Author's Note: I invited Zanstel to create an omake for this story, and it turned out so well that I've decided to include it as an official interlude. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Hi, people.

Azreal-007 offered me to write an omake and I accepted. In this case, we changed author and beta roles.

I hope you enjoy it.

Zanstel

Interlude - We want romance!

Tiona couldn't wipe the smile off her face, replaying the key moments of their date in her mind. Sometimes, she simply basked in the feeling that everything in her life was finally perfect.

However, relaxation soon gave way to fatigue. Knowing her room was just a short distance away, she eagerly anticipated some well-deserved rest. She looked forward to removing all that makeup and jewelry and changing into something more comfortable. Luckily, Peter shared her view on casual dates.

For their next outing to the Underresort, she could dress just like any other normal day—no more elaborate preparations, thousands of useless tips, or similar fuss. Tiona knew her Familia members meant well, but the preparation had been more exhausting than the actual date.

Her happy smile turned into an awkward one as she recalled the army of girls who had held her hostage, transforming her into a fashion mannequin while bombarding her with a chaotic storm of advice. Thank goodness that was behind her!

Or so she thought as she opened her door, only to be met with a similar scene: a gaggle of girls scattered throughout her room as if they owned the place.

'What the hell are you all doing in my room?' was the question that formed in her mind for a split second. But the answer was obvious, so she didn't bother saying it out loud. She tried to turn and slip away, too tired to face an interrogation. But suddenly, Annakitty was in her face with a ravenous expression.

'Since when did Anakitti become so fast?' she wondered silently as more and more hands held her back, ushering her into the room and closing the door behind her.

"We want to know everything!"

"Did you kiss?"

"Did he take you out to dinner?"

"Of course he did! Why else would he rent a taxi? Where did you go? Was it fancy? Tell us!"

"Hiiiiiii!"

A sea of questions, assumptions, and incoherent screams of excitement filled the room.

Nearly all the women in the Familia were there. Even Ais, who was known for having zero interest in these matters. Although considering that Lefiya was sitting next to her, she was probably responsible for dragging her into this.

But even more surprising was that Tione was also in the group. Leaning against the wall, with a forced smile. A confused expression that was difficult to read, but it was probably a mixture of discomfort, jealousy, but also genuine interest in knowing her sister's situation.

*BOM* *BOM* *BOM*

Loud knocks on the door silenced the room. Anakitty opened the door.

It was Arcs—one of the warriors from Raul's group. Usually clad in armor appropriate for his role as the tank, he was currently wearing pajamas.

"Hey! Keep it down! Some of us are trying to sleep, and it's late!"

"What are you talking about? Your room is in another tower!"

Arcs pointed through the window. His room was just in a straight line from there.

"Yes, yes... Sound travels." - Tione said playing it off.

Since she and Tiona fought frequently, it wasn't the first time Arcs complained.

- "You are an adventurer. Are you telling us that you can sleep in the dungeon and not here?"

"You are louder than a wave of monsters! It's been more than two hours, damn it!"

"Tiona just arrived… It'll only be a few minutes more, okay?"

"And what's all the fuss about a date? You only need to know one thing… Hey, Tiona! Was there any action?" Arcs asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Action? What do you mean?"

The warrior made an "O" shape with his index finger and thumb of his left hand, while he ran his index finger from his other hand through the gap between the other fingers, in a clear and quite explicit obscene gesture.

"WHAT KIND OF WOMAN DO YOU THINK I AM? DO YOU REALLY THINK I'D DO THAT ON THE FIRST DATE?" shouted the indignant Amazon.

"Then the rest can wait until tomorrow."

"BOOOOOO!" A general chorus of boos from the group of girls drowned out the young man's response as several objects flew toward him. He didn't bother to move out of the way. Despite some of them being metallic, including a few knives capable of causing serious injuries to unblessed people, that gesture was like throwing pillows in a family of normal people.

"Males out!" Lefiya and Alicia shouted at the same time.
And the door slammed shut behind him.

"Come on! Tell us! What happened? How was it?"

Tiona sighed. She knew she'd have to spill the beans eventually, but she didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Yes, Peter is great. And yes, it was a fantastic date."

"Ooh!"

Whistle!

"More! More! Give us all the details!"

