The mead hall was lively once again, everyone rested after the long quest the Familia had to take the previous day and were ready to delve once again into the Dungeon, or rather just very few had the energy to do it again.

"Excuse me everyone, I want to make the small announcements for the day." The Captain stood up and everyone turned their heads at him. "Right… so first and foremost I want to congratulate everyone after yesterday's victory, I know it was a long day and many of you were exhausted but I hope the reward made everyone happy, even if it's not a massive amount of Valis."

To remember the events of the previous days: Skadi Familia got bigger after recruiting new members, all of them level 1s with very special characteristics; a timid mage, an over enthusiast Cat-Person, a loud archer, a quiet bulwark, a strange duelist and an Amazoness who itches to pick up fights.

A peculiar group that had quite an array of abilities that would definitely complement the already existing members of the Familia.

The real challenge came to Ragnar who had to act like a leader and manage the group of adventurers, a task that on paper felt easy but when you have people like these to keep track of, that task becomes more of a hassle than anything else.

The quest was simple though, they had to collect ten lizard tails in the span of a few days. This was an easy mission as they only had to scour the top floors of the Dungeon, this also meant a small payment but it was the perfect excuse for them to practice their synergy.

"That's why I decided to declare today a free day! "

"Huh? " The collective reaction of most of the members gave way to the next part of the announcements.

"Me and the Goddess will be spending time in the Orario, walking around and visiting some places."

"So… like a date? " Livialiska raised her hand to speak and many agreed with her statement.

"No-…" Came the annoyed groan from the blond who just covered his face with a hand. "It's not a date! There are important things that we need to discuss and I thought it would be a good idea to do so not in Fimbulvetr but somewhere else."

"Uhm… Captain… isn't that the point of a date? "

"No-… come on!" This elicited a lot of laughs from the other adventurers, although the tan girl that was sitting the farthest from the Captain decide to speak up.

"All fun and everything but what about the rest of us? " Claimed the Amazoness who looked more annoyed than anything. "Are you planning to lock us in here while you and the Goddess go out there? "

Ragnar sighed, knowing full well that he was not going to win this conversation. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and the smile of the Goddess at his side. The message was clear as he sat down and let the deity speak up.

"Me and Ragnar have important things to discuss, I hope all of you children understand that. If you are curious about them, it is all about administrative elements, namely paperwork that is related to the Guild itself. Now, everyone gets to enjoy your free day unless any of you wishes to help us with this tedious paperwork."

"Oh no, please we do not want to bother you."

"That's something you and the Captain should do, Goddess"

"We would only be bothering you."

The cacophony of voices had one thing in common: None of them were going to bother Ragnar or Skadi during this important discussion and fortunately the talks of a date were quickly disappearing.

The rest of the breakfast went by smoothly, with some talks here and there and most importantly a great day ahead to enjoy without the worries of going into the Dungeon for a change.

"When are you two returning? " Asked the curious Cat-Person.

"Uh… I don't know, but certainly before the end of the day."

"Have a good day!" Skadi pull up her cloak and both her and the leader of the group walked out of the mead hall and Fimbulvetr. After that, there was silence.

Some of the adventurers were finishing their breakfast, others were minding their own business. The real problem was…

"We have a free day all for ourselves, what can we even do? " Livialiska stretched her arms upwards but she got no response from the others. "Fanis, what do you want to do? "

"Uhm… I… I haven't thought about it honestly."

"Hilda. Hey hey hey." She tried to get the attention of the archer who was still finishing her meal. "What do you want to do? "

"Much like your sibling, I have not decided on how will I enjoy this day free of worries, perhaps I shall tour the city in search of entertainment or information."

"There we go! " Livia stood up from her seat. "We can explore Orario and see what we can find!" She turned at the silver haired who was grabbing his empty place "Vice, you're coming with us!"

"Ah, sorry Livia." Noel smiled. "But I was planning on visiting the orphanage today, it has been a while since I been there and I'm sure they might be worried that I have been quiet ever since I was in the hospital. Plus, I think there's a book that I need to find that I left there."

