DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
"You all came out early," Aislynn said while approaching the members of her Familia with Hephaestus and Tsubaki. "Did something happen?"
"*Sigh* Thanks to a certain someone, my team ran into another Irregular Situation on the Fourth Floor." Tatsuo replied in an exasperated tone. "So, we're exhausted."
"Hey! Stop saying it's my fault!" Elicia shouted indignantly.
Hearing Elicia so quick to defend herself; James, Alfonzo, Violet, Aletia, Sakura, and Momo could not hide the amused expressions that appeared on their faces. At the same time, Tatsuo, Akatsuki, and Zelretch looked at Elicia with exasperation.
"I never said it was you," Tatsuo said in a tired tone. "Sounds like someone has a guilty conscience."
Hearing that, Elicia froze. Because like Tatsuo said, he did not blamed her for it directly this time. A moment later, however, her expression turned into a pout as she pointed at Tatsuo accusingly.
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"You! You! You…" Elicia muttered over and over with an aggrieved expression on her face.
A moment later, however, before Tatsuo could reply with something snarky, Elicia turned around and threw herself into Alfonzo's arms while wailing at the top of her lungs.
"Fonzie! Beat him up!" Elicia shouted in a tone of mock-grievance. "Tatsuo is bullying me!"
Elicia's act caused everyone from the Aislynn Familia to burst into loud, uproarious laughter. Meanwhile, Hephaestus looked at the mortals in front of her with a strange expression before she turned to look at Aislynn.
"Aislynn, your children are a bit strange, aren't they?" Hephaestus asked in a confused tone.
"Perhaps." Aislynn replied with a smile. "But this makes things more fun, doesn't it? They're definitely not a predictable bunch, that's for sure."
"Well, I can't argue with that, I guess." Hephaestus replied, her tone making it uncertain if she was envious or happy she was not the first one to come across them. "As long as you're happy, I guess that's enough."
Thanks to a defect at the time of her birth, Hephaestus did not have many true friends from the Heavens. In fact, that defect was the reason she wore an eyepatch over her right eye. According to her, seeing what lay under the eyepatch was enough to make most gods run away in terror.
Yet, there were two gods in the Heavens who were not put off in the slightest by what was under her eyepatch. And those were Aislynn and Hestia, the goddess of the canon story's protagonist. Unfortunately, that also meant that now that she was in the Lower World, Hephaestus did not have many friends either.
Added to the fact that she ran one of Orario's most powerful Production Familias, Hephaestus did not have much time to spend with her only real friend in the Lower World. But today, Aislynn came to her Familia headquarters, Valka's Crimson Chamber, to invite her to the Dragon's nest to introduce her to her new children.
Along the way, Hephaestus dragged Tsubaki, her Familia Captain, out of her workshop to follow her. However, never did she expect that even before reaching the Dragon's Nest, they would run into the members of the Aislynn Familia in Babel Plaza.
Meanwhile, Tsubaki ignored the strange, yet playful atmosphere surrounding the members of the Aislynn Familia. Instead, she focused on something Tatsuo said a few moments ago.
"Another?" Tsubaki asked while raising her visible eyebrow. "Sounds like you run into stuff like that all the time, or something."
"Three times since I became an Adventurer less than two weeks ago," Tatsuo replied in a deadpan tone. "Our Familia has a member who has the habit to run her mouth and invite misfortune."
"Stop slandering me!" Elicia shouted from Alfonzo's arms. "You have no proof that it's because of what I say that all those Irregular Situations happened!"
"All those Situations?" Tsubaki asked curiously while turning to look at Elicia with a strange glint in her visible eye. "It sounds like there have been more than three."
"Yeah, on the first day, the two parties we split into each faced one," James said with a shrug while smiling wryly. "And since then, we've all faced at least one more. Tatsuo's faced two since then."
Hearing that, not only Tsubaki, but even Hephaestus looked at the members of the Aislynn Familia with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"And just how far into the Dungeon have you all gone?" Hephaestus asked in an uncertain tone. "The Seventh or maybe the Eighth Floor?"
"The Fourth," Akatsuki said with her own deadpan. "All of the Irregular Situations we've encountered have happened on the Fourth Floor."
The dumbfounded expressions on Hephaestus' and Tsubaki's faces deepened when they heard that. Then, Hephaestus turned to look at Aislynn, who was wearing an exasperated expression.
"Aislynn, shouldn't you let them leave your Familia?" Hephaestus asked in a concerned tone. "it's obvious these mortals are cursed. There's no way they should have had that much bad luck otherwise."
