DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
"Wait, wait, wait…" James said, holding up his hands. "You're saying that she can push a Level 1 to Level 2, or a Level 5 to Level 6 with one spell?"
"Doesn't that make her some kind of cheat existence?" Akatsuki asked in a dumbfounded tone.
"Her hair is so pretty," Elicia said, her eyes sparkling. "And those ears and that tail are super cute. Do you think she'd let me touch them?"
Regaining their wits after Tatsuo's brief explanation of Haruhime's magic, everyone burst into exclamations at the same time. However, none of the exclamations were as off-topic as Elicia's.
"She's sitting right here," Tatsuo replied, gesturing toward Haruhime and rolling his eyes at Elicia. "Why not ask her?"
Hearing that, everyone immediately stopped their chatter. Then, they all turned to stare at Haruhime in unison, causing the Renard to shrink into herself.
"Now, now," Aislynn said as she reached up and patted Haruhime's head. "You are all a little too enthusiastic. She's still new here, after all. Don't scare her."
Aislynn's head pat caused Haruhime to calm down by quite a bit. She even started subconsciously leaning into the head pat. A moment later, however, she realized what she was doing and blushed furiously while lowering her head in embarrassment.
'She's so cute.' × 10
Tatsuo and the others had the same thought simultaneously when they saw Haruhime's reaction.
"I wanna pet her, too," Elicia muttered quietly while biting her right index finger.
"Instead of just gawking at her, why don't you all introduce yourselves?" Aislynn said in an exasperated yet amused tone.
With that, everyone came back to their senses. Then, as Aislynn suggested, they all introduced themselves to Haruhime.
Not long afterward, the returning members of the Aislynn Familia all headed upstairs to get cleaned up, leaving Aislynn and Haruhime alone in the main hall.
"They'll all come back down after they get cleaned up," Aislynn said in a gentler tone than usual. "When they do, I'll take them upstairs to get their Falna updates while Tatsuo and Alfonzo make dinner."
Hearing that, Haruhime nodded in response. A moment later, she looked up at Aislynn with a curious gaze.
"Tatsuo-Sama and Alfonzo-Sama do the cooking?" Haruhime asked uncertainly. "Isn't that usually something women do?"
Aislynn could not help giggling when she heard that.
"In this Familia, everyone does what they're good at," Aislynn explained as she started patting Haruhime's head again. "There are no gender-specific roles. For example, Tatsuo and Alfonzo, probably the best cooks in Orario, handle most, if not all, of the Familia's meals. Meanwhile, Elicia handles all of the Familia's clothing, while Violet is in charge of training the physically weaker members of the Familia."
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Haruhime's eyes widened in surprise when she heard that.
"And what about the others?" Haruhime asked, with a hint of awe in her expression. "What do James-Sama, Zelretch-Sama, Aletia-Sama, Akatsuki-Sama, Sakura-Sama, and Momo-Sama do?"
"Hmm… Let's see," Aislynn said while stroking her chin in thought. "Sakura and Aletia, along with Violet, are learning how to cook from Alfonzo. They said they wanted to take some of the burden off Tatsuo and Alfonzo. Momo is also learning how to cook from Tatsuo. Oh, Tatsuo and Alfonzo are also in charge of forging all the Familia's weapons. Hmm… Who else is left?"
"You still haven't mentioned James-Sama, Akatsuki-Sama, and Zelretch-Sama," Haruhime said, gently reminding Aislynn.
"Ah, yes," Aislynn replied with a smile. "Zelretch is learning the Language of the Gods in preparation for the Mystery Development Ability. Once he levels up, he will be in charge of the Familia's magic item production. Actually, now that I think about it, I should see if anyone is interested in getting the Mixing Development Ability. That way, we would be able to create our own potions instead of having to buy them."
Despite not going out much since coming to Orario two years ago, Haruhime knew just how rare it was for someone with the Mystery Development Ability to appear. So, when she heard that Zelretch was aiming for it, her eyes shone with respect and admiration.
"And what about James-Sama and Akatsuki-Sama?" Haruhime asked, even more interested in hearing about the last two members of the Familia.
