(3rd person PoV)
"Henry?" Bell called Henryk's name with a questioning tone.
"Yes?" Henryk replied.
"Who is this girl?" Bell was looking at Lili.
"I want to add her to our dungeon party. After captain's approval, of course. Her nickname's Lili" 'Why do I feel like this happened before? Oh, I feel like I also asked myself that question before, too'
"Bro, before that, you might need to see the new one yourself. The flying ones were sent home" Welf pointed his thumb backwards at the new kobold. A red bloodhound variant, as her status says. Her entire coat was a flaming red while her eyes were a bronze-like brown. She was 1.9 meters tall (app. 0.9 Ottar's tall). Good thing her face did not have as many wrinkles as a bloodhound would, though. He gave her the name Scarlet due to her unnaturally red fur for a mammal.
"Good job down there, children" Henryk congratulated them on the day's work.
"I ain't a mere child" Olympia denied being one. She will come to regret that then and there.
"Okay, we can forget about Olympia" Henryk pushed her aside and far away from the others.
"Hey! Don't forget me!" A certain switch was flipped.
"Then stop underestimating children. They can and will make you regret it. I have personal experience with that" He shuddered at the memories. While not human children, the harpy chicks he helped raise were particularly crafty once they were old enough to leave their parents' nests.
"Okay. I'll stop" Olympia backpedaled quickly, raising her hands in surrender.
"Again, good job down there, children. We celebrate two things today. We survived a minotaur outbreak and gained new family members. REJOICE! FOR WE FEAST TONIGHT!" Henryk shouted with an arm raised high. The other arm was wrapped around Ray's shoulders.
"Noble father, my ears hurt" Blanc complained at the sudden shouting. He was covering his ears.
"Then you should get ready for the noise inside. Otherwise, your food's going to be eaten by someone else since you would cover your ears almost all the time" Henryk smirked at him. Blanc braced himself and readied his ears. The others did the same.
"Food!" Fey, who was on Henryk's shoulder, finally smelled the food. She forgot her tongue dangling again.
"Little Fey, your tongue" Ray's reminder had her to take it back where it should be.
"Come on, our seats are reserved for us" Henryk took the lead. 'Wait a minute! Birds aren't the best when it comes to smelling things, now, are they?! How did she smell them from the outside?' He dashed that for her being a monster now. A normal animal's logic does not apply to her.
"Welcome to the Hostessh of Fertility nya~" Anya bit her tongue but acted as if nothing happened. "Your seats are ready nya~" She tripped once or twice while leading them to their reserved seats.
They were seated on tables closest to the counter. Henryk and Bell went to the counter. Henryk hesitantly decided to seat Ray on his lap, as with the addition of Lili he has reserved one seat too few. The large table that the Loki familia reserved in canon was in the far corner.
(AN: Seriously, who would hire a waitress who is as clumsy as Anya is? In a story's setting, I can get it. In real life, not so much)
"What would ya order tonight?" Mia herself took their orders. She was going to inflate the proportions of what they wanted to eat.
'May you rest in peace, comrades who I don't know' Thought one sympathetic adventurer, one who went through this process before. Actually, nearly all of the adventurers present tonight were thinking the same, just different wording. They did not know that Henryk came prepared for this.
The kobolds all but ordered a dish or two containing meat, except for Gracie and Olympia. Gracie ordered salads and slices of fruit. As for Olympia, her order could not be bound by containing meat or not. It was all meat.
'I was wrong about something. Gracie wasn't the shy type. She was more of the quite type. She said her order with confidence and a steady gaze. That's unlike Noland, who's stuttering when others focus on him' Henryk thought, amused.
"I want my meat raw, all of it" Olympia was drooling from the corner of her mouth with the usual fang sticking out.
"No! Hers will be at least perfectly cooked!" Henryk interjected from the counter.
"Why?! I want mine raw! I can handle it!" Olympia shouted back.
"Olympia, if you get an upset tummy, I'm not letting you into the dungeon. Are you okay with not going to the dungeon for a good few days while you recover?" Henryk said with adamant refusal to allow her to eat raw meat. That was too large a gamble to take on.
"Fine" Olympia backed down reluctantly. She wanted raw meat.
Blanc on the side was on the verge of educating her on how unladylike it is for her to want to eat raw meat like a wild animal. He dismissed it when Henryk convinced her otherwise.
