Hey guys, Striker777 here with the next chapter of Loki's Renard. I just want to give a huge thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes in light of my dog's unfortunate passing, whether as a comment, review or even the few PMs I got. Thank you, truly. Anyway, onto the story!
Akihide looked between the faces of his party, hoping for any sort of indication as to what they were thinking, but all three of them looked deep in thought, looking between Akihide and the young girl a little behind them. There was a small huddle, as the group decided their next course of action.
"I say no." said Ryuu, looking at the girl. "She's even younger than Akihide was when he first started. Not to mention, we can't exactly take a level 1 down all the way to Floor 16. If something goes wrong..." she said, looking at the girl.
"We do need a supporter though..." muttered Ardee, looking at her, and then her own backpack. "With the size of the magic stones we're getting now, we fill up our bags way too quickly and we can't get much out of our Dungeon trips. Mama needs a new set of armour, so I reckon we give it a shot."
"It couldn't hurt to try..." muttered Airmid, looking between the two. "We try it out today, see how it goes, and decide what to do at the end of the trip." said the young healer.
"I guess..." muttered Ryuu, looking down thoughtfully.
"So we're in agreement, we give it a shot." said Akihide, getting affirmative nods from the others, even if only reluctantly from Ryuu. Akihide smiled and turned back to Lili. "Alright, we're going to take you with us today, see how it goes and decide if we want to keep going at the end of the day."
"Oh, thank you, kind adventurers!" exclaimed Lili, smiling at them. "Lili will make sure to support you on your journey with all she has."
Akihide looked at the others with a thumbs up and a smile, and Kiddy Party shot uncertain glances back between him and Lili, before sighing and continuing on their journey. Akihide was the first to break the awkward tension. "So Lili, how far down into the Dungeon have you gone?" he asked the girl.
"Lili has been all the way down to Floor 11, but is willing to go as low as you adventurers want to. Lili is only here to feed off your hard earned scraps." she said, making her way to Babel. The group looked between each other, a little put off by Lili's demeanour.
Ryuu spoke next. "We're hunting on Floor 16 today, hoping to run into a few Minotaurs. I hope that isn't a problem for you, Ms Liliruca." said the elf.
Lili looked back and smiled. "It's no problem at all, Master Lion."
Liliruca Arde hated adventurers.
They were selfish, money grubbing, narcissistic assholes who saw people like her as less than dirt. Constantly pissed Lili off every time she had to deal with those kinds of people. Whenever she went into the Dungeon with her Familia, they would refuse to pay her, beat her and steal what precious little belongings she had left. That only solidified her views, as she would sit at the table in the dining hall of her home with nothing to eat as she had no money to buy food.
Adventurers were the worst.
She continued to feel that way as Akihide held out his water bottle for her. "Oh, do you need a refill, Master Akihide?" she asked with a fake smile, a practiced one, a smile that could fool anyone, especially a child.
Akihide shook his head. "No, you look thirsty. Have a drink." he said, shaking the bottle in his hand to reveal that there was indeed more water in the bottle.
"But that's your water, Master Akihide..." muttered Lili, looking down at the hellhound corpse she was collecting a stone from. "Lili couldn't possibly drink from your supply."
Akihide sighed. "I don't like how you talk about yourself Lili." he said, sitting down next to her, as the others took a break as well. "Makes me uncomfortable. I hate hearing anyone talk like that about people, especially when it's about themselves..."
Lili knew this was just an act to get her to lower her guard. "But Lili is just a-" she began before the boy cut her off.
"Lili, do you have any idea how amazing it is to have you here right now? We usually have our breaks outside of the Dungeon since we will up our own bags long before lunch time these days, and none of us want to take two trips down to Floor 16 in a single day." he said to the girl, looking around at the Dungeon. "You made this possible, Lili. You made us getting the most out of our days in the Dungeon an option."
Ardee chimed in. "Do you know how much stress is off my back right now because of you? A lot. I get to put my focus into getting stronger down here to better serve Orario. You're such a great addition to the team."
False words and false kindness. Adventurers were always like this at first, before they started to berate her and cut her out of the profits. It was always kindness on the first day, but as soon as the rewards were turned in, she was nothing more than dead weight to them. All it was now was simply a matter of time before Lili was cast aside and given less than scraps. But for now, to keep her job and allow her to continue earning money this way, she put on a fake smile and thanked the adventurers.
'Maybe... if I took some more than I'm going to get... I can..." she thought, as she took some of the Hellhound Magic stones and placed them into a hidden pocket in her cloak. Normally, someone wouldn't be stupid enough to try and steal from the Loki, Ganesha, Dian Cecht or Astraea Familias, Liliruca included.
