The Genesha Familia- took the Evils out of the district and they were joined by the Loki Familia's members.

"It's a good thing we have some extra sets of hands to help carry away the Evils, especially since we're still a little messed up from that dwarf muscle head."

Said Tanaka, "Forgive me but I was already on the verge of mind zero and had to use a certain amount of magic just enough to save your lives" he confessed.

"This totally sucks, we were called into action just to clean up the leftovers, what kind of bull-" a female knight attempted to swear but she was flicked on the head by Ging.

"No swearing, around the kid" he said.

"If it makes you all feel better, you probably would have caught that guy if you were down here first instead of us".

Shakti firmly declared,

"I dunno, that guy is pretty tough, I almost died fighting with him, if it wasn't for Kaguya's technique I probably would be dead right now. But it felt good to punch him in the face for a bit. I even gave him a mighty blast."

"I still don't feel good about you having to risk your life like that"

"Well it's gonna happen one way or another, if we keep living in fear it'll be the same as letting them win" Ging said.

They returned to Ganesha Familia's home and locked up the Evils.

"Mr Tojo, I'm glad you're feeling better now. Thanks for rescuing us today" Shakti said bowing her head.

"No problem Shakti, you've done so much for me and my son since we've gotten here saving your life is the least I can do. He's not giving you too much trouble is he, little Tokun can be a real handful" his father teased earning him a raspberry from Craiku.

"Well while he gives me the occasional headache he's a real good kid, it's clear that you raised him right and he has good morals. But we've failed to protect him quite a few times and I'm ashamed to admit that we had a run in with Dianna who had attempted to kill him" she said.

"Oh yeah, I just don't understand that girl. I heard she got arrested but no one in the hospital wanted to tell me who put her in her place. Did you do it"? Asked Ging.

"No, trust me, if it had been me, she wouldn't be in this world anymore" she said with a grim expression.

"I did it, I took care of her myself, turned out you were right, she really did kill Sensei May,"

He said angrily, "Well she can't hurt you anymore. But I'm sorry I wasn't there for you guys" he said.

"You wouldn't have been there anyway, you would have been in the dungeon anyway, besides I needed to be the one who put her in her place" Craiku said.

"Well I think you handled the situation correctly, it's about time someone shattered her ego, but enough about her, she's long gone now. So how have things been with you, is life as an adventurer something you're passionate about,"

He nodded slowly, "It's not exactly how I imagined it, but becoming an adventurer is the best thing that ever happened to me. I made a few friends along the way and even got a new martial arts teacher." He explained.

"Even though you almost died today," he asked.

"Yeah, because unlike before I don't go down easy. He claimed.

Shortly afterward, Clover Adree and the rest of Genesha Familia's men returned to the house.

Both of their outfits were completely torn up and they Adree was carrying Clover in her arms, "Oh my goodness, Clover, what on earth happened to you" Shakti said in shock.

"Are you okay, how about you Adree, everything in one piece" Craiku asked.

"Don't worry Tokun we're gonna be just fine, we just got roughed up a bit. We had some help from Loki and Astrea Familia, even Freya Familiar joined the frey".

Clover was laid down on the couch and they begun treating him.

"Clover, what happened to you" he asked.

"A archer with poisonous arrows got me in the leg and left me paralyzed, would have been my last adventure if Hell Nine didn't show up when she did" he said as Adree begun to give his leg and antidote.

"Adree what about you"?

"I was with the Astrea Familia when I got defeated, this assassin that was dressed like Kaguya showed up and tried to end me, but Alise had shown up and…she actually defeated her" his eyes widened.

"And what about you, I'm not convinced you got away without encountering some kind of danger" Adree said giving him a hard stare.

"Oh uh, I just got cut a few times but I'm okay overall" he said with a suspicious laugh.

"Craiku speak truthfully or no dessert tonight" he yelps.

"No not the chocolate moose, okay okay I ran into some golden armored warrior named Xiao and he had demolished the entire group and I was the last one standing. He was level 2 but he was much stronger than all the other level 2 generals we faced so far".

He explained everything about what happened earlier that day,

"And that's why I have this huge cut on my arm" he said as he finished.

"Seriously, everyone else couldn't even do anything about that guy, but there were 21 of you and only one of him" Clover points out.

"Wait a minute, does that mean that I'm stronger than most of the men in our clan" he said with a giddy smile.

"Don't get a swollen head" Shakti said

"Tokun this is no laughing matter, I don't think you should participate in these attacks anymore" Adree told him sternly.

"What, but I did everything you told me to and more, I almost got axed…literally, and I don't even get to see you cutting me some slack…get it, cut"?

He said chuckling while they grow more frustrated with his nonchalant attitude towards the events that happened earlier.

He looked around and noticed that his father was gone, "Where'd papa go"

"I think he went upstairs to speak with Lord Genesha, but I think you should go get your status updated, I might not be able to keep you around much longer"

Craiku went up the stairs and found them talking.

"Oh hey papa Lord Ganesha, I'm sorry I got myself into trouble today, but please don't be angry with Shakti, she did her best, I'm the one who asked to go" he explained.

