Hey guys, Striker777 here with the next update of Loki's Renard. Be sure to favourite, follow and review on what you think.
Since I haven't done it in a while, let's go through some of the reviews from the last few chapters.
General for chapter 15: Thanks everyone for their kind support once more, and my friend is still feeling down but better. The whole situation has been fucked, but he's doing much better now, so thank you all for your support.
N3bul0us (16): And I am really enjoying you reading it. Thanks a lot mate.
Guest (16): No, Alfia won't be seeing Bell anytime soon, if at all. I still haven't fully decided what to do with her character yet, but I know her role is going to be much different than it was during the Astraea Record Event. It just isn't going to involve Bell in the foreseeable future.
Funny-Little-Cute White Fox (16): Thanks so much for the support and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
N3bul0us (17): I hope you enjoyed it, but there are a lot more shenanigans to come, so keep an eye out.
NiebieskiLis (17): I'm planning to do key events in Akihide's time, such as the Darkest Days of Orario, the Rudra Familia incident, and others, but I do have a pretty fleshed out plan for the canon as well, and a lot of minor and major tweaks to the story I'm looking forward to introducing. I hope you enjoyed Ais' introduction and that the omake does show them to be close, but Ais will call him 'brother'. I don't have a future planned out where Alfia actively returns to Bell, I have one with an introduction between the two much later in Bell's life and one where she does die during the Darkest Days, but her character isn't finalised yet, so I'm not 100% certain about anything at the moment. If she were to return, Bell would be a lot stronger and more mentally prepared for the Dungeon, and he wouldn't have the teacher/student relationship with Akihide like I plan on them having.
Shen1412 (2): When? I have no clue what you're talking about, but would love it if you pointed it out to me. Little turd, lol.
SeanOkamiX (17): Well I hope you like where I'm going to take her character. Airmid is gonna make Dian Cecht her b****.
Sean1412 (4): Yep, exactly one year prior to Ais joining if that helps.
Sean1412 (8): Ohohohoho right back at ya!
Sean1412 (11): Tamamo? Yeah, I decided to just use the mythological character as a baseline for who Akihide was in his past life. I find it easier to write about men, you know, since personal experience and all that, but I think it was a good choice to make Tamamo a male, it'll be fun to write about him more.
Sean1412 (12): Thanks for saying so. I hope you enjoyed the other chapters just as much.
Sean1412 (17): You're welcome, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Guest (18): All adventurers receive their aliases during Denateus Day, which occurs once every three months. It's going to happen next chapter, as I just finished thinking of everyone's aliases.
Sean1412 (18): Heheheeh
NiebieskiLis (18): Well thank you, and I'm glad you like the omake. I'll be sure to throw more of them into the story in the future.
BrimazKing (18): Thank you for saying you love the fic, it means a lot. To answer your question, Bell will absolutely be in this fic. After his introduction to Akihide, Bell will play a significant role. Akihide will view Bell as a trusted person he feels the need to take care of and help grow since his aunt did the same for him when he first started out. The two will work extremely well together, since Akihide will be able to teach Bell a lot more about the Dungeon and how to actually survive it than Eina does. No offence, love that half elf, but personal experience means everything, and Akihide is going to have it in spades. Also, never apologise to me about having to reanswer questions, no matter how many times I have to say it, it just means people are liking my story so much they want to know more, and that is a wonderful feeling.
But anyway, onto the story!
Akihide watched in amusement as Ais ran away from Riveria. Not two days into her studying and the girl was trying to get out of doing her studying. Riveria tried placing Akihide and Ais in the same study group, have them help each other though their pursuit of knowledge, which was basically just a refresher from last year for Akihide since he learnt all this already, and grow closer as a result. The only results from that particular endeavour was a bunch of name calling from Akihide and Ais, before Ais called Riveria an old hag and shit really hit the fan. Riveria had not been impressed, and Akihide looked like he was ready to throw hands for that insult against his mother.
They had gone over magical theory, and Ais had taken so many notes, out of a overwhelming feeling of fear and a sense of dread that she shouldn't dare defy Riveria when pissed off like this, or be punished severely. Ais had looked dead by the end of the lesson, and Akihide had stayed behind, sitting on Riveria's lap and going on about how he didn't think she was old, and how pretty she was. The elven princess appreciated the young boy trying to cheer her up, but she was no fool, and knew whilst a part of him did want to help cheer her up, he was much more interested in solidifying himself as the favourite child. It was cute, so Riveria pretended not to notice and she hugged the small boy.
