Chapter 13-

The Days Before

When Ais joined him at the breakfast table along with Bete the next morning, the stares that he got yesterday were nothing compared to the ones he was getting now.

And just like that, his appetite was all but gone.

At the very least, he had gotten soup so he could just sip it until his appetite returned. Bete munched on a chicken leg while Ais had a plate full of Jagamarukun. How the Sword Princess managed to operate on a daily basis as an adventurer with a breakfast like that was beyond him. She had noticed him staring however and just tilted her head in response.

"... Do you always eat that for breakfast?" He found himself asking more out of curiosity than anything.

"Yes." The blonde-haired girl replied with a small nod. "Tastes good. "

He supposed that adventurers didn't have to worry about their diet when they had a literal blessing from the Gods.

"... For yesterday." Ais quietly began. "Thank you."

He simply offered a nod in response to that.

It seemed that Ais and Bell had managed to resolve whatever their issue was. He had to admit that he was a little curious, but it wasn't any of his business. If one of them wanted to talk to him about it, that was fine and if not, he wasn't going to pry.

"One of you going to elaborate or what?" Bete asked as he tore into another piece of chicken. "This about that Cranel guy again?"

"... Yes." Ais hesitantly answered before she started on her own meal.

"Who the fuck is he anyway?"

Minato was about to respond but then someone all but tackled him into the ground from behind.

"Blue-kun, how could you go on another adventure without me?!"

It was at that moment he realized that Tiona Hiryute was far stronger than he had initially thought. Her arms were wrapped around his own and he couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried. It was like dealing with Loki if she were on steroids.

"What the fuck?! You trying to kill someone, you flat-chested Amazon?"

Tiona just stuck her tongue out at Bete.

Minato looked over towards Ais for some kind of assistance, but she only stared at him while munching on her fried potato snacks. There was actually a glint of amusement in her eyes. What was he supposed to be, a jester apart of a comedy routine?

Wasn't that supposed to be Loki's job? How did he end up getting dragged into that role?

He just sighed when it became apparent that Tiona wasn't going to let go.

"I'm not letting go until Blue-kun goes on an adventure with me!"

"Knock it off, sis." The elder Hiryute sister ordered. "The captain told us to rest up for the expedition. No one's allowed into the Dungeon anymore until then."

Minato raised an eyebrow at that, but he supposed that it made sense.

The expedition was right around the corner, so it would have been bad if someone got injured beforehand. Tiona only let out a small whine before she finally relinquished her hold on him. He gave the elder Hiryute sister a look of appreciation, but she only rolled her eyes at him, as if trying to say she only helped because of the captain's orders.

Even he knew about Tione's infatuation with Finn.

"Hey Blue-kun, let's go into town then!"

Minato didn't even have a chance to respond before the younger Amazon sister all but dragged him away by the collar of his shirt. Ais only continued to munch on her pastries while Bete just looked annoyed. Some friends they were, leaving him to the whims of some ungodly strong Amazon girl.

He blinked at that.

Since when had he started considering Bete and the Sword Princess to be his friends…?

Minato wasn't sure what to expect when Tiona had dragged him into town, but bringing him to Goibniu's shop wasn't one of them.

"Gah! It's the weapon breaker!" One of the smiths cried out in horror as he and Tiona walked into the shop.

"Someone tell the captain that the destroyer is here!" Another smith yelled out.

"The Sword Reaper's here!"

Minato raised an eyebrow at his traveling companion for the day.

"I'm not that bad…" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"Yes, yes you are!" One of the smiths yelled out before ducking back behind his anvil when Tiona glared at him.

Once the commotion was finally over with, Goibniu was waiting for them when they made their way to the back of the store. The smithing God had a rather nasty looking in his eyes when he saw Tiona, who only sheepishly smiled in response. He wasn't sure what exactly the issue there was, but it probably had something to do with her 'Sword Reaper' title the other smiths had given her.

"Urga is ready." Goibniu eventually said, having finished glaring at the Amazon. "I don't want to see her in pieces again, you hear me, girl?

"Y-yes, sir!" Tiona hastily replied. "I promise!"

The smithing God only nodded in reply before he stood up from his stool and opened one of the many chests behind him. 'Urga' was apparently a massive double-bladed sword that looked like it was more fit for someone like Ottar's size rather than Tiona. The weapon looked like it was taller than she was, so it was almost comical to him when he saw the girl happily pick up the weapon with one hand. How she managed to keep her balance with a weapon like that was beyond him.

Even Akihiko would have been in awe.

"Hey Blue-kun, so what do you think of Urga II?" Tiona asked with a laugh. "She's a beauty, right?"

He… wasn't sure how to answer that question, so he just gave the girl a thumbs up in response.

"And you, boy." Goibniu looked over towards him. "How is the sword treating you?"