"Other than building sexual tension?" Aislynn asked with a giggle. "Just eating, sleeping, and fighting in the Dungeon."
"Huh?" Haruhime asked blankly as her face reddened.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true," Aislynn replied. "Actually, James should be the one in charge of training the others, as he has quite a bit of experience doing so. But ever since the village the ten of them came from was destroyed by a monster horde, he's only been concerned with making himself stronger so that he could stop anything like that from happening again."
Haruhime's expression turned sympathetic when she heard that.
"As for Akatsuki, she's not really made for teaching or production," Aislynn continued. "But when it comes to scouting the path ahead in the Dungeon, there's no one better. Well, Tatsuo might be able to match her. And since he has been diving into the Dungeon alone for the last few weeks, that proves he's not bad at it, either."
"Alone?" Haruhime asked, blinking in confusion. "Why is Captain Tatsuo going alone?"
"Mostly because no one else can keep up with his growth," Aislynn replied with a smile. "But now that you're a member of the Familia, you'll be going with him as his Supporter from now on."
"Me?" Haruhime asked with a hint of fear as her face paled slightly. "But… I can't… I'm…"
"Yes, you're afraid of men," Aislynn said, interrupting Haruhime with a nod. "But, like I said, we need to fix that. In fact, I think I'll have James take care of your training, too. And with how hard he tends to train those under his charge, you won't have time to be afraid of men."
That actually caused Haruhime's pupils to constrict. Although she knew training was important, she also knew just how afraid of men she was. So, Aislynn's suggestion that James's training would leave her no time to be afraid of men scared her quite a bit.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Babel Tower, Freya was once again surrounded by seamstresses under her employ. Each of the seamstresses present had arrived with a version of the dress created using the design Elicia had submitted. However, not a single one of the dresses met Freya's standards. As a result, while holding an unsatisfactory dress in each hand, she was furiously berating the seamstresses, who were kneeling in front of her with fear written all over their faces.
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"A week!" Freya shouted angrily. "I've given you all a full week! And this is what you bring me? What exactly am I paying all of you for?"
The seamstresses had no way to defend themselves. Or rather, nothing they said would be enough to calm Freya's anger.
In fact, the minor flaws in the evening gowns they produced could not be completely blamed on them. As this was a design created by Elicia, a fashionista from the modern era, it included sewing techniques unfamiliar to these medieval seamstresses. As a result, they had to compensate with what they knew. Unfortunately, that also meant the quality of the dresses dropped considerably in their hands.
Freya's scolding continued for close to half an hour. Around that time, Ottar returned, bringing Freya's tirade to a stop.
"My Lady, I have news to report," Ottar said as he stepped into the room, drawing Freya's attention away from the seamstresses.
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"What is it, Ottar?" Freya asked, trying to curb her anger. "This had better be worth it. Otherwise, not even you will be spared from my anger."
"I believe you will find this news rather interesting," Ottar replied, bowing his head politely, not a ripple of emotion flashing in his eyes at Freya's threat.
"Very well," Freya replied, tossing the two dresses to the side. Then, she took a seat on her lounge chair and gestured for the seamstresses to leave while continuing to speak with Ottar. "Speak. What could be so interesting that I would be relieved of my anger over these failures?"
Immediately upon seeing Freya's gesture, the seamstresses stood up before quickly making their way out of Freya's private room with their heads lowered. Meanwhile, Ottar began his report without even giving any of them a single glance.
"Today, there was an altercation between the Aislynn Familia and the Ishtar Familia," Ottar said, causing Freya's eyes to narrow as she slowly sat up straight in her lounge chair. "According to eyewitnesses, Androctonus, Phryne Jamil, led a squad of Berbera to wait for the Aislynn Familia outside Babel Tower…"
From there, Ottar explained everything he had learned from those who witnessed the incident: Phryne trying to seduce Tatsuo, Tatsuo vomiting from the nausea, Phryne's enraged attack, and Aislynn blocking the attack before beating her to within an inch of her life and dragging her back to Belit Babili in retaliation.
