Author´s Note: Hello everyone
First things first, I would like to give a shout-out (I hope that´s the right term) to the story "Is it wrong to try to take the next step in the Dungeon?" and its follow-up story, "It Is Right to Take the Next Step in the Dungeon."
The story is simply amazing, it´s about Ottar as the main character, following a What-If idea. Worldbuilding is about deep floors, top. Bringing more of Ottar´s character and personality to life, top. Showing more about Freya familia, and a few others.
Going deeper about Development Abilities and such, reminded me of what I tend to forget in my stories. The fights described are top-notch. Give it a read, it´s really good!
For the Reviews
ALPHA02FURY97: Yes, as stated in the first chapter, I go with Omori´s original idea, but it becomes obvious in the first chapters, that Revis is Alise.
Neobovjazkovo: Other cameos, Uncle from another world, Mushoku Tensei (is it written like that?). And of course, the best of all, my absolute favorite elf-human love story: Record of Lodoss War.
arata7kasuga: It´s juuuuust a huge coincidence that the door to Nekoya opened in various worlds where elven human couples were wandering around.
Blazeburn006: Of course, there will be more moments like this, and more accidental "lewd" moments between Bell and Ryu, that her familia will witness (especially Astrea).
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Freya sat in her big armchair, high up in Babel, watching her divine mirror.
Watching a certain fairy, walking through a forest, with three other people and a hawk.
I´m glad, Ryu. Glad that you were able to reunite with Astrea and these new familia members.
Her eyes wandered to Bell, to his soul.
Something definitely happened between you two during the trip, your souls are even more drawn to each other than before.
Freya was glad, Ryu´s rising feelings for Bell gave her hope. Not only to see super-cute half-elven children in the future...but that Ryu would come back to Orario in general. She had feared that Ryu would maybe decide to stay with Astrea, but the feelings for Bell...Ryu wouldn´t leave him behind.
I wonder...how they will decide...what will come out at the end. And...will they confess to each other?
Freya decided to watch a little longer.
I wonder what they want to show you in that forest.
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In another part of Orario, a young maiden woke up in horror.
How...how did this happen?!
Filvis lay with open eyes in her bed, looking at the brown-haired head next to her. It was Lefiya...she was sleeping in Filvis´ bed...hugging her!
How? Why?!
She remembered how she and Lefiya yesterday evening drank a bit of light wine with Riveria, it was just enough to make Lefiya tipsy, but it didn´t have any effect on Filvis, due to what she was. Faintly, since Filvis feared what maybe would´ve happened to a slightly drunk Lefiya walking home alone, she remembered bringing her to her home, so she could sober up.
But Lefiya got so cuddly, so touchy-feely, she had suddenly hugged Filvis, which led the black-haired elf to stumble and fall backward on her bed, with Lefiya halfway on top of her.
Lefiya had mumbled again. "Mwehehehe~~~ Filvish, sho shoft...sho warm...wuv you..."
Then she had fallen asleep...on top of Filvis.
Filvis had tried her best, but she couldn´t bring herself to wake this beautiful angel up. So she had fallen asleep with her, for the first time in...ever since the incident back then happened, when it changed her...for the first time in all these years, had Filvis a pleasant sleep and a nice dream. For a few hours, she didn´t even hear the voice in her head, constantly mumbling.
Lefiya...
Her ears and cheeks felt so hot, as she looked at Lefiya´s face, a lewd thought drew her eyes to Lefiya´s lips for a moment.
Auu...control yourself...
Filvis knew that she could never be with Lefiya in a normal way, not with the way her body was. But for a few moments more, Filvis would enjoy this moment, enjoy her presence.
Until a soft knock came from her door, and she heard Aura´s voice.
"Filvis, are you awake? Lord Diyonisus wants to see you."
"Coming..."
Aura was another elf that confused Filvis, in her own way, Aura was as innocent and pure as Lefiya. It had never concerned her in the past, since it was Diyonisus' orders...so...why did Filvis now feel a little bad, about betraying Aura and the others like that? Why...why did she think now...that they didn´t deserve what Diyonisus had planned?
And why...
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why.
Why.
Why.
Why...
Why...
Why...
Why...did that small thought appear in her head, that traitorous, rebellious thought...that if Diyonisus demanded this one thing from her...to sacrifice this one life...Lefiya´s life...that Filvis might do something she never thought she could even think.
Betraying Diyonisus...
Filvis was very careful as she climbed over Lefiya and out of the bed, Lefiya looked a bit disappointed in her sleep, that her living body pillow was now gone from her side.
Sleep well, Lefiya. I will protect you from everything, no matter what.
She went to the door and looked a last time at her bed again, her face crimson, because Lefiya lay in her bed...
No matter the cost, even if it costs me my life. I will protect you.
Even as she opened the door, Filvis looked at her bed.
I...
She gulped before she left the room.
I l-lov-...
While Filvis walked to Diyonisus, Aura informed her that she had baked apple strudel, in case she wanted a piece. Aura had been so innocent, sweet, and caring in the past, but now they had grown more distant from each other, still, under her strong surface, Aura was the same as she was back then, it reminded her of Lefiya so much... Apple strudel wasn´t Filvis´ taste, but she didn´t dislike it either...but Lefiya...she loved it.
Still...Lefiya would have a hard time explaining at home why she was out all night, where she had been, with whom...Loki would be beyond annoying. Not even the fact that Raul and Anakitty had become a couple would distract Loki enough from Lefiya.
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"Where are you leading me?"
"Hehe, ~~ Have patience, big sister."
"We will soon be therrrre, don´t worrrry."
Suumetess talked differently from cat people like Anya and Chloe. Instead of meowing, she just purred when she spoke an R.
Sharpbeak was surprisingly quiet, sitting on the heavy leather glove, which Bell wore at the moment. Maybe it was because of his presence, or it was something else.
Iselina looked over her shoulder and grinned. "I hope you´re not disappointed, that we bring you to that place, and not Lady Astrea."
"Why would I? I´m glad to spend more time with my familia."
Both beast people smiled when they heard that.
"Did Lady Astrrrrrea tell you why she settled in Solingen?"
Iselina shot the cat girl a warning glance. "Sumi..."
"I meant in the forrrest, not the city."
Ryu shook her head. "Lady Astrea didn´t tell me so far."
While they walked, Bell and Ryu noticed how the forest got a bit darker and cooler. Iselina cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
"If she wouldn´t have to work so hard, Cecil could tell you more about it. Lady Astrea came here years ago, only Cecil always lived in Solingen. Back then, I think it was about...five years ago..."
The werewolf glanced at Ryu, making sure she understood about the time.