"By the way, I came expecting your unusual food proportions" Henryk pulled out a fat bag of valis and threw it her way.
"Mia, you could consider the remaining valis as compensation for reserving the seats" Mia caught it, smiling. She loved an adventurer who came prepared to spend money on her establishment's food and drinks.
A few minutes later, the plates started arriving. Blanc was almost the only one among the kobolds to eat too calmly. Ouros, Mont and Noland were eating in a more normal way, but cleanly. Gracie followed in Blanc's footsteps and ate slowly and gave each bite its time. Gladia and Scarlet were eating normally with the occasional sauce getting on their cheeks and getting wiped clean soon after.
Olympia, on the other hand, she ate like a starved beast. She was holding her food with her bare hands and pulling it apart using her teeth, tearing it in a more 'natural' way. Blanc gave up. She still managed to eat cooked meat like a total brute.
"Reserved customers have arrived nya~" After Bell stuffed his face with spaghetti during a little chat with Syr, who was skipping work by the way, Anya finally announced the arrival of some special guests.
"It's the Loki familia" Unnamed adventurer #1 said.
"They look so cool. I wish I was walking with them" Unnamed adventurer #2 dreamed. Fantasized, even.
"You dream too much. It would be good if you could ever reach level three" Unnamed adventurer #3 crushed his dreams and let them burn in a heap. Unnamed adventurer #2 cried in a drunken haze for an odd minute and continued to eat quietly, deathly so.
As Loki's familia walked to their table, Henryk stopped feeding Ray and Fey, whose arms did not support the use of cutlery, to tell Bell something important.
"Bell Cranel" Bell knew that the change in the way Henryk called him meant something. "No matter what happens, remain seated. I promise you, you would witness something that will make you feel at the top of the world if you persevered through the bad parts" 'Good thing I insisted Ray keeps her cloak on for tonight. Even if she can potentially defeat them, it would definitely hurt her'
'Why would I want to get up, though?' Bell nodded, mouth still getting stuffed with spaghetti.
The moment Henryk was waiting for finally came.
"Yeah, Aiz! Tell us that one story!" A jarring voice rang across the pub.
'It's finally starting. Just you wait, Bete Loga. Once your aggressive words give captain enough determination, you'll be dealt with accordingly' Henryk was boiling inside. He did believe in the survival of the fittest, but that did not make him unable to see the other side of things, the side where weaker being could always find a way to become stronger, especially so now that he was in a fantasy world filled with mortals blessed by the gods.
"That one story...?" Aiz was unsure what story he talked about.
"You know the one! About the Minotaurs that got away! Remember, you finished off the last one on the fifth floor! You know, tomato boy!" Bete said the last couple of words in a particularly mocking tone.
Bell did not need anyone to tell him. He knew they were talking about him at that table. The shock of what he was anticipating to come left him frozen in place.
"Are you talking about the group of Minotaurs that attacked us on the seventeenth floor, the ones that ran away when we fought back?" Someone at the table asked.
"Yeah, yeah! That one! By some miracle they ran up! We tore after them! Already damn tired, too!" They were walking the entire way, all the way to the 59th and back. They were bound to be tired.
"Yeah, and there! That 'adventurer'! Damn newbie kid!" Bete laughed some more.
'They are talking about me' Bell was fighting the urge to run away. What Henryk said echoed in his head and prevented him from doing anything, yet. Henryk's serious words were not said without a purpose in mind. He always proved that in the last two weeks.
"Got himself cornered like a lil' bunny! Shaking like one, too! Poor thing was about to explode!" Bete mocked him.
Tiona was not sure how she needed to act at this point. She started to prepare her arms. Whenever it was they exit the pub, as it was prohibited to fight inside, she was going to beat Bete to a bloody pulp.
She did not notice Bell, who was shaking in his chair. He could not take it. She did not notice him because of where her chair was on the table. She was facing away from the counter.
"Oh? And what happened to the boy? Was he okay?" Riveria was worried they might have resulted in a newcomer being gravely injured. Worse yet, he could have died. Judging by the way Bete was retelling the event, however, Riveria ruled it out. Drunk he might be, but he did not make fun of someone's death before. Never once did it happen.
"Aiz here carved up the Minotaur at the last second, ain't that right?" He turned his face towards Aiz, asking her to confirm what he said.
