Chapter 59: Planning Stages
"All right, spill it! What are you up to this time?"
Once the party had wound down, and Takemikazuchi and his Familia had settled into their new rooms, Hestia immediately cornered Caster in his office. Not that he would run away from her nor be anywhere else to begin with.
"You speak as though I have ever once deviated from my objective ever since I was summoned into this era," Caster replied. "The destruction of Ishtar and her ilk."
"And where does bringing up this Haruhime girl come in?"
"Would you prefer if I had not?"
"That's not what I asked!"
It would appear that Hestia was well versed in Caster's art of avoiding the question by now.
"There was no deeper meaning," Caster said after a moment with a huff. "I was indeed curious at the sight of the renard due to their rarity outside of their homeland. A rare species would attract attention, would it not?"
"That sounds like the truth, but it feels like there is something else you aren't saying," Hestia growled.
"Your trust in me is much appreciated," Caster replied while wearing his usual smirk on his face. "Very well, I say say this then: The fate of the renard means absolutely nothing to me."
And he meant it. He did not care about her one way or the other. If he didn't care what happened to her then there could only be one reason he mentioned it to Takemikazuchi.
"…I think I get it now…" Hestia began, brows furrowing. "You're hoping Take and his kids will run around and cause Ishtar some trouble while you do what you want without people noticing, aren't you?"
"And just what would they be able to do?" Caster countered, again avoiding Hestia's question. "What could a bottom of the ranking Familia consisting, at the moment, of only three Level 2s do against a top ranking Familia led by a Level 5 Captain do?"
"I don't know?" Hestia replied before following with a smirk, "What could a Familia with a bunch of Level 1s and one Level 2 do? Kill Goliath?"
Caster let out an amused huff but said nothing, allowing Hestia to claim a small victory.
"Besides, it's not like they need to do anything. You just need them to distract Ishtar with their attempts of rescuing Miss Renard, right?"
"Oh? Was there a reason she needed to be rescued?"
"Do you really need me to tell you what being in Ishtar's clutches means?"
"I could point out that her Berbera seem to rather enjoy being part of her brood."
"But you won't."
He let out a chuckle at that.
"In any case, I do not believe you have the time to waste arguing with me about nothing," Caster said as he leaned back in his seat. "You have to make the decision on whether or not you will allow the mongrels back into the Dungeon even though there has been no all-clear from the Guild or the God Ouranos, and when you will meet with the Goddess Loki to discuss your monster problem."
"Ugggghhhh!" Hestia could only let out a groan as she cradled her head. "You think she's going to ask about you Servants, too?"
"I suspect she will try," Caster replied. "It is up to you to keep what you need close to your chest."
"…Ugh…I'm not going to have to go alone, do I?"
"Of course not. Take both Saber and Lancer with you. With that much show of force, the Goddess Loki won't be able to force anything you do not wish to say."
"Hmm, no way Loki's coming alone either after all," Hestia nodded, convince. "Hah…I suppose I better prepare myself. Let's send Lancer with an invite."
"Indeed."
"It's also a good idea to start that promotion I've been thinking about at the inn."
"You will not wait until Rider is healed?"
"Eh, Archer's more the face of these things anyway."
X-x-X-x-X
Lily let out a small sigh as she stepped out of the manor, broom in hand, and began sweeping the grass and dust that had scattered onto the stone path leading from the gate to the front door.
It wasn't one of the chores assigned to her today, being a rest day for herself, but she asked to take over for Bell and was using it as an excuse to get some air after burying herself in studying first aid.
Takemikazuchi Familia had settled in last night but come morning, they had immediately left, no doubt to perform their own investigation on that Haruhime girl while Bell used his new day off to go check on the waitress who had been dragged along with him in being chased by Ishtar Familia. The goddess had also left with Saber, Archer, and Lancer on her own errand, probably to more properly thank the Goddess Loki for her Adventurers' help in Bell's little Adventure.
Still, at least things were calm now, which was a lot more than can be said for the coming days. Lily knew her king's plans were slowly coming to fruition, which was why he did not want to be disturbed.
Looking at the big picture, Lily was unsure how the loss of Ishtar would affect Orario. It would be best for the long run as her jealousy of Freya was something that was well known to the gods of Orario and from them, the rumors trickled down to the city's citizens. Considering their Familia attacked Loki Familia at the same time as Kali Familia, it was clear that the two were working together on something.
It was only a hypothesis, but Lily assumed that they were working together to take down Freya Familia. Kali was the patron goddess of Telskyura, the country of amazons, and no doubt saw a fight with the current top Familia in Orario, and perhaps the world, as a splendid challenge for her amazons and Ishtar probably brought them to Melen for that purpose.
Her king also had said that Ishtar was working with Evilus to bring chaos to the city. Lily had done all she could to hide and avoid the destruction seven years ago when Evilus ransacked the city, only to be stopped by the combined efforts of the Ganesha, Loki and Freya Familias. She had no desire to live through that again, especially not while in a Familia with people who were lucky enough to be ignorant of it. She didn't want them to experience that hell where even the gods were being targeted by the Dark Familias.
That was why she did not care that her king was planning to remove such a threat and was planning on doing whatever he asked to help. There will be some chaos in the aftermath as Ishtar was the kingpin of a massive portion of Orario's entertainment industry, but other Familias and other opportunistic people will no doubt move in and fill the vacuum.
There was always an industry for the nightlife after all.
As Lily was thinking to herself, a loud knock came from the front gate.
Immediately, Lily's expression fell into a frown.
Everyone in both Hestia and Takemikazuchi had a key and they were not planning on receiving any other guests today. Most likely it was a solicitor of some kind.
Either someone trying to recruit Bell into another Familia, someone trying to join their Familia, or someone after one of Welf's Magic Swords.
Granted they hadn't shown up in any notable number since the Grand Day festivities, but there was always that one guy who would want to try their luck.
With a sigh, she walked over to the solid iron gate and slid open the door viewer that had been installed for her and the kiddie trio. However, she didn't see a single person standing on the other side of the gate.
Just as she was about to write it off as a prank, someone spoke in a familiar low voice.
"It's me."
Fels.
"I have something to report. May I come in?"