"Very well." He hastily replied, he had no desire to get scolded like Tiona after all. "I'd like to make the first payment for it as well."

The smith God accepted the bag of Valis from him with a nod of his head. "Did you decide on a name for the sword yet?"

He raised an eyebrow at that and shook his head.

"There's power in names." The smith God simply said. "You should decide on one soon."

He wasn't sure what to make of that, so he just nodded his head in response.

Tiona and the Goibniu talked for a little while longer, although it was mostly the God warning the Amazon to be careful with her weapon more than anything. He picked out some lightweight chainmail for the upcoming expedition in the meantime. It was the closest thing he could find from the stock items they had that was light enough to not affect his movement while still providing some protection.

Once their business with Goibniu was finished, they found themselves standing outside at the water fountain in the heart of Orario.

"Hey Blue-kun, want to go window shopping for a bit before we head back?"

Minato didn't really have anything else to do, so he didn't see a reason to refuse. There wasn't a point in declining anyway, since Tiona was even more persistent than Junpei was when it came to dragging him around, and that was saying a lot.

They walked around the shopping district of the city looking at various weapons and armor vendors. Nothing really caught his eye however and some of the prices of the products were ridiculously expensive compared to how they thought they were worth. Custom forged gear from blacksmiths seemed to be the way to go in Orario.

"How come you've been hanging out with Bete so much, Blue-kun?" Tiona suddenly asked with a curious look on her face. "I thought that he was threatening you or something when I saw you guys in Rivira."

He just shrugged in response. "He's not that bad."

Tiona's face was one of disbelief.

"... Maybe not to you because you're strong, but you should see how he treats some of the lower-level guys. He's always calling them 'trash' or 'useless weaklings'.

That did sound a tad excessive, even for someone with an abrasive personality like Bete. He was a little curious now as to why Bete was doing that.

"Hey, since you seem to be on good terms with him, do you know why he treats people like that?" The Amazon asked as she put her hands behind her head. "I'm always asking him, but he never gives me a real answer."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Shouldn't you know him better than me? You've been in this Familia longer than I have."

"No way, Bete doesn't like to interact with anyone if he can help it." Tiona explained with a frown on her face. "You're the first person I've seen him hang out with on his own accord in a while. Usually, we have to drag him into coming with us."

He didn't think that was true.

"He seemed pretty friendly with Wallenstein-san."

Tiona raised an eyebrow.

"Well, duh." She said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Wait… You don't know, do you?"

Minato just shook his head in response. He had no idea what she was alluding to.

"Bete has a crush on Ais." The girl replied with a sly grin. "He thinks he can hide it, but everyone already knows about it already." She paused, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, except Ais, but you know how she is."

That hadn't been what he expected to hear, but he supposed that it made sense in hindsight. That wager made a lot more sense now, Bete was probably trying to show off to her or something. It explained why he was in such a foul mood after he lost anyway. Was that why the werewolf was so insistent on asking about who Cranel was?

Was Bete jealous or something?

The ironic thing was, he didn't even think Ais thought of Bell in that way. She didn't seem like the type of person to care about romance or anything like that. The only thing that she seemed interested in was getting stronger, at least from what he knew of her.

The window shopping lasted for a little while longer, but they eventually ran out of stores to look through. Tiona complained a bit about not being able to go into the Dungeon with him, but aside from that and some more small talk, they didn't really have much to do so they decided to head back to the Twilight Manor. On the walk back, however, he couldn't help but notice the floating blue door of the Velvet Room on the side of the street. He was surprised that it had decided to appear in front of him just like that without him requesting it.

Perhaps Igor wanted to speak to him?

He opened the door and soon found himself within the familiar confines of the Velvet Room. Igor was at his desk with Elizabeth at his side as usual. The woman greeted him with a smile, one that he was happy to return.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room, dear guest." Igor greeted with a glint in his eye. "Might I suggest that you check the compendium?"

Minato raised an eyebrow at that but decided to oblige anyway.

Elizabeth handed him the book and he thanked her before opening it himself. There didn't seem to be anything different compared to the last time he had checked the book, so he was curious as to what Igor wanted him to see. As he continued to flip through the pages of the book, flipping past the various Personas he had collected over his journey, he paused when he reached the page where Loki was held.

The last time he had checked, Loki was the only Persona on this page.

But now, there was another Persona seated directly below Loki, staring back at him with a wicked glow in its eyes.

Fenrir, the Great Wolf of Calamity.

It was obvious to him who the Persona was a result of, the scar over Fenrir's left eye only confirmed it.

On one hand, he was happy about obtaining more Personas. It meant that he was getting stronger and that in turn would lead to an easier path towards clearing the Dungeon. On the other hand, it also meant that he had already gotten far too involved with the people of Orario for his own good.

How was he going to deal with this when it came time to leave?