Once again, expressions of surprise, whistles, and the like. Was it going to be like this every time she said something?

"Okay… In a quick summary… We did some sightseeing in a taxi, went to a restaurant for dinner… strolled around the city together… You know, typical date stuff!"

This time, the group responded with less enthusiasm.

"That's it?" Lefiya said.

"Honestly, considering that guy, we expected something more exotic," Alicia commented.

"Yeah… Like showing you his spider lair."

"Or training together."

The group fell silent after the last statement, and everyone looked at the person who had said it. Of course, it was Ais. Several girls rolled their eyes. Ais's idea of a date was certainly unique.

"Where did you have dinner?"

"At 'Hero's Heaven.'"

"Oh… I was expecting something more classic. Like 'Sublimating' or 'Princess Corner,'" Lefiya said.

The places mentioned by the elf were where proper etiquette was mandatory, and usually only high-class people or those with refined tastes (mostly elves) frequented.

"No. Those places would be too uncomfortable for Tiona. 'Hero's Heaven' is perfect for her. A guy who knows his girlfriend's preferences…" Anakitty said, gesturing with a thumbs-up. Other girls joined in, imitating the gesture. Lefiya, Alicia, and other elves from the Familia didn't, but they all knew that elves tended to have more refined tastes.

"And what else?"

"Well… we enjoyed part of the dinner, but then Allen showed up, and things took a turn."

"Allen? Like Allen Fromel?"

Tiona nodded.

"Ugggh. The 'Bete' of the Freya Familia," Elfy said.

"Tst. I HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH THAT LOATHSOME CAT!"
Bete's voice echoed from the window of his room, on other tower. The group responded with a chorus of laughter.

The heightened senses of first-class adventurers made the entire conversation public. There was hardly any privacy in a S-class familia.

"Please… tell me you didn't blow up the bar," Anakitty said, concerned about the consequences for the Familia.

Tiona shook her head. "Don't worry. Actually… somehow, Peter managed to turn the situation around, and in the end, Allen was humiliated."

"Eeeeh?" came a chorus of uncertainty their faces etched with disbelief.

"Just with words. I don't remember every detail, but every time Allen made an offensive comment, Peter responded sarcastically, and even got the crowd laughed at him. I don't recall the exact words he used, but the peak of humiliation was something like… ahem -"

Tiona cleared her throat, adopting a serious tone and imitating a masculine voice.

"Attention, everyone! Witness the display of a lovestruck cat trying to assert dominance!" she expressed, doing her best Peter imitation.

"NOOOO."

"Did he really say that?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I wish I'd been there to see it!"

All the voices blended into a cacophony of disbelief and merriment.

"What surprises me is that Allen didn't explode everything," Anakitty commented.

"Well… he broke a table," Tiona confirmed. "And Allen tried to take Peter's words as an offense to Freya familia. But Peter managed to steer the conversation and held up the Ganesha Familia as an example of what a good family should be, and…"

"Let me guess," Anakitty interjected. "Allen insulted the Ganesha Familia."

Tiona nodded, met with a chorus of disapproving vocal sounds.

"Only an idiot would insult Ganesha in an adventurers' bar."

"An idiot? Sounds like the definition of Vana Freya!" Elfy quipped.

"Hahahaha!" the others laughed in unison.

"Well… After that, even Allen realized he'd messed up and slinked away with his tail between his legs."

"Whooohooo!"

The girls cheered and applauded at the outcome.

"And then what?"

"Well… Now, when I tell it, it sounds funny, but I was in a bad mood because of what happened. But Peter turned things around. He had a plan to take me to a rooftop terrace with great views. That's where we finished dinner. We spent some time alone there, then went back down to the street… walked around the city a bit more together… And that's it!"

"BIG LIE!"

The girls fell silent instantly upon hearing the voice of their goddess. But it didn't come from the door, nor was it visible in the room. They all looked in a specific direction.

Tiona quickly opened her wardrobe doors.

"Loki! What are you doing in my closet!"

"Spying! Isn't it obvious?"

Most of the girls glared the goddess in disbelieve.

"Have you been there for two hours?" - Anakitty asked surprised, with her eyes wide

"Three actually. One piece of advice if you give it a try. Don't drink at the same time! It usually doesn't end well."

