As the Familia's head cook, Rose smiled gently, fondly ruffling the hair of the little glutton beside her, Laurier, and happily agreed.
"Looks like everyone's looking forward to it. In that case... sure. I passed by the ice cellar earlier and took a look inside. While we were away, Lady Demeter sent over plenty of fresh autumn-harvest fruits and vegetables, plus some freshly brewed wine and drinks... Perfect. Tonight we'll have a little drink and properly unwind."
At that, Laurier immediately threw both hands up and cheered.
"Yay!"
But... in her excitement, she'd forgotten about the bath towel wrapped around her.
With her bouncing motion, the towel slid smoothly and mercilessly to the floor.
"?"
"..."
The little elf's expression froze. Mechanically, she looked down at her flat figure, then glanced around with pleading eyes, noticing the proud, more-than-a-handful assets of Jeanne, Rose, and Kureha that left her utterly deflated. The blow landed instantly, and a thick aura of gloom seemed to settle over her.
"H-how could this be..."
She muttered under her breath, face full of dejection.
Seeing her like this, everyone couldn't help but smile. Kureha gently took her arm and comforted her softly.
"Laurier, by elf standards you're still a child, you know..."
"So..."
"So?"
Rose pursed her lips and added in a firm tone.
"The future's looking bright!" At those words, Laurier perked right up.
"Right, the future's looking bright!"
She nodded hard, and the light returned to her eyes. As the person closest to Leon, no one understood better than she did the subtle meaning hidden behind those words, "the future's looking bright."
She cast a long glance at the gentle, graceful Rose beside her and thought to herself.
You really do take after the company you keep... It hasn't even been that long, and even Rose has picked up Leon's habits.
But on second thought, hadn't she changed quite a bit herself without even realizing it?
She gave a small shake of her head, pushed the thought aside, and set to work organizing things.
The little elf, re-energized by Rose's encouragement, finally pulled herself together and turned her attention to tallying the loot.
With Jeanne and Rose coordinating, everyone quickly threw themselves cheerfully into their respective tasks, even though most of the tedious work had, in fact, already been handled in advance by the capable Leon.
On the other side of Orario, in this labyrinth city that was forever noisy yet tinged with loneliness, a place full of contradictions, the moment Leon's squad and Astraea's justice apostles stepped out of Babel and back onto the surface, news of their return from the Expedition had already reached the ears of certain figures who had always been watching them, passed along by the scouts permanently stationed at the entrance of Babel.
In the southwestern quarter of the city, in the central position of the Fifth District adjacent to the Free Market, stood the massive base known as Folkvangr. On a hilltop at the center of that vast wilderness rose a lone, classically elegant, beautiful structure: the Hall of the Silver Moon.
At this hour, the stars and crescent moon shone in the night sky.
In the luxurious reception hall on the top floor of the Hall of the Silver Moon, the silver-haired goddess in a black-and-purple evening gown stood with her back to the Boaz youth, cradling a glass of expensive red wine. Her pale violet eyes gazed out through the floor-to-ceiling window toward the city's northwest.
After taking in the warm bustle of Orario's life and the countless brilliantly shining lights of its souls for a while, the goddess fell silent, then a charming curve rose at the corner of her mouth as she parted her red lips.
"Ottar."
"My goddess."
"Demeter and Astraea's children have returned from their Expedition."
From the shadows by the wall, the youth pressed a hand to his chest and bowed.
"Yes, my goddess."
The goddess neither confirmed nor denied his response.
"You know what I'm referring to, don't you?"
"Yes."
"In that case, go with Hedin and settle the deal."
The Boaz youth didn't question her instructions in the slightest.
"Goddess Freya, regarding the price...?"
"The price?"
The goddess took a light sip of wine and let out a soft laugh.
"The price doesn't matter. I have only one demand: secure us a share."
At that, the youth standing at the very pinnacle of Orario's combat strength bowed again without a trace of hesitation, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"As you will."
With that, he respectfully withdrew from the room and gently closed the door behind him.
Once he'd straightened up, Ottar turned his gaze toward the figure of the blond elf in the shadows of the corridor.
"Hedin, come with me to the Demeter Familia."
His flat tone carried the goddess's unquestionable will.
"Tch, what a pain."
The elf pushed up his glasses, dissatisfaction in his voice.
"That so-called Monster Hunter Special... it had better be as useful as the rumors say."
Ottar passed by Hedin and strode off without looking back.
"Whatever its effect, since the Loki Familia secured a share, we of the Freya Familia can't fall behind."
Hedin paused at that, his expression shifting slightly. He gave a cold snort but ultimately followed after him.
At the corner, the cat-person youth who had taken all of this in leaned against the wall, narrowing his eyes as he watched the two of them recede into the distance, lost in thought.
"Monster Hunter Special? A dish that boosts all abilities with no side effects whatsoever? Tch... what the hell. When did Orario start sprouting so many novelties?"
His words gave no quarter, but what he truly thought, only he himself knew.
"The Black Dragon..."
The cat-person youth murmured under his breath, ruthlessness in his eyes.
Naturally, Leon, who was at that very moment humming a tune in the bath, knew nothing of what was happening in the Hall of the Silver Moon. He had no idea that the Monster Hunter Special he'd brought out had already set off a storm in the shadows between the two great Familias, Loki and Freya, igniting a silent contest.
And at the very moment the Freya Familia began to move, Alise and the others had also returned to their base, the Stardust Garden, where they were greeted by the ever-smiling goddess, Astraea.
"Lady Astraea, we're back!"
The goddess looked at these children before her, pale-faced, wrapped head to toe in bandages, blood still seeping through the gaps in their armor. Heartache and shadow passed through her lake-blue eyes, before she broke into a gentle, motherly smile and said softly.
"Welcome home, children."