"Lady Astrea was looking for something and found it in Solingen. But Solingen had a scary problem back then and still has it up to a certain point today. The spirits in this forest. The forest was always here, but bigger than it is now. When the people settled in Solingen, the city was smaller, but since this place works so well for smiths, because of ores in the ground, the city grew. And they started to cut down the forest to have room...and get wood for the fires."
Ryu nodded with a grim expression. "That enraged the spirits, right?"
Suumetess´ tail swished through the air. "Oh, that doesn´t even come close to what happened. The spirits were about to attack and destroy the city."
Bell noticed that the cat girl didn´t always purr when she spoke an R. He wondered if she tried to get rid of the usual cat people´s way of talking, or if she did it now and then for some other reason.
"If it weren´t for Lady Astrea, the spirits would´ve destroyed everything. She noticed how angry they were, and came into the forest. Lady Astrea spent a lot of time here, talking to the spirits, keeping them company, even letting them vent their anger a bit, and then making the citizens understand what they did."
Iselina glanced at Ryu. "Lady Astrea said that if she never came here to Solingen, the spirits would´ve suffered more, all people here would´ve died, most of them innocent, since they didn´t destroy the lands, only some people did. She said it was part of the Era of Gods, so it was her fault as well. The gods changed us mortals a lot in our behavior, she said in the past things like that would´ve never happened."
Bell nodded. "I read that in a lot of stories about the old times. People respected and feared spirits since some of them gave mortals the power to fight the monsters. They were sacred."
"Indeed, that´s what Lady Astrea told us too. Most of the spirits here in the forest are smaller or minor ones, they just live in the forest and on the land. But one of them is quite different from the others."
"Oh? A "normal" spirit?"
Both beast girls shook their heads.
Before they could ask further, they arrived at a small glade, the air here felt different than in the rest of the cool and dark part.
"The spirits´ resentment lingers in this part of the forest. But this glade...this spirit here, is different."
Suumetess smiled like a cat and walked into the middle of the glade, raising her right hand. She held a few small bells, attached to strings, shaking them.
"Euphie! Euphiiiieee!"
Sharpbeak suddenly shivered a bit, and moved from one leg to the other, Iselina took him back from Bell, as well as the glove. "You two are in for quite the show."
Suumetess stood there and shook the bells, repeating the word a few times in various directions. Ryu saw some small spirits glow faintly at the sides of the glade, gathering there with curiosity.
Bell was at a loss for words, to see spirits gather so easily.
Iselina mumbled. "It´s because they know we´re with Lady Astrea, she had used these bells to play around with the spirits, they like the sound, and they react to i-EEEK!"
The werewolf was startled when something shot incredibly fast past her, it was a large, green orb. It looked like Iselina´s tail got pulled up by the wind, then the green orb moved quickly to Suumetess...and it looked like it slid her tail down.
"Uaaaaaahn!"
The cat girl shivered, all the hair on her tail stood on end. A strange chirming sound rang in the air, the green orb shot around, stopped, and sat down on Bell´s head for a moment. A few strands of his hair got moved up, then the orb shot around again.
"Is this th-KYAAAAAAAA!"
Ryu couldn´t help but yelp loudly, when the orb moved past her head, and slid along one of her pointy ears.
Iselina moved the bells again, the orb floated to her, slower now.
"This is Euphie."
Bell and Ryu looked perplexed. ""A spirit?""
"Jup, a pretty strong one, but Lady Astrea said he is basically an infant, or at least very young."
Play! Astrea child, play with Euphie!
The orb floated heavily up and down, and all four of them could hear the voice.
Iselina smiled. "Hello, Euphie. Lady Astrea asked us to come and play with you."
Play! Euphie play! Play with Euphie!
"Our big sister wants to play with you, do you want to play with her?"
Iselina pointed at Ryu, the orb whirled around, moving closer to Ryu.
Play! Astrea child, play with Euphie! Euphie wants to play!
"Ahm, hello...Euphie."
Suumetess smiled...and moved away from Ryu. "Ourrrr big sisterrrr is rrrreally strrrong, play as much as you want, Euphie. You can go wild."
Yes, Euphie will play!
Ryu looked confused at her two fellow familia members. "What do you mean? What did Lady Astrea mean by playing?"
Iselina nodded to Ryu´s hip. "Use this."
Ryu didn´t understand the reason, but Cecil had given her a wooden sword, of a similar shape to her old one, Astrea told her it would be necessary for the playtime.
"You want me to fight a spirit?"
Suumetess smirked like a cat. "Not fight, play with him. None of us is strong enough for Euphie to go wild...and even for you it might be a bit much."
"Ms. Suumetess...I´m level five now."
The two beast people just smirked.
Euphie whirled around more, started to glow stronger, and grew...
Soon, a large, magnificent deer stood in front of Ryu, the antlers were those of a young stag. Euphie was now big enough to tower over Ryu.
Play!
The deer scraped a hoof before lunging forward, antlers lowered. Ryu had just enough time to pull up the wooden sword. The impact when the antlers collided with the wooden sword, threw Ryu backward.
Such strength!
She couldn´t believe how strong Euphie was!
"Lady Astrea said, playing with Euphie would cheer him up, and help you get used to your level up!"
"But I have Bell for that training!"
"Please, big sis! Euphie really wants to play, and Lady Astrea often has a hard time letting Euphie play as much as he wants! He´s basically a small child!"
Euphie looked happy as he charged at Ryu again, this "play fight" turned into quite the challenge. Bell could only watch in awe, despite his high status on each level, Ryu had much more experience than him and was stronger as a level five now. He seriously doubted, that if he had to "play" with Euphie, that he would hold him so well.
Of course, he couldn´t use his knives on a spirit, that was probably the reason why Cecil had given Ryu the wooden sword.
"Oh, and Lady Astrea asked us to tell you something. "Euphie is a wind spirit, Ryu, don´t hold back with your magic!~~~" That´s what she said."
Ryu didn´t have time to answer, Euphie chased her back and forth in the clearing. Fighting, no...playing with a spirit was surely a unique experience.
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I hope Ryu and Euphie will get along well, Euphie seems to never have enough playtime.
Astrea walked quietly through the house, most of the others were somewhere outside, and only one familia member was still there. The goddess opened the door to Cecil´s forge and looked inside.
"Zzzzz..."
"Oh my...you´re working so hard."
Cecil´s head rested on her crossed forearms, and leaned on her main work table. In front of her was something, hidden under a long, white cloth.
"You look so exhausted and...uff...you could really need a bath."
"Nnnh..."
"Hehe~~ I know just the right thing."
Cecil was quite the heavy sleeper, and she was very exhausted. So she didn´t wake up when Astrea gently picked her up, the young woman wasn´t heavy at all. Astrea slowly carried her to the bathroom, where she carefully stripped the half-asleep girl, as well as herself, and put her down on a small washing chair. This wasn´t the first time this happened. Cecil swayed slightly back and forth, barely aware of how Astrea gently washed her follower.
