Inside the busy tavern hall.
Ronan looked at the blonde girl standing beside their table. She looked small beside the table, but the pressure around her was impossible to ignore. His mind filled with question marks.
Even though she felt a little different from how he remembered her, he still recognized this famous rising star of Orario at a glance.
It could not be helped. Her expression was almost blank, like a doll's, and her presence was hard to forget. Together with her distinctive looks, she was impossible to mistake.
Besides, they had just seen her portrait on the Guild bulletin board earlier.
"Are you the Loki Familia's War Princess?"
"Yes."
"Ais Wallenstein?"
"Yes."
"..."
The conversation died instantly.
Ronan's lip twitched. He quietly shifted his gaze toward the green-haired elf walking over to their table.
"I'm very sorry, you two. I only looked away for a second, and Ais slipped over here. She's caused you trouble." The green-haired elf woman bowed slightly. Her voice was gentle, but the apology in it was unmistakable.
As she spoke, she reached out and lightly pressed a hand on Ais's small head, making her bow as well.
This green-haired elf was Riveria Ljos Alf, one of the Loki Familia's Big Three, its vice-captain, a royal elf who had left her homeland, and Orario's strongest mage. She was also one of the people who had raised and looked after Ais Wallenstein, the Level 6 first-tier adventurer known as Nine Hell.
Faced with Riveria's apology, Ronan quickly stood up with Jeanne and waved his hands.
"Uh, Lady Riveria, you're being too polite. It's really nothing. A tavern is a place for talking, after all. Besides..." He glanced at the expressionless Ais. "Everyone knows the War Princess is... well, a little unusual. So it's really fine."
At that moment, Ronan sharply noticed that the eyes of almost the entire tavern had turned toward them. The gazes from Mama Mia and the girl called Syr behind the counter were especially noticeable. A chill ran down his back, and cold sweat followed.
Damn it. Right now, Ais was not the calm Sword Princess people would talk about later. She was still the War Princess, the troublesome girl many adventurers found hard to deal with. At her current stage, even a random monster that annoyed her in the Dungeon would probably get cut to pieces.
Ronan knew very well that getting involved with her now meant endless trouble later.
He and Jeanne were only Level 1 newcomers. There was no reason for them to get dragged into the affairs of people like this. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Across from them, Riveria secretly felt relieved that Ais had not caused a bigger scene. Luckily, this young man seemed sensible.
"Thank you for understanding. Ais, we're going back."
With that, Riveria lightly held the expressionless Ais and led her away.
Only after the eyes around them finally moved elsewhere did Ronan let out a long breath.
"So that was Riveria and Ais. As expected of people like them. The moment they show up, everyone notices. The pressure is unbelievable."
"Ronan, are you alright?" Under the table, Jeanne gently held his hand and asked with concern.
Ronan gave a slight shake of his head to show he was fine.
"So that was the Loki Familia's Nine Hell? She really is just like the rumors say. As expected of elf royalty, her presence is extraordinary," Jeanne whispered with admiration.
"Tch." Ronan clicked his tongue and lowered his voice. "Right now, I'd rather stay as far from them as possible. The Loki Familia's sworn enemies are the notorious killers from Evilus. I'm sure every move they make is being watched from the shadows. This place is only safe because we're inside the Hostess of Fertility."
That little interruption ruined Ronan's mood for lingering.
The two of them quickly finished the food on the table. After draining the last of the cold beer, they paid the bill and got ready to leave.
"Anyway, the mission to eat well and drink well was a success."
Ronan patted his stomach in satisfaction and even let out a burp.
Narrowing his eyes, he stood beneath the tavern's eaves beside Jeanne and looked out at the late-summer rain.
The rain fell in a steady curtain. The fine drops seemed to wash away the noise and fatigue in his heart.
The air had turned fresh and clean. The steady sound of the rain was strangely comforting.
"So this is the Hostess of Fertility. It really deserves its reputation. The food here suits me perfectly. I'm completely satisfied."
The girl beside him hugged his arm with a happy expression.
