Hello, everyone, I hope all is good and well with you so far.

Writing this chapter was initially something that would have taken months, but I had a spur of inspiration to write and got it all done already, so enjoy the read my friends and fans!

Considering nothing noteworthy has popped up, there are no review answerings this time. Maybe in the next chapter. So I remind you all that you are free to voice your thoughts and opinions and make questions regarding the story, I am more than happy to communicate with my dear readers! So don't be shy, ask your questions, make (reasonable) suggestions, I welcome any and all discourse!

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Monsters, Gods with Arcanum etc. talking"

Premise:

Kaida is escorted to Orario by Loki Familia, where an interesting dinner ensues...

The events at Melen concluded rather silently and with no further complications. After Kaida arrived and had her little get-together with the executives of the Loki Familia, things just fizzled out into complete uneventful nights until such time they had to make way to Orario.

On the way back, there was really only one small incident worth of any notion of mention, which was when Ais asked to spar with Kaida, only to be promptly destroyed by a single hit. If only cameras were real, someone should have recorded the faces the Loki Familia's executives, Bete in particular, made when they saw one of their strongest members get completely ragdolled. Granted, Kaida does have level 8 on paper, and the powers of an Emperor of the Sea were truly not a joking matter, but it did not make the surprise any less impactful.

Since then, Ais has been pestering the mighty Woman endlessly for a spar, which has only annoyed Kaida the entire time, but she remained firm in her rejection. This annoyed the impatient and powerhungry Ais, but she could not do much other than be stubborn about it. She continued to do this all up until Kaida decided to make a bet out of it. The bet in question? Ais needs to get herself a boyfriend… and of course, the Loki Familia was NOT happy about this. At all.

However their anger had to remainnstooped as their carriage arrived in Orario at the West Gate, where they had to be professional and register their return, and Kaida had to say hello to the Ganesha Familia.

"The name is Kaida, got it?"

The guards at the gate gulped audibly. Her figure was huge already, 6'4 full of muscle and with a feral grin on her face. She was intimidating and recognizeable, but then… then there was her name, the subject of every rumor mill and newsletter for months. Orarios people knew her name very damn well by now.

"P…purpose for entry?" One of the guards asked, braving the courage to speak before the behemoth that the woman before him was.

Kaida hummed for a moment before she spoke. „Well, to bring about some changes, i suppose" was her reply before she crossed her arms. „Can i go in now?"

"Y-yes mom-i mean ma'am" the other guard said, almost suffering a comedic slip of the tongue there. Kaida seemed to forgive it for she made no comment on the matter, though the look she gave the man clearly indicates she caught it.

A few minutes of processing paperwork later and the female version of Kaido was able to enter Orario at last. And the air! It smelled so thick, so heavy with life that the level 8 woman was immediately infatuated with it all. Telskyura had this dense desert look to it but the city at the center of the world was so vibrant, it was a new feeling altogether, and Kaida reveled in it.

"Magnificent! Truly all of it!" She mused to herself and took a few steps forward, eyes beaming with delight to finally be at the center of the world itself.

„Now lemme dive into the dungeon! And when I am back in 2 days, that dinner better be ready, Finn!" Kaida commandeered towards the Pallum Captain before racing off into the distance before anyone could properly protest this decision.

Later this day, at the freshly renovated Hearthfire Mansion, just a few days after the Apollo Familia was defeated and disbanded...

Bell and his Familia were still removing some leftover tidbits from the Apollo familia, such as the last of Apollo's statues about himself, when they suddenly heard ringing from their front door.

"I'll answer it!" Lili volunteered, stopping her current actions of catalogueing items by putting down the block and paper and headed towards the door. It took a moment for Lili to come back, and when she did, she looked a bit alarmed. "H-hestia-sama, we have guests!"

On cue, Finn stepped out from around the corner and into the large hall, his hands behind his back and a trained smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Hestia Familia. I am-"

"We know, Flatty's captain!" Hestia intervened with an irritated expression and tone, hopping down from atop a few wooden boxes before pointing at him. "What does Cardboard Loki want from us!?"