When Astrea gently scrubbed her hair, Cecil sighed.
"Is it good like this?"
"Mmh..."
"Ehe~~"
Astrea loved to pamper her followers, and no one currently worked harder than Cecil, not even Ryu.
"Are you making progress?"
"So so..."that" is still needed."
"Ehe, that´s why I asked Ryu to play with Euphie."
"Does she know what she´s up to?"
"Oh, Ryu will be fine, she´s level five now."
"Hm."
Cecil didn´t mind getting pampered by Astrea, it felt nice. And she was as weak to her goddess as everyone else in the familia was.
"At least I hope she will be fine..."
"Do you think...Euphie might still be mad?"
"No, just...too excited...Haaaaaahn..."
Cecil let out a long, loud sigh, as she sat down in the big bathtub next to Astrea.
"I´m thankful to you, Cecil. Thank you for doing so much and forcing yourself to work so hard for her. For everyone."
"I´m doing this as much for myself as I do for the others."
Astrea leaned her head against Cecil´s. "Everyone appreciates you, we all know that you have become a really good smith. An excellent smith."
"I still can´t finish "that", without getting my hands on "it"."
"Would you prefer it if it were easier and already done?"
"Absolutely not, something can´t become a masterpiece if it is done easily."
"Cecil, may I make a suggestion?"
"Of course."
The small woman got a bit embarrassed when Astrea gently pulled her closer and hugged her to her bosom.
Again, the most deadly trap of the Astrea familia claimed another victim. No one in the familia could resist Astrea´s motherly hug.
"You still have some simple work to do, right?"
"I do."
"Then how about you take one of these first? Going back to the basics, working with steel and iron, before you return to your advanced work."
"Going back to the basics, hm..."
The materials that Cecil currently worked with were all of a very high level, even compared to those being able to get into the dungeon. The core of her work was a very rare item, a branch of the great sacred tree from an elven forest. An elven forest that a certain, brown-haired elf belonged to, who was currently waking up in the bed of a black-haired elf.
Only because Astrea was Astrea, was she able to get her hands on this branch. The goddess had a certain effect on elves, while most elves disliked the gods, those of the Wishe forest were very different from normal elves in general. And Astrea was a very kind and gentle goddess.
Another material was special water, almost magical water. There were other materials too, but not one of them metal.
Just the most important material was still missing, it was good that Ryu worked to get it, without knowing that she had done it.
"What about the handle?"
"I´m very careful with getting it into the right shape, as you asked, I keep the splinters and shavings, but I didn´t have to cut off much."
"I have absolute trust in your abilities and determination, Cecil. This will be the important step for you to take, to move forward."
"I hope so, I have the feeling that I have to do this. Have to get past this hurdle."
"May I ask, what about the "armor"."
"Since you managed to give me the correct sizes, there is no problem here, but again, I need "that" to complete it."
"Alright. But tell me this, Ceci."
Cecil only didn´t get flustered when Astrea shortened her name.
"Do you have fun working on it?"
"Never had more fun before. I´m glad that..."
"That?"
"That she isn´t how I feared she would be."
"Hehe, do you like your big sister?"
"It´s too early to say like, but at least I think we can get along. The others are fascinated by her, by her strength."
"Ryu had a long way to go, even back then, we all thought that she had the most raw talent."
"And you´re really sure you don´t want her to be the captain?"
"That isn´t Ryu´s way, she has multiple ways ahead of her, and it will be her choice which one she will take. But I can tell you at least this, Ryu doesn´t intend to take over the spot as the captain."
"It´s not that I cling to the position."
"I know, but you fit naturally well in that position, just like other people do. Some people are the captain because they were the first followers, growing slowly into the position. Others have a more natural affinity to it. And the others all told me that you´re the perfect captain for them."
"Mh...thank you."
"Ehe."
Cecil allowed herself to slack off a little, spending an hour with Astrea in the bath.
"Hah, I feel so much better and relaxed now."
"Good, and since I know you worked most of the night, off to bed with you."
"But I-"
"No buts. Bed. Now."
"Hay hay...I just want to breathe in a bit of fresh air outside."
A playful glint appeared in Astrea´s eyes. "Then I will come with you, to make sure you will go to bed soon."
While both went to the entrance, Cecil looked over her shoulder.
"May I ask a question about her?"
"If it is a question I can answer."
"He isn´t just her companion, is he?"
"Oh? What might you mean, Cecil?~~"
"You know what I mean, they´re more than just companions."
"Well, I have the strong feeling that both like each other very much. Very much. But please, not one word about this, I don´t want to ruin any chance of development between them."
"I won´t say anything. I just hope there won´t be any other lewd incidents..."
"That was an accident for sure, Ryu isn´t like that."
"Because she is an elf?"
"No, because she is Ryu. Compared to the others, she is the shyest, most romantic, and upright. Lewd things repel her, are against her nature."
"Is that s-"
Cecil opened the door while she talked, her words died out. When Astrea leaned to the side to look through the door, to see what was wrong, she gasped.
"Oh my!"
Iselina was standing there, hand and leaned forward to open the door. For some strange reason, she wore a black shirt, that didn´t belong to her. Behind her was Suumetess, her hair looked like a mess...and she was wearing Bell´s jacket. Her tail was wrapped around her backside, covering a hole in her pants. Iselina also seemed to have problems holding her pants together.
And behind them...
Was Bell.
Bell, with a bare upper body, his pants torn to shreds.
Carrying Ryu in his arms.
A very flustered, deep red Ryu, for some reason, she was the only one in the small group who only had slightly chipped clothes.
"What happened?!"
Iselina sighed. "Hah...Euphie got way too excited, playing around with big sis. He...well they clashed with magic, and Euphie...you know how he can be."
"Oh my..."
Astrea looked at her elven follower.
"Ryu, what happened, are your legs hurt?!"
Ryu refused to take her hands away from her face, she just shook her head.
Suumetess smirked like the cat she was. "She´s just exhausted. Euphie got so excited...that fight was surely a sight to behold, and Euphie was still full of energy afterward!"
Iselina smirked. "And to be honest...Mr. Bell was quite chivalrous. When the magic clashed, I don´t know how he could move that fast, but he jumped in front of big sis, taking the magical blast in her stead, shielding her with his body."
Astrea blinked, Euphie...an infant spirit...had exhausted Ryu so much that she couldn´t walk anymore, a level five! In under two hours! And that Bell jumped in to protect Ryu, not caring about himself...how lovely!
Suumetess smiled abashed. "Isi and I took quite a lot of the blast too, it tore our clothes quite a lot. Mr. Bell was kind enough to give us his clothes to wear, even when they have holes too."