"What plagues your mind, Minato?" Elizabeth asked with a look of concern on her face.

"I... I made some new friends."

"That is good." The lady of the Velvet Room replied with a nod. "The powers of the Wild Card thrives on the bonds it forms with others."

"But... one day, I'll have to leave..." He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

He'd have to leave and then they would be separated. Once he returned to SEES, he wouldn't see any of them ever again. How was that any different from dying? How was that any different from what happened with Shinjiro?

"Everything ends one day, Minato. But the bonds you make, the memories you create, the moments that you experience, those remain with you forever." Elizabeth pulled out a tarot card and held it in front of him. "After all, you still carry a piece of Aragaki-san inside of you, do you not?"

He reached for the tarot card and flipped it over.

It was Sandalphon, the Angel of Prayer.

A Persona that he hadn't wanted to acknowledge, a Persona that he had left untouched in the compendium because he didn't want to think about the person responsible for giving him it. But that was wrong, wasn't it? He shouldn't have thought about it as a tragic reminder, but rather as a memento of happier times. If he thought about it like that, then maybe it wouldn't hurt as much.

...

Elizabeth was right, it would be a disservice to Shinjiro if he didn't carry it with him.

"... Thank you, Elizabeth."

The lady of the Velvet Room just smiled in response. "Have you found your answer?"

He took one last look at the tarot card in his hand before he crushed it, absorbing it into the Sea of Souls.

"Yeah, I have."

All of her children were in bright spirits on the day of the expedition.

It was always a sight to see so many of her children gathered around together outside of the Twilight Manor. She could still recall all those years ago when her Familia only had a few members to her name. It put her in a good mood to see how much her Familia and her children had grown since then.

They would be leaving to meet up with the Hephaestus Familia soon, and then they would be heading into the Dungeon.

The moment of departure was always bittersweet. On one hand, she was excited for her children to be able to go and achieve their goals. On the other hand, there was always a little worry inside of her that something might go wrong, that someone might die. It was a tough balance, trying to manage the two emotions at the same time.

A horn went off in the nearby distance, signaling that it was time.

She watched and waved as her children began to march past her one by one. Finn led the way, exuding confidence befitting of someone with the moniker of the Braver. Riveria was next and she marched with a grace that was only matched by her magical prowess. On the opposite end of the spectrum, what Gareth lacked in grace he more than made up for with the feeling of power behind each step he took.

They were her executives, the first members of her Familia, and she was damn proud of them.

The Amazon sisters were next, sticking together as they always had with one representing the sun and the other their moon. Ais's face was expressionless as usual, but Loki knew that she was burning up inside, her desire for strength driving her forward with a tenacity that few adventurers in the world possessed. Lefiya followed after her, determined to not fall behind her idol.

And the march continued on as more and more of her children moved towards their destination at the base of Babel tower.

At the end of the line were Bete and Minato. Like Ais, the blue-haired boy's face was expressionless, but she knew that deep inside, he possessed the same drive that Ais did. The only difference was that while she sought the strength to satisfy her vengeance, he desired to pave a way home even if it required conquering the Dungeon in the process.

Was it possible for someone without a God's blessing to triumph over the trials of the Dungeon?

Loki didn't know the answer to that, and perhaps that was why she found it so very entertaining to observe. At the same time though, she couldn't help but hope that the task she had given him wouldn't be the death of him. She had come to like the kid, even with how standoffish he could be at times. She'd gladly use her Arcana and damn herself a one-way trip back into Heaven if it meant she could witness him conquering the Dungeon firsthand.

Bete wore a nasty scowl on his face as he followed after the blue-haired boy. They were a duo that she hadn't expected to happen. She had just wanted Bete to stop moping around because he got ditched by Ais, so she sent Minato to go babysit him. She hadn't expected the two to actually stick and get along though, that had been an unexpected, but not unwanted, development.

That wolf of hers really was troublesome though. She was just glad that he had a friend now. That abrasive personality of his never did endear him to any of the people in the Familia. Bete had his reasons for that, but he couldn't expect anyone to understand if he was always pushing them away.

The werewolf had caught her staring though and let out a low growl in response.

"You got something to say, Loki?"

Loki just smiled. "Hey Bete, you're strong, right?"

"Huh?" The werewolf had a confused look on his face.

"Make sure to look after Minato-kun, alright? You're the veteran adventurer here after all."

Bete just scoffed in response.

"What the hell are you even talking about, dumbass." The werewolf grumbled out before he stalked off after the group. "... That guy's plenty strong on his own."

And then they were gone. Her children had gone on to challenge the trials of the Dungeon without her.

It really was a bittersweet moment.

Author's Notes- Did someone say expedition time? I wonder what's going to happen down there, hehe.

Anyway, as usual thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let's see how long I can keep the update train going, eh?

Edit: Re-uploading this because of the invisible chapter bug.