"*Sigh* It's not as bad as you think," Aislynn said while wearing a wry smile of her own. "Things are usually fine. It's just when a certain person says things they shouldn't, the Dungeon teaches them why they shouldn't say it."
"Hmph!" Elicia snorted while burying her face in Alfonzo's embrace. "it's not my fault."
That just caused all the members of the Aislynn Familia to laugh even harder.
"So, what brings you out at this time?" Tatsuo asked Aislynn after getting his laughter under control.
"I just took the chance to see my friend." Aislynn replied while gesturing to Hephaestus. "By the way, let me introduce her. This is Hephaestus, the Divine Smith. And standing next to her is the Captain of her Familia, Tsubaki Collbrande, the best blacksmith in the Lower World."
"For now," Tatsuo and Alfonzo said in unison while shooting competitive glances at Tsubaki.
Instead of being offended by the audacity from the two new Adventurers, Tsubaki's expression turned into a wide smile filled with challenge.
"I hope those aren't just boastful words," Tsubaki said in a carefree tone. "I'm looking forward to the challenge. It's lonely at the top, you know?"
In response, Tatsuo and Alfonzo smiled back. Meanwhile, those who knew just how formidable Tatsuo and Alfonzo were when it came to crafting smiled, as well. If it was not for the restrictions put on them by the [Mission], as sad as it would be to say, Tsubaki would never be able to hold a candle to either of their skills when it comes to forging. Especially with Alfonzo's ability to create [Soul Armaments].
"Alright, let's go back to the Dragon's Nest," Aislynn said while smiling at the competitive atmosphere. "I want Hephaestus and Tsubaki to taste Tatsuo's and Alfonzo's cooking. And since you're out of the Dungeon early, they won't have to wait as long as I expected. We'll be able to have lunch at home."
"I don't mind," Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "In fact, I'll take care of lunch by myself. I left Alfonzo to cook breakfast alone this morning. Besides, we still need to trade in all the drops from our dive at the Guild. So, I'll let him take care of that."
"Sure." Alfonzo replied. "You should take Sakura and Violet back with you. They can be your assistants while I'm not there."
"I'd be happy to," Violet said with a smile as she stepped closer to Tatsuo.
"Me, too," Sakura added as she also got closer to Tatsuo.
"Then, the rest of you can decide if you want to come back immediately or help Alfonzo." Tatsuo said with a smile.
A moment later, however, Tatsuo stopped. Then, he looked at Sakura, wondering what they should do about the magic stones stored in her [Shadow Space].
"We'll take care of it later," Akatsuki said, understanding what Tatsuo was worried about. "I'm sure that monster horde was more than enough today."
Tatsuo nodded in response. Then, he handed the bag holding the drops to Zelretch before turning to look at Aislynn, Hephaestus, and Tsubaki.
"Well then, shall we go?" Tatsuo asked politely. "Once we get back, we'll get cleaned up then start on lunch immediately."
Aislynn nodded in response. But not before she shot a glance at Tatsuo, Violet, and Sakura that said, "You'd better not do anything to make lunch late." Then, she turned around and started to head back to the Dragon's Nest, leading Hephaestus and Tsubaki. Meanwhile, with Alfonzo leading the group, Elicia, Akatsuki, and Zelretch headed towards the Pantheon while James, Aletia, and Momo returned to the Dragon's Nest, deciding to get in some training while lunch was prepared since the Dungeon dive was cut short today.
About an hour and a half later, the nine people who returned to the Dragon's Nest were doing what they wanted to do after returning, and Tatsuo, James, Violet, Aletia, Sakura, and Momo had finished getting cleaned up.
After bathing, Tatsuo, Violet, and Sakura immediately headed to the kitchen to start cooking. Aletia also chose to follow the trio into the kitchen. Though she could not cook very well, she had no issue being a taste tester or just watching Tatsuo as he worked.
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Meanwhile, James and Momo headed back to the training grounds to get in some training. And Tsubaki, curious to see their weapons up close, followed them.
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As for the goddesses, Aislynn and Hephaestus sat in the main hall drinking tea and chatting about their experiences since coming down to the Lower World.
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About half an hour after Tatsuo, Violet, and Sakura started cooking, Alfonzo's group returned, and Aislynn and Hephaestus were the first ones to see them.
"How were your gains today?" Aislynn asked as she set her teacup down.
"About the same as a normal day," Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "That horde must have been something else this time." I mean, we were barely in there for a few hours, and we brought in the same amount of Valis as a normal day with no Irregular Situations."
