Chapter 11
"There's a reason I have only called the four of you here." Mia Grande stated as she addresses the waitress that had a little more in their resume than serving and taking orders. Even though they were rather mediocre in those areas as well from time to time.
"As you may have known, our resident blonde might have gotten into a little problem with some Familia." She looked at Chloe, the cat in question looked away at the clear scowl Mia was giving her. "Which would have been nice to hear from one of my staff members and not Cyclops smelling the blood on him." Her gaze narrowed. "No shit you took a bath in the middle of the day, you stupid cat."
She muttered the last part before sighing, Chloe on the other hand rubbed her cheek and gave a shameless response in exchange. "He drove a really good bargain nya~…"
Mia's eyes twitched. "Food is not some sort of bribery!"
Chloe crossed her arms. "It is when he's a better cook nya~"
The pub owner slammed her fist on the table, surpassingly it didn't break nor leave any cracks on it. Mia was really suppressing herself right now.
"I am so happy you mentioned that, which is related to why I called you here." Her gaze turned serious, so much that even Ryuu gulped out of instinct. "I need you all to keep an eye on him."
The air of seriousness faded in that instant, Ryuu decided to take the initiative after sighing. "Even though I accept his cooking is superiority ,"
Mia's eye twitched, she really didn't know if the Elf was rubbing that fact on her face.
"I think you are exaggerating. Besides, from what I heard he's more than capable of taking care of himself." She replied, recalling Chloe's tale of their day.
"Yes, he can."
"Let me make this clear so you can understand this, first of all…" she stood up from the table and walked to the side to pick up some sort of board. It was a chart composed of several columns, the last ones being considerably bigger than the ones before. "This," she slammed her palm on the board. "are our sales from the last ten weeks."
"As you can see, in the last three weeks he's been here, our sales have increased in comparison with the other seven."
Lunor narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin in deep thought. "… Mia…" she chuckled. "There's no way you did this."
A vein made herself visible on Mia's forehead, and it only made itself worse when the rest of the staff murmured in agreement.
"You do know this is my business, right? And as such I do keep track of it, RIGHT!?"
"That, we know." Ryuu stated, but Lunor decided to intervene. "But this is way too elaborate for you to do it."
"And I have even seen you struggle with the number in the past nya~." Anya finished the thought, and to their surprise, Mia simply sighed.
"… And that's why I also asked for his help with this."
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for a good while after that.
"You are telling me," Ryuu rubbed the bridge between her eyes. "That he has not only been helping here for less than any of us, but you also put him in charge of our finances?"
The Gentle Giant simply looked away, not really having anything to say to counter that.
"Mama… please tell me you at least raised his pay."
The former Captain simply whistled, still not crossing eyes with them.
"Mama!/That's exploitation nya~!/ Tyrant nya~!"
Ryuu sighed as Mia gave her reply.
"He rejected the raise ok?!"
"Yes, he did. Although, he shouldn't have."
"You expect us to believe that."
Mia took a deep breath before she put the topic back on place.
"As for your second statement, Ryuu." She ignored their judgemental glares. "You're right. He can take care of himself… and that's the problem."
The Elf raised an eyebrow.
"Even though we don't know what Level he is, if Chloe's statement is to be believed, he's plenty strong. Also, Cyclops vouches for him, so that's got to mean something."
"Then, why keep an eye on him?"
Mia sighed. "Besides that little revelation of him unable to lie, Cyclops told me he has a little…" she started to ponder on the right word to use for this case. "grudge against deities."
"Grudge is a little bit of an understatement."
Lunor prepared to ask what exactly she meant, but then recalled Drake's first interaction with Demeter. It was like he was avoiding her.
"… it made sense." She looked at Chloe. "Did he behave like that when he spoke with Lord Njord?"
She shook her head. "No nya~. As a matter of fact I would say he was rather civil with him… even though most of their talk was about fish nya~."
Ryuu narrowed her eyes, her hands intertwined resting on the table. "How big is his grudge?"
Mia rubbed the bridge between her eyes with a sigh. "According to Cyclops… enough to send a deity back to Tenkai."
Their faces paled, except for Ryuu's who remained stoic as ever.
"Are you telling me you hired someone who could easily go on a killing spree against the Gods in Orario and cause a genocide?"
Everyone stared at her, all of them giving her blank looks as if she had said something completely stupid.
"…What?" the elf asked, but no one answered her, at least not someone sitting around their table.
"Ryuu." Her eyes widened as she looked to the darkest part of Mia's room.
"…How… How long…" she tried to form words as she looked at a pair of green glowing eyes staring at her.
"From the very beginning." Drake Aurion replied as he walked out of the shadows and picked a free chair to take a seat next to Lunor. "First of all, you are the last person around this damn table to speak about 'killing sprees' and 'genocides' you stupid Elf."
Ryuu's jaw dropped, her face heated, and just when she was about to reply back; she shut herself up.
Yes, she was the last person at the table to preach about self-control. And she understood that even he had his own circumstances. After all, not everyone was a saint, and that included deities.
"… I apologize." She replied back as she fixed her stoic composure.
"Good." He stared at Mia. "Second, when you told me yesterday you wanted a chart of all the pub's income, I didn't expect it to be for this."
Mia grinned. "This is to prove your worth, boy!"
He gave her a blank glance. "I hope Tsubaki also told you I can see through bullshit."
Her smile twitched.
"Never have I ever missed digital spreadsheets. How the fuck did people do accounting before computers is beyond me." He thought out loud, mostly for himself as everyone looked at him weirdly at terms they have never heard before. "Also, I am gonna teach you how to properly keep records organized." Mia's grin seemed rather forced, the only reason she didn't argue back was because she accepted her finances could do some organizing. Especially since even the blonde wanted to rip off his hair yesterday as he worked through it all.
"Third," he looked at everyone around him. "Don't you know it's bad manners to speak of someone in third person when they are present? I even spoke a few times and remained completely unnoticed."
All the waitresses looked away. "… How did you even manage to do that?"
He looked at Lunor. "I am either just that good, or all of your environmental awareness needs some work. Some serious work."
All four looked at him with a twitch, which he ignored.
"And finally," he stared back at Mia, with a serious gaze this time. "I don't need a babysitter."
"Can you tell me that with a straight face if a God or Goddess, an arrogant one, gets under your skin?"
"Of course." He said nonchalantly, which made Mia narrow her eyes.
"Drake." She said with a warning tone, indicating to continue his statement.
"I will just break their face with a punch. Or two."
Everyone, even Ryuu, groaned at his answer.
"Compared to any other alternative in my head, this is the least bloody."
More collective groans, even so face palms from the two cats.
"Ok, I see Mama's point." Lunor said as she looked at the others.
"How are we gonna keep an eye on him though? Who goes first?" Ryuu stated, as she and everyone else ignored his statements and complains of not aggreging with this idea.
"Also, how about when he goes to the Dungeon nya~?" Anya asked, making Ryuu ponder about it.
"Gods are not permitted to be in the Dungeon. Also, if someone does attack him, he can take care of them."
"What happens in the Dungeon, stays in the Dungeon nya~."
Everyone nodded.
"So… who will be the first one nya~?" Chloe asked, not really being against the idea if she could get something out of him again.
Lunor really wasn't against the idea. More free time outside the pub.
Ryuu may hate his guts. But if it was for the good of the Hostess, so be it.
And Anya… was being Anya. No complex thought or ulterior reason to be mentioned.
"You know what," Drake made himself present again as he stood up from his chair. "Do whatever you want, don't expect much from me while you do this." He started to head to the door. "Tomorrow is Sunday, my free day. And I plan to use it. So, you better be ready to keep track of me when I leave."
He stopped and looked over his shoulder while his hand was on the door handle. "As for how you decide who goes first, do what all rational people would do."
Ryuu raised an eyebrow as he started to walk out of the room. "What? Toss a coin?"
"Rock, paper, scissors. You stupid elf." Those were his last words as the door closed, leaving the elf with a twitch in her eye before she sighed.
"Well…" she raised her hands, one first resting over her free palm.
And so did the rest.
Despite his rudeness, he did give them a solution to their problems. A childish, yet effective one.
"… Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot!"
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhh~"
Not every moment of the day was perfect, having Syr being annoying was the living proof of that.
"You all had a secret meeting without me!? Not fair."
The blonde didn't bother looking at her, the urge to roll his eyes was huge. But doing so would be acknowledging her existence.
"Syr. You don't live here, by the time we reunited it was almost midnight." Ryu stated. "Also, everyone in the room was there because we are… how do I put it-"
"Certified killers." The blonde commented after swallowing his food, not staring at the blank stare the elf was giving him.
"Yes… that."
"But still, which Familia is so interested in going through so much trouble for?"
Ignored.
Syr sighed in defeat as she simply stared, her smile returned soon after. "At least it is the only Familia you have picked a fight with."
He froze in place, his fork millimeters from his mouth, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ryuu, Syr… or Mia.
'You absolute bitch.' He thought, suppressing a growl as he avoided making eye contact with the waitress in question. Now that they knew his inability to lie, he would have to pick his words carefully from now on.
"… Goddammit, Drake." Mia stated, a wet towel slammed on the counter. "Who and when?"
The blonde didn't answer, and focused on at least taking a final bite before he ruined his breakfast.
"Three weeks ago."
Everyone started to ponder, that was around the time he first appeared, making Mia sigh in relief as she recalled the incident with the Familia of a certain red haired Goddess.
"Loki."
Syr started to ponder. "They haven't come here since that night. Shouldn't we be worried about that."
Mia shrugged. "Thanks to my new source of headaches," she slammed her hand on his shoulder from the other side of the counter. "We make it up by their absence and more."
The blonde in question simply glared in annoyance as the sudden action made him spill the juice he was about to drink.
"Besides, if Loki Familia held a grudge, they would have done something by now."
"Good." He stood up from the table. "I am never in the mood when dealing with clowns."
Syr sweat dropped at the seriousness in his tone. "Why does it feel you have a grudge against clowns in general and not just Loki Familia?"
"Are you ready?"
Drake asked out loud, ignoring Syr's attempts of being cute by pouting.
"Yes nya~" Anya Frommel walked down the stairs in her normal clothes and with a spear on her back.
"I thought you said you weren't gonna wait for anyone." The elf interjected, to which the blonde simply shrugged.
"Leave him be, Ryuu." Ryuu looked at Mia, who simply focused on her work. Now that she thought about it, he did give Anya a slightly different treatment unlike the others.
"Wait for me outside." Anya nodded with enthusiasm while Drake looked at Mia.
"The bitch in the high tower." Mia froze, and so did Ryu and Syr, the latter had an empty expression on her face. Because they knew who he was referring to.
"… what about her?"
"Your previous question. I didn't mean Loki Familia when I said that was three week ago."
Mia started to become pale. Her jaw hung slightly open before she prepared to retort back.
"Also, I did technically tell you, remember?" Mia raised an eyebrow, trying to recall the incidents of that week. It didn't take long for her eyes to widen as she recalled his second night in the pub. He had made a statement about having to deal with a cat and a pig.
"Allen and Ottarl."
Drake adjusted his scarf, but not before letting her see a light smirk on his lips. "Have a good day, Mia. See you later."
Mia just stared at his retreating form while Syr started to poke her, frozen in place.
"I need a drink." She muttered.
"But Mama, it's only nine in the morning!"
Mia ignored her, and so she did for the rest as she served herself a shot of her strongest drink, the one she only pulled in fucked up occasions.
He had told her this in person, and she knew it.
The lesson in question? Be careful with what you ask, the truth might not be of your liking.
"… Well played your bastard." She said before taking her first shot of the day.
Riveria Ljos Alf.
Nine Hell
High Elf.
Heir to the Elf Kingdom.
Level Six.
Executive of the Loki Familia.
And according to the people of Orario, one of the most beautiful mortal women in the city.
She carried an air of elegance with her that made everyone just stare at her as if she herself commanded respect. The times one would see her face show anything but seriousness were few and in the company of fellow Familia members only.
But this was not one of those cases.
She had just entered her usual bookstore with her apprentice, Lefiya Viridis. Both staring at an ever increasing mountain of books sitting on the owner's counter.
The Princess walked closer and eyed the spine of each book to read their titles.
Books about history, biology, geography, to things more complicated like Fauna, chemistry, magic and so on. It almost looked as if she was staring back into her own past.
'Oh, the boredom.' A slight scowl formed on her face, the past memories of all the countless hours of tutors and a big number of books she had to go through the day, every day. Not to mention there were also the lessons of etiquette and politics.
She mentally shook her head as a form to correct herself. These were the roots of a good education, something she deeply appreciated.
'Whoever these books are for, they must be a very arduous individual.' A smile started to form on her face, one that didn't last too long as the person that put all of those books walked to it and placed a couple more.
"Anything else you would recommend?"
Her eyes slightly widened. There he was, the individual that had not only made fun of Bete and her Goddess, but also looked down upon Finn and the rest of their Familia.
"None that fit your specified criteria." The store owner replied as he started to pack the books. "Why are you so interested in this? Some of the books you selected are complicated, but some just contain basic knowledge."
The blonde shrugged. "All I can say is the Guild only collected information regarding the Dungeon, Familia, and Orario. Anything else besides that is ignored or incredibly vague."
"Didn't you say that you weren't an Adventurer?"
Drake sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I am…" he stopped mid-sentence as he looked at the owner, but it hadn't been the shop owner. His eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of a familiar emerald haired elf.
"…Anyway." His eyes returned to normal, not focusing on the two elves at all. "You were saying?"
The old man looked perplexed, exchanging glances between Drake and the members of Loki Familia until he finally reached the obvious conclusion.
He was ignoring them.
"Nothing, I think you pretty much have everything covered that isn't Dungeon related, hero stories or romance."
Drake snorted.
"Do I look like a stupid naïve kid to you?" The old man knew he was talking about the hero stories. "As for the last one, I am neither a virgin, sexually frustrated, nor in need of romance to read those."
Drake didn't know it at the moment. But every single one of those words had landed a mortal wound in Riveria's self-esteem, even though she didn't show it. She swallowed her pride and decided to stay quiet seeing she had accidentally ignored Finn's orders in avoiding contact, so staying quiet from now on-
"How dare you ignore Lady Riveria!?" Riveria cursed in her mind, the urge of groaning bigger than ever as her apprentice pointer a finger at him. "You human!"
Drake closed his eyes and gave a deep sigh before addressing that now annoying elf. "So far every damn elf I have met is ruder than the last one." He looked at Riveria. "Haven't you taught her it's rude to point?"
Whatever little bit of determination was in Lefiya's face, it was gone as she shrunk in place at the prospect of Riveria scolding her.
"He's right, Lefiya." A low yelp was heard. "Please, accept my apology on her behalf." She slightly bowed. "I also apologize for what happened last time. You may not remember us-"
"I do. You are one of the clown's children."
Her eyes narrowed as she fixed herself, he clearly still held some grudge for what happened in the Hostess of Fertility three weeks ago.
"I would appreciate it if you addressed us as you should."
He looked amused. "Would you prefer I called her 'Man child'? Because that also fits."
Sadly, it did.
"I am going on my way, take your fake apology to someone that actually cares."
"I insist, my words speak the truth."
"As it was that midget's intention to purposely let that mutt pick a fight with me." He narrowed his eyes. "If you were as regal and noble as you claim, you might have at least had the decency to try and stop that stupid idea."
The High-Elf was about to retort, but there was nothing to say to defend her Familia's actions if the accusations were true .
"Do not disrespect Lady Riveria!" The younger elf intervened by standing between both. "You should even feel honored she's even lowering her head to-!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Beta." He replied after grabbing one of the books near him to touch the side of her shoulder and push her off the way gently. "Your Alpha and I are talking."
The royal narrowed her eyes. "We are not some animals for you to refer to us as such."
"And yet you haven't taught your dog or your apprentice any manners." He stepped back and put the book in the giant bag with the rest of their purchase. "I am gonna be the mature one here and just walk away, not gonna waste my free day with you lot." He reached for his jacket and pulled a big bag of Valis and put it on the table.
