So there you are Haruhime. After spending a day sneaking around the red light district with Pride, I had finally found the blond Renard. I also say sneak because apparently, the Ishtar familia had banned me from partaking in the nightly activities. 'If you don't want to associate with our buisness, you won't partake in it either' they say. Casting Alter Self I changed my appearance to that of a black haired cat-person before entering the building Haruhime was waiting in. Entering the room I saw the blonde girl jump slightly. Aisha did tell me she was timid.

"Are you my client sir?" She asked softly not even meeting my eyes. I couldn't hep but feel pity for the girl. She looked miserable, and I couldn't blame her. I would be pretty downtrodden if my execution was only a day or two away.

"Not exactly. I'm here to save you." I said as neutrally as I could manage, putting a finger up to my mouth in a shushing manner. Haruhime blushed at my proclamation with her tail beginning to swish back and forth. As cute as it was, I didn't want to waste any more time in the red light district. I couldn't use any spells to alter Haruhime's appearance, and though I could give her a cloak, it would be immediately suspicious to the Berberas patrolling the area. My best options to save her were either to sneak through the district with Invisibility or to Fly out. Extending my hand to her, I continued, "Please, take my hand and follow me."

"But why? Why would you save me? I'm just a whore." She said sadly. Well that's just depressing. I suppose this was the part where I was supposed to say something heroic.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." I said. Wait, no! That was entirely the wrong thing to say. Saying she gets a second chance implies she did something wrong in the first place! Looking at the girl, she grabbed my hand while wiping away tears. Damn, I messed up. "What I meant to sa-"

"Thank you." She said softly to my shock. Thank me? I more or less just called you a whore. Well I can't dwell on mistakes now. If the Berbera catch me I'm as good as dead. Pulling a small chest out of my pocket I placed it on the ground.

"Secret Chest." I spoke aloud as the chest shimmered before growing ten times in size. Quickly opening the chest, I pulled out a dull brown cloak. I know it would draw attention, but Invisibility would nullify that suspicion. Hopefully, if I flew out, the cloak would hide us in the sky.

'Pride, check the entrance. Are there any Amazoness?'

'Don't be stupid master, they are everywhere'

'I meant any of the guards'

'Hard to tell when the guards are also prostitutes'

'You are being very helpful Pride'

'If you hook a right immediately after leaving the building, you should be able to enter an alleyway unseen'

'Thank you Pride. I'll get you a snack after this is all done'

Quickly grabbing a cloak for myself before shrinking my chest back down to pocket size, I led Haruhime out of the building before immediately heading into the alley on my right.

"Excuse me hero, but what is your plan to escape this place?" Haruhime asked. Okay, Invisibility's main weakness is the sound we make, but in such a... loud district, that shouldn't be a big issue. Still something to keep in mind if we step too close to a Berbera, but otherwise, with Pride's assistance, it should work. Then again, people don't look up. If we could find a more secluded area, we could easily disappear into the darkness of the night sky.

'Pride, what do our surroundings look like?'

'Five Amazoness behind you, a human prostitute ahead of you at the end of the alley'

'Any secluded areas?'

'About seventy feet ahead of you and thirty to the west there is a small pond'

'Thanks Pride'

"There's a pond up ahead. We move from there." I explained calmly.

"Isn't that further into the district?" She asked.

"Yes, but it's also the best place to use my spell." I said calmly. Peeking around the corner, I watched out for the prostitute just on the other side of us. Once a man had passed and she had tried to gain his attention, I took Haruhime's hand and crossed between the buildings.

'Two more Amazoness coming up behind you. Move up or hide'

Taking Haruhime's hand, I pushed her up against the wall and put my head between hers and the alley entrance. To anyone passing by, it would just look like two people kissing. Something I've seen more than a few times myself, so it shouldn't draw any attention from the guards. After the passing sound of footsteps and a few tense moments, Pride contacted me mentally.

