God's Blessing on this Wonderful Dungeon

By Icura and Special FX

~o~

Interlude Collection 1: Aftermath

~o~

Rose

Rose Fannett was no stranger to dealing with high-stress situations. As a long time employee of the Guild, she had seen and lived through all kinds of crazy events. From having to smooth over relations between rowdy adventurers to having to collect paperwork from a distraught deity after their entire familia got wiped out, she had seen it all. However, she didn't think anything could have prepared her for the neverending chaos that the Eris Familia created.

And now, they were even avoiding her! Somehow always coming to the Guild Headquarters when she was on break, lunch, or off-duty. With no outlet for her anger—but still having to deal with their antics—Rose could only let her grievances silently build up.

The sun had barely risen over the city when Rose found herself seated in a plush leather chair at her desk, staring at the stack of papers that had piled up overnight. No matter how many documents that she worked her way through, the pile just never seemed to shrink. In fact, the paperwork only seemed to grow, and they could all be attributed to the Eris Familia…

It had already taken her an ungodly amount of time to deal with all the paperwork from that entire teleportation fiasco, and now, she had to deal with the aftermath from some kind of stupid 'magic contest'? Requesting a Guild employee to be an impartial judge for the event? Borrowing the Guild's training ground? Completely decimating it afterward? Did they even realize how much paperwork she had to fill out just because they were adventurers under her guidance!?

And she hadn't even gotten started on the paperwork for the joint-expedition they were currently participating in with Vidar Familia. That damn Kazuma didn't even have the courtesy to give her his paperwork in person!

Rose plopped her head onto her desk face first and closed her eyes. Maybe if she prayed hard enough, the stack of papers in front of her would disappear from sight.

"Heeeeyoooo! Rooooose!" A singsong voice called out.

Slowly, she raised her head and turned her attention toward the source of the voice. Another source of her perpetual headaches approached her desk with a lopsided grin on her face. Neze Rankett casually strolled over to her desk and leaned against it while waving her hand. Like the members of the Eris Familia, she was an adventurer that was put under her guidance as well, though with Astraea Familia. Still, while Neze was also a troublemaker, it was nothing compared to the troubles that Eris Familia would get up to.

"Neze…" Rose sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you that only Guild employees are allowed back here?"

"Aww, come on, Rose," Neze playfully whined. "I'll be out of your hair soon. I just wanted to stop by for a quick chat."

Unlike the rest of the adventurers on her roster, the relationship she had with Neze Rankett was different. For one, Rose had known her before moving to Orario. Neze was a werewolf like her, and they were both from the same village. While she had moved to Orario seeking a better life, Neze had far bigger aspirations; the life and glory of an adventurer. It was a foolish and stupid dream, but the girl had been determined and no amount of scathing words had stopped her.

At the very least, Neze had joined up with a good familia, so Rose didn't have to worry about her too much.

"...what do you want, Neze?" Rose tiredly asked. "I don't have time to play along with you today."

Neze raised an eyebrow and casually leaned over.

"Hey Rose…is that a gray hair?"

Rose let out a sigh in response. It wouldn't surprise her if she did have some gray hairs growing out.

Neze always came by to bother her when she was bored. Normally, she wouldn't have minded because, if she were to be honest, she didn't have too many friends. Her personality had a tendency to scare off a lot of people. Still, she had a job to do so she didn't have the time to indulge in idle conversations right now.

"I'm serious, Neze," Rose replied. "What do you want? I'm really busy today."

"Boo…fine then," Neze pouted. "So, Alise has been acting weird lately. I think there's this guy she's interested in."

Rose found that hard to believe. For as long as she had known her, the only thing that girl ever had on her mind was her strange obsession with 'justice'.

"Hey, I know that face." Neze pointed her finger at Rose. "You don't believe me!"

"Can you blame me?" Rose dryly replied.

"Kaguya and Lyra think so too," Neze answered with a frown. "So it's not just me being dumb."

"What's the point of this conversation, Neze?"

Or rather, why should she care at all?

"Well, he's one of your adventurers."