Lily opened the gate and stepped out, pretending to look up and down the street for an unknown knocker until she felt Fels slip past her. She waited another few seconds before she shook her head, returned through the gate and locked it behind her.
"Master Fels came at a good time," Lily said to the invisible skeleton mage. "Lily and the others were hoping you could heal some of our members."
"…Is it all right to speak aloud while we are still outside?"
"The property has been enchanted with Magic Items to prevent noise from leaking outside. So while outsiders can peer inside from above the walls, they cannot hear anything."
Saber and Lancer did good work.
"I understand. I heard from Rei that Emma Flores and Rider have been injured?"
"Yes. Miss Rider lost an arm and the bones in Miss Flores's arms have been destroyed. Can you help? We…um…still have Miss Rider's severed arm."
"I can, to both of those," came Fels's reply, allowing Lily to let out a deep sigh of relief. "In consideration to our alliance, I won't ask for monetary repayment but I do have a favor."
"Oh?"
"It involves the Smith, Welf Crozzo."
"Oh…"
That was not a good sign.
X-x-X-x-X
A moment later, Lily had commandeered the living room from Primo and Karen, who had been doing more of their 'noble training' and had pulled Welf out of bed. The Smith had been annoyed at being woken up, but his grumbling stopped when he realized she was bringing him to meet Fels.
Karen and Primo had moved to the kitchen area but the two were peeking from the doorway while Berserker and Fia were peering in from the open window.
"Before we get started," Fels said, glancing toward Fia. "I would like to report that none of the Xenos have been caught in the destruction."
"So everyone is okay?" Fia asked.
"Yes. All have been accounted for and have minimal injuries. There were a few close calls due to several monsters from the lower floors making a break for the surface through the massive hole in the Dungeon, but only monsters capable of flight were able to get anywhere near them and in the closed corridors of the Frontiers, were easily dispatched."
Fia let out a huge sigh of relief, no doubt glad that those strange bone monsters never came anywhere near her friends.
"Now then, for the reason I am here," Fels said as they turned to Welf.
"…Considering you're asking for me specifically, I have a feeling I know where this is going," Welf said as he sat on the couch across from Fels.
"Yes, it is as you expect," Fels confirmed without dancing around the topic. "We are still trying to determine exactly how far the damage to the Dungeon goes. To this end, I requested the help of one of the stronger Xenos to investigate the Lower Floors. They agreed but they want a Magic Sword as payment."
"…And you decided to come to me instead of another Smith?" Welf asked.
"Yes. It is merely out of convenience as I do not need to act through intermediaries and dead drops if I make the order to you. Should you accept, we will provide any materials you may need. Magic Stones, Drop Items, pure adamantite ore…"
"That's…a lot of materials…"
"That one often makes trips down to the Deep Floors when he is not around the rest of our mutual allies," Fels explained. "He wants something to make his trips less hazardous. Of course, if you do not wish to make one, I will find another Smith after I heal your injured Familia members."
"No, I'll do it," Welf said, much to Lily's surprise. "I've already decided to stop putting my pride over the lives of people I care about. Though I guess I don't really know who you are talking about…" He gave a glance over toward the window and the harpy peering in. "…but if it's one of Fia's friends then that's good enough reason for me to start."
"Excellent. The only requirements he has is that it be made in the shape of an axe and be imbued with Lightning Magic."
As soon as Fels said that, Berserker let out a loud snort through his mask, which blew Fia's hair up, causing the harpy to let out a shriek in surprise.
"W-what's wrong, Berserker?" Fia asked as she patted down the back of her head.
"…Nothing," came the obvious lie as the minotaur suddenly walked away toward one of the training dummies that Saber had set up in the backyard.
As everyone watched him go in confusion, Fels let out a small hum.
"I see. So that's what happened."
"What happened?" Welf repeated but Fels simply shook their head.
"If Berserker does not wish to say then I will not say anything either," the Philosopher replied. "It is their business."
"…Did Berserker meet with that other Xenos somewhere?" Lily wondered as Welf listed of materials he would need for the Magic Sword. "And the encounter seemed to have made Berserker want to train. But the only time they would have had a chance to meet was during the Expedition and Raid…"
A Xenos that made trips to the Deep Floors…that would put them in the ballpark of a Level 5 or 6 Adventurer in strength.
And the encounter made the already powerful Berserker want to grow even stronger…
"…Lily will stop thinking about that."
"…And that should be it," Welf concluded. "Sorry that some of it is a little vague. I don't know much about the Lower Floors. If you come back in…say three…no four days, I can have a proof of concept using the materials I have on hand ready for them to bring on their search."
"It is no problem. I shall tell him to keep an eye out for the materials while he does his investigation."
"Is it all right for him to do that?"
"He is the one who wants this weapon. He can stand to do that much. You have my apologies for the trouble."
"No, Lady Hestia said she wanted us to help the Xenos in any way we can and if I can chip in this way then I'll be happy to oblige."
"Then Master Welf should make as many different kinds of Magic Swords as possible and then have Master Archer copy them to sell," Lily said, causing the Smith to twitch.
"All right, I know I said 'any way' but there's a limit damn it!" Welf shot back as Lily simply shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. "And spreading Magic Swords all over the place is just begging for Evilus to grab one for themselves, isn't it?"
Well, he had a point there.
"Yes, that would indeed be a problem," Fels agreed. "Would selling them to Ganesha Familia be out of the question? Or perhaps Loki Familia?"
"I'd rather not get murdered by elves if they think I'm spreading them around without thinking," Welf admitted dryly.
"Yes," Fels said again. "That would benefit no one. In any case, that concludes my business. Please direct me to Madam Rider and Miss Flores."
"Yes, please follow Lily," Lily said as she got up from the couch.
"Then I'll start drawing up a design for your Magic Sword," Welf said as he got up as well.
Emma and Rider would be healed and the Xenos plan is taking another step forward.
All in all, it seemed like it was going to be a good day.
X-x-X-x-X
"And so…you three pulled the chibi's little rabbit out of Ishtar's den and then got invited to dinner before returning back?"
Now that it was morning, Loki pulled in Tiona, Ais and Lefiya to debrief them on the chaos the previous night.
"Yes…more or less…" Lefiya replied.