"Unless you feel like escalating things."
Silence.
Or so it was until someone else made herself present.
"Are you done nya~?"
Both elves turned around at the sound of a familiar voice.
Anya Frommel.
"…You?"
"Oh, Loki Familia. It's been a while nya~." The waitress addressed them with a small bow before walking past them to grab Drake's sleeve to force him out of the store, the blonde was barely able to grab the bag of books by the rush the cat girl had. "You've been here too long nya~."
"Not my fault some people really try to be annoying."
"Wait," Riveria said as they looked at the two, ignoring the obvious jab from his previous comment. "What exactly is your relationship?"
"Oh," Anya stopped, now forcing him to her height level to gesture at him. " he works in the Hostess now nya~."
Her eyes widened; her stoic mask finally gone at the thought that Mia of all people would let them work there. This was not just surprising, but also worrying seeing Mia wouldn't let a man work in her establishment. Unless someone else had a hand on it.
'Freya.'
It didn't matter how much Mia Grande said she was retired. One could never look away from the whims of the Gods. Especially one like Freya.
"Please be sure not to come back," his dull voice brought her back to reality. "I don't want to have to fucking cook or serve for you lot."
Those were his final words as he walked away, her eye twitching at his lack of manners and seeing they might never be able to ever go to the Hostess again without some kind of altercation.
"Neither Loki nor Finn will like this." She thought out loud, wondering who would take the news the worst. Their leader, or the deity who hasn't been able to go drinking freely and without repercussions for almost a full month.
Knowing the answer to her inquiry, she sighed.
"Would you please stop being so anxious?"
Anya Fromel looked back and forth, left and right, and so on in every possible direction with narrowed eyes.
"Can't nya~."
They were currently sitting around a table in an area where there were a lot of food stands. And Anya's behavior was making everyone around them uncomfortable with the look of suspicion she was giving everyone.
"Mama and the others told me people had been scouting around the Hostess for you nya~. So I am keeping an eye open for it nya~."
"Yeah…" he raised an eyebrow. "But even now?"
"Of course nya~." Her cat eyes focused on him. "A detective must always be alert nya~"
Drake ran his hand through his face with a sigh, his focus changing as he heard someone getting closer to the table.
"And what if a distraction came in front of you?" he asked, his eyes focusing on someone else.
"I wouldn't get distracted nya~." She clapped her chest with pride. "Because I am the great detective nya~."
"Good to know." Drake replied as a waiter placed a giant bowl of ice cream with a banana under all of it, various types of creams on top of it all.
"One Rainbow Bowl for the lady." The man stated as he placed a small glass full of ice cream in front of Drake. "And one medium Lemon Sunday for the gentleman."
The blonde gave a thankful nod before the waiter left, his gaze now on Anya. Who was looking at the dessert with a serious face, which was only betrayed by a drool leaking off the corner of her mouth.
"So, what's the great detective gonna do?"
She picked the spoon placed for her and took the first back without hesitation. "Great Detective needs energy nya~."
He chuckled in amusement as he focused on his dessert.
When Drake had said he was planning on using his free day, he meant it.
Besides the bookstore, Anya had accompanied to various other places.
They had gone through various pharmacies. Apparently, he didn't really buy anything for any specific reason. Just that they visited a lot of them, until they finally reached the last one. A small local set on the lowest part of Orario.
As a former street cat, Anya could say it was a good place to live since it covered the basics, but as a business, not so much.
She had waited outside, just like always. She heard a loud voice boasting about how he was better than the deity that owned the place, and so went on. She also heard Drake's voice, although not loud enough for her to hear. A few minutes went on with nothing happening, until a white-haired God came out running on the establishment, blood running down his mouth.
Anya had paled at that moment, thinking that Drake had managed to harm a deity under her watch. But according to the other deity in the store, the white one had bitten his tongue harshly… in a very bizarre way according to the deity and his child. Drake ended up buying various potions from the store.
The cat waitress wasn't done. She knew there was a reason why he bought from them and the other places. When asked about it he simply said it was for 'charity'.
She shrugged at the answer as she wondered what happened to the bag of poison… and the bag of books for that fact seeing that they were nowhere to be seen.
'Maybe he's clumsier that he looks nya~.' Anya shrugged as she kept digging in while stealing some glances at the blonde. Her chewing slowed down little by little as she noticed he was smiling.
Not chuckling, not smirking, but smiling; an honest and kind smile as he ate his ice cream.
It was a weird sight as he covered his face with his scarf most of the time. And when that wasn't the case, he had a blank face, and scowl or anything remotely similar.
"You look happy nya~."
Her statement made him chuckle a little.
"Just reminiscing." He said, another bite taken as he continued. "My brothers and I used to go for ice cream when we were younger."
Anya's eyes widened a little. Mostly because she didn't expect that kind of personal information. All she and the others knew about him was that he couldn't get back home for some reason, and that he was a former Noble.
"They were a fucking pain in the ass." he said with a silent growl.
"… uh?" Anya looked puzzled at the sudden statement. She wasn't bright, calling your sibling a dumbass didn't go along with that face. Her own personal experience with her brother was the living testament of that.
"… How were they like?" she asked in a low tone, not out of curiosity of knowing more about the blonde, but to see how the relationship of other siblings was.
"They were a handful." He shook his head amused. "I always had to look up after them. Even when having to deal with the damn idealism of some, cleaning up the messes of others, enabling the behavior of a certain bastard, and so on."
From Anya's perspective, it sounded like that they were all negative experiences. And yet he spoke with such a soft tone that made her doubt.
By this time, she had already stopped eating her dessert, thinking that some deity up her hated her seeing her relationship with her brother was negative.
"I don't understand nya~." She replied, his attention focusing on her, realizing his words might have triggered something depressing for her. "How can you sound so happy when you speak of them in that nya~?"
He sighed, before he left out a soft chuckle. "You are taking things a little too literal, Anya." She blinked in confusion. "Yeah, there were some bad times, and they sometimes did shit that would come back to bite us in the ass later. I am also included in that list by the way."
He took another small bite of his ice cream, his smile returning. "But just like there are bad times, there are good times. And all of those experiences worked to strengthen our bonds."
Anya looked down again. She tried to recall any good moment with Allen, but none came to mind, at least none from her time during Freya Familia. And before that, she was too young to remember.
It made her think that perhaps, it was something she had done to anger him. Like always, but nothing ever came to mind. It made her feel like she really shouldn't have been born.
"Anya," she didn't look up but kept listening. "Siblings always fight, it's what they do, for whatever reason. But despite all of that, they always have each other's backs, taking care of each other, making sure they see things from a different perspective, and stop them whenever they are about to do something incredibly stupid."
She didn't know why, but he made sure to raise her voice a little at the last one.
"A relationship like that can only come when people share a common bond… Anya." Her eyes widened when she felt his hand on top of her head. She looked up to see him giving him a small smile as he leaned a little over the table to pat her head. "You did nothing wrong."
She hadn't noticed until now, but tears had started rolling down her cheeks. She clenched her teeth not to start crying further and make a scene as he continued. "You were the one that always looked after him, didn't you?"
She nodded slightly. She only wanted to be closer to her brother, that's why she had put so much effort in being an Adventurer. But he never paid her any real attention like a good sibling should.
"He was the problem, not you." He finally stated, telling her what she had needed to hear for some time. That it wasn't her fault.
"So cheer up and-"
"Oh my!" Drake's words got interrupted as he retrieved his hand to see to his side. "As I say, you were right Gregory. This one is incredibly fine."
Anya noticed how Drake's face returned to his usual self… no. That was wrong, if anything, he looked angry seeing how his eyes became more slit than usual. She looked to the side to see the owner of the voice.
It was a group of four; three men and one woman.
The most noticeable one being the deity that had long, unruly dark red hair and yellow eyes. He was topless, exposing his muscular body, and simply wore brown pants with pale covers, a belt, earrings, a necklace, and bracelets.
But from Drake's perspective… he was simply someone with a very punchable face.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you child," the deity put a not so subtle tone of disdain in the last part, his eyes narrowed and his smirk extended viciously. "You have been causing me and my children a massive headache as of late."
