Chapter 33: Ryuu's Long-Awaited Opportunity.
....
The atmosphere inside the Hostess of Fertility before opening was, on most days, light and comfortable. Today it was not. Chloe and the others had clustered together in one corner like a group of small animals that had collectively sensed a change in the weather.
The source of the atmospheric disruption was Ryuu, wiping down tables at the far end of the room. A faint dark haze seemed to hover around her in a way that was difficult to explain but impossible to ignore. Each pass of her cloth across the tabletop produced a faint groan from the furniture beneath it, the wood registering pressures it had not been designed to accommodate.
"Chloe — you always know things. What's going on?"
Chloe pressed closer to the group, voice dropping to a register that suggested genuine caution. "Meow... all I know is that ever since the Sword Princess and Kihara started teaming up, Ryuu has been getting quieter and quieter. Has half a year of jealousy finally pushed her past her limit?"
Syr looked genuinely puzzled. "I mean, I don't really see what's so special about this Kihara. Why is Ryuu obsessed with him? Why is the Sword Princess apparently also— I don't get it."
The cluster of colleagues took a small but unanimous step away from her.
"Syr. Are you serious right now?"
"...You don't prefer women, do you?"
"My preferences are entirely normal, thank you. He just seems ordinary to me."
"Ordinary."
The others exchanged a look. The word ordinary applied to someone who had done things in Orario that would still be referenced in twenty years was a category error of a very specific kind.
Ryuu, sealed in her own private grievance, was still processing the problem.
Since Kihara and Aiz had formed their temporary party, she hadn't found a single workable opportunity to settle her score. Multiple attempts had been abandoned mid-approach because Aiz's instincts were uncomfortably sharp — on three separate occasions Ryuu had come within range only to sense that another few seconds would bring her into the edge of Aiz's awareness, and she'd had no choice but to retreat and defer indefinitely.
That alone would have been tolerable. What made it actively intolerable was that every time the two of them returned from the dungeon, they came directly here to celebrate — a Loki Familia tradition that apparently applied even to temporary party arrangements. And every time this happened, her colleagues were inexplicably buried in other work, leaving her to stand in front of Kihara for the entirety of their visit, maintaining a pleasant expression while delivering food and drinks to the person she had spent six months trying to get alone.
The accumulated frustration had progressed to the point where everything around her looked like something that had personally wronged her.
In the concerned and slightly guilty gaze of Proprietor Mia, Ryuu completed a circuit of every table in the establishment, wiping each one down with a force that stopped just short of structural damage. The fact that all the furniture survived intact was a credit to her self-control.
Evening. The usual din of adventurers and clinking cups. Ryuu cleared the last table from the previous sitting and glanced toward the door.
By the timing, that infuriating man would be arriving with Aiz and the two small ones shortly.
As though her thought had summoned him, the door opened and Kihara walked in, smiling, mid-conversation with Lili. The smile had the specific quality she had come to associate with the desire to do something drastic.
She looked at her colleagues. They were occupied. All of them. With a completeness that suggested coordination.
She'd stopped being surprised by this months ago. She produced the appropriate professional expression and stepped forward.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility. Mr. Kihara — the usual four?"
"That's right. Thank you, Miss Ryuu."
"This way, please."
Hestia had established herself on Kihara's back during the walk over, draped across him like a very contented and extremely well-endowed scarf, using her particular attributes to provide what she described as a neck massage.
"Kihara — why did you recommend that white-haired boy go to the Apollo Familia specifically?"
"You said if he went to the Freya Familia, he'd be consumed to the bone. So I suggested the Apollo Familia instead — they're publicly recruiting from the general population."
"I know, but the Apollo Familia has its own... issues..."
"What kind of issues?"
"Well, it's—"
"Ahem. Lady Hestia, Lili thinks that particular piece of information would serve no constructive purpose and might contaminate Lord Kihara unnecessarily."
"You're probably right."
Hestia accepted the interruption with a nod and let the subject drop.
Once the four of them were seated and had ordered, Kihara turned to Aiz.
"I'll be moving alone in the dungeon for the next couple of days. Nothing dangerous — just collecting some materials I need."
"Understood. Stay safe."
"Lord Kihara — should Lili come along?"
"I'll be fine on my own. It won't take long."
"Alright — Lili and Lady Hestia will be at home waiting!"
Ryuu had heard every word of this exchange and nearly dropped the tray.
Half a year. Half a year of missed opportunities, retreated approaches, and forced professional smiling. And now, finally, he was going to be alone.
If revealing her identity weren't an issue, she would have grabbed him by the collar right now.
She didn't. Instead she delivered the food at a pace that was notably faster than her usual service.
Kihara's decision to move alone had nothing to do with creating an opportunity for Ryuu. The Xenos he'd relocated to the hidden fishing floor had been doing exactly what he'd hoped — mining ore in substantial quantities — and the accumulation had reached the point where it needed to be collected and brought to a smith for smelting. He'd been putting it off.
He also hadn't told Hestia, Lili, or Aiz about the Xenos. Aiz's encounter-based instincts were calibrated for threat response in a way that made introducing her to a group of monster-adjacent beings a project requiring careful preparation. Hestia and Lili knowing would generate complications without adding much practical value. Easier to handle it quietly for now.
Meanwhile, the white-haired young man Kihara had redirected toward the Apollo Familia had navigated the city's winding streets, located the Familia's conspicuously gold-appointed headquarters, and gathered his courage at the gate.
"Excuse me — my name is Bell. I'd like to join the Apollo Familia."
The guard assessed him. Registered that he was very much the Apollo Familia's type. Smiled in a way that contained more information than it expressed.
"Sure, I'll take you to meet Lord Apollo."
"Th-thank you!"
Bell bowed with the sincerity of someone who had not yet acquired the relevant context.
The admission process went smoothly. Apollo was warm, attentive, and enthusiastic about Bell's potential in a way that Bell found encouraging at the time. The Falna ceremony concluded, and Apollo immediately suggested they celebrate with a bath.
Later that night, Bell lay face-down on his bed. A sound of profound personal discovery escaped him as he arrived at a new understanding of what was meant by the blazing direct thrust of the sun.
By the door, the guard contemplated a flower that had lost most of its petals and shook his head.
"First time I've seen someone walk in voluntarily. At least Apollo pays well. Otherwise I don't think I could live with myself."
The following morning, Kihara left home early.
Ryuu, who had been maintaining a position in the vicinity of his residence since the previous night, fell into step behind him at a distance. The emotion she'd been sitting on for six months had finally found a direction.
This time. This time I'm wiping out the humiliation. I'll show you exactly what the Gale Wind means.
...
Thank you for reading.