DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
While the members of the [Dimensional Chat] were discussing their Statuses, at the Loki Familia's headquarters, the Twilight manner, the members of the Loki Familia were gathered in the dining hall enjoying their dinner.
"Loki, Ais, and Riveria have been gone for a really long time." A young woman with bronze-colored skin, short, spiky black hair, dark green eyes, and a slender figure said from her seat at the dining table while leaning back in her seat with her hands cradling the back of her head. "You don't think anything happened to them, do you?"
"Like anything could happen to them with Ais and the old hag around." A handsome, muscular young man with spiky grey hair, matching wolf ears and tail, and orange eyes said in a disdainful tone.
"Why don't you try calling Riveria that when she's actually here?" A second bronze skinned young woman with facial features identical to the first, clearly marking them as twins, though her figure was much curvier, said while glaring just as disdainfully at the young man. "But we all know you're too scared to say something like that to Riveria's face, you mangy wolf."
"Shut the hell up, you Amazoness bimbo." The young man shot back angrily.
"Why don't you make me?" The second bronze-skinned young woman said in a challenging tone.
And just like that, the two were at each other's throats, looking as though they were ready to fight to the death. Meanwhile, the first bronze-skinned young woman was cheerfully egging the two on. Though, she looked just as excited to jump into a fight should one break out.
The three, Tione Hiryute, the Amazoness with the well-endowed figure, her twin sister, Tiona Hiryute, the Amazoness with the slender figure, and Bete Loga, the werewolf, were three of the Loki Familia's four Level 5 Adventurers along with Ais.
Meanwhile, the Familia's Captain, Finn Diemme, and one of its high executives, Gareth Landrock, two of the Loki Familia's Level 6 Adventurers along with Riveria, watched the three bicker while smiling wryly. {Pic}
"*Sigh* Will those three ever grow up?" Finn, a Pallum standing at 3'11" with scruffy blond hair and blue eyes, aske in a tone filled with fond exasperation.
"They're just like we were when Loki recruited you, me, and Riveria all those years ago." Gareth, a dwarf with brown hair and a matching beard, replied before letting out a hardy laugh. "But Tiona is right… Loki, Riveria, and Ais have been gone for quite a while. I wonder what they ran into. It must be interesting for them to be gone for so long."
*Bang!*
As if waiting for Gareth to say that, one of the doors to the dining hall was slammed open, drawing everyone's attention to it. And when they looked in the direction of the noise, they saw Riveria, her face and ears bright red, running through the door with a plate in her hands.
*Bang!*
A few moments later, without stopping to greet anyone, Riveria rushed across the dining hall, slammed another door open, and left just as quickly as she came, leaving everyone in the dining hall completely confused. {Pic}
"Hey! Mama! Stop running!" Loki shouted from outside the door Riveria used to enter the dining hall.
A moment later, Loki entered the dining hall and stopped at the entrance while looking around. Clearly, she had been running for quite some time. The way her hair was plastered to her face and sweat ran down her face and neck, making it obvious. {Pic}
"What the hell?" Bete muttered in a dumbfounded tone.
"Hey! Where did Mama go?" Loki asked frantically. "I gotta find her quick. Otherwise, she's gonna eat the food on that plate and I'm gonna miss it.'
"Miss what?" Tiona asked, excited to see a show.
"What's going on, Loki?" Finn asked as he stood from his seat. "Why was Riveria so panicked? And where is Ais?"
Loki completely ignored Tiona's question, and she intended to do the same to Finn's questions, as well. However, when he asked about Ais' whereabouts, she froze completely. Then, her face paled.
"Oh no!" Loki exclaimed loudly while turning around to run through the door she just entered through. "I can't believe I left my Ais-Tan with that guy! Ais-Tan, don't worry, I'm comin' to save you!"
Then, without another word or a look back, Loki ran back the way she came, once again leaving everyone in the dining hall confused.
"Ah! Ais-Tan! You came back!" Loki's voice once again sounded from outside the door.
*Bang!*
However, it was shortly followed by the sound of a sheathed sword striking a head. And that familiar sound snapped everyone out of their dazes.
"I'm so confused right now." Tione muttered. She then turned to look at Finn with hearts in her eyes. "Captain, I'm sure you have some idea of what happened. How about we go to your room and discuss it in intimate detail?"
Ignoring Tione's infatuation that has persisted since the day the Hiryute sisters joined the Familia two years ago, Finn kept his gaze trained on the door, as he was certain that Ais would be entering shortly with Loki in hand.