The group's faces showed the same expression. No one would dare to do such nonsense!

"But why? You could've simply joined the group!" - commented Anakitty

"It's better. An experienced goddess's little trick. The best way to find the truth is to hear the lies. But you children have the nasty habit of not lying and telling half truths when we are around. That's why hiding is the best!. And let's not change the subject! Tiona is the main character today. You're withholding the most important part, aren't you?"

The girls looked alternately between the goddess and the Amazon.

Tiona sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to protect the secret for long, but she hoped she could at least keep it hidden for a few more days!

"I haven't lied! … Well… … Maybe I've kept a little detail to myself, but…"
The rest of the companions gathered around her. Their eyes seemed to burn with curiosity, eager to hear the juiciest details of the date.

"OK! OK! It was amazing! Alright? The best experience of my life!"

Line covered her mouth. "Arcs was right!"

"NO! Of course not!" Tiona blushed like a tomato as she realized her words might have been misinterpreted.

"I didn't mean that. It's about the discreet place that Peter took me to after dinner. Peter took me to the rooftop of Babel!"

"You sneaked into Freya's attic?!"

"No! Not that… Although… we could have, I guess. No! No! On the roof! Peter did this 'whoosh, whoosh' thing with his threads," Tiona gestured with her arms, "and we swung through Babel until we reached the very top!"

Some of the girls raised their eyebrows, while others tilted their heads in confusion.

"Did anyone understand anything?" The rest shook their heads.

"Alright… Step by step. Peter asked me to climb onto his back," Tiona explained, briefly hopping onto Anakitty's back and then back down.

"And then he shot several of those spider threads to each side of the buildings… And he stretched them… like we were a giant slingshot, and we went flying through the air!"

"Whaaat?"

Tiona grabbed one of her old weapons, no longer suitable for her current strength, which hung on her wall as decoration, and placed it vertically.

"Imagine this is Babel… So we 'flew' like this," she pointed with her finger, "and using his threads, he kept launching them while we ascended like this," she continued, moving her finger in a spiraling motion.

"With movements like…" Tiona tried to imitate Peter's movements, including his movements in an oblique position. Since she had nothing to hold on to, she kept his left leg stretched out while with the other tried to imitate the movements. The mix seemed ridiculous and nonsensical, earning her more confused looks.

Tiona sighed again, then opened her door, gripping the frame with one hand. She lifted her body, providing a better imitation of Peter.

"You shouldn't do that," Lefiya commented as the frame creaked under the Amazon's strength.

It still wasn't entirely faithful to the original, but with a little imagination, one could grasp what she meant.

"I have an image in my head," Elfy said, "but I'm not sure if it's accurate."

"It was like flying at incredible speed! It was amazing!"

"Wow."

"And the views were breathtaking. No one could interrupt us. We ate, talked, danced…"

"Danced?" several of them exclaimed.

Tiona's face showed discomfort. She had unintentionally revealed something she didn't want to. Something that didn't escape Loki's notice.

"Yes… What's wrong with dancing in the moonlight, even without music?" Tiona defended herself.

Loki saw through Tiona's attempted deception easily. Yes, technically she didn't lie, but the omission was too clear to miss.

"But there WAS music, right? Come on… Why beat around the bush if you'll end up telling us everything? Spill it!" Loki insisted.

Tiona sighed in frustration.

"When we arrived, music started playing… almost magically. I guess he had some artifact."

"You guess? Didn't you ask him?"

"No."

Loki raised an eyebrow, giving her an inquisitive look.

Tiona was tired. She understood her companions' excitement, but Loki's behavior was becoming excessive. It felt like an interrogation! Her annoyance grew until she couldn't contain it any longer. If she was going to spill everything, she might as well express her feelings too!

"I explicitly told him NOT to tell me. Is that what you want to know, goddess? I spilled everything! I told him that you would force me to tell you everything we did! So I told him not to share any secrets with me!"

Finally, seizing the opportunity, Tione didn't miss the chance to vent some of her frustration on her sister. "Tsk! How dare you, sister? The captain told you…"

Putting her hand over Tione's mouth, Loki silenced her.

"Quiet, Tione. Now is not the time," Loki said coldly.

