Tales Of Fate: F Chapter 25, a dungeon ni deai o motomeru no wa machigatte iru darou ka fanfic

AN: Welp, I failed the deadline. But leaving real-life problems aside, this monster of a chapter is over 17K words, making it the longest after Ch23. Seeing as I said I would wait to finish the rest of the Volume, this will be the last chapter for a while until I finish the Volume. Hopefully, or not for some, the rest will not be this long.

Also, I wonder how many of you will drop the story when you read the second to last segment of this chapter; because boy, I know I am going to be hated.

Chapter 25

"… Again?" Lunor asked, arriving at the Hostess's main floor to see the place wasn't as clean as she had grown used to seeing in the morning; her confirmation came in the form of Mia shaking her head as other waitresses cleaned the place. This was due to the one responsible for cleaning most of it in the morning being absent.

Sure, Mia had given Drake a forced vacation for a whole week. But that was already over, and yet the bastard hadn't returned to work… no, that wasn't right. He did kind of return, when that massive storm-like wind suddenly struck the whole city.

Flashback

"… Yeah… I don't think we are gonna open today." Mia Grande suddenly stated. Usually, the staff would give a silent cheer at the prospect of a free day; sadly, they didn't have the energy for that. It was around two in the early morning and all of the staff were cleaning the broken glass due to the windows breaking because of a sudden wind that assaulted the city; waking up pretty much everyone in Orario as they could even see some people in the streets either doing the same or arguing on what a disgrace this was.

"And the repairs will surely cost us as well." Mia stated.

"I guess it is a good thing we have been doing so well lately." Lunor commented tiredly, using the broom in her hand to support herself while Mia pinched the bridge between her eyes; sadly agreeing with the former bounty hunter as they both noticed two familiar figures walking towards them, one of them carrying a certain familiar Elf on his back.

"… The fuck happened to her... the fuck happened to you?" Mia asked, looking at Zelos Wilder, who was moving his jaw in various directions; as if he were adjusting it into place.

"There are things in the world no person should face, Mama." His eyes became rather somber. "I just faced two of them." He replied, eyeing Drake with a rather annoyed expression while the blonde just kept walking and completely ignored the red-head's stare..

"Huh… déjà vu." The owner of the pub thought out loud, recalling Drake had said something awfully similar while moving his jaw in the same way after his first night at the pub.

"So… did something happen?" Lunor suddenly asked with a wary look, making Mia and everyone else who knew about his assault against Soma do the same; the meaning behind the question was obvious.

"I didn't kill any God, nor did I do anything… Everything was a misunderstanding."

They all raised an eyebrow as Zelos snorted. "That's what we are calling it?" the red-head received a serious dead glare. "Ok… shutting up now."

"Anyway… the place didn't get too damaged at least," he stated, looking over the broken windows and some parts of the structure where small holes were visible.

"Yeah… I think we might be able to be back in business in a few days." Mia said, making Drake look at everything before turning to Zelos, whose face started to turn into an annoyed yet tired expression.

"Please no." the redhead pleaded, only to receive a nod from his best friend. "… Fuck my life." Zelos replied before taking a broom off the hands of one of the waitresses.

"Zelos and I will take care of the place, you all go back to sleep." Their eyes widened all of a sudden while Drake made a gesture towards the unconscious Elf on his back. "Also, can someone take her off me?"

Mia approached him, taking the Elf in her hands before carrying her bridal style. "Are you sure? Everyone is pretty much awake and can help with the cleaning."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I am also gonna take the chance to buy the materials to repair the place."

Mia gave him a blank stare, "It's a little past midnight, if you haven't noticed."

"And everyone is pretty much awake thanks to that damn wind." He replied, giving a blank stare of his own, making Mia sigh before making a motion with her head to all the staff; they could all go to bed.

"Also…" She looked at him, ignoring the thankful comments thrown their way as most of the staff left. "I am not gonna be coming to work for a while."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Another commission from Tsubaki?"

"I wish." he looked around the street, at all the people trying to make sense of what happened while some cleaned their stuff. "All I can say is that it's related to that sudden gust of wind." His head snapped in their direction, pretty much feeling the accusatory glares at him. "Which I was not responsible for." Mia sighed in relief. "But I do know what caused it. Hopefully, I might be able to prevent a damn tundra before it happens."

"… That seems awfully specific." Lunor stated, earning a glare; which message was clear. "We don't wanna know, got it." She said awkwardly with both thumbs up.

"Speaking of which nya~" Chloe suddenly approached, invading Drake's personal space to sniff him. "… you drank Soma."

*CRACK*

Their heads snapped at Zelos, who broke the broom he was using; not daring to look in their direction before looking at the blonde with surprise in their eyes.

"How do you even fucking know that?"

"I had had my luxuries in life nya~. And I would recognize that smell anywhere nya~"

Drake simply sighed deeply.

"*whistle*, you really can't get drunk. I kind of wanna see you taking a sip of Soma just to prove it."

"DON'T! / DON'T! / DON'T! / DON'T! / DON'T! / DON'T! / DON'T!" Everyone looked at Zelos, swearing they heard six different voices overlapping with his in that short moment.

"What's up with him?"

The blonde just placed his face in his hands, exasperation clear in his voice. "Contrary to popular belief, Mia. I can get drunk…" his eyes dangerously gazed at her. "And nobody, and that includes me, likes me when I am really drunk."

Mia didn't know why. But her first-class Adventurer instincts kicked in, making her accept the answer and leave it at that.

"If that is everything… I wish you all sweet dreams." He prepared to leave, only for Lunor to clear her throat.

"Sorry, but there's still one final mystery we have to solve." She gave him a sly smile as she pointed at the unconscious, but still blushing Elf. "Did she see you naked again?"

The blonde narrowed his gaze at the former bounty hunter, he was about to dismiss the situation, but his scumbag of a best friend beat him to it.

"She passed out after he hugged her." They stared as a tick mark appeared on the blonde's forehead before he kicked a big rock in Zelos's way, who broke the projectile with an easy chop.

"Oh, come on bud!" Zelos stated before taking a few steps back at seeing his best friend walking at him with a murderous glare; yet, the bastard never dropped his sly smile. "At least I didn't tell them about how you said she was your fav-" he never got to finish the sentence as he fled from the scene, soon followed by Drake.

Meanwhile, the remaining waitresses and Mia just stared before focusing on Ryuu, it didn't take long before Anya broke the silence by starting to laugh, soon followed by the rest.

"The emotion was too much for her nya~. What a perverted Elf nya~ hahaha"

The Elf couldn't help but feel embarrassed at their coworker's laugh, even while unconscious.

To their surprise, the whole place had been fixed up by the time they woke up. This made the staff frown seeing they would have to work despite waking up a little past midnight to clean part of the mess.

Luckily, Mia was in such a good mood regarding the state of the place that she gave everyone a free day. She figured out it was better than just missing a day of work instead of more than a couple of days. So, Mia decided to be nice to her staff… for once.

However, the absence of the blonde started to worry the staff, seeing as it has already been a week since they saw either him or Zelos. Luckily, or unluckily, someone decided to use her free time to look for him.

"I will be taking my leave now." Ryuu Lyon stated, wearing her waitress uniform as she exited the place while Mia nodded.

"Any idea where to start?" the Dwarf asked, making the Elf turn around before answering.

"Soma Familia seems the best place to start, his Supporter might know something." Mia nodded along with her reasoning, although there were better options.

"Why not start with Tsubaki?"

'Because that blacksmith is too much,' Ryuu thought, maintaining her composure. "I will keep it in mind." She said, walking out of the place as Lunor snorted.

"Try not to pass out just by watching, would ya?" Lunor's comment caused many chuckles to erupt, only for the Elf to look over her shoulder with a small side smirk of her own.

"Enjoy re-stocking alone." And so, Ryuu Lyon left on a mission; leaving the staff in dumbfold silence as they looked at Lunor, whose face was twitching at the comeback seeing that there was no one else available to do the job with her.

"… Bitch." She thought out loud as she came to realize something. The Elf had made a comeback at her teasing. "… She's learning." She said with a somber, yet somehow proud tone at the prospect of her learning how to get back at someone; and fearing what she might be capable of seeing she was an Elf that was easy to pick on.

'May Demeter help us all.'

Her plan was simple.

Go on and visit the people the blonde frequented the most.

And since he wasn't the most social person, the list wasn't that big; Tsubaki Collbrande and Liliruca Arde. And for a personal reason that she would rather not explain now, she decided to visit the latter.

However, when she arrived at the Soma Familia HQ, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the destroyed entrance. Zelos Wilder; one of the people the blonde called brother, best friend, and also a self-proclaimed scumbag, destroyed the gate a week ago with a [Fireball] spell.

But the damage she was seeing on the door seemed to be completely different from burned structures. It seemed as if someone had smashed the gate with a single strike if the debris was everything to judge by.

"Excuse me." Ryuu bowed to an Adventurer working on cleaning the mess at the entrance. "Could you please tell me where I may find Liliruca Arde?"

"Oh, the Captain?" He pointed at a building, the very same one that she had helped the Pallum to deal with Zanis Lustra. "Go on into that building. Feel free to ask where her office is."

Ryuu gave another cordial bow before heading her way, only to stop in her tracks as she pondered on the words spoken by the Adventurer she just addressed.

'… Captain?'

"Lili feels she got out of one hell and entered another." Lili commented out loud, with several stacks of papers placed around the table in front of her, and being fully aware of the blank stare a certain Elf was giving her.

Lili thought the Elf might be judging her, how wrong she was. As a matter of fact, Lili's current predicament sent Ryuu back to flashbacks of her own life, of a kinder time when she was still with her Familia. This reminded her of the time Kaguya and the others had locked Alise in their office, leaving her caged until she had finished her work as a Captain.

'Let me out! Let me ooooouuuuuuuut!' The clear memory of Alise banging on the reinforced door made Ryuu internally sigh; such were the good times.

"You seem to be moving up in the world." Ryuu suddenly stated, making the Pallum's eye twitch at how condescending she sounded, even if she didn't mean it. "I understand your Familia is going through a massive change in every aspect, but I can't help but ask: how did this happen?"

"Well, basically… Lili got played like a damn fiddle."

"Hmm… Mister Luke?"

So far, Lili had only met two of her Boss' brother; Guy and Zelos. The former is the nicest in every way between the two.

And now, she was meeting another one. Someone dressed similarly to her Boss; with the exception that he wore a white coat and a black scarf.

"Fuck you, Yuri. I am not gonna say that, not again!" He muttered in a low angry voice, as he remained resting against a wall with crossed arms and a twitching scowl. There was also a very visible tapping of his index finger on his opposite forearm; a clear indication he was annoyed. "…Fine! I will fucking say it!"