"Awww, " A sad girl tried to find something and the sound of the kitchen perked her ears. "Oh!"

She made quick way to the kitchen where she could hear someone already cooking. The only person that was not present at the table was Albrecht who had kitchen duty for the day.

"Hey, nice cooking today, really enjoyed the breakfast. But uh… we are planning to visit the city today, would you be interested in coming with us? "

But the silent chef slowly turned around, with a spatula in hand and wearing an apron and a chef hat that no one knew where it came from.

"Sorry, but I will stay here to prepare the meals for the day." A dry answer that needed no more as he turned around once again to work with the stove they had.

"Mh." Livia took a few steps back and then turned around for her next option. "Hey Raccoon-boy! "

Alain was ready to leave to sit on one of the benches that were located outside of the mead hall. "Ah, sorry Livia, I'll uh… I'll stay here in Fimbulvetr, need to practice my skills."

"Aw, really?!" Her options were disappearing little by little until she noticed the last person ready to leave Fimbulvetr as well without saying anything.

The Cat-girl ran quickly and grabbed the last person by the arm. " You will come with us! " It wasn't a question nor a suggestion, it felt like an order.

"No."

"No? "

"I said no! " Theresa moved her arm just to get Livia to release her. "I am not going to your all-girl outing or whatever! I'm heading to the Dungeon."

"A-Alone? " Came the question from a surprised Fanis who joined the conversation. "Isn't… that dangerous? "

"A woman like her? Nonsense, she has proved that her prowess and attitude are more than enough to cause fear unto the monsters!" Hilda also walked to the girls having the discussion. "If anything, the monsters are to be afraid of our gorilla-prowess-Amazoness!"

"Did you just call me a gorilla? " A vein appeared on the tall girl, it was clear that her anger was bubbling up and ready to be unleashed on some (not so) innocent adventurers.

"Come on, you should come with us. As you said, it is an all-girl outing so you are cordially invited."

"I said no already. I have better things to do like training or getting stronger."

"But what about your fellow friends in the Familia? Wouldn't you be sad if something were to happen to us in this outing?"

Livialiska decided to up the ante. If she was going to convince Theresa to come with them then she had to use all her tricks, all the weapons in her arsenal to make someone fold. A vile strategy perhaps but it was something that has worked when convincing Fanis.

Truly it wasn't a big sample of people she convinced but it worked every time.

"Hey… look at me…" The happy tone was gone, instead it was more of a menacing, threatening. Something that no one else has seen before with the exception of the timid sibling who was already afraid of this.

"Huh? " The Amazoness raised a brow, feeling like a challenge was going to happen. Her hand went to the grip of the sword that was resting behind her, ready to fight and eager to shed some blood.

"Will you come out with us? Please? " Livia opened her eyes, clasped her hands together in a prayer and looked at the person in front of her with a look of innocence, like a tiny cat begging for attention. Any kind of threat she exuded a moment ago was completely gone and the air went from being tense to outright nothing.

Still, this didn't stop Theresa from drawing her sword and in a quick (yet brutish) moment, she gave a gentle hit with the pommel of the sword straight into the feline's forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?! "

"That is for making me lose my time." She sighed. "If you really want to have a girl's outing then we can all go to the Dungeon, are you not here to reach new heights? "

"Uhm… I don't think I can get any taller than this…"

"I want to get my legend to be known but I know that rest and leisure are part of a true adventurer's life too! "

"Then suit yourselves." The Amazoness turned again and started to walk away.

"W-Wait! " Livia stepped in front and started to walk backwards to follow Theresa. "We… we can talk about boys! O-or… maybe have a drink somewhere? Ah, I know! We can go to a weapon shop so you can see better weapons!"

All the offers from before seemed to not work until the last one to which she stopped. Livia was happy at her result as the tall girl held her arms and moved her to the side like moving a chair out of the way.

"Huh?!" Her options were running out, she had no idea how to solve this situation. The moment she walked out of Fimbulvetr then it will truly be over.

"Ah… I'll do your chores for a week! "

Silence.