"Don't worry, I'm not angry with her, this could happen anywhere to anyone. Hence why I was reluctant to come back here, but we had no other choice. But would it be possible for me to see your status update? I don't plan on telling anyone" Genesha gave him the okay and he removed his shirt.

Craiku:(LV1: •Strength:789B-795B

•Endurance:847A-851A

•Dexterity:799B-801A

•Agility:899A-901S

•Magic:900S-912S

Skill: Heroic Desire)

"Woah I got my agility to the S rank as well," he said.

The next day.

Craiku was out on the streets walking with his dad, they were spending the day together catching up while they helped with remaining Evils that were planning some surprise attacks. But they were suprised to see Loki's Knight, doing viglante work.

Craiku drove under a attacker's blade and grabbed them from behind and wrestled them to the ground,

"Icy wind," he blasted his opponent at point blank range freezing them up close before he released them.

"Nice take down, but a simple blast would have sufficed" his dad said as he tore through the countless enemies that kept showing up endlessly.

"Sensei May once told me it's better to work smarter than harder, and Sensei Kaguya told me wasting energy unnecessarily will be your downfall, this evening applies to little mages like you" he said doing an impression of her.

Another dwarf came to attack him and he side steps and at a high speed roundhouse kicked him across the side of his head knocking him out.

"It's like the dungeon, they're just respawning each time we beat one of them,"

The main members of the Evils have fallen back but they were still sending attack after attack on their enemies. Shakti firmly declared that he wouldn't be going out to participate but Ging had decided to take him off their hands. Living arrangements were still unclear but he decided that as long as he was in good health that his place was with Craiku.

"You know in six months we could have you converted over to our clan" he suggested.

"I thought two kids with falna would be too much" he asked.

"It was just a thought, but I want us to live together, I feel like I keep letting you down, finding a stable house here would be pointless in the long-term if the Evils just blow it up and us along with it. But I know that being in the Loki Familiar wouldn't be good for you either. Besides, I don't want you to make Riveria mad if I'm not around."

"Die sinner"!

Craiku blocked an incoming strike and counters with his spear, slashing his opponent down breaking his weapon in the process.

"Not bad son, you've grown a lot stronger since I was in the hospital"

"That's not all I can do, just wait until you witness my Gale blast

The people driving back the Evils attack hadn't had a chance to rest, Genesha Familia's members were the exception since most of them were injured pretty badly.

Another woman kicked him across the street made him drop his spear and tried to split him in half with an ax.

But he laughs at her while he sprang forward with his fist out and turned it before it hit the ax repeating the technique from the day before and punched her across the street and hit her with two fireballs knocking her out.

Soon they had defeated the last few soldiers in their sector and they had been completely exhausted afterward.

"That's the last of them"

Nice work!" as he handed him an elixir and drank one for himself "Did this Kaguya girl show you how to fight a guy with an axe without a weapon?"

"…?"

"I was told that you were getting lessons from her, Shakti told me how much you begged her to train you."

He shook his head, "I don't have just one teacher, I take everything I have learned throughout the years, and Shakti's been giving me spear training lessons for a while now. I never even knew how to use it but now I can't imagine how I'd be alive without it. Adree taught me restraint after I started losing control of my power."

I know, Shakti and the others were talking about how good you are. From time to time, you do things they've never seen before,."

"Huh…?"

"Same goes for me. Just now I was surprised you were able to handle being cornered and disarmed like it was nothing, I never thought anyone could fight the way you did. Almost all your basic abilities are a-, but I shouldn't talk about that. How about we take a break from fighting and go around helping people in other ways" he put his spear on his back.

"How come we just don't keep fighting, I'm good at fighting"

"Because even heroes need a break from combat, I don't think you should be stressing yourself too much, even if you have falna you can still exhaust yourself, just trust me"

Aftermath

"We're headed for a place on East Main Street eventually, but let's just wander a bit first."

They walked along countless small side streets instead of the main thoroughfare, following the whims of a goddess with no sense of planning.

They were on a city street totally different from the Adventurers Way she often went to. Fruits and sundries were being sold on the corners as horse-

drawn carts slowly rolled along. But what upset him most of all were the demolished buildings and damaged roads they walked past.

"Look at what they brought to this place, and all of us put together could only do damage control" he said somberly.

"It's not gonna end after just a couple of battles, Tokun, they've been around since right before we had you." His father explained.

"Wish there was something else I could do to cheer them up besides fighting, but that's all I'm good at, but why are we fighting each other in the first place? Shouldn't we be focusing on clearing the dungeon?" He asked his dad while holding his hand.

"Some people are just mean, they get all that power and it goes to their heads, from what the guild hall says they've been laying in hiding while the two titans were around but the second they were gone they felt free to wreak havoc on the world. It's unfortunate but even during my time as an adventurer before there were people like that. Always causing trouble just because they could get away with it" he explained.

He noticed his son's darkening expression, "But you don't have to worry about it right now, how about we grab something to eat"

"I'm not hungry, I just wanted to get more information about the Evils and find some kind of weakness"

Just then he heard his stomach growling loudly causing his face to flush red.