Lili snapped at the sudden outburst, just as he shouted at no one in particular with an angry expression; said expression faded quickly as he looked to the side, finally noticing her.

"…"

"… I can explain."

"… Lili understands… it's the voices in your head." Her boss and Lord Guy had said similar things when they looked as if they were having an inner conversation, the red-head in front of her was doing the same; with the exception, it clearly seemed he could not keep his inner voice at all.

"…" Luke Fon Fabre suddenly snapped his fingers at her. "Yeah, that."

'At this rate, Lili is willing to believe they have some sort of way of communicating telepathically.' Lili thought, giving a mental sigh before properly addressing the red-head. "Everyone is ready, Mister Luke."

He nodded, starting to walk towards Soma's balcony.

"I noticed you call me Mister instead of Lord, what gives?" He asked. The Pallum instantly noticed he asked out of curiosity, not out of being offended by disrespecting his title as a Noble.

"Lili figured out I might address all of you as such, seeing as Boss, Mister Guy, and Mister Zelos clearly disliked that. Lili thought it was the least she could do."

"Huh… really appreciate it… although it makes me feel old."

Lili gave him a blank look.

"I know, I know, beggars can't be choosers." Luke said, stopping right before stepping into the balcony. "Stay close to me and don't say anything, but never drop the face of confidence."

Lili nodded before both stepped onto the balcony, looking over all the Soma Familia gathered below.

Luke sighed, feeling everyone stare at him. "I really thought I was done with this bullshit." He thought out loud, in a sad depressing tone that only Lili and one other person could hear before he cleared his throat. "Soma Familia!" His sudden shout caused a small wave that almost pushed everyone back as little sparks of purple lightning surrounded his body for a moment. "I allied with the two idiots and the Pallum beside me that wrecked the living shit out of you all not too long ago." he could feel some looking at him in either fear, disdain, or both.

"As you can see, all of the members that were under your former Captain have been expelled from your Familia by Soma himself!" Luke suddenly noticed Soma, casually waving at them with his usual expression.

"… How long have you been there?" The Noble asked in a low voice, seeing as he just noticed him.

"For a while, even before Lili arrived." The God replied, not really feeling any resentment of being unnoticed until now; the guy was just used to it.

"Dude, we really need to work on your overall presence." He muttered before addressing the crowd again.

"And you have been out of Soma enough time to be fully conscious. So!" He pointed at the currently under repair entrance after Zelos had blown it up. "You can leave; go and search for another Familia and try to live a life free of the hellhole that was this one, with no one to oppress you or be completely dazed by some cheap drink."

Soma's eyes twitched under his bangs but opted to stay quiet.

"OR!" there was another wave of wind like before as he expanded his hands. "You can stay here, and start anew!"

There were a lot of murmurs below and a lot of expressions that reflected uncertainty.

"I understand. You are afraid of what path to choose in life now that you are free to think as you desire."

'You are not wrong there. Seeing as Soma dazed their minds; now that they are sober, they now remember how cruel the world can be…'

'Yuri, do kindly fuck off, I am working.' Luke mentally replied.

"But now… things in the Soma Familia will change… No!" Another exaggerated motion with his hands later. "The Soma Familia is already changing!" He gestured to Soma. "As even your God is willing to acknowledge all of your efforts!"

Translation: He's finally gonna give you the time of the day… kind of.

"And no longer will you have to give up everything you have earned to a fucking four-eyed asshole," Somewhere in the Soma Familia Dungeon, a certain cripple former Captain sneezed. " Or to waste it all on a cheap drink!" Once again, Soma held his words. "No, seriously. The Consumption of Soma is completely prohibited with the exception of certain occasions."

The Noble swore he heard some sad moans but decided to continue.

"Didn't all of you have dreams when you became Adventurers?" Lili saw another exaggerated move of his hands. "Dreams that were drowned in a drink and a bastard that even took that away… don't you all want to achieve that?"

Another round of murmurs, but there were some positive ones in there, a lot of them.

"And even if you don't or are no longer sure of that dream!" And another move of his arms. "This is the perfect place to stay until you can figure it out!"

'Isn't that just monopolizing them?' Lloyd mentally asked.

'Not now, bro.' Luke replied.

"So tell me!" And another one. "Tell me your dreams, shout them, and let the flame and sparks of your very soul share what you all desire!"

"… I…" An Adventurer suddenly stuttered. "I want to be rich!"

Luke suddenly pointed at him. "Too basic but go for it!"

"I want to open a shop!"

"More realistic, I approve!"

"I just want to earn enough to live a fine life."

"There's no shame in being a conformist, especially in this shitty economy!" He gave a thumbs up.

"I want to have a harem!"

"Eat shit and die!" he pointed at the man. "But still good luck with that."

The shouts continued for a good while until Luke made a motion of his hands to calm down.

"However, all great things need a great foundation. And for that, this Familia needs someone who can lead you all and set an example!" Lili nodded, so focused on his reasoning that she didn't notice Luke gently pushing her to stand in front of her. "And who better than the person responsible for all of these changes!?"

'… huh.' Lili thought, realizing that he meant her, and just now noticing he was holding her up by the waist so everyone could see her.

"So, I give you your new Captain; Lili!"

To her surprise, everyone started to cheer.

"It makes sense, she's also the one that beat a lot of us and even dealt with Canoe and Zanis!"

"Yeah, there's no one better for the job!"

Meanwhile, all Lili could do was stay with her eyes open while her jaw remained dropped.

"All of you, pay your respect to your new Captain!" And just as the sun started to rise behind the Soma Familia HQ, everyone started to kneel on one knee in perfect order.

"For a great new future." Luke gritted his teeth, mustering every last drop of shame he had in him to mutter the final words. "Let's make the Soma Familia great again!"

"Lili started to address him as Lord again out of spite." Ryuu mentally sweat-dropped at the clear disdain Lili had against one of Drake's brothers. "Even so, Lili couldn't even complain seeing as he looked absolutely miserable when we went to Lord Soma's office."

She remembered how the Noble sat in a dark corner, muttering things she could not understand. "It turns out those final words he said were some kind of taboo for everyone who isn't a complete retard."

Ryuu raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask. Lili doesn't know the reason, and Lili is afraid of asking; seeing as Lord Luke said Lili's face would turn orange and Lili's voice would sound incredibly stupid." She sighed. "He also apologized for pulling a baby Simba on Lili… Lili hasn't been able to stop asking herself who the hell Simba is."

"I see… but even so, it seems you are doing rather fine."

Lili released a defeated sigh. "Lili can't deny that. Especially for all the business plans we are planning."

"By selling more Soma?" Ryuu couldn't help but ask, seeing as it was the only thing the Familia was known for. Sadly, that would probably mean more people under its effect, which would let them be easily manipulated, or make them addicted if one person can get their hands on it.

However, her worries disappeared when Lili snorted with a wave of her hand. "Miss Ryuu doesn't have to worry. Soma Familia will not focus on selling Soma any longer."

Lili understood the confusion on the Elf face.

"Apparently, Lord Luke among some of his other brothers has been discussing how to make wines, rums, and many other beverages from their homeland. They also taught Lord Soma how to make something called root beer, which apparently is cheaper to produce; so that will be our main anchor for its low price for the common people; we even have plans of purchasing some small locations to sell it, and the rest of the new stock once we are ready. We are in discussion with Demeter Familia to see if we can get some of their ingredients… Now that Lili mentions Lady Demeter, Lili remembers Lord Luke laughing out loud the moment she was mentioned. Wonder why that is?"

Ryuu's lips twitched upward for a second as she recalled the tale of the 'Give me your milk' incident. "You will have to ask Drake."

"Funny, that red-head said the same thing to Lili. Speaking of Boss, have you seen him?"

Ryuu narrowed her eyes, pretty much getting the confirmation Drake might have not been here after their raid of the Soma Familia that night.

"I am actually looking for him. I also haven't seen him since that night."

Lili sighed. "Lili has been wanting to ask him about a lot of things as well… but guess it makes sense." Ryuu noticed the conflicted expression on Lili's face as she placed her elbow on the table.

"Is something the matter?"

Lili sighed. "… The power Lili received from Boss that night… it faded. But I think it was because it was never meant to be permanent… but even so, there's something Lili has to ask Boss." Ryuu was about to ask about it, but the deep scowl on Lili's face stopped her. "If it hadn't been for those stupid clowns, Lili would have gotten her answer."

Ryuu stopped dead in her tracks, almost biting her tongue in the process. Because there was only one person Drake referred to as clown; and clearly, Lili meant the same people. "It looks like Drake's bad habits have rubbed onto someone else." The Elf sighed. "What did Loki Familia do?"

Lili breathed in, and then out. calming herself as she started. "It all started last night when Lili was getting a check-up from Doctor Jude."

"… Doctor Jude?" Ryuu asked, not sure what a Doctor was. But she assumed easily who that person might be. "Another one of Drake's brothers?"

Lili nodded with a hint of enthusiasm. "The youngest, and without a doubt, the coolest."

Flashback

"Well… it seems you are finally getting on the right path to good health." Jude 'Maxwell' Lowell stated, removing the bell of the stethoscope from Lili. "Your breathing seems to be fine and your body no longer looks malnourished."

"Thanks, Doctor Jude." Lili exclaimed happily as she sat on a nearby chair while Jude started to write on some paper.

After days of being taught by Luke about how to manage… well, everything; he had stated that another one of his brothers would come tomorrow to check on everything in the Familia.

The next day, a young black-haired with werewolf ears wearing a lab coat with a black t-shirt under it, red pants, and footwear similar to her Boss. But the most notorious thing about him was the black bandana with golden glyphs covering his eyes.

He gave a slight bow with his hand touching his opposite shoulder and then said. "Pleasure to meet you all. My name is Jude M. Lowell, I will be your Doctor."

Doctor. It was a term that none of them had heard before. However, all of their thoughts were the same in the end; he was too kind to be a werewolf.

"Aren't you tired, Doctor Jude?" Lili asked, seeing as the Werewolf examined more or less everyone in the Familia. His job was pretty much to make sure everyone was healthy after being on Soma for some long; giving them an overall summary of how their bodies were and what they needed. He even went as far as saying if someone had some sort of illness in their bodies before he proceeded to use some magic to heal them and then tell them how to make sure to stay healthy.

And now, here she was; his last patient of the day.

"Not really… This reminds me of my intern days when everyone piled their patients on me for being a Faunus… fucking bastards."

How he was able to say that with such a kind smile… Lili would never know.

"Faunus? I think I heard the Boss referred to some people with animal traits like that by accident. Is that a term in your land?"

