"Heeey! We're having a company dinner at the Hostess of Fertility tonight!"
"Ooooooh!!!"
"Hey, Smith. Go reserve dinner at the Hostess of Fertility. We're doing this because of you, so you can manage that much, right?"
"Yes, Tsubaki! Ah, but would it be all right if I brought a friend?"
"From another Familia?"
"A civilian."
"Bring them. If they're not from another Familia, there shouldn't be a problem."
"Just as expected of Tsubaki! Casually doing what we can't! That's why I admire you!"
I got smacked across the back for yelling a JoJo reference... Ouch.
"Just hurry up and go. If you're late and we can't eat at the Hostess of Fertility, you're paying the entire bill."
"I'll be back!"
There was no way I was wasting my hard-earned money on something like that!
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A young man is running...
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"Mama Mia, I'm here!"
"You're here!"
"Yes!"
"There's still plenty of time until lunch. What brings you here?"
"Ah, you don't have any reservations tonight, right?"
"What, your lot having a company dinner? What for?"
"Um... Could I have your ear for a moment?"
It hadn't been officially announced yet, so there was no harm in being careful. Not that Mama Mia was the sort to go around blabbing about it...
"I'm... having a company dinner to celebrate reaching Level 2 this time. whisper "
"Hahaha! Congratulations, you little brat!"
Smack!
"Ack, that hurts! Mama, that hurts!"
"So until last week, a hit like that would've knocked you out, but now you can take it?"
"Ah, I guess so?"
"Then I'll hit you that hard from now on! Hahahahaha!"
"Ah, please, Mama!"
Honestly, I'd originally started coming here to gain the backing of a former Level 6... But as I kept coming, I began thinking more and more about the mother I'd had in my original world... One time, when I was seriously drunk, I cried my eyes out thinking about my parents. Then I asked Mama Mia if I could call her Mama, and when she gave me permission, I cried even harder... Come to think of it, maybe because Ryu Lion hadn't arrived yet, Syr Flova and Anya Fromel were here, but Black Fist and Black Cat weren't.
"Hey, do you remember when you first came here?"
"I'm not sure... Not particularly?"
"When you first came here, you had so many thoughts rattling around in that head of yours that just looking at you gave me a headache. On top of that, you were a blacksmith, so it wasn't like you were going to die in the Dungeon. I wondered whether I really had to keep a regular as troublesome as you around, and it was a real pain in the neck."
"Was I really like that...?"
Come to think of it, I was. The reason I'd first gone to the Hostess of Fertility was to build connections with a Level 6 and the future Level 4s... I hadn't been in Orario for long back then, and I had so much on my mind—whether I should interfere with the original story, how I could protect myself from its villains and all the disasters that would happen...
"I hadn't been settled in Orario or joined a Familia for very long then, so I had a lot of worries about the future."
"Well, I don't think it was quite that simple..."
"Let's leave the old stories for another time. I'll be counting on you tonight!"
"I'll set it for twenty-five portions as usual."
"Yes, Mama!"
"Eat plenty, [son]."
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A young man is running with slightly reddened eyes.
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"Hey, come out!"
"You're here. What is it this time?"
"Ah, we're having a company dinner at the Hostess of Fertility this time, and I came to invite you along."
"...? Did your captain allow that?"
"And what if she didn't?"
"...I'm not going."
"Come on, what's wrong? I already got permission, so don't worry, okay?"
"Then I'll gladly accept the free meal."
"That's fine. Eat as much as you want."
"..."
"...What? What is it?"
"..."
"...See you tonight."
"Yeah, and..."
"?"
"I don't know what it is, but congratulations."
"...Thanks."
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A young man is running with a smile.
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"I'm back!"
"Welcome back. What did the Hostess of Fertility say?"
"The reservation's been made without any problems, and they said they'd set it for twenty-five portions as usual."
"What about your friend?"
"I just finished telling them."
"You haven't been going around telling people you leveled up, have you?"
"I did tell Mama Mia... But if we have a company dinner, everyone will find out eventually anyway, right?"
"Well, there's still a week until Denatus, so keep your mouths shut until then."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Also, you'll be giving the toast at the company dinner, so prepare one."
"...Excuse me?"
"Hey, we're having this dinner because of you, and thanks to you. The least you can do is give a toast. Be sure to prepare properly."
"Ah, uh... Yes?"
And then Tsubaki left... I think I'm screwed...?
No, damn it, I'd never even given a toast back in modern times! What the hell am I supposed to say and how am I supposed to say it? Are the goddess and the captain both the same? Should I say that since I reached Level 2, I'll do my best? Or should I say that we're buying this with the money from selling an item today, so everyone should know their place? Almighty Akarat, protect me with your light—no, damn it, our goddess is Hephaestus! Get out of my head, you heretic!
"...Hah."
When I came to my senses... I was at the Hostess of Fertility...?
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? You said you'd prepared your toast properly. Let's hear it. If it's half-baked..."
In the direction Tsubaki indicated with her eyes were my seniors, mixing up bomb cocktails as a special treat...?
"This is insane. I'm getting out of here."
Grab.
"Where—"
"—do you think—"
"—you're going?"
"Um... Guys? Could you let go of me?"
"Sorry, but... if you escape..."
"Then what?"
"We agreed that we'd have to split that among ourselves. So, for our sake, we'd appreciate it if you died alone—ahem—if you drank it for us."
I looked all around for help, but my goddess was laughing, Limus drew his thumb across his throat and lowered it, and Mama Mia... was nowhere to be seen.
'Nietzsche... you were right...'
As I smelled the pungent reek of alcohol wafting from the drink being brought toward me, I thought:
'God is dead...'