"..." Aiz remained silent. Something in what Bete said about newbies always irked her. She was about to burn his face in public if he did not stop it.
"The kid took the full blast of that stinky cow's blood, got soaked! So, tomato boy! Gya ha ha ha ha ahhh, my ribs!!!" Bete held his ribs, which started to throb in pain from laughing so hard. "Aiz, please tell me you weren't trying to do that! I'm begging you!"
"...No, I wasn't" She denied that. She was not the type of person to harm others or their public image for no reason or for fun, which was arguably worse.
Bete kept on laughing his heart out. His eyes teared up because of how long he laughed. The table laughed a little at Bell's expense, save for a select few. Even other customers were holding in laughs now.
"And get this! Tomato boy! He ran away! He ran away, screaming his head off! He at least had the decency to apologize! Gya ha ha ha! Our princess saves him, and he buggers off!" Bete said between laughs.
Someone was getting very displeased with his antics.
"GYA HA HA HA HA! Absolutely priceless! Aizee scares away a newbie! You are sooo awesome!" Loki laughed with Bete.
"Hahaha... I'm sorry, Aiz, but I can't take this anymore!" Bete continued laughing after taking a very, very short breather.
"..." Someone was getting extra displeased.
"Ooooh, don' make them scary eyes! It ruins yer pretty face!" Loki wanted to wash that angry expression off Aiz's face.
The entire Loki familia erupted in laughter, keep for five people. Aiz, who was on the verge of unintentionally destroying Bete's social life. Tiona, who was about to cave his other temple in, like she did yesterday. She was going to knock him out cold for laughing at her new friend. Riveria, Alicia and Lefiya, who saw no reason to laugh at the mistake they themselves made, especially since someone was in grave danger because of them.
Bell felt as if a part of him was dug out by force.
"Um...B-Bell?" Syr was concerned about Bell's mental state. He seemed very hurt.
"Captain, stay strong. If you leave now, you prove him right. Remain here, deal with your feelings not by running away, but by facing them. Running away solves nothing" Henryk put a hand on Bell's shoulder. He was intending on calming him down, to make him able to accept his problems and deal with them, not run away from them.
"But really, it has been a long time since I've seen something so pathetic! So disgusting I could cry!" Bete said.
"..." Aiz's irritation has risen further, reaching untold levels.
"The hell was he doing? If you're gonna cry like a little bitch, you shouldn't be down there in the first place! Right, Aiz?" Bete egged her on.
Henryk gripped Bell's shoulder to emphasize the need to stay seated, to see where this ends. 'Sorry, captain. You need the determination boost that this shithead will give you. But as a payback for keeping you here, I'll get him embarrassed in front of the crowd'
"..." 'Why does he need to involve me with every other sentence?' Aiz's ire was about to reach its boiling point.
"It's weak adventurers like him who give us a bad name. Just give it up already!" Bete said.
"Shut your mouth already, Bete! It was our mistake that let the minotaurs escape in the first place! That boy had nothing to do with it! And stop drinking! Learn some respect!" Riveria had had enough of his blabbering.
"Oh oh! You elves and your pride! But yeah, what's in it for you to protect that piece of shit? Saying it's our fault, you're lying to yourself! Just to keep your pride! Trash is trash! What' so wrong with calling it what it is?" Bete said.
"Hey, hey! That's enough! Bete, Riveria, relax! You're killing the mood!" Loki tried to mediate to return the mood to a merry one.
"Eh, Aiz!" She seemed to fail. This wild pup needed to be trained later. "What did you think about him, the pathetic piece of shit who was shaking in front of you? Do you think he deserves to stand at our level, as adventurers?"
"... I don't blame him for acting the way he did given his circumstances" Aiz said. She was glad their actions hadn't resulted in a death the day before.
"Steel yourself, the tougher part's coming now" Henryk felt a shift in Bell's posture. He tightened his grip on Bell's shoulder a little more and whispered in his ear.
'Gladia, when I give you the signal proceed with the next few steps I'm going to tell you. When I give the signal, stand up and walk away as if you are going out of the pub without looking his way. Once you are behind him, target him with [Duelist] and give him your strongest left hook, direct it at his temple. That should knock him out. Once he's knocked out, laugh while saying the next. "How pathetic! Degrades others in public and then, as a level five, proceeds to be knocked out by a person that doesn't have falna! Who's the pathetic one here, huh?". As for concerns that the skill won't activate, don't worry, both of you are unarmed. The effects are going to apply to you two' Gladia minimally nodded.