"Then I guess the next bit of chaos we can expect will be a clash between Ishtar and Hestia," Loki said with a rather uncaring shrug. "Ehh, since it's a chance to pay back that bitch Ishtar for Melen, I don't really care."
"I think Archer and Saber already did plenty though," Ais said.
Loki remembered that Ais and the other girls had said that the two men, or Spirits, had helped them out while in disguise. Gareth had also suggested that they were in disguise because they were out snatching back the harpy from Evilus's clutches.
"Hmm, I guess I should stop putting that off then," she said to herself.
"Put what off?" Tiona asked just as a knock came from the door to the lounge.
"Hey Loki?" Raul said as he entered. "You uh…got a letter."
"A letter?"
"Or rather, it's an invitation…from Hestia Familia."
Loki's eyes widened as she got up and snatched the letter and tore it open.
"What is it?" Tiona asked, trying to read over her goddess's shoulder.
"An invitation to a luncheon with Hestia," Loki replied. "Guess she beat me to it. Who delivered this?"
"Uhh, Lancer did," Raul replied. "She said she would wait outside for your answer."
"An escort huh?" Loki mumbled. "Guess this isn't going to be a simple lunch."
She then turned to both Lefiya and Raul.
"We're probably going to talk about the talking monsters," she said. "Since the two of you are in charge of taking care of Sleiphie, you're coming with me."
"Hah…"
"I understand…"
"Good. Oh and Lefiya, go see if Riveria is free. I want either her or Finn to come along but Finn's probably busy. Raul, go see if Gareth is interested or not as well."
As the two of them left, Loki turned to the other two girls.
"Do either of you two want to come and dine on Hestia's dime? You don't need to participate in the discussion."
"No, if you guys might talk about Argonaut and the Spirit business then I wanna see what happens as well!" Tiona replied.
"Well, I don't think I'll push that far," Loki replied. "I wanna focus on the talking monsters first."
Certainly, the other Archer was concerning but that seemed to be a problem Hestia's Archer was actively dealing with and that sort of thing fell under the line of "Adventurer's personal problems." Well outside the scope of things that a god can discuss with other gods. It would be like Hestia demanding Loki tell her everything about Ais.
The monster issue was more pressing as she suspected that Hestia would try and get Loki to give up Sleipnir or pay the fine without even going into the talking monsters. Ten million valis was the cost to keep a monster on the surface as decided by the Guild, but the fine for doing so without permission from the Guild along with Ganesha and Hestia Familia was…substantially more.
"You want to come too, Ais?" Loki offered the girl but she shook her head.
"No…there's something I want to look into," Ais replied.
"All right. Just don't poke your nose too deeply into things," Loki said, waving a hand as she left the room. "We got enough on our plate as it is."
Ais nodded before following Loki out of the room.
X-x-X-x-X
As Raul had said, Lancer had been patiently waiting outside of the Twilight Manor. Just waiting at the corner, hands clasped in front of her legs like a school girl waiting for her lover.
"Goddess Loki," the mysterious probably-a-Spirit-woman greeted her with a bow. "Will all of you be joining today?"
"Would it be a problem?" Loki asked.
Trailing behind Loki were Raul, Lefiya, Tiona, Riveria, and Gareth. The invitation was unlikely to be a trap but it was still an invitation to an unknown territory led by an extreme unknown who was supposedly the wife of someone who handedly dealt with an enemy both Finn and Ais had trouble with.
A little extra protection wouldn't hurt.
"No, it would even be fine if you brought four more people," Lancer replied with a calm smile that caused Loki to freeze before she continued with, "Enough food was prepared and more for the practice. As such there should be plenty for everyone."
Oh right, the food. Not a hidden meaning of, "we could even handle ten of your best Adventurers and break a sweat."
As they walked though, they didn't seem to be heading to the Hestia Familia Home. Instead, they were heading toward the Market District and a large inn came into view.
"The Hearth's Chime?" Lefiya asked, saying the name of the inn Hestia owned.
"Yes," Lancer replied. "There is a special promotion coming up and the Goddess Hestia wished for a test run."
Loki's eyes spotted a dwarf guard carrying a large sign as he followed a maid. The sign was mostly red aside from the large eastern black and white circle in the center and a bunch of stylistic golden lines weaving throughout it.
SPECIAL GUEST CHEF! DAYS XX TIL YY!
Limited Seating
Special Discount and Priority for Inn Guests
"Archer's cooking?" Tiona asked, recognizing the symbol immediately.
"Yes. It is the Goddess's attempt to earn more money, I believe."
Considering the cooking shows he and Rider were super popular, it was a crafty idea. Especially when they exploited their younger members by having them be the tasters. Cute little girls eating good food and smiling was enough to touch the hearts of everyone, god and mortal alike.
Well, everyone who had a heart to touch anyway.
They were led into a large dining room where Hestia was already seated at a long table meant for twelve. Saber was also there, standing by the wall with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Well, took you long enough," Hestia said as Lancer gestured toward the seats before walking over and standing beside Saber, telling Loki that the two wouldn't be partaking in the meal with them.
"You send an invitation out of the blue and you expect me to be punctual?" Loki asked as she took the seat at the opposite end from Hestia while her Adventurers took the seats closet to her, splitting between men and women.
"Well, I just thought it's only prudent since your girls pulled my Bell out of Ishtar's clutches," Hestia replied, glancing at Tiona and Lefiya. "…Are we missing one?"
"She had other things to do today," Loki said. "You can make it up to her later."
The shorter goddess simply let out a huff as the staff came in with a menu for Loki Familia.
Though it was less of a menu and more of a list for the entrées. Beef, fish, or vegetarian. Each with a bare bones explanation.
The beef was a grilled dish, the fish a baked dish, and the vegetarian dish was a stew.
"You're serving vegetarian entrees too?" Loki asked.
"Demeter's been shoving a bunch of her produce our way," Hestia replied. "Seems like the harvest's been good or something and we got a bunch of merchants and the like that bring in stuff from further away looking to us for long term contracts. Ahh, it's so hard being popular!"
"Pfft, sure. Anyway what do you recommend?"
"You probably know by now that Archer's good at making pretty much anything but he really shines at cooking fish, so why not try that?" Hestia suggested.