Ronan glanced at Jeanne. She had eaten almost as much as he had and still looked perfectly comfortable. He shook his head speechlessly and thought to himself:
I guess eating well really does matter.
"Let's go home."
As he spoke, he took a black umbrella from a waitress who had brought one over from the tavern. With a snap, he opened it above both their heads. At the same time, he politely said, "Thank you."
Only after he realized that the waitress handing him the umbrella was Syr did his heart suddenly skip a beat.
"Thank you very much for your support. We look forward to your next visit. Goodbye, guest." Syr wore the same sweet, professional smile as always and bowed slightly.
That smile always made Ronan think of some very unpleasant things.
"We'll come often. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Syr!"
Compared to Ronan's simple farewell, Jeanne smiled warmly and waved at her.
Syr watched the two figures slowly disappear into the rain under the umbrella. The smile on her face gradually faded, and her expression turned thoughtful.
"Just another hollow surface. A plain, unremarkable soul. Even lower quality than most."
...
Once they were far enough away from the Hostess of Fertility and fully out of sight, Ronan quietly let out a breath.
He glanced at Jeanne, who looked perfectly normal, and thought:
It seems the skill really works. Even Freya's ability to read souls didn't notice anything unusual about us. No, more accurately, it didn't notice anything unusual about Jeanne's soul.
As for himself, he knew exactly what kind of person he looked like in her eyes.
Thinking of this, confidence returned to Ronan's face. The corners of his mouth slowly lifted again.
"That expression makes me want to hit you." Jeanne frowned as rainwater dampened one side of her shoulder. She had no idea what weird thought had made him start acting smug again.
"Why do you think I insisted on eating there even though I knew what kind of place the Hostess of Fertility is? I'm not stupid." As he spoke, he shifted the umbrella a little more toward Jeanne so the rain would not touch her.
"There was a reason?" Jeanne was not a naive girl. Just from those few words, she could already guess that he had something in mind.
Ronan looked at her and gave a quiet laugh.
"In the tavern, I only told you about the waitresses and Mama Mia. I never explained why Syr felt strange, right?"
Jeanne said nothing. She simply waited for him to continue.
"Your Revelation wasn't wrong. There really is something very unusual about Syr."
Ronan's lips curved upward. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered:
"The Syr Flova working at the Hostess of Fertility is Goddess Freya in that form. At least, that is the secret behind her."
"Huh?"
Hearing such a shocking secret all at once, Jeanne's eyes widened, and her lips parted in surprise. Shock covered her face.
"Syr is Goddess Freya? One of the two most influential gods in the city? The god of the Freya Familia? The Goddess of Beauty?"
"Shocking, right? Forget us. Even the people in Evilus, the ones who hate her more than anyone, probably would never guess. They put huge bounties on her, but instead of hiding safely in Babel, she does the exact opposite and works in a tavern. That's an insane move."
At this point, Ronan could not help smiling.
Jeanne slowly recovered from the shock. After thinking it through, she let out a small laugh.
"Is this what people mean by hiding in plain sight? But didn't you say the gods forbid using divine power in the lower world? Why would Goddess Freya..."
Ronan's smile faded as his expression turned serious.
"It probably has something to do with one of her Familia members. That's just my guess. After all, people in the lower world are full of surprises. Who knows? Maybe there's some kind of magic or contract that can affect even a god's form."
"Magic? Then that doesn't sound strange at all." Jeanne looked at him as if that answer made perfect sense.
"?"
She accepted that explanation so quickly? Her way of thinking adapted too quickly. Now it was Ronan's turn to be stunned.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense."
"Make sense? Does magic need to make sense?" Jeanne shot back.
"..."
Ronan was speechless.
"Why are you making that face? Isn't that just what magic is?" Jeanne looked completely confused, as if she were asking: Why are you trying to apply logic to magic in the first place?
She really did not understand.
Faced with Jeanne's logic, Ronan suddenly felt a headache coming on. He couldn't make sense of it at all.