"Your stomach seems to disagree with that, you'll feel better after you eat" he said with a cheerful smile.

The smell of savory potatoes wafted from the stall as the girl working it cut and prepared the food. JYAGA MARU KUN was written in Koine on the

sign.

"Jyaga Maru Kun…?"

"They're these new potato snacks everyone's been telling me about, I thought we'd try one, you loved it when we tried new foods when we were traveling the world" he said.

"Except for those nasty burgers, those things taste like how homework would"

They went up to the stand and Craiku tried to find enough coins to pay for the snacks but Ging had handed her a gold coin and took two of them and handed him one.

"Papa, I can pay for it now"

"Aw, your my son that's how it should be, if you want to pay me back then try it"

Staring intently at the food in his hands, she bit into it with a crunch.

"—!!"

The next instant, the flavor hit.

"Tasty tasty tasty, this is super good, thank you Papa" he said with rosy cheeks and a huge smile on his face.

bought one last puff to eat as they walked into Central Park.

Craiku always cut through here, so she knew the path well. Finishing up his

potato puff, he looked around the familiar scenery when—

"—I am Ganeeeeeeeeeeeeeesha!!!"

"?!"

A mind-bogglingly loud voice reverberated in the air.

He wildly looked around as the voice shattered the peaceful afternoon calm. Then it hit him.

"Oh no, I almost forgot about today"

He noticed a crowd on the east side of the plaza. The throng of people surrounded a vehicle much larger than a carriage, and standing atop it was a suspicious-looking elephant-faced god striking a pose. However, mysteriously, when the lavishly decorated vehicle approached with him atop.

The crowd broke into cheers.

"Isn't that your God, what's he doing with that giant float"? Asked Ging.

"I have no idea, but I do know that we were planning something for the civilians"

"Why don't you ask him, he probably used the Familiar savings to get that float on such short notice" his eyes widened with shock as he ran closer to the float.

"Hey Lord Genesha, what's the big idea with the float"

He sees him waving and he hopped off the float.

"Ah Craiku my child, I was just wondering where you were, come with me I need to you magic for a bit"

"Eh but I'm busy hanging out with my da-"

"Great he can watch"

He hopped on the float and he placed him in his shoulders and he sighed and pulled out his wand and shot a water cannon and used an icy wind that caused snow to rain down on the people they passed.

"I didn't know you could make snow with your magic"

"Neither did I" Craiku said casually stunning his goddess.

Children started laughing and playing in the snow Craiku was summoning.

"Thank you Snow Prince" Craiku blushed intensely hearing that name.

"I really hate that name" he said.

"Hey, who the heck is making it snow, I'm freezing down here" said another deity.

She had vermilion hair and closed eyes and standing with her was a little girl with a doll like face.

"Oh hi there Loki, do you like our little snow festival that we're putting on"!?

"The crowd and commotion gradually arrived at Loki and Aiz, who was still unable to escape her confusion.

"—I! Am! Ganesha Aaaa!!!—Hmm?!"

The twenty-seventh time he introduced himself, the elephant god noticed them and leaped out with Craiku following behind.

"Hup!"

"?!"

The odd god—er, Ganesha—landed in front of the pair as the crowd cheered.

"Loki! Good work yesterday! I was delighted by the results! Allow me to thank you!"

"Don't tell me that—tell Finn and the others. And yer too excitable, so go someplace else. Yer scarin' Aizuu."

Craiku locked eyes with her and shook her hand, "Hi Aiz, been a while since I've seen you, how's your prowl in the dungeon doing"?

"Uh good, I recently got to floor 7 and killed a lot of those Killer Ants you were talking about, they were tough at first, I even ended up breaking my old sword"

"Again,"? He faced palmed.

"Aiz Wallenstine, what are we gonna do with you, you gotta take better care of your things so they last a very very long time. We have enough Smiths angry with us for constantly busting our stuff already." He explained.

"The sword wasn't good enough anyway." She said, crossing her arms.

They started chatting up a storm.

"By the way, I thought I'd run into you in the dungeon, but I haven't seen you anywhere, there was a dark elf asking about you" she mentions.

"Dark elf, oh, I know who you're talking about, Viola right, well I may or may not have been busy with my martial arts training and haven't been to the dungeon as often as usual. My new Sensei usually works me so much that I end up barely able to get out of bed the next day. She's pretty intense. But nice to hear you're finally on floor 7, perhaps we could start working with each other now that you're a little more experienced and willing to-"

"Ohhh. You're the rumored Doll Princess, huh?!"

Ganesha said interrupting Craiku.

The overly excited god looked down at her.

He was swarthy and muscle-bound, wearing his trademark elephant mask on his face. Aiz was petrified as the hot-blooded god gave her a thumbs-up and smiled.

"I am Ganesha! Nice to meet you!"

"…"

"Lord Ganesha, we were kinda talking" he said.

"Oh right, I humbly apologize for my rudeness. Please pardon me little one. Craiku, let's go" Without waiting for him to respond, he grabs his arm hopped back atop the float with a "hup."

Ganesha and his companions started heading toward the Pleasure District like a passing storm, leaving Aiz without a clue as to what had just happened.