Rose blinked at that.

Someone from her roster…? She mentally went through all of the male adventurers who had been placed under her guidance. Alise already knew most of them. Unless…

No, it couldn't be…

"Don't tell me it's Satou Kazuma…" Rose tentatively asked.

The source of all her troubles lately…

"Yep," Neze answered with a nod of her head. "I'm surprised you figured it out so fast."

Rose groaned as she put her head back on her desk. The last thing that she wanted was for Alise to get involved with that troublemaker. Especially when she had finally managed to reign in her and the rest of the Astraea girls under her guidance. She didn't need any more work on her plate—

A sudden commotion erupted from the Guild's main lobby, breaking her out of her thoughts and catching her attention.

"Huh?" Neze glanced over with a raised eyebrow. "I wonder what's going on?"

Rose already had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Slowly getting up from her desk, she began to make her way over to the lobby while Neze followed closely behind her. When she made it to the lobby, she could see the source of all her troubles standing in the middle, just like he had with the first teleportation incident. They weren't alone though; two members of Vidar Familia were there as well. They weren't adventurers under her guidance, but she still recognized one of her kin, a young werewolf that the gods had given the title of 'Fenris'.

Rose was primed to give Kazuma and his group a piece of her mind for avoiding her recently, but the words died within her throat when she saw the looks on everyone's faces.

Rose was a Guild advisor so she knew just how dangerous being an adventurer was. She had seen that look many times throughout her career and would probably continue to in the future. The faces that they made when losing a comrade. Aside from the headless corpse lying on the ground, it wasn't hard to guess what the two wrapped bundles in the Vidar Familia members' hands were.

"…hey, Rose," Kazuma mumbled without looking her in the eye. "I'm here to give the report for our expedition."

Instead of saying what was on her mind, she bit down her words and simply nodded in response.

She really hated this part of her job.

"…I'll get the necessary paperwork."

~o~

Darkness

Darkness strode into the dimly lit living room of their home, her armor clinking with each step. Since it was already morning, the sun was out in full force, but someone had pulled all the curtains over the windows in the living room. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed a figure sprawled out on the sofa. Slowly, her hand reached for the light switch and flicked it on, casting the room in the warm glow of the light.

"Oi…what gives?" Kazuma complained from the couch. "I was taking a nap here."

"You were awake a few hours ago," Darkness replied as she took a seat on the couch nearby.

"Yeah, well…I felt like taking a nap," Kazuma said with a frown. "Couldn't sleep well last night."

Darkness didn't think any of them did. Not after what happened.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your training session?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Don't feel like going."

"Are you going to at least let Alise know?"

"Nah."

Darkness just let out a sigh in response.

She'd just have to ask Aqua or Megumin to inform the Astraea Familia later. Normally, she would have given him a lecture about his conduct and proper etiquette, but she let it go this time. Even though he tried to act like he normally did, she could tell that what had happened during their expedition was bothering him.

The dark bags under his eyes told the truth, no matter how much he pretended otherwise.

"…Kazuma, there's something we should talk about," Darkness slowly began. "It's been on my mind for a while now."

Kazuma half-opened one eye. "…do we have to?"

"It's important."

Kazuma let out a long and exaggerated sigh before he sat back up. He looked tired, far more tired than missing a single night of sleep should have caused.

"Well? What is it?"

"You need to be more careful, Kazuma," Darkness seriously answered. "You were far too reckless during our last battle."

He gave her an annoyed look. "I don't want to hear that from you of all people."

Normally, she would have taken great pleasure from the thinly-veiled insult, but not this time.

"It's different for me and you know it," she replied with a frown on her face. "You know how durable I am, but you could have died…"

She left the rest of the words unsaid; just didn't have the heart to say them aloud. It was something that she didn't ever want to think about, but here in this world, if Kazuma died again, he was gone. For good.

So she had to say it.

"…this isn't Belzerg, Kazuma," Darkness eventually continued. "You can't keep being as reckless as before. Aqua won't be able to bring you back this time."