Jude nodded as he continued writing. "Exactly that. Unlike here, my kind in general used to be discriminated against, thankfully things have changed with time."

"Oh. What about Doctors? Is that some term for Healer or Medic in your land?"

"Not exactly, you could think of Doctor as the title given to someone with far greater knowledge and expertise than a medic. We know how to distinguish every illness from the body and how to treat it; either from the outside… or the inside."

Lili's eyes widened slightly. "Every part of the body?" She asked, recalling stories about how healers would sometimes have to re-organize someone's bones back in place before using magic or potions; but nothing besides that.

"Yup. Even organs, because people trust us with their lives to help them." Jude sighed, finishing Lili's new medical history. "Although I officially never got to officially operate on someone in a surgery room."

"Why not? Lili thinks Doctor Jude seems capable enough."

He softly laughed. "The truth is I have performed a few surgeries in the past, but only because the situation called for it. But on the legal side of things, I am forbidden to do so due to my eyes."

Lili raised an eyebrow, making Jude laugh awkwardly as he rubbed the side of his head. "Lili. I am blind."

Her eyes widened slowly. However, she called bull.

"But Lili has seen you write and read the whole day!"

"Well… I have got a lot of experience with writing after my eyes were ruined. As for the reading, I just trace the words with my fingers." He replied, making Lili remember how he had actually done that when reading.

"… And here Lili thought that headband was see-through."

"Well… after some time, I was able to regain my eyesight. However, due to the nature of how I recovered, I can only truly use them under critical circumstances." He pointed at his headband. "This here makes sure to completely erase my sense of sight and block the power of my eyes… besides hiding my wounds, that is." He muttered the last part to himself before sighing. "Honestly, I am very happy about this day. Seeing I was able to experience what it was to be a normal Doctor for a day. Even you calling me by that title makes it up for me."

"… Doctor Jude is truly amazing. To overcome so much with all that hardship." Her response made him chuckle.

"That is because I am filled with determination." The young Faunus ignored the mental boos from his brother at the obvious reference that came out of his mouth. "But the others are also amazing. Luke is a good example of overcoming one's self detriments."

Lili snorted. "Lili can hardly believe that. Doctor Jude is just too kind…" Although, she had to admit his knowledge of business and his skill for speeches was top-notch; especially since he hated the latter. "But I guess I will take your words seriously… Lili just wishes to be just like all of you."

"Asshole, bad-mouthed, and overall full of ourselves?"

"…Huh. Doctor Jude doesn't seem like the type."

He snorted. "Even I have my moments, Lili."

Lili laughed, finding it hard to believe. "Strong and full of confidence."

"And what do you call what you did to this Familia?"

"That was because Boss helped me with… whatever he did?"

"But you gave the first step." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "And that is all it mattered. Drake already told you no one can do anything alone, but none of that will matter if you don't even start to take action. And that takes a lot of Determination."

Something in Lili tingled just as he said those words. "… Doctor Jude?" The Faunus raised an eyebrow. "Do you know where Boss is? Lili needs to ask him something important."

He retracted his arm with a small frown. "He's occupied cleaning someone else's messes, as usual." He replied with a small disdain in his voice before he smiled at her. "But ask me, and I will try to answer as best as I can."

Lili sighed, opting for this better than nothing. "… The power Boss gave Lili… it faded."

"Not surprised there. It was meant to be just temporary." He said, resting his hand on the table as she continued.

"Lili figured as much… but something appeared in Lili's latest update that not even Lord Soma could read. Lili figured it might have been connected to what he did."

"Hmm… do you have your update with you?" Lili instantly took out a folded paper from inside her pocket before giving it to Jude.

"Give me a moment. It is the first time I have traced one of these."

Lili raised an eyebrow. "Even before losing your sight?"

"… Yeah, let's go with that," Jude muttered, seeing as it was the first time since he arrived in Orario that any of them, even Drake, had seen a Falna status update. "This actually looks like an RPG stat sheet."

The Pallum raised an eyebrow. "RPG?"

"Sorry, thinking out loud… ok… Magic… Cinderella… Skills…!"

Lili could only stare as Jude traced the part that mattered twice as his mouth remained slightly open. "…Falna is really scary." He thought out loud before chuckling a little. "Lili…" he looked at the Pallum with a serious expression. "Under no circumstances must you ever show this to any deity, even if they can't read them." He stated before giving the paper back to Lili.

"So, you could read it!?"

Jude nodded. "It looks like you may have more Determination now than ever…"

Lili couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to-"

*CRASH*

Both of their heads snapped in the direction of a loud noise.

"That came from the entrance." Lili stood up from the table, looking over to Jude, whose lower face had an unreadable expression as he kept staring at the direction the sound came from.

"… Fucking, Clowns." Jude muttered as he stood up, leaving Lili confused as she followed after him.

"Sooooooooma!" The Goddess Loki exclaimed with open arms as she walked through what was once a big door, which had just recently been repaired. "I came to bargain!"

Raul Njord and Bete Loga stood by the side; the former had a rather apologetic look, while the latter had an annoyed expression on his face like usual.

"Loki… what is the meaning of this?" God Soma walked out of a crowd, making Loki give a surprised expression at the sight of him.

"Holy shit! I actually didn't expect you to be here instead of your office!" She exclaimed before fixing her posture, trying to give off the air of a businesswoman. "As I said, I came to bargain. There's no more Soma in Orario; believe me, I have looked." She said with a rather annoyed tone. "So… I decided to come straight to the source." she pointed at him. "That being you, gloomy. And we came prepared as well." She pointed to a carriage filled with bags of Valis standing at the entrance.

"That money was supposed to be used to fund the next Dungeon expedition." Raul muttered, clearly knowing Loki was doing this behind the Captain's back.

"Bah, it's only… what? Five percent of what was going to be used? No biggie!" She waved her hand at Raul before looking back at Soma. "So, would you be a dear and tell your children to lead all of your Soma-"

"There's no Soma."

"… Beg your pardon?" Loki asked, actually blinking for a little bit at what she heard.

"You heard me. There's no Soma, and it will be like that for a very long time to come."

Her jaw dropped. "… The hell are you on about? That's the only thing you do!"

"I have turned a new leaf. So please leave, I am already plenty busy as it is. " Soma replied, prepared to turn around and leave, but Loki's dark chuckle stopped him.

"Turn a new leaf he says…" She chuckled more before giving a scowl with her eyes slightly opened. "Soma, buddy, we are Gods. We don't change, and especially, our nature doesn't change." She breathed in, trying to calm down as if she had heard a very bad joke. "Now… I have been sober for a very long time… so please, let's stop with the bullshit and-"

"There's no more Soma." Loki stopped mid-track as everyone from Soma Familia made way for Jude, who approached them with Lili closely behind him. "So please, I humbly ask you to be done with this and leave."

"… Oi, oi, oi." Loki said, approaching Jude. "Who do you think-" she never got to finish her sentence, mainly because she heard a beast-like snarl behind her; she knew what, no, who it was. "Bete?" She asked, looking over her shoulder to see Bete Loga gritting his teeth while he looked at Jude; mainly, the back of his right hand.

"You… You are related to that fucking blonde and redhead, aren't you?"

Loki's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before looking at the back of Jude's hand; the tattoo of the number seven visible for everyone to see; just like Finn had said that the blonde and the redhead that broke Tione's hand had tattooed numbers, as well.

"Well, what do you know? I came looking for copper and found ho- wah!" Again, she couldn't finish her sentence, mainly because Bete grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back. "Bete, what gives?" She asked, only to remember the Werewolf had a beef with the blonde that Finn clearly ordered to stay away from.

"Where is he!? I went looking for him in that damn pub and he wasn't there!" He clearly had been disobeying that order even before this very moment.

"Occupied; with things far more important, I may add." Jude replied calmly. "Besides, haven't you learned your lesson?"

Bete forced an angry grin as he grabbed Jude by the collar of his t-shirt. "Lesson? That piece of shit and I have not gotten into an actual fight without any bullshit! Also, who is a damn cripple like you to tell me what to do?" He asked, delivering a sudden punch to the side of his head, knocking out his bandana. "The fact that you and I are part of the same race irks me, you damn weakling!"

"Doctor Jude!"She rushed to his side, only to be stopped by a clean gesture of his hand as he used the other one to put slight pressure on Bete's holding wrist, making him drop down on one knee in an instant.

"Th- the fuck did you do?" Bete asked, stepping back as he looked at his right wrist, it was partially blue.

"I partially cut the blood circulation in your hand, making it numb for just a moment." Jude explained, making Bete look confused at him.

"The hell are you on a-" Bete's words died down as he saw Jude's face, now being able to focus on his eyes; on his wound. "Holy shit, cripple and with a face like-"

"Stop."

The Werewolf bit his tongue, not needing to look over his shoulder to know Loki was being serious; he could almost even feel her divine will on him… now that he thought about it, there was also another divine energy close by… right in front of him.

"… That's a divine wound." Loki stated seriously as her hand started to shake. It was so little, and yet more powerful than any arcanum she had ever felt. "How… How are you even alive?"

"Hmm… who knows?" Lili couldn't see the wound in question seeing she was looking at his back, but even she could feel what Loki was talking about. "Not that it matters at the moment." He replied, making a soft gesture with his hand as a soft green wind placed his bandana in his hand. "…Mutt." He addressed Bete just as he wrapped it around his eyes, making the divine energy disappear as Lili realized what Jude's words about his bandana meant.

Meanwhile, Bete had managed to snap out of his confusion by the obvious provocation from the Faunus. "I am going to kick you." the Loki Familia Adventurer blinked in confusion. "Side kick you on the left side of your body to be more specific."

Bete growled, only to start laughing. "What? Does the cripple need a damn ha-"

"My warning isn't a handicap; at least not for me." Jude stated, interrupting Bete as he walked to him. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Bete, stop!" Loki said, having a very bad feeling after seeing that divine wound, but she was easily ignored as Bete taunted Jude while the latter walked to the latter confidently, only to speed up at the last moment to deliver a sidekick aimed at Bete's left side of his head, just as he had said, but-

"… is that all?" Bete asked, having been able to catch the fast kick going at him with his opposite hand, lowering Jude's foot a little but still having a hold of it. "What did you expect to achieve? You cri-" Bete Loga didn't finish his words, because he fell to the ground a second later.

Bete may have not seen it because he was gloating, but the rest? That was a different story, as Jude used the momentum from the first kick and the fact that Bete had a hold of his left leg to then turn on his right heel and with a spin delivered a spinning upwards kick to Bete's jaw-

*CRACK*

-breaking it in that instance as everyone looked in amazement at the sight before their eyes.