And just as Finn expected, Ais entered the dining hall a few moments later while carrying Loki over her shoulders. {Pic}
"Where have you, Loki, and Riveria been, Ais?" Finn asked calmly.
Ais did not respond immediately. Instead, she tilted her head to one side as if she were thinking about how to answer the question.
"Lady Aislynn's house." Ais replied after a few moments.
"Lady Aislynn?" Gareth asked in a surprised tone. "Isn't she the one that gives people the dreams they want for a price?"
Ais nodded her head in response.
"And what were you three doing there?" Finn asked patiently.
Once again, Ais tilted her head to gather her thoughts.
"We had dinner." Ais replied in her usual emotionless tone. "They made… really good Jagamarukun."
As she mentioned the Jagamarukun, Ais could not help drooling a little. Meanwhile, everyone who saw that looked at her with a strange expression.
"They?" Finn, catching onto a key word, asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Mhmm." Ais hummed a reply. "New Familia members."
While no one was frustrated by Ais' short answers, as they all knew how she was, they found it hard to get the whole story from the little snippets she provided.
"I guess we'll have to wait until either Riveria calms down or Loki wakes up to get the whole story." Finn said while smiling wryly. "For now, let's just finish dinner."
With that, everyone decided to drop the subject for now and finish their meal. Then, the somewhat chaotic atmosphere returned as everyone ate. And before long, the meal ended and everyone relaxed or chatted until it was time for bed.
The next morning, the members of the Aislynn Familia woke up bright and early. Then, after washing up, they all gathered in the main hall while Tatsuo and Alfonzo went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Finally, after breakfast, they got geared up and left the Dragon's Nest to head to the Pantheon to register as Adventurers.
Walking through the city, the group drew the attention of everyone they passed. And while some of that attention came because of all their good looks and some came because of Tatsuo's draconic features, most of it came from the fact that Aislynn, the famous dream selling goddess, walking with what appeared to be a group of Adventurers.
However, what the group overhead the most was the rumors about Riveria and Loki running through the city at breakneck speeds. On top of that, Riveria seemed to be crying while carrying a plate of what looked like Jagamarukun. And with every retelling, the rumors became more absurd. So absurd, in fact, that Tatsuo, Alfonzo, James, and the others did not know what to think. Though, they laughed hardily after hearing them.
"So, how bad do you think Riveria's gonna flip her shit when she hears these rumors?" Alfonzo aske while smiling mischievously.
"If she even hears them." James said. "I mean, I doubt anyone will talk about them when she's around."
"She'll definitely hear them through the grapevine, though." Akatsuki pointed out. "And they'll have probably gotten even worse by then."
"True." James conceded.
"She's gonna lose it." Tatsuo said. "And I bet she'll never eat at our place ever again, either."
"That's for sure." Elicia said with a smile. "But you gotta admit, her moan was really hot."
The other ten members of the [dimensional chat] nodded in agreement with that.
"*Sigh* It's quite the pity, though." Zelretch said while shaking his head lightly.
"Oh, do you have a crush, Zelly?" Elicia asked with a sly grin.
"While I can't deny the fac that she was quite fetching, that's not why I find it a pity." Zelretch said while smiling at Elicia's mischief. "Rather, we could have learned quite a bit about this world's magic from her."
Aletia and Sakura, as the only other pure mages in the Familia, nodded in agreement.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be able to see her again." James said while patting Zelretch on the shoulder. "Orario isn't that big, after all."
"Plus, I'm sure Loki will drag her over to our place sooner or later." Aislynn said while rolling her eyes. "I mean, did you see the look on her face when she chased the elf out of the Dragon's Nest. There's no way she's gonna let that be the last time she sees her like that."
The group continued to chat as they made their way towards Northwest Main Street. And before long, they arrived at the Pantheon. Then, without lingering, they followed Aislynn towards the front doors and stepped inside.
The interior of the Pantheon was a wide open space with lines of Adventurers extending from a counter where several guild employees sat. There were also lines leading to what looked like an exchange area, as well. Then, there were private rooms off to the side of the counter where Adventurers could speak with the guild staff in private. And all of this was built from marble and fine-quality wood that let anyone who saw it know that the guild was one of the wealthiest institutions in Orario.
"It looks like one of those upscale banks." James muttered while looking around the Pantheon's main hall.
"I was thinking the same thing." Alfonzo muttered.