'The guards have moved passed. Way to the pond is clear'

With that info, I was about to make my way towards the pond before noticing Haruhime's tail swishing, causing the cloak to sway and allowing flashes of bright yellow to be seen. Holding tightly onto her hands and looking into her eyes, I tried to reassure her, "I know this is a lot, but please try to remain calm. I'm going to get you out of here."

A short way over to the pond and I stopped to allow Haruhime to catch her breath and regain her composure. With a single bench on our side of the pond, the two of us sat down.

"Why are you doing all of this for me? I'm just a whore." She asked once more tears streaming down her face. Now this is my chance to actually say something reassuring instead of mistakenly calling her a whore.

"I don't care what you are. I know you needed help, and I came to save you." I said before cringing once more. That was a terrible way of putting it. I'm bad at the whole inspiring speech thing. Wanting to move past my blunder, I readied myself for the next step, "Haruhime, are you afraid of heights by chance?"

"I don't believe so. Why?" She asked.

"If you get scared, just close your eyes and hold onto me." I said rather than answering her question, "Fly"

With the chains of gravity no longer binding the two of us, I took her hands and began floating up. Slowly at first, to see how she reacted, as soon as she started to seem comfortable, I accelerated.

'The Berbera found out she's missing, and you're still visible from the ground'

With Pride's warning, I began to pick up the pace flying higher up into the sky. At some point, Haruhime hugged on to me, but I kept flying. After the ten minute duration was up and I recast the spell, we were so far above the city that it it would be impossible to even see us.

"It's beautiful." Haruhime said, still holding onto me tightly. Looking down on the city, I couldn't help but agree. It was surprisingly bright for the time period we were in. The contrast of the bright city against the vast ocean of darkness around it was truly a sight to behold.

"We can stay up here for a moment if you'd like." I said. Earlier today, the poor girl was awaiting her execution. Letting her take in the view couldn't have been a bad thing for her emotional state. I did need to bring Lili up here with me one day as well. I'm sure she would love the view.

"I don't understand why you're doing this. I don't deserve this." She whimpered. I didn't want to say the wrong thing again, so I stayed silent for a moment.

"You needed help, and I came." I reassured. I did come, and I saved her. Now I just need to actually deal with Ishtar. "Let's head down now."

Not long after that, the two of us were faced with Bell, Hestia, and one of the new guys whose name I couldn't remember.

"So vice-cap, who's the girl?" The newbie asked before I could introduce her. I wasn't even sure I wanted the entire familia to know about Haruhime just yet anyway. She needed to be kept out of sight for a few days at least. The more people that know about her, the higher the risk of an information leak.

"Her situation is peculiar, something I wanted to speak with Hestia about." I said, trying to dismiss him without sounding too rude. He seemed to understand what I was getting at and left with a nod, leaving just Bell, Haruhime, Hestia, and me in the room.

"So, I might have caused trouble with Ishtar." I said, getting the worst part out of the way. Neither of the two said anything in response, waiting for me to continue. "I don't think they actually know I did it, but that's subject to change. I'm going to talk to Freya about what's happened and hopefully resolve the issue."

"Freya!?" Hestia shouted, "What does Freya have to do with this?"

"Haruhime has a very powerful magic. Ishtar wanted to perform a ritual that would allow her entire familia to use this magic in order to fight Freya's familia. The reason I got involved was because the ritual would have killed Haruhime." I explained. Bell and Hestia both looked at Haruhime with a pitiful glance before nodding.

"You did the right thing Matthew. We'll hide her here until you figure things out with Freya." Bell said with a bright smile.

"Okay, but you need to be careful with Freya. That floosie can charm any mortal with just a glance." Hestia warned.

"Thanks for the warning Hestia. I won't look her in the eyes." I said it a smile. I could always just look through Pride's eyes. It wasn't an ability I would normally use, but it should prevent visually activated charms.

Leaving the manor I felt Pride contacts me.

'So you're just going to use me as a shield, eh?'