"Wh-y ca-t I mo-ve?" Bete managed to ask, despite his motor functions not responding, along with a broken jaw.

"Because I hit you on the jaw," Jude commented. "An attack to the jaw causes the head to suddenly spin around. That quick motion causes trauma to the brain that knocks the target out, leaving him unconscious…" he stopped, seeing that he was going full anatomy export for no real reason.

"… Let's make something perfectly clear." Jude said, kneeling at the barely conscious Bete as the Wolf in him continued talking. "We both may have wolf traits, but I am the only one between the two that looks the part, Mutt." Bete wanted to curse, but he couldn't as he slowly but steadily lost all consciousness.

"Had it been any other of my brothers, his face would have been torn apart." The Faunus started to walk towards Loki and Raul, just as the latter stood in front of her to defend her… or so it seemed at first hand seeing he was trembling. But Jude didn't pay attention to them as he walked straight to the carriage full of Valis.

"He-hey! What do you think you are doing!?" Loki asked, seeing as Jude grabbed the carriage and pulled inside the Soma Familia HQ.

"Consider this as compensation for both the door your Mutt destroyed and the physical aggression against me." The Faunus replied, placing the carriage in front of Soma, who nodded as he looked at Loki.

"You no longer have a reason or right to be here." pointed at Bete. "Take your… mutt?" He said unsure, looking at Jude for a moment to receive a thumbs up from the Faunus. "Take your mutt and leave. I don't care if he has to be dragged."

Loki gritted his teeth, just as Raul was placing Bete over his shoulder.

"This isn't over!" Loki shouted before walking out of the place along with Raul.

"Well, glad that's… over?" Jude asked, seeing as he felt a lot of the Soma Adventurers staring at him. And for a good reason, as many were looking at him with awe; some even had stars in their eyes, Lili being among them.

'So that's what happened to the main door.' Ryuu thought, recalling the state of it when she entered the Soma Familia HQ.

"When asked about how Doctor Jude learned how to fight,he said he used to be a full-out pacifist, but was still forced to learn to defend himself; so he learned something called CQC."

"You seem kind of excited about it. It must have been quite the sight to see him display a single kick."

"It was." Lili sighed. "Sadly, Lili had been so hyped that Lili forgot all about what she wanted to ask Doctor Jude about." She nonchalantly raised a stamped document for Ryuu to see. "Suffice to say, Loki Familia is now prohibited from acquiring anything from us."

The Elf sweat dropped; seeing the Pallum had clearly done it out of spite, although it was understandable.

Ryuu wanted to ask what was causing Lili so much stress about her status but figured out it was too personal.

"Lili wonders… if Miss Ryuu is looking for Boss, why not ask Miss Tsubaki? Lili thinks she would have been the obvious choice… Lili gets she's a little unhinged, but still a decent person."

The Elf sighed. "I thought so, too. And I don't have anything against her… it's just…"

'How do I put this…'

In the end, she couldn't form the words to say how she was afraid of dealing with someone whose lifestyle was proportional to her overall way of eating.

What was that like, you ask?

'Like a pig.' Ryuu thought, looking over a sleeping Tsubaki Collbrande. Her sleepwear consisted of a black yukata, which just so happened to be badly adjusted seeing as it was barely covering any of Tsubaki's assets.

Honestly, this little scene reminded her of the times Kaguya would sleep like this after a night of heavy drinking. Kaguya could pretend with her noble girl attitude all she wanted, when it came to drinking she was as bad as Alise, Lyra, and the rest.

"She came out of the forge very late, almost around two in the + morning." The Maid in Tsubaki's mansion stated, watching over her Boss with the same expression as the Elf. She and the rest of the staff were the only reason her mansion didn't look like an actual pigsty. "So I can assure you from experience she will not wake up anytime soon."

The Elf sighed, but not giving up on her quest just yet. "I will wait, then." Ryuu replied, preparing herself to sit in a nearby chair to wait, only to be stopped by the maid.

"May I suggest something…" she looked at the head maid, who was now holding a bucket of cold water, making Ryuu open her eyes slightly in pure surprise.

"… you are not suggestin-"

The maid nodded.

"This is something I learned from Drake-dono. He would do this whenever he thinks Tsubaki-danna needs to wake up."

"Of course, he would do something like this…" Ryuu mentally scolded him, and yet she took the bucket of water and prepared to dump it on the Blacksmith, only to stop as she looked over at the maid; whose intensive gaze on what was about to happen was clear.

"… Just how much do you have to put up with her for you to be so eager for this?"

The short black-haired maid looked at her with no hesitation. "Yes."

Ryuu sighed.

Sadly, she understood a little of what the maid was feeling before dumping the bucket of cold water on Tsubaki.

"Bitches…" Tsubaki muttered as she ate from a bowl of rice. "The both of you; that's what you are."

Currently, Ryuu Lyon sat on her knees in front of a traditional table from the Far East, with nothing but a cup of green tea in front of her while Tsubaki had a whole damn buffet as her late breakfast/lunch.

"And you, Ranko!" the blacksmith snapped to the side to see her head maid. The short black-haired maid stood to the side unfazed by her Boss' anger. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

The maid stoically raised her arms to make a heart-like gesture. "Moe moe."

Ryuu didn't understand the gesture, but it seemed to irk Tsubaki as she saw several veins popping around her forehead. "Get the fuck out of my sight." The maid nodded before calmly leaving the premises; leaving the Half-Dwarf and the Elf alone.

"… What the fuck did he do this time?"

"Nothing." Ryuu replied, fighting the urge to scowl at the blacksmith's lack of decency by speaking with her mouth full; even though she had already seen her displaying such behavior while eating in the Hostess. "As a matter of fact, none of us have seen him since the day that sudden gust of wind struck Orario."

Tsubaki stopped chewing for a moment before she looked at her plate the moment that event was mentioned, something Ryuu noticed but decided to focus on what was important. "I wondered if he had come to you during that time."

Tsubaki chewed a little more before swallowing. "He did. The very same day after that little wind shit."

'So, probably after he and Zelos had repaired the Hostess.'

"Did he say where he would be?" The Elf asked before taking a sip of her tee.

"Hmm…" Tsubaki looked down at her plate, recalling the last time she saw him.

Flashback

"Say that again?" Tsubaki stopped her forging, looking at Drake with a serious gaze in her eyes.

He had barged in while she was forging a core that could withstand the power of the thunder hammer; she really didn't care seeing ninety-nine percent of her focus was on her work… or so she thought after hearing the before and after of his Soma Familia HQ raid, his one-sided beatdown of the Gulliver brothers, his encounter with Adam Taurus… and the revelation that someone completely unrelated to Drake or Ratatosk had acquired a Centurion.

"Someone or something managed to get their hands on the Centurion of Wind, Ventus. Not only that, but they also managed to access a portion of their divine power, which resulted in the massive gust of wind that assaulted the city today in the early morning."

Tsubaki blinked… and blinked, and so on for a full minute before tilting her head. "… What gust of wind?"

Drake just stared for a moment before sighing and walking to the covered windows of the forge. "When was the last time you stepped out of here?"

"Well… I reported what happened during our weapons testing; Lady Hephaestus was not happy by the way. And then I came here right away after asking for a few more days off."

Drake sighed, uncovering the windows to let the sunlight invade the forge, making Tsubaki hiss back as if she had never seen the light of day before.

"Stop acting like a damn vampire and come here."

She did as told after brushing her eye. "The fuck is a vampire any- holy shit? The fuck happened to my mansion!?" Her eye widened as she saw parts of her eastern mansion were either destroyed or missing; she could even see her maids already hard at work fixing them.

"Kudos for your concentration during forging, seeing you didn't notice the damn wind… surprised this place held up."

"Because it's reinforced; would you really expect me to forge in a half-assed place, bitch please." She looked back at her place. "And you are telling me this happened all over Orario?"

"Yup!"

"Damn!" She exclaimed, surprised.

"The only structure that wasn't affected was Babel… except for Freya's windows." He said, mentally crossing his fingers hoping some shards scratched her face.

"So… what are you gonna do about this?" She asked. Despite this having nothing to do with him, technically speaking, of course. But he wasn't gonna let something related to his world affect Orario, especially something of divine origin.

"There's another dormant Centurion on the lower floors. I am gonna camp there to either bait him into surging to beat it up and secure it, or-"

"Wait to see if whatever took Ventus seeks that Centurion, let them fight each other and then take out whoever is left standing." She raised her arm, waiting for a high five, making Drake shrug as their hand clapped.

"Was gonna beat the living shit out whoever took Ventus and then secure Glacies, but that works too."

"In that case…" she walked into the forge, retrieving a blade in a sheath. "It's dangerous to go alone, take this… what?" She asked, seeing as how his eyebrow was twitching furiously. Even more; she could tell his lips were also twitching behind his scarf.

"… Where… where did you hear that phrase from?"

"… Lady Hephaestus. She sometimes says that phrase when handing weapons to someone. Why?"

Drake didn't answer. Instead, he sighed before taking the blade. "Thanks, Baki… why are you giving me this, though? I still have the High-Frequency blade you gave me."

"And now, you have another one." She sat on a nearby chair. "I recall you saying you were more proficient with Dual Wielding. And since you will be facing something of divine origin… one never knows."

Drake chuckled. "I will be heading my way, then. Gonna check-up with Rose on the latest development in the Lower Floors… meanwhile… go to fucking sleep you dumb bitch, you are getting bags under your eye again."

"Fuck off." She flipped him off while raising her fist at him.

The last time she saw her best friend was him bumping fits before he left her forge.

"He's in the Dungeon." She said after a long silence, finishing her food while Ryuu patiently stared at the shifts on her face. "But I never asked which floor exactly, only that it was the Lower ones." She put her chopsticks down before she suddenly stood up. Still not caring how loose her yukata was before heading out of the room.

"But I know who might have an idea about it." She walked out of the room to change. "We are going to the Guild."

"Are you going to take a bath? If so, just tell me who it is so I don't waste time."

There was silence for a moment, until she heard Tsubaki's steps getting closer before she showed her head around the corner of the door; she had clearly tossed her yukata on the way. "I don't see the need." Ryuu could tell there was some spite in her voice. "You see, some stoic bitch dropped a bucket of cold water on me. Do you think I need a bath, Elf?"

Yup, she was clearly holding a grudge.

"But you reek a little."

The blacksmith shrugged. "That sounds like a you problem."

And so, she left to change clothes, making Ryuu sigh as she finished her tee.

"So…"

They had been walking a while towards the Guild, noticing that every person with an animal trait avoided Tsubaki. Yes, those with enhanced senses could tell Tsubaki hadn't bathed in days; luckily, it was mostly the smell of the forge that came out of her.