"There he is" said a boy in a cowboy hat, "Adree Clover, you're here too"

"Well you didn't think we'd miss a chance to bring smiles to the people who are feeling scared now did you" Adree said.

"But I wanted to spend the day with my dad, I like being around you guys but-"

He was hoisted up and he immediately recognized the one who picked him up.

"We could kill two jack birds with one stone cannon ball. Can't we" he turned and grinned.

"I guess we can, but where'd you go all of a sudden" he asked.

"I was right behind you the whole time, pretty good stealth huh" he asked.

"Oh, I had no idea you were even there. Soo cool" he said gushing at his father's stealth abilities.

"By the way, I was wondering, where did Lord Ganesha buy this float? It seems to be handmade rather than manufactured," Ging asked.

"Well we didn't need to buy it we made it" Adree points out.

"You guys made this giant thing. Where'd you get the money for all these materials".

"Craiku's been growing so fast we were able to up our income by a large amount, especially since the captain is too busy with guarding the city to go into the dungeon constantly. There are days when we let him fight all on his own, but he's still supervised so don't worry about him being alone in the dungeon," Clover explained.

"We spent weeks making this thing, our Killer Ant float seems to be making a lot of kids very amused, except for Aiz, she looked like she was going to tear it down if her goddess hadn't stopped her" Craiku said.

"Told you we should have made a giant arrow" Clover said.

"Weapons aren't going to make people feel safe" Adree said.

"And a giant Killer Ant does make them feel safer. Those things even freak me out" he argued back.

"Now now let's settle down, we're here to bring people together not tear each other apart" Craiku said intervening.

"What's up with you two, you both usually get along nicely" Ging asked.

"Uh, nothing, nothing at all, we're just having a friendly little quoral, nothing serious" Adree said nervously.

"By the way, it's nice to see you're out of the guild hospital now Mr Tojo. But please try not to end up there again, Tokun was really worried about you." Craiku blushed intensely.

"Adree, I wasn't that worried, I knew he'd be fine" he said defensively.

"By the way, why'd you decide to make the float a Killer Ant of all things, if anything I'd expect you guys to make a shield" all of them faced each other and face palmed.

"It's because we needed it to be a monster specifically" the flamboyant God said.

"Oh yeah, I never understood why though. But people seem to enjoy it so I don't mind at all" Craiku said.

"Hey it's that Silent Magician from the battle, thanks for healing me yesterday, I thought I was a goner for sure" said a cat man.

"No problem, I'm always willing to lend a helping hand. Or in my case a helping fist" he claimed.

"Mommy it's the cute tiny magician that you were talking about. Thanks for saving my Mommy's life magic boy," his face was bright red.

"Are you sure he's the one who saved your ass, he seems pretty tiny to me" Craiku's face tensed up.

"Tokun remain calm, you're not, that tiny,"

"Adree you're not helping him" Clover said.

"Why do people keep saying that I'm tiny, I am not tiny" he said crossing his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll grow into your body, you're probably just a late bloomer"

Craiku had always been a little insecure about his size. He always has been growing very slowly to the point some people mistook him for a prum despite being fully human.

"I'm not tiny".

"Hi there, Clover, remember me, it's Sora" said a boy waving at him in the crowd.

Clover hopped on the edge near where he was waving at. "Hey there Sora, I hope you're staying out of trouble".

"I am now, thanks to you, thank you for saving me from doing something stupid, I owe you one."

"Pay me back by staying safe, okay" they gave each other a thumbs up.

After a while they got off the float and they started walking around with Ging in tow.

"Don't be upset, Tokun, so what if you're small, a lot of children your age are small, but I think that's a bad thing. Did people make fun of you for being small" she asked.

He nodded

"Well I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. Besides you could always just flip them" Clover said causing him to grin.

"Well well well, if it isn't the bane of my child's existence" said what sounded like a woman's voice.

They ran into two goddesses who had just left Babel.

Of course, it was Craiku's first time meeting them. One had crimson hair; the other one had bouncy honey-colored hair. The former had an eye patch over her right eye, while the latter's distinguishing characteristic was her shockingly well-endowed bosom.

"Lady Hephaestus, lovely to see you again."

"Ging, glad you're feeling better, but be prepared for a massive scolding from Tsubaki, she was pretty angry when the Loki Familia's heads brought your destroyed equipment too her, half of it was melted metal"

Craiku's eyes widened as soon as he heard the name Tsubaki.

"Hold on my Lady, are you saying that Tsubaki is in your Familia"

"Yes, Tsubaki Collbrande is one of my followers. I'm Hephaistos. Pleasure to meet you."

He didn't expect this to be Tsubaki's patron goddess. He had thought the eye patch looked

vaguely familiar. Sort of like children taking after their parents, she guessed. "It sounded like she meddled in your business a bit, so I should apologize," Hephaistos said as she held out her hand. "Oh no no no, I should be thanking her, she gave me the spear I use and this armor has saved my life more times than I can count. I'm very very grateful for her" he admitted.