"Almost three weeks to be exact." Drake replied, dull as ever while looking at his companion. The first one was the fat man he had met near Demeter's cottage, a scowl on his face showing he was not happy to see him. Even the words above him shown by the darkness weren't being subtle about it.
'The feeling is more than mutual fatass.'
The second man wore a mask and a hood on, but Drake didn't need to use the darkness to know his name. After all, the smell of burned skin could still be caught by a trained nose.
This was the man that had tried to abduct him and ended up going after Chloe by mistake.
"How's your face?" Drake asked, making sure the individual saw his smirk. The former Noble could hear the clear sound of gritting teeth behind his mask.
And the last one, it was a woman with purple hair. She wore a tight, dark-purple jumpsuit with individual pieces of clothes covering the chest and shoulders, and a pair of short trunks over the jumpsuit itself
However, her most noticeable trait were her eyes, a very empty pair of purple colored orbs.
That intrigued the blonde, seeing as there was a black smoke around her that only he could see. Ever since he got to Orario, she's the first individual he's met that could generate such a level of despair.
He was about to read the words above to see the reason for it, but the annoying red head in front of him beat him to it.
"As I say!" Drake's eye twitched. "I decided to dedicate my precious time to you, and all I get is your rudeness."
"You are gonna get a broken face if you don't stop being so annoying." Many of the bystanders had to make a double take at the fact that a mortal was threatening a God in plain broad light. "I already gave each of your idiots a warning. And believe me, you don't want me going three for three."
"You imprudent-" the masked one gave a step forward, but his deity raised his hand as a clear indication to stop.
"Enough, Enoch." The deity exclaimed as both him and Drake stared at each other, each watching the other with hostility.
Drake couldn't use the darkness against Gods to try and figure out what they were thinking. But he didn't care, because he was trying his hardest not to assault him right here and now for the simple reason of being a deity looking for a fight; the fact that he was a redhead just made things worse .
His instincts were screaming at him at this point.
"You…" the God started as he took a step forward, Drake standing up from his table to prepare for the incoming conflict, the deity's children becoming tense as well. And Anya… was back at eating her dessert, but not without having her golden spear at hand's reach with her eyes on the group. "… are wonderful."
'…huh?'
That was the collective thought of everyone looking at commotion.
Anya almost choked with her own food while Drake's anger turned into confusion.
"Those first and sharp eyes, and bone structure, that well defined body." He pointed his finger at Drake, in the most dramatic way possible.
And so, confusion turned into annoyance.
'… this shit is NOT happening right now.' The blonde thought fearing that the annoyance was hitting on him.
"As I say, I command you to join my Familia."
A vein made itself visible in Drake's forehead. Therefore, annoyance turned back into anger.
"I am not giving you a saying in this." He smirked viciously. "After all, you assaulted various members of my Familia." He gestured to his masked child. "You even left my dear Enoch's face unrecognizable."
The God shrugged.
"Unless you want us to involve the Ganesha Familia, as well ."
Drake simply stared at the deity, his smugness full and evident seeing he thought he had all the cards in his palm. To which the blonde simply chuckled before putting both of his hands inside his jacket pockets.
"Go for it."
He decided to call his bluff.
"… beg your pardon?"
He sighed at the deity's confused face.
"Let's take this directly to Ganesha then. I am sure they will be more than happy to hear about your abduction attempt and the assault on my person done by the members of your Familia." The blonde slightly raised his head and snorted.
He was looking down at them.
"And just to make things clear for everyone." He gestured at his two male children. "I am gonna make sure those two pieces of shit are present. I am sure they are dying to say their role in all of that."
The two Adventurers tensed, as did their deity seeing he now had a stern scowl on his face, a drop of sweat running down the side of his face.
"You are making things more complicated than they should be, child." All the bravado and air of confidence the red-haired God had faded at this point.
Drake snorted.
"That's been my life so far, trash." He clapped his hands. "So, let's not waste any more time." He narrowed his eyes. "Unless you want me to make-"
"I don't see the need for that."
Drake didn't know it. But for some reason, everyone around the area, even the spectators, had frozen in place looking in the same direction.
The blonde was about to see who the newcomer was, but his focus went somewhere else as Anya rushed to hide behind him.
"What is it?" he muttered, looking over at her. Anya's face was planted on his back while she stared straight to the ground, her trembling hands clenching on his jacket as if she was gonna pass out of fear.
"It's her nya~." Anya answered with a slow voice as he finally moved his gaze to stare at the person that stole the moment.
He didn't need to hear the people around her muttering her name. Just by looking at her, he could tell who she was in an instant.
'The bitch in the high tower… Freya.'
She was covered in a slick and high-quality dark cloak which obscured most of her body with the exception of her arms on which she wore skin-tight long gloves, tight enough that the delicate nature of her fingers was not obscured.
She tilted her head and gave a kind smile.
It was truly disgusting.
"Mama! You have to stop!" Lunor exclaimed inside the kitchen.
"I can't." Mia exclaimed as slammed a near empty bottle of alcohol on the table.
She had suddenly started taking shots for the last five minutes, but all of the sudden decided to drink straight from the bottle. As if to ignore something incredibly ominous was taking place at the moment.
"I don't know why but I just can't." she muttered in total misery as she went for another drink. By this time all the waitresses near her jumped at her to take the bottle away while May and the other cooks focused on their craft with a collective sigh.
"Let me be, damn it!" Mia screamed as struggled with her waitresses while Syr walked past the kitchen, humming to herself in delight without a care in the world.
"I couldn't help but listen to the argument you were having." She gently pressed her hand on her chest. "If it works for the both of you, I can serve as the judge for both parties."
Drake's eyes glowed, moving quickly to all in front of him to see if she was alone. There was a very familiar Aura with the symbol of the Freya Familia hiding at the entrance of an alley. And he could feel someone's glare on him coming from above.
"Freya." The red head deity started, a firm face in place; even if almost everyone could tell he was afraid of the woman in front of him. "There's no need for someone like you to waste their time in-"
"It wasn't a suggestion, Aeshma." Her kind smile remained. "Seeing as you took the effort of making a scene in the middle of the day, this must have some level of importance." She then stared at Drake. "Don't you think so?"
"… No." he answered calmly, even though Anya could tell it wasn't the usual dull tone he always used. "I believe we were reaching a rather comfortable conclusion without your interference."
He ignored the people's comments, and even their shadows' voices seeing how apparently someone straight rejecting Freya's offer was something worth causing a strong sense of emotions within them.
"Oh." Fake surprise took over her face. "My apologies. It looked to me like things were escalating a little too quick Mr…"
There was an uncomfortable silence seeing Freya kept expecting him to introduce himself.
"Can I assume you want to continue your little charade?" he asked after looking at Aeshma, who was taken back at the act of ignoring Freya. With his little statement, the former Noble was making sure all the blame of what was previously talked fell on the red-haired deity seeing he started it.
The God bit his tongue seeing as he certainly didn't want the matter to end at all. But none of them wanted to deal with Freya now, although for completely different reasons.
"You are right, child." Aeshma gritted his teeth, sending a glare to the blonde with a clear message he could understand.
'this isn't over.'
"How wonderful." A soft clap got their attention. "But even so, such accusations can't be dismissed so easily by someone like you, Aeshma. I remember you don't have the best track record in keeping your word."
'You are one to talk, you overrated whore!' Despite his inner thoughts, the God forced a smile and said nothing as she addressed Drake.
"And as for you, seeing that he will most certainly not let this go so easily. Why don't you let yourself be under my care until this matter is settled?" her eyes started to glow, causing Drake to force himself not to do anything drastic.
She had tried something, most likely to mess with his mind in some way.
His Aunt had attempted something similar in the past and succeeded, compared to that, this was a child's place. However, that didn't change the fact that the deity in front of him had the audacity of trying something like that.
"Pass. I already have a well-guarded place."
The Hostess.
Not that he actually needed the protection.
"I must insist, I have been meaning to speak with you for some time." Freya's eyes narrowed, her surprise hidden, her smile anything but kind of the moment as all pretenses were thrown out of the way.