So Loki decided to go with that. Tiona made the same choice while the men went for the beef and the elves went for the vegetarian meal.
As the orders were sent away, a maid came in with a drink cart, catching Loki's eyes immediately.
"Any of Goldy's stash in there?" Loki asked as Gareth not-so-subtly leaned forward as well.
"He doesn't have so much that he's willing to share," Hestia replied before glancing to maid who nodded and hefted up a jar. "That being said, Dia did share some of the wine she brought from her travels."
Loki spotted said wine right away. It had a label that wasn't written in Koine and was completely unfamiliar to her. The wine that is. As a goddess, she could read the label.
They all picked their drinks, though the two elves went with Alv Pure Water since they were boring like that, and Loki helped herself to the taste after telling the maid to leave the bottle.
"Hmm, not bad," Loki said, picking up the bottle and reading the label again. "Easily fits into the top 10% of the stuff found in Orario. Where did Dia find it?"
"Dunno, but don't bother looking," Hestia replied. "Dia said the place went out of business."
"What? With this good of a wine? How?"
"She said something about the owners coming down with a horrible case of pillaged and death."
"Bah, what a waste…" Loki muttered as Lefiya and Riveria frowned.
That's just how life was in Gekai sometimes. Depressing.
The smalltalk and dancing around the main subjected continued a bit more until the doors opened again and Archer, wearing a white suit meant for chefs, came in with a cart holding several silver cloches on them.
"Good afternoon, dear guests," he said in a rather practiced fashion. Loki could tell he was enjoying himself and not just following Hestia's whims simply because she said so. "Thank you for visiting our Familia Inn on this fine day."
"Well, aren't you looking smart?" Gareth asked with a laugh.
Archer's smile tilted slightly with wry amusement but directed the maids behind him to serve the dishes.
As expected, the beef was a steak of some kind with roasted veggies. It used plenty of garlic as Loki could smell it from her seat.
The veggie stew's broth was white in color with plenty of vegetables floating within. Both elves looked at the stew curiously and with a small sign of surprise.
As for the fish…well, it certainly looked like a fish. A whole fish wrapped in a pie crust. Head, tail and all.
Curious, Loki cut right down the middle with her knife and saw that the inside wasn't a "whole" fish, but one that had been finely chopped up and mixed with some kind of greens that she couldn't tell at a glance. All the bones had been removed of course and the meticulously coated body had a slightly sticky texture that left her speechless. Well, almost.
"So you've been eating this good every day huh?" Loki asked Hestia who had dug into her own fish pie.
"Hardly," Hestia replied. "This is a special meal after all."
"Archer, what is in this stew?" Riveria asked. "It tastes like cream but the smell and taste of milk is missing."
"Ahh, I suppose you could technically call it a bean stew," Archer replied. "A friend of the Familia pointed me to a supplier for some beans from the Far East and and I tried soaking them in water before grinding and boiling them. It came out pretty well since I haven't done it before. If you'd like, I can pass along a recipe afterward."
"After they fork over some cash for it!" Hestia cut in. "The food may be free but your recipes aren't!"
Archer simply shrugged his shoulders in response as Riveria simply gave him a nod in thanks.
When the dishes were about halfway finished, Hestia clapped her hands together a few times.
"All right girls, clear the room."
The maids immediately bowed before walking toward the exit with Archer following them. Once the last of the maids were gone, Archer stepped out as well before shutting the door behind him. He was probably keeping guard from outside.
"Business in the middle of lunch?" Loki asked.
"I certainly didn't call you here for pleasure," Hestia snapped back, nearly all traces of hospitality disappearing in an instant. "You've got something you're not supposed to have up here after all."
"So this was going to be about Sleipnir after all," Loki thought as she took a sip of her drink.
"If you hand them over to me, I won't report it to the Guild so you don't have to pay the fine," Hestia continued. "Or you can hurry and fill in the paperwork as well as fork over the fee."
That was the problem. As much as Loki wanted to keep the siren, ten million valis was nothing to sneeze at. They were still in the red from their previous Expedition with both Tiona and Bete still up to their necks in debt. The recent dive into Knossos or whatever also didn't help matters as Tiona's sword was destroyed. Again.
She could use the money Lefiya brought home and donated from her little escort quest for Bell Cranel, heaven knew there was more than enough for it, but that felt extremely irresponsible and should be used to prepare for another battle against Evilus instead of on one single siren.
"She didn't seem to want to move out though," Loki replied. "Said that she liked her room."
Hestia frowned a bit at that and Loki decided to just go ahead and dive into the deep end.
"So this is what you and Ouranos have been planning huh?"
"Not me. I only 'just' got here, remember?"
That was right. Has it even been a year since Hestia came to Orario? Then this meant this was Ouranos's project and he got Hestia to come aboard after all. No doubt thanks to her suspicious "Spirit Heroes."
"Do you want to know how deep our rabbit hole goes?" Hestia asked after a moment of silence. "You may find more than just minotaurs in this one."
Loki turned to look at her Adventurers who looked back at her in turn. It was her decision as the patron goddess of Loki Familia.
One more drop into the deep end she supposed.
X-x-X-x-X
Bell hurried down the street toward the Hostess of Fertility. With Lily asking to take over his chores for some reason, Bell was free to check on Syr to make sure she made it back ok.
The Hostess operated as a café for regular citizens during the day and saw some business but it was obvious that the real money was made by the Adventurers that came in during dinner hours. The pub was currently rather sparse, only about half full compared to how it was always nearly filled to the brim during the dinner hours.
This was good for Bell as that meant he wouldn't be intruding on them for wanting to talk. Though he suspected that he would be made to order something anyway as a price for taking them away for a talk.
But when he peered through the window, he couldn't find Syr anywhere.
"What's wrong, Boy?" The matron, Mia Grand, asked as she stepped outside. "A bit early ain't ya? Or are you just coming in for a snack?"
"Umm, I wanted to apologize again for getting Syr involved in some trouble last night," Bell began only for Mia to laugh.
"Bah, the only thing you have to apologize for is for giving her too much of a good time," the dwarf replied. "Too distracted to work so she took another day off and decided to hole herself in with some books."
"Books, huh?"