"You think I don't know that? It's not like I'm trying to get myself killed." Kazuma's gaze dropped, and he clenched his fists. "What else was I supposed to do? I'm not some storybook hero that can save the day with just a swing of my sword."

She wanted to say that he could have relied on everyone else more; relied on her more, but she knew that those were simply useless words in the end. She had failed in her role as the party's vanguard and just like in the past, they wouldn't have won without Kazuma playing the part of the sacrificial lamb. Her [Decoy] skill only affected monsters, and she had been too slow to keep Olivas from disengaging from their duel. It may have been the first time she had fought against other adventurers, but she wasn't able to fulfill her duty as a crusader.

She needed to get better. Just like how Kazuma had been working on improving himself by training with Alise, she needed to do the same.

"I know." Darkness stood up and placed a gloved hand gently on his shoulder. "I need to be better too. I shouldn't have let you get forced into a situation like that to begin with."

"...it's not your fault," Kazuma mumbled. "I was the one who screwed up."

"Kazu—"

"Loki warned me about Evilus," Kazuma interrupted. "Before we even went on the expedition. I didn't take it seriously though."

"That's…" Darkness trailed off, unsure of how to respond.

"Yeah. I'm a real idiot, right?" Kazuma let out a hollow laugh. "Those guys are dead because of me."

"Even with her warning, you couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Maybe…" Kazuma leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs, staring at the ground with a clouded look in his eyes. "I want to get back at them, Darkness. I don't think that I've ever been this angry before."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," she replied with a wry smile. "As a crusader, I can't stand by and let a group of scoundrels like them run amok either."

~o~

Lyra

There were very few pallum adventurers. Actually, that wasn't exactly right. The correction should be: there were very few worthwhile Pallum adventurers. The rest? They were mostly garbage, satisfied to be mascots or to suck on the biggest toe around. Those gods and goddesses liked having cute little boys and girls who weren't actually young, but able to keep their appearances until old age gave them white hair and wrinkles. Some even helped their pallum followers level up, just so that it would take longer for old age to reach their favored pets.

And quite frankly, who cares?

Having been born inside a prison to two pallum inmates, raised by the bugs crawling on the floor, and naming herself when she could string more than a few words together, Lyra had been kicked around by everyone and survived on the charity of the very same people who stomped on her head. When she had gotten out of the prison, she had found out that the outside was only a little better.

Pallum? Racial unity? What a joke. She was liable enough to stab her parents if she ever found out who they were, and with her luck, they were probably the ones who had been stealing her food and spitting on her for years. The only one who Lyra could trust was herself. At least, that was what she used to think.

After leaving the prison—dirty, hungry, and with no way of updating her falna since the god who gave it to her on a whim was still back there in the prison—Lyra was desperate enough to pickpocket a random woman on the streets. After all, with a rich dress like that, she probably wouldn't notice that she was a few coins lighter. Of course, that person had turned out to be Astraea, the Goddess of Justice.

And the rest was history.

"Lyra, can you get the door?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't drop the dishes, Alise."

Jumping off the chair, Lyra headed out of the dining room. With short pink hair, a black crop top, and tight black shorts, she was a bit underdressed since she didn't have her more protective outerwear, but it was enough for being inside their familia's home.

Walking over to the main entrance, she opened the door while preparing to look up. However, she didn't have to look up that much.

The kid standing in front of her door was only a head taller than her. With black hair, a red one-piece shirt that ended in a skirt, and a cone for a hat. What put her on edge however was the fact that this girl was holding a staff with an orb on top that looked like it was worth more than a few yearly wages. Her hand subtly inched toward the waist pouch with her ball explosives even as she addressed her.

"What're you here for, kid?"

"Kid?!" The girl visibly fumed. "You're shorter than me!"

"That's because I'm a pallum, numbskull," Lyra dryly retorted. "You're a kid unless you're a half-pallum or something."

"Why do people keep thinking I'm a pallum? I'm just short, okay!?"

"And younger than me," Lyra made sure to point out. "So who are you and what do you want?"

Seeing the younger girl puff up her chest, Lyra quickly cut in.