But the poor girl was desperate. She needed money, 10 million valis if she wanted to leave the Soma Familia, not even counting the 5,000 valis Zanis now required if members wanted their Falna to be updated. So she was desperate enough to steal a few magic stones from the top Familias.
Kiddy Party finished their dungeon crawl after 6 hours, more than double the time they spent on their hunting zones in a regular day. It was great to feel like they were actually getting something out of their days now that Lili was there as their supporter. There were jokes, laughs and general good vibes, unless Lili was putting herself down for being a supporter and not an adventurer like the rest of them. That had bought the mood down a few times, but all in all, it was a both a pleasant and productive day for all of them.
And so, at the end of it all, they cashed in the magic stones and drop items for the day from Floor 16. And all of them were shocked at the end result.
"I-I'm not dreaming, am I?" asked Ardee, looking down at the ridiculously large bag that sat between them on the table.
"Pinch me..." muttered Airmid. Had Ardee not been speechless herself, she probably would've pinched her. However, they were all a little too shocked at what they were seeing.
"115,000 Valis!" cried out Akihide in joy. "I knew all those Liger Fang Pelts would come in handy! You're amazing Lili!"
"True MVP of the day." said Ardee, remembering the term as one used by Ganesha each week to give out small awards in the Familia. "Can we keep you from now on? I feel like we could do so much more with you around."
Lili was so shocked at the amount, even after she had taken a few magic stones for herself, that all she could do was nod, not really understanding what it was she just agreed to.
"Well, there's only one thing to do with a haul like this..." muttered Akihide, looking between the three members of Kiddy Party, as there was a silent agreement amongst them. The four turned to Lili, and the girl flinched, expecting to get beaten up and skipped with the money like usual. She had prepared herself for this moment, hence the magic stones in her cloak.
What she had not prepared for, however, was Ardee picking the girl up and putting her onto her shoulders. "We're gonna eat like kings at Mama Mia's!"
...
"Eh?"
"It's a customary celebration..." said Airmid, looking up at the girl hoisted on her friend's shoulders. "We all go out to the Hostess of Fertility and eat our fill of Mama Mia's cooking. It's a really fun time if you have a good night with other patrons, and Mama Mia runs a tight ship, so it's generally really fun and cool."
"Hence, we go there to celebrate!" yelled Ardee, walking down the road with Lili on her shoulders. "Mama Mia, here we come!"
Lili could do nothing as the adventurers walked away from Babel, and to the east, towards a certain famous bar.
A thud caught Lili off guard as the absolute giant of a woman sat a large plate of fried fish and an assortment of vegetables in front of her. "Too scrawny kid! You gotta get some meat on your bones!" she exclaimed with a heart laugh as she returned to her duties. Lili looked down at the food with apprehension and hesitation, before Akihide dug a fork into his dish, an entire rib cage of marinated pork, and looked at the only one younger than him here.
"Mama Mia is the best bar owner in Orario! Her food's on a whole other level!" said the boy, taking a bite from the ribs, and groaning a bit. "So good~"
Airmid sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry about this dumb kid. Mama Mia is a great cook though, you should have some." she said, as she began eating her own food, a plate piled high with spaghetti and meatballs covered in sauce, making a pleased face as she ate.
Lili looked over to Ardee, who was eating a fish dish with quick eagerness, on a level comparable to that of Akihide, and Ryuu was slowly eating but clearly enjoying her chicken salad. Lili looked down at her food, and decided to try it, picking up a piece of fried fish and putting it in her mouth.
It was warm, not only in the sense that it had just been prepared and served, but it made her heart warm up as well. How long had it been since she had a mean that tasted this good? Had she ever had one? Now that she thought about it, even before Zanis became the Captain of the Soma Familia, her parents never gave her any proper food, before they died in the Dungeon gathering money, like the selfish pricks they were.
But this... this was what a warm, home cooked meal felt like, or at least, that was what Lili thought it was. It warmed the soul, as well as filled the belly, delicious from the mouth all the way to the stomach and the heart.
Letting a single tear drop, Lili looked down. "It's good..." she said, before instincts took over and she began eating as quickly as she could.
"Oi, no one is going to take it off you." said Ryuu, patting the girl's back affectionately. "Eat as much as you want." she said, before turning back to the others, a silent thought going through each of their heads.
'Why is she crying?'