Was she looking for a book to recommend to him, or was she reading up on heroes after he and Haruhime had more or less dominated the conversation last night with Lefiya offering her own opinions here and there. He supposed he shouldn't have ignored her like that but it was the first time he had met someone, other than his Servants, that knew about Heroes as much as he did. Even more so actually, as her knowledge extended to other fairy tales as well.
"Well don't just stand there," Mia said, interrupting Bell's thoughts. "Come on in and order something,"
There was no way he was physically able to refuse her so he could only allow himself to be dragged in and seated.
"Nya nyah? Long time no see, boy!" Came the black haired cat person's cry. "We thought you had abandoned your favorite eating hole!"
"Have I come here often enough for it to be called my favorite?" Bell couldn't help but ask.
"Have you ever gone anywhere else to eat?" Chloe asked.
"Uhh, that one bar before the War Game. I don't remember the name right now."
"Have you gone back there since?"
"…No?"
"Then this is clearly your favorite!"
Somehow, that line of logic seemed impossible to argue with.
"Then…can I get a half-no, make it a full sandwich with the soup?"
While Syr was gone, the other human waitress was still working alongside the other cat person waitress. However, the last of the five was nowhere to be seen. Was she also taking a break?
The only other time he recalled Syr and Ryuu being missing at the same time was when they went undercover to the Grand Casino. Considering the chaos last night however, it was unlikely Syr had any time to forcefully stick herself into Ryuu's plans like before though.
Just as Chloe came back with his order, Ryuu also appeared from the back of the house.
In Bell's opinion, the elf looked haggard and exhausted…almost as though she had seen a ghost. Or…well…one that was haunting her at least.
Her skin was paler than usual with extremely obvious black bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't had any sleep for days. Her eyes were also unfocused as though she was trapped in some sort of horrific memory.
Perhaps it was because they were both elves, but her condition reminded Bell a lot of Primo after they had escaped from the Dungeon after being attacked by the unknown monsters. Only it seemed a lot worse.
The problem was that he wasn't sure he was close enough to Ryuu to ask about her condition. Maybe if Syr was around to break the ice but…
Bell quickly shook his head.
There were too many things to worry about right now. He needed to focus or else he'd never get anything done. The metaphor of chasing two hares came to mind here. Once he figured out what he wanted to do with Haruhime's problem, he could come back and ask Syr or Ryuu herself what happened another day.
When the food arrived, courtesy of Chloe, Bell was happy to see that it had already been cut in half. He picked up one half and held it under the table where it quickly left his hand. The waitress blinked in surprise before glancing under the table where she spotted Assassin cheerfully munching on the half sandwich.
"When the heck did you come in!?"
"Hmm?" Assassin curiously glanced up at the waitress. "We were always here."
Chloe's mouth hung open for a moment before she pressed a hand against her forehead.
"Oh right, you have some hiding Skill that can even fool a chienthrope's nose nya…" the cat person muttered, no doubt referring to Assassin's performance during the War Game. "Didn't think it would fool mine too…"
"…?"
Assassin could only tilt her head to the side as Chloe walked away.
"You should sit properly, Jack," Bell said, pointing to the chair across from him.
"No. We can't protect Mommy if people know We're here!"
It was hard to take her declaration seriously when she had already exposed herself and had sauce around her mouth but Bell decided to humor her all the same.
Once they were finished their small meal, Bell left the payment on the table and left the pub.
"We need to make money and fast…" Bell said to himself as he walked down the street. "Should I go to the Casinos again?"
It would be the fastest way to go about it but he didn't feel comfortable going alone. He wasn't afraid of getting robbed since he, as a Level 3, could beat back almost anyone who tried but he was afraid of getting tricked somehow. Depending on where he went, there might be someone trying to rig a game or something and Bell wasn't confident in his ability to spot it should it happen.
"Mommy, it's that dumb God again."
Assassin's voice sounded next to his ear while she was dematerialized and Bell looked up to see Hermes standing in the shade of a tree.
"Y-yo Bell," Hermes said with a wave of his feathered hat.
"Lord Hermes…"
Bell wasn't sure he wanted to see Lord Hermes after he ditched them last night and caused a horde of amazons to chase after them but for some reason, he was looking rather pale and worried about something. Maybe he was feeling guilty about it?
"You look like you got something troubling you," Hermes continued. "I don't know if it's enough to make up for what happened last night, but maybe I can hear you out? Even if I may not look like it, I'm still a God after all."
"Well…"
"Don't worry. I swear on my divinity that everything you say will remain between us. I won't even tell Asfi about it."
"…All right then."
X-x-X-x-X
Considering the circumstances it wasn't something that could easily be said out in the open. And so, Hermes led Bell to a small store he often used for private meetings with clients and the owner knew how to keep his mouth shut so long as Hermes bought a drink for the room.
Once seated, Hermes placed an order and Bell told him about what happened the other night.
"I see," Hermes said with a nod. "So you met a prostitute who had just about the worst luck in the world and you want to find a way to make enough money to redeem her contract and free her. Not just because you're a good person, and I must say I'm proud of you for that, but also because Takemikazuchi and his Familia know her too."
"Yes…more or less."
"Well, I heard you made a mint when you went to the casino," Hermes said, leaning back against his chair as the door opened and the owner brought in their drinks. Once he left, Hermes continued speaking. "What do you say about coming with me to make more money?"
"I'd rather think of a way that doesn't risk losing money in the process," Bell replied.
"That so? I guess Hestia would kill me if I took you there alone anyway."
With a shrug, Hermes took a sip of his drink again.
"Well, if the fast and easy route is no go then the only real answer would be to take on Quests, right?"
"…Ah!"
That was right. It was just like when they got swarmed with job offers after the War Game. Things like the photo shoot and the cooking show were rather odd jobs that took advantage of their Familia's popularity but they paid rather well.
"Of course, the absolute easiest way I think would be to have Welf Crozzo make a Magic Sword and sell it," Hermes said bluntly. "If you entrust it to me, I'm sure I can find a buyer in a day or two."
That was also an option but Welf still wasn't sure on making them to sell.
"It seems so obvious now that you say it," Bell said as Hermes let out a chuckle. "I don't know why I was trying to figure things out on my own."