The strong woman who was walking away stopped on her tracks after hearing that, savoring on those words like sweet candy.

She turned around, a cheeky smile on her face that showed her evil intent. Like a monster about to hit its prey.

"Two weeks. And you pay for my drink." Theresa reached out, waiting for the feline to shake her hand and seal the deal.

"Deal! " The chores were not that difficult, from cooking to cleaning and even cutting the grass. She could do all of those easily. As for the money…

"It is settled, it's going to be our all-girl-outing! " And so the four girls prepared themselves for the morning, they got properly dressed and headed out to the city without a proper plan only than a few ideas.

It wasn't that early in the morning, a lot of the shops were already open and the merchants on the stalls were already doing business. Of course the most notable sight were the adventurers heading to the tower for another day of slaying monsters and earning the honor and favor of their gods.

Someone was of course not pleased of not being part of that group as she served mostly as a chaperone for the other girls who stopped every now and then at the different store fronts.

Most of the times they walked by these stores they were either opening or closing because they were either going or returning from the Dungeon and by the time they were going back home, they were too tired to even stop and look by at the different wares. Fortunately this was going to be a different day.

Clothes, perfumes, paintings, furniture, books, weapons, armor.

Everyone had different tastes and their interests piqued. Their first stop was a clothes shop, namely at the request of Fanis who saw something a few days ago, although because of time or money back then she couldn't afford it. However there was something that pushed her forward to do it, and it wasn't her sibling's energy or the fancy words of Hilda or the death glares of Theresa saying Wrap it up.

" Li-Lili… I don't think I look good in this…" Came a voice behind a curtain.

"Nonsense, you wanted a dress like that, so go out and show it!"

From behind the curtain came a very timid Fanis wearing a white and orange sundress along with a big hat and sandals.

"Ah, wonderful! An attire most fitting for a young girl like you! " Hilda clapped her hands at the mage.

"See? I knew it would fit you, white and orange really fits you, and it matches with your hair too!"

"After trying for like… what? 5 times? Even though we told you that blue, purple, green and whatever did not fit her?"

Even though summer ended some time ago and the warm days were very scarce, some shops needed to get rid of the stock they haven't sold yet and thus there was a good offer on off-season apparel.

Namely it was a decision of price rather than choosing something fashionable, fortunately none of the other girls were interested in buying so their business went by quickly.

"Uhm… L-Lili?"

"Yes?"

"Can I get my clothes again? I'm freezing…"

With a chuckle and a purchase, the girls left the store with a new bag and continued their exploration of Orario.

Their many stops took them some time but unlike the previous time they did not buy anything.

Weapons and armor looked tempting but most of the group was already satisfied with what they had, the only exception was the Amazoness who was thinking of upgrading her gear although looking at the price tags would easily make anyone lose their interest quickly.

Perfumes were another option that the likes of Hilda were interested in. Her choice of clothes was more refined compared to Fanis and knew that silk was far too expensive for her at the moment and a perfume had to meet her standards since a person of her status required only the best products.

In short: They lacked the money to buy many more things which was not a surprise given that they have been adventurers for only a week. Still, that didn't stop them from enjoying the day.

"It is a surprise that none of you have inquired about the business that our Captain and the Goddess are doing."

"I thought they made it clear it was paperwork about the Guild…"

"Bah! It's just an excuse; that guy calls himself a leader and he's just wasting his time."

"To be fair, they offered us to help them it's just…" All of the girls looked at each other, knowing the answer full well:

"Nah!"

A laugh as they continued down the street and hearing the mumbling of people around. The group continued but Livia stopped on her tracks for something.

Her ears twitched as a familiar voice run in her ears, someone that she wasn't expecting to hear at this time of day.

"Huh? "

"Lili, are you alright? "

"Wait, I think I hear…" She turned around, trying to focus on where the voice was coming from, isolating it from the other people passing by.

"Hey, come on. I'm getting hun-" The Amazoness approached but was quickly hushed by the archer.