Even if they have never crossed eyes directly, she did peek into his soul when he had first stepped into Orario. And he in return stared back.
He had hoped she would learn the lesson, but it was clearly for naught.
"And why pray tell should I even consider such a notion?"
"Isn't it obvious, because I am a Goddess."
The blonde snorted after a second. "Never heard such an stupid reason be spoken. This is a waste of fucking time." He prepared to turn around with Anya, who was still clinging to him. But someone rushed at him with a 'great' speed to take a hold of his jacket.
"Oh, hey Garfield." Allen Fromel almost snarled at him as he kept his grip on Drake's clothes. "How's your leg?"
He could feel Anya's trembling intensifying at the sound of his brother's voice. He needed to leave as soon as possible. If not for his urges to kill the stupid Goddess in front of him, then for the girl who didn't want to be there at all.
"You bastard, how dare you reject Lady Freya's love!? Even though you are undeserving of it in the first place!"
Drake snorted as he approached his face to Allen's ear.
"And you do? Seems like she has a thing for mistreated animals seeing as you couldn't even last five minutes against me."
Anya's eyes widened seeing as she was the only one at range to listen. The person she was currently holding to dear life had beaten her brother, one of the top five most powerful Adventurer's in Orario.
"You caught me off guard, it will not happen again." Allen's voice was low, but his voice carried enough venom to make it feel like a dead threat.
"So original." Drake rolled his eyes, and even made sure Allen could see it as well. "Unless you actually have something worth mentioning," he grabbed Allen's forearm-
*CRACK*
And gripped it hard enough to start breaking it's bone structure. "I would recommend you and your deity stop being annoying before I decide to break your arm this-"
"Please let him go nya~"
Allen's eyes widened, despite the pain he was feeling he managed to look down and see his sister hiding behind the blonde.
"Why the fuck are you here you useless-"
*CRACK*
"-argh!" Allen winced, the pressure in his hand increasing as he could swear Drake's skin had been slightly coated by a black energy.
"That's no way to speak to your sister."
Drake felt the grip Anya had on him intensified, her message was quite clear. He sighed and released his grip on Allen, who jumped back out of instinct.
"Thank your sister I didn't cripple you a second time."
Allen gritted his teeth as he grabbed his almost broken arm out of pain. "Do you think I should be thankful to a waste of space that doesn't have or deserves Lady Freya's love."
"And this again," he sighed, even though deep down he just wanted to cripple the cat in front of him. "Does everything with you lot have to do with 'Freya's Love'? Are every single one of you incapable of thinking about anything else?"
"How dare-!" Allen's words died in his mouth as Freya stood next to him.
"Why shouldn't they?" her smile remained. "Love is a force of nature. The most wonderful emotion in the world. Capable of moving mountains, ending wars, and performing the impossible in the name of it."
The blonde stayed quiet. He had experienced many kinds of love in the past. Family love, brotherly love, friendly love and so on. And even though he had yet to experience and feel the kind of love his brothers had for their significant other, he was sure it was not what the pretentious deity in front of him was spewing off her mouth. Not because he didn't believe them, but because it sounded wrong coming from her.
"Ok, Goddess." He made sure to treat the term like an insult. "What's Love exactly?"
Instead of the sly smile he had given him, she adopted a kind expression on her face as she gestured to herself. "Love is everything to me, but more importantly, I am love itself. Because love is a passion and desire. It is a drive to do whatever it takes to please the object of your affection."
His anger spiked a little.
'That isn't love, that's just being a self-centered bitch.'
"And what exactly does one have to do in order to obtain such misfortune?"
Allen growled at the cleat provocation, but Freya stopped with a single motion as she kept her appearance.
"That's for me to decide. And not everyone is worth it." Drake could hear Anya forcing herself not to sniff at her answer, he could even feel the back of his jacket becoming wet by her tears. But most of all, he could almost taste her despair increasing.
"Take Anya for example." His fist clenched out of instinct. "I never fully gave her my love, but even so I took her in. Yet I did so, and despite how hard she tried, I never acknowledged her. The only reason I took her in was solemnly because of her brother, because he was worth it."
The blonde narrowed his eyes dangerously. The bitch in front of him was baiting him, hoping to get him railed into throwing the first punch to have a reason to send the big bad boar against him and cause a commotion in the middle of the city, all in the name of self-defense and having one on him.
The worst part of it all, it was working. He could kill them, quite easily. But then all he, Tsubaki and even Hephaestus had worked for would be for nothing.
"That's proof of my love, having to endure such a choice for Allen's sake can't be considered nothing other than a sacrifice in the name of it."
He could feel the Aura around his fingertips sharpening, his eyes started to become more slit the more she talked. Because in front of him stood a worst kind of deity than Ratatosk himself; a self-centered, egoistical, manipulative piece of shit.
The Dragon in him was screaming for her blood. Her existence was something so repugnant that his eyes could no longer contain the disdain.
He needed to get out of here, otherwise there might actually be a deity suffering a fate worse than dead. And even if she did deserve it, it wasn't either the type or the place for it.
She kept smiling, his current behavior way too clear to her as she gave a few steps back with Ottarl ready to intervene if necessary.
The blonde started to see red, his fists started to clench in a firm grip. It was only a matter of time before-
'You were so fucking close!'
A familiar, and yet annoying voice broke him off his anger as he now noticed his vision was now completely gray, as if time had completely stopped.
"… You have got to be fucking kidding me." He cursed out loud as he looked over his shoulder to see Zelos Wilder giving him one of his usual sly smiles.
"I never-"
"You never deactivated the Arte." Zelos finished the sentence for him as Drake looked back and forth in Freya's direction. She and everyone else were unmoving.
No.
Time hadn't stopped.
All of this was happening inside of his mind.
"As a matter of fact, it kind of became passive." Zelos walked to his right as Drake pinched the bridge between his eyes to think about it.
"… wait." His eyes widened. "Does that mean all of you have been watching for three damn weeks!"
"Yup." Someone's voice was heard as a hand went around his neck from his left side. "And you were so fucking close of reaching a damn month without any big problem… until now."
"Yuri." Drake muttered at the black haired Guardian and also thought about his words and the reason as to why they would keep quiet for so long.
"… You fucking assholes." He sighed in annoyance. "You made bets, didn't you?"
"Yup!"
There was more than one voice in that answer as one by one each of his brothers started to walk past him, Zelos and Yuri.
"I mean," Luke turned around and walked backwards. "I gave you a week at best, so this is a new personal record."
"Oh fuck you."
"I gave you half a year." Flynn said, stopping mid-way as he stared at him. "Suffice to say, I can understand how hard it can be seeing as the materialization of everything you hate takes shape and walks in front of you."
"Especially when she's doing it on purpose." Guy spoke as he eyed Freya from top to bottom. "Her ass is rather lacking." Replied the former gynophobic.
"So!" Zelos' arm went around his neck from the other side, while Yuri still remained the same. "How do we defuse this situation?"
"I have some ideas… none of them being quite clean, if I have to say so myself." Yuri replied.
Zelos Wilder and Yuri Lowell.
Those two had always been the devil on each of his shoulders when they agreed on something, which was rare.
"I mean…" Luke stated as he also checked out Freya. "I don't know what the fuss is about, I mean… my fiancé's better."
Guy snorted. "Not to mention she's got quite the record."
Zelos snorted as he let go of Drake to approach Freya. "This over-gloried Karen has been laid off so many times that despite being fully clothed, I can tell you that her weak spots are-" he signaled from top to bottom. "-all of her."
There was a collective laugh, even Drake did a little while only Flynn facepalmed, a smile soon on his face. "I honestly don't think you actually, pardon my language, fuck your problems out of this one."
"Are you being serious?" Luke intervened, "With a face like that, I can picture her saying 'harder~'."
"And this dumbass over there watching from afar." Zelos gestured at Allen. "How a guy can be with a woman who sleeps around with literally everybody is beyond me… what?" Everyone looked at him as if a second head had grown on him.
"I am a former scumbag, so I can say that shit without a hint of guilt. Also, you all know my stand on Harems, so fuck you."
Eyes rolled and laughs were shared while Drake noticed two of his brothers were still missing.