While Ryu looked insanely embarrassed about the situation, she also looked somewhat happy...and the way Bell carried her in princess style, how naturally her body touched his. As if against her will, her body clung to his muscular, free chest...her body knew what it wanted, to be close to Bell.
Cecil´s jaw dropped. "Nah! Another lewd display and making out with your boyfriend! Again!"
"Mmmmmh!" Steam rose from Ryu´s head.
Iselina continued to walk. "Ceci, mind letting me through? I´m half naked here..."
Suumetess joined her. "Me too.."
"Oh, sorry."
Astrea watched how Bell let Ryu down to her feet, in a very careful and gentle way. Ryu still had trouble standing, her legs shook as if they would give in any second now. Before Astrea could move to her, Cecil did so, giving Ryu support.
"My thanks..."
Astrea knew her followers, she saw that Cecil was a bit happy and that Ryu didn´t seem to mind her touch right now. Still, Cecil shot a glance towards Bell over her shoulder.
"Thank you for helping the others...but stay out here for now."
Cecil wouldn´t allow an almost naked man in the house, not when Iselina and Suumetess looked like they currently did. Both were pure maidens, the fact that they had seen Bell like this, that he had thankfully closed his eyes so he wouldn't see their bare upper bodies, that they now wore his clothes! That was too much for them...
After the door closed, Astrea became fully aware of how Bell looked.
"A-Ahm...th-thank you for protecting Ryu, Bell."
He shook his head. "Not for that, I didn´t want her to get hurt, or.."
Bell looked down at himself.
"Or look like that. I will protect her at all costs."
Astrea´s smile was filled with warmth. "You´re the best "companion" I could hope for Ryu to have."
"Lady Astrea?"
The goddess leaned a bit closer and lowered her voice. "Bell, you like Ryu, don´t you?"
"E-Eh?..Ahm...I..."
"I don´t intend to make you embarrassed, just know, I don´t mind the different familias, I just want Ryu to become happy."
"Lady Astrea...I...is it..that obvious?"
"For me? Yes. For the others, except for Ryu? Well, they all thought from the first moment that you´re Ryu´s partner, why else would you accompany her on such a journey?"
"I don´t know what to say..."
"Then, would you listen to me for a few moments? I would like to tell you a few things about elves, and Ryu, things that will become important for you."
"I´m...listening."
She saw that he was quite flustered. And so, while Ryu lay on her bed, completely spent and exhausted, Astrea started to explain about elven courtship. And that Ryu belonged to the extreme kind of romantic ones, what her being called a "clean freak" by her old familia members meant. And, what were the proper steps for getting closer, and from what point onwards handholding was alright? Bell got surprised, and very flustered when Astrea explained in a soft voice about the time for the first kiss.
And got even more flustered, when Astrea explained about the spirit festival in three days...where a full moon would be up in the sky...and they would celebrate with the spirits in the forest.
A forest. At night. With a full moon.
He gulped.
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While Bell and Ryu had quite the extreme morning, someone else in Orario woke up in a more devasted way.
How?! How...did this happen?...
Allen Fromel sat in bed, staring at the ceiling, then his eyes wandered down, to his left side.
Where a cat girl slept.
A naked cat girl.
Chloe Rollo.
Her body moved softly with her slow and steady breathing, one of her arms wrapped around Allen´s waist, the other around his hip, the hand touching his butt. Her tail was curled upwards, along her body, while his was on his left side, the tips of their tails touched each other.
Allen couldn´t believe what he had done, how he had betrayed Freya!
But how did it come to this situation?
It had started two days earlier, at the breakfast table of Sessrumnir.
As usual, even when it caused quite a lot of tension, or maybe because of it, to amuse their goddess, the high executives sat together at the breakfast table. The main hall on the lower floor was filled to the brim, the Einherjar ate their breakfast in peace, a calm before the storm of the daily baptism.
The table on the upper floor, where the high executives sat, was filled with the usual banter. Freya was in a good mood in general since a lot of good things happened during the last few days. It looked like Haltorin and Anya were almost skipping a few steps! She didn´t know when or how both had met by chance in the city, but it had to happen during the last day off that Anya had.
Syr´s jaw, and that of the others had dropped to the floors, when Anya returned to the dorm and announced that she had a boyfriend now! It seemed that there had been more development during and after the party than Freya thought! And that Anya was attracted to Haltorin on an instinctive level!
Due to her good mood, Freya sometimes chuckled while her followers bantered. Heith had the rare chance of sitting with the high executives since Freya demanded it. Heith didn´t pay any attention to the banter, she just smiled serenely, since Freya had asked her to sleep at her side, hugging Heith in her sleep.
Allen´s problem had started when Freya decided to tease her high executives a bit.
"Ottar."
"Yes, Lady Freya?"
"I have decided, I will grant you permission for your plan. Prepare yourself properly, and take everything with you that you need. I already talked to Loki, telling her we will claim it this time."
The boaz nodded slowly. "You have my thanks, Lady Freya."
"There is but one condition."
"Name it."
"You have to win, and return to me."
"On my honor as a warrior."
"Good, I hear and accept your vow, Warrior."
And of course, the other high executives looked annoyed, extremely annoyed.
But before they could start to shout out, Freya looked at them.
"My dear warriors, this is a direct order from me. You will not intervene in any way with Ottar´s attempt. For I have something for you all to do."
Heith just kept smiling in her serene way, not paying attention to anything, getting hugged by Freya in her sleep had this effect on everyone.
Hedin pushed his glasses slightly up, as usual, he was the most collected, while Allen and the Gullivers glared at Ottar.
"Name it, Lady Freya, and we shall do it."
"That is good, you will play a special role in it, Hedin."
Now the attention of the others shifted to Hedin, glaring at him. Hedin knew for a long time that Freya had a lot of fun teasing them like this since she knew very well how her proud warriors were.
Freya slowly got up from her chair, her glass and a fork in her hands. She stepped to the handrail, from where she could look down to the main hall. Freya didn´t need to cling her fork against the glass to get everyone´s attention.
All noises died down immediately, everyone stopped eating.
"My brave warriors, I´m so proud of every single one of you. And because I know you will make me even more proud, I have a wish to all of you."
Horn came from the side and took Freya´s glass and fork, so she could stand in her usual, graceful way.
Freya sighed, everyone was immediately on high alert and pissed at whatever caused her to sigh. "I will be honest with you all, I am a bit upset these days, one could say...pretty upset."
Her eyes wandered along her followers.
"These days, all that Orario and the guild are talking about are Loki and her familia."
Many teeth were bared by that statement.
"It´s all about their Expeditions, how good and awesome they are, how strong and wonderful her followers."
More teeth got bared.
