Festival, Flowers and… Fluder?

Lefiya had gone to bed about an hour and a half ago, but despite being exhausted from the strenuous day in the dungeon, she couldn't fall asleep. She stared at the ceiling, trying in vain to fall asleep; however, instead of starting to doze off, her mind became excited thinking about dozens of imaginary scenarios with Ais.

Earlier that same day, she had gathered all the courage she had to invite Ais to the monster fair and was pleasantly surprised when the star adventurer said yes. The mage rolled several times in her bed until she was face down, muffling a scream of excitement into her pillow. Lefiya pulled her face out from between the sheets and stared blankly into space, repeating the following words in her mind:

"I must fight more… I must be stronger and braver if I want to stay by her side…" These were the words she always repeated to herself when thinking of Ais, as she was terrified of the thought that one day the blonde might leave her due to her incompetence.

Thinking about this, she gradually managed to fall into a pleasant sleep, where she and Ais were eating potato croquettes together in a green and peaceful meadow.

-] [-

"Ais! Are you and Lefiya going to the fair together?!" Tiona's shrill voice echoed in the grand dining hall of the Loki family, where everyone was eating breakfast together.

Ais first nodded while finishing one of her sandwiches. "That's right," she said after swallowing her food.

"Eh?! I thought the four of us could go…" said the Amazon, referring also to her older twin. At this, Lefiya shuddered and glanced sideways at Ais, wondering if it would be rude to reject the sisters.

"We can still check out the stalls together, right, Ais?" Tione said this time, to which Ais nodded and turned to speak to Lefiya.

"Today… I'll wear the dress you gave me," she said with a huge smile on her face, once again managing to make the elf girl's cheeks blush.

-] [-

After they finished breakfast, the girls went to change and get ready to go out. Contrary to Lefiya's initial wish, the Hiryute twins ended up joining her precious date with Ais. However, she wouldn't let that discourage her; she would make the most of this outing with her dear friend and many times savior.

The streets of Orario were packed that day; all the adventurers were above in the city and not in the dungeon as usual, enjoying the food stalls and the sale of any kind of magical or legendary item offered by the vendors from the city as well as merchants from other places. The twins stopped at every earring and bracelet shop they found, while Ais delighted in the blacksmith stalls.

"Should we get something to eat before entering the coliseum?" Lefiya asked, to which the three girls nodded.

After buying some squid skewers and a couple of croquettes with azuki sauce, the members of the Loki family were able to enter the coliseum. They managed to get very good seats despite the fact that the show was about to begin. Tione and Tiona were fighting over the last squid skewer just as the announcer began to speak:

"Welcome to today's star show at the Monster Fair!" The audience began to cheer enthusiastically as the first monster from the dungeon was brought into the arena. "Without further delay, let the monster taming by the Ganesha family begin!"

The four members of the Loki family were amazed by the spectacle. Tiona was at times the most excited, constantly shouting encouragement to the tamer. Meanwhile, Lefiya let her gaze wander between the arena and Ais, who was beside her. Until, at one moment, she realized that Ais was not looking at the arena but towards one of the boxes where a couple of guards seemed to be talking with the most important representatives of the Ganesha family.

"Has something happened?" Lefiya asked, which caught the attention of the other two girls, who also turned their gaze towards the box.

"It seems so…" Ais said.

"We should find out," Tione proposed, to which the rest of the girls quickly agreed. They got up from their seats and left the stands.

-] [-

Once outside the coliseum, they were fortunate to find their goddess Loki near the entrance, so they ran to meet her.

"Ais! You're here!" The goddess tried to pounce on her, but the blonde managed to dodge her.

"Do you know what's going on?" Ais asked without even greeting her and without paying attention to the whining she gave for having rejected her affection.

"Oh, yes…" she shrugged as if mentioning something in passing. "It seems that monsters are loose in the city."

"And you say it so lightly?!" Tione asked indignantly. "Do we know how many civilians are around? This could be a tragedy!"

"Fortunately for everyone, we have the best swordswoman in all of Orario…" the goddess smiled at Ais, and that was all the encouragement the girl needed to swiftly head to the highest pillar in the city, from where she could see everything in the distance.