'Dear, if Tiona wanted to look towards Bell, enlarge at her. Suffocate her with your feathers' Fey got ready.
Welf was told beforehand. That whatever trouble arises, he should leave it to Henryk to deal with.
"Why you acting all Goody Two-shoes? Okay then, I'm changin' the question. Him or me, who's got it going on?"
"... Bete, are you drunk?" Finn asked him.
"Shut it!" Oh, how he will regret saying that. "Now, Aiz! Choose! As a female, which male wags your tail? Which male makes you hot?"
"Just a little more. He's gonna be humiliated soon" Henryk whispered in Bell's ear. It was the only thing keeping him from running at this point.
"... I have no reason to answer that question, especially to you, Bete" Aiz said with a voice sharp enough to cut one's will to continue. That did not deter one foolish werewolf.
"You're absurd..." Riveria said, shaking her head.
"Quiet, hag!" Riveria was going to deal with his new lessons once he is sober.
"... Well then, what if that piece of trash came up to you, said he likes you, would you take him?" Bete said, his upper half crawling over the table slightly.
"... Hm" She hesitated at the thought. She did not know him, so she did not want to involve him in her personal revenge.
"Stay strong, Bell Cranel. It ends in less than a minute" Henryk reassured Bell for the last time.
"Of course, you wouldn't! Why would a tiny kid who's so weak, feeble, and all-around nauseating have the right to even stand next to you? There's no way he'd measure up!"
"A tiny kid could never land Aiz Wallenstein!" He kept laughing until he was interrupted by Aiz.
"Bete Loga, even if you were the last of any male in the mortal realm, I would pick a monster over you" Aiz has lost it. Everyone was shocked at her statement. She, who was going out for the blood of every monster she sees, she just put him lower than a monster in her mind.
Riveria's glass fell to the ground and shattered. The juice that still remained in her mouth started spilling out from the corner. Riveria was shocked into stillness.
'Gladia, now' Henryk instructed her.
Gladia did not target him the moment she stood up. The sudden high increase in power, or the high loss of it, of an individual in proximity would be noticeable for experienced adventurers. No, she was going to apply the skill as she goes into action.
She just reached behind him. Being there while trying to get out of the pub was natural. Her chair was in a position where she has to go behind Bete anyway.
She was rolling her shoulder as she walked, and the moment she reared her arm, she used her skill. The surprise painted on his face was obvious to all. The enhanced speed of her arm, coupled with the surprise factor and the fact that he was both drunk and weakened because of her skill, allowed her hit to connect to his temples.
...He simply fell on the ground, unconscious. "Finally, the yappering has stopped! This feels refreshing!" She was starting to laugh for real, imagining the results of her actions.
One person fell.
"Look at how pathetic you are! Degrading others in public for being 'weaklings', and then, as a level five, proceeding to be knocked out by a person that doesn't have a falna! Who's the pathetic one here, huh?!" She was laughing at him, knowing that this smudge of shame would follow him to the last breathe he takes.
"I should go back to my chair now, don't want my dinner to get any colder! Hahaha!" Gladia returned to her chair and resumed eating as if the Loki familia were not looking at her in utter shock.
They looked at Loki, to see if it was the truth. Surprise surprise, it was the truth. This unknown chienthrope, as an unblessed person, incapacitated a level five with one hit. That is simply beyond the bounds of reason, even for falna. No skill should be absurd enough to allow for this. None has been recorded, none would ever be. Worse yet, this one has no falna, not to mention a skill.
They did not know that Henryk's skill did not adhere in everything to the falna the gods give. It broke the scale and was generous with skills.
Olympia stood up and went Bete's way. She took a look at his unconscious body, another look, and then promptly lifted him off the ground. She took him to god-knows-where. The others at the table were too shocked to focus on it. Their worldview was just shattered.
'Olympia, I noticed your obvious glances at him while you sat at the table. If you wanted to hit him so much, make sure he doesn't die on us, okay? And remember, don't break any of his bones. That'd be too troublesome to deal with. Once you're done doing whatever you two agree to, take him back to his home at the Twilight Manor' She responded positively. 'Guess her variant's intended purpose, to hunt wolves, has been translated to something similar. I need to monitor her behavior around werewolves hereafter'
'The teasing begins' Henryk had a mischievous grin on his face.