Finn let loose a minor chuckle at the comments, deciding not to engage in them at all and instead get right to the important part. "Well, in 2 days, there will be a dinner held at the Hostess of Fertility. And it is very important to me and my Familia that all requested guests attend it."

"Oh yeah? And who are those 'guests'?" Hestia continued, still sounding irritated.

Finn whipped out the small piece of paper from his pocket that Kaida had given him back in Melen and checked the names again just to be sure. "Your captain, Bell Cranel, and Liliruca Arde."

That Bell was roped into some event was rather unsurprising to everyone there because by now, they are all used to Bell being drawn to trouble, but Lili? That sounded a bit weird.

"What do you want with Bell and Lil'Lili?" Welf questioned with his arms crossed, an inquisitive gaze on his face as he tried to study Finn for any potential details.

"I cannot say much, but I can say that Loki Familia is not directly attending this dinner. Rather, it is at the behest of someone else, someone who has valuable information for us she will only give in exchange for this dinner."

Hearing Finn's reasoning made this have some sense but also raised a whole slew of further questions. Who would want to organize something like this and for what possible reason would they need Bell and Lili?

"Very well..." Bell spoke, a serious expression growing on his face. "If it is that important, then I will attend."

"Perfect. And what about you, Miss Arde?" Finn questioned, turning his attention towards the Familia's accountant and supporter.

Lili looked down for a few moments before raising her head again and nodding her head. "I will be there, but I want to know who is organizing this dinner?"

"Well, I was never told to keep it confidential so I can answer that. The benefactor of this dinner is Kaida Ashrah from Telskyura..."

The reaction was instantaneous. Wide eyes, gaping mouths and shocked looks. The rumored level 8 from Telskyura, the bestial warrior from the desert lands who is said to have oneshot the Captain of Kali Familia? More questions arose, questions that would have to wait until the dinner however, as with his business concluded, Finn readied himself to leave. "Well, this is why I came to you, Hestia Familia. With this business now concluded, I will leave you to your wits. Good afternoon." He politely noted before turning around and walking away, leaving the mansion.

"K-Kaida..." Bell spoke between heavy gulps.

"What does such a monstrous powerhouse want with our small familia?" Mikoto questioned.

"No idea... but I have a bad feeling about it all" Hestia added, though a defeated sigh escaped her because they already agreed to attending it, so all she could do was complain about it.

TWO DAYS LATER

The Hostess, which was usually full to the brim with excited and hungry adventurers, found itself almost empty today. The entire hostess had been reserved by Loki Familia, which was by no means cheap because Mia demanded a small fortune to make up for all the lost revenue due to denying guests for the reservation. As for why they reserved the entire place? Kaida's demands, thats why. She even pressed them regarding the information about Enyo, reminding them that she is their sole lead in this case. An act of pressure Loki took with grit teeth and visible annoyance.

Bell and Lili were the first outsiders to arrive, with Ryuu already being seated at the table with a glass of water.

"Miss Ryuu?" Bell questioned, seeing the waitress and ex-adventurer there. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello, Sir Cranel" She greeted politely. "Miss Arde" She then extended the greeting to Lili. "I am here for the same reason you are, it appears. The dinner."

"Ooo! Argonaut!" Suddenly came from behind Bell as Tiona leapt into him from behind for a hug. "So you were invited to the dinner too?"

"Y-yes, miss Tiona!" Bell said, stiffening visibly from the tight embrace of the Amazon, earning an envious glare from Lili and an annoyed look from Lefiya.

"Of course this irritating Human is involved!" Lefiya spoke, going on her usual annoyed tirade whenever Bell is involved. "I bet he secretly planned this date to have some sort of harem!"

"H-"

"H-"

"HAREM!?" Bell, Lili and Ryuu exclaimed at the same time, each having their own embarrassed expressions on their faces. Bell because he still feels mortal shame for having had that ambition when he was younger, Lili because of the possible implication of being with Bell, the man she loves, and Ryuu because it offends her sense of purity and chastity.