"Oh, I'm glad you feel that way. She said she was worried about you constantly breaking your spear the same way your dad always breaks his swords. Especially the last one"

Craiku turned to his dad with a curious look, "What happened to the last one"

"Funny story, it kinda melted entirely, I tried using it to absorb the flames from the dragons in the dungeon but I learned the hard way that only works with fire based magic, I was sure it would work since the HellHounds fireballs were absorbed"

Craiku sighed, "No wonder she was so angry with you," he said, slightly annoyed.

"So this is your son huh" she asked

"Yup, I'm Craiku Tojo of Genesha Familia's police force, it's nice to officially meet you, and I politely request for you not to call me the ice prince, I really hate that name"

They shook hands, "Well you should try and add some variety to the spells you use, an adventurer's nickname is based on their performance and people talk about you freezing that crazy woman and using your ice spells" she claimed.

Realized how many times he had used his Kuros Anemos and Icy Wind in battle and realized that he was responsible for earning himself that name.

"Guess I do use ice a lot, maybe I really am a Snow Prince" he said as he grew more mortified.

"I wanted to say something but I didn't want to upset his royal coldness," Clover said.

"Hey"

"Craiku…the Snow Prince? You're…"

Demeter looked closer, seemingly having heard of his exploits as an adventurer.

The goddess crouched down and looked at her for a little bit. Craiku started to get confused when all of a sudden—fwap—Demeter wrapped him in a hug.

"?!"

"Awww, so adorable! I thought you would be super tall and intimidating but you're cute as a button!"

'Not again!? Why is it always me…wait a minute why do I feel like I'm being squished between two large yet pleasant cushions of happiness…wait a minute…'

He looked up and realized the predicament he was in.

Divine Boobies!!

"Ah, yeah…L-Lady Demeter? Could you perhaps release our friend, he's gonna suffocate, so maybe…Wait, my energy's really draining fast. At this rate, I'm gonna die…!"

"Ugh I can't believe this," Adree said, expressing her uncharacteristic irritation.

"Lady Demeter release him immediately, he doesn't like being hugged by strangers" Adree said raising her voice.

"Oh hello there Adree, didn't see you there, but if you want me to hug you then you have to wait your turn, this one is simply too cute for me not to give my affection to. Oh if only I saw you first then I'd be able to hug you all day long"

Unable to escape those mountains despite his best efforts, Craiku could only be confused.

"I'll bring you the next batch of vegetables and fruits, for Lord. As thanks for

Guarding and protecting the city."

"Oh really? Thanks! But Tokun doesn't really like a lot of vegetables."

"If you don't eat everything, you won't get bigger, you know?"

"~~~~~?!"

He wasn't in a position to think about vegetables he didn't like, since she was being smothered by Demeter's bosom while Adree tried to get him out of there.

Gods are mysterious beings. Craiku's nostrils are filled with a somewhat nostalgic smell. Because of that, he couldn't put up much resistance.

So many gods he didn't know. Weird, strange, pretty, affectionate.

There was a myriad of deusdea. And they were all gathered here, in Orario, the center of the world. He learned that by experiencing it firsthand.

This is nice, perhaps I could let it drag out for just a bit more…. wait what's that!?

He felt two powerful eyes gazing at him but he couldn't do anything with Demeter still hugging him.

A silver-haired goddess looked down on them from the highest floor of the giant white tower as she elegantly raised a glass of wine to her lips.

"A raging blue sparking spirit…and also incredibly tranquil. Almost light a bolt of lightning. I've never seen one quite like him before,"

The lovely deity, who boasted a beauty unmatched by anyone, was sporting a smile that could charm anyone who caught a glimpse of it. A smile of deep interest.

However, the Elephant masked deity looked up at her as if he was unsure of what he would do.

Then she gave him a look, basically telling him she had no intention of stealing him for herself, but that doesn't mean she wasn't going to mess around with him.

After Demeter and Hephaistos were done treating him as their toy, the the four of them and Genesha exited Central Park and arrived at one corner of East Main Street.

Craiku's face was completely red from the experience of being toyed with by my Demeter. He was very young but his interest in women is more prevalent than he is willing to admit.

I was smothered by divine boobies, I should be a lot more upset about this but for some reason I'm just not. I hope I'm not turning into a pervert.

His dad placed his hand on his shoulder,

"You're not a pervert son, you're just a kid who got into a lucky accident" he looked up at him.

"Stay out of my head papa" he yelled snapping out of his trance.

"Ugh I can't believe you Clover, you were enjoying seeing him getting smothered by Lady Demeter were you" Adree said angrily.

"What I'm a growing boy, you can't fault me for that. Besides you were hugged the first time you met her, why's it such a big deal with him being hugged"

She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.

"It just is, strangers shouldn't be hugging people without their permission, it's bad manners, and she was a goddess so I expected better from her" she complained.

"Didn't stop you with Leon, and last time I remembered you hug him without his permission everyday" Clover points out causing her to stumble on her words.

"Don't give me that, Tokun and I are good friends so it's different between us. Only good friends and family can give each other surprise hugs, if the roles were reversed everyone would be calling Demeter a creep" Adree said out loud.

