Five days ago, seeing Ais Wallenstein's recent behavior, Lefiya tried to find the cause of it. In the end, with little clues from Riveria, she figured out what it was and decided to solve it.
"Ah!! Ais-san, Tione-san told me that Captain Finn is sure Akira-kun will visit in the next few days." Lefiya told Ais, improving her mood.
Seeing Lefiya's help, Ais remembered when Riveria told her she did a good job. She decided to copy her and patted Lefiya on her head, "Good job, Lefiya."
Lefiya was on cloud nine, her face turning red from blushing.
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Two days ago.
"Lefiya is a liar." Ais said in a flat tone.
Lefiya's expression ashened, she felt her soul leave her body.
"Lefiya, are you okay? Get a hold of yourself." Tiona caught the elf's falling body.
In the meeting room Finn sat on the sofa opposite Ais Wallenstein, with Gareth to his left and Riveria to his right. Behind Ais stood Bete, Lefiya, and Tione.
"So as I understand, Ais, you can't wait to meet Akira to get the magic items." Looking at the three standing behind her, "You think the same?"
"Hmm." Tiona nodded while still consoling Lefiya, who was hugging her mumbling, "I am liar, liar are criminal..."
"That guy is a weakling. We should just drag him here to tell us about his magic items." Bete answered.
"Well, I don't think you need to fight him to do that." Finn put his elbows on his knees, palms joined in front of his face, doing the Gendo Ikari pose.
"Do you remember the party? A drop that could convert any wine into divine wine, a box that feeds information about songs into your head. Why do you think he showed it all?" Finn asked.
"Wasn't it just to party?" Tiona asked.
"A newly registered Level 1 showing all those magic items… that's just asking for trouble. He was showing it to us as if saying, 'Look, I have things you can't even imagine, if you want it come to me.' " Finn drank the tea served by Tione.
"It seems logical." Gareth rubbed his beard. "But he looked like a simple-minded guy."
"Nope, he was anything but simple. Didn't you notice the control he had over the group? They were about Level 4 or 5. I bet their leader was around Level 6." Finn took another sip of tea to let the information sink in. "They trust him even though he was Level 1. That shows he's smart enough to be of value. That's why I invited him to our home. I'm sure he'll come here in a few days."
Looking at his teammates who understood the situation, he continued, "Till then, if you meet him, you can offer a hand if needed."
"I still think something is wrong." Tiona murmured.
Instantly, Tione came behind her to put her in a chokehold, "The only thing wrong is your brain. Captain, don't worry, I'll make sure she understands your greatness."
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Yesterday, Evening.
Ais was sitting in the guild's visitor space since afternoon. Unlike Tiona, she understood Finn's words perfectly, especially his last words.
'Offer a hand if you meet.'
She thought about the phrase "offer a hand." Who does a person offer a hand to? An acquaintance. That means if she met him coincidentally, she could act as an acquaintance and ask him about the level-up magic tool. She only had to increase the coincidence. That's why she was sitting there waiting for him.
On the other side, Eina had just avoided another confession from an adventurer. It was time for her to get off work. She noticed a bunch of her colleagues gathered together, peeking at someone hiding behind desks and bookshelves.
She walked over to Misha's side to see who they were looking at. Spotting the golden-haired girl, she commented, "Isn't that the Sword Princess? What is she doing here?"
"We don't know. We asked if she wanted something, she denied it. We tried to offer her water, coffee, tea—just to start a conversation—but she didn't say anything and drank it all. Damn, Rose-senpai went to Ganesha Familia for some work. Who can even communicate with her?" Misha complained.
"She's just not good at conversation. Let me try talking to her." Eina walked over as her colleagues cheered for her.
"Ais-san, do you need help?" Eina asked politely while sitting opposite her. Ais just shook her head in denial and went back to eating Jagamarukun.
"Eh…" Eina was stumped. Thinking about it, she decided to be straightforward. "What are you here for, Ais-san?"
"Meeting." Ais answered.
Eina was happy and asked a follow-up, "Meeting with who?"
"Akira from Hestia Familia." Ais replied.
"Akira-kun? He must have forgotten to tell you. He was here in the morning and already went back home." Eina decide to lecture him later about inviting members of another familia.
Her answer was not something Ais expected. She thought Akira was so reckless as to fight in the dungeon at night and return in the morning. She picked up her sword and stood up, "Then I will be back tomorrow morning."
"Wait up. Are you thinking he will be back tomorrow morning?" Eina asked. Ais nodded, as if wondering why she was stating the obvious.
Eina massaged her head. It was difficult to capture the thought process of the Sword Princess. "Akira-kun won't be coming tomorrow. He was injured in the dungeon yesterday, so he's taking a break."
Ais became sad that she might have to wait to get her cheat item. Seeing her down, Eina thought she might be worried about him. So she told her, "I can give you his house address. You can visit him."
Ais thought about it. She wanted the encounter to be coincidental, but she could now convert it to visiting the injured. She nodded.
Eina wrote the approximate location. She also told her to go to the Blue Pharmacy if she couldn't find her way, as Miach was known to be friends with Hestia. Taking the paper, Ais handed Eina a Jagamarukun and said, "Thank you."
Eina took the Jagamarukun and smiled at the cuteness of Ais, "You're welcome."
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Since the streets were destroyed, Eina only knew a vague location of the church. Ais was confident she would find it, but when she reached the area all she could see were broken-down buildings and mounds of rubble. The only church-like building she found had no voices coming out of it. Thinking it was a bust, she went to the Blue Pharmacy.
After meeting the receptionist there and asking for directions, she found herself standing in front of the same church as before—now with 1000 valis less in her pocket and a potion that tasted like orange juice.
Knocking on the door, she got no response. Thinking he was out, she looked toward the sky and found it filled with stars. She went back home, deciding to come again tomorrow.
Today, Morning
Once again knocking at the gate, she got no response. Pushing the gate open, she found it wasn't locked. The inside was clean and devoid of dirt. On the podium at the end stood a statue, which she examined, finding it to be pretty good.
Since Akira had molded a piece of wood to cover the secret entrance, Ais missed it. After all, she didn't think there would be a secret entrance.
Sad at another failure, with her head down she walked back home. Passing by the Hostess of Fertility, she heard a familiar voice.
"And then he transformed all his clones into naked boys, stunning her."
She entered the tavern and found her target.
"Munch!! Munch!!" Ais was enjoying the dish he called pancakes—it instantly became her second favorite. She had explained her ordeal, and as an apology Akira offered her food.
"I never knew Akira-san was so bold as to ignore an invitation by the Loki Familia," Syr remarked.
"Good job, Akira. Nothing good ever happens when you get involved with that flat-chested goddess." Hestia patted his back.
"Actually, it just slipped out of my mind. Do you think they'll forgive me if I bring some food?" Akira smiled nervously.
Syr giggled, finding it funny, while Ryuu shook her head at his carefree attitude.
"You are an adult. You shouldn't be furrgetting immewtant things, Aniki-nya." Anya told him.
"I think you should be the last one in this room to say that, Ototo-kun." Akira rubbed her head, much to her annoyance.
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(A/N: After the next few chapters there would be more action as I am pretty bored of writing slice-of-life.)
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