"Where are Lloyd and Jude?"
Yuri blinked as he noticed their absence, only to look to the side to see Jude staring at the purple haired Adventurer that accompanied Aeshma.
Yuri narrowed his eyes as he noticed the blind Faunus walking around her and looking detailed at her. "Don't overwork your eyes." Yuri said with a joking tone, which was responded with Jude flipping him off.
"He's using mine to see." Drake interrupted as he wondered what exactly caught Jude's attention, but ignored it as he heard someone else approaching him from his right.
"So… how much time did you bet on me?" Drake asked as Lloyd finally stood next to him, a soft chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at him.
"Why bet on the inevitable?"
Drake's eye twitched, mainly because he was right.
"We have argued a lot about the things in the past, but if there's something I fully agree with you, it was the fact that deities didn't have a damn right to have a domain on human emotions."
The last time he spoke with his brother inside of his mind, Drake could tell he was angry for these actions. Now, he was in a better mood, but he had yet to see some of his usual goofy persona instead of the wise guy next to him.
"Because they aren't human." Drake continued the thought. "They are never gonna fully experience things like a mortal would, deciding to put their own meaning on the concept as if it was just a term."
Lloyd nodded.
"Not gonna deny it. If I were to cross a deity claiming to have a domain over Justice with a lacking meaning behind their words, I would be triggered as well." He stared at Freya. "And here we have the perfect example of one of those."
Both snorted.
"How would the Guardian of Justice walk out of this one?"
He could see the corner of his brother's lips moving upward.
"I would-" he looked at him with a lazy expression as he rubbed the back of his head and gave a thumb up with his other hand. "I would simply turn around and leave." He said without shame.
The answer formed a forced grin on Drake's lips as a thick mark appeared on his forehead.
"Oh shit, here we go again." Yuri stated as he walked to where his brother was, not wanting to be near a possible Aurion conflict one more time.
"I mean, she really can't force me to stay at all, and it's not like she has hostages or anything worth fighting her over. She really doesn't have authority over me, so walking away is the safest choice. Also, don't you think not giving that bitch the time of day would be insulting enough… I mean… she looks needy."
"Such a simple and stupid answer."
"And yet you agree with me."
There it was, the goody and simple Lloyd.
"… I miss the brooding you already."
His brother laughed.
"Seriously… you should have been able to reach this conclusion when you were back on Remnant. You even pulled it with that midget from the clown Familia during your first night. Why didn't you do it now?"
"… huh."
"You even pulled the same with Chronos some time ago."
The dumbass had another point.
"Simple." Jude replied as he and Yuri approached them. "Your Dragon traits are maturing."
"…" Lloyd looked at Yuri and then at Drake, as if he had been the only one that didn't get it. "You lost us chief."
Drake sighed, he let Jude make the explanation.
"Male Dragons Faunus are beings of rage. It's like an adrenaline shot for them, increasing their blood lust in the process."
The minds of the four instantly went for the image of Zu Aurion, the Dragon of Destruction, Seraph of Rage and Drake's father.
"That explains a lot." Lloyd muttered to himself, ignoring the chill that ran down his spine.
"But even so, he was never like that in the past. And let me remind you, this asshole hates a lot of people." He pointed at Drake accusingly.
There certainly were a lot; Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Ozpin, and so on. Each one of them had gained the right to be hated, even more than Freya now.
"Because despite being nineteen, he's only been a Dragon Faunus for around a year. Which means-"
"Do I hear late bloomer, anyone?"
Drake's eye twitched as he flipped Zelos off as the rest approached.
"In vague terms, yes. It's as Zelos says." Jude continued. "But even so, for some reason that particular threat it's happening now, when it should happen when you reach teenage age."
"Could it be that his biology it's trying to catch up with his actual age?" Guy suggested, that was also a possibility.
"Gentlemen." Zelos clapped his hands. "This has been informative and all, but we still have to think about how to deal with that hoe over there." He pointed back at Freya.
"It's still worrying," Flynn pondered, "for you to have such a huge spike of hate like that. What could have-" he stopped mid track as he looked at Drake, or rather who was behind him.
"Anya." Drake muttered as he looked at the frozen girl still clinging to him.
"It makes sense, her own life was disregarded by not only her Goddess but her brother as well." Guy stated. "But still, just for that…"
"Could it be that perhaps you are projecting her for someone else?" Lloyd asked with narrowed eyes, making Drake ponder while Zelos eyed Anya's features.
"… She kind of looks like Rita." Jude, being the closest to him, swiftly moved his fist to the side to send the red head flying.
"What the actual fuck!?" the red head screamed from afar. "I can't just mention she kind of looks like my girlfriend!?"
"When it's you, no!" All the Guardian minus Drake replied.
"… fuck my life." Drake said after giving thought to Lloyd's words. "I am gonna deal with that later."
Lloyd smiled as he looked at Freya. "So… what to do with her?"
"Oh, that's easy." Zelos walked to them, cracking his neck in the process. "She's a woman."
"No shit, Sherlock."
Zelos sighed before he chuckled at Drake. "All you have to do, it's use that one skill every single Noble has."
Everyone pondered the meaning behind those words, and soon after looked at the Zelos with realization.
"That's right, Drakey!" He clapped his hands one final time. "Sharpen thy tongue."
Something was off.
No, something was wrong.
His soul, even if she couldn't fully enter it like the first time, she could still see its state like any normal mortal. It had been blazing with ire at her words, her exact objective with the intention of having an upper hand on him by having the blonde throw the first punch and have Ottarl intervene if necessary.
Her Original plan was to charm him, but imagine her surprise when he resisted her charms with ease.
'I must have him.'
That was the Goddess thought. And even if it had been ever since he first walked out off the Dungeon, now it was tenfold her original desire.
But now.
His soul was incredibly calm and serene. Even more, the expression on his face could only be described as tranquil with a bit of humor, as if he was trying his best not to laugh.
"You know…" he started, his hands back in his jacket's pocket, as if indicating that he was in complete control of the situation. "Ever since I arrived here, I was warned about you. How you were supposedly the strongest and most beautiful Goddess in the city, capable of destroying whatever and whoever crossed your way."
Freya narrowed her eyes, wondering where he was going with stating the obvious.
"But after talking for less than five minutes with you," he chuckled. "I can see that conception is completely mistaken."
Now it was her turn to smile. "And why would that be incorrect? My Familia is the strongest after all."
"Oh," he faked his surprise. "You are wrong in that regard as well. Your Familia is the strongest, not you. When it comes to individual prowess you are as weak and pathetic as any deity in this city.-"
'Sorry Hephaestus.'
"Get your facts right." Her smile twitched, but still remained as she thought in using this opportunity to test his strength seeing he was being overly confident.
After all, Ottarl only needed a single gesture from her for him to drop by.
"However, that wasn't what I meant with my previous statement."
She looked at him in confusion, only so she could slowly open in realization.
"I don't find you beautiful at all."
At that moment, it looked like someone had been killed and people were just in silent shock by the event.
It wasn't until Freya herself decided to reply back, her smile no longer there. "It's not ok to lie."
"I literally can't lie, ugly."
Allen growled and prepared to charge at him, only to feel as if various sets of chains immobilized him.
"Now, now, Garfield." Drake looked at the cat man. "Your owner and I are having a talk, so behave."
He stared at the Goddess, the amount of killing intent coming from above intensified.
'That's it, come one, Porky. Give me a reason to act.' The blonde thought as he continued his argument.
"That outfit… it's so damn fit that it only needs to be see-through to be appropriate. Your rear needs a job, and so does your front. Not to mention your whole face seems plastic, but then again, all of you might as well be."
Back in Remnant, every Noble had to follow a code of conduct when in the Kingdom's council meeting. However, even if the use of certain languages was restricted, masking ill words could still be applied. That way, underhanded insults became something of a basis when judging someone's job inside the council's chambers.
Because only a few caught up to the hidden meaning behind them. In this case, only those with experience will realize he outright called Freya a fake.
In every sense of the word.
"But overall. If I had to describe you in a few words. It would be-" The blonde slightly raised his head and titled it to the side, cold eyes and smug smirk for all to see. "I am actively disgusted just by talking to you."