"Weren't you trying to think of a plan to present to Hestia and Takemikazuchi? Don't worry about it too much."
"Thank you, Lord Hermes. Also, can I ask about something else?"
"Of course."
"Is…is it okay to help someone who doesn't want to be saved?"
Hermes didn't answer right away. Instead, he took another long sip of his drink as his eyes locked onto Bell with a nostalgic smile. Almost as though he was amused at some kind of inside joke.
"Are we talking about the prostitute?" he asked.
"Yes. She said she was someone who didn't deserve to be saved."
"…And do you agree?"
"Of course not."
"Then there's your answer."
…
Was it really that simple?
"You don't look completely convinced."
"Caster said that helping someone who doesn't ask for it would just cause trouble. That you would just force your own selfishness upon them. Especially when they're from another Familia. All it would do is end up bothering your own."
It was one of the king's first lessons to Bell. All the way back when they were figuring out what to do with Lily and her problems in Soma Familia. Not to mention that any trouble could delay helping the Xenos even more.
"…Isn't that fine?" Hermes asked. "I think 'Heroes' are inherently selfish people. After all, it's not like most of them can just ask their princesses if they want to be rescued before setting off to rescue them. Do you think Argonaut had a chance to ask Princess Ariadne if he could go and rescue her from the Minotaur?"
Yes and she said no. And the attempt was made anyway.
Bell quickly shook his head.
"I'm sure you already know it deep down without me having to tell you but I want to say it anyway. It is from their emotions and desires that mortals draw their strength. Don't let anyone else tell you how to live your life."
Bell's eyes remained locked on the smiling god's face as he didn't know what to say to that.
"Well, you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to," Hermes said as he leaned back in his chair and threw his feet on top of the table. "I'm saying things in direct contrast to your Captain after all."
"No…I think Caster would say the same thing…the last part anyway," Bell replied as Hermes chuckled.
"He does seem rather philosophical doesn't he? Well, as one last favor, is there anything more you can tell me about this prostitute you are hoping to help? I can ask around for more information if you want."
"Well…her name is Sanjyouno Haruhime! She's in her late teens, and is a renard…"
"…Renard?"
Hermes's smile seemed to stiffen as the mood seemed to shift.
"Is…there something wrong with that?" Bell asked as Hermes averted his eyes. "Lord Hermes?"
"It…looks like I put myself in an awkward position," Hermes muttered before turning back to Bell. "Now…I shouldn't do this but I did say I would help. See, when I met you and the girls last night, I was delivering a special package for Ishtar."
"Special package…?"
"It's a huge taboo for a deliveryman to reveal the contents of his client's order. Something I'm sure little Gina will tell you…a deliveryman that can't keep their clients' secrets will soon find himself out of a job."
Bell suddenly felt extremely worried. He didn't want to cost the god or his Familia but he felt as though he needed to hear it…if only to had information to Caster that he could use in the future.
"I delivered an item called a Killing Stone."
Bell returned the declaration with a confused stare. Judging from Hermes's seriousness, he guessed that it was probably something either dangerous or serious but he had no idea what its purpose was. Considering the context it definitely had to do with Haruhime, but what?
"I can't say any more than that," Hermes said as he adjusted his hat over his head and stood up. "I hope things work out."
And with that, Hermes left some coins on the table before taking his leave.
X-x-X-x-X
"…I knew it but hearing it straight out like that is still unbelievable…"
"How do you think?"
Hestia sipped her drink as she watched Loki rub her forehead. The dwarf and older elf had their arms crossed and seemed to be deep in thought while the other Adventurers just looked on blankly, unsure of what to say.
"Still, that Ouranos…he has some big dreams huh?" Loki muttered as she took a sip as well. "You too."
"Really? I just felt that it was natural," Hestia replied. "Most of us were happy when we saw that mortals of different races could get along right? What's one more?"
"Even though we consider monsters humanities enemy?" The dwarf asked.
"Only because most monsters are more or less weapons the Dungeon use to kill you right?" Hestia asked back. "And isn't there a saying that it's stupid for Adventurers to hate monsters for killing you when you go into their home to kill them in the first place?"
The blonde elf slowly nodded her head to Hestia's question.
"Yeah you got a point," Loki conceded. "I guess the biggest problem would be when the kids hestitate to kill monsters on the off chance they're a Xenos or whatever."
"I don't think it will be that big of a problem," Hestia replied. "Unfortunately, the Children kill each other all the time for a variety of reasons, right? Even mine and yours have."
"Yeah…the Dungeon has always been kill or be killed. Guess that won't make any difference."
"And they already said to my Bell to not worry about finding a Xenos that is hostile. 'Just focus on surviving,' or something like that. You should tell the same to your own Children. Tell them to prioritize their own lives if they come across a lone Xenos that wants to fight."
"They sure sound practical," the older elf said. "They must have met others like them that didn't care to join their group or were hostile without giving them the chance to talk it out."
"Still, ten million a piece…that's gonna take years isn't it?" Loki asked. "Even my kids can't do something like that easily. I mean, we can, but all the extra costs pile up and take most of it."
"The downside of being successful, huh? I totally get it."
A good chunk of her inn's earnings went directly back into paying for it too. Food supplies, water bills, employee salaries. It was enough to make her head spin at times. Especially when not even half a year ago she barely had two valis to rub together.
Ah, no good. Her mind was getting sidetracked again.
"So, what are you going to do with this information?" Hestia asked. "Know that Ouranos and Ganesha aren't going to be happy if you get in the way. Of course, that goes for me too."
"Yeah yeah, save the threats, I don't particularly care about the Xenos other than Sleipnir. Not enough to help or to get in your way. You talk to Ganesha into letting me keep her without paying that stupid fee and I'll make sure my kids keep their mouths shut."
"Will all of them be able to?"
"Only the group that went into Knossos know that she can talk. Everyone else just thinks she's bait to draw out a part of Evilus. Finn made sure of it and if they reveal themselves we can smash them. That only helps you, right?"
"Yeah but my Fia, the harpy, was put up by Caster as bait as well but they haven't bitten at all. My guess is that whoever is leading that branch has cut their losses."
"Or maybe they're all dead."
"I doubt we're that lucky."