"No, silly!" Tiona admonished Lefiya with her usual playful self. "Ashrah clearly invited him along with everyone else here!"

"O-oh... yes, that might be the case..." Lefiya spoke, defeated and embarrassed at having had such an outburst.

Suddenly, everyone felt a crushing presence. The door swung open behind them and Kaida entered the premise, a toothy grin on her face while everyone else looked alarmed at her. She was powerful, oppressively powerful even. Lili, the weakest person of the invited ones, felt the difference so strongly that she fell to her knees and had trouble breathing for a moment.

However, just as instantly as the presence came, it perished and Kaida started to laugh lightly. "Now now, don't get so worked up over lil old me. Instead, take a damn seat"

Intimidated by the sheer pressure she can extrude from her very being, the 5 invitees were hesitant at first to move, their guard up and their expressions apprehensive. That was, however, until Kaida suddenly blitzed towards Bell and gave him a harmless chop on his head. "I said take a damn seat you little kids!"

Bell grabbed his head with both hands and nursed the little bump that came from the chop. "Ow ow ow" he whispered to himself as he rubbed the bump to lessen the pain slightly.

The atmosphere became a little, a teeny little less tense and extreme from the gesture and Tiona, Ryuu, Lefiya and Lili slowly took a seat, with Bell following behind slightly due to nursing the bump on his head.

The table was assembled in a way where the 5 invitees were on one side of the table and Kaida was by herself on the other side. This gave a clear image of the dynamic of their assembly for the night.

The other Waitresses of the Hostess, namely Chloe and Lunoire, were ready to take the orders, approaching the table.

"So, why did you invite us all here?" Lefiya shot straight out, arms crossed while an analytic gaze was on her face. Her eyes were fixed on Kaida's own, trying to gauge any hint of her bodylanguage.

The woman in question simply smirked and leaned forward. "We have much to discuss, very much so. But I don't like to beat around the bush. How much do you know about the concept of reincarnation?"

This was where Bell suddenly forgot the lump on his head and perked up at the question. "My grandpa told me bits about it. Souls get sent to Tenkai after death, where they are cleansed of the touch from Gekai and sent back down fresh and empty for a new life."

"Correct!" Kaida praised, slow clapping her hands for a few seconds. "However, did you know that each soul has properties innate to its very essence that cannot be erased?" Hearing this caused the members and the eavesdropping waitresses to all perk up in interest at those words. "Things such as their race, their physical looks, key personality traits, defining events of their life. A soul has fixed properties to it that do not change from life to life, and if one knows those events, they can identify one's own past lives."

This tidbit of information was highly interesting to listen to, particularily to Bell and Tiona, who were fans of heroic stories. Why that is? Because this means one may identify the lives of past heroes in the modern era, and they both quickly caught up to it. This lead to a train of thought in Tiona, displaying a moment of intelligence from her. "Wait, so you invited us all because you think we are reincarnations from figures in history that you identified?"

"CORRECT!" Kaida said again, louder this time before clapping at a fast pace to show how impressed she is. "I know the reincarnation of each and every single past figure that is named heroic. As for you five... Well, lets just get it out of the way, yeah?" She said and pointed at Bell, Lili, Lefiya, Ryuu and Tiona in this order. "The argonaut, Fianna, Feena, Ryulu, and Olga"

The room went silent for a few moments before everyone exploded with a stereotypical "EEEEEEEHHHH!?"

"T-T-T-T-THE ARGONAUT! ME!?" Bell shouted at first in pure shock

"ARGONAUT-KUN REALLY IS ARGONAUT!" Tiona cheered, completely ignoring her own past life's revelation

"Me? A Famous Poet? But how?" Ryuu questioned, unsure on just where the resemblance was.

"I CAN'T POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN RELATED TO THIS FILTHY HUMAN!" Lefiya yelled, appalled that her past life was the Argonaut's Half-Sister.