"Make it short or I'll shut the door. My breakfast is getting cold."

"...Megumin," the girl eventually said, deflating. "From Eris Familia."

The black-haired girl's stomach growled, though they both pretended not to hear it. Still, Lyra was starting to feel a little bad for the girl.

"Ah, their mage. So you're here for Alise?"

"Just need to tell her that we're back from our expedition, but that Kazuma is holed up in his room like a NEET."

"Ah," Lyra murmured in understanding. "So you need Alise to coax her boyfriend out?"

"No," Megumin said as one of her eyes twitched. "He just won't be coming to their training sessions for a while. Can you let her know?"

Ah. A smirk formed on the pallum's face as she caught the look on the other girl's face.

How interesting. She could use this.

"Why not tell her yourself?" Lyra pulled the door open wider. "All she talks about these days are Kazuma this and Kazuma that. She'd probably want to hear it directly."

"Why should I?" Megumin asked challengingly, her expression full of disgruntled defiance.

"We're eating breakfast right now so we have plenty of food if you're hungry," Lyra said, using one of the cards she had gained earlier in the conversation. "We have a familia member who can cook pretty well. Restaurant quality even."

Megumin's face changed in an instant, though she quickly tried to hide it. Of course, this didn't escape the pallum's sight whose grin curved a little more.

"Well, if you're offering…"

"It's hardly free since Alise is probably gonna grill you on how he became like that."

"Sure." Megumin shrugged. "It's not like it's a secret or anything."

~o~

Loki

"So Aqua, what happened then?"

"Then…then Kazuma shoved a bunch of tinymite into Obologna's mouth and blew it up!"

Loud cheering erupted throughout the bar from the patrons nearby who had been listening in on the story. They had been eavesdropping at first, but that was soon turned into an open crowd as the story went on. Of course, Aqua didn't seem to notice at all, even when free mugs of ale started piling up on their table.

The Trickster Goddess was nursing her own mug, drinking a little less than the blue-haired mortal across from her. She had heard that her new favorite drinking buddy was back, but the girl hadn't appeared on the first or second night. It was only on the third night that she had made an appearance, and whatcha know, she had shown up with a rapturous story up her long sleeves.

In fact, it was so engrossing that Loki had even slowed down her own drinking just to listen in better. Sure, it wasn't like human-made alcohol could get her drunk, but it did give her the tiniest bit of a buzz, and that would have just messed with her enjoyment of the story.

And what a story it was! What she wouldn't have given to see it herself. A small party of adventurers against a large ambush of higher leveled Evilus members. It sounded almost ridiculous. Unbelievable even. Normally, she wouldn't need to question a mortal since she could tell if they were lying, but for Aqua? She actually couldn't tell. It was like talking to Syr Flova.

How could there be two mortals like that? It was odd.

It was interesting.

In terms of everything, the two were far apart. Syr was plain and not an adventurer. Aqua, on the other hand, was a miracle healer and looked so beautiful that she could be mistaken for a goddess if the only criteria was appearance. If she wasn't one hundred percent sure that it was impossible, she would have thought that Aqua was the offspring of a deity or two. A half-goddess or something.

The story had finished up, but the crowd was clamoring for a retelling, especially since most of them had started listening in partway. While Loki did have questions–and she could certainly barge right in since she was a goddess–it would spoil the mood.

Fortunately, a new distraction appeared. Syr Flova exited from the staff section, wearing her waitress outfit and ready to start her shift at the Hostess of Fertility. Loki was about to call out to her when she noticed the gray-haired mortal freezing in her tracks.

Following her line of sight, Loki noticed that Syr was staring at the current main attraction of the bar and restaurant, Aqua. Normally, the Goddess of Mischief would have thought that it was just surprise and curiosity, but that gaze was lingering for far longer than normal. It was tickling at her trickster senses.

There was definitely something more to this new interesting development.

"Syr! I need another!" Loki suddenly shouted, waving her mug in the air and grabbing the waitress' attention.