"Fair point, but I personally think you're a little jealous he didn't make a fuss about it then he had with you".

"I've taken an oath not to strike anyone in a moment of anger or frustration, but you're really testing my resolve Clover" he chuckled, Clover enjoyed toying with Adree knowing she was unable to strike him.

"Adree, you don't think I'm a pervert now do you" Craiku asked with a innocent expression.

"What, of course not, I was just concerned about you, I know hugging you randomly upsets you, and I'm sorry I've always violated your personal space," she said remorseful for her past behavior.

"Would you feel better if I gave you a little hug, but only if you want me to"

She smiled as he leapt into her arms then she released him.

"Ahhh I feel so much better now, when you grow up and become big and strong, you can still hug me whenever you need one."

Raising her face in exhaustion, Craiku saw a large tavern along the street. It was built using brand-new materials from the doors up, so he could tell

that it had recently been finished.

"Perhaps we should check that place out sometime, my Familia's goddess is throwing us a little party, but you can come with us if you want to" Ging offered.

"What no no I couldn't possibly, my friends are here and I can't simply leave them behind"

"Tokun it's okay, don't turn down a good time for our sake, go ahead and hang out with your father. We'll be fine, you can celebrate with us later." He looked at Ganesha who simply nodded.

"Well if you say so, it'll give me a chance to catch up with you and perhaps finally officially befriend Aiz, I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much"

"Actually I think she likes you, she's just very antisocial, she usually focuses on her own goals on destroying any and every monster in existence. She becomes so focused on said goals that she forgets to be a kid"

Tavern

The two of them part ways and head into the tavern with Craiku hiding behind his dad.

"I really shouldn't be here, maybe I should go-" his dad snatched him up.

."So, a new member?"

"That's right! This is my son!"

"Hmph, the Snow Prince, huh?"

The owner stared down at him. Apparently, rumors of hi had even made

it to this tavern.

"You shouldn't be adventurin' when yer that small. I'll let ya eat lots of delicious stuff today. Prepare yourself!" she said with a laugh, totally

overpowering him.

"I like her the moment she said delicious stuff, I heard that this place has tacos too, and it's Taco Tuesday" he said with a watering mouth.

"Ging, get over here already or no food for ya"! Said Gareth.

"Sorry old man but I had to get him into something more festive"

Aiz was sipping some fresh-squeezed juice at the same table as Finn and the others.

"I heard that, ya prune-faced dwarf! I can just toss ya out on yer ass if ya want."

Bang! A huge roast pig slammed down on the table in front of them.

Aiz jumped in surprise as the dwarf owner responded contemptuously to Gareth's whining.

"Oi, see if ye can, ya crappy barkeep. All ye did was get a little tall; don't go getting' cocky!"

"Quit it, Gareth. The others are watching."

"Hey, Mia. Sorry for imposing on you at the last minute like this. Thank you."

"Yer damn straight. I'm not gonna hold back on the bill, either."

"I know. You started this shop with the money you made from being an adventurer, after all. We'll drink and eat to our hearts' content."

He was shocked to see a dwarf itching for a fight, but Riviera was just watching from the side like this was normal, and Finn shot the breeze with

the owner like they were old friends.

"Papa I'm scared now, I don't think I'm hungry anymore" he said, sweating profusely.

"Oh it's you, just so you know the only reason why I allowed you to show up was because this guy has been doing so much good work for me," Craiku shank down hearing the goddess basically telling him that he doesn't belong here.

"Leave him alone Lady Loki, he's only 9 years old"

"10 in six months" he declared.

"Riviera examined him from head to toe, "So you've been busy with the Evils huh, I even heard that you wounded the Golden-armored Dwarf in our battle against them yesterday" she commented.

"Wounded is a bit of an exaggeration, Lady Riviera, it's more like I managed to slightly push him away from me and my friends. I was absolutely helpless against him." He sips his fruit punch as he said that.

"But you shouldn't have been able to touch him at all, he's a level 2 and he's said to be the main General. He led an attack on floor 18 earlier this year, he crushed the adventurers who attempted to fight back against him. Even other level 2s were crushed by his hand. The fact that you didn't perish is remarkable, but the way you fought with him at all was foolish".

"Riveria, don't jump to conclusions, from what I can tell the Golden Dwarf was an unexpected opponent, Vendetta had their captain occupied and they were helpless to do anything about it. Escaping wasn't an option"

Finn claimed, "I see, I take back what I said" she said stubbornly.

"If only I could get stronger, I've been fighting Evilus for over a year and I still haven't leveled up. It doesn't make any sense"

He claimed, "Oh come on Tokun, you're gonna be sad in a place like this," Ging said.

"It's just, I feel like nothing we have done has made a difference. Now Shakti's all depressed, over what happened" he expressed.

"Well that's what this place is for, it'll put you in a better mood no matter how bad things seem to be"

After hearing his father's explanation, Craiku looked around.

Other than the members of Loki Familia, there were lots of other demi-humans. And there were people who looked like average workers and a group

of craftsmanlike blacksmiths in addition to the adventurers. Laughing aloud, drinking beer, savoring delicious food. The gloomy atmosphere he'd noticed in the city during the day was nowhere to be found. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves

without a care. It was a stereotypical lively bar scene.