Neither Lefiya nor the Amazon twins noticed when Ais slipped away to climb the pillar. From there, she focused entirely on observing any strange event that might catch her attention. Among the bustle of merchants and people walking around, it was difficult to detect anything, but by sharpening all her senses, she managed to catch cries for help.

"They're there," she informed her companions and quickly used her magic. "Tempest!" she said loudly and clearly, and a whirlwind of wind enveloped her.

With the strength and speed of a true tempest, she moved through the alleys until she reached a huge Orc threatening two low-class adventurers. In just two sword strikes, Ais managed to defeat it and swiftly moved toward her next targets.

In the adjacent alleys, she found at least three more monsters, and after annihilating them on her own, she continued on her way in search of more. The girls could barely keep up with her pace and couldn't manage to catch up to her.

"At this rate, I don't think we're needed," Tione said, watching how the star adventurer of the Loki family could handle so many monsters at once.

"Today, we'll leave it to Ais…" Tiona said confidently, while behind her, Lefiya arrived, leaning on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

At the moment when the three were about to continue following Ais as observers, a few meters from Lefiya, a kind of monster emerged from the concrete of the cobblestone streets. It was bright green in color, long and thin in shape, and at first glance, it looked like a snake.

"What is that?" said one of the twins, positioning herself next to her sister in front of Lefiya, as it was customary to defend the elf girl.

"It looks like a snake?"

"I've never seen anything like it…"

"Let's hit it, Tiona!" said the long-haired one, and before attacking the beast, she ordered Lefiya, "Start with the spell!"

The Amazon twins ran quickly, and with a leap to generate more momentum, they delivered a hard blow to the monster together. However, the blow seemed to cause no pain to the creature; instead, both girls were left with sore fists and red knuckles due to the creature's tough skin.

"So hard!" one shouted.

"It's crazy… we didn't do anything to it…"

Meanwhile, just a few steps from where the fight was taking place, Lefiya prepared her chant. A chant of maximum power could destroy part of the city, but a shorter one would allow her to control her output force and react faster.

"Ray of light that is released, arms of the sacred tree bow." Lefiya began her chant: "You are a master of the bow. Shoot, oh elf archer, let your arrow hit the target," a magic circle began appearing at her feet, illuminating her. Suddenly, the elf noticed that the monster reacted to her magic; however, contrary to what everyone present expected, it did not attack Lefiya from the front, but from the pavement emerged a new tentacle that violently pushed the girl. Lefiya was sent flying and crashed against a merchant's stall, which was destroyed, and she let out a groan of pain when she felt something pierce her side.

"Lefiya!" the sisters shouted in unison, completely shocked by that surprise attack. Nevertheless, they had to snap out of their astonishment in an instant, as the monster positioned itself over them and revealed its true form.

"That's not a snake!" Tione said as she saw the tip of the elongated creature open into a flower with reddish and orange petals, and where the pollen would be, there was instead a mouth with sharp teeth. "A-a flower?!"

Even more bewildered than before, the twins could barely react to the new attacks from the plant; seven plant monsters emerged from the ground and entangled the twins.

"Wake up, Lefiya!" Tiona shouted in desperation, as the situation didn't look good; they were unarmed, and the only person who could use magic was practically unconscious on the ground.

"We need help over here!" Tione shouted, trying to draw the attention of any adventurer who might be in the area.

"No… what a horror…" Lefiya thought, barely managing to open her eyes due to the immense pain in her side. "It's happened again…" Everything around her was spinning and disorienting; she could barely glimpse the plant monster looming over her, opening its large mouth. "I know… she will come to rescue me again… Ais," her eyes filled with tears, fearing the worst.

But suddenly, a sword pierced the plant monster, destroying it with just one stab. The mysterious figure who killed the monster fell to the ground in front of the elf girl, but contrary to what she expected, it was definitely not Ais.

The figure was a man dressed in elegant and lightweight armor that clung to his body, in a dull gray color. He wore a hood, and his face was completely covered, with great effort, only two crimson glints could barely be seen. Without saying a word, the mysterious man extended his hand toward the monster, and it was violently pushed against a wall, where it was completely immobilized by an invisible force that kept it neutralized.

"Lefiya!" Ais arrived from the high rooftops, and the wind from her Tempest spell dissipated as she landed next to the elf. "Are you alright?" Her sweet eyes showed concern as she knelt beside her to examine her dear friend.