Now, Ais was running away from Riveria to avoid another study session, the elven princess chasing the young girl around like a mother trying to find her spoilt brat. Akihide supposed the spoiled brat part fit well enough with Ais, she had gone into the Dungeon much earlier than he did, he had to wait a month due to their expedition, but she was still being a whiny child about it and not going along with what Riveria was ordering her to do. Akihide knew that the studying was important, it had helped him out a lot when he first started going into the Dungeon, along with the training Kaguya put him through, but both those needs were being fulfilled by Riveria and Gareth, who had begun to teach her how to do things. She would try to study with Akihide and Riveria in the mornings, and train with Gareth in the afternoon whilst Akihide went out on patrol with the Astraea Familia.
In all of two days since first meeting Ais, Akihide's opinion of the girls was at an all-time low. The girl mouthed off to anyone who tried to approach her, was constantly absorbed in her training and didn't take the words of the more seasoned adventurers seriously. All in all, she was just finding more and more ways to piss Akihide off. The boy was pretty fed up with her to be honest, since she seemed to have a particularly nasty hatred for him, brushing his shoulder as they pass in the hallways, making mean comments about him and doing anything she could to either inconvenience him slightly or just outright ruin his day, and by the time Akihide finally had enough, the blonde girl was nowhere to be found.
Many adventurers in the Loki Familia took this as a sign that they should never be in the path between Akihide and Ais, for their own safety. It was only a matter of time before one of the two finally had enough and started a fight with the other, and they were not planning on being collateral when their fight eventually happened. Stories were already being told about how Ais was able to blow monsters up with a single strike on her first Dungeon Crawl, which was a feat impossible for new level 1 adventurers, or level1 adventurers in general. Akihide on the other hand was a familiar face with a broken skill that allowed him to immediately surpass everyone in the world in terms of travelling speed, and the boy was creative enough to find ways to use this skill to keep up with level 2 adventurers whilst he was still a level 1 adventurer himself. Overall two very impressive kids with highly destructive power with the potential to do a lot of damage if the two of them were to fight over something, not that they had to worry about it now, as Ais was nowhere to be found.
Eventually, the elf princess gave up her search and turned to Akihide. "Why don't you head on over to the Stardust Garden and start your training with Kaguya early today? I'm going to find this girl and punish her, so you might as well do something you want to do with your time, like training." said Riveria, knowing damn well Akihide would have been more than happy to watch Ais get punished (or publicly humiliated) by his 'all but on paper' adoptive mother, but she needed him gone so she could punish Ais in peace and not have a laughing and screaming 8 year old looking over her shoulder and screaming in her ear every five seconds to 'add this' or 'do that instead'. Riveria got enough of that shit from Loki, she didn't need Akihide starting to say it too.
And so, Akihide nodded as he ran to his mother and hugged her goodbye, a sight that more than once drew awws from the members of the Loki Familia. Something about Riveria and Akihide's relationship bought a smile to their face and warmed their hearts. Akihide let go and turned around as he began running to his room to get his gear. "Love you mama!" he called out behind him as he waved.
Riveria smiled at the boy as she turned around herself. "Who are you calling mama?" she muttered out from between her smiling lips as she continued her search for Ais. She didn't have to try for long, however, as she looked outside the window to see Ais talking with Finn, before the two engaged in a spar.
"Oh that tiny son of a bi
Kaguya looked at the blade presented to her with a keen eye, her student just in front of her, sitting on the floor and waiting for her verdict. As she continued to examine the blade, she sighed as she sheathed it and gave it back, filling Akihide with no small amount of dread that she found the blade unsuitable or a rip-off for the money he paid for it, as well as the small loan to the Hephaestus Familia. "Damn it all, now I have a case of sword envy..." muttered Kaguya, flipping the mood of the young boy in front of her as he smiled as brightly as he did on his birthday. Kaguya inwardly smiled, noticing how the boy liked praise, probably starved for it after the destruction of his village.
"That blade is a work of art. Tsubaki Collbrande really outdid herself this time." continued the Far Eastern swordswoman. "The metal purity is so high and the material from the dragon is so good that it looks like it can cut through anything. This has to be one of the greatest swords I've ever seen, and by far greater than the sword I have right now." she said, getting a slightly smug smirk from Akihide. Kaguya felt the vein in her forehead pop. If there was one thing that lead to the downfall of the Okami Clan and why they weren't a noble clan in the Far East was that they were too susceptible to hubris, thought themselves equal to gods.