Even the Hostess' Staff was shocked upon the discovery. Murmurs and chatter exploded from the small gathering... except for one person. The only one who remained silent throughout the entire ordeal was Lili, who had a thoroughly irritated expression on her face.

Kaida noticed this first and crossed her arms, losing her toothy grin. "The fuck's with you, Liliruca? You don't look too happy"

This shut up the others as they all paid attention to Lili, catching up on how pissed off she seemed.

"Fianna... never existed..." She spoke, her teeth grit and her eyes downcast. The Pallums as a race had been suffering an inter-generational depression ever since they began to believe that Fianna never was real because she was denounced as a goddess by the other descending deities.

"Bullshit" Kaida spoke and slapped her hands on the table. "Fianna existed. Just because she wasn't a goddess doesn't mean she wasn't a real. That was your past folks' idiocy and depression making a major fallacy out of a simple miscommunication."

This caused Lili to tense up and further grit her teeth, even more frustrated with it all. Lili was not a particularily patriotic figure, true that may be, but even for Pallums not too connected with their own people, the existence of Fianna remained a sore subject to be discussed due to the sheer damage it has done to the publicity of the Pallums. Since that little miscommunication with the gods, the Pallums had been regarded as a race of weaklings and liars, thieves and beggars and the lowest of the caste of sentient life forms because the 'Lie' about Fianna cost them their entire public reputation. The consensus was that if they as a race could come together and 'Lie' about a deity, then what are they not ready to lie about?

Lili suffered from this notion throughout her past as a member of the Soma familia intensively, receiving numerous verbal jabs for being a Pallum, being treated with more scrutiny than anyone else, even receiving straight up racially derogatory comments to her face from some of her fellow members simply by being a Pallum. The damage done to her was extensive, and it all came back to Fianna.

"Don't blame me or anyone else about the stupidity of the past. Fianna was real, deal with it." Kaida shot back before she suddenly turned her head towards the waitresses and waved Lunoire to step forward. "Now, everyone will order food and drinks, I think you want to digest this information before we continue"

The group silently agreed, as no protest was voiced and everyone ordered their dishes to eat and drinks as well. For a few minutes, the 5 invitees discussed between each others the implication of each of their past lives and how it may impact them. They compared key events in their life, such as the Argonaut's beef with Minotaurs, Lefiya/Feena's permanent fixiation with being frustrated at the schenanigans that Bell/Argonaut gets up to, Ryuu/Ryulu's poetic views on Justice and suffering the loss of all her loved ones in one go.

This went on until the first plate was served, which was Ryuu's since she ordered a vegetarian dish that took very little preparation and was mostly just assembly of the ingredients. The second the plate hit the table, Kaida clapped her hands once, shutting up the chatter and pulling all attention to herself. "Lets talk some more about those reincarnations, as you will surely have a few questions about them. Ask."

It was not a simple statement, it was a command, one they all knew they could not really go against, so they prepared to ask questions.

Lefiya went first, raising her hand and getting an aknowledging nod from Kaida before she spoke. "What of the other reincarnations? Like Lady Celdia, Albert Waldstein, Elshana and the like?"

"Tough question, but I will talk" Kaida spoke before she leaned forward. "Save for Celdia and Albert, every heroic figure from the past 1000 years has reincarnated into this same generation. The amazon heroines, the 3 great poets, the knights of Fianna, the Elite of the Mercenary King... all of them, down to the last name"

"If so, why single out us 5 specifically?" Ryuu shot out instantly, regaining a more serious expression on her own face.

"Because I like you the most. Simple as that"

"Then what happened to Celdia and Albert's souls if they didn't reincarnate?"

This question caused Kaida to become rather serious herself, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes which she cast down at the table for a moment. "Albert's soul was lost to the One-Eyed Black Dragon's maw. That monster has the unique ability to grow stronger from devouring not just other monster's magic stones, but also the souls of the living. Until it is killed, every soul it has eaten remains trapped within its own magic stone, barred from reincarnation. Celdia... now that's a slightly more complicated matter"

Hearing this exclamation caused the room to collectively stop everything they were doing to listen.