Abuse was the obvious answer, something that could be left to Ardee and Ryuu's Familias if push came to shove. But the four other kids didn't want to jump to conclusions, and so they simply left it alone for now, and allowed Lili to eat her poor heart out.
By the time 9pm rolled around, Lili had passed out at the bar, a nice warm meal and the atmosphere seemingly a little bit too much to handle. And so, with no way of knowing what to do, Ryuu was the one who offered to let her sleep in the Stardust Garden. And with that, the four of them bid each other a good night, as well as a plan to bring Lili to the Twilight Manor to go over some things with Riveria and the others.
They knew better than to do stuff and not inform her of it. They had suffered greatly after the last time. How were they supposed to know that you weren't meant to accept easy quests without her permission, especially when it was only on the Upper Floors.
Riveria looked down at the girl with the natural judging eyes of a mother, before turning back to the rest of them. "This is your new supporter?" she asked them, looking between the four. They each have their own affirmations about the young pallum, which caused Riveria to sigh. "You should have discussed this with me beforehand. Especially when it concerns someone from outside the four Familias already connected by your party." she scolded, before turning back to the girl with a small smile. "That being said, she seems like a lovely lady. Might I ask your name again, young one?"
"L-Liliruca A-A-Arde." stuttered the girl, looking absolutely terrified of being in the presence of Nine Hells herself, Riveria Ljos Alf the Elven Princess.
Riveria smiled. "No need to be so on edge, nothing will happen to you. Now what Familia did you say you were from again?" she asked the girl.
"S-Soma Familia... Lili is just a lowly supporter eating at the scraps of other adventurers." she said quietly, knowing it was the safest idea to stroke the adventurer's ego so they would know that she knew her place and not go off at her.
"Soma... that's a relatively low levelled Familia, most of you haven't even gone down to Floor 13 yet, is that right?" asked the elven princess.
"R-right... no one has gone that far and survived..." muttered Lili, looking at Riveria. "B-but Lili is not afraid. She will go as far as the adventurers want to go and fulfil her duties as a supporter."
Riveria hummed, before shaking her head. "You'll need to be much more than 'willing' in order to survive the Middle Floors with Kiddy Party and not be a burden..." said the woman, getting a mortified 'Mama...' from Akihide. "That being said, I can see your determination... so we can work with this."
Lili sighed in relief. Kiddy Party had allowed her to bring a lot of money back, enough so that she already started to worry about other members finding it, and stuffed it inside a safety deposit box in a little shop run by a gnome.
And that was definitely the only reason she was concerned. Just the money.
"We'll have to work hard, a supporter shouldn't just carry the bags, but also have a firm understanding of the regions of the Dungeon they are exploring; as well as be able to support in combat when needed." said Riveria, looking at the girl. "I guess I'll have to take you to the Guild to get your starting gear, but I don't know how much they'll have for you, being a young pallum. Other than that, you will come twice a week with the rest of Kiddy Party to go over Dungeon maps and strategy, as well as physical training. If those terms are acceptable to you, then I see no reason to worry about you being Kiddy Party's supporter."
Lili nodded. This was perfect, a way to get top tier training from one of the top Familia, as well as an excuse to be away from her Familia for an extended period of time. Even if she ended up leaving Kiddy Party later on, she'd still be able to claim Loki Familia knowledge of the Dungeon's Upper Floors. Not only that, but by undergoing training, she'd become stronger and be able to lift more.
Riveria sighed, muttering to herself about adding more work to her already packed schedule. The rest of Kiddy Party looked excited about her joining them in the Dungeon. But for now, Lili had to gather some starting equipment and prepare for her training.
And so, Riveria and Akihide accompanied Lili to the Guild in order to get her starting equipment. Rose had taken them back to the same roof as before, where Akihide got his first equipment, and allowed Lili to take her choice of their selection. Once the girl was inside, she gave the elven princess shit for bringing in another child to the Dungeon, which only caused Riveria to sigh and simply accept the talk from her Guild Representative.
A few minutes later, Lili returned from the room, equipped with a light metal chest plate, some arm guards and shin guards. She wore a white shirt, and a red skirt under her armour, and held in her hand a spear that was a bit short by regular standards, but looked massive when she held it.
Riveria smirked to herself at the thought of a second Finn, seeing the weapon she chose, and ushered the two children out of the Guild.
It was time for Liliruca Arde's training to begin.
Hope you guys enjoyed that. No omake this week I'm afraid, but I'll let you know now, the next chapter is going to be a bit of a strange one in terms of timeline, kinda like a massive omake that I feel can be done in a funnier way, so be sure to give it a go. Anyway, for now, this is Striker777, over and out.