He himself stood up and went to the table the Loki familia were sitting on.
"Hey, miss Hiryute, can you give me your chair for a moment?" Henryk approached Tiona. "I need to talk with miss Wallenstein for a bit"
"Henry! How have you been? You could call me by name like last time!" Tiona asked him cheerfully. She did not forget Bete's misconduct, but Henryk takes precedence over him any time.
"I've been through rougher days. You?" Henryk asked her as he was sitting down. He purposefully sat in a way such that Bell was on the other side of where they look.
"I've been fine. Where's Fey?" She looked around expectantly.
"You heard her?" Henryk said, calling Fey over. 'Fly to be between her and the door'
"Lady chocolate! Fey wants to stay outside to play with lady chocolate in Fey's full size!" Fey flew towards the door and out of it. Tiona was hooked as soon as she heard the words 'full size'. It piqued her curiousity.
'Well, that works better' Henryk maintained a poker face.
Two people down.
"Hello?" Aiz tilted her head. It was as if asking him who he was and what he wanted.
"My name's Henryk Williams, miss Wallenstein. You can call me Henryk. I want to ask you a question" Henryk posed a thinking pose. Elbows on the knees and fingers forming a net to rest his head over it. He was looking serious.
"You can call me Aiz" She really did not know why people insisted on calling each other's family name instead of their given name. 'Why is that?'
"Miss Wallenstein, imagine someone handed you a furry, white rabbit that has rubellite eyes" Bell was starting to understand what Henryk was doing. He waited so he could hear her genuine answer. "Say, that rabbit's a giant one and its fur was extra fluffy and softer than silk, what would you do? Do you think you would want to coddle it?" Henryk had a glint in his eyes.
Riveria was starting to gather herself from the previous shock.
"... I do" Aiz chose the worst timing to answer the question.
"..."
"..."
"Gahahaha! My sides hurt!" Gareth started laughing.
"What did you mean by your question, Mr Williams?" Riveria recovered just now.
"Well, look and see for yourself, lady Alf" He stood up.
"Captain, you heard her? Miss Wallenstein said she does! Congratulations!" Henryk went on laughing as Aiz's brain finally caught up. She saw the boy who looked exactly like the rabbit Henryk described.
Her vision suddenly got jammed by a notebook. Mini-Aiz was holding it. And in it she wrote "You fell into a marriage trap! Get a white wedding dress already!". She blushed at her younger self's words.
"He's fated to become the hero you always wanted" Her face exploded in a massive blush when Henryk whispered these words to her. She already had a favorable impression of him for his rabbit-like appearance, something she noticed the day before. Hearing Henryk describe him as someone who could become her hero pulled the trigger.
Seeing Aiz of all people blush bashfully at a man, Riveria went on a journey through her inner mind. She was not with them at that table anymore that night. Alicia was taking care of Riveria after she fainted from an excessive and welcomed shock.
Five people down. (AN: That includes Alicia. She prioritizes taking care of an unconscious Riveria, which occupies her for the rest of that night)
Bell was no better than Aiz, as he himself also exploded in a blush. Some of the pub's patrons started laughing in merriment. The change of atmosphere was much welcomed, especially for the older adventurers. They disliked Bete's belittling words.
Aiz ran out the door, almost slamming onto Fey's side. Fey's body was huge enough to take most of the street's width. Aiz escaped in the direction of the Twilight Manor, directly to her room.
Tiona saw her massive blush and was shocked herself. Playing with Fey and her comfy feathers proved enough distraction, however.
Back inside the pub, Loki was wondering if she was drunk beyond recognizing reality from hallucination. This situation was definitely a hallucination.
"Wait a minute?! WHERE'S BETE FUCKIN' LOGA?!!" She was the first to finally remember, and pay attention to the fact, that Bete was not where he fell under the table. She did not know that Olympia took him away to rough him up a little. He was bruised all over by next morning.
'They don't need to know that Olympia may return him beaten half to death. Seriously, her skill breaks physics on a whole other scale' He thought as he sat back down and resumed pa- feeding Ray. She insisted on sleeping on the same mattress as there was no space otherwise. As a result, Henryk became less nervous around her.