Just like that, the magic that held Syr's gaze vanished. She immediately put on a smile and began waitressing like normal. However, Loki noticed that, throughout the rest of the night, Syr would glance over at Aqua as often as she could.

How very interesting.

~o~

Bete

Bete Loga did not know how long he had been standing there.

The evening sun had already dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the quiet cemetery nestled within the city of Orario. As he stood amid the row of tombstones with his characteristic scowl etched onto his face, his hand clenched tightly around a small bouquet of flowers. The two graves in front of him were simple stones marked with the names 'Jiruna' and 'Vani' along with the symbol of Vidar Familia. They had always been seen together, so it seemed only fitting for their graves to be next to one another.

There was a funeral a few days ago. Bete hadn't attended. It was only now that he was finally here.

As he stood there, staring aimlessly at the stone slabs sticking out of the earth, he could feel the memories of his past threaten to drown him underneath their weight. Once again, he had been too weak to protect what was his. He gritted his teeth so hard that his gums started to ache. No, that was the wrong way of thinking. They had died because they had been too weak for this cruel world.

Just like his parents and his sister. Just like Reene had been.

Bete had deluded himself into thinking that the weak could be strong one day. That if he had simply shown them the way, dragged them along, they could have become strong. He had been a naive fool and that had led Vani and Jiruna to their deaths. Had he not managed to pull Selenia away in time, she would have been a third tombstone resting in this cemetery.

His fists shook as he clenched them.

Selenia was strong, wasn't she? And yet, during that battle with the goliath, she had faltered. Against Olivas, if he hadn't pulled her out of the way, she'd have become a corpse just like Vani and Jiruna. Even though she had been an adventurer for far longer than him, hadn't he already caught up to her?

Had he been wrong about her?

"..."

Vani and Jiruna did not possess that ravenous hunger for strength that was necessary to survive in this world. They had been content with merely reaching the second step, and no matter how much he tried to drag them along, that was probably all they would amount to in the end. Selenia…she could howl, but was that enough? His father had howled the loudest, had challenged anyone that dared to threaten their village, but in the end, he too had been crushed by the master of the plains.

There was something he was missing, wasn't there? The fact of the matter was that not all people in this world were born equal. Those without talent, no matter how much they desired and persevered, would eventually hit their limit one day.

Why had he deluded himself into thinking that they could stand beside him as members of his pack? Was it because of companionship? Because Vidar Familia reminded him of his lost family? That, for the first time since he had lost everything, he felt like he had belonged?

Nothing but worthless sentiments and a sob story that was worth less than garbage. The weak had no place on the battlefield and should have just stayed hidden away in their damn holes.

A sudden shuffling sound on the ground pulled his attention away from the pair of tombstones.

With armor as pitch black as her namesake and an uncharacteristic solemnity that filled her blue eyes, Darkness approached, her greaves shuffling against the stone pathway all the while. In her hands was a bouquet of flowers. Bete wasn't surprised to see her here. Out of everyone in Eris Familia, she had probably been the closest to the members of Vidar Familia due to her friendship with Selenia.

No words were exchanged between them as Darkness made her way to Vani and Jiruna's graves.

Bete could still remember the first time they had met in the boutique, when Selenia had dragged him along to go on that stupid shopping trip for dresses. Her long golden hair had reminded him of Reene, and for a brief moment, he caught himself wondering that if Reene had somehow survived, would she have looked like her? He had quickly squashed that thought though; it had been a pointless one. Reene was weak so she had perished, but Darkness was strong so she had survived.

That was all there was to it.

He could still remember how he had challenged Darkness back in the Flaming Wasp and how she had howled back. She had never faltered in the face of adversity, willingly challenging anyone and anything in her way. Against the goliath and even against that bastard Olivas. She was one of the 'strong', someone who didn't need to be saved or dragged along. Someone that Reene never was.

Why couldn't Reene have been like her…?

Bete gritted his teeth again. What a foolish thought. More useless sentiments. He didn't need any of that; he just needed to become stronger. Strong enough that he would never lose again.

