DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
Not long after Aisha and Haruhime left Haruhime's private quarters, they arrived at the meeting room in the Belit Babili's main building. When the two Amazonesses guarding the door saw them, they both gave Haruhime complicated looks.
On one hand, they looked down on Haruhime. As a member of the Berbera, even if she was only Level 1, she was a battle prostitute. This meant she was expected to take customers when she was not in the Dungeon.
Yet, in the two years since she joined the Ishtar Familia, Haruhime had not once been able to see a man's body without fainting. In fact, it was so bad that even seeing a man's collarbones would make her feel ill.
Though that could not be blamed on her completely, more than likely, Haruhime had contracted androphobia because of the tragic childhood in which she was disowned by her father, tricked into slavery, and sold to the Ishtar Familia.
Either way, because the other members of the Berbera never saw any possibility of Haruhime serving a customer like everyone else, they looked down on her.
But at the same time, they also envied her. Unlike many of them, she would be able to live a different life. Then again, most of the Berbera were Amazonesses, so they didn't mind having casual sex. However, most members of other races had not chosen this life. Rather, they had been forced to live it... to survive.
On top of that, the fact that Haruhime would no longer have to deal with Phryne was more than enough to make any of them feel envious. Though, that would no longer be a valid reason once her condition was made public.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
"Lady Ishtar, Aisha and Haruhime have arrived," one of the Amazoness guards said after knocking on the door.
"Send them in," Ishtar said from the other side of the door.
After receiving the order, the two Amazonesses turned towards the door. Then, they simultaneously pushed the doors open, allowing Aisha and Haruhime to see the scene inside the room.
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However, when the two saw the situation in the meeting room, they both widened their eyes in surprise. Neither Aisha nor Haruhime had ever thought they would see Phryne in such a terrible situation. On top of that, Ishtar's forced expression of calm was just as surprising to the two members of the Ishtar Familia.
At the same time, Aislynn turned towards the door. When she saw Haruhime, her lips curled into a smile.
"Oh, she's quite the pretty one, isn't she?" Aislynn said playfully.
Naturally, Haruhime knew Aislynn was talking about her. Because of that, her cheeks reddened, and she stepped back to hide behind Aisha.
However, before Haruhime could completely disappear behind the taller woman, Aisha turned sideways, placed a hand on Haruhime's back, and gently pushed her forward.
"Don't run," Aisha whispered. "This is your chance to get away from here."
Hearing that, Haruhime bit her lower lip. But she did not resist Aisha's gentle push, allowing herself to be moved into the room.
With that, Aisha and Haruhime stepped forward, carefully avoiding the massive woman on the floor, until they stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to Ishtar's throne.
"Greetings, Lady Ishtar," Aisha and Haruhime said as they bowed to Ishtar.
"As ordered, I have brought Haruhime," Aisha continued.
"You've done well," Ishtar said in a tone that hid her discontent. Then, she looked at Haruhime. "From today on, Sanjouno Haruhime, you will no longer be a member of the Ishtar Familia. Now, meet your new goddess, Aislynn, the Dragon God of Dreams."
Hearing that, Haruhime shuddered momentarily. Then she glanced at Aisha, who nodded minutely to comfort her. Only then did she turn to face Aislynn, who was looking at her with an amused smile.
"Greetings, Lady Aislynn," Haruhime said, her voice barely audible due to her nerves.
"Oh, Elicia is going to love you," Aislynn said as she stood up. "In fact, all of my children will adore you."
As she spoke, Aislynn stepped closer to Haruhime. When she was within arm's reach, she reached out and gently raised Haruhime's head so she could look into her eyes.
"We're going to have to do something about that fear of men, though," Aislynn said in a gentle yet contemplative tone. "But we have time. There's no rush."
When Aislynn mentioned her fear of men, Haruhime's eyes widened again. Fear of being abandoned to remain in the Ishtar Familia flashed in her eyes. Yet, when she noticed how gently Aislynn had said it, she immediately realized that she would not be scorned because of it.
"You have what you want," Ishtar said, interrupting the moment. "Now, I need to see about getting my captain treated. So, I must ask you to leave."
"Not quite," Aislynn said, looking at Ishtar out of the corner of her eye. "I think you forgot about something."
Then, Aislynn reached out her hand in Ishtar's direction.
"The contract, please," Aislynn said with a bright smile. "Or did you think I would allow a slave owned by another to enter my Familia? Oh, and please unlock the Falna so I can take it over as well."
