Hostess of Fertility.
It was nearly evening when they arrived at the restaurant.
The members coming to attend this welcome banquet, besides Zephyr, Lili, and Lefiya, also included Eina, who had been invited. She had changed out of her guild uniform today, wearing a light blue dress.
And walking at the very front was Loki. Her bright red ponytail swayed with her steps, and she waved to the crowd behind her. "We're here. The usual, please."
The female dwarf behind the bar put down the wine glass she had finished wiping. Mia Grand had a sturdy build, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows.
She raised her head, her eyes sweeping over Loki, and she didn't feel surprised, but noticing the few unfamiliar figures behind her, she paused for a moment and already understood the sequence of events.
"New kids recruited by your Familia?"
"That's right." Loki squinted her eyes with a smile, her tone full of unhidden pride. "It was hard to recruit members, so we definitely have to come and celebrate."
She didn't have any intention of elaborating on Zephyr's specific talent. After all, the restaurant had high customer traffic, people coming and going. Such a sensitive topic might inevitably spread to some corner of Orario at some point.
"Give me a menu, no wine tonight."
Loki patted the cloth bag at her waist, her tone carrying a sense of showing off. "One of the kids is very sensible and gave me a bottle of good wine."
"As you wish." Mia glanced at the bulging outline and didn't ask further.
After taking the menu, Loki returned to the table. She flipped through it casually and recited the names of a few signature dishesm.
Grilled pork chops, creamed mushroom stew, ale-stewed chicken, and various bread platters. Finally, she added a portion of the grilled fish specially made by Mia.
However, when she remembered Zephyr's appetite, she pushed the menu toward him. "Zephyr, order whatever you want to eat, don't be shy."
Zephyr shook his head. "No need. What you ordered is already enough."
"Hmm?" Loki raised an eyebrow.
According to Lili's earlier reminder, Zephyr's appetite was at least several times that of an ordinary Adventurer. Why would he suddenly be so polite?
However, she then thought of the skill Zephyr possessed. Only by eating the meat of Dungeon monsters could he increase his stats. Ordinary food could only fill his stomach and had absolutely no effect.
Loki chuckled. "That's true. Then we'll wait until we return to the Familia headquarters to let you have a good meal. Anyway, you can tinker with the Familia kitchen however you like. No one usually cooks anyway."
"No problem."
Eina noticed this special exchange, and obvious curiosity appeared in her eyes, but Zephyr didn't explain directly, and she didn't press for more.
Lili's gaze swept over the menu on the table and she requested, "Loki-sama, can I add a portion of papaya cream soup?"
"Hmm?"
Loki squinted her eyes and smiled. "Of course you can, but Lili, why do you suddenly want to drink this?"
"...I just want to drink it."
"No problem."
The service was very fast. The grilled pork chops were brushed with a layer of golden honey sauce, the creamed mushroom stew was continuously steaming, and all kinds of dishes were arranged quite neatly.
But the server who received them this time was not the one Zephyr had seen before. The one walking over with the tray was an elf with short, pale green hair and a polite smile on her face. Yet, there was an ever-present sense of distance in her eyes.
Her eyes swept across the table calmly, devoid of any extra emotional fluctuations, as she mechanically completed her task.
Ryuu Lion.
Finally, she looked up and said in a calm tone, "Please enjoy your meal."
'I get the feeling all the waitresses in this restaurant are beautiful girls. Even an elf works at The Hostess of Fertility?'
However, Zephyr didn't dwell on it. His attention returned to the steaming dishes on the table. Even if they didn't boost his strength, they would certainly fill his stomach.
"Then... let's dig in?"
"Mhm."
Loki took out the half-bottle of Divine Wine Zephyr had given her and poured it into the glass in front of her.
She raised her glass to signal everyone. "Welcome, Zephyr, Lilli, to the big family of the Loki Familia. Let's take care of each other from now on."
"Thank you, Loki-sama."
...
Ryuu carried an empty tray through the narrow corridor. Just as she turned the corner, she saw Syr.