It dated back to 1000 years ago when Amaterasu first descended to the lower world. When she gave the first of the Okami Clan their Falna, and their magic was discovered, they believed themselves to be as strong as the goddess herself. They claimed that they could grant strength to the people of the island as well, since they gave them more power than the gods, and challenged them to a foolish fight. Against the combined might of Amaterasu, Tsukoyomi and Hachiman, 100 members of the clan were wiped from the face of the world, and the remainders were mercifully granted the right to serve the other clans of the Far East, before they were given their clan back 3 generations later by Amaterasu rewarding a valiant warrior who protected the land and became the only person in the Far East to ever reach level 8, which made him the strongest person in the world at that time.
It was said that hubris was a curse on the Okami Clan, and that many fell victim to it, which is why over the following 900 years, the clan widdled down to just Akihide and his family, who now have become solely Akihide until the boy started a family of his own. But looking at him now, displaying the hubris that got his clan killed off in the first place, it just didn't sit right with Kaguya. She knew she had to put a stop to this, for Akihide's sake.
"There's a saying that I've heard from some of the first class adventurers." she started, turning to Akihide with a familiar face that he was quick to connect to her usual 'lecture face'. "Adventurers are controlled by their Falna. These adventurers use brute strength and the power of their Falna to get through obstacles, which is not the same as using their technique or ability, which is why I have been training you for the past year." she said, losing Akihide's attention momentarily as she looked over at the window, looking to the east with eyes full of memories. "Before I became one of Astraea's children, I learnt how to fight from my clan. Despite the fact I'm only 14, I have been training with the blade since the age of 4. For 10 years, I have practiced day and night in order to master the sword."
Kaguya stood up and turned to Akihide. "Today's lesson will cement why you can't rely on your Falna, and why learning the techniques and how to properly use your sword is much better. Follow me." she said as she turned around, picking up her katana and walking out of the room to the training field out the back. She wouldn't let Akihide die like the fools of his clan's past. Akihide was going to grow stronger and become a stable and reliable adventurer. She did not spend all this time training him just for him to get himself killed by being overconfident.
Riveria watched as Ais went to the mess hall to grab some afternoon tea. The girl had been cracked a bit by Finn, after a lesson on how she needed to learn about her enemy as well as learn how to use her weapon and fight properly, she seemed much more interested in the things Riveria had to teach her, or at least more willing to put up with it for the sake of growing stronger. That would have to do for now, Riveria supposed. Perhaps things could be better in the future, and Ais would be able to see eye to eye with her and Akihide.
Speaking of her son in all but blood and paperwork, he should have been back a little while ago from training. It wasn't an unusual sight for Akihide to get lost in time in his training with Kaguya, and Riveria supposed now that he was a level 2 and capable of a lot more than he was when he was a level 1, it was only natural that he'd get caught up in training and lose track of time. It was a good excuse to let her leave the Twilight Manor for a few hours, just to go and get the young boy, but she needed a rest from her home every now and then too.
And so, Riveria pushed open the front door and began to make her way down the road to the Stardust Garden. She didn't get far, however, before she felt something pulling at her robes. She turned around to see the smirking face of Loki, one which Riveria recognises as the face Loki used when she was in trouble or something had gone wrong. A smirk that covered up how screwed she was, or that something was up.
"Mama~" sung the goddess, instantly getting on Riveria's nerves. "Can we talk for a moment? I miss chatting with mama~" she continued on, knowing she was pissing Riveria off. Deciding that she knew the risks and consequences, Riveria slammed her fist down on Loki's head. "Iggyaaaa?!" cried out the goddess, falling to the ground and clutching her head.
"Who are you calling 'mama'?" questioned the elf princess, watching as Loki began rolling around on the floor and crying out in pain. Riveria sighed, knowing she didn't hit Loki all that hard at all, and that her goddess was just putting it on. "Enough, Loki. What did you want to talk about. The look on your face tells me it's something serious." sternly pressed the Vice Captain of the Familia.
Loki pushed herself off the ground, still rubbing the spot on her head where Riveria had punched her head. "Ow..." she moaned out in pain, before letting her head go and turning to the green haired elf with a serious expression across her face. "It's Akihide. I'm going to tell you, Gareth and Finn about the new skill that showed up when he Ranked Up." she said.