It was unusual to see Loki abandon her usual playful behavior for a serious tone, which significantly amplified its effect. Loki began to release her divine aura. In small doses, divine aura allowed mortals to easily recognize them as gods. But when they unleashed their full potential, their voices felt like oppressive commands that could hardly be resisted.

"Why did you do that? You knew what we ordered."

Although her aura was directed at Tiona, all the girls felt the impact of the released divine energy. Most of them averted their gaze in silence.

But Tiona resisted. "I don't want to deceive my boyfriend! It's not fair!"

Loki increased the pressure on the Amazon.

Tiona wanted to scream, to rage… to cry—anything but yield—yet none of that was possible against the goddess's aura. And yet, she couldn't allow herself to be broken.

'Smile… always smile', she told herself.

But instead of her usual smile, Tiona flashed a mischievous grin.

"Besides… I followed your orders. You said I wouldn't spy because he would expect me to tell you everything, right? I just ensured that it were the case."

One second later, Loki burst in laugh, while her aura vanished.

"You dare to use my words against me! How mischievous! I taught you well. A worthy daughter of the goddess of mischief. If you put it that way, I can't be angry with you!" Loki said, running her hand affectionately through Tiona's hair.

Most of the girls sighed as the mood shifted again.

"What did Peter say?" Elfy asked.

Tiona blushed.

"Honestly… Nothing? He just kissed me."

At the romantic confession, the group erupted in hysterical cheers and applause.

"Since Peter doesn't mind, and what's done is done, let's leave it in the past," Loki insisted. "But now that Peter is warned, that means you can spill EVERYTHING. How did you describe the music?"

Tiona sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I hadn't mentioned it… Aaaah. It was music I'd never heard before."

"Oh! That sounds interesting! What would you say it resembled? Oriental music? From the East?"

"Nothing… I'd never heard anything like it. There were multiple songs playing one after another, some with female singers some with male or some with both, but the melody… the instruments… everything sounded… exotic. Yet it was slow and beautiful."

"Romantic ambiance," Lena mused to herself.

"Exotic music, probably from his homeland… Artifacts… Good work!" Loki said. "What else?"

"Ah! We flew down from Babel, over Orario"

"Flew?" Ais asked.

Ais's magic allowed her to fly in short busts but it was very limited. Her curiosity was palpable.

"Do you mean the same you said before, but backwards" - Elfy asked also interested

Tiona replied "No. We flew far from the tower. Well Peter said it's more like gliding."

"Gliding?"

The girls launched into a bizarre discussion and exposition of what Tiona was trying to explain, with limited success.

"Alright, alright. Got it. Peter descended while gliding after creating wings with his strange web magic… Anything else?" Loki persisted.

Tiona shrugged.

"I don't know… Peter has a black version of his armor. Does it matter?"

"Inconsequential. How about hero stories? Thor?"

Tiona shook her head.

"Has he told you anything about that spirit his companion mentioned?"

Tiona shook her head again.

"Try to remember… Surely something else comes to your mind!"

"Goddess Loki… Don't you think that's enough?" Anakitty said.

"Oh, come on. You're just as curious as I am about what happened!"

"We're only interested in the date. But all these details… it's like…" Lefiya's words hung in the air, as if she didn't want to complete the sentence to avoid offending her goddess.

"An interrogation," Elfy finished, earning agreement from many of the girls.

"Honestly, asking Tiona to spy on her boyfriend…" This time, Line continued and left her words hanging.

"Sucks!" Elfy chimed in again. The girls nodded once more, even more emphatically than before.

"If disclosing everything you do with your boyfriend were a rule, I think I'd opt not to be in a relationship," Narvi commented.

"We're forbidden from it in the first place, so…" Elfy said, eliciting uncomfortable laughter from her companions.

"Hey! That's not true! Relationships are perfectly allowed!" Loki protested

"Among our familia members," Alicia added. "But… with those conditions, our options are quite limited."

"We have two women per man. I don't call that a good balance!" Elfy pouted.

"That's the perfect ratio! You're just limiting yourselves!" protested Loki. "This room is full of people eager for romantic adventures. It's all about pairing up… I'm even open to a relationship. What do you say, Ais?"

"No," the blonde girl replied curtly.

"We don't share your tastes, Loki," Elfy protested.

"I'd like an elf… preferably not over fifty," Alicia confessed.