"And that upsets me. The guild doesn´t acknowledge what we are, what all of you are and endure. Every. Single. Day. No one in Orario trains as hard and often as you do, no one is stronger. Because...who is the strongest familia in Orario again?"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""FREYA FAMILIA!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"Exactly. And what do I hear in the city? All talk about Loki´s "Braver", pff. They claim how wonderful it is that he reached level six, a single strong prum. Don´t I have multiple very strong prums in my familia? Don´t I have the strongest prum warriors of the world in my familia?! Alfrigg, Dvalinn, Berling, Grer, Van. What do you say to that?!"
"""""YOU HAVE!"""""""
"Then all that talk about Loki´s "Nine Hell", how strong and wonderful she is, what a strong mage. Hedin, do you think I have the stronger mage among my subjects?"
"Certainly, Lady Freya."
"Hogni, what do you say to the assumption that the "Sword Princess" is supposed to be the best sword wielder in Orario?"
"Kuh Kuh Kuh."
"Thank you, Hogni."
All of her followers noticed the way that Freya spoke the Loki familia´s aliases...it seemed their Lady was truly agitated.
"Loki here, Loki there, all just Loki, Loki, Loki! And now the talk about their next Expedition, how they plan to go down to the 60th floor, which didn´t happen ever since Zeus and Hera went away."
Freya made a displeased expression, that alone was enough to enrage her whole familia.
"And then the unjustified attacks on us, just because I was playing around in the city a bit, you came looking for me, it led to them attacking you in the streets."
Freya slowly turned her head and looked at Allen with a grim expression. "They even say that "Vanargandr" is the fastest."
Allen bared his teeth, it almost looked like his canines became longer. He had a unique trigger for his beastification, he had to get really pissed. "I will bury that shitty dog alive!"
"I´m sure you can do that, Allen. But I have something else in mind."
Freya turned to her enraged followers again.
"Loki´s Expedition will start in one and a half weeks. I have something else planned for Ottar, but I want you all, to reach the 60th floor before Loki´s kids can do it. Can you achieve that?"
A chorus of warcries answered her.
"Hedin will take command over the Expedition, Van, you will be his right hand when it comes to commands. Allen, Hogni, Alfrigg, Grer, Berling, Dvalinn, I know you will do your best in the vanguard. The Andhrimnir are to take part in the Expedition too."
One by one, Freya´s followers got up from their chairs, looking at their goddess. Freya´s expression changed, to a superior smirk, a sight that was to die for.
"I don´t only want to show that you´re stronger, I want to trample their pride, to show them how easy it is for us to go that deep. And I´m sure, this will make you all stronger again."
A new wave of warcries answered Freya, the blood of her followers was boiling now.
"Show them that you´re the number one! Show them that not even the dungeon is above my divine will! Not one of you! Not. A. Single. One. Will fall in the dungeon. You will all come back, bring everyone back. If the dungeon manages to even claim a single life, it shows that it is stronger than my will."
It was the only way how Freya could tell them "Take care of each other" and they would react to it.
"To motivate you a bit more. Whoever performs the best during the Expedition, and I don´t mean growth or who kills the most monsters, the performance will be for Hedin to judge. Whoever performs best, will get two rewards from me."
Everyone listened to her.
"First, this warrior may take one item from my personal armory. Be it armor, a shield, or a weapon. The choice is yours."
"""""""""""""""""""UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"And, that one may either choose a kiss on the forehead...or a lap pillow for up to an hour."
""""""""""""""""""""UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The reaction to the second reward was much stronger than the first one.
"Hedin, your judgment will be fair, without any favor?"
"Certainly, Lady Freya. I will not disappoint you or claim the reward for myself in case someone else performs better."
The way Hedin said it, made it obvious that he doubted it, no one was better than him of course.
"Since Ottar won´t take part in the Expedition, what you will show the world has even more meaning. Without our full strength, we will overcome Loki and her familia!"
The Einherjar started to chant Freya´s name.
"Move into the city! Buy as many potions and elixirs as necessary! Prepare yourself in the best way possible! And listen to what Hedin and Van will tell you!"
Freya turned to her high executives. "I know that you all won´t disappoint me, I leave the judgment you can go down to even the 61st floor to yourself. Do not take unnecessary risks, my divine will is absolute. No one is allowed to die!"
All of them nodded.
"Heith, you and the Andhrimnir will prepare rations. I know the Einherjar will fight even harder when they have your food."
"Yes, Milady!"
"The command of the Andhrimnir is yours, Heith. Talk with Hedin about the positioning, you have my absolute trust to bring everyone back."
"I won´t disappoint you, Lady Freya!"
"Good. Now then, go and buy the stocks necessary!"
"""""""""""""""""UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!""""""""""""""""""""""""
Folkvangr almost shook from the loud roar.
Only a minute later, the gates of Folkvangr pushed open and every single Einherjar...and some Andhrimnir...rushed into the city. They wouldn´t only buy all the potions and elixiers they could get their hands on, but also the ingredients to make them, since the Andhrimnir had more than one member who was good at making potions.
Amid Teasanare got scared to death when at least a dozen Einherjar came rushing into the store of her familia. To her bad luck, Dian Cecht was also present, demanding an explanation for their behavior.
Van, who led the "charge", got up to the front. "Lord Dian Cecht! On Lady Freya´s order, we will buy everything you have here!"
"All my potions?!"
"Potions, Elixiers, Ingredients! Everything! Money doesn´t matter!"
"That´s music in my ears! Amid, hurry up!"
"I need to work on the stuff that Loki familia ordered!"
Van shouted. "We buy that too! Give us everything! It´s Lady Freya´s will!"
"I won´t! These are already paid ingredients!"
Dian Cecht was already busy ordering more of his children to help Amid packing up everything in the store. As fast as the group had come, they left again. The store was empty, and the warehouse too.
"Lord Dian Cecht, now we can´t sell anything anymore."
"Because we already sold everything, Amid! What a haul!"
She just sighed. "That may cause problems with Loki familia."
"Then they should´ve shown up earlier! I won´t hold back everything just in case they decide late to buy anything."
"Aren´t you worried why the Freya familia buys everything?"
"Nope, don´t care. Just about the money."
Amid sighed again.
.
.
.
Another group of the Einherjar had charged into the Blue Pharmacy, buying everything that the Miach familia had, making the god and Nahza very happy. Many people in the city, especially the Ganesha familia and members of the Loki familia got alarmed by the behavior of the Freya familia. But as fast as the Einherjar appeared, they retreated to Folkvangr, each carrying enormous amounts of supplies. This would be one of the problems that led to Allen´s stress, since now the guild would start to complain, that Freya familia simply bought too much, and the leveled adventurers had a problem now, not being able to buy a single potion.
In a way, it showed another part of Freya familia´s strength, their enormous wealth. If Freya desired to do so, she could turn Orario´s economy upside down. A few Einherjar even got the idea to approach Hringhorni, but they quickly returned from Melen, since the School District didn´t have anything interesting to buy.