"Celdia was a mage second to none, so strong that to gether with Fianna's mid-ranged spear and Albert's close range sword, she could be said to be part of the triumvirate of the strongest mortals to have ever lived. However, nobody has recorded any major incidents involving her. She wasn't part of the fight with the dragon, nor with the Minotaur King Minos that Argonaut fought. She was always there as a supportive character, but never the main character of her own epics. Suffice to say, whether she perished in a fight is completely unclear, the possibility is that she may have made it into old age... if we add the longevity of elves together with the slowed ageing that a Falna gives, it is very well possible that Celdia managed to remain alive all up until today's age."

The atmosphere became tense once more upon hearing those words. 'Celdia might still live today' was not something anyone expected to hear, but here they were...

"So... you're actually saying-" Bell started, only to be cut off by Kaida.

"Yes, I am saying that Celdia's most likely fate is that she is still alive to this day, somewhere out there in the wide world."

The one most impacted by this was Lefiya, who felt a sense of elven responsibility upon hearing those words. The greatest elven mage to ever live, somewhere out there... what are the chances that she might be here in Orario? What if she was watching them all? Judging? Waiting for something? Questions arose by the thousands regarding the possibility of where Celdia could be and why she wasn't public, but all of them made Lefiya feel like she had to step up and be more patriotic to the elven causes. A somewhat random conclusion, but with the usual chaos her thoughts come to, it was not all that surprising for anyone that knew the Thousand Elf by now.

"Matter of fact..." Kaida started before she reached into her backpocket and took out a small note. "Kali confirmed to me that Celdia is actually holed up somewhere here in Orario. Or at least she was 60 years ago before Ereshkigal descended and tattled about it to Kali, who then shared this information with me. So this information is a bit outdated, but the only lead we have."

Lefiya wanted to jump from her seat and organize a search, but before she managed to so much as twitch, Kaida slammed her hands on the table. "DO NOT think about it" she said while eyeing Lefiya sternly. "She remained in hiding for all these years and likely wants to stay that way, so unless its needed, we won't disturb her peace. The last thing we need is a pissed off Icon from 1000 years ago rampaging."

Lefiya wordlessly nodded, casting her eyes down upon being scolded like that, holding herself with her arms to calm down a little.

"Now then... if there are no further questions..." she spoke and the other plates began being served one by one at the same time of arrival, causing the table to be filled with 6 meals now. "I say we eat... digest everything and enjoy the night for what little its worth..."

Kaida simply began to dig into her dish, a large plate of Lasagna, with reckless abandon, munching down on the dish like an animal, completely ignorant to all manners of the table while she allowed the other 5 to work through their thoughts while they ate.

This lead to a few minutes of complete silence, save for light chewing sounds here and there. This silence lasted until Tiona finished with her dish first, setting fork and knife down, wiping her lips with a napkin before she spoke up. "So... what now?"

"Onto the second reason on my extensive list of 2 reasons for talking to you all, of course" Kaida fired out before taking another big bite from her dish, chewing on it while she allowed the others to gather their questions.

As per usual, Lefiya raised her hand up before speaking. "And what is that second reason?"

"Upset the established Order in Orario, of course" She spoke with a toothy grin before chomping down on another big piece of her lasagna while she let the words sink in and cause all 5 of them to stiffen visibly. "Oh calm down, I don't mean anarchy or anything like that. What I mean is turn the duet into a trio at the top. I want Loki and Freya to have to worry about a new contender for the throne in Orario" She mused before pushing her now empty plate a small bit forward on the table, a sign that she was done eating. "As such, I will be joining the Hestia Familia, and so will you, Ryuu"

"Eh?" Ryuu questioned, caught off guard by it. But then she instantly shook her head. "I can't-"

"You can and you will... Gale Wind"

Eyes widened and stares turned towards Ryuu upon being exposed. Ryuu herself instantly became highly self-conscious and started to tremble. She was afraid, afraid of her life with the Hostess ending because of Kaida's actions. She didn't want that.