"I think… I think I hear the Captain…"

"What? Around here? But why would he and the Goddess be doing? "

To say that this didn't pique their curiosity was a lie. They were following Livialiska's gaze as her ears were twitching. Eventually they stopped and so did the Cat-girl who pointed in the direction of the sound.

"Over there, I think." She followed her own instincts, what her ears were telling her and maybe with a little luck that she was hoping.

But the voice that she heard before was getting slightly louder with each step.

They found themselves in front of a green hedge that was a bit taller than the girls but they knew that on the other side there was a small garden owned by a cake shop with a few tables outside. It wasn't an expensive place despite how fancy it would look but it was intriguing as to why Skadi and Ragnar would be in a place like that for just some mere paperwork.

The cake shop had two entrances, one at the side of the street which led straight to the main room of the store and the other through the garden.

Considering this was now an investigation mission, the girls opted for the second option and slowly followed the hedge until they could find the entrance to it.

One head poked from the side, then a second one, a third and finally a fourth. All of them scanning the area for the two people they could recognize.

"See them? "

"I… I don't… is it correct to do this? Shouldn't we leave them alone? "

"While I do agree with our mage, I refuse to leave this matter unattended. We will not rest until we find an answer to this."

Their eyes went from left to right and eventually found one table occupied by two people. A blond adventurer who was laughing and an older woman who was not hiding her face under a hood, she was smiling. In between them there was a cake with a few slices already gone.

There were no signs of papers, any folders or anything related to the Guild. Surely that could mean so many things, perhaps it was an outing much like they were doing, or friendly discussion or maybe they finished all the paperwork.

However, Livia's brain quickly figured out what that meant, no matter how correct or wrong it was:

" I KNEW IT WAS A DATE! "

No doubt that the outburst from the feline attracted the attention of not only Ragnar and Skadi but the other customers that were at the garden. However when they turned their attention at the entrance, they saw nothing. Just people passing by.

What they were not seeing was that the girls were hiding away from the entrance and holding Livialiska, covering her mouth and grabbing her by the arms to make sure she would not shout again.

"Are you crazy?! You want us to get in trouble?!"

"Lili, I don't think neither of them want to acknowledge it was a date or that we were spying on them…"

"Our not-so-correct activities must not be found and yet your voice was loud enough to attract unwanted attention. Must you act like that?!"

"Hmph." Livia shook herself in an attempt to release herself but the other girls were the ones who let her go. "Ah!" She took a few steps to catch her breath again. "It wasn't my intention, it's just the first thing that came out of my mind!"

"Then maybe the next time you shouldn't say anything without thinking it beforehand!" Theresa huffed. "I'm done with this, let's go get a drink somewhere before they spot us."

There was a common agreement among the girls as they walked away, going through one of the inner streets, their plan was to go back to the main but they stopped when they found something that caught their attention once again.

It was a tavern, slightly run down and not with a lot of clients. Made sense given the time of day but this also meant that it would be a cheap place, perfect for their already thin wallets.

And fortunately they were correct, for better or for worse. The tavern was not in a good state, the floorboards were missing, broken or it was just a placeholder for people to walk onto, the walls were a mixture of paint and stone, definitely they were not taken care of in a long time.

The clientele was something they expected, few adventurers and other citizens that didn't look high class nor the type to stand out. If anything the girls were the only ones who were an eyesore in a place like this yet no one seemed to show hostility towards them.

It was easy to find an empty table for the four of them. Their order was pretty simple: Two beer, one water and one orange juice.

"Ah…" Theresa felt relieved after she took a long sip from her tankard. "I haven't had a sip of alcohol ever since I arrived in this city. I needed this."

The other girls looked, somewhat expecting the Amazoness reaction but there was something that two of them did not take into account.

Theresa ordered some beer, Livia the orange juice and Hilda had water which meant…

"I will admit, out of all the people in our Familia, you are probably the last person I expected to be an alcoholic! " The archer in the team was surprised the most.

"It's uh… a little pastime. I don't dislike beer but it is not something I would drink every day. I am fond of wine but… it is not a cheap thing."

