DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
While the Goddesses of Beauty were preoccupied with their business, the members of the Aislynn Familia were just finishing breakfast.
"What are all of you doing today?" Alfonzo asked as he speared the last bit of food on his plate.
"I'm gonna join everyone else to train." Elicia said with a smile. "Now that I'm done with the dress design, I need to catch up with everyone else."
"Do you really need to catch up?" Momo asked with a bit of self-deprecation in her tone. "You're one of the stronger members of the Familia, after all."
"But I need to catch up to Fonzie." Elicia said with a shrug. "Back at home, we've always been about equal in strength. But that changed while I was pregnant with Mar'e. And now I'm behind him here, too. That's unacceptable."
Elicia's explanation drew a nod from Momo.
"What about you, Fonzie?" Elicia asked after seeing Momo's nod.
"Violet and Sakura asked me to teach them to cook." Alfonzo said. "Apparently, they feel bad about letting me and T do all the cooking. Especially since he has been diving into the Dungeon alone."
Hearing that, Aletia's eyes opened wide. Then, she glanced at Violet and Sakura as if they were sneaky little thieves before turning to look at Alfonzo with a determined gaze.
"I want to learn, too." Aletia said solemnly.
"Sure, teaching one more doesn't make a difference." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I'll start teaching after the morning training."
Hearing that, Aletia nodded her head. Then, she looked at Violet and Sakura triumphantly.
In response, both Violet and Sakura smiled at Aletia softly, causing the blonde vampire to snort in response.
"Actually, I'd like to learn how to cook, too." Momo said resolutely. "But I don't want to put too much strain on Alfonzo-San."
After reaching that point, Momo turned to Tatsuo before she continued.
"So, Tatsuo-Kun, if you have the time, would you mind teaching me how to cook?" Momo asked sincerely. "I've never had the opportunity to learn at home. Because of my studies and the fact that we have hired chefs, it never seemed necessary. But now that I have the chance..."
"I don't mind." Tatsuo replied with a shrug of his own. "But I'm not sure how often I'll have the chance to. I mean, Aislynn's always got me busy after we get back from the Dungeon."
"I can help you with your duties." Momo offered. "That should shorten the time it takes. Then, you should have a little more time to yourself after we come back from the Dungeon."
"Damn, she's good." James said while leaning over to whisper to Akatsuki.
"Yeah." Akatsuki whispered back. "And the worst thing is, she's not doing it on purpose. She genuinely wants to help Tatsuo-Kun."
"I know." James replied. "And that's what makes her so scary."
At the same time, Aletia's eyes widened for a second time. Then, she snapped her head in Momo's direction, looking at her like a monster. She had been so focused on not letting Violet and Sakura get even further ahead of her that she completely forgot that Tatsuo was nearly as good a cook as Alfonzo.
"Is there enough space for both of you to teach a class?" Zelretch asked curiously while smiling slightly at Aletia's dismay.
"Oh, I won't be starting this afternoon." Tatsuo replied while shaking his head. "Today, I plan on writing some new music."
That caused everyone to look at Tatsuo with a bit of interest.
"I thought you only did covers," Elicia said with a smile. "I mean, your mom let us hear your album, and every song was something that could be heard in other worlds."
"That was only because I wanted to get the first one out fast." Tatsuo replied. "I mean, my mom had been recording me singing and playing the piano for a while. So, I thought why not?"
"Makes sense," Alfonzo said with a nod. "I made beat machines back in Earth Land before Lici and I got married. I might be able to whip one up here if that would help you."
"That would help a lot, actually." Tatsuo replied gratefully. "I'd really appreciate it."
"No problem." Alfonzo said with a smile. "It probably won't be quite as easy without my [Archive magic], but I'll do what I can to get you the basics, at least."
"[Archive magic], what is that?" Zelretch asked curiously while leaning forward across the table.
"It's a magic that allows the user to, for lack of a better word, digitize all the information in their mind and recall it much more easily than normal," Alfonzo replied. "It's kinda like creating a magical database in your head."
"It comes with [Telepathy], too." Elicia pointed out with a smile. "It really helps when we're on a quest and need to communicate over long distances. Well, it would if we didn't have our lPhones."
"lPhones, really?' Akatsuki asked flatly. "And what's the brand name? Pear?"
"Nope." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle. "It's Sixth Sense Magical Technologies. A subsidiary of Sixth Sense Holdings."
That actually brought everyone other than Aislynn up short. For as long as they had known each other, Alfonzo had never mentioned anything about Sixth Sense Holdings. Although, they knew Elicia owned a chain of clothing stores across the continent they lived on.
"Oh, and the Taylor shop is a subsidiary of Sixth Sense Holdings, too." Elicia added cheerfully. "Gotta keep it all in the family, after all."
"Say… Just how rich are you in your world?" James asked cautiously. "Like, compared to the Heartfilia Konzern at its peak?"
"Hmm…?" Alfonzo hummed in thought. "If I remember right, Marin's dad once said that just Sixth Sense Hotels is about equal to the value of the Heartfilia Konzern at its peak. Then again, I have hotels in every major city on Ishgar. The Heartfilia Railways only stretched across Fiore. So, there really is no comparison."