She was clearly distracted, her gaze fixed on the outer dining table or more accurately, on Zephyr's table.
In the two years she had spent with Syr, Ryuu knew exactly what kind of personality her companion, who usually greeted customers with a smile, truly had. She had never seen Syr appear as absent-minded as she was now.
Ryuu placed the tray on the dishwashing counter and walked over to Syr, asking in a concerned tone, "Did something happen?"
"Hm?"
Syr turned her head to look at Ryuu, the absent-mindedness in her eyes quickly dissipating.
Soon, she put on her usual gentle smile. "It's nothing. I just saw an Adventurer... he looked quite familiar, so I took an extra look."
That was a lie.
But Ryuu did not expose her. Following the line of Syr's original gaze, she looked past the serving window and firmly memorized Zephyr's appearance.
He had short black hair and his slightly sallow cheeks showed signs of malnutrition. Most importantly, he was an Adventurer newly recruited by the Loki Familia.
Ryuu silently committed this information to memory, then turned back to the sink to continue her dishwashing.
— — —
"Hmm?"
After Zephyr returned to the Familia base and finished eating the monster cuisine, Loki, having nothing better to do, wanted to witness the change in his stats with her own eyes.
However, the expectant smile on her face gradually faded, and even her usually laid-back tone became uncharacteristically serious. "Something feels a bit off."
"Hm?"
Loki handed the parchment to Zephyr, her tone filled with deep confusion. "This increase in stats sems a bit less than ideal."
"Huh?"
Zephyr took the parchment and frowned.
Zephyr
Level 2
Strength: I0 → I32
Endurance: I0 → I29
Dexterity: I0 → I28
Agility: I0 → I31
Magic: I0 → I30
An average increase of about 30 points—it was simply incomparable to the leaps and bounds of growth he had experienced at Level 1.
Loki sat on the armrest of the sofa, her eyes filled with confusion, and she shook her head. "It's not your problem. When you were still at Level 1, we all witnessed the speed at which you absorbed food. It must be for another reason."
Zephyr looked down at the data on the parchment, thinking rapidly in his mind about the root cause of the current situation.
The skills hadn't changed. Gluttony, Rapid Absorption, and Appetite Demon were still listed on the parchment. Then, the reason certainly didn't lie with the skills.
According to the growth system of Orario's Adventurers, after a level up, all stats reset to zero, and past attributes are converted into potential.
To look at it from another perspective, an Adventurer is fundamentally a supernatural creature possessing power, and a level up is essentially an elevation of their life form.
From Level 1 to Level 2, his body had undergone this qualitative leap, and the container holding his stats had expanded many times over compared to before.
Thus, the problem became clear. The effect of the Gourmet Cells hadn't failed. It was just that faced with an expanded container, the ingredients that previously caused his stats to soar were no longer sufficient to fill this higher level.
To continue maintaining the previous rate of improvement...
Zephyr pondered for a moment and sought Loki's opinion. "Loki-sama."
"Hm?"
"I think I know where the problem lies. It must be that after the level up, the meat of monsters like Minotaur no longer has the same effect as it did at the beginning."
Upon hearing Zephyr's explanation, Loki blinked. She had originally been considering whether to find some reliable gods she knew from Heaven to help analyze the situation. As it turned out, Zephyr had sorted out the problem himself, without even waiting for her to speak.
Loki nodded in satisfaction, her eyes revealing undisguised approval. "That makes sense. Zephyr, your brain works fast."
She patted the armrest of the sofa and summarized, "If you want to maintain your previous rate of improvement from now on, you'll have to go to deeper floors of the Dungeon and find stronger monsters to eat."
"I feel like we can only wait for Finn and the others to return before considering it."
Loki didn't agree with Loki's suggestion. He thought of the effect of Outsider—Gourmet Creatures appearing in the Dungeon due to the Dungeon's hatred.
Therefore, he had to start a brand new Dungeon exploration.
Zephyr shook his head and said with a determined tone, "Tomorrow. I want to try going into the Dungeon. Those monsters I've never seen before might just bring me a huge increase in stats."