That Ottar would go and face Balor alone, maybe even achieving a great feat...and that Allen would compete with his whole familia over Freya´s reward, put even more stress on his mood.
What he saw the next morning caused him to freeze, and stress out further.
As he usually did, Allen watched over the pub late at night, nothing special happened, and he was about to leave when...
The backdoor of the pub opened and Anya came out, her shift was over. Surely she would just go into the dorm and then soon to sleep. But she wasn´t alone.
Anya pulled that half-elf who had danced with her at the party, smiling, stopping...moving closer to him.
Allen growled, his ears got pushed flat onto his skull.
This guy! This shitty half-elf kissed his little sister!
It was rather Anya kissing Haltorin, but the half-elf dared to put his hands on Anya´s hips! She smiled, then pulled him with her into the dorm.
No way...No way!
Allen was too shocked and disgusted, but only by that half-elf, not his sister. Anya had a right to love life, but that prick dared to touch his sister!
Haltorin would only leave in the early morning, Anya was the first girl to break a rule of the dorm, so she brought a guy over. What Allen couldn´t know, all both did was sleep together, cuddling, nothing more.
.
.
.
His stress arrived at its peak the following night. He crouched on a low wall, at the backyard of the pub, after a gray-haired waitress had ordered him to come down from the rooftop.
"Aren´t you glad for Anya, Allen?"
"Mh."
"Allen?"
"Mmh!"
"Ehehe~~~ Such a worried big brother."
"Mmmh!"
Allen refused to answer, he just made this sound.
"I´m happy for Anya, I just didn´t expect her to be so bold and daring."
"Tsk."
"Oh, a new sound. Ehehe~~~"
"Hmpf."
"Allen, I know it agitates you, but would you listen to me for a moment?"
"Mh."
"You know that caring for someone, fighting for someone, does make you stronger, right? You fought your whole life for Anya, for her happiness, and projected it onto me, you did and do all you can so that she can live a happy life. I know you don´t dislike Haltorin just because he became Anya´s boyfriend, only because you´re worried about her."
Freya saw into his heart as easily as always.
"You know, having someone you love can do you good too."
He knew exactly who she was referring to.
"Why are you trying to couple me with that waitress?"
"Because Chloe is a dear friend of mine? I know you would treat her well...well I would at least hope so. And you´re very important to me too, Allen. No one can ever replace you, you know?"
He took a sip from the drink that she brought him, the taste was a bit weird.
"I know you´re frustrated that you don´t grow fast anymore, seem to be stuck. Do you want to know a secret to get stronger?"
"And what would that be?"
Allen was sure that his goddess was just making fun of him.
"Don´t close your heart, get along more with Anya again. That was what always made you stronger and let you achieve great things in the past. I know that you fight for her, it will make you stronger again."
The rest of the evening wasn´t that unusual, Chloe later came out to throw trash away, and she of course noticed him again. And had turned her body in a way that flattered her not-so-well-endowed curves. The only thing she truly was proud of was her butt!
They had talked, Allen didn´t even know why he had talked to her instead of just going away.
He couldn´t name what came over him, what had happened.
But the night ended in a quite steamy way.
He remembered Chloe panting his name, her low moans, her obsession with groping his butt, spoiling him with her mouth just to have a chance to grope him more. The feeling when she clung heavily to him, shaking without end, and the liberating feeling of releasing himself inside her.
.
.
.
I have betrayed her...betrayed Lady Freya...
He couldn´t deny what happened, Allen had slept with Chloe. As he slowly climbed out of the bed, Chloe turned around in her sleep after her hand lost contact with his butt. Denying it or not, her body was just his type. Still, Allen dressed himself and was about to sneak out of the room.
Of course, he opened the door in the worst possible moment.
"Morning Chl-Allen?!"
Anya froze as he opened the door. Of course, it had to be at the exact moment when Anya walked past the door. Her nose caught the smell of passionate lovemaking, coming from the room...and Allen. And she saw Chloe´s naked back on her bed.
"A-Allen?..."
"It´s not what you think!"
He pushed himself past Anya...and it became worse.
"Ohoooo!~~~ Good morning, Mr. Allen!~~~~"
Syr beamed all over her face.
Due to Allen almost fleeing, he thankfully didn´t notice Haltorin sneaking out of Anya´s room, having the same smell on his body.
Freya had grinned in her mind.
Like brother, like sister. What naughty cats I have.
.
.
.
Later that day, it was the day before their Expedition would start, Allen knelt in Freya´s room, his eyes pointed to the ground.
"I have no excuses for betraying you like that, Lady Freya."
"Betraying me, Allen?"
"Yes, I desired another woman."
Freya sighed. "Allen, I thought we talked about this? Be honest with yourself, you don´t see me like Alfrigg and his brothers, or Hedin, or Hogni. We both know you see me the same way as Ottar and Anya do."
She was right, of course, she was right. But Allen had trouble digesting everything that happened lately.
"I swear, I will not make that mistake again! I shall never see that woman again."
Suddenly, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped a bit.
"That, I cannot allow, Allen."
He eventually raised his head, seeing that Freya looked upset.
"Chloe is a very dear friend of mine, Allen. Her feelings for you, as suddenly as they may have started, are obvious. And I will not allow you to treat her like a woman for one night. She gave herself to you, and both of you had your first time together. It wasn´t a mistake or an accident, you´re drawn to her as she is drawn to you."
"Grrr..."
"I know you have trouble admitting it, take your time."
Freya looked deep into his eyes.
"But don´t you dare to hurt my precious Chloe, Allen."
.
.
.
At the start of their Expedition, Freya would accompany her followers to Babel to see them off, saying a few words to them. And put something secretly in Allen´s hand. It was a very small bag, like a lucky charm. In it were a few strands of hair.
Brown and black ones.
"Both of them want to see you again, Allen."
"Hmpf."
.
.
.
.
.
After the incident in the morning was over, and everyone had calmed down again, it was now time for something else.
Ryu had agreed to answer all questions of her fellow familia members, regarding the dungeon, living in Orario and what being an adventurer there meant. And...to help them improve themself...about their predecessors. Astrea had told them a few stories, but in a way, it was Ryu´s job to do that.
To support her, Bell sat on her right side of the couch, Astrea on her left side. Even Cecil had stopped her work to gather with the others.
And be it only to make sure nothing lewd happened again!
All of the others were present. Schau and Kella, the two pallums, had smaller armchairs, fitting their size. Ulanda sat next to Cecil, while Iselina and Suumetess shared another couch.
Ryu looked a bit flustered, that all of her "juniors" looked at her with a lot of expectations.
"So ahm, who wants to start?"