"Bete…" Darkness solemnly murmured. "About what happened… I'm–"

"Save it. I don't wanna hear it," Bete gruffly interrupted. "They died because they were weak. That's it." He dropped the bouquet of flowers in his hand on top of the graves. "...you're strong, Darkness. Don't ever let anyone change that."

Bete turned around and walked away before she could respond.

Don't stop. Don't be consumed by regret. Keep moving forward. Keep pursuing strength. Keep devouring everything in the way and continue to grow stronger. Until he became the strongest, he would crush and bury every opponent in his way.

So that he would never have to stomach the bitter taste of loss again.

~o~

Ardee

Under the bright glow of moonlight, Ardee Varma sat on the rooftop of a three story residential building. The roofing tiles underneath weren't exactly the cleanest or softest, but her tush could take the punishment.

It was after her shift, but she didn't feel like going home. Not yet, anyway.

Above her was the clear, dark sky and the full moon. Below her were the streets and the countless lanterns of the city, clearing away the darkness from the corners. Of course, she could only stay out for so long since her sister would get worried, but it was fine for a short while. Fresh air, starry skies, a faint breeze, and a quiet stillness.

What more could she ask for?

Even better, Evilus was tucked away in their little hidey-holes. Ever since news got out that Olivas Act bit the dust—and there was no stopping that piece of news since it dropped right in the middle of the lobby of the Guild Headquarters—they hadn't reared their little heads out at all.

It was kind of crazy, to be honest.

All of Eris Familia had gotten level ups from that, but the Guild didn't want to publicize the records of how they reached the next step because they didn't want reckless copycats. That was a moot point though since Aqua kept retelling it in the bars she liked to frequent so much. People loved the story so much that in practically every bar in Orario, someone was always reciting it to get free drinks.

There was no stopping that story from spreading everywhere.

Of course, as a part of the familia that maintained the security of Orario, she was allowed to read the actual report on the incident so she got the nitty gritty details that came straight from Kazuma's account. Which was also a lot less embellished than Aqua's drunken retelling. Even so, it was exciting and crazy and desperate and…

She could just go on and on because it was just that good. Not as good as Argonaut, but it was like somebody taking a sling and a few stones to go fight the goliath–and winning. It was just that incredible. It was undying hope winning out against insurmountable odds. A level one had triumphed over a level three.

How crazy was that?

Ardee just hoped that it wouldn't inspire people to fight Evilus, thinking that they were a joke. That was because they weren't a joke. They were still as dangerous as ever and she knew that from personal experience. However, things these days felt a little bit more hopeful. It felt like more people were all rising up together against the injustices of the city.

It wasn't just Ganesha and Astrea Familia anymore.

Eris Familia was the newest sensation. Everyone was talking about them. Even the lady selling potato croquettes was saying positive things about them while frying her snacks. During the daytime, she couldn't even go past a block without hearing something about them. She almost felt like a proud parent with how famous they were now.

It was just so wild that this was all done by a small familia that she had personally helped guide through Orario when they first arrived. Would wonders ever cease? It hadn't even been that long since that fateful day when they arrived in the city.

Of course, there was still the side that nobody talked about.

Vidar Familia did just as much, and they had even suffered losses, yet no one was really talking about them. She had even heard people badmouthing one of their members who had been a critical piece in the battle, a werewolf named Bete. It was a bit frustrating that they were downplaying his part and calling him an asshole, though she had never met the guy herself.

It just felt wrong that Vidar Familia weren't getting some spotlight as well.

On the other hand, Eris Famila–the Evilus one–was dead in the water. With their captain and most of their members dead, they were pretty much finished. Maybe they would stick around or leave, but it was just as likely that they would be cannibalized by one of the other Evilus familias. Whatever the case, that familia wouldn't be a problem anymore. If they could just catch that goddess though, they would be able to bring her back to her god, Ganesha, so that he could send her back to the heavens.

That would be the real best ending for this story.

"So this was where you were hiding."

Ardee flinched at the familiar voice from behind, not needing to turn around to know who it was. "Big sister…"

"Is that all you have to say?" Shakti Varma stepped forward on the roofing tiles, easily keeping her footing. Stopping beside Ardee's sitting form, she looked down at her younger sister.