But the danger wasn't over; from the ground emerged three more plant monsters, eager to kill.

"I'll handle this," the man said, addressing Ais directly and referring to Lefiya with a nod of his head. "You can call me Fluder, by the way. Right now, I think those two need your help more," he gestured towards the twins, who were in trouble.

One of the plant monsters had Tione by the ankle, and another monster had Tiona by the waist, both trying in vain to free themselves.

Ais nodded, trusting that this Fluder guy would protect Lefiya while she joined the battle to save the Amazons. Without wasting time, Ais violently attacked the plant monsters, but unfortunately, she only managed to land a few hits, none of them critical.

Meanwhile, Fluder had his full attention on Lefiya, who let warm tears fall down her pale cheeks. "Does it hurt a lot?" the man asked as he knelt beside her, but the elf did not respond. "Here…" Fluder pulled out a small stick-shaped object, no larger than the palm of his hand, and handed it to her. "Break it," he said softly before standing up and returning to his alert stance in case of any attacks.

Lefiya looked at the stick in her hand; it had the word "regeneration" written on it in a peculiar cursive script. With the little strength she had left, the girl broke the stick in two, releasing a warm healing magic that slowly began to close all her wounds.

As she recovered, Lefiya watched in amazement as Fluder, standing before her, manipulated the environment with what seemed to be an invisible force, ensuring that no monsters approached while she was recovering.

"Thank you…" she whispered... "I feel better now…" she said louder this time, and Fluder nodded. Without saying anything more, the man turned back to the chaos of the battle, where the twins and Ais were still fighting.

Lefiya wasted no time and slowly stood up to resume chanting her spell. Meanwhile, Fluder advanced with surprising speed, drawing his sword with a grace and agility that demonstrated his great skill.

With a fluid motion, he cut the tentacle that was holding Tione, freeing her without spilling any of the monster's fluids on her. After that, he spun on his heels to look towards where the other twin was and used his telekinetic magic to push the monster that was holding Tiona, freeing her from its grasp.

Meanwhile, Ais had just gotten up after a fierce blow from the monster. Seeing that her companions were already free, she charged at the remaining monster that had sent her flying just moments ago. With a series of quick cuts, she managed to inflict deep wounds on it and defeat it, but in the process, her sword broke into many small pieces.

During all this, Lefiya continued her chant while the distance from the fight allowed her to observe the battle closely. The man who had come to her aid was undoubtedly a formidable fighter, wielding his sword with great mastery while simultaneously using his strange magic or ability to manipulate debris to attack and defend against the monsters. He moved with an agility and subtlety that even surpassed Ais.

Moreover, Lefiya couldn't stop thinking about that strange magical object he had given her, which had completely healed her. While Ais and the twins could barely kill one of the monsters between the three of them, the rest were quickly falling under Fluder's sword.

"Elf Circle!" Now with her magic, Elf Ring, surrounding her, Lefiya neared the end of her chant and raised her voice as a signal to the others. "My name is Alf! Wynn Fimbulvetr!" A massive blast of icy wind swirled in her hands, aimed at the remaining monsters.

The members of the Loki family and Fluder jumped out of the path of the spell to avoid being caught in it.

The icy wind was so strong that it completely enveloped the monsters and froze them in place.

Lefiya let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to her knees on the ground. I did it! she thought, proud to have been of help in defeating the monsters.

The Amazon twins ran over to her. "Thank you, Lefiya!" Tiona said, hugging her by the shoulders.

While the members of the Loki family were talking amongst themselves, Bell knelt on the ground to pick up the magic stone that one of the strange plant monsters had dropped.

He examined it carefully; it seemed different from the others he had seen in the dungeon, but he didn't know enough to be sure if it was something to be concerned about. Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps, and when he looked up, he saw Eina along with another guild member; both had run into the plaza.

Also, from the other side of the plaza, the red-haired goddess Loki was walking towards them, holding the hand of a small child who had been left in the area after the monster attack.

"How's the situation, little Eina?" the goddess asked.

"We've already dealt with all the monsters that were loose. This was the last location where a battle was reported, and fortunately, so far, there have been no reports of casualties," Eina said as the goddess reached them.

Everyone sighed in relief.