"You guys can talk about that later." Akatsuki said while rolling her eyes. She then pointed forward. "Aislynn is already moving. And it looks like she's gonna be the next one to see a member of the staff."
Hearing Akatsuki, everyone followed her finger with their eyes. And just as she said, Aislynn was already walking towards the counters, towards a beautiful red-haired woman with wolf ears and a cold expression, to be precise. And along the way, whenever an Adventurer or a god noticed her, they quickly moved out of her way, allowing her to move through the line as if it did not exist. {Pic}
"Aislynn's got some serious clout." Tatsuo muttered as he led the others to follow Aislynn.
"And a mean set of hips." Elicia added with a giggle. "Look at the way those men are staring at her hips as she walked by. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was a Goddess of Beauty and not a Goddess of Dreams."
Hearing that, Tatsuo's eyes narrowed. Then he looked at all the men who let Aislynn pass. And sure enough, they were all staring at her butt. And the thought of people ogling Aislynn actually made him angry. Yet, no matter how hard he glared at any of them, they paid him no mind.
"Just let it go for now, Young Tatsuo." Zelretch said in a consoling tone. "As a Level 1, there's nothing you can do to those higher Level Adventurers at the moment. But when you are strong enough, they won't dare to stare at our goddess like that anymore, either."
Knowing that Zelretch was right, Tatsuo took a deep breath and pressed down on his greed and pride. Then, he continued leading the others to follow Aislynn.
"Rose." Aislynn said with a smile. "I've come to register my Familia. Be a dear and help me with that, would you?"
Hearing that, the red-haired werewolf, Rose Fannett, raised her head from the document she was checking. And when she made eye contact with Aislynn, she could not help blushing for a moment. The memory of the dream she requested only a few days ago causing a slight amount of embarrassment to show up on her face.
Quickly pushing down her feelings of embarrassment, Rose looked past Aislynn at the group of ten approaching Aislynn from behind, and her gaze lingered on Tatsuo a bit longer than the others. However, thanks to her professionalism and desire to not get too close to Adventurers, she eventually returned her gaze to Aislynn.
"Would you like to take care of the registration here?" Rose asked calmly. "Or would you rather head into a private room."
Instead of responding, Aislynn turned to look at Tatsuo, the Familia's Captain. And when she saw him sigh with exasperation, she could not help smiling.
Meanwhile, Rose was surprised that the person she pegged as being the youngest was the one Aislynn deferred to. However, as it was not her place to interject, she simply waited until the supernaturally handsome young man with draconic features made his decision.
"Let's do it in a private room." Tatsuo said in a tired tone. "I'm already getting tired of all the stares. At least we can get away from them for a few minutes this way."
"You'd think someone like you would already be used to being stared at, you handsome devil, you." Elicia said while nudging Tatsuo with her elbow while smiling mischievously.
"That's James, not me.' Tatsuo replied with a faint smile while shaking his head.
"Half, actually." James said while raising his hand. "Don't forget the half, okay?"
Rose watched as the group laughed and chatted. During her years as a guild advisor, she had seen many kinds of people. And most of the ones who joked around like this group of people usually did not last long in the dungeon. However, when she saw how sharp the glints in their eyes were, she could not categorize them the same way as the others.
"Please, come this way." Rose said as she stood up and started walking towards the end of the counter.
Naturally, Tatsuo, Aislynn, and the others followed Rose. And when Rose opened a door on the side of the hall and gestured for them to enter, they did so without hesitation. After that, Rose entered the room as well, closing the door behind her. Then, she started the process of registration, which only consisted of everyone writing their name, place of origin, and Level on a sheet of parchment.
Then, when all the parchments were collected, Rose put them in a folder, marked it as the Aislynn Familia's guild record, and filed it away. She then went over everything the group would need to know about exploring the upper floors of the Dungeon, whose entrance was underneath Babel, and warned them about biting off more than they could chew.
Though, to be honest, Rose did not think these ten rookie Adventurers would be as reckless as many of the other Adventurers she had ever met just from the looks in their eyes.
"Well then, that's all for now." Rose said after lecturing the group for nearly an hour. "If you have any questions, feel free to consult me at any time. I will be your guild advisor going forward. And I wish you luck in the Dungeon."
After thanking Rose for the information she provided, the Aislynn Familia left the private room before leaving the Pantheon altogether and making their way towards Babel. Meanwhile, Rose watched them leave the Pantheon's main hall while thinking to herself.
'I hope all of you don't end up buried in the Dungeon like so many before you.'