"...I'm an adult now."

"You are." There was no change in Shakti's expression.

"I can stay out late if I want to."

"You can," Shakti acknowledged.

"So why are you bugging me?"

"I can stop," the older sister said. "That also means that you can clean your room, make breakfast in the morning, and do your own laundry. I'll expect the monthly rent by the end of the month as well."

"...please forgive me."

Shakti sighed, her stern expression finally breaking. "You had me worried."

"I'm sorry."

Despite the fact that they were sisters, it always felt more like it was a relationship between a mother and daughter. In part, that was because of their age difference. Despite Ardee being fifteen years old, Shakti was more than double her age despite not looking all that much older.

They had been both born directly into the Ganesha Familia since their parents and six other siblings were members. Unfortunately, a few years ago, all of them had died in battle, leaving them as the last two of their bloodline alive. It was hard for Ardee to deal with everyone being gone, and Shakti became really overprotective of her. Still, even with all the despair and difficulty, she had eventually stood back up with a smile.

Just like now.

Patting the dust off her clothes, Ardee stood up straight. Even at her full height, she was shorter than her sister.

"Alright, I'm ready to go home!"

"Keep your voice down. People are sleeping."

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Ardee…"

With one looking up and the other looking down, they smiled at each other. And then they laughed, even as they heard some people inside the buildings around them starting to wake up.

That was because, even with how hard the world was at times, being happy together was their own way of fighting against despair and welcoming the hope for a better tomorrow.

~o~

Alise

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Alise Lovell sat atop the abandoned fortress walls, letting her legs dangle absentmindedly over the edge. The wind rustled her hair as she looked up at the clouds in the sky to pass the time.

She had been waiting for him again.

It had been almost two weeks since Kazuma had last shown up to their training sessions. After she had heard about what had happened during their expedition with the Vidar Familia from Megumin, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Had it been someone from her own familia, she would have tried to pick them up again in her own way, but he wasn't a member of Astrea Familia. She had even been tempted to go look for him in their church, but that felt almost too intrusive to do; it wasn't her place.

He had his own familia members to help bring his spirits back up.

So Alise simply waited. She had no doubt in her mind that he would recover and get back up on his feet soon enough. Someone who burned with the fires of justice in their heart like that wouldn't just give up after one set-back. She was an adventurer and a familia captain too, so she knew all too well how much it hurt to lose a companion. That pain was precisely why she couldn't give up on her dream, or else what would have been the point of her comrades' deaths?

Lyra and Kaguya thought that she was wasting her time waiting for someone who wouldn't ever show up. She didn't blame them for thinking that way; those two had always been the ones who kept her in check after all. She was someone who never knew when to give up on something. Kaguya had even said that she was 'overly-optimistic to a fault' at one point. Still, it wasn't like she was shirking her responsibilities by waiting for him or anything like that.

Their training sessions had always been early in the morning, so she still had time to get all of her other tasks done.

Perhaps it was a fool's errand like Lyra had said. Adventurers dropped out of the occupation all the time after all. It took a special kind of person to willingly want to risk their life on a daily basis. It may just be blind faith on her part, but she wanted to believe in Kazuma. She wanted to see what his 'justice' would be able to achieve in this unjust world of theirs.

She continued to gaze up at the warm clouds floating through the sky before a pair of approaching footsteps caught her attention.

Alise slowly turned her head toward the sound and stared at the approaching silhouette. There, walking up the stairs to the old abandoned fortress walls was a familiar figure. It was Kazuma, clad in his usual armor and equipment. There was some apprehension on his face, but the determination in his eyes was evident.

She simply stood up and gave him the brightest smile she could muster.

"Hey, welcome back."

Kazuma froze for a brief moment before he eventually met her eyes and gave a small smile in return.

"Yeah. I'm back."

~o~

Authors' Notes:

SFX: We are also back! Schedule's still dead, but we almost made it within a week this time.

Icura: Wooooo, another chapter.