"Why are you looking for him? Is Mia having a hard time with the pub?" Tsubaki snorted.

"Nonsense. The Hostess has been open since even before he arrived, the staff is more than capable of handling things of her own… although some of us have gotten used to his help."

Tsubaki snorted. "That still doesn't answer my question."

Ryuu's stoic expression remained. "I am just worried as his coworker, that's all."

Tsubaki sighed. "Never thought you would lie so smoothly… pretty sure Alise would be proud." The Elf didn't react at the mention of her former Captain. "… You like him, don't you?"

To her credit, the Elf didn't stumble or broke her storic façade… she was becoming a mess internally, though.

"And just to be clear; when I say like, I mean LIKE."

Ryuu's lips twitched a little before looking at Tsubaki. "And what about you? Wouldn't you being here mean the same?" It was a weak counter, especially since all Tsubaki had to say was 'he's my best friend.'

"Because I love him, duh."

How wrong she was.

"… uHh?" Ryuu's stoic face remained, but her jaw dropped slightly as she stared at Tsubaki after such a declaration.

"As my BBFL of course!" Tsubaki grinned, making Ryuu think for a moment until she figured out she meant 'Best Friend For Life', making the Elf internally sigh in relief as they continued walking to the guild. "But now that I think about it… I am sure he's stressed with everything going on."

"And that being?" The Elf asked, recalling Mia had told her how Drake was uneasy with the whole gust of wind that struck the city and needed to go away for a while.

"You know what!? I am gonna be a good friend and help to release that stress!"

Ryuu narrowed her eyes knowing Tsubaki avoided her question.

"And as a good friend; I am gonna get him laid."

And it was at that moment that Ryuu's stoic façade faded, as she also stumbled a little before looking at Tsubaki with an astonished expression. "… What?"

"Yeah, you know. Taking him to the red-light district and so on… the problem will be the aftermath with those fucking amazons." Tsubaki sighed, clearly ignoring the dark and murderous glare.

"You shouldn't joke about it. The act between a man and a woman should be done only out of love!"

Ryuu heard a clear snort. "Do pray tell, what is love?" Tsubaki asked jokingly, already expecting a pompous answer; how wrong she was.

"It's quite simple. The bonding of man and woman, pleading their everlasting love to the moon in a quiet forest in the middle of the night."

Tsubaki Collbrande stopped dead in her tracks at that moment as Ryuu continued; the blacksmith had an unreadable expression plastered on her face as she stared at the Elf. "…Huh?"

"Love is pure. One only gives up on chastity for their lifetime partner. Until the day of contract marriage is sealed and an oath is made in the elven forest, a couple must not act lovey-dovey or even hold hands. That's what true love is."

Both stared at each other for a moment in the middle of the road for a moment before Tsubaki broke the silence. "… please… please… PLEASE… tell me you are not being serious."

Ryuu was taken aback, seeing as there seemed to be a tone of concern in her voice, along with… pity?

"Mommy, mommy." Ryuu looked at a young girl pointing at her. "That Elf said something from one of my fairy tales."

"… huh?" Ryuu thought out loud as the mother quickly walked with her daughter away, covering her mouth so no one would see her laugh silently as she looked at Ryuu.

"Geez… look at that Elf. I am getting goose-ups just from hearing her. Also, not even holding hands?" Someone asked, looking at their Elf companion shook her head.

"Don't look at me! That Elf is too ancient and extreme!"

The murmurs continued, not having a single amount of mercy with the comments; forcing Ryuu to start walking again with Tsubaki in tow; the former having a clear blush on her face as she speeded up.

"… is my concept of love really that wrong?"

"… if it makes you feel any better… you at least have a concept of it, very old-fashioned and antiquated, but a concept nonetheless." Ryuu flinched, but said nothing. "Drake is a virgin to that kind of love as you are a virgin in general."

It didn't help her feel any better, not at all.

"And now that we are being serious, I have to ask. Why exactly do you like Drake?"

Ryuu scowled as she looked at Tsubaki. "Because I am his best friend, and I do worry for him. I am not gonna let his first actual relationship be with someone who clearly isn't aware of why she likes him; I am worried that may be the case seeing you seem to be one special Elf."

Ryuu blushed and scowled, not feeling comfortable with revealing her reasons, seeing there might be another scene like the one before if she did; Tsubaki noticed this, she made a gesture to step out of the road and into an alley so they could talk in a low voice.

"Listen… I just want to make sure that asshole has at least a first good relationship; seeing as he pretty much lost his v-card through hate sex, and Zelos tales about cheating women don't leave a very good impression about relationships, either."

Sadly, Ryuu had to agree in that department.

And so, Ryuu Lyon told her tale about not feeling disgusted when Drake touched her.

"Well… at least it wasn't the fact that you saw him naked." Tsubaki said nonchalantly as she placed her face on her palm, shaking it in exasperation.

"Did-!" Ryuu became a little mess, recalling her most embarrassing event to date; something he promised not to reveal to anyone. "Did he tell you!?"

"What? No. I heard it from Lunor in an off-handed comment while I was stuffing my mouth," her eye twitched. "Bitch did that on purpose to make me spit my food… it worked."

Ryuu adopted the same expression as the blacksmith. "… I am going to murder her."

"On a serious note." Tsubaki sighed before giving the elf a serious gaze. "If that is what you consider liking… loving someone, I am gonna have to ask you to desist, please."

The Elf's heart skipped a beat. For a moment she thought it was a joke, but Tsubaki's glare told her otherwise.

"I know you Elves have that whole thing about touching going on. But basing a whole relationship around that, it's just childish." Ryuu's memories of Alise stating that she shouldn't let go of a man she was comfortable with touching came to mind. "Relationships are the foundation of how close two people can be, to then escalate it all the way up until you can take a life-changing and most likely unremovable decision… are you really gonna let that happen based on a simple notion such as hand holding?"

"…"

"That's what I thought." Tsubaki sighed, seeing as Ryuu was pretty much looking at the ground with an empty expression. "… I am just saying… that you should at least find something different to base it off if you like him… something less childish. Because if that is all it takes… you are gonna end up falling with… I don't know, name any nobody whom you don't feel disgusted when touched."

Ryuu was about to refute her words… but she hated to admit; she was right.

"…" in the end, Ryuu just nodded, deciding to place her thoughts better before reaching a decision.

"Good… let's go." Tsubaki was about to get out of the alley, but Ryuu stopped her with a single question.

"You love him, don't you? Actually love him."

"… He's the best thing that has happened to me in my whole life… of course I love him." She answered healthfully, looking at the Elf over her shoulder with a kind eye and confident smile.

Ryuu felt a pain in her chest, forcing herself not to grip it. "Then… why don't you-"

"Because my friendship with him is the most precious thing I have, and I am afraid that might change if I force it into a something more… I am not kidding when I say things change when you are in a relationship; I am honestly afraid of that change."

Unknown to Ryuu, despite the truth that came out of her mouth, there was another reason why Tsubaki didn't take that step; one that she kept close to her heart.

"Who are we looking for, exactly?" Ryuu asked, pushing back whatever conflicting feelings she had for a moment to focus on the task at hand. Both ignored all the people inside the Guild around this time of the day, walking straight to the counter as Tsubaki looked left and right to spot the person she was looking for.

"Drake mentioned he was going to talk with his contact here regarding what he was investigating. Let's see if I can… got her."

From behind the counter, where only the guild staff was allowed to be, there were currently one red-haired werewolf and a silver-haired Elf in their workstation; with the latter calmly rubbing the former's back; as Rose Fannett's breathing seemed to be a little heavy, with a very slight coloration visible on her face.

"Damn that Royman." The Elf, Sophie, exclaimed as she continued trying to support her friend. "Making you work when he knows you are-"

"Don't." The Werewolf said embarrassed and conflicted as her reasoning came and went in bigger lapses of time the more time passed.

"Only a few more hours and you will be free," Sophie replied. "Hopefully nothing nor someone overly tiring will bother you today."

"Gods… dammit, Sophie." Rose said, seeing as her work had her deal with a lot of eccentric things, including tempting fate by the things that happened when things like that were said.

"Bah, you are too superstitious. Just sit and relax, I will take care of anyone that comes looking for you and do the paperwork that doesn't need your direct supervision."

The Werewolf sighed. "Thank you, Sophie. I-"

"Um? Rose?"

Both looked to see their superior, Rehmer, looking at the redhead with an uncertain expression. "I know you are… not in the best time." He said, holding a faint blush as he looked away. "But a certain someone said she wants to speak with you, and will not speak to anyone else."

She raised an eyebrow while Sophie gave him a blank stare.

"Really subtle, Rehmer."

The Chienthrope was taken back. "I- I didn't-"

"Focus, Rehmer." Rose stated, holding her clear anger. "Who wants to see me so much that you consider bothering me NOW of all times?"

He didn't reply, and instead pointed at the counter at Tsubaki Collbrande; waving her hand innocently with a smile and expression that gave the same vibe, along with an Elf next to her that looked awfully familiar, this made her sigh before looking at Sophie; who averted her eyes from her friend. "You were saying, Sophie?"

Ryuu Lyon felt uncomfortable for some unknown reason.

They were now in a private room inside the Guild; she and Tsubaki were sitting around one side of the table, while Rose was seated on the other side.

She looked at Tsubaki for a moment; the Blacksmith currently had a smirk on her face while her eye was half opened. Her elbow currently lay on the table, while her hand served to rest her head. Yes, it was the clear visage of a smug individual… but it was more as if she realized something that the Elf didn't; something that clearly humored the Half-Dwarf.

And as for Rose… the Werewolf seemed to be currently slightly stabbing the expensive wooden table with her werewolf claws; one would think she was angry, but her stoic face was as calm and professional as ever… even if her face seemed to be slightly red, as were the tips of her ears , while her wolf ones twitching every now and then. But the thing that was probably most noticeable was how her breathing seemed to be kind of… heated, as also every couple of times she seemed to start breathing a little erratically.

"… Are you ok?" The Elf asked out of concern, only to regret it as she saw how Rose's gaze fell on her, holding back her annoyance, and anger.

"Go easy on her." Tsubaki suddenly said, maintaining her smug smirk. "This little Elf is a sweet summer child."

Ryuu raised an eyebrow as she looked at her acquaintance, and then at Rose, who for some reason seemed to be calmer.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing/Nothing." Both replied calmly, making the Elf wonder what that expression actually meant.

Answer/Translation from Tsubaki's perspective: This Elf is so pure she has no idea about anything related to THAT, so go easy on her.

