bell cowered near the ground with his hands over his face.
"L-Lord Hermes?" Lefiya said, making Bell shrink even more.
If the gods can see through lies…could they also see through disguises?
Bell did not want to find out like this.
He chanced a glance at the god and noted that he seemed a bit tired despite his cheerful smile. Like he ran for several miles for several hours without rest or sleep.
"Were you girls thinking of trying out something new?" Hermes asked. "Does Loki know you're here?"
"She's the one that told us to come here in the first place," Tiona replied. "But we don't want Ishtar Familia to notice us so can you leave us alone?"
"Aww, you're so cold today, my dear Tiona," Hermes said with a sigh as Syr covered her face with her hand and moved to hide Bell.
If Hermes saw and recognized Bell in his disguise, there was no guarantee that he would be able to keep his composure.
"Hmm? Something wrong with that girl there?" Hermes asked.
"Umm…" Lefiya began but stopped. No doubt just remembering that they couldn't lie to a god. "They're just tired and want to go home. It's been a long day and none of us really enjoyed it here."
"I guess investigating Ishtar is a bit troublesome, isn't it?" Hermes muttered to the other girls' surprise. "What? No one's going to think that Thousand Elf, Amazon, and Sword Princess are just going out for a night in the Pleasure District together. Well…I suppose some people might, but those thoughts aren't grounded in reality…are they?"
Lefiya quickly shook her head to deny such things.
"Well, I won't keep you," Hermes said. "Though I'm curious what you were looking for, I can just ask Loki when we meet with Dionysus again and-"
Herems's voice suddenly froze and dread ran up Bell's spine.
"Be-!?" Hermes began only for Tiona to quickly slap her hand over his mouth.
"Shhh!" The amazon hissed. "We're trying to get them out!"
"A-ahh…" Hermes said with a nod of understanding as Tiona stepped back with an apology. His eyes bounced from Bell to the waitress as realization hit his eyes. "Wow…that's…shocking. I guess that's your handiwork, Syr, my dear?"
"Hee hee, you know it," Syr replied with a smile as Hermes let out a sigh. "Go on. Let me hear all of your comments!"
"I think anything more I could say would only make poor Bell feel worse so I'll keep my mouth shut," Hermes said with a wry smile and Bell was thankful about that. "So I suppose all the Berbera running around is because of you?"
"For some reason…" Bell confirmed. "They suddenly attacked and chased us here from Daedalus street."
"Ahh…"
Hermes let out a sound as though he understood everything.
"Do you know the reason why?" Syr asked, leaping at that thread immediately.
"Well, I did deliver a letter from Hestia Familia's Captain to Ishtar…" Hermes replied. "And well…she did look pretty angry when she read it."
"…Yeah that'd do it," Bell sighed.
"You think your Captain deliberately antagonized Ishtar Familia?" Lefiya asked. "Why?"
"Umm…I think it's because he suffered a lot due to the affections of a Goddess of Love in the past," Bell replied. "So he doesn't mince words about his feelings on them. And…well…"
"She sent him an invitation, didn't she?" Syr asked. "If I had to guess, probably right after the War Game around Grand Day?"
Bell nodded his head, a bit surprise at how keen she was.
"Ahh, I get it now," Hermes muttered. "I hadn't seen the contents myself, but considering your Captain, I suspect he made an effort to push every button Ishtar had."
"Such as?" Lefiya hesitantly asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Well, being compared to a certain other goddess would probably do it…"
"You mean Lady Freya?" Tiona asked and Hermes slowly nodded his head.
"Probably. That would definitely make her throw caution to the wind."
"…That can't only be it," Lefiya muttered. "Everyone in Orario saw how powerful Hestia Familia's Adventurers were during the War Game and…" she gave a quick glance at Bell before turning back to Hermes. "Certain members didn't even show a fraction of what they could do. Would the Goddess Ishtar really act so carelessly?"
"That's true," Syr agreed with Lefiya wholeheartedly as she stared daggers at Hermes who flinched. "With just an insulting letter, the one Goddess Ishtar would have attacked would have been the Hestia Familia Captain for her revenge. Yet, she specifically chose Bell. Which means she probably had a second piece of information to make her decision."
Bell and the Loki Familia girls were all staring at the Messenger God who looked a bit pale as he backed up against the wall while Syr closed in on him like a cat who caught a rat.
"Lord Hermes?" She asked with a sweet voice. "What did Ishtar ask you to tell her?"
"N-n-now, Syr, my dear. Don't you know it's wrong for a mortal girl to scare a god?" Hermes asked her back, beads of sweat rolling down his face.
"Lady Ishtar is the Lady Goddess that hates Lady Freya, right?" Assassin suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to look at her in surprise.
"How did you hear about that, Jack?" Bell asked.
"Mommy Hestia asked Lady Freya that when we went shopping," Assassin replied. "But Lady Freya said that she doesn't pay attention to what Lady Ishtar does."
They say that the greatest insult you can deliver to your enemy is to ignore them after all. But from the sound of things, it seems like it's a one-sided feud on the Goddess Ishtar's part from the start.
"So what does that have to do with Little Argonaut here?" Tiona asked.
"Ah…" Ais let out a small gasp. "I remember. At the Banquet. Lady Freya seemed to like you, Bell."
"That's it?" Lefiya asked as Syr started fretting.
"Oh…right…" Bell suddenly remembered talking to the goddess back at the Banquet of the Gods. "But we barely talked to each other."
"But…I heard her wish for you to 'Appear in her dreams at night,'" Ais said as Lefiya, Bell and Syr's faces lit up.
"Wow, she must really like you then," Tiona said as Assassin simply tilted her head in confusion. As for Hermes…
"Huh?"
With everyone distracted, the god had slipped away from Syr and was running away with all of his might.
"He got away!" Syr shouted.
Of course, a god running away at full speed and someone shouting at him would naturally draw attention.
Immediately, all eyes were drawn to their little corner.
"…We should probably run," Bell decided as the Berbera started shouting and pointing at their direction.
"Yes, but not away," Ais said.
"We're going straight through them!" Tiona agreed as Lefiya and Bell could only whimper.
Syr however, simply pulled her arm around Bell's neck and jumped, prompting him to catch her in his arms again.
"Let's put your training to good use then, shall we?" She asked as Bell let out a groan while she wrapped her arms around his neck again.
"Lefiya, you lead them out of here," Tiona said. "We'll distract them and let Loki and Finn deal with the mess later!"
"R-right!" Lefiya replied. Without her staff she wasn't of much use in a fight after all.
"All right, then go!"
"Jack, stick close to me and no fighting!" Bell ordered.
"Kay!" Assassin replied as they ran straight toward the incoming amazons.
All Bell could do was hope for the best.
