Kopii followed Raven, and the more he followed him, the more he understood where he was being led. It was a two-story stone building, resembling a cozy tavern in appearance.
"The Hostess of Fertility."
"Yes, Kopii, let's hurry before there are no seats left."
He sighed, but still followed Raven. Kopii always avoided this establishment because of Syr. Kopii didn't understand why he felt that way about her; he simply didn't like her, that's all.
Entering the tavern, he immediately smelled the pleasant aroma of various dishes. "There are quite a lot of people here; I thought it would be less crowded, since it's daytime."
"Kopii, it's always crowded here, let's hurry while there's space," Raven said, approaching an empty spot. Without thinking, he sat down opposite Raven. Kopii carefully examined the establishment but didn't find Syr anywhere. "Maybe she took a day off to go to Preute. She once talked about it, but Kopii didn't remember it well."
"Kopii, Kopii. Hey."
"What?" He turned his gaze back to Raven.
"You're flying in the clouds again. Let's order; she's waiting." He looked at the waitress, whom he hadn't noticed; it was a girl with black hair, and she also had cat ears and a tail of the same color. She was wearing the Hostess of Fertility uniform.
"What will you be ordering?" she asked.
"I'll have noodles, please."
"Will you be ordering any drinks?"
"No, thank you."
Kopii's gaze lingered on the departing waitress. "Are there only women here?" He didn't see any men in uniform. "What did you want to talk about, Raven?" He turned his gaze back to Raven.
"What, did you like her?" Raven asked with a sly smile.
"Oh yes, she's beautiful, but nothing more. I just noticed that only women work here."
"Is this your first time here? Don't you know about this?"
"Yes. Well, enough about that. Don't stray from the answer. So, what do you want to talk about, Raven?"
"Well," he said, making a thoughtful face, "about many things, like how you've settled in Orario." Kopii narrowed his eyes at his words.
"Everything's fine. I've been living here for, I can't say exactly, well, more than five months." Raven's face twisted in misunderstanding at Kopii's words.
"What? Kopii, what do you mean? Didn't you say that you'd never been to Orario? Or am I wrong?"
"Well, back when we first met, I didn't trust you, that's all. You be the judge, Raven; I saw you for the first time and just decided to hide information about myself for my safety. Anyone would have done the same." Kopii looked at Raven's face; he seemed to be pondering Kopii's words.
"Well, that's pretty logical, Kopii. I understand why you lied to me. I don't see anything wrong with it. I probably would have done the same if I were in your place." His smile returned. "Kopii, does that mean you're already an adventurer? You were saying about how you wanted to become an adventurer, was that also a lie or not?" He looked expectantly at Kopii.
"No, that wasn't a lie. It was once my desire, but I've already fulfilled it a long time ago."
"Oh, Kopii, what Familia are you in?"
"I'm in the Miya Familia."
"Oh, really!" He made a solemn face. "Never heard of such a Familia."
"…Well, my Familia is low-class. So it's understandable that you haven't heard anything about them."
"What does your Familia do?"
"Well, my Familia brews potions. In other words, my Familia aren't dungeon explorers."
"Ah, I see, I see."
"How about you? Have you found a Familia?"
"No, not yet," he said, turning his head. "I haven't tried yet; I'm just slowly settling in Orario. I have nowhere to rush. But actually, Kopii, I'm going to start looking for a Familia next week."
"You know, Raven, for saving me…" But Kopii didn't manage to finish speaking before Raven interrupted him.
"No, no," he shook his head, "Kopii, I understand what you want to say. That you can ask your god, ask him to allow me to join the Familia. Firstly, Kopii, forget that I saved you; it's nothing for a future hero. So I don't want to hear it anymore… I just don't want favors. I want a path of great difficulties so that I can cope with everything, giving everyone hope."
"But okay, I'm not insisting. Then good luck on your path; you just need to believe in yourself, and that's all. And you have enough of it, so I think you'll manage," he said, looking at his smiling face. "Probably." His smile became smaller after these words but still didn't disappear.
"It's not your thing, Kopii, to support people. Don't support anyone else." After that, there was an awkward silence. Raven wanted to speak, but the waitress prevented him.
"Here's your order."
"Thank you."
"Thank you," Raven and he said in unison. After standing for a bit longer, the girl went to serve others.
They ate in silence; no one wanted to start a conversation during the meal. "Having eaten everything they ordered," it was just perfect; I'm always surprised, as if it's the first time. You agree, Kopii, it's really delicious, right?" He raised his gaze from the plate, looking into Kopii's eyes.
Kopii looked into Raven's eyes in silence.
"Well, what are you silent about, Kopii? Was it so delicious that you bit your tongue without noticing?"
"No, I just think it would be more appropriate to give an assessment of the dish. I agree, it's very tasty."
"Yes, I have the same opinion; it's simply impossible to properly evaluate this dish." Silence fell again; they hadn't known each other for long, so there were no common topics for conversation. "It's a pity she's not here today," Raven said, looking around the establishment.
"Who's not here?" He quickly looked around the entire establishment. There were many races here, but most of them were ordinary citizens. But it's quite the opposite. There are more adventurers than ordinary citizens.
"Syr isn't here." Looking at Raven, he expected to hear that.
"Syr."
"Yes, Syr, she's so kind, so wonderful, just an angel in the flesh." He listened as Raven described Syr more and more.
"Do you like her?"
"Who doesn't like her, Kopii? You just haven't seen her yet."
"Yes, perhaps." He focused on one table that everyone was ignoring, as if it wasn't there.
"Raven, why is no one occupying that table?"
"Which one?" He looked in the same direction as Kopii. "Ah, that one, well, that's the Loki Familia's table, as far as I know. So no one dares to occupy it. I'd like to see the Loki or Freya Familia. And especially the top class," he said, looking at those he wants to reach.
Kopii frowned at Raven's words. "Loki Familia," thinking about them, the name Ais Wallenstein immediately flashed in his head. Kopii had long realized that he envied her. He remembered what Miya told him, that he could beat Ais' record, but even so, the residue remained. The fact that she leveled up in a year, being a child, hit his self-esteem.
He always wondered: "What would he have been able to do at seven years old?" He didn't know the answer to that question. He would only have been able to run and hide. Kopii's mood worsened from these thoughts.
"I see, Raven. Simply put, it's their exclusive table."
"Yes, Kopii, you could say that."
"Well, I have to go, Raven. Shall we pay half?"
"No, Kopii, I invited you, so don't worry, I can pay for both of us. Well okay, Kopii, bye, I'll stay here for a while."
"If that's the case, then thank you. Bye." Raven waved his hand at Kopii as he left. Leaving the Hostess of Fertility, Kopii immediately headed back home. He was in the Hostess of Fertility for about two hours. Kopii suddenly didn't want to go to the dungeons anymore. He'd rather go back to the Blue Pharmacy and help Naaza, even if she didn't need help.
Entering the Blue Pharmacy, Kopii was greeted by a familiar scene. "I see, there are few customers as always today," he said, approaching Naaza, looking into those sleepy eyes.
"Yes, Kopii, we're the same as always, nothing new. Weren't you going to the dungeons?"
"Yes, but I changed my mind. So, so that the day doesn't go to waste, I decided to help you, Naaza," he continued to look into those sleepy eyes.