The Hostess of Fertility pub was unusually boisterous under the starlight and moon.
This is the most famous pub in Orario, not only because of its prime location on the West Main Street between the bustling Old Street and the Trade District, but also due to its proximity to Babel and Central Park.
People come and go; as long as one is an adventurer, they certainly know this place. Furthermore, many famous Familias prefer to hold their celebratory banquets here—chief among them being the Loki Familia, one of the strongest factions in the city today.
There are also lively and cute waitresses, as well as sumptuous and delicious meals...
"Hello, add another portion of the stewed chicken and grilled fish set, and also the pasta... Cecil, do you want anything else?"
"No, I'm full..."
The girl spoke while looking at the empty plates in front of her, feeling that Isagi's appetite had grown even larger recently.
Was it due to an increase in his Status?
That wasn't it. It was simply because Lefiya was treating them today; the girl from the School District said she wanted to thank him.
Then he might as well eat his fill.
It's just that...
"Lefiya, are you alright?"
"Huh?"
The girl froze for a moment, seemingly just realizing what Isagi meant, and hurriedly waved her hands.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. If it's not enough, just order more."
The Elf girl had some savings, and her other classmates had agreed with the idea of treating him to a meal to express their gratitude, so she wasn't paying for it all alone. It didn't matter.
She was simply watching the boy bury his head and eat seriously in large mouthfuls.
Lefiya felt a bit dazed, because the Isagi before her now was completely different from the one in the Dungeon... especially compared to when he fought that massive, colossal monster.
The scene of him shouldering a greatsword in one hand and gripping a dagger in the other, constantly swinging and thrusting to suppress that terrifying monster again and again.
It was a sight the Elf girl could not wipe from her mind.
Just what kind of fighting style was that? How could someone wield two completely different weapons simultaneously?
And...
What left the deepest impression on her was Isagi's eyes.
Those were the eyes of a beast.
A wolf.
Lefiya was reminded of her distant hometown, the Wishe Forest, and that cold, emotionless gaze she would occasionally see from afar in the night.
It was as if that incredibly violent, massive monster was not something fearsome, but merely ordinary prey.
Just a lamb awaiting slaughter.
"!"
Was it scary?
The image of the boy in the Dungeon, his body stained with the monster's blood, still made her unable to stop shivering.
So...
"E-Excuse me... Mr. Isagi and Miss Cecil... which... which Familia are you members of?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Ah... I... sorry... I..."
Seeing the stammering Elf girl, Isagi tilted his head in confusion. Suddenly, he saw Lefiya stand up and shout loudly.
"Please let me join your Familia for an in... internship... Please!"
Lefiya nervously clutched her skirt, finally voicing her true objective.
"?"
Fortunately, the pub was noisy enough that no one paid attention to this corner.
On the other side, seeing that Isagi still looked somewhat clueless, Cecil reacted first. She leaned naturally toward the boy's ear and whispered softly.
"It's that thing. Every year, a batch of students from the School District joins the city's Familias. Among them, there are so-called internships, where they participate in the Familia's daily activities first to see if it suits them before deciding whether to stay or leave..."
Because the students of the School District were all excellent.
At the very least, compared to Gods running around drawing lots to find people, these boys and girls had undergone considerable education and training. Most importantly, their Skills and Magic were all fully "revealed."
Whether they had potential and how they would develop in the future could be seen at a glance.
Moreover, Lefiya was a member of the School District's most excellent "Baldr" class and a solid honor student within it. Her original goal was to join the Loki Familia, one of the strongest in the city—though it is said that Goddess Loki herself lacks interest in the School District.
Therefore, for a long time, no students had ever joined her Familia. Even though she symbolically sent two executives as Familia recruiters this year, many said it was just for show.
Lefiya had met those two Loki Familia adventurers in the School District.
They were the Cat People swordswoman named Anakitty, and her Elf compatriot, Alicia, who held the title [Pure Garden].
Both were quite famous Level 4 adventurers in the city. She had once spoken with Lady Alicia, and it was because of her encouragement and the longing for the "mission" she spoke of that the idea of becoming an adventurer sprouted.
And there was more.
Later, a compatriot from the Freya Familia, Hedin Selland, known as [Hildr's Sleight], also came to recruit her, saying she could join the Familia of the Goddess of Beauty, Freya, which is on par with the Loki Familia as one of the city's strongest, at any time.
This made Lefiya feel "overwhelmed by favor."
Yet now, suddenly saying she wanted to join Isagi's Familia for an "internship" was not because she felt joining the Loki Familia was too difficult, nor because she worried the extremely iron-blooded and gunpowder-scented atmosphere of the Freya Familia didn't suit her, causing her to retreat.
No matter how difficult.
Lefiya believed she could certainly become the most excellent person. When she first joined the School District, she had successfully fought her way out of one thousand two hundred applicants to become one of only six new students at the time.
The reason the girl changed her mind today was simply because...
"I also want to become an adventurer that monsters fear!"
Lefiya longed to become an adventurer.
The girl, who had left her hometown alone to enter the School District and travel various lands because she wanted to see the incredibly vast world with her own eyes, once had doubts about the future.
Until recently, when she arrived in Orario.
This massive city known as the center of the world, and that Babel piercing into the clouds, purely, absolutely, and almost eternally branded themselves deep within the girl's heart, shaking her soul for a long time.
"I want to be able to protect everyone in front of such monsters!"
When the Elf girl was lost.
Teacher Leon once said that the more troubled you are, the more you can only reach a conclusion after troubling yourself over it.
She once didn't know why she wanted to be an adventurer; she merely had a simple yearning. But now, the fundamentally kind-hearted girl had arrived at the plainest, crudest, and simplest answer—
[To Protect Others].
"I don't want to see my companions die, so I want to become strong."
The girl finally said everything she wanted to say. However, looking at Isagi and Cecil, who tilted their heads slightly and stared at her without speaking, she inexplicably felt a bit embarrassed for a moment.
Then...
"U-Um... actually, I'm still quite powerful. I'm already a Level 2 Mage, and... I possess Skills..."
The young girl thought the boy disliked her for being "too weak."
But that actually wasn't it.
"Sure."
Isagi hadn't listened to Lefiya's self-introduction at all, because...
"Another person means another worker, eh."
"Mmhmm!"
Isagi whispered to Cecil beside him, and the girl nodded repeatedly, indicating the boy was right!
Besides.
Relying on just two people—no, there was also Ryuu Lion, who they had no idea where she was in the city—to revitalize the Astrea Familia was an impossible task.
So they definitely needed to recruit new members.
Thus, with Captain Cecil's "approval" (though the decision was entirely Isagi's), Lefiya's internship application was approved.
Starting today, the girl was temporarily a member of the Astrea Familia...
___
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