For a moment, Bell was apart from the conversation as the guild members and the Loki family discussed what had happened with the monsters that had escaped from the coliseum due to the attack by other plant monsters similar to the ones they had killed, which were defeated by the Ganesha family.

But then, the elf girl stepped away from her family members and approached him.

To Bell's amazement and confusion, Lefiya made a ninety-degree bow and said, "Thank you so much for healing me, sir!" She said it with such enthusiasm that her cheeks turned red. "And for helping me in the battle…"

"Yes! Thanks for the help, man," added the short-haired Amazon twin, while her sister nodded.

"Your way of fighting is really spectacular."

Suddenly, Bell found himself surrounded by the three girls while a few meters away, Eina, Wallenstein, the goddess Loki, and the little boy continued talking.

"What was that crazy thing you did while we were fighting? The one that sent those damn plants flying!" Tiona asked. "It was awesome!"

"It's the magic I possess…" Bell scratched his neck shyly.

"And your sword fighting skills!

You were cutting those monsters like they were butter!"

"Yes!" the elf added. "You made it look so easy!"

"That's the result of countless years of brutal training…" he said simply, for it was true; he had spent years practicing hand-to-hand combat from dawn till dusk.

Bell was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the attention from the women when Ais joined them, having left Loki talking to the guild members.

"Thank you so much for saving my friends…" and, just like the elf girl, she made a bow, and the twins and Lefiya let out a squeal of excitement.

"No need…" Bell shrugged, unable to believe that fate always seemed to bring the blonde girl into his path.

"Especially for healing Lefiya…" Lefiya's pale cheeks turned red upon hearing this. "I owe you a big one, and I hope I can repay you someday."

"No need; I'll always help anyone in need," Bell said with complete sincerity and solemnity, to which Ais responded with a small giggle that bewildered the young man.

"I'm sorry…" Ais gave him a small smile. "It's just that you sounded just like a hero. I'm glad to know that Orario has someone like you around."

Bell simply nodded.

"Well, I hope to have you as a companion in another battle… Fluder." After Ais said that, Loki approached them to say:

"Thank you for helping my children today." The goddess gave him a smile of special gratitude. "I see you were a great help during the fight."

"I was simply in the right place at the right time…"

"Very much in the right place; Ais told me you healed Lefiya with a strange magical item." Loki looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and Ais, who was beside her, shrugged.

"One of the many tricks I have up my sleeve," Bell said.

"What family are you with?" Loki asked, trying to gather some information about the mysterious man.

"I'm afraid I can't reveal that, sorry." The goddess frowned slightly but did not erase the big smile from her face.

"I see you like mystery, huh?" she said, raising an eyebrow before shrugging. "But, well, it's not every day you find someone so talented on the streets of Orario without knowing which family they belong to… For now, I'll keep my curiosity at bay." Loki gave him a penetrating look and a mischievous smile. "Just for now… the information always comes to me."

"Go ahead, surprise me. I can't wait to see how you manage it!" And after saying that, Bell took the opportunity to slowly walk backward and was gradually enveloped by the shadows until he disappeared completely.

"Wow!" said Tione, her eyes wide. "He just disappeared!" The four girls stared in confusion at the spot where Fluder had vanished.

"Hm, a mystery worthy of being solved by the goddess of deceit…" Loki said with glee, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the spot where Fluder had disappeared.

"Well, there's nothing more to do here," said Tione, and she invited everyone to leave the plaza. "The guild people will take care of the damage caused by the monsters…"

The entire Loki family began to leave the plaza. Certainly, the most important thing was that they had managed to kill all the plant monsters and that everyone was safe, but that was overshadowed by the appearance of that mysterious man who called himself Fluder. No one could stop thinking about him, especially three people: Ais, Lefiya, and the goddess Loki herself.

-] [-

Bell, on the other hand, hurried away. He moved quickly through the narrow streets of the city; he needed to reach Hephaestus' workshop as soon as possible. During the fight, he had been so focused on it that the memory of what had happened just a few hours ago had been pushed aside, but now that he was free, he couldn't help but think about his daughter's condition.

He knew he had left Meteria in good hands—there was no better caretaker than Hestia—but every time he thought about his daughter's condition, his heart raced. For Meteria was his most precious person and the only link he had left to her, the love of his life.