Alice was back, and Lili was overjoyed. She tugged at Alice's sleeve like a little child eagerly telling a parent all about the fun they'd had while out playing.
Listening to Lili's excited chattering, Alice smiled warmly.
When Alice emerged from the dungeon with Loki and the others, she felt her spirits lift at the sight of sunlight she hadn't seen in so long.
The gentle sunbeams made her eyes, unaccustomed to daylight after such a long time, ache slightly at first. But before long, they adjusted to the outside brightness.
"So, Alice, would you like to come with us to the Loki Familia?" Finn asked.
Of course, Finn and the others were returning to their home base. As for Alice, she didn't really have any plans to visit the Loki Familia.
"I'll pass for today," she replied. "I haven't been home in days, stuck in the dungeon all this time. Now that I'm back up, I'm feeling a bit worn out. I'd like to go home and freshen up."
As a proper young lady, Alice didn't exactly get dirty on her own.
But inside the dungeon, monsters still bled before they were completely vanquished. No matter how careful Alice was about keeping clean, it was hard to avoid picking up all sorts of smells.
Even though Lili, who'd been sticking close to Alice the whole time, hadn't noticed any unpleasant odor—in fact, Alice still smelled lovely—Alice herself felt a little uncomfortable.
"I see…" Finn fully understood how she felt. His own goal was to restore the pride and standing of the entire Pallum race, so he always held himself to strict standards, which made him quite popular, especially with women.
Because of that, Finn had a good grasp of how women thought.
In fact, he believed Alice's reaction was perfectly normal for any woman—if you felt grimy, of course you'd want a bath.
Then he glanced at the women in his own familia…
"Huh?? You're going back already?" Tione looked surprised. "I wanted to experience your gravity magic."
"Me too! Why not come to our place, Alice? We have a huge bathhouse. Or if that doesn't work, we could all go to the big bath at Babel," Tiona chimed in, equally curious about gravity magic.
Ais was staring straight at Alice, her eyes full of silent expectation.
Riveria also tried to persuade her. "I'm quite interested in understanding how that magic circle operates, myself."
Lefiya didn't have much to add, but since everyone else was speaking up, she kept quiet. Still, she didn't really want to part with Alice either.
Finn watched as the women of his familia kept trying to coax Alice, and let out a helpless sigh.
"Everyone… Did you forget what I said back in the dungeon? Alice wants to go home. Are you really planning to drag her off to set up a gravity circle by force?"
"Besides, once we get back, you all have plenty to do. If nothing else, you need to see to maintaining your equipment."
"Alice isn't going anywhere. The gravity magic can wait a couple of days."
To be honest, even though some matters didn't require Finn's attention, once you reached a certain age and saw the younger members of your familia, you couldn't help but worry about them.
Even though Finn was still single—and already a forty-two-year-old man—seeing all the women in his familia acting so unappealing to men made him concerned for their futures.
Sure, these girls had decent looks and were quite popular in certain circles, but if only they'd put a bit more effort into their feminine charm, things would be so much better.
And here they'd spent several days alongside an exemplary young woman like Alice, yet they hadn't picked up even a hint of her gentleness. It was truly disheartening.
Honestly, if he weren't older now and focused on his own goals, with little interest in romance, if he were even twenty years younger, Finn would have considered pursuing Alice himself, even if they were of different races.
As the captain, Finn's words carried weight.
Hearing him, Tiona pouted. "Finn, you really know how to kill the mood…"
"I'd say I'm preserving the mood. Can't you see the murderous look in Miss Lili's eyes?" Finn raised an eyebrow and glanced toward Tiona.
"Uh…" Tiona followed his gaze to the Pallum girl clinging to Alice's arm, twitched her mouth, and sighed. "Alright, fine. I get it."
Bending down, Tiona apologized to Lili. "Sorry there, little Pallum girl. I know she's your precious Lady Alice, and this is her first day back after so long. It was wrong of me to try and take her away from you. My apologies."
Tiona's words made Lili's face flush bright red. At fifteen, in Orario, she was practically considered an adult.
What's more, Lili had spent years scraping by in the dungeon. Even if her strength hadn't grown much, she prided herself on understanding human nature well.
At the very least, she figured she was better off than that Amazon who called her "little girl" without a second thought.
But there was nothing to be done.
According to the information Lili had, this Tiona girl was seventeen—two years older than her—so calling her "little sister" wasn't entirely out of line.
Under normal circumstances, Lili wouldn't mind.
But after Tiona's suggestion to take Alice to the Loki Familia, Lili was feeling a bit resentful.
Still, the woman meant no harm, so Lili had to accept the address.
Watching Tiona and Lili interact, Alice gave a soft smile.
"Alright then, I'll come to the Loki Familia tomorrow. Let's call it a day for now," Alice told everyone.
Hearing this, Tiona straightened up, a little disappointed. "I guess that's that. But Alice-chan, you have to come tomorrow, okay? Promise!"
"Yes, yes…" Alice chuckled.
After exchanging a few more farewells with the group,
Alice and the Loki Familia went their separate ways.
"Come on, let's head home," Alice said to Lili, then glanced toward the unusually quiet trio from the Hestia Familia.
"Is the Hestia Familia's home still across from my place? That little chapel—did you all do any renovations?" she asked Daphne curiously.
"Yes, Lady Alice. The Hestia Familia's home is still opposite yours. But we've rebuilt that run-down old chapel. Now the Hestia Familia has a proper residence of their own."
Daphne answered Alice's question with great respect.
"Heh… Is that so? Hestia must be thrilled, finally moving out of the basement into a real house," Alice said with a light smile.
--+--
T/N: Mihoyo x Multiverse Fanfic Up!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.