Hearing that, Aisha was the first to move. She stepped closer to Aislynn, reached into her cleavage, pulled out a folded piece of parchment—the magical slave contract restricting Haruhime—and placed it in Aislynn's hand.
"Thank you, Antianeira," Aislynn said with a smile.
Then, with her other hand, Aislynn gently took Haruhime by the hand and led her up the stairs. When they were standing right in front of Ishtar, she held out the magical contract.
Ishtar did not immediately reach for the contract. Instead, she stared at Aislynn, who was smiling brightly with resentment. Then she shifted her gaze to Phryne, who was writhing on the floor in pain, a hint of hatred in her expression. Finally, she reached for the contract and laid it on her lap. Then, she picked up a golden needle from the table next to her throne, pricked her finger, dripped a drop of blood onto the contract, and…
*Rip!*
… tore it in half after dissolving the contract.
"There," Ishtar said in an agitated tone. "It's done."
Aislynn's smile brightened. Then, she gestured for Haruhime to show Ishtar her back so the Falna could be unlocked. Meanwhile, Ishtar pricked her finger again, and the Familia transfer process began.
The rest of the day passed quickly. Before anyone knew it, the sun was starting to set, and the Adventurers were leaving the Dungeon.
Naturally, that included the members of the Aislynn Familia. Since this was their sixth consecutive day in the Dungeon, they were all looking forward to their rest day. But that was not the topic of conversation they were most concerned with at the moment. Instead, they were all curious about just how badly Aislynn had fleeced the Ishtar Familia after Phryne attacked Tatsuo that morning.
Or… they would have been, if they had not been sidetracked by something totally different.
"I still say you should have thrown up on her instead of just throwing up on the ground in front of her," James said with a chuckle. "That would have been peak cinema, if you ask me."
"Have you ever been thrown up on before?" Akatsuki asked with a disgusted expression.
"Yeah," James replied with a solemn nod. "Aaliyah has thrown up on me a few times."
"Isn't Aaliyah your baby sister?" Elicia asked with a smile.
"Yup!" James said with a radiant smile. "She's the cutest thing in the multiverse, hands down."
"*Sigh* Everyone is entitled to their opinion," Elicia said, shaking her head. "Even if that opinion is wrong."
"What?" James exclaimed, clearly disagreeing with what Elicia had said. "I challenge you to name one thing in any world that could possibly be cuter than my little Aaliyah."
In response, Elicia proudly turned her nose up at James. Then, she answered his challenge with five words.
"My Mar'e is the cutest."
Elicia's response actually brought James up short. As shameless as he could be, there was no way he could tell a mother to admit that another child was cuter than her own. So, he did not even try to argue. Instead, he turned his head away.
"We'll have to agree to disagree," James said with much less fervor than before.
Around that time, the group reached the Dragon's Nest, opened the gates, and stepped into the courtyard. At the same time, they finally returned to the main topic.
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"So, what do you think Aislynn asked for from Ishtar?" Violet asked Tatsuo as the group headed for the villa's front door.
"Actually, I think I have a pretty good idea about it," Tatsuo replied with a smile. "But I don't think I'm gonna tell."
"Tch!" Alfonzo clicked his tongue. "I bet it's because you don't actually know."
"Provoking my pride, huh?" Tatsuo said, narrowing his eyes at Alfonzo. "Not a bad tactic. But it's not gonna work this time."
"Hmph!" Alfonzo snorted, since his plan had been seen through so easily. "The only reason you have any idea at all is because you know the most about this world."
"Sounds like you need to step your game up, Zo," Tatsuo replied with a cheeky smile.
"Dick," Alfonzo shot back with a grin.
"I bet she asked for that Aisha chick," Elicia said, cutting into the conversation. "From what Tatsuo and Sakura said, she seems to be interested in Tatsuo. So, she would probably be willing to switch Familias."
"But she's Level 3," Momo said. "Wouldn't it look strange if the captain were two Levels lower than one of the members?"
"Oh, now that you mention it," Elicia said, scratching her cheek with her index finger.
"Money," Aletia suggested.
"Probably not," Sakura replied. "Aislynn seems to have more than enough money already."
"But what dragon do you know that would give up gold?" Zelretch countered.
"Zelretch has a point," James said with a shit-eating grin. "I mean, Tiamat's had a thing against Ddraig for more than a thousand years because he lost some of his treasures."