It would have been nice if Berserker had gotten that Dis person or whatever his name was but…well, it was probably bad for a goddess to wish for a mortal to get killed by a monster no matter what the circumstances.
"Well?" Loki asked, snapping Hestia's attention back to her.
"That depends on the siren," Hestia replied. "If she wants to stay with you then I'll work something out. So ask her if she wants to stay with you, come to live with me where we're planning to bring up the other Xenos eventually, or return to the Dungeon and live with the other Xenos. Send either Mr Human there or the younger Miss Elf with the answer."
That way Hestia could get the truth from them and not have to guess if Loki was telling the truth or not. Even if Hestia had never met the siren, it was important to know that she would be happy, wherever she ended up living.
"Fine fine," Loki said with a wave of her hand. "I want her to be comfortable as well."
"How would we explain that she can talk to everyone else though?" The human asked.
"We don't really need to. We'll just move her room next to mine and say no one except the people here can go near her. Aki, and the others know how to stay quiet after all."
"Already deciding that she's gonna live with you, huh?" Hestia asked wryly.
"Hey, this is the most interesting thing I've seen since I came down here. You bet I want to see how this plays out."
"Well…can't fault you for that."
X-x-X-x-X
After leaving the shop, Bell started making his way home.
He needed information about the Killing Stone and the fastest way to get it was to ask someone from the Far East. Thankfully, there were four of them living at his Home right now with one of them being a God. There was also a chance that Karen or Gina might know since the two of them traveled a lot as part of their previous Familias.
But for some reason, he couldn't help but have a sinking feeling at the bottom of his stomach. As though the information was something he would wish he had never heard.
"Mommy," Assassin's voice whispered into his ear once more. "Some people are coming here."
Bell turned around just in time to see a hume bunny and a renard coming toward him.
"See, it is him," the renard said, sounding and looking a bit familiar. "Can't miss that hair and eyes anywhere."
"I still don't see why people call him a rabbit…" the hume bunny muttered. "Anyway, Moonlit Dawn, nice to see you again."
"Again?" Bell replied before it clicked in his head. "Ah! You're the girls from Soma Familia."
"Hmm, I can't tell if it's good or bad that you recognize us," the renard muttered.
"Now now, Momiji. It makes it easier for us to make our delivery after all."
"Delivery?"
"Kaede's talking about this," the renard, Momiji, replied. She held up a package wrapped in dark blue cloth. "It's a special gift for Sir Saber."
"Saber? Why?"
Bell couldn't think of any reason for Saber to have gotten involved with Soma Familia…or any opportunity to for that matter.
"Did he not say anything?" Kaede asked in surprise. "It sounded like it was important."
"Our Familia was on an Expedition for the last few days," Bell explained. "Saber was one of the few left behind to hold the fort."
The girls shared a glance at that before putting their heads together to whisper to themselves.
Bell tried very hard not to listen, but his Level 3 hearing made it all too easy to make out what they were saying.
"What do you think?" Kaede asked.
"Moonlit Dawn's the Familia Vice Captain, right?" Momiji asked. "He should be aware of what Sir Saber was doing. Maybe they weren't specifically there to rescue anyone and them saving Coco was just a coincidence not worth specifically mentioning in a report?"
"Coco did say that he and his elf companion went back underground once they got them safe."
With that Bell managed to get enough of a picture to figure out what was going on. Then again, it didn't feel like they were particularly trying to keep their voices down to begin with. They were definitely talking about what had happened when Caster and the other male Servants assaulted the Evilus base.
"Umm…about why the two of you were here?" Bell asked, trying to lead the conversation back on track.
"Ah, right!" Momiji said quickly as the two turned back toward him. "Anyway, we were hoping that you would pass this gift onto Sir Saber for us."
"Was there a reason you couldn't give it to him yourselves?" Bell asked.
"Well, we tried going to your Familia Home but there's no doorbell and no one answered when we called out," Kaede replied. "And it's not like we know where your members hang out or anything."
"We also tried going to your inn to see if your goddess is there but got turned away since she's hosting a private event there or something."
"Right…" Bell nodded, knowing that his goddess was talking to Loki Familia about the Xenos today. "Umm, is that Coco person okay? Was she hurt and unable to make the delivery herself?"
"Nah, she's totally fine," Kaede replied. "Well, except for her heart anyway. Of all the people to get your first crush on, it had to be one-half of the most infamous couple in Orario."
"…"
What a painful experience, in many different ways. Best to keep it a secret from Lancer.
"So that's why we have to ask you to make the delivery for us."
"I understand," Bell replied, accepting the package. "I'll make sure he gets it."
"Please and thank you."
As Bell eye'd Momiji's tail swaying happily at a job well done, his previous conversation with Hermes snapped back in mind.
"Umm, Miss Momiji, do you mind if I ask something kind of personal?"
"Hmm? Are you looking for a date even though your Familia is full of beautiful women and cute girls?" The renard asked with a sly and appropriately foxy smile.
"N-no, it's nothing like that. I heard from a god that came from the Far East that renards were usually nobility. So I was wondering about that."
"Ahh, yeah its usually true," Momiji replied before gesturing toward her clothes. "My family runs a shrine back home so you could say we are some form of nobility."
"Then, are you familiar with the Sanjyouno family?"
"Ahh…not personally but I am familiar in that they could be described as the stereotypical stuck-up kind of nobles. That being said, they still do keep up the old tradition in worshipping the Great Goddess Amataresu. Why did you want to know about them? Did they contact your Familia in some way?"
"Not exactly. It's just that…umm…the god I mentioned earlier is a friend of my Goddess and he was searching for the Sanjyouno family's daughter after learning she was sold to Orario."
"Hah?" Momiji stared at Bell as if he had grown a second head. "Sold? Really? As in like a product? How did that happen?"
"From what I heard, she went and ate a shrine offering to that Goddess in her sleep. Supposedly."
"Supposedly?"
"The offering was missing and the crumbs were found on her person?"
"…Just that?" Kaede asked.
"Yes. Apparently they wanted to do something worse but a merchant who was visiting as a guest at the same time offered to buy her instead."
The two girls glared daggers at Bell who could only weakly nod his head to show that he understood and agreed at how suspicious it sounded.