'… and there it is.' Drake thought as he stared at Freya's face turning into a scowl. The simple act of it made the people start to murmur and step back. Only to be instantly silenced as she gave a quick stare to all of them with her glowing eyes.
"Begone."
It was a simple word, and yet it carried so much power that made the people walk away as if they were damn zombies.
The blonde snorted. "I am not surprised at all you use your charm to get rid of problems… or should I say embarrassment," his smile remained. "Not very fitting for being the strongest."
The Goddess was in no mood for words, not anymore.
"We are leaving."
She prepared to turn around, but Drake stopped her.
"Before you leave, I have something I want to say to the both of you." He gestured to both Freya and Aeshma, the latter had been too afraid to actually move away while his Familia hadn't felt the effect of Freya's charm.
"First, I want to thank you both." He gently pushed Anya away as he gave a few steps forward. The waitress had long since stopped crying and was still trying to process what was happening.
"Thank you for proving me right." He stated in the most solemn way possible, which shocked both. Until his face turned into a clear scowl. "Thank you for showing that deities like you exist. Until now all of them had been rather nice if not a little handful-"
'Again, sorry Hephaestus.'
"But you on the other hand do not deserve such compliments. Disgusting, spiteful, manipulative, shameless. And I could go through the whole damn dictionary, and it would still not express how much disdain I feel towards you." He walked forward and stood next to Aeshma, who looked at him with a scowl at his previous statement.
"Having said that," he retracted his middle finger and used his thumb to hold it back, a small flicker of Aura in his fingertips. "I have some parting words for you, Freya."
He cleared his throat. "Holding back, it's hard." She looked confused at him as he then looked at Allen. "Garfield over there it's the living proof of it. However," he raised his hand without warning in front of Aeshma's face and released his finger.
'[Beast]'
"Killing is extremely easy." A massive black Dragon made of energy was released the moment his finger made contact with the deity, who was sent flying against various trees, breaking through every single one of them on the way.
"I better not hear from you lot again." He said as both males Adventurers fell on the ground trembling, while the female simply stood there with her crying eyes on the ground while trembling.
"As for you," he looked back at Freya Familia.
She really screwed up by sending every possible witness away, it was only for that reason that he was able to pull that little number right now.
Speaking of that, he really needed to commend Ottarl for not jumping in after that little display. Even though the blonde still felt the boar's killing intent on him.
"You already saw what I was more than willing to do to a God. So don't even think about doing something in retribution for this." He turned around and walked to Anya. "That is unless you want to be remembered as 'The bitch that fell from the high tower'."
And so, the blonde gently turned Anya around to walk away before Ganesha Familia decided to appear onto the scene. But not before staring at the table Anya and him had been sharing, their ice creams now completely melted.
"Also," he looked over his shoulder. "You ruined my Sunday and my ice cream you stupid bitch. That's two strikes," he headed on his way. "don't make it a third."
The blonde didn't waste more time on her, but he did dedicate a few seconds to flip off the boars on top of the building without looking in his direction. Drake could already tell what kind of look Ottarl was giving him.
Also, he didn't see it, but had he stared back a little longer, he would have seen Freya's eye twitching before looking back at the purple haired Adventurer from Aeshama Familia, her usual sly smile returning back in place.
Neither Drake nor Anya said a word as they headed back to the pub.
The waitress did steal a few glances at the blonde, not believing what she saw a few minutes ago. No one ever had stood up to a deity like that, let alone Freya. The simple memory of it amazed her beyond belief… only to pale as she recalled her job was supposed to avoid this time of situation.
Her mission pretty much failed seeing he almost sent a deity back to tenkai with the flip of a finger… a very powerful finger.
"… I am a useless cat nya~."
"You are not useless, Anya. Maybe a little clutz, but that's it." he patted her head out of instinct. The realization made him remember what Lloyd made him realize in his mind.
"I…" Anya blinked as she looked at him, actual hesitation in his eyes. "I had a sister once."
Her eyes widened at the sudden personal info given to her. Now that she thought about it, he had even shared about his brothers before as well.
She actually was starting to feel lucky about it.
"You remind me of her a lot." Anya remained speechless, only to recover with a goofy smile. "Was she really like me nya~?"
He nodded fondly.
"Yeah… both of you were complete klutzes ."
Anya Fromel did her best to not lose her balance at the statement. She mentally cursed herself and thought. 'Yeah, it makes sense nya~.'
"And I am sorry for that."
She blinked confused, a sudden pain filled her chest as her mouth trembled. "Wh-What do you mean nya~?"
He sighed.
"Ever since I arrived at the Hostess, I have been giving you a different treatment than the others."
Anya's eyes exponentially widened as various flashes ran through her mind.
"Let me help you with that." Drake replied as he took a big number of plates from her hands. "This is just a formula for the disaster waiting to happen."
"I will Sweep the floors, you go help with the laundry."
"Feel like eating something? I'll cook."
More and more events came to mind as she realized he never helped anyone else with their job to the point of doing the actual job himself.
Except for her.
"That's because being a clutz, you and her had a little bit in common when it comes to trashy families."
Confusion filled her eyes. "But-"
"Her father abandoned in a remote village… my brothers and I just happened to be passing by when we met her… the rest is history."
His sister had been adopted.
"And I realize now that it's not fair for either of you, if I continue projecting her in you."
Tears started to form in her eyes as she stared at the floor. It almost felt like she was been discarded for the second time. But this time it hurts more seeing it was coming from someone that actually looked after her.
"Anya," she was suddenly stopped in her tracks and forced to look at his way to receive a flick from his finger, a soft one.
"Ouch nya~."
He sighed. "I am not in any way discarding you, and I am not gonna treat you any different than I do now."
"Then-"
"I am just gonna look at you as yourself, and not compare you to Colette without realizing it."
Her tears continued.
"So, will you promise me you will not abandon me?"
It took him some time to say something. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I am afraid I can't make that promise."
She sniffed.
"But not because of you," he assured her. "Things like what happened today might reach a point in which I might have to leave the Hostess, not to mention that there's also my own personal circumstance of finding a way home… if that ever happens. One never knows, really."
He patted her head one final time.
"But Fate isn't set in stone, and as long as I remain in the Hostess, I will look after you."
She cleaned her eyes and smiled, a final nod in acceptance as both headed their way in silence.
*sniff*
Drake blinked, he looked at Anya to make sure he wasn't hearing things, she had stopped crying already.
'But then who-'
*sniff*
His eyes widened, and then proceeded to run his hand through his face in exasperation.
'… how long are you fucking asshole gonna pretend not being there?'
'Origin fucking damn it, Luke!' Yuri's voice was heard clear as day in his mind.
'Oh come on! *sniff* I was not the only one crying at this!'
'Except everyone else kept quiet about it, you dumb fuck.' Zelos said, his voice sounded a little broken, indicating he had also cried.
'You forgot the Arte was still active, didn't you, Drake?' Guy asked, an amused tone in his voice.
'I was most likely trying to lie to myself, to be honest.' Drake answered.
'To be honest, I was getting a little stressed from not talking to you and simply watching you.' Zelos stated, making the blonde feel uneasy for a moment. 'Relax, private times remain private.'
He sighed in relief.
'Having said that.' Lloyd made himself present. 'We may proceed with your social evaluation of your three weeks here.'
He paled behind his scarf.
'oh no.'
'Oh yes' he actually heard the sound of flipping pages in his mind as Zelos continued. 'First of all, Demeter's milk incident and being honest… I wouldn't have asked her, I would have gone getting the damn milk myself.'
There was a series of collective groans in his mind, while he literally groaned next to Anya.
"Are you ok nya~?"
His hand was still covering his face.
"I am fine… just voices in my head."
She looked confused at him before shrugging.
"You are weird nya~"
He chuckled.
"At this rate, I might actually be."
'Oh, don't say that. You know you love us so much.' And so he continued groaning all the way to the Hostess as they made sure to remind him how positively he spoke about them to Tsubaki and Anya.
"… You look like shit."