"Did you notice Peter's companion?" Rakta, the rabbit-eared girl from the Familia, chimed in. "He seemed nice."

"We all noticed his resemblance to a rabbit. No wonder you liked him!" Narvi retorted. The poor girl couldn't help blushing deeply, while the rest of her companions laughed.

"He was cute like a rabbit." Ais suddenly spoke up with a slight blush on her normally stoic face. The entire room was silent. No one could believe that Ais Wallestien, the girl who had turned down hundreds of courtship attempts had said a guy was cute.

Loki froze and began to sweat profusely. "Thats... thats a good joke, Ais... Or you mean... cute as a toddler... That's it!. Isn't it?"

Ais ignored Loki and suddenly closed her eyes and smiled. A perfect normal cute happy face. The problem was that she was Ais Wallenstein, and that smile felt creepy on her.

"Bunny... Mr Hero!" - she babbled

"WHAT THE HECK! AIS! He's just a rookie you saved! The tomato boy fled from you! He can't be a hero! Finn is a hero! You are a hero! Most people here are heroes! I can be your hero, too! But that boy is just trash that won't level up in ages! Listen to me! Don't ignore me!" - Loki shouted with tears crossing her face.

But Ais completely ignored her goddess, as she walked through her inner mind. The image of a cute rabbit brought back scant fragments of memories from her distant past, where she was still a happy girl.

She remembered that she had a cute little white pet rabbit that she used as a companion and doll.
Her beloved pet "Mister Hero"! While her mother told her stories of incredible heroes, she played that her own hero saved her and, of course, her little pet played that role.

"Miss Ais?" - Lefiya asked worriedly.

"It seems she has entered into her 'potato snack mode' again." - Tione said downplaying it. - "She will come back by herself in a minute. Don't worry.".

"Miss Ais?" - Lefiya asked again

"Yes?" Ais said, as her face returned to her normal state

"Told you" - Tione said boastfully.

"Are you OK?" - the elf asked

"... Why is Loki throwing a tantrum?"

"Hestia and her cute children! It's her fault, as always!" Loki protested. "And why this sudden interest in men from other Familias?"

"Sudden interest?" Elfy exaggerated her tone. "We've been warning about this for a while. And now that we see Tiona… I get the whole Familia thing, but, if I have to choose between love and my career as adventurer, I think if I reach twenty-five without experiencing love, I'll give it up. If I even survive to that age..."

Others nodded. Some even glanced at Alicia, who had already reached that age.

"I can wait until forty", Alicia commented before the glances of the others. After all, as an elf, even being eighty wasn't a problem for her.

"Well, I can't," Anakitty declared, her tail twitching with determination. "If it's a choice between sticking with this Familia or starting a family of my own, I'd pick the latter, hands down."

A chorus of murmurs rose in agreement.

In Loki's mind, all the alarms were going off. None of them were lying! Some of them were genuinely considering leaving the family to pursue romance.

"Come on, girls! You are young and cute! You have plenty of time! This defeatism has no place in the Loki Familia." - insisted Loki

"It's not defeatism. It's just math." - said Elfy seriously "If you want to have children and you target thirty five as the top age for playing safe, remove five years to have three comfortably, you should start to that at thirty at latest. When will we start our relationship? There is no guaranty that our first partner will be the right match! Besides, they said that after you have children, there is little time for romanticism. I want at least some years of love, just my partner and me! We, mortals, have a very short life."

"Then you should level up. If you reach enough level, your age..."

Before Loki could finish, one after another, most of the girls began to air their frustrations.

"I also want a handsome guy to invite me to a romantic dinner!"

"Dancing in the moonlight with a cute partner!"

"A refined elf who understands me."

"Someone shy who won't intimidate me"

"Someone cultured, who enjoys reading."

"We have right to love!"

"We want romance!"

"We deserve romance!"

"Romance! Romance! Romance! Romance!"

They shouted in unison.

"What's gotten into you? Has the spirit of Zeus possessed you or something? Mutiny! Mutiny!"

The room's door swung open abruptly, silencing the chorus with surprise. It was Riviera, followed by Finn and Gareth.

"Put an end to this commotion."

"Save the family, Momma." - Loki continued with exaggerated gestures, moving to embrace the elf.