That caught Riveria off guard. Loki had gone out of her way to hide Akihide's new skill from him, much like they did with Ais' magic, but Riveria didn't know why. With Ais, there was a good reason, she wasn't mentally prepared enough to use her magic with the way she was consumed by revenge, and not ready to use her magic in the Dungeon. Akihide was much more mature, had been into the Dungeon on multiple occasions, and already had a skill that he was capable of using which was quite powerful. No matter how the green haired elf looked at it, it made no sense, even when Loki didn't tell her or the other executive what the deal with the skill was.
Riveria steeled herself as she glared slightly at the goddess, letting her know she meant business. "Why now?" she asked, one eyebrow raised and her eyes glaring into the soul of her goddess. "Why didn't you tell us all earlier? It would've made more sense to tell us earlier when he Ranked Up." she said, looking at her goddess and demanding answers.
Loki sighed. "I didn't want Akihide to have any chance of overhearing. This needs to stay between us for now." said the trickster goddess as she turned back to the Twilight Manor. Riveria sighed as she followed her into their home, up the stairs and into the executive meeting room, where Finn and Gareth were already waiting.
"Loki, why is it that you're keeping Akihide's skill a secret?" asked Finn, eying down the goddess in curiosity. "Is it something dangerous? Something we should be concerned about at the very least, I take it." he said, thinking there wouldn't be no good reason for Loki to keep something like this from either Akihide or them.
Loki sat down as she looked at her first 3 children. "Akihide's new skill, Reiður Styrkur Tamamo, translates to 'Strength of Tamamo's Wrath'. It's something we gods refer to as a 'broken skill'." she said, getting a shocked reaction from her children. A broken skill was a term used by the gods to refer to a skill that was so powerful that it seemed unfair for it to even exist. Riveria's Alf Regenia, by far the greatest skill in the Loki Familia, was technically classified as a broken skill, but was said to be well on the weaker side of broken skills. It was said the Zeus and Hera Familias were full of adventurers with broken skills, which is what allowed them to venture so deep into the Dungeon.
"Reiður Styrkur Tamamo is basically two powerful skills in one, but insanely difficult to control, kinda like a last resort." explained Loki. "It passively acts as an Excilia booster, but that relies upon it active function, which is an enhancer, and an absolutely insane enhancer at that." she said, getting her children on the edge of their seats as she speaks. "The trigger is getting Akihide angry while in combat, and as far as I can tell, he can give himself a false Rank Up."
False Rank Up. A state in which an adventurer temporarily gains the ability of someone of a higher level than them. There are only a handful of people who had the capacity to do this, such as Ottar, who could boost himself to level 7 under beautification, but only for a short while. If what Loki was saying was true, and she had no reason to lie about something like this, than Akihide could very well be one of the strongest adventurers in Orario by the time he hit level 4, maybe even level 3.
Riveria looked back at Loki. "So what do we do now? We have to tell him about this, maybe leave out the part about the Excilia booster, but at least tell him about the damage he can cause and help him learn to control it." she said, but even she knew the Loki Familia didn't exactly have the knowledge on how to gain control over broken skills. Perhaps Alfia would have a better idea about what to do, seeing as she was a member of the Hera Familia that had several broken skills in their Familia. Either way, Akihide had to know.
Loki shook her head. "Maybe we should wait until we know more. Reiður Styrkur Tamamo is still a mysterious skill that hasn't shown up before as far as the records go in the guild. Oranous got his own personal aid to check it themself. Until we know more, we should try to let sleeping dogs lie." countered the goddess.
The agreement was made and it was decided that for the moment, Akihide would be in the dark about his skill, at least until they learnt more or decided the only way to learn more was through trial and error, which they really didn't hope it came to.
They did have one clue, at least. And so the four began their search by looking over the stories of Tamamo no Mae, both the hero and the villain.
Alice, Ryuu and Astraea watched with discomfort as Akihide was sent tumbling to the ground once more. For the last few hours, the two level 2 adventurers had spared with each other, with Akihide relying heavily on Mico Grandus like his usual style dictated he should, as well as his now superior stats from when he was a level 1. Kaguya, on the other hand, was using her techniques that she had cultivated through a decade of her life. She had thoroughly embarrassed Akihide, reflecting his attacks and predicting where he would strike her from when he used his skill.