"I didn't know! Aiz had a crush on a boy all along!" Tione commented. She was surprised at how well Aiz hid her ideal type from them. Who knew, the infamous breaker of a thousand hearts was searching for someone who embodied the perfect image of a rabbit, more than a hume bunny did.
"Strange indeed" Gareth wondered when was last time he saw Aiz show an expression at all. He ignored it and drank some more. He proceeded to drink in the hope he reaches the breaking point this time around. He would come to again learn how hard it is for dwarves like him to get the slightest bit drunk.
Six people down. (AN: Gareth fell all by himself here)
"I REPEAT AND I WANT ANSWERS! WHERE'S BETE FUCKIN' LOGA?" An enraged Loki screamed at them. The last thing they wanted is for Bete to drunkenly do a stupid thing like usual.
Last time this happened, it cost them dearly. They could have spent that same money on potions and equipment for their familia's expeditions, but they had to spend it to repay the affected parties.
"Now that I remember, Bete was carried by a woman who came from that table. Should we ask them about it?" Finn remembered seeing that while he was stunned. That question was actually directed at Olympia's tablemates.
'Well, shit. They noticed her' "I promise you, Olympia will return him alive tomorrow" Henryk did not even look their way. "Children, nobody answers any of their questions, understood?" Henryk's group, minus a still blushing Bell, returned to eating what remained of their feast.
"PAPA! Can Fey take lady chocolate home?" Fey entered through the doors with a laughing Tiona carried in her beak, by the head.
"No, dear. She has her family to return to" Henryk looked at his daughter, exasperated.
"Fey'll take lady chocolate and run away!" Fey disregarded what he said.
"Goodbye, Loki! I'll return when I feel like it!" A laughing Tiona said. She enjoyed her time with Fey and wanted some more.
"Sorry, lady Loki, but it seems miss Hiryute will be in my daughter's hands for now" Henryk had a blank look plastered all over his face.
"HOW?! MONSTERS SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO TALK!" Loki was drunk. She was sure that she was, and this is a fever dream of some sort.
"This's reality. It's just something to do with one of my skills that let her talk" Him being a tamer was announced out of necessity. By announcing it at the guild, being allowed to walk with monsters around would be more acceptable. It was not a secret that a skill of his is what caused it.
"Join my familia!" Since she was already dreaming, it will not hurt anyone if she randomly invites people. She would wake up soon, not seeing any of their faces. She would go celebrate the return of h-
"My goddess would be furious if she knew Loki no-boobs invited me to her familia" Henryk said, completely shattering Loki's fantasies.
Loki's eyes widened for more than one reason. There were less than three reasons, though. First and foremost, his words are the truth, meaning that this is still reality, not dreamland. Also, the words he said were things only one person would, one short loli big-boobs.
"WHYYYYYYYYYYYyyyYYYyyyyyyy?!" She howled at the skies, or the ceiling in this case. This was unfair. Why would Hestia win a person with such an interesting skill?
Not to mention that effeminate rabbit. He could have joined based on his looks alone. It was just unfair that Hestia landed both of them. The sheer amounts of despondency she felt when she lost the chances to Hestia made her faint.
Seven people down.
'I really wonder how the fuck am I incapacitating them so easily? Tiona and Aiz are easy. The others I don't understand' Henryk thought.
This entire time, Lefiya was angerly muttering elven curses to damn the boy into an early grave. 'How dare he take miss Aiz's attention away from me?!'
"The one over there, muttering Elvish curses! You lost all and any chances to get Aiz's attention!" Henryk put a stop to her cursing. 'Is Elvish like Latin? It sounded understandable to me, for some odd reason'
Lefiya's eyes dilated and her mouth hung open.
Eight people down.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I know where your companion took my familia member?" Hearing what Henryk said, Finn took things into his own hands.
"Finn Deimne, don't trouble the children. I already told you, he'll be returned safe and sound tomorrow" Ray's plate of food was finally finished. Henryk turned the chair around to face Finn.
"And why should I believe that your companion will return him safe and sound as you said?" Finn said, full of doubt.
"Well, she's one of my daughters. I know that she'll return him. Don't ask me about my age, they're my children and that's that" Henryk said.