"I told you it was." Akatsuki said while rolling her eyes. "Almost the whole time we were in there, we were fighting that horde."
"Young Akatsuki is right," Zelretch said. "As soon as we got down to the Fourth Floor Elicia said, and I quote, 'No, this is NOT my fault at all. And to prove it, I bet we won't have a single Irregular Situation for the whole week.' And as soon as she finished speaking… Well…"
"The corridor was covered in cracks so fast that it was like the Dungeon couldn't wait to win that bet!" Tatsuo shouted from the kitchen.
"How did he even hear us?" Elicia asked through a vicious pout.
"Hahahahahaha!" Alfonzo immediately started laughing uproariously after hearing the details, Tatsuo's addition, and Elicia's reaction to it all. "He's just trying to vent the injustice in his heart."
"Then he should yell at the Dungeon." Elicia said in a huff. "It was the Dungeon who sent all those monsters. It had nothing to do with me."
"I'm implementing a new rule for Dungeon diving!" Tatsuo shouted again, this time, his voice carried all the way to the training field, as well, causing James and Momo to pause their training. "From now on, Lici is not allowed to speak unless absolutely necessary during Dungeon dives, especially when we start going deeper into the Dungeon!""
"Hahahahahaha!"
This time, not only did Alfonzo start laughing, as every other member of the Aislynn Familia, including Aislynn herself, started laughing at Elicia, as well. Elicia, on the other hand, crossed her arms, pouted even harder, and looked at Alfonzo, Akatsuki, Zelretch, and Aislynn as if they were all traitors. She probably would have given Tatsuo, James, Violet, Aletia, Sakura, and Momo the same looks if they had been here, too.
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"Stay in there, Tatsuo!" Elicia shouted back in a tone filled with shame and annoyance. "Quit ear hustlin'. It's not a good look!"
Elicia's reaction only made everyone who could hear her laugh even harder. Meanwhile, Hephaestus only shook her head at the antics of the Aislynn Familia.
"I don't know how you all can joke about something so serious," Hephaestus said while shaking her head. "Do you know how many Adventurers are lost to Irregular Situations?"
"And that's exactly why we laugh and joke around like this." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Life is too short to dwell on it. Instead, we choose to celebrate surviving and enjoy the time we have because we never know when it will come to an end."
Hephaestus looked at Alfonzo with an astonished expression on her face after hearing his response. Although she had heard similar words in the past, most Adventurers were simply not that eloquent with their words.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Crash!* *Bang!* *Crash!*
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Babel Tower, Freya, who watched Hephaestus leave Babel Plaza with the Aislynn Familia, was stomping around her room angrily while throwing anything that was not nailed down.
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"Why! Why does that defective woman get to go to their residence?" Freya asked with tears nearly spilling from her eyes. "While I, the most beautiful woman in all of Heaven and the Lower World, have to watch from up here? It's not fair! It's not fair at all!"
Freya's tantrum continued for a while longer until there was nothing left for her to smash. Then, after tiring herself out, she flopped onto the floor while pulling her long, beautiful, silver hair as if she were going to tear it out.
"My Lady, would you like me to visit the Dragon's Nest to relay your intentions to visit?" Ottar said as he stepped closer to Freya once he was sure she wouldn't be able to throw anything at him.
"But the letter… it's not finished yet." Freya replied in a trembling voice as she raised her head to look at Ottar's stoic expression.
"Perhaps I could go and present your intentions without a letter," Ottar said calmly. "I'll simply inform the Familia's Captain, Soramoto Tatsuo and let him inform Lady Aislynn."
Hearing Ottar's suggestion, a completely reasonable suggestion, Freya's eyes widened in surprise. So used to playing games at her own pace, she never considered doing it in such a simple way.
Usually, if she wanted to meet another god's child this badly, she would hold a banquet, inviting all the gods of Orario to Folkvangr. And in the invitation, it would ask them to bring their favorite child, a well. But with all ten members of the Aislynn Familia having such radiant souls, her usual tricks would not work. And that was why she was agonizing over how to get an invitation to the Dragon's Nest for so long.
"Yes! That's perfect, Ottar!" Freya exclaimed as she hopped up to her feet. Then, with a fanatical light shining in her eyes, she grabbed one of Ottar's arms, which was thicker than her waist, and continued. "Immediately! Go immediately! And if we're lucky, she might let us visit during dinner!"
"Is it about the food or the souls?" Ottar asked himself while nodding solemnly to Freya's order. 'At this point, I'm not sure. Ever since she tried those two's cooking as her alter-ego, she's been even more frantic about meeting them in person as herself.'