For what seemed to be the hundredth time, Akihide landed flat on his face, dropping his sword and moaning in pain. "Ow..." he let out, reaching out and gripping his sword, trying to stand up, but finding himself lacking the energy to.
"Now do you see?" asked Kaguya, hoping that the young boy had gotten her message about not being overconfident in his abilities. "Falna means nothing in the face of someone who can outmatch you in technique. Falna opens the way for the creation of more techniques, but at the end of the day, between superior strength and technique, technique always wins." she said, getting nothing from Akihide. She tapped her sword on the back of his head, before noticing that his eyes were half-lidded. The boy was exhausted.
"Kaguya... was all that really necessary?" asked Astraea, looking down at the poor boy. "He just hit level 2, and he hasn't even gotten his alias yet... can't you let him be proud for a little while?" she asked her Vice Captain.
"Pride is what got his clan almost eradicated 1000 years ago, and has cursed the Okami clan for every generation after that." replied Kaguya, looking back at the boy. "If he continues on this path, he will never be strong enough to avenge his family. That monster will laugh at his despair as he devours him like it did his parents. He won't be strong enough."
"Kaguya!" exclaimed Astraea, a shocked Ryuu and Alice right next to her. "The boy is 8! What 8 year old isn't proud of themselves for something? It's perfectly natural and normal!" she yelled in Akihide's defence. Even she knew Kaguya could go too far some times despite meaning well. This was one of those times, and Astraea had to stand up for the boy.
"Lady Astraea..." muttered Alice, tapping her elbow against the shoulder of the goddess, and nodding towards something. Astraea looked to where Alice was pointing, just behind Kaguya, and gasped. Said swordswoman turned around, looking at what the three others were seeing, and saw that Akihide had risen up from the ground.
Kaguya put on a brave face. "That's enough for today... I think the lesson has been learnt. Go home and reflect... upon..." she said, beginning to dismiss him, only to look on in shock as parts of his hair began to turn a darker shade of red than Alice's hair. As his tail, now with the same white and red pattern as his hair, began to emerge, so too did a second tail made of a red energy, and then a third. His eyes, one a bright gold, now shone like a deep fire that burned in the bowels of his heart. He levelled a hard glare at Kaguya, so instinctively took a step back. "Akihide?" she asked, look for a response.
She received one in the form of a sword slash. Kaguya noticed the subtle change in his stance and leapt back just in time to avoid the stance, holding her weapon hilt and casting her magic. "The flower of the misfortune equinox!" she cast quickly, drawing her blade as five more appeared around her, and she slashed her sword, causing the other five to move in and slash from different directions. Akihide, in whatever state he was in, didn't even flinch at the attack, and teleported away.
Kaguya knew where he was, and turned around, bringing her sword up just in time to block a slash from the younger fighter. However, one would notice that Kaguya blocked the slash much closer to the hilt than during their spars. This wasn't an active decision, she just couldn't raise her blade and higher before Akihide struck. 'Fast!' she thought, as she began pushing back against him, as her feet started to drag along the ground. 'I had no trouble before, but he's pushing me further back every second. He's gotten stronger without a Falna update?!' she thought in shock, before jumping back. Akihide gave her no room to breath and rushed her position, slamming his sword into hers once more.
'The clash of his blade is shacking my bones! This is the strength of a level 3!' she realised as she was sent back by the boy. 'It's no coincidence that he has two more tails now, and there was no incantation... this must be some sort of skill...' she thought, before sheathing her sword and getting into another stance. 'Iai no Tachi: Issen!' she proclaimed in her head, and drew her blade in a powerful slash as Akihide slashed at her himself.
The resulting clash broke Kaguya's sword, shattering it into several pieces, and leaving the poor girl dazed. "Huh?" was all that was able to escape her lips as she looked at her hilt. Akihide, still in whatever trance he was in, saw his chance and moved his sword to strike again. Alice had already moved between the two, her own sword drawn and ready to block his attack.
The boy suddenly got a splitting headache and dropped his blade. His eyes went wide and his pupils went up, as he fell forward and collapsed. The four girls rushed to his side, seeing the boy dead still, barely breathing, and completely unresponsive.
Later that day, the Loki Familia Executives got their first limitation of Akihide's new skill. His mind and body couldn't keep up with his new power for more than a minute before he collapsed.
Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. I think it says a good idea about Akihide's skill at the current time. It's broken, but I want to point out a few things about it. Firstly, about the Excilia booster. This is in no way ever going to be as strong as Bell's, who can gain Excilia at a ridiculous rate. Bell's Excilia gain is based on his emotion, and whilst this is the same of Akihide, this differs in that he has a definite cap, whilst Bell doesn't. The stronger Bell's feelings, the stronger his Excilia gain, but Akihide will need to level up to take full advantage of his skill. At his current state, releasing the third tail will grant him and Excilia boost of 100%, so he gets double the Excilia. This may seem like a lot, but in Bell's case, he reached level 2 after a month and a half. It would take Akihide four times as much time to accomplish the same thing.
Secondly, I don't have any concrete plans on if I'm going to increase the amount of levels Akihide can increase as time goes on. Still up for debate, and I guess it's going to be dependent on if the plot needs it or not, but if it does happen, it won't for quite a while yet. For now, I am sticking with one level, that Akihide will eventually learn how to utilise properly.
Anyway, I have a small omake today, back onto the Vanadis Odr timeline. I hope you guys enjoy it.
Omake : Akihide Okami - Vanadis Odr (4)
The inclusion of the small boy at the Executive table was not unnoticed. It was Freya's specific orders that Akihide was to sit with the other high-ranking members of the Familia, and the boy was dreading every last second of it. Allen was glaring at him, and Akihide instinctively knew that meant his training the next day was going to be horrendous and a dark elf was snickering a little further down the table, muttering about death and young boys losing their innocence with blood, which was freaking him out a hell of a lot more. There was another elf, who seemed to be eyeing him with curiosity whilst simultaneously glaring at him, and a set of four pallum, just a bit taller than him, that were glaring daggers at the small boy, causing Akihide to shy away from it all.
A supportive, giant hand found it's way to his shoulder, and Akihide looked up at his Captain, Ottar, who gave the boy a supportive smile. Akihide appreciated the gesture, and his resolve steeled once more, as he looked to the others. "I'm Aki-"
"Shut up, loser kid." said one of the pallum, the one with the green eyes.
"No one want you here." said another, the yellow eyed one.
"Just go and die already." said the red eyed one.
"Oi, you three!" yelled out the final one, with the blue eyes.
"The harbinger of doom is upon us... heh heh heh heh heh~" chuckled the dark elf, clutching his face and laughing. "He'll lay fire upon us all in a stake for her heart~"
"Quit forcing yourself to speak, Hogni." said the regular elf, turning to the boy. "And don't force yourself to speak either. It's unbecoming."
Allen simply scoffed and turned his head, offering his student no sympathy, nor any support.
Akihide's nerves came crashing down and he hid under the table. Four sets of laughter erupted as he did, three from the pallum and one from the dark elf. Akihide didn't care as he curled himself up into a small ball, wishing beyond anything that his mother was here to take care of him, his father to reassure him that everything would be alright, or his sister to share her courage. None was possible, so he simply cried.
To say that Freya was not impressed would be the biggest understatement of the millennia. Before her sat her executives, minus Ottar, on a nice little punishment she had learnt from Tsukuyomi during her adventures in the Far East. It was called Ishidaki, where the seven of them were forced to kneel on wedged plates while heavy objects were placed upon their lap. The pain was something comparable from taking a direct hit from Udaeus.
"Akihide Okami lost his home, his family, and everything he ever knew, a story not dissimilar than some of your own." she chastised them, sending a very pointed glare at her new Vice Captain. "And now I hear of you going against my direct orders to make him feel accepted in our Familia by insulting him at the dinner table? Are you trying to make me upset? Because if you are, you have all done an amazing job." she said in a cold voice, her glare as cold as the Glacier Territory of Floor 59.
The seven looked down in shame. They had bought misery to their goddess, and now they had to pay the price for it. The wedges began to hurt more and more, as did their hearts as Freya paid their pain no mind, turning to her window. "No... this is my fault... I expected too much from you all..." she said to herself, causing another stab of pain through the hearts of her executives. She hummed to herself, an idea forming in her head.
"There's only one person I can rely on for this." she said, as her eyes drifted down to a certain pub in Orario that had just opened up.
Yeah, I thought it'd be cool if Akihide worked at the Hostess of Fertility, just to see how things would progress. Anyway, next chapter will have Akihide getting his first alias as well as taking a deep dive into Floor 13 for the first time. But for now, this is Striker777, over and out.