DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
The walk through the city lasted for a little more than an hour as the group of fourteen made their way towards the southeast section of the city. Along the way, they stopped to grab a snack, which made Ais, whose expression was always blank, smile slightly.
This snack, known as Jagamarukun, made by adding fillings and spices to mashed potatoes pressed into balls and deep fried, seemed to be Ais' favorite thing to eat. However, the cooks among the members of the [Dimensional Chat] were not too impressed.
"I heard a lot about these while we were on the road." Tatsuo said after chewing a bite of the Jagamarukun in his hand. "But to be honest, I'm not all that impressed."
Ais, who was happily eating her Jagamarukun filled with red bean paste, leveled a hostile glare in Tatsuo's direction when she heard that.
"I know what you mean." Alfonzo replied while looking at the Jagamarukun in his hand with disappointment. "I mean, the seasonings don't really suit the fillings. It's like they have one set of seasonings for every flavor. They would taste a lot better if they tailored the seasoning recipes to each filling."
"Exactly." Tatsuo replied with a nod while completely ignoring Ais' glare.
"Then, we should by some potatoes and make some when we find a place to stay." Elicia said cheerfully while giggling at the offended micro-expressions on Ais' face. "You two are the best cooks any of us know. So, I'm sure your versions of these things would be amazing."
"As it turns out, I have a fully stocked kitchen at my villa." Aislynn chimed in with a smile. "And from what I've seen in all of your dreams, I was really hoping to try the food the two of you cook."
"Hey, Aislynn, are they really that good?" Loki asked as she sidled up to Aislynn. "Like, are they better than the Hostess of Fertility?"
"Well, I've never actually tasted their cooking before." Aislynn replied. "But if what I've seen in their dreams is true, then I would have to say yes."
Hearing that, Loki's eyes opened slightly with a bright light shining in their depths. She then spun around while continuing to walk backwards and her eyes landed on Alfonzo while completely ignoring Tatsuo because she still resented him for hogging four of the six women in the group to himself.
"Hey, you." Loki said with a friendly smile. "Your name is Alfonzo, right? If you agree to cook something, the Loki Familia will pay for all the ingredients."
"*Sigh* Loki, please mind your image." Riveria said in a tired tone.
"Stop being so stiff, mama." Loki said while dismissively waving off Riveria's reprimand. "Don't tell me you're not interested in trying food that's supposedly even better than what Mama Mia's and May can cook."
Riveria immediately shut her mouth when he heard that. Although she would never admit it, she was also interested in trying food of such a level. Meanwhile, Ais, who was glaring at Tatsuo and Alfonzo for disrespecting the glory of Jagamarukun, had her eyes light up even brighter than Loki's.
"It looks like my Ais-Tan wants to try it, too." Loki said with a smile. But only a moment later, her expression fell and shadows clouded her face. Then, she glared at Tatsuo. "Don't think I'll let you win over my Ais-Tan with your cooking. Ais-Tan is mine! And nothing will ever change that!"
As she made her declaration, Loki lunged towards Ais in an attempt to hug her. However, Ais, not wanting to be entangled by Loki, quickly dodged behind Aislynn, causing Loki to end up running into the other redheaded goddess.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, once again rolled his eyes at the goddess in front of him. Then, he turned away and gave Aislynn a look that practically shouted, "Can we go now? And if possible, can we leave the redheaded bean pole behind?" {Pic}
Aislynn could not help giggling at the expression on Tatsuo's face. Unfortunately, she could only give him a positive answer to one of his unasked questions. Because despite her power, Aislynn knew that getting rid of Loki when she found something interesting was just about impossible.
As the group continued to walk, Aislynn told the members of the [Dimensional Chat] about some of the places they should be careful about.
One example was the Entertainment District further to the southeast run by the Goddess Ishtar. Though, calling it the Entertainment District was a nice way of saying it, as it was more of a red light district. On top of that, most of the prostitutes in the Entertainment District were High-Class Adventurers from a warrior race known as the Amazons.
Then, there was Deedalus Street further to the east. However, calling it a street was a bit misleading, as Daedalus Street was a labyrinthian part of Orario that was basically the city's slum district where all sorts of unsavory people mingled.