"Huh, you're right. People seem so happy here, that Mama Mia lady is a smart woman,".

"Reminds me of when we went out to eat back home, I remember you ate so much chocolate cake that you had a stomach ache all night" he shoved his dad out of embarrassment.

"Well at least I didn't get beat up by a bread stick"

They chatted for a while before Aiz had moved her seat next to Craiku. "Oh hi there Aiz, nice place to just relax isn't it" she nodded her head

"You're much stronger now, aren't you, if you've been training outside the dungeon that means you've grown" she bluntly asked.

"Y-Yeah, I mean everyone says that I got stronger but I don't really feel like it matters that much, the most I can do against someone like that Dwarf guy is blast them with a lot of wind and punch them in the face. I would have lost my arm if I had screwed up Kaguya's technique".

He said.

"I know the feeling, it's like you feel like you're making progress yet you know you're capable of so much more, it's frustrating being left behind…feeling weak, I hate that feeling more than anything else in the world" she said.

"I'm not even allowed to go on missions anymore because of what happened yesterday, yet Clover and Adree can still go yet they got their butts kicked as badly as I had." He vents.

"At least you got to go to the battle, I wasn't even allowed to participate, I was stuck at home while everyone was out there" she complained.

"So uh, what's it like fighting with the Evils, is it more challenging than fighting with monsters in the dungeon" she inquired.

"Well yes and no. That's a complicated question, but overall I think it's more challenging than monsters because with monsters you can go all out and eliminate them without hesitation. But when fighting the Evils, it's not like that, you need to be careful with how much force you use with your strength and skills. Killing people is a lot more mentally challenging than killing a monster. Because once you cross that line, you're not gonna be the same. Adree told me this when I started fighting in Orairo. I don't try to kill them which is what makes it so difficult to deal with them" he explained.

"Oh, now I get it, is that why you're always using that ice spell, because you're trying to make them stop rather than destroying them" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess I never thought of it like that, but it's the best form of magic to use against them"

"I wish I could use magic, I'd be a lot stronger then" she said.

"You mean you didn't get any when you got your falna, bummer, but you're plenty strong without it. You've grown more than I have in over a year" he said.

"Liar, you were outside of Orairo where you had no dungeon to get stronger in. I bet you'd be a level 2 if you had been in Orairo the whole time" she argued.

"Eh…well…I can't exactly argue about that, but that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Does this mean we're friends now"? he asked with sparkling eyes.

"Now? I thought we'd always been friends" his face lights up even further.

"Yay, I got another kid friend," he said, hugging her, but he immediately released her.

"Sorry sorry I didn't mean to do that, I think Adree's rubbing off on me" he said.

"Uh it's fine I guess, it didn't really bother me that much. But warn me next time" he chuckled nervously.

"Aren't you going to ask me how I got to floor 7 in only six months?" she asked.

"Aiz, you're in an A rank Familiar surrounded by top class adventurers and you spend like 10 hours in the dungeon almost every day, it's not hard to figure out" she made a timid look.

"Am I really that easy to figure out?" she asked, completely embarrassed about being called out.

"No, I just know that because I'm exactly the same as you, except I actually enjoy fighting monsters. By the way I've been meaning to ask you something but I don't know if it's a touchy subject or not".

"Uh ask away"

"Where are you from, like what part of the world did you come from, because I've never seen anyone like you before" he said.

She closed her eyes and thought about it, "I don't know, I was never good with maps. I can't remember what the name of my place of origin is. But it was full of trees and bushes and it was a overall peaceful place to live in".

Craiku pulled out a map and looked through it, "Huh that's strange, no place like that exists, at least not within the last ten years. The whole world is falling apart because of the Evils." He said.

"Can I ask you a potentially uncomfortable question in return".

"Sure thing, a pie for a pie" he said as she inhaled.

"Uh you are always with your dad, so where's your mom" his eyes widened slightly.

"Uh, you know, she's…around, but she's too busy to be with me so papa takes care of me now. It's been so long since I've seen her, to be honest I don't know if I ever want to see her again" he said as his arm trembled.

"Uh I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry I just got confused." He pats her head,

"Don't worry about it, I was just a little surprised when you asked me. No hard feelings"

Craiku wasn't going to ask about her mother since he was told that she lost her mom long ago. He wouldn't bring anything up that would open old wounds.

"Was she the one who taught you how to use magic"

"Nope, she never taught me anything other than how to read, I learned from my auntie Irene, she's a retired adventurer just like my papa. She could even do stuff like this" he created a small ball of fire.

"Woah you can do it without saying anything, do you think you can show me how to use magic"

"Lady Riviera never offered to teach you magic, that's super weird, she was probably busy but I can try to show you. But it's a super hard process and it'll take a while before you can cast spells on the regular, I tried to show a couple people in my village but…it usually blew up in my face…literally."

Aiz felt endearment towards her fellow kid adventurer. It made her feel less weird.

"Hey back off outsider, she wants nothing to do with you" said a guy who snatched him up and threw him off and table and took his ham.