"On a serious note." Tsubaki's smirk disappeared off her face. "What are you even doing in that state? Why aren't you…" she tried to find the right words to say it but struggled with it. "… doing whatever you should do in this case?"

She raised her index finger. "Because Royman is a dick."

"Not surprised there." Tsubaki sighed as Rose raised a second finger.

"I refuse to answer that, Cyclops. Now, tell me what it is you and this Elf want before leave this room."

Tsubaki raised her arms in a peaceful manner as Ryuu interjected.

"We are looking for someone we know; Tsubaki says you might be the last person to see him."

Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Dazzling golden spiky hair. Sharp and somehow beautiful emerald dragon-like eyes, nicely built, and with a face that-"

"Stop doing that!" Rose snapped in a low voice, just as Tsubaki's smug look returned. "Don't do that on purpose you bitch." She replied, looking aside as if she was embarrassed, but her breathing became more erratic for a moment before she calmed down.

"… The last time I saw him was the day after that damn gust of wind happened in the early morning."

"Figures/As expected." Both Blacksmith and waitress replied as they listened to Rose.

Flashback

She wanted to curse to the four winds; express every single obscenity she had held since she started working in the Guild. She saw the mess around her as everyone worked around them.

They had arrived earlier than usual at the Guild after that sudden gust of wind that turned Orario into a slight mess. Part of the Guild had been damaged, but inside, their public station along the hall was a complete hot mess.

Royman, in his infinite wisdom, ordered everything to be cleaned off and fixed. The problem was the fat bastard of an Elf also ordered them to work as they usually do; that meant to provide service for Adventurers, and of course, the cursed paperwork.

'Meanwhile, that fucking Elf is closed up in his office! Most probably drinking wine!' She breathed in and out, but the wolf inside of her didn't seem to calm down. It was good that she seemed too tired to do anything drastic… sadly, she was also too tired dealing with the mountain of accumulative paperwork due to working with the Guild's reparations.

"… To any God up there that might actually listen… please give me strength… otherwise I might murder that Elf when I am done with this." She said, resting her face on her hand while her elbow remained on the table for support.

"I am sorry, but the lines to Tenkai are unavailable due to the Gods up there not giving two fucks about anyone." Her eyes twitched, but so did her mouth in amusement as she heard a familiar voice next to her. "Please, try again never and quit your bitching, thank you."

She snorted and sighed as she raised her head to the side to see Drake, giving him kind of a lazy, yet amused look as if his eyes were anything to guide herself with. "Had I known you would be this tired, I would have bought a coffee or something."

"Pretty sure none of those would calm me, or make me feel any better." She cracked her neck, moving left to right. "And you being here means something might have happened. Either Soma Familia related… or THAT."

"That" being what was happening around the Great Fall; monsters gaining ice attributes and skills related to that very same element, along with changes on the floor; making it almost unrecognizable.

"The Soma Familia matter was resolved." She internally sighed, seeing there hadn't been reports regarding that. "So yes, it is the second."

Now, she sighed heavily. "Your timing couldn't be any worse," she said, rubbing her shoulder seeing as her whole body started to become tense. "Just, give me a moment so I can-!" She stopped seeing as she suddenly felt a cold hand touching her neck, making her blush in an instant. "Hey! Wha-"

"Just give me a moment." Drake stated as Rose prepared to protest, only to feel her tiredness, fatigue, and the tension in her body starting to disappear. "… Done." He said, making it seem as if he had just swallowed something horrible.

"… Wha- what did you do?" She asked in a low voice as she felt nothing but relief and calm wash all over her.

"Doesn't matter at the moment." He sighed, just as Rose noticed the upper part of his face seemed a little paler all of the sudden. "I am on the clock here. Could you please fill me up on any news regarding the situation on the Twenty-Seventh Floor?"

The Werewolf narrowed her eyes. "I remember you stating you were gonna let things play out so the threat would appear and then you could act; what changed?"

Drake groaned and pinched the bridge between his eyes. "There had been some developments with a similar case on another floor in the dungeon. The results of that made something big happen here on the surface."

Rose narrowed her eyes, trying to think about what that something might have been. It didn't take her long to find the answer as she recalled the state of the city.

"You don't mean-"

Drake nodded, stopping her words. "If something isn't done about the problem in the Great Fall, Orario might suffer an ice age next."

Rose gulped.

She looked over the biggest pile of papers on her table. "That one contains all the reports of Adventurers that tried to get past the Great Fall. All the things they notice and complaints they had can be found there."

"Good. Let's start then-" he said, walking over to the pile, only to be stopped by Rose; whose hand was resting over her shoulder.

"… Can you actually fix this? Alone, of all things?"

Drake sighed, giving her a rather tired, yet serious look. "Does it really matter? If anything, Loki Familiar can try later IF I die. If not, maybe that fucking bitch out there will feel like moving a finger to do something other than being a creep."

Her lips twitched for a moment, only to then frown as he walked away from her to focus on the papers; remembering the last words he shared with her after their first meeting. "Sometimes, I wonder if you don't actually wait for death with open arms."

"I do. But she seems to avoid me every time for some reason." She could tell there was no humor in his voice, he was being serious. "Rose." He suddenly said, making her focus on him. "Don't worry, ok?"

She sighed in defeat; thinking for the first time that a prepared Adventurer who knew the risk and stakes and still walked straight into danger was worse than an overconfident or arrogant one.

"Let me help you with that." Rose suddenly said, opting to give a helping hand; feeling worried about him. It was hilarious, seeing as part of her had grown apart from getting attached to Adventurers, and yet here she was doing that very thing.

"He's not dead." Both Elf and Half-Dwarf replied in sync; the former with confidence in her tone, and the latter in a very nonchalant way. This made Rose feel a little annoyed seeing her worries were being disregarded as if they were nothing.

"He beat Udaeus with the help of only one other just as capable as him… as much as I hate to say it…" Ryuu replied, thinking about Zelos for a mere moment as Tsubaki spoke next.

"And I am the only one in this room who knows how truly capable he is." That, and she knew for a fact that if something had happened to him, the dungeon would be acting; of that, she was sure.

"Well…" Rose internally sighed. "Your words do give me hope that this is the case."

"If you don't mind me asking." both looked at Ryuu. "Could you share what exactly is going on around the Great Fall?"

Rose frowned slightly for a moment seeing as she had only spoken about it with Drake way before this had started to become a problem known by the Guild; so it shouldn't matter anymore.

"I see. Ice attribute monsters with high resitance, changes in the environment of the floor…"

Rose nodded. "And just recently, it seems that it is expanding to the twenty-sixth and twenty-fifth floors. But more importantly, the Great Fall itself has been completely frozen."

Ryuu's eyes widened, as did Tsubaki's single one.

"Damn…" Tsubaki said surprised, seeing as that waterfall officially started on the twenty-fifth floor, and ended on the twenty-seventh. "That thing is completely frozen?"

Rose confirmed it once more, making Tsubaki whistle as Ryuu asked something else. "Did Drake indicate exactly what the source of the problem was?"

'I was right.' Thought the Elf, seeing as Drake had indeed disappeared because of something related to the gust of wind; what was happening around the Great Fall was certainly connected to it. The only question now was: what was causing these events, exactly? The only possible thing she could think is that it is somehow related to that swordsman she met on floor thirty-eight and the deity that hated Drake and vice versa.

"I am afraid not. He was very vague about it, and I didn't press on it." Her eyes narrowed at Tsubaki, who had been sitting in the same position since the beginning; but this time, her smirk was fully gone, replaced with an unreadable one with eye dangerously half-open the moment Ryuu made that question. "Maybe the person that knows him the best could give us a little context?"

"… Nope." Tsubaki suddenly stood up and started to walk out of the room, making Ryuu suddenly do the same, but not before bowing slightly to Rose. "Thank you for your help; we really appreciate it."

"No problem. At least someone has some damn manners." She looked over her shoulder to see Tsubaki waiting for Ryuu near the door; giving the Werewolf the middle finger with a sly smirk. "By the way…" she looked at Ryuu with a puzzled expression. "You seem familiar… have we met?"

Ryuu remained calm, even though she could feel a drop of sweat starting to form on the side of her head as she tried to find the right words to escape the predicament at hand; she really wished Syr would be here in moments like this seeing she was an expert in dismantling them. "I…"

"Let's go, Elf." Tsubaki stated, suddenly pulling them by the back of the collar without any of them noticing the moment she entered back the room. "Bye, Rose! Good luck with your issue."

The Werewolf twitched, just as she felt like having another attack of arousal.

"Just a couple more hours, Rose. You can do this."

"No." Ryuu Lyon suddenly stated as they walked away from the Guild, only to stop abruptly at Tsubaki's petition… no, it was more like a statement; 'Return to your pub, I will head into the Dungeon.'

"Ryuu." Tsubaki said, making Ryuu realize it had been years since the blacksmith officially addressed her by name; their Goddesses were friends, it was only natural they knew each other, even if just a little. "You are in no condition to go into the Dungeon wearing a waitress uniform, and unarmed no less."

Ryuu was about to protest the same, only to see Tsubaki was in her usual attire and with a katana around her hips.

"I will just go and change-"

"I am not gonna wait for you, Elf." Tsubaki replied seriously, while Ryuu tried to think about what to do. She could try to outrun her, but there was literally a level of difference, even if Tsubaki wasn't as proficient in agility and speed as Ryuu was. In the end-

"Then I will just change and still go on my own."

Decided to be stubborn.

"Ryuu…" Tsubaki sighed, rubbing the side of her head in annoyance. "We both know he's fine. There isn't really a need for both of us to go, so just drop the damn subject already."

"…" Ryuu just stared for a moment before sighing. "Try to take him out of the Dungeon to rest; knowing him, he would patiently wait on the Great Fall since day one with no rest."

"Believe me, that was the plan from the beginning." They stared at each other for a moment before the Elf nodded, turning around as she walked away. "I will leave it in your hands, then."

Tsubaki just stared at the retreating form of the Elf before snorting. "And Kaguya used to say that tricking you was the only way of making you do as told." She could tell the Elf had heard her because she almost stumbled for a moment before walking normally once more.

"Now… to see my annoying blonde."

"Oh, this is some bullshit!"

Tsubaki didn't remember the last time she had actually hugged herself out of sheer cold, seeing as high-level Adventurers gained resistance to this sort of thing, but yet here she was; rubbing each of her shoulders as she even saw her own damn breath in the form of steam.

She hadn't been as cold as she was now when she was on floor twenty-five, where the Great Fall started. Even the top of the waterfall had been completely frozen. She had looked down for a moment, her eye narrowed at the endless darkness ahead. However, she could spot cracks of familiar green lightning along with a blue ice-like one.