"Oh calm down, why do I have to say that so many times today!" The female Empress spoke before slapping her hands on the table yet again. "I won't take you away from this place. You will still work at the hostess, just part time, and part time you will be with the Hestia Familia. But first, you need to unlock your Falna which means visiting Astraea first."

"But I..." Ryuu started, before suddenly stopping. Her mind was a complete disaray right now and she did not know how to handle the sleugh of thoughts racing across her brain. Ultimately, after a long moment of thinking it through, she recinded and gave up trying to fight it. She figured that, if it came to it, Kaida could do what she wants by force, given she was a maxed out Level 8 in this world while Ryuu was only level 4. The difference in strength was about as high as that of an ant and an adult person by comparison. "Alright..."

"Good" Kaida spoke before getting up from her seat and stretching herself. "Bill is on the Loki Familia so don't worry about payment" she stated with a loud, hearty laugh before she stepped away from the table and moved behind her chair. "Now then, any remaining questions before I leave?"

Silence. Deathly silence was what followed, which was an answer in and of itself to the Empress, who smirked with her arms crossed before she nodded her head. "Very well then. In that case, I conclude tonight's dinner, or at least it is concluded for me. Mama Mia, you can open your store again to the other customers" Kaida mused, earning a nod from the Proprietor of the establishment before she started to walk. "See you all around, in that case!" Were her last words before she exited the premise, leaving the 5 invitees to their own thoughts.

"Gale..." Lefiya mumbled to herself, though Ryuu heard it. "I-... I can't believe I was close to a hero all this time!"

"Huh!?" Ryuu suddenly perked up, confused at the choice of words. "Me? A hero? No... no no no... I am not-"

"But you are!" Bell interjected and had his serious expression on his face. "You single-handedly defeated Evilus for good! You saved this city... you are a Hero!"

Bit by bit, the 4 others piled up verbally on Ryuu until she was ultimately brought to tears of joy upon being so accepted by them, her fears defeated for now...

Meanwhile, outside the Hostess...

"So you eavesdropped on everything, huh?" Kaida questioned while ontop the ceiling of the house opposite to the Hostess, where Finn had been eavesdropping on them all.

"Afraid so..." Finn admitted with a trained, though somewhat forced smile on his expression. "We heard every last word. And while admittedly some of it is harder to swallow than others, all of it was quite interesting to hear..."

"In that case... now onto my part of the deal" she spoke before crossing her arms. "Enyo's name is... Dyonisus"

Finn turned deathly serious upon hearing this and gripped his spear tighter. "How..." he questioned to himself. He wondered how he could have missed it all this time.

"He had two contingencies" Kaida answered before crossing her arms over her chest, her own expression serious as well. "He is the god of wine and Madness. His Madness has been cloaked with the use of his own wine. He hypontizes himself into a different personality. And the second contingency is Demeter... He is holding several of demeter's favorite children hostage as well as hypnotizing her with his wine. Should he be discovered, he would shift the blame to her and make it seem like he was forced into it."

"Tch" Finn scoffed with frustration upon the revelation. This would require extensive planning to properly execute the remnants of Evilus. "Anything else you can tell me? Or rather, anything else you want to tell me?"

"Yes. Though I am hesitant as I don't think it is a good idea, I think I should mention it considering I will need your large Familia's cooperation for my own endeavors, so its better to be forthcoming on my end... How much do you know about 'Knossos'."

Upon his puzzled expression, Kaida realized that currently, he knew nothing about it, which means she has to start from the very beginning...

And that's it for the Dinner chapter

Let me know how you guys feel about it and how it concluded. I hope it was to everyone's liking.

As always, leave an R&R if you liked it and I will see you in the next chapter, whenever that one might drop. Bye!