Amidst the explanations, the group eventually reached an upscale area that was not too far away from Babel just off the main southeast road. This villa, standing three-stories tall with a well-groom courtyard and a fountain shaped like a western dragon with two pairs of wings enclosed by a tall stone wall, was Aislynn's residence in the Lower World.
"*Whistle* That's a pretty damn big house." James said while looking at the villa through the closed gate with an impressed gaze.
Hearing that, Aislynn could not help smiling as she stepped forward. She then pulled a key from her cleavage, inserted it into the keyhole on the gate, unlocked it, and effortlessly pushed the iron gates open. Then, she turned around to face the rest of the group with her arms spread.
"Allow me to welcome you to the Aislynn Familia's Headquarters." Aislynn said in a grandiose tone. "I've named this place the Dragon's Nest. And I hope you will come to see this place as your home." {Pic}
Knowing that they had a base of operations for this [Mission], Tatsuo and the other members of the [Dimensional Chat] exchanged glances with smiles on their faces. However, before they could soak in the moment for very long, it was broken by a certain goddess.
"Well, don't mind if I do." Loki said as she, with all the confidence in the world, strolled towards the empty gates. "Actually, I wanted to buy this place for myself when I first descended. But I wasn't sure if it would be big enough for the Familia I was going to---"
*Clap!*
Midway through her monologue, Loki was stopped when Aislynn's hand landed on her shoulder. Looking up to see what her friend wanted, Loki almost leapt out of her skin when she saw the terrifying smile on the dragon goddess's face.
"Loki. My dear Loki." Aislynn said in a sugary sweet tone that made a shiver run down everyone's spine. "Why in the world would you ever think that introduction was meant for you?"
"Come on, Aislynn." Loki said, sounding as confident as ever. Though, the cold sweat running down her forehead told a different story. "You know that was just a joke. Things were getting too solemn. So, I just wanted to lighten the mood a little bit."
Instead of responding to what everyone knew was a lie, Aislynn continued to stare into Loki's eyes, making the Trickster Goddess start to fear that she might have gone a little too far.
"I'll pretend that I believe you this time." Aislynn said as she looked away and took her hand off Loki's shoulder. "You're lucky that I have more important things to do than punish you."
Leaving Loki standing there, Aislynn gestured for the members of the [Dimensional chat] to enter through the gates. Then, once they all entered, she nodded at Riveria and Ais, though, her gaze when looking at Ais held a warning, before following the other members of the [Dimensional Chat] inside.
"Phew! I forgot how scary that girl could be when she was angry.' Loki said while wiping the cold sweat off her forehead after Aislynn and the others left.
"Then, why do you keep pushing her?" Riveria asked with a deadpan.
"I can't help it." Loki replied with a shrug. "it's in my nature as a god. Anyway, let's go, too. Those kids are gonna cook. And I'm really looking forward to it after hearing what Aislynn had to say about it."
That made Ais' eyes light up once again. Remembering that Tatsuo and Alfonzo had the possibility to make even tastier Jagamarukun, she, without waiting for Loki or Riveria, hurried to catch up to the rest of the group.
Seeing Ais' excitement, Riveria could only sigh in exasperation. Meanwhile, Loki, seemingly just remembering that Tatsuo would be inside, as well, hurried to catch up to Ais.
"Hey! Ais-Tan, wait for me!" Loki shouted while running.
And that just made Riveria sigh again before following Loki and Ais. Then, once Riveria stepped past the gates, they closed automatically, the lock engaging once they were completely shut.
The interior of the Dragon's Nest was just as impressive as the outside. It had more than enough rooms for everyone with quite a few in case they decided to expand the Familia later. There was also a fully furnished kitchen with the latest magic stone appliances. In the backyard there was a spacious training field. And at the very back of the property, there was even a forge the members could use to craft their own weapons.
"Yeah, this place is awesome." Elicia said happily as she and the others sat on couches in the villa's main hall. "Plus, the beds were so comfortable."
"There are even bigger rooms for couples." Alfonzo said while giving Aislynn an appreciative glance. "Plus, the tools in the forge were so comprehensive. They should last who ever uses them from Level 1 all the way to Level 5, or maybe even further."