"That sounds about right," Akatsuki said with a giggle. "I still remember how badly Tatsuo-Kun beat up Tomura in Momo's world after he found out that Tomura had disintegrated those gold pauldrons, which had no practical use."
"Hey! That wasn't funny!" Tatsuo shouted petulantly. "I still have nightmares about that. Those pauldrons should have been MY treasure."
"Oh, I forgot about that," Sakura said with a smile. "Tatsuo-Kun was heartbroken for a long time after that."
"They didn't deserve that," Tatsuo said in a tone filled with mourning. "Those pauldrons will never be forgotten."
Tatsuo's forlorn tone caused everyone to burst into laughter at his expense. At the same time, they reached the villa's front door and prepared to enter.
"But now that a dragon's love for treasure has been mentioned, I think Aletia might be right," Alfonzo said while opening the door.
Alfonzo also glanced at Tatsuo to see his reaction. Unfortunately, it didn't give anything away, so Alfonzo had no way to know if Aletia was actually right.
The group continued to chat as they entered the villa, stepped through the entrance hall, and walked into the main hall. However, when they arrived, the conversation immediately came to a stop. The reason was simple: Aislynn was not sitting in the main hall alone. Instead, she was sitting next to a beautiful girl with blonde hair, fox ears, and a fox tail.
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"Oh, they're back," Aislynn said with a smile. "And it looks like they're surprised to see you, Haruhime."
Haruhime had already noticed that the rest of the Familia was back. They hadn't exactly been trying to be quiet when they entered the villa, after all. As a result, her head was lowered when the others entered the main hall. But when she heard what Aislynn said, she raised her head slightly to get a look at the members of her new Familia.
When she saw the other members of the Familia, Haruhime was surprised as well. Everyone in the Familia was really good-looking. Even the old man looked quite good for his age. But her breath was taken away when she saw Tatsuo, the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.
"Yup, just like I expected," Tatsuo said with a nod, while everyone else looked shocked.
"Oh, you expected me to bring Haruhime back?" Aislynn asked with genuine curiosity.
Tatsuo's "just as I expected" snapped everyone else out of their dazes as well.
"Yeah, because I know just how much a dragon seeks treasure," Tatsuo said with a nod. "And Sanjouno-San is one of the three greatest treasures in this city."
Tatsuo's assessment perfectly piqued everyone's curiosity, especially Haruhime's. Other than the members of the Ishtar Familia and Aislynn, no one should have known what kind of Magic she possessed. So, she was really curious to know why Tatsuo would rate her so highly.
At the same time, Tatsuo realized he had said more than he should have in front of Haruhime. There was no way he should have had any information about her Magic, Uchide no Kozuchi. Luckily, it did not take long for a reasonable explanation to pop into his head.
"Really?" James asked skeptically. "She doesn't look that strong to me, though."
"Yeah, Aislynn told me about her when we were talking about some of the most impressive people in Orario," Tatsuo replied with a smile.
Aislynn's amused smile only widened when Tatsuo used her as his source of knowledge. Like Tatsuo, Aislynn had also noticed that he had said more than he should have. Luckily, her [Dream Walker] ability was a perfect excuse for any slips involving meta-knowledge.
"Then what's so special about her?" Akatsuki asked curiously.
"Her Magic," Tatsuo replied, nodding in Haruhime's direction. "It's basically the city's greatest trump card."
"I think that's enough hyperbole," Momo said in a serious tone. "Please tell us about our new comrade."
"*Sigh* You all are so impatient," Tatsuo said, clearly enjoying everyone's curiosity. However, he eventually answered when everyone started to glare at him. "Fine, fine. I'll say it. She's got a spell called [Uchide no Kozuchi], and it has the effect of temporarily raising a target's Level."
Once again, James', Alfonzo's, Elicia's, Violet's, Aletia's, Akatsuki's, Sakura's, Zelretch's, and Momo's eyes widened in surprise as they all turned to look at Haruhime with identical expressions that practically screamed, "She's gotta be cheating!"
Meanwhile, Haruhime lowered her head to hide her expression. Hearing Tatsuo talk about her Magic while sensing everyone else's surprise, she had the feeling that she would once again become a tool for someone else's ambition.
Even so, if she was to be a tool, she vowed she would be the best tool she could be for Aislynn's Familia, as thanks for getting her out of the Entertainment District.