"Fufufufu" Ray chuckled at him. "I thought only women say that?"
"Let me tell you, men feel like concealing their age sometimes. It ain't that strange" Henryk said.
"Regardless, tell me where she took him" Finn was worried that Bete might do something if he woke up while still drunk.
'Now you are being insistent, Finn Deimne! I'm getting back at you!' "Nah, I donno. She took him somewhere. I donno where. But let me tell you something" Henryk said.
"And pray tell, what is it that you want to tell me?" He had a bad feeling about this. His magical thumb told him.
"You already lost your chance to be the pallums' light. Someone more capable will take that title out of your hands. Oh, let's not forget. At your age, declining fertility's a prominent threat that may prevent you from having a child if you waited long enough. You don't have time to want only a pallum as your wife" 'Well, the first statement's true if you look at it from my perspective. Lili's joining hands with someone fated to kill the one-eyed black dragon'
"Truth" Loki confirmed his words and fainted again.
Tione's eyes shined. She was getting ideas. Her imagination was going places.
Nine people down.
Finn's eyes became unfocused, and his made-up smile fell. 'Then, whatever should I do going forward?' Loki's confirmation was devastating. His dream was going to be achieved by another pallum and his descendants may not be pallums, if they were even conceived to begin with.
Ten people down.
'Heh, two in one! This turned out to be more fun than it should have! I should refrain from doing this, though. It isn't okay to do these things to people often' Loki familia table: Complete K.O.
"You're one daredevil, eh?" Mia never in her life saw a defeat as devastating. She enjoyed seeing something new, something refreshing.
"A very proud daredevil!" Henryk paid the price of that. It came in the form of a knuckle to the top of his head.
"OUCH!" He was nursing a very large bump.
"Rabbit boy, I felt like you were going to recklessly go into the dungeon as you're now, without your gear. Always remember that coming back alive is winning. Prepare before you go down there and return a winner!" She took no words after that and kicked them out.
"Captain, forget what that punk said. Trying to impress a woman using your physical ability would be a vain act. Let her know who you are. Let her love you, not your power" Henryk prepared to drop a really important set of questions. "But the question is, do you love her? Or is it some teenager's first crush? Is it a passing crush? Or do you want to take it as far as courtship?"
"I..." Bell opened his mouth but no words came out.
"Let me finish talking, captain" Henryk said. Bell nodded. "Remember this, even if it was a teenager's first crush, there's nothing wrong with that.
In the words of my wise gramps, "Even if it was a teenager's first crush, pursue it. Make your feelings of interest deeper. They could become genuine romantic feelings later. That is how I landed your grandmother".
And what if they were a crush and not romantic feelings? You can make them be. I will ask you again. Bell Cranel, do you want to go as far as courting her for her hand in marriage?"
"I... think I want to take this as far as courtship" Bell nodded. The idea of courtship was widespread throughout the lower realm. Even though some started dating instead of courting each other, the act did not die out or become obscure yet.
'It's his first crush, but if he takes it far, that will soon become a deeper feeling' "Don't say "I think I want to". Say "I will". Saying it like that will have a different effect on you yourself. You'll be more likely to stick with that decision" Henryk said while jabbing a finger at Bell's chest.
"I will give it my best" His eyes glowed for a split second.
"Anyway, you still need to look cute" Henryk threw a random thought in.
An unknown source of steam was made.
They returned home after buying a mattress for the new girl. Her brothers and sisters bought her clothes on the fly and came here.
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Name: Scarlet Williams
Variant: Bloodhound
Level: 2
(Empty I0 stats)
Abnormal Resistance I
Skills:
Xenos
Humanification
Pack Member
Tireless Tracker:
You will know an enemy's exact location if you still smell them. You never get tired if you are pursuing an enemy you smelled.
Origin of Pyromancy:
You can generate and control flames and fire at the cost of mind. This skill prevents you from gaining any magic spells and removes already existing ones.
This skill is special. It could be taught by giving a part of your being.
(Line Break)
"Captain, can we take a vacant day tomorrow?" Henryk proposed after they finished unwinding in the dungeon.
"What for?" Bell said.
"We need more land and space for all the children. They need to get more space to live comfortably. A garden would also be good. Flora could make use of it. We could also include another mansion for the familia members we'll have join us later" Henryk thought of the future. They cannot live in the small church with all of them.