"Yeah." Tatsuo added with a nod. "We'll definitely be able to get some good use out of them. And when we get better materials, Alfonzo and I can start upgrading everyone's weapons."
"Wait!" Loki shouted with an incredulous expression on her face. "Are you telling me you two are blacksmiths?"
"Why are you asking questions that have already been answered?" Aislynn asked while rolling her eyes. "Anyway, we can talk about that later. Instead, I want to know your answer."
"Now whose asking questions they already know the answer to?" James asked while rolling his eyes. "Tatsuo already said he and Alfonzo would get some good use out of the tools in the back. And the only way we would be allowed to use them would be if we joined your Familia, right?"
"There's no need to be so rude about it." Sakura said quietly.
"He's right, though." Akatsuki said with a shrug. "Pretty much from the moment we saw what this place had to offer, I think all of our minds were made up."
"Young Shizuka is right." Zelretch added. "And I'm very interested in diving into the magical knowledge that has been stockpiled in the library. So, I really can't find a reason to leave."
"I like it here, too." Violet said with a smile.
"As do I." Momo said. "We should be able to improve a lot. Though, I don't know how I'm gonna train my---"
"Quiet." Aletia said as she quickly covered Momo's mouth. She then shot a glance at the members of the Loki Familia as she continued. "That's a secret that only our Familia should know about." {Pic}
"Come on, Little lady." Loki said in a slimy tone. "We're all friends here, right? There's no need to keep secrets between friends."
"Please act like a proper goddess, Loki." Riveria said, her tone sounding even more exasperated than usual.
"I agree with Nine Hell." Aislynn said while looking at Loki reproachfully.
"Tch! Fine." Loki said while leaning back on the couch with her arms crossed.
"Nine Hell, what's that mean?" Akatsuki asked curiously.
"That's her Alias." Aislynn replied while pointing at Riveria. "Upon reaching Level 2, every Adventurer is given an Alias at the Banquet of the Gods, or Denatus, held every three months."
"Yeah, we have a lot of fun picking aliases for you kids." Loki said with a smile that seemed rather menacing.
"So, we have to leave our second names up to a bunch of gods who are only looking to have fun?" James asked with a deadpan. "That fills me with so much confidence."
"Is that why some of the Adventurers on the street were calling each other by strange names?" Momo asked while tilting her head in curiosity. "I believe I heard one man being called the Pink Piercer."
While all of the males present had to stifle laughter, most of the females in the room who understood the joke blushed. The exceptions were Aislynn, who smiled in amusement, Loki, who laughed out loud, and Elicia, who shot a glare at Alfonzo, thinking he was going to make some kind of lewd joke.
"If I got an alias that awful, I might just commit suicide on the spot." Akatsuki said with a deadpan.
"Well… You don't have to worry about that for the time being." Loki said while waving off Akatsuki's concerns. "It will be a while before you level up, after all. Plus, I doubt there are any gods dumb enough to try and give Aislynn's children some ridiculous alias. Not only would they have to worry about not being able to acquire her services any more in the future, those who don't care about that would have to worry about an angry dragon goddess knocking on their door… and probably knocking down the whole house in the process."
"You make me sound like such a brute, Loki." Aislynn said while rolling her eyes. She then narrowed her eyes at Loki as she continued. "You know I'd just alter their dreams into the worst kinds of nightmares they've ever had for millennia to come. Or… Is this one of your plans to scare these children away from me?"
"O-Of course not." Loki replied while frantically waving her hands in front of her. "I was just sayin'. *Cough* Anyway, I'm getting hungry and I'm really looking forward to seeing what those two boys can do."
"*Sigh* And I doubt you'll leave until you've been fed." Aislynn replied in an exasperated tone. "Fine, I'll just throw you out after dinner. Then, I can give them the Falna in peace."
Loki's first instinct was to try and talk her way into staying a bit longer. But even she knew that would not slide. Giving children Falna was somewhat sacred. And no god would be okay with members of another Familia sticking around for it.
So, Loki simply nodded her head. Then, she ordered Riveria and Ais to go out and get the ingredients Tatsuo and Alfonzo would need to make dinner. After that, time passed relatively peacefully until the appetizers were ready.