"Yup, Fanis used to drink plenty back home."

"LILI!"

"But surprisingly she does have a high alcohol tolerance, I have never seen her drunk."

"Is that so…?" The tan girl grinned, definitely something malicious was coming. "Maybe next time we'll see how much she can last."

"Please no… let's uh… let's change subjects to uh…" Fanis looked at the others, trying to find a solution to this conundrum but it was the Amazoness who gave her an idea. "Uhm… Miss Theresa, why did you join the Familia? "

"What do you mean? You three were there."

"Certainly but I was under the impression that your people valued strong warriors for… personal purposes."

"Oh, I see what you're trying to ask." Theresa leaned back on her chair, resting one arm on the back. "You want to know if I joined because I'm looking someone to sleep with, is that right? " Though the reaction she got from Fanis and Hilda were more than enough to confirm it. "Tsch, you think I am going to choose a weakling? All of the men in this Familia are just not fit for what I want."

"Then why not choose a stronger Familia? I heard that Loki is one of the big players in here." Commented the feline, taking quick sips from her glass.

"Oh, them. It was the first people that I visited. But I immediately got turned down by a flat Amazoness that was at the gates."

"Surely you said something that could warrant that answer? "

"As if! So I found a recruitment paper that was on the floor and that's how I ended here." She raised her tankard to take another hearty sip.

"Then… what about those other people… uh… Odin Familia was it? " But Theresa's tankard hit the table with such strength that startled the mage.

"No." That angry gaze, the three of them remembered it; it was right after she lost to Brynhildr, a fair fight but for the loser it was nothing but humiliation and it didn't look like she got over it. "I refuse to fight under someone like her. Those eyes were not of a person… they were like a devil, someone who would judge your very soul. I don't like that, I don't want that. I will prove that I can surpass that… monster. Level 1, yeah right…"

"Oh yeah. Slight change of subject." Interjected Livia since if that topic continued then someone might be breaking a table out of anger. "You said Level 1 but this is something that have been in my mind for a few days now. How were you able to beat the Captain? A Falna gives a big advantage over someone who doesn't have one."

But she shrugged. "That battle was decided when he didn't put effort into it."

"Huh? "

"He decided to stick by the rules, thinking his opponent would do the same. Since there was a considerable difference in power back then he decided to hold back which meant. That sealed the deal." Theresa sighed at the memory of the battle. "But then… when I chose to insult the Goddess, he got angry."

"And with a good reason too! Us mortals should not go unpunished if we insult a deity like that!"

"No, this felt different. Any kind of restraint he had was gone, if he was going to attack me then he was aiming for the kill, but that was his downfall. His anger was too much and he lost any semblance of rationality or tactics whatsoever. He went after me and all I had to do was just play along."

"So you admit he was stronger than you? " The Cat-girl's smug look angered her teammate, strengthening her grip to the tankard.

"It was natural, he had a blessing and I didn't, but that don't mean anything at the end of the day. A person without a Falna can still beat a Level 1 much like how a Level 1 can beat someone of higher grade if they fight properly enough, though the chances of that happening are very unlikely." As much as she hated to admit it, even if she fought someone of a higher Level then she would lose. The difference she felt when obtaining a Falna was drastic and could only imagine the huge gap between rookies and Levels 3, 4 or even 5 or 6.

However, the thought of the woman who humiliated in that fight still remained. "But what is this? An interrogation?! You." She pointed at Hilda. "You speak of all those titles and accomplishments like you were wearing medals or something. Are they even true? "

"Alas! My time to shine. I'll have you know that all my titles are legi-legiti… they are real! As the Grand Duchess Baroness of faraway lands, I am nothing but the best archer of the kingdom and a Saint! People remember my name and my prowess as well as my aim and-"

"Okay okay, we get it. You like to fake those things."

"Fake?! My titles are known in the Lower World!"

"But… how can you be the best archer in a kingdom if… you are a duchess or baroness?" Fanis shrunk her shoulders, catching onto some discrepancies on the girl's speech. "But the question we should ask you is: Why become and adventurer when you are… technically a noble?"