"Shut up you too." - Riviera repeated, flicking Loki's head.

"Ouch!"

"We just want…" Elfy tried to explain, but Finn quickly interrupted.

"We've heard it all. Besides, this debate isn't new. It's been recurring in the family's life."

Finn glanced at Loki.

Indeed, this had been discussed multiple times. Sometimes behind closed doors, among the Top Executives and Loki.

In fact, Loki herself had been the most inflexible. Suggested by Finn, with approval from Gareth and Riviera in a neutral position, a plan to relax the relationships among family members had been proposed. Loki resisted the idea, but as Finn pointed out, it was only a matter of time before the situation would be strongly rejected by the members. Changing the rule was far better than risking losing family members.

As Finn predicted, that moment had arrived.

Loki sighed and nodded to Finn, giving him the green light to implement the new rules.

"Alright. In light of our members' demand, we will allow relationships with people who do NOT belong to any Familia, under the condition that they will be interviewed by Loki, with the three of us as witnesses, to ensure they harbor no ill intentions toward our Familia."

"And from other families? Honestly, I'd prefer an adventurer partner." - Narvi commented.

"Unfortunately, that's complicated." - Finn replied.

"But Tiona…"

"Tiona was an exception. Loki had invited him on a whim, hoping to get entertained with him getting beat up."

"And It worked! At least the entertainment part." - Loki bragged

"It's not fair!" - Elfy protested. - "If Tiona could… why not us?"

At that moment, Loki flashed an evil grin.

"Fine! Let's allow Tiona's case! Here's the deal…ONE. He must win your affection in single combat. And I won't tolerate fake fights!"

"Huh? But we're not Amazons!"

Loki continued, ignoring the protest.

"TWO. He must be able to defeat a Level Four!.. Well, maybe that's pushing it. THREE! Level Three. And if you can't reach that level, I'll have them fight Bete as a replacement."

"But Bete is Level 5! He'll crush them!"

"That's the point. At least it'll provide good entertainment. And THREE. You'll have to tell me everything that happens on your dates, just like Tiona!"

"Wait… Are we talking about finding boyfriends or recruiting adventurers for the family?" Alicia said skeptically.

"Why not both? Let's call it 'Operation Romantic Recruitment.' It's as good a way as any to find good candidates for the Familia." - Loki said

Several people facepalmed.

"The proposal needs refinement," Finn said. "Besides, this isn't the way to change the rules. It's getting way too late. Some of us need to get up early in the morning. We'll prepare everything more carefully and discuss it at the next family meeting."

"Time to clear out. Let's go!" Riveria said in her motherly tone.

The girls finally vacated the room. Tione was the last to leave. Before doing so, she stood in front of her sister with a complicated expression on her face. Jealousy? Discomfort?

While Tiona tried to decipher what was behind her sister's gaze, she was surprised by her hug.

"I'm happy for you," she commented in her ear during the seconds that the hug lasted.

"That date of yours... is beyond what I could ever imagined."

Tiona finally believed she understood. Yes...there was jealousy in her gaze. But also sadness. Perhaps, upon realizing what a real date should be like, she would have realized that her relationship with Finn was a complete illusion. Perhaps Tione had to go through something similar to grief to abandon the idea of her fictitious relationship with the Captain.

"Now that you have a boyfriend, we can organize a double date! Peter, the captain, and the two of us!"

Nevermind. Tione was the same as ever.

"What do you say, Captain? It's a good idea, isn't it? Captain? Where is he? He was here a second ago!"

A few minutes later, Tiona finally had some privacy.

That's when she mentally reviewed everything that had happened. It was clear she couldn't keep any secrets within the family.

She sighed, knowing that Peter and she would have to be very careful in the future.

But she did her best to forget the interrogation and focus on the date. There were many memorable moments, but swinging around Babel was undoubtedly the best.

It was a shame that Orario had so few tall buildings. Tiona had the impression that Peter was quite experienced. Did his home have many tall buildings, or perhaps mountains with the right shape?

It must be incredible to do that in a large space.

And then it clicked in Tiona's mind.

'Wait… Isn't the dungeon the perfect place for swinging?'

Not the upper levels. They were too small. But on the middle and lower floors, the ceilings were often quite high.

Could Peter swing through the dungeon?