The whole time Freya listened to Ottar's report, she bit her right thumbnail with an expression filled with regret.
'Why?' Freya asked herself. 'Why didn't I stay here today? Why did I go to the Hostess of Fertility to act as Syr today? Because of that, I missed such a fun show. Damn it, the Heavens are unfair.'
While Freya was lamenting her lack of foresight, Ottar's report continued.
Eventually, Lady Aislynn dragged Phryne all the way back to Belit Babili," Ottar reported in his stoic tone. "Upon arrival, she kicked in the doors. Then, there was nothing. No sounds of battle followed."
"Well, at least that foolish goddess was smart enough not to antagonize Aislynn any further," Freya said with a sneer after she was snapped back to the here and now. "But that begs the question: what did Aislynn demand as compensation?"
"I would assume it was a member of the Ishtar Familia," Ottar replied. "According to eyewitnesses, when Lady Aislynn left the Entertainment District, she was accompanied by a young Renard."
"A Renard, huh?" Freya said, cupping her chin in contemplation. "They are quite rare in Orario. However, I doubt rarity would be enough for Aislynn to accept her as compensation."
"I would have to agree," Ottar replied with a nod. "And Ishtar's reaction was enough to verify that."
"Oh?" Freya hummed with curiosity. "And just how did she react?"
"Apparently, after Aislynn left the Entertainment District, some of the workers in the pleasure quarter said they heard screaming and the sound of things being smashed coming from Belit Babili's main building."
"Yes, that should confirm it," Freya said with a nod. "That Renard definitely isn't simple."
After saying that, Freya took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. Then, a dazzling smile appeared on her face. In fact, the smile was so dazzling that even Ottar, who was generally the least affected by Freya's [Charm], felt his heart rate increase.
"Is there anything else?" Freya asked as her smile dimmed slightly. "If not, I need to find more seamstresses. Otherwise, the wonderful gown that child from Aislynn's Familia designed will never see the light of day."
"Actually, there is," Ottar replied with a slight bow.
"Then, hurry up with it," Freya said, waving dismissively. "I still have things to tend to."
"Yes, my Lady," Ottar replied. "Not long after the commotion in Belit Babili ended, eyewitnesses saw members of the Ishtar Familia carrying Phryne, who seemed to be completely unresponsive, toward the Dian Cecht Clinic. Most likely, it was to have the injuries she received from Lady Aislynn treated."
Freya sneered again when she heard that.
"Futile," Freya said sharply. "If I know Aislynn as well as I think I do, there's no chance for that toad to recover from her injuries. Sure, she may be able to lead a normal life… if she sheds a few hundred kilograms, that is… But she will never be able to act as an Adventurer again in this life. Not unless one of the Gods of Healing or Medicine unseal their Arcanum. But there is no one in this city who would be willing to do that for Ishtar's sake."
"I agree," Ottar replied with a nod. Then, after thinking for a moment, he continued. "Also, I may have a suggestion that could solve your current problem with the evening gown design."
Hearing that, Freya raised an eyebrow with interest while gesturing for Ottar to continue.
"Perhaps you could put in a request for Elicia of the Aislynn Familia to help," Ottar said slowly. "As the creator of the design, she is undoubtedly the most suitable for the task."
Freya showed a hint of apprehension after hearing Ottar's suggestion. She, too, had considered doing just that. However, going to visit the Dragon's Nest without that dress was counter to her plans. Without the dress, she would not be able to go there to have her measurements taken, creating quite the conundrum.
"As our seamstresses have taken your measurements so many times, my Lady," Ottar continued after seeing the hesitation in Freya's expression, "you could include a copy of your exact measurements in the request, mark it for her eyes only, and have her use those. That way, you won't have to visit the Aislynn Familia without the evening gown."
Freya's eyes lit up at that. But before she could be too happy, Ottar continued.
"Unfortunately, that would also mean she would not be able to make any final adjustments before your visit to the Dragon's Nest," Ottar said, bringing Freya back from the heights of her elation.
With that, Freya fell into deep contemplation that lasted deep into the night.