"Isn't it obvious?" But the silence was enough of an answer. "Clearly, the life in the courts was not a good fit for me so I decided to enlist as an adventurer. A small Familia like this one will help me stay low from the intrigue and dealings of royalty."

"Uh huh…" None of them looked convinced of Hilda's words.

"If I am going to be questioned then I am allowed to reciprocate those questions." She crossed her arms and then pointed her finger at Livia and Fanis. "You two, why did you join this Familia? You must have a reason for it, don't you? "

"Well…"

"Of course!" Livia's tail waggled from left to right as she stood from her chair, her ears perked up at that question. "We are from a little town to the West, about half a day from Orario. Fanis wanted to test her luck as an adventurer in order to improve as a mage."

"And you? "

"Eh, I just followed her. Can't leave her alone."

"So we have someone testing their luck and someone chasing, a noble who despises nobility and then me…" Theresa crossed one of her legs and raised her tankard. "Quite a little party of dysfunctional adventurers. To us then, to whoever gets to Level 2 first. "

All the girls celebrated in that toast. They couldn't call each other friends but if anything this small outing built closer bridges to each other; they were still teammates after all and they were willing to defend each other should anything pose a threat but perhaps in the future those bonds within the Familia might grow into a friendship.

The rest of the day went by normally. They kept visiting the city and when they were on their way back, they found no traces of Ragnar nor Skadi at the cake shop they found them in the first place.

Their free day was well spent, even if they didn't buy many things at least they were able to answer some of the questions that were still unanswered for a few of them.

But tomorrow was going to be a new day for them to enjoy, even more so since they'll be going to the Dungeon once again as a Familia.

…

The next day found everyone back at the mead hall having breakfast. Everyone was happy with the exception of Livia who after a day of expenditures realized that her final balance was no more than ten Valis. She was sad and could barely eat that morning.

Her day could not get any worse.

"Hope everyone enjoyed your free day, but it's time to go back to the Dungeon and continue earning our everyday bread. Although there is something else I do want to point out." Ragnar addressed everyone during the breakfast, much like he did the previous one.

"Theresa, you're the one in charge of chores today, yes? Why don't you stay back for a bit and finish cleaning the mead hall?"

"Oh, ho ho" The Amazoness blurted a most sarcastic laugh. "I am sorry Captain but I got a solution to that. Our Cat-Person has offered herself to do my chores for two weeks, that's excellent news!"

"Really? Well that's thoughtful of you Livia. Though, I'm sure she didn't mention that she skipped the last time and did a poor job about it and as such there's a punishment: She has to do everything three times a week and very thoroughly."

"NYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And so, Livia learned a valuable lesson: Despite being teammates, Theresa will not hesitate to trick anyone just so she can come out on top.

And what a lesson! Livialiska will one day learn about it but for now she will have to endure it.

Thanks to everyone who's following and marking the story as favorite. It has been a month since I released the last chapter and this one was nothing but an interlude to develop more the group of girls in the Familia. Life has been very busy between the last chapter and this one and due to some personal situations I came back home and my head was focused anywhere but in the story; I did have the chapter already planned and how it would go but I didn't have the drive nor the energy to write and kept postponing it to the week after that and so on.

I can't guarantee that the next chapter will take another month to upload but what I can guarantee is the next chapter is not going to be an interlude.

Continuing from the last chapter however, are two more details of adventurers from Skadi Familia!

...

Name: Fanis Malidi

Age: 24

Affiliation: Skadi Familia

Level: 1

Strength: I 70

Endurance: H 121

Dexterity: H 134

Agility: H 139

Magic: H 181

Skills: -

Magic: vað-áss: Beam of Blinding Light.

...

Name: Livialiska Malidi

Age: 19

Affiliation: Skadi Familia

Level: 1

Strength: H 174

Endurance: H 119

Dexterity: G 231

Agility: G 201

Magic: I 8

Skills: -

Magic: -

...

Hope you have a great weekend, I'll go back to the planning room and until then: See you in the next chapter!