She knew it was him.

Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, she wasn't as unhinged at the moment to jump down straight to floor twenty-seven… Mainly because there was no water to stop her fall due to the water being frozen down there.

So, she took the pedestrian route.

Finding Drake wasn't hard, seeing as her ears managed to catch the sound of cracks of lightning. Although she didn't need to follow her eye for too long, seeing as she already kind of knew where she was heading; the place where the Amphisbaena spawned.

She was worried about it though, seeing as signs of a fight going on would be obvious by now. However, when she arrived her eyes laid on the last thing she was expecting.

"… Drake… what the actual fuck?" She asked, seeing as Drake Aurion was currently sitting cross-legged while a four-meter black eel wrapped around him, hitting him with the same ice-blue lightning, only to then be converted as it changes to Drake's green; he was absorbing it.

"Remember how I told you I was able to generate my own lightning rather than just absorb it?" He asked, skipping a greeting just like she did. "I was hoping one of these eels would have a big enough charge but-" he suddenly grabbed its head with both hands and crushed it. "Not nearly enough."

Tsubaki sweat dropped. One of those was enough to shock a level two Adventurer with ease, a level three and four if they happened to be underwater. But the one Drake had just killed was abnormal.

"… Just how big do you need the charge of the lightning to be in order to get results?" She asked incredulously.

"Big enough." He stood up before walking towards her, removing his jacket in the process. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Her eye twitched. "Looking for you, you ass. It has been a damn week since you came-!" Her words died down the moment Drake's jacket crashed on her face. "Hey! What gives-" she stopped talking the moment she grabbed the piece of clothing with her own hands; it was hot. He most likely changed its properties.

"Your fingers are already starting to freeze; the rest of your body will follow suit soon if you don't cover yourself." Her eye widened as she looked at her fingers, they were indeed getting frostbitten.

"… I am a fucking level five; this is such bullshit." She knew the reason why this was happening. Since the Centurion was affecting the floor itself, it was only natural that it had some of its essences on it; in other words, its Aura, a divine one to make things worse. Even though it looked like it was so minuscule she couldn't feel it, it would still explain why a High-Level Adventurer was being so susceptible to it. Although that wouldn't be the case if she had her Aura unlocked; that would deny the effects of the cold at least a little…

"Wait a bloody second." she stared at Drake as she put on his jacket and zipped it. "Since there are traces of Aura in everything that had been affected due to the Centurions, wouldn't that means that these monsters with ice attribute-"

"Also have Aura? Yes." He said, placing his scarf around her while advising her to keep her hands inside the pockets of his jacket. "The Adventurer's reports Rose received stated that none of their weapons were able to pierce the Monsters' skins." Tsubaki listened, feeling the heat of all of Drake's clothes as he spoke on her skin. "Back in Remnant, every person whose Aura was unlocked automatically gained an Aura field; that is what the monsters affected by Glacies' presence have."

"So, no normal weapon would ever pierce them."

"Correct." he sighed. "It's a good thing Glacies is still in a sealed state; things would be far worse for Adventurers if the environment and the monsters gained divine aura."

"… Huh?" Tsubaki thought out loud, seeing as her previous assessment was wrong. "Hold it, are you telling me the Aura in the air and the monsters' is just normal Aura?"

"Ice elemental, but yes." He narrowed his eyes. "If there were any hint of divine Aura here, you would have frozen in an instant."

She gulped. "… I take it you haven't been able to make any progress here, then." She asked, understanding how bad things could get in the absolute worst scenario, along with it affecting the surface in the same manner.

Thousands would die.

"Fucking thing just doesn't want to wake up." Both looked at the frozen waterfall. "Not even the Dungeon has any authority on this floor as I raised my Aura past my human boundaries and nothing." He sighed. "However, that didn't seem to stir Glacies, either."

"But." she raised an eyebrow. "What about the Monsters, then? Did Glacies even take over how the Monsters spawn?"

"Yup." He nodded. "Don't expect any changes in their behavior though, seeing how they ran to attack me every time they spawned." He pointed at several holes on the walls. "Another thing that changed is that the floor doesn't heal as it used to; even the holes the Monsters make when they spawn haven't completely healed."

"... So… you're telling me…" Her face adopted a blank expression as she looked at him. "That you didn't make a single hint of progress during a full week!?" A vein popped on his forehead.

"It's not my fault that damn thing doesn't want to come out!" He shouted; now recalling Glacies seemed to be the more reclusive out of the centurions. "I tried everything! Entering divine territory, blasting the whole fucking floor. Also, whoever took Ventus didn't appear, either. And there was even a point when my brothers and I started to play 'I see something out of boredom!"

"How did that go?" she asked amused.

"There are a lot of fucking blue things on this floor, you tell me!"

She started to crack up laughing.

"… At least something did come out of this." She stopped laughing and looked at him, pointing back at the place he had been before. It took her a moment seeing as there was a mist of coldness covering the area, but there she saw it; a mountain full of drop items.

"… mine, mine, mine." She started to chant, dashing at the items. However, Drake managed to stop her by holding the hood of the jacket; and even so, she still tried to reach the items.

"Stop acting like a damn dog chasing a bone." He said, giving her a soft chop on the head to calm her down. "…All those items have Aura." Tsubaki's eye widened as he continued. "So you will just get frostbite if you touch them with your bare skin; the gauntlets I gave you to resist the pulses of the Aura hammer will be able to withstand that, so wait until we return to the surface."

She nodded dumbly, just before her eye caught something odd. "Hey… why is the color of that energy crystal ice-blue?"

Drake narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yeah, that… that's Ice Dust."

Tsubaki's head snapped at him.

Dust; a mineral and source of energy from Drake's world.

There were a lot of types of Dust; even going as far as saying that it didn't just consist of elemental types. Tsubaki had been conflicted seeing she couldn't recreate Drake's reinforced clothes without it. But now, she might even be able to do something more; even if the Dust she was seeing now consisted of a single element.

"It seems Glacies was able to change the anatomy of the monsters, resulting in this." He snorted. "Getting free Dust just by killing monsters… Weiss Fucking Schnee would kill for this."

Tsubaki looked at him confused. "Who?"

"A bitch." He said, almost automatically and full of spite before shaking his head. "Nobody worth mentioning."

The Blacksmith shrugged as Drake made a motion with his hand, making everything get sucked the shadows. "Now, let's go." Tsubaki was almost shocked with his jacket seeing as he started pulling her by the hood.

"Go? Go where?" She asked, managing to get off his grit before walking by his side.

"The Surface, you dumb bitch." He said carelessly. "You came unprepared for this floor, and you will only get in the way if something ends up happening."

She gave him a deadly stare. "… Are you calling me deadweight?"

"Yes." He replied in a heartbeat, only for her shrug.

"Fair is fair…" She started to chuckle. "Funny you tell me I came unprepared, seeing as your Elf wanted to come here dressed in her waitress uniform."

Drake scowled, not having any problem knowing whom he was talking about. "Don't you dare call her 'my Elf,' for fucks sake."

And so, they started to catch up on what she and Ryuu went through during the day.

"I have a question." Tsubaki said as both walked through the street as the sun started to set after the blacksmith had returned his jacket and scarf to the blonde. "You said you met Adam after meeting with Soma. But you never told me what happened after the wind struck. Did he tell you anything? Because to me, it seems he and his Deity should focus more on this seeing this is one of his Centurions."

Drake narrowed his eyes. "After the wind attack, I sobered up more before we stared at each other, contemplating whatever to settle the score for a moment before I remembered we were in the city. So, he just left after that." He rubbed the back of his head. "Knowing the bastard, and knowing Ratatosk, they are probably trying to run damage control in finding whoever took Ventus from the Seventieth Floor in the Dungeon."

She nodded, understanding comp-

"The Seventieth Floor!?" to her credit, she whispered her surprise instead of shouting it in the middle of the street. "Not even Zeus Familia managed to reach that far."

"Not a surprise. His blessing is only at 2/8 of his original power; so, he's most likely relying on pure skills alone." Tsubaki remembered the guy was not only an Aura user but also an Artes, although it wasn't always like that.

"Leaving Ratatosk aside; between four retarded girls with a hero complex, one power obsessed bitch that thought the world belonged to her, one stupid witch, and a fucking parasite… Adam Taurus has been the only one close enough to kill me… when he's not obsessed over his ex."

Tsubaki narrowed her eye as she looked at him. "… And yet for some reason, you seem a little conflicted."

He snorted. "That's because… huh?" He stopped walking, as did she while looking at the two people coming in their way. "Rose?" Both looked at the silver-haired elf, with the werewolf's hand around her shoulder, helping her walk.

"Great. Cyclops, of all people." The Elf cursed as they approached them.

"Is she ok?" He asked, preparing to touch her forehead and take a better look since her face was down, but the Elf gave a step back to prevent that.

'Um… Drake, I think she- ah!' Drake raised an eyebrow, seeing as Jude suddenly stopped talking.

'Jude?'

'Huh, sorry, Bud. It seems out little brother walked right into a tree and passed out.'

That was bullshit and Drake knew it. But his attention was on Rose.

"She's fine." Sophie said, trying her best to get out of there as soon as possible. "She's just-"

"Afflicted!" Everyone looked at Tsubaki, whose smirk and smug look gave Sophie a very bad feeling. "The poor girl has been struggling at work and was forced to work in such a state. But it seems her affliction has reached a critical point." Tsubaki said, being careful with her words to not trigger Drake's lying detection through the Shadows.

"Yes, that's just it." Sophie confirmed it; surprised Cyclops of all people was able to be subtle with her words. "Now if you excuse- hey!" Sophie exclaimed, just as Tsubaki suddenly appeared next to her before slightly pushing Rose so she would be caught by Drake.

"Tsubaki, what the hell?" He asked, keeping an eye on Rose before looking at Tsubaki, who was covering Sophie's mouth with her hand.

"Why don't you be a pal and take her to her place? I am sure she's conscious enough to give you directions." She turned around with Sophie before walking away. "She and I need to have a girl talk."

He raised an eyebrow, especially at the sight of carrying the Elf over the shoulder before sprinting at the speed of a Lever Five.

"… What the actual fuck?"

'Drake!' Jude's voice suddenly echoed in his head, rather agitated as well.

'The hell happened to you before?' He asked, seeing as Rose started to grip his jacket while her head rested on his chest while panting.

'Zelos prevented me from talking! But that's not important! Listen, she-!'

"Drake…" He stopped listening to Jude as he focused on her one more time; but this time, she showed her face.

"… Oh, for fucks sake." He stated, knowing what was going on.

Her face was red, her eyes were humid, her whole body was moving in an uncontrollable manner, and her breathing was hot to the point it could be barely seen. Now he understood what Jude was trying to warn him about.