'What? It's not like you can be charmed like I can'

'I know, I was just teasing. But if I do get charmed, you have to explain to Loki that it wasn't my fault'

'Pride if you get charmed, I can just kill and re-summon you'

'My master is so cold'

'Hush you'

With Pride landing on my shoulder, I entered the guild. I may have known a little bit about the Freya familia, but I actually didn't know where their home was.

"Hello Eina." I greeted with a smile. Eina didn't seem in the mood to return a smile though.

"It's been a while Matthew." She said coldly.

'You have been visiting her right master?'

'I may have been a little busy'

"Sorry, Eina." I said simply. I could give her all my excuses, that I was running a business, that I now had to manage a large familia and all that junk. She already knew and explained it would do no good. "If you're here, you must need something. So what is it?" She said, frowning at me. Ouch.

"I need to speak with Freya. Do you know where her mansion is?" I asked. As soon as I finished my sentence, it seemed as if the entire guild went quiet. Eina's eyes shot open as I spoke.

"Why do you need to see Freya?" She demanded more than asked. I couldn't exactly say that Ishtar was planning to declare war on Freya. After all, how did I know, and why would I care? If someone from Ishtar's familia heard me say that, then they would certainly deduce who took Haruhime and where she was.

Then again, Eina wasn't a god. It hurt to lie to her when she's been nothing but helpful to me, but I needed to for Haruhime's sake. "I wanted to speak with her about a potential business opportunity."

Eina eyed me critically for what felt like entirely too long before sighing, "You aren't likely to find Freya in her familia home. She usually stays on her floor at the top of Babel. The elevator access isn't open to just anyone, so you'll need to speak to her or one of her familia members through a magical device in the elevator."

"Thank you very much Eina. And I'm sorry for not showing up in a while. I haven't been doing anything too dangerous, though." I said with a chuckle. Eina didn't seem to think it was too funny though.

"Nothing too dangerous? You don't think a war game is dangerous? Just go." She groaned.

"Sorry Eina, I'll treat you to lunch sometime as an apology." I said, making my way towards Babel. As I entered Babel, I saw something rather concerning.

Ottar was there. That alone wasn't the concerning part. What worried me was that as soon as I entered, Ottar began looking right at me. I turned around to make sure enough, there was no one else he could be looking at, and sure enough, I was the only one.

"Matthew Mathers?" The giant asked. I won't lie. Having the city's only level seven looking down on me was massively intimidating.

"Yes?"

"Lady Freya would like a word with you. Please follow me." He said calmly. It may have just been the fact that a monstrous adventurer was standing right in front of me, but the neutral tone didn't help relax me. If he sounded angry, then at least I would have an idea of what he wanted. And what did Freya want with me anyway?

Following Ottar, I was led to an elevator that took a solid twenty minutes to reach the top. I don't know how Freya could stand taking such a slow elevator so often, but that's not my business.

Once we reached the top, I had Pride perch on my shoulders, and I began looking through his eyes. It felt wrong. Even though I wasn't moving in Pride's body, I was still controlling two bodies at once. I had almost tripped as soon as I began to walk, and it was extremely nauseating.

"Are you alright? If you're sick, I would prefer you see my goddess at a later time." Ottar asked in that painfully neutral tone.

"I'm fine, just the side effects of my magic." I dismissed. He seemed to believe it. It wasn't technically a lie anyway.

Following Ottar into a large room, I saw a beautiful woman across from the two of us sitting on a couch. Silver hair that shines, dazzling violet eyes, a body that is simply perfect, all complemented by a gorgeous black dress that complemented every aspect of her. I simply couldn't take my eyes off of her.

"Matthew. I've heard a lot about you," She cooed seductively, "Come, sit down."

Unable to refuse her, I took a seat in a chair placed across from her couch with Ottar standing behind me. Just like that, I was taken out of my mesmerized state. Why would Ottar stand directly behind me. Not to accuse Freya of anything untoward, but that's a rather aggressive move. Trying to stand up and move, I felt Ottar place his hand on my shoulder and gently push me back down. I say gently, but with his monstrous strength, it was actually quite forceful.