Most of the others looked at Cecil, who just waved off. "One of you can go first, I mean...you normally don´t let me as the captain go first anyway."
Bell saw how the others grinned, it seemed like they teased Cecil a lot, which according to Ryu and Astrea, was a way to show their love.
Schau raised her hand. "Then I go first! Big sister, are there many strong pallums in Orario? And...can you tell us about Lyra?"
Kella nodded eagerly, she too was interested in that topic.
Ryu nodded, organized her thoughts before she answered.
"As you are aware, pallums are normally treated as a weaker race by many people, and it is true that there aren´t that many strong pallums. Yet, there are far fewer pallums in the lands than humans for example. Due to that, the number of strong pallums has a higher percentage than the number of strong humans, compared to their numbers. No offense here, Bell."
"No offense taken."
"I personally met a few strong pallums, but not all strength comes from fighting strength or level. Of course, there is the captain of the Loki familia..."
Iselina´s and Suumetess´ fine ears noticed a taint of dislike in Ryu´s voice.
"I will not lie, while he is strong, and probably leads the Loki familia well, there are things he did in the past, during Orario´s dark times, that can´t be forgiven and shouldn´t be forgotten. Then there are the Brimgar of the Freya familia, my very dear friend Syr knows them personally, but I don´t know how or from where. All four of them are level five, and are said to have the best teamwork in all of Orario, easily strong enough to take down an upper level six, which isn´t an easy feat."
They nodded and hung at Ryu´s lips.
"As I said, strength isn´t everything. The vice-captain of Bell´s familia is also a pallum. Ms. Liliruca Arde handles her familia´s finances, organizes most of the things for Expeditions, and gives orders during fights, for she stays back and is more of a field commander. Yet, she is a supporter. So, never believe it when someone says supporters are weak."
Now Ryu´s expression got a bit sentimental. "And of course...there was Lyra."
"Lyra too handled our finances, she was smart, cunning, had a foul mouth at times, often teased me, taught me some...not so upright methods...but she was a reliable friend."
Ryu put a hand over her heart.
"And I will always remember and never forget her. Ms. Schau, Ms. Kella, let me tell you about a few tricks that Lyra told me, they might help you in the future."
Astrea watched Ryu, she saw the two tears running down her cheeks, but no one said anything because of it. Ryu smiled while she spoke of Lyra, visible only to the goddess, Ryu´s back gleamed very softly at a certain spot, and the shadow of Lyra´s memory stood behind the couch, her hands crossed behind her head. Without noticing it, Ryu reached into her magic, calling for that precious memory.
Oh, Ryu...you love all of them so much.
The goddess knew one thing, in one way Ryu was exactly like her. The pain of losing them never really vanished, at times almost brought them down to their knees, letting them cry for hours.
Ryu told them about techniques and traps, about tricks how to bring down bigger and stronger opponents.
More questions came in, mostly about the other familia members. Ryu took her time, easily over two hours, to tell them precious memories about them, so that they knew who their predecessors were, and what it meant to Ryu to meet them here and now. Other questions could wait, first they wanted and needed to hear this.
Ryu smiled at the end. "I´m sure of it, you all would´ve gone along well with them."
The shadows of all familia members stood for a moment behind the couch before they slowly faded away. Ryu took a few deep breaths, calming herself down and wiping her cheeks. It meant a lot to the others, that Ryu told them about their predecessors, and opened her heart so much to them.
Only Astrea noticed how Ryu´s right hand was placed on the couch, her pinkie touching the pinkie of Bell´s hands. Her body looked for his comfort and support again, it touched the goddess´ heart.
After taking a short break, they continued with other questions.
This time it was Cecil who started. "I´m curious, how much different is the dungeon from the outside world?"
"I think the easiest and yet most confusing way to describe it is "The dungeon is the dungeon.", this is what the gods say to it."
Astrea nodded to agree.
"The air feels different from the outside. Since it is a closed environment, with no plants around until you come deep enough, you would think the air would be stale and musty, but this isn´t the case. On the first floor, there are only rock tunnels, with a few kobolds and goblins here and there. They are so weak that an unblessed person could beat them. Beating one isn´t a great deed."
Bell flinched a bit at that comment.
"Monsters don´t respawn fast on these floors, it isn´t very dangerous, except if someone takes it too easy."
Cecil frowned. "What kind of feeling and noise is it when a monster gets born?"
"You hear a cracking noise, then the wall parts, and a monster slips out. If you see it for the first time, it is...quite the sight."
"Is there something behind the opening?"
"No, just solid rock. Some adventurers have waited for hours at some spots, for monsters to spawn. They tried to hold the opening opened by force, but the sheer strength of the wall closing again could crush orichalcum."
"And all of the monsters there have magic stones?"
"They have. On the first floor, they are as small as a fingernail, these aren´t worth much. Yet, a fresh adventurer can defeat these monsters quite easily and earn more money, and faster, than anywhere else, at least compared to so little effort."
Ryu took a deep breath.
"However, the dungeon quickly starts to change when you go deeper. A fresh adventurer should stick to floors one to four. And not go to the 5th floor for the first weeks."
Bell coughed slightly for some unknown reason...
"The 5th floor and onward, to the 7th. The walls change to a light green color and the structure of the Dungeon begins to change. Stronger monsters, such as War Shadows and Killer Ants, appear and the monster birth time is faster, which is why these floors are where a lot of new adventurers start to die. It is recommended by the guild for Level 1 adventurers to have a status of at least G in their basic abilities to explore these floors. It really starts to get dangerous from there on, where new adventurers often for the first time think "This is the dungeon..."."
The others looked a bit uneasy.
"No one who wants to keep living will take it lightly, the guild helps new adventurers with guidance. Parties form early on, having two or three companions will make it a lot safer and easier. And a supporter can be the lifeline there, also making the dungeon crawling more efficient since you don´t have to go up so often."
Ryu looked up to the ceiling for a moment.
"The 8th and 9th floors...The amount and size of rooms increase and the length of the hallways between them become shorter. Also, the ceiling changes height from three to four meters from the floors above to nearly ten meters above. Moss covers the brown-colored walls and the ground below becomes a short grass plain. The strong light from the phosphorescence above is similar to light from the sun. No new monsters appear. However, monsters from the 1st-7th Floors appear again but are stronger. It is recommended for Level 1 adventurers to have a status of at least E in their basic abilities to explore these floors. A party is necessary there since the first swarms of monsters can appear more regularly."
The others nodded eagerly.
"The biggest part of adventurer never go deeper than the 12th floor, and even then it has to be a party of veteran level one adventurers, who know what they´re doing. It is best to get slowly used to all kinds of monsters. But a warning. Some adventurers tend to get too relaxed around monster types they´ve known for years. Which leads often enough to death and injuries."
Some of the others gulped.