"I see," Momiji finally said. "I'll keep an eye out for her then. Do you have a description?"
"Umm…blonde hair, green eyes, about ten centimeters shorter than me," Bell listed off.
"Got it."
"Oh…and one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what a Killing Stone is?"
The moment the question left Bell's mouth, all the blood drained from Momiji's face even as Kaede tilted her head in confusion.
The next instant, just as Bell blinked, the renard launched herself at Bell in a rage.
For the second time in two days, Bell's arms shot forward as he snatched an equally furious Assassin out of the air and pulled her away from Momiji before she could hurt her while Kaede quickly grabbed her friend as well.
"Jack! Stop!" Bell said as Assassin quickly fell limp in his arms again while Momiji showed no sign of calming down.
"Momiji, what the heck!?" Kaede shouted only to be elbowed in the face by the squirming renard and shot forward to grab Bell by the front of his shirt.
"Where did you hear those words!?" She demanded. "Where!?"
Of course, being younger, shorter and weaker than Bell, her attempts at intimidation didn't faze Bell at all but her sheer fury was enough to give Bell pause.
"I heard it from someone who said they delivered one to someone in Orario…" Bell said as Momiji started shaking his shirt furiously to the point that he was glad it was made out of Salamander Wool so he didn't have to worry about it tearing. The difference between their Status also meant that only the fabric was being shaken around.
"Who!? Where!? When!?"
"Calm down, girl!" Kaede snapped as she placed a hand on Momiji's shoulder to try and calm her down. "You're making a scene."
"You don't understand!" Momiji snapped back. "Do you know what a Killing Stone is!?"
"Clearly not or else he wouldn't be asking you of all people. So explain it to him rather than just shout at him. So explain it properly."
Momiji's glare didn't disappear but she nodded as she started dragging Bell toward an alley. Bell left Jack at the entrance to keep watch.
"So?" Kaede began. "How bad are we talking here? Seeing as I never heard of it, is it some secret nobility thing?"
"…"
Even though she was prompted and given a chance to explain herself, Momiji looked hesitant.
"It's not exactly one," Momiji explained to the other two. "It's something that has to deal with my people."
She then glanced at Bell.
"Seeing as he's part of your Familia, you should be familiar with the legend of Crozzo's Magic Swords, correct?"
"Of course."
"Sesshouseki, or Killing Stones, are similar that way. They take a renard's magic power and seal it in the stone which then shatters into multiple shards as it can't hold all that power. Let's say the stone was used on you and I and Kaede receive its shards. We would then be able to use that super short-chant magic you used during the War Game without needing the magic to be written into our Falna. Each shard would have the same power as the original magic and no chant or trigger is needed. You only need to will it for the magic to exist."
Kaede let out an impressed whistle at that as Bell realized the implication.
Each shard would essentially be magic stone that would never break. Some kind of twisted reimagining of Welf's dream. One could probably equip an army with that kind of power. One could probably equip an army with that kind of power. Just like how the Crozzo Magic swords were used in the past.
"But considering its name, it sounds like the one whose magic is sealed doesn't get off easy, huh?" Kaede asked.
"It is worse than it sounds. The Sesshouseki is made out of a toba stone and a tamamo stone. A toba stone is an ore that magically reacts to moonlight, kind of like how weretigers and werewolves can use the moon's light to increase their physical prowress."
Such a thing did sound useful but not somewhere like Orario where the Dungeon never sees the light of the moon.
"And…a tamamo stone?"
"A tamamo stone is used by my people to boost our magical power. By itself it sounds harmless but…they are made from the ashes of the dead. Made from desecrated graves of my kin. Of course its creation is outlawed."
The blood drained from the other two's faces at the information as they glanced at each other.
"By combining the two items, you create a Sesshouseki. And it's not just the magic that is taken from the renard, but their soul as well. What's left of them becomes nothing but an empty shell as the stone shatters and its shards used as weapons from any other race."
"…Was it knowledge given to your ancestors by the gods?" Bell asked but Momiji simply gave him a bitter smile.
"No. It's been in use long before the gods descended."
Humanity, it seemed, didn't need the gods' help to find cruel means to achieve even more power.
"If the shards were given back to the renard, could they be turned back to normal?" Kaede asked.
"Supposedly, yes. However…one couldn't predict how a stone could shatter after all. It could be in several pieces and if any were lost…the renard would be reduced to little more than a child or an infant in mentality."
Momiji then stared deeply at Bell to the point that he felt she was looking right through him.
"I do not know if it is the Sanjyouno girl that is the intended target or some other…but nothing good can come from whoever has such a thing."
Bell hadn't said anything about Haruhime being the target, but it seemed like Momiji managed to put things together.
"All right then," Kaede said quickly as she clapped her hands before placing them on Momiji's shoulders. "Seeing as you have magic as well, let's get you home before someone gets the nasty idea to do something to you."
"I'll…"
As the two girls made to leave, Bell found his voice leaving his throat. The girls stopped and turned back to look at him.
However, he couldn't say anything more. He couldn't promise anything. In his mind's eye, Caster's glare prevented him from speaking out. The words he had spoken back when the two of them along with Archer were discussing how to help Lily.
However, Momiji met his eyes for a long moment before she broke the hold and lowered herself into a perfect ninety degree bow. Although she didn't say anything, Bell could feel all the emotions and wishes that were being expressed with that single gesture. She held the gesture for almost a full minute before straightening out and walking away with Kaede behind her.
Bell didn't even know if Haruhime was the intended target or if she even had any magic to begin with. But due to the rarity of renards in Orario and that Caster himself had said he had only seen two, Bell felt that there couldn't be any other target. Welf's fear of Magic Swords reaching the wrong hands was coming true in a way different that what he had imagined but it was happening nonetheless.
Caster had said that one should not act to save someone who did not ask to be saved. But what if someone else wished for that person to be saved?
To protect Orario's future as part of Hestia Familia's contract with Ouranos and Fels, as well as the soul of a single girl, he needed to find a way to stop Ishtar Familia's plans.
Or, at the very least, get Caster to speed up his own.
With a way forward in his eyes, Bell headed back to grab Assassin and the two of them ran back toward the Manor.