"I'm curious. Why do you have your eyes closed like that?" She asked with a sly grin.

"No offense to you goddess, but I didn't want to fall victim to your charm." I said slowly, worried Ottar would rip my head off should I say the wrong thing.

"And your bird?" She asked.

"I can see using his eyes. Since I'm not technically looking at you, I'm protected from your charm." I explained. There was no point in trying to deceive her. You can't lie to a god, and being defensive about it would only weaken my position when I ask for help against Ishtar.

"That's rather brilliant. I applaud your ingenuity." She chuckled before her eyes flashed, and I sensed powerful enchantment magic. It was strange, I was fine. I knew I was, but I also wasn't. Pride was definitely affected by the charm, and because I was piloting his body, I also felt the charm, even if it didn't take effect on me.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't do that anymore, goddess." I said as politely as possible. It wasn't very difficult as I felt more amicable to Freya than I otherwise should after that attempted charm.

"So it really does work. Very well, I won't charm you." She said with a smile, "Now, as to why I've called you here. You sell your magical services, correct?"

"I loan out my undead. I've never offered any other magic related services." I said.

"And hat about that girl from the Ishtar familia?" She asked. Was she talking about Aisha?

"How do you know about that?" I asked.

"I saw you flying over Orario with her. Or was that just a romantic evening for the two of you? Regardless, I want to experience that as well." She said, standing up and waking over to the window. That's all? She wanted to fly? I could do that, just not tonight.

"Is that so? I could do that, just not t-"

"Wonderful, let's go!" She said gleefully before jumping out the window. That fucking psycho! Not wasting a second, I canceled my connection to Pride and ran after Freya, diving out of the window headfirst.

"Feather Fall!" I cried out. Immediately, Freya's decent slowed drastically as I rocketed past her. Freya was damn lucky I knew that spell, or she would have painted the roads of Orario red. "Feather Fall."

After our descent and we were firmly on the ground, Freya strode up to me wearing the cutest pout. "I said I wanted to fly, not fall slowly. I guess that was fun though."

I tried really hard not to shout at her. I took deep breaths, I counted to ten mentally, but as soon as I looked at her beautiful smiling face I couldn't stop my eye from twitching. "If you had listened, I was about to say I can only use that spell so many times before I need to rest. I can't take you flying tonight."

"Boo, I had hoped to fly with you tonight." She said.

I had tried not to scream at the goddess, I had taken deep breaths and counted to ten. "If you had listened to me, I was about to tell you I couldn't cast that spell again tonight."

"Boo, I had wanted to fly tonight." She pouted.

"Freya. The reason I came to you in the first place was to warn you about Ishtar." I said grouchily, patience waning.

"The Ishtar familia is no concern to me Matthew," She said softly as she caressed my face, "But I do appreciate you warning me."

"She has a way to even the odds in her favor." I warned causing Freya's eyes to narrow slightly as she seemed to finally take me seriously. "She has a means to temporarily increase the level of every member of her familia. Your familia would still likely win, but it would be much more difficult."

"I know you're not lying, but why would you want to warn me? Oh my, you're not trying to win my favor are you." She smiled, grabbing my arms.

"It just so happens our best interests align." I said fighting back a blush.

"Mmmh, very well. I will take care of Ishtar, but I expect more than just one flight in return." She said before looking in the direction of the red light district, "It was about time I took care of her anyway."

"Thank you Lady Freya. I will return tomorrow for our flight." I responded as Ottar approached us. With Freya returning to her floor in Babel and Ottar being sent to the red light district I could take a breath of relief. I had saved Haruhime's life at the low low cost of a spell slot or two. A good day if I do say so myself.

Yeah so as it turns out my jobs schedule is actually super good so I'll probably be able to write even more. I'm going to try for a new chapter a week until I finish, but no promises =)

Guest: Thanks. I thought I started introducing Matthew's past a bit too late, but I feel like it's worked out.