"There are a lot of new adventurers who venture into the dungeon and think or believe "I will become a big one, fame awaits me!", but soon enough, reality hits them. Leveling up can be a dangerous achievement since you have to do something to impress the gods. Cecil, Iselina, you two surely know what I mean."
A tear ran down Astrea´s cheek, Ryu called her fellow familia members for the first time just by their names!
"Some of these feats were people fighting a large number of monsters on their own, protecting their party members. Or, someone fought a strong monster alone. It isn´t just strong monsters, they need to have a meaning to the adventurer. I know of an elven adventurer of the Hermes familia, who leveled up after she fought multiple Orcs, alone."
""""Woah...""""
"As you know, your status grows slower as it gets higher, that is the same for every adventurer out there, no exceptions."
Bell coughed slightly again.
"Bell, is something wrong?"
"N-No, not at all."
"Hm, that´s good then. The problem with getting stronger is the structure of the dungeon itself. The higher your level is, the slower it becomes. After reaching some levels, it can take years to level up. Especially if just one or two in your party do it. Monsters they fought before won´t give you much or no growth at all anymore, so you have to dive deeper into the dungeon. Which becomes dangerous for the rest of the party. Yet, you will be able to find more valuable things down there. And if you´re lucky, even a good amount of drop items."
Cecil looked with a dreamlike gaze to the window. "Drop items from the dungeon...hah..."
"There are rare and strong things in the outside world too, just more gather in the dungeon. To obtain the most valuable ones, you "just" have to crawl into a hellish pit filled with monsters. That´s how Alise called it. Also, the most valuable things have to be created by crafting. Orichalcum for example doesn´t exist in the dungeon."
Schau raised her hand. "Where does it come from, Big sis?"
It looked like Ryu got her new nickname pretty fast, which amused Astrea.
"From what I got told, the Education District creates Orichalcum with Alchemy, using adamantite and other things."
Cecil raised an eyebrow. "How deep in the dungeon would you have to dive to find adamantite?"
"Adamantite is parted in three groups, depending on the purity. The purest, which is very dangerous and hard to mine, is between the 44th and 48th floors. I heard that the Loki familia led Expeditions down to these floors, with smiths from the Hephaistos familia, with no other purpose than to mine Adamantite, which is already dangerous enough. The dungeon only grows food down to a certain floor, so you need to bring enough rations for the Expedition, but also ways to transport the pure Adamantite. As you surely know, Cecil, the purer it gets, the heavier it is."
Cecil nodded. "I want to work with it one day, it´s every smith´s dream. The same as Mithril..."
"Maybe one day you will get a chance?"
"You bet I will!"
Ryu smiled gently.
Ulanda shyly raised her hand. "What about Expeditions? What is it like to sleep in the dungeon?"
"On a safe floor like the 18th for example, it is like camping outside. On floors that aren´t safe, you need people to guard the camp at night and make sure the walls surrounding the camp are damaged, so that no monsters can spawn there. Also...there is training needed for some things, to prepare you mentally and emotionally before an Expedition. Things you wouldn´t expect at first."
"Like what?"
"You have to learn to fall asleep fast and rest wherever you can. And many adventurers...they..."
"Hm?"
"They.."
Ryu got red.
"They sleep naked during Expeditions..."
""""""Haaaaah?!""""""
"As embarrassing as it sounds...you can only bring a certain amount of clothes with you. Need to wash them during camp time, and for some people, it is better to sleep like that, so their clothes won´t get dirty right away again."
Ulanda hid her face behind her hands. "S-S-So you all walk around naked in the camps?!"
"No! Absolutely not! Well...Kaguya did a few times...but it is only meant when you´re in the tent! And I never did that! No elf would do that!"
Bell nodded. "It´s a bit embarrassing, but even some in our Expeditions...well most of us, did that."
Kella´s jaw dropped. "S-S-So you two slept together naked?!"
""We didn´t!""
Ryu´s cheeks and ears were equally red. "I was never part of their Expeditions, even when we met one time by chance."
Schau tilted her head. "Eh? Don´t you want to go on an Expedition with your boyfriend?"
"B-B-Bell isn´t my b-b-boyfriend!"
"Eh? But you two are holding hands?"
Ryu froze, as did Bell. Both only noticed now how their pinkies touched. Immediately, both pulled their hands back. Ryu coughed a few times to cover up her embarrassment.
Astrea smiled gently, trying to avert the attention from Ryu´s "lewd display". "This is a good sign of strength too, Schau. You surely know that pallums are known for their excellent eyesight. They make the best scouts in some ways, while beast kin have other advantages. Both are very valuable members of every party and Expedition. I remember how much the others relied on Neze and Lyra."
.
.
.
.
Eventually, after Ryu caught herself again, she continued.
"There are other ways to improve oneself, aside from strengthening status and level. Development Abilities. As you probably know, when you level up, Lady Astrea can choose between development abilities for you. These get stronger when you use them, the more you use them, the stronger they get, but it will take a lot of time. And you have to meet conditions before you level up. If I remember right, Smith can only get obtained at level two or three, afterward it isn´t possible. Cecil?"
"You are right, Leon."
Astrea chuckled when Cecil called Ryu by her old nickname, she was the only one who didn´t call Ryu "Big sister" or "Big sis".
"I had to train as a smith a lot before Lady Astrea let me level up, she informed me when it appeared and could get chosen."
The other five made quite a few Oh sounds.
"Status and Development Abilities can be raised by training, the most obvious example of that is the Freya familia. They rarely go into the dungeon, and according to my dear friend Anya, they fight each other every day to get stronger."
Ryu raised her fingers as she named a few things.
"Technique. Development Abilities. Fighting styles. Breathing. Those and more things can and should get trained, even and especially outside of the dungeon. No matter how often I trained with Alise or Kaguya, both were superior in sword techniques than I was. They lived for the sword. If someone for example has the swordsman ability, they can train every day and will slowly move the Development Ability forward. That´s why someone should very, very carefully think what they should choose."
Ryu´s explanation about adventuring in general and the dungeon continued for most of the day. She drank a lot of tea, to keep her throat moist.
Astrea simply enjoyed recalling old events and watching Ryu growing more and more into the position of the familia´s big sister.
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For the next three days, Ryu´s training with Bell, her "playtime" with Euphie...even Bell played a bit with Euphie when Ryu needed a break...and growing closer to her familia continued. Meanwhile, Cecil kept working hard on her project and going back to the basics...
And complain each day at least once about some "lewd" incident between Bell and Ryu.
Both were drawn to each other and continued to grow clumsier each day.
Since each day...the spirit festival came closer.
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Until...the day was there.
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Author`s Note 2: Since not every person is the same, I wanted to make a strong contrast to Bell and Ryu, with the way how Allen and Chloe got together.