Rose Fannett was going through her heat cycle.

"Fuck my life."

He heard a familiar snort in his mind; his best friend's. 'That isn't the only thing that's gonna be fucked tonight.' He crackled, making Drake groan at his current situation.

"I can't believe you convinced me about this." Sophie exclaimed as both sat in front of the counter inside the Hostess of Fertility.

It had taken Tsubaki about ten minutes to convince the Elf to leave Rose with Drake. Seeing as it was better for someone who could be in control of the situation with her instead of leaving her alone with the chance of hurting herself. And Drake well… as stated by Tsubaki; the guy needed a stress reliever.

"It is a win-win scenario, really."

"Stop saying that." The Elf snapped at her.

"Seriously though, how did she used to deal with this before today?"

Sophie snorted. "She locked herself up in her place; my guess is she did some self-service of her own. But it seemed it wasn't enough seeing I would end up helping her buy new furniture any time seeing she destroyed them in the process." She sighed. "I know it's better to let nature do its thing and let someone take care of that."

"Excuse me." They looked in front of them to see Mia with a scowl on her face. "Are you two ever gonna order?"

"I will have the Love Curry," Tsubaki said, making Sophie snort.

"Saying Love after what you pulled; the audacity of this bitch." She thought out loud before looking at Mia. "I will have the same as her."

The Dwarf raised an eyebrow but shrugged it away before walking into the kitchen as someone else approached them.

"Excuse me." Tsubaki looked to the side to see Ryuu… and that smiling thing she called a friend. "I hope you being here means you were able to find him."

Tsubaki opened her mouth, but Syr beat her to it.

"I hope you did. Everyone here has been worried for him." Syr replied with a worried expression, making Tsubaki roll her eye before addressing her.

"Are you sure it is not because you are having a hard time without someone else doing most of your jobs?" Not just Syr, but every waitress close by twitched, and she knew that.

"Oh, don't be like that, Miss Collbrande." Tsubaki ignored the girl's cute act and focused on Ryuu.

"He's fine. But I am afraid he will return to the Dungeon right away tomorrow." Ryuu frowned. She was about to ask if it was related to that mystery in the Great Fall, but Sophie's snort beat her.

"Doubt it. My guess is; it will be a miracle if he will be able to stand up tomorrow, let alone walk straight." She commented off handily, making Ryuu raise an eyebrow… while Syr's eyes became void as her smile remained.

"Miss Tsubaki… where is Drake exactly?"

Tsubaki narrowed her eye before facing the counter. "Sorry, it's something personal. All I can say is that he's busy."

"I must insist." The gray-haired waitress gave a step forward with an even more widened smile; a gesture of forcing pressure on the subject. "We are worried, after all."

Tsubaki didn't even look at her; the truth is, ever since the incident with the two elves from Freya Familia and Drake's warning, she had decided to be wary of the waitress. "Nope."

"Oh, come on, what's the big deal?" Sophie spoke. "Your friend's just helping out one of my friends, that's all." Sophie replied, being subtle enough not to give any facial expression that might sell her out seeing she was able to read the room.

"Friend?" Ryuu asked. "You mean Miss Rose?"

Syr looked confused at Ryuu for a moment. "Rose… the Guild worker?"

Tsubaki tensed for a moment. Rose was well-known, but only among Guild members and Adventurers; why would a simple waitress know who she was?

"Yes. She was feeling a little odd today. I hope she gets better." Ryuu said, making Syr's smile slowly fade before addressing her friend.

"… Ryuu… mind telling me how she was behaving when you met her?"

And so the Elf did, making Tsubaki wonder if this was perhaps karma of some sort as everyone who was close by; especially those with animal traits heard the conversation, making things awkward, in general, knowing what was afflicting Rose… everybody knew… everybody but Ryuu Lyon.

"… Ryuu… come here for a second." Syr got closer to the Elf to whisper in her ear; her neutral expression turned into a somber one before staring directly at Tsubaki.

"… Where is he?"

The blacksmith simply shrugged. "Don't know, not that I was gonna tell you, anyway."

It was not that Tsubaki didn't like Ryuu, but she didn't like her, either. Yes, they were acquaintances a long time ago, but that was it. And as a person, she saw Ryuu as someone who had gone through many hardships in her life… just like Drake. But she wasn't him, so her well-being wasn't a top priority to Tsubaki.

"It's not like you two are actually something like that. So I don't see why you should care."

Syr's eyes widened as Ryuu gave a step forward, her hand reaching for Tsubaki's shoulder to-

"Drop it." Ryuu's eyes widened as she looked to the side to see Mia, serving the plates of curry with a stern expression on her face; looking directly at Ryuu before making a motion with her head.

To her surprise, Ryuu bite the lower part of her lips before walking away, followed by a worried Syr; but not before giving Tsubaki a stern glare.

"… What did you do?" Mia asked, seeing she hadn't seen that expression in a long time.

Tsubaki sighed. And then proceeded to explain Rose's situation in a low voice; the fact that Drake had been stressed and awake due to something unknown to her; nor did she want to know.

Mia understood.

In a really bizarre way, she did the right thing.

It was never good to leave alone someone going through their heat cycle, and it was recommended to just go through it to avoid the person in question causing any kind of self-damage.

She also got her point on Drake, kind of.

Actually, there wasn't anything BIG to understand. Tsubaki wanted her friend to be relieved from the stress he was going through, and it wasn't like he and Ryuu were actually a thing. She didn't owe anything to Ryuu, so there wasn't any reason for the Blacksmith to think about her when she left Drake with Rose.

"The girl's gonna have to accept that she just has no control over some things. But why did you tell her, though?" Mia scowled at her as Tsubaki ate her curry.

"Oh, don't you fucking pin this on me. It was all that damn baby doll you have as a waitress that put pressure on it, and even told the Elf when she figured out what was happening."

"I saw it happening," Sophie stated after swallowing her food. "This is amazing, by the way."

"Of course, it is." Both Dwarf and Blacksmith exclaimed before the former sighed.

"… I will try to talk to her later," She said before heading her way.

"What was that about?" the Elf asked, only for Tsubaki to shake her head.

"Don't ask. Let's just try to enjoy the food before-" she felt someone touching her shoulder. "Oh for fuck… sake." She said, looking over her shoulder to see none other than her Goddess.

"Where is he?" Hephaestus asked, making Sophie snort.

"And another one." The Elf said.

But no… this was not the same case as it was with Ryuu.

Hephaestus's expression as a serious one; indicating she was in full responsible Goddess mode.

"What happened?" the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia asked.

"Are we ready?" Riveria Ljos Alf asked; adjusting her white cloak as did the rest of her party.

"Everybody's prepared." Gareth Landrock replied. "Hopefully these new ice cloaks and magic weapons will be enough."

"It's a shame Bete couldn't come seeing his jaw was completely broken." The Dwarf commented as they recalled they state the Werewolf had returned to the mansion.

"Loki has been more serious as well since they returned," Riveria commented. "Even though I find it hard to believe there's someone able to survive a divine attack. Honestly, a part of me wishes those claims were just exaggerations from Loki."

The Goddess of mischief had returned from the Soma Familia with a wounded Bete, their money missing, and a very serious look on their Patron Deity's face; to the point, she didn't even care when she was scolded for everything she had done, including leaving Bete to act on his own… even if all of them have deliberately done the same in the past.

However, Loki's tale made all of them reconsider how much of a threat the blonde with dragon-like eyes could be; if people related to him could take divine wounds and walk it off as if they were nothing.

"I am pretty sure that lad is gonna hold it on us for attacking his friend."

"And?" Tione Hyrute asked with a scowl at the mention of someone related to that blonde… or that redhead. "In the end, it was Bete who ended up kissing the ground. Why should we care or even feel guilty about that?"

"Because Bete attacked a blind person first," Riveria stated with a mild scowl on her face while Tione looked at Raul.

"I thought you were making that shit up!" She started to laugh, while Raul sighed; no one believed him on that account, but it had to be true if it came from someone like Riveria. "I am never gonna let him live that one down!"

"Says the Amazon who got her hand broken by punching someone in the face." Tiona snorted, making her sister throw a death glare at her.

"The person that beat Bete; he did it with a single kick, right?" Everyone turned to the side to see a familiar long-haired blonde with golden eyes. "And he's related to him?"

Riveria scowled a little at the anger reflected in Ais' eyes.

"Enough," Riveria said before looking at the entrance of the Dungeon; successfully changing the subject. Everything to keep Ais' mind off that blonde. "We will reach Rivira before midnight and complete our mission tomorrow, am I clear?"

Everyone nodded as they entered the Dungeon; their objective?

Find out what is happening in the Great Fall.

AN: So, let's deal with the elephant in the room first—the Ryuu and Tsubaki scene. To be honest, I have doubts about this scene, and IF I of all people have doubts about it, I can't help how badly readers would react to this seeing Ryuu is a fan favorite. But my beta reader convinced me it was fine (unless he wants to see me burn in your comments) seeing it was character development for Ryuu, which was part of the objective besides planting the seeds of conflict and mental struggle.

Ryuu is also one of my favs (yes, beta reader, you read that right), but her views about love and romance are too childish for my liking. That whole thing about falling for the first person she doesn't feel disgusted towards is only plot armor in my eyes to set her up with Bell... that and I find the whole idea stupid in the first play for reasons that were already spoken on a previous Tsubaki and Ryuu scene on this chapters.

Also, her definition of love; that shit is canon...ish. It was a dialogue based on a scene of a danmemo event that involved her, so yeah.

And lastly, regarding Ryuu. This just came to me as I wrote this AN: if you think that what happened was basically Ryuu getting NTR; DON'T.

Next, the incoming lemon scene... I will write it; but I don't know if posting it here or in ao3, debating it.

A little something about the whole Doctor thing. According to the Wiki, Airmid is labeled as a Doctor. But as far as I am aware of, she uses magic to heal people. I hardly doubt she or anyone else has ever operated on someone. At best, I consider the title 'Healer' or 'Medic' suits her better.

The Melancholy of Bete Loga. The guy isn't getting a break. but all of what happened so far with him (not just in this chapter) will bear fruits later on in this volume.

Now, a funny trivia. When Drake mentions this:

"Leaving Ratatosk aside; between four retarded girls with a hero complex, one power-obsessed bitch that thought the world belonged to her, one stupid witch, and a fucking parasite… Adam Taurus has been the only one close enough to kill me… when he's not obsessed over his ex."

The people he means are in order: Team RWBY, Cinder Fall, Salem, and Ozpin. Of course, it is a list of non-Artes users; that one is longer