"Hey you, that's my seat, and ham." His eyes started glowing but Ging held his hand, "Not here, not now, let's just move our seats, after we leave then it's fair game"

Craiku's eyes continue glowing intensely.

"Hey! You guys! What are you trying to get her to drink?!" "Relax, Riviera, every once in a while is fine." "If you drink this amazing little thing, you'll get

stronger!" "Stronger?"

She couldn't follow everything as all their conversations overlapped, but she perked up when she heard the words you'll get stronger. Naive, or

perhaps a bit airheaded, she took the glass that was handed to her. Finn winced and turned a blind eye while Gareth stroked his beard, seeming to enjoy himself as Aiz raised the fruity-smelling mystery drink (fruit wine) to her lips and drank it. "………"

"How is it, Aiz?! Delicious, right?!"

"It feels good, right? So talk with us some!"

"…Huh? Aiiz?"

"You okay…?"

As they got carried away, Aiz stopped responding. Holding the empty glass in both hands, she placed it on the table with a thunk. "…Aiz?" "Aizuu?"

Riviera and Loki both looked suspiciously at her, but the next moment—

Slash.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"

"K-Kevin?!"

"She got Kevin!"

Holding her trusted sword, the tiny girl cut down one of the familiar members crowding around her.

"Whoa, Aiz?!"

"…Hic…"

"Kyaaa?!"

"…Hic…"

"Noooooooooo?!"

"She's drunk?!"

"Someone grab her sword!"

"…Hic…"

"Waaaaaaaah?!"

"She got someone else?!"

Hiccupping cutely as she went, she unleashed a scathing slash.

The red-faced little girl cut down one adventurer from the city's largest familia after another.

The power of alcohol transformed her. Her golden eyes were drowsy and droopy, and there was no consciousness visible in them. There was only pure

swordsmanship.

"Aiz snap out of it, that's the wine talking" Craiku said rushing at her but she swung her sword at him but he dodged her strikes and he was barely able to.

"Tokun remain calm and take her down if you don't, someone else will," Ging said.

She raised her sword above his head and brought it down but he clapped his hands together and pulled it out of her hands and disarmed her.

"Huh I didn't think that'd work, okay I'm sorry Aiz but I have no choice" he restrained her by wrestling her to the ground and held her until she passed out which he then released and carried her over his shoulder. He walked over to Riviera and handed her to them.

"You stupid kids…who's responsible for this mess"

But before they could move, the dwarf owner somehow appeared behind them.

Where'd she come from, I didn't even see her moving.

"Kevin gave Aiz alcohol and she went on a massive rampage and I was closer to her so I had to uh stop her."

He explained, "Yo, which one of you is Kevin"!?

All of them pointed at him and she rushed in front of him at light speed.

After the owner, Mia, gave the warning in her deathly cool voice, her eyes snapped open.

"Don't break store property—you dumb asssssssssssssssssss!!"

"Ugyuuuu?!"

An iron fist of anger came down on his head and he was knocked out cold.

Craiku was trembling nervously, his entire body frozen.

"Papa, I don't feel safe here anymore, I think I wanna go home now, I lost my appetite"

"Yeah I think it's best we got going, we'll take the rest of our food to go please"

"What, ya never seen a dwarf woman get angry before. Ya damaged my store I damage you, speaking of, that sword you threw ended up in my wall"

"Uh oh"

Her fist came down, he put his arms up but nothing happened.

Ging picked him up and dashed away from the tavern.

"Exactly how powerful is that woman?" Craiku asked.

"You don't wanna know"

And that's all folks, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I decided to do something different, like I said previously this story takes place during the dark age of Orairo so I'm planning on expanding on these dark times while trying to remain true to the canon timeline for the actual series with my own creative spin of course.

This chapter takes place during the flashback that we see in volume 9 of Sword Oratoria, that goes over Aiz's time as a rookie adventurer for those who haven't read it.

I bet a lot of people are wondering why I chose to have him in a separate Familia from his father, I did want them to be together but I also wanted to give Ganesha Familia's adventurers some more spotlight.

It's honestly a shame that they don't do much in the main story, I can understand why though but I'd like to find out more about them. Like how their Familia does things. I know they're known for taming monsters but we don't see a lot of that, in fact I'm sure they haven't even shown us how taming monsters would even work in Danmachi which is pretty disappointing.

For those who are invested in my overly complicated Fanfic, I'm sorry to say that I will not be diving into the aspects of monster taming, at least not right now, I could change my mind in a later chapter or rewrite, because believe me I know I should rewrite this and change it up in the future even if I'm proud of what I've done so far.

I'm growing more respect for Omori-Sensei as I write this because my goodness it's difficult to write a story like Danmachi. This is just a fanfic and I'm struggling with keeping everything consistent while trying to be creative. On the off chance he ever reads this which is highly unlikely, I hope he understands how much his work means to me and how it's gotten me through some dark times.

Anyway I hope you continue to support this fanfic as I continue posting new chapters and even newer rewrites. Thanks for reading the ramblings of a nerd, catch you on the next chapter.