Mia Grande fought the urge to jump over the counter and choke the blonde. There was currently a huge empty bottle of alcohol to her side, indicating it had been a long day.
"Seeing as there hasn't been any pillars of light, or any huge commotion. I take it that nothing bad happened, right?"
Drake noticed the pressure in the question, to which he simply shrugged. "Sure. Nothing or no one worth mentioning or talking about."
*Crack*
Both turned to the side to see a couple of glasses shattered on the ground, Syr Flova next to them with her look on the floor. But it looked like she was focusing on something else.
"Are you ok, Syr?" Ryuu approached her friend, worry clear in her tone.
"Oh." Syr snapped back into reality. "Sorry, Ryuu. Silly me," she knocked the side of her head in a cute gesture. "My mind went somewhere else."
The elf sighed.
"Are you sure? Because you have been unfocused for a while now." Which was weird in the elf's opinion since she had been in such a positive mood almost the whole time, until her behavior suddenly changed all of a sudden. "Maybe you should take a break."
"… Maybe you're right."
The blonde then looked at Mia, both shrugged at the scene shown to them. "Anyway, wh-"
"Did you hear?" An Adventurer at a nearby table said in a rather loud tone. "Apparently God was knocked out cold."
Mia adopted a blank face all of the sudden.
"When his Children were questioned about it, none of them said anything about what happened."
"Yeah… I think I also heard about that," a second Adventurer replied. "I also recall hearing about a Dragon's roar in the city." Mia stared at Drake, his face as stoic as ever. "But when Ganesha Familia searched the area it was supposedly heard from, there was nothing there."
The Dwarf kept staring at the blonde a little longer and she might have actually made a hole in his head. But it wasn't until he noticed Anya averting her eyes that she got the answer she wanted.
So, Mia Grand took a deep, sighed, kneeled down behind the counter to then slam another similar bottle of alcohol in the counter.
"Mama, no!" Lunor exclaimed, getting the staff's attention in an instant.
"She's gonna waste herself again nya~. Get her!" Chloe, and the rest of the staff suddenly jumped on their boss to grab the bottle, the whole thing made Drake sigh.
"She's been stressed the whole day." Syr said suddenly, as even Ryuu Lyon entered the fray against Mia Grande. "You caused her a lot of stress."
He raised an eyebrow. "I did nothing wrong. It's not my fault the world keeps throwing annoyance after annoyance my way. I had to deal with the most disgusting one just today."
Her smile twitched.
"Is there something wrong with your face?"
She laughed it off. "Oh, nothing. It's just been a long day."
"Huh…" he started walking to Mia. "That look suits you."
Drake didn't turn around to see her expression, he could already tell the face she was giving him was anything but cute.
"Ok, that's enough." The blonde took the bottle off the Dwarf's hand while the rest of the staff held her down. Mia could have easily broken out free, but she had enough self-control to not accidentally hurt her staff. "Go take a nap. I will take care of things today."
She snorted. "On Sunday?"
He didn't answer, instead he turned around and headed to the stairs, making Mia groan. "Ok, ok. Geez… give back the bottle though-"
"No!" The whole pub shouted.
"So… any reason as to why you were checking out the purple haired chick?" Luke Fon Fabre asked as all but Lloyd and Drake sat around their round table.
Jude scowled, an indication that it was a grave matter. He first looked at Yuri, who simply nodded.
"Yeah, I noticed as well. Her whole body showed the signs." The Fourth Guardian looked at Zelos. "I take it you noticed as well."
"Of course, Jude may be a full-fledged Doctor. But nobody knows the female body as I do." he leaned on his seat and raised his feet on the table.
"And you didn't say anything because?" Jude asked, but Flynn decided to interfere.
"Mind filling us in? I didn't pay attention to her. So, if there was any sign of mistreatment, I didn't see it."
Jude sighed. "The sound of her pulse was faint. Since I heard through Drake's sense and not mine, I had to see in a more detailed manner. Suffice to say, besides her pale complexion, some of her… parts had been rather overworked more than others. "
Luke opened his mouth, but the Jude beat him to it.
"And no, they weren't overworked from Adventurer job."
There was silence at the table.
"Are you sure of what you're suggesting?" Flynn asked, everyone then looked at Zelos. The Second Guardian stared at the ever night sky inside of Drake's soul.
"She's been raped. The look in her eyes sold her out immediately." He replied with a scowl. "Although, even though she's clearly been forced into it, I think she's been-"
"Breeded." Guy concluded, to which Zelos clapped his fingers in confirmation. The Sixth put his hand under his chin to ponder. "At first all of us thought that God, Aeshma was hitting on our brother. But now that I think about it, his mannerism seemed more like he was evaluating him as stock."
Flynn sighed, he rested his elbow on the table and put his forehead over his palm. "I think Drake's warning was clear enough, they are not gonna come after him any time soon. But even so… what are we gonna do about this?"
"Nothing."
The eyes of everyone widened, because the one that answered was the one person who would always help those in need. All of them looked at the branches in the giant tree with their names carved in it. Lloyd Aurion laid down in one of them as if he was sleeping.
"What the hell do you mean, nothing?" Luke almost shouted.
"Exactly that. We are Remnant's Guardians, not this world's. We didn't take an oath or have the obligation to save them or help them."
Luke gritted his teeth and prepared to go to where he was, but Yuri beat him to it. "So, you are telling me. That the guy whose one of his motto is 'Always help someone in need', it's gonna turn his bad on his own words?"
"If it was up to me, that whole Familia would be erased before the dawn of the next day."
"Then why the hell-"
"This is about Drake, isn't it?" Zelos asked with narrowed eyes, the silence was all the confirmation he needed.
"… I am with Lloyd in this one." The red head could see an incoming argument, so he decided to explain Lloyd's reasoning before it exploded.
"If it were any single one of us, something would be done just as that idiot on the tree stated. However, let me remind every single one of you, that we aren't real."
The reminder stuck like a shock to the brain.
"We don't have any corporeal body, or any way to directly interact with this world at all."
"Drake could easily-" Luke started, but Zelos continued.
"And that's the other part of the problem. We all know the dumbass, it doesn't matter how, he will only get rid of what his eyes consider shouldn't exist. But this is not Remnant, he doesn't have any authority here, not to mention that deities here are considered something that their supposed 'Law' can't touch."
"Still, it's Drake. If there's someone besides Yuri here that knows the art of silent killing, it's him." Guy said, to which Zelos nodded.
"Right, he could be unseen. But do we really want to risk the relationships he has built so far?"
That planted the seed of doubt in them. If the Gods were killed, what if someone like Tsubaki, Hephaestus or the people at the Hostess; all of those who knew he couldn't lie and his despise towards Gods asked the question.
It would change things seeing how that's a taboo here. The only one that might not look different at him in a complete manner would be Tsubaki and Hephaestus seeing as they knew the reason for all of his hate.
But it was still something they didn't want to risk.
"And I take it we aren't gonna tell him of this at all because he would still act regardless of the consequences?" Flynn asked, a frown in his face in the sight of defeat, only to be replaced by a scowl as he stared at Lloyd high in the tree. "What's the other reason? Because I am sure we can come up with a loop hole for this predicament, and yet you have said nothing about it and been passive about the whole subject."
"… How many times has Drake helped any single one of us regardless of the consequences?"
"Always." Luke said suddenly. "And we have always been… there to take the blame with him." His words died down in realization. Even if they were in his mind, he was alone out there.
"It's a little more than that." Lloyd continued. "He's always going far and beyond for us, even doing things that could be considered reckless or that we don't even approve… all for us. And I feel I don't have to remind you the reason as to why he's using an arm band to cover most of his right arm or the reason why he's here in the first place."
If Zelos's words planted doubts before, Lloyd's killed any counter argument they had.
"But above all else," he looked at the back of his palm, his eyes narrowed at the sight of the number one tattoo on it. "I hope I don't have to remind you what having these numbers entail."
Whatever urge of counter back right existed around the table, it died in that very moment.
"It doesn't matter the scenario… he will ALWAYS choose us and pay the price by himself if he has to… no matter the cost. All for our safety and our ideals." He closed his eyes and rolled over. "I am done having my brother suffer for us."