"Then, you have to add Sixth Sense Magical Technologies, Sixth Sense Magical Automotives, Sixth Sense Entertainment, and a bunch of other smaller businesses." Elicia added. "With all that, Fonzie is definitely the richest person on Ishgar, if not all of Earth Land."
Alfonzo's and Elicia's explanations of Alfonzo's wealth left everyone, excluding Aislynn, dazed. However, Alfonzo's next words caused everyone to look at him with deadpan expressions.
"You guys shouldn't look at me like that." Alfonzo said with a smile. "With so many businesses, and needing to continue creating new products, I really don't have that much time to train. Seriously, you have no idea how hard it is to keep my position as the strongest wizard on Ishgar."
With that, no one could stand to look at Alfonzo anymore. So, they quickly finished the last of their breakfast, picked up their plates, took them to the kitchen, and left to train, leaving Alfonzo sitting at the table while he laughed uproariously while Elicia and Aislynn smiled at his antics.
After that, morning training passed peacefully. And for the first time, Tatsuo joined the training since he had no intention of spending time in the forge. Though, when they got better materials, he planned to upgrade everyone's weapons with Alfonzo while finally creating new weapons for himself.
Then, after training, everyone went to do the things they were interested in. As previously mentioned, Alfonzo, Violet, Aletia, and Sakura disappeared into the kitchen to learn cooking from Alfonzo…
{Pic}
Tatsuo sat at the piano with a pen and paper as he wrote new music while Zelretch was still studying with Aislynn to master what he could of the Language of the Gods before his Level Up…
{Pic}
James took Akatsuki to wander around the city and look at weapon shops not run by the Hephaestus Familia…
{Pic}
and Elicia went shopping with Momo.
{Pic}
Around the time the Sun started to set, James, Elicia, Akatsuki, and Momo returned. Tatsuo also intended to stop writing his music. However, before he could get up, Sakura came out of the kitchen and informed him that she, Violet, and Aletia would help Alfonzo with dinner and that he did not have to worry about it tonight.
Hearing that, Tatsuo sat back down and continued to write his music. At the same time, seeing that Tatsuo was alone, Momo looked around like a thief before slowly making her way over to his side and offer to help, as she had experience playing the piano growing up.
{Pic}
"Yaomomo is so cute," Akatsuki said while she watched Momo's actions from a couch alongside James, Elicia, Zelretch, and Aislynn.
"Seriously." James said with a grin. "She's pretty innocent, isn't she?"
"Most definitely," Zelretch said.
"*sigh* To be young again," Elicia said wistfully.
"Stop talking like you're some kind of old woman." Aislynn said while rolling her eyes. "You can talk like that when your age reaches the fourth digit."
Elicia and Akatsuki rolled their eyes at that while James only smiled, as he was expecting to live for, at the very least, ten thousand years if he did not die in battle. Zelretch, on the other hand, nodded along with Aislynn. Then again, he was a nearly three-thousand-year-old monster, so that was to be expected.
"Like Lici-San could ever live that long," Akatsuki said in a dismissive tone.
"And even if I did, just how many wrinkles would I have?" Elicia said in a tone that made it clear she wouldn't even want to live that long.
"You know, it's not as bad as you think," Zelretch said while stroking his beard and showing off his face that was not covered in as many wrinkles as his age would suggest. "I mean, look at me. I don't look a day over sixty."
"You're still a wrinkly old man." Elicia said playfully.
"You wound me, Elicia." Zelretch replied just as painfully while theatrically placing his hand over his heart.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure Zelretch chooses to look like that," James pointed out. "Most people who have achieved longevity like his have the ability to control the way they look to a large extent."
"Huh?" x 2
Elicia and Akatsuki were immediately dumbfounded by James's explanation. Then, they looked at Zelretch seeking confirmation.
"*Sigh* Young James is right." Zelretch said while stroking his beard. "I actually chose this look because I wanted to look like Merlin."
Neither Elicia nor Akatsuki knew what to say to that. Meanwhile, James and Aislynn could not help chuckling at the expressions the two were wearing.
"By the way, Lici." James said, breaking Elicia out of her daze. "Alfonzo told me that you're the one who takes care of his dreads."
"That's right," Elicia replied, remnants of her daze present in her tone. "Why? Did you want me to dread yours up, too?"
"Nah." James replied while waving off the suggestion. "If I went back to having hair that could be easily grabbed, Master would beat the hell outta me."
"Is she actually strong enough to do that?" Zelretch asked curiously.
"Not really." James replied with his voice trembling and his eyes flashing with deep-rooted fear. "But some fears are carved deep into the soul. And I'd rather not relive the trauma from the early days of my training."
Hearing his tone and seeing the expression on James' face made Elicia, Akatsuki, and Zelretch exchange glances. They were curious to know what could make someone like James show such fear. But at the same time, they weren't sure if he would have a mental breakdown if they asked about it. Meanwhile, Aislynn was doing her best to hold back a bout of laughter at James' expense.
"*Cough* Anyway, why were you asking about me doing Fonzie's hair?" Elicia asked curiously.
"Huh? Oh, right." James said as he was brought back to his senses. "Actually, I was wondering if you did cornrows, too. Usually my mom does my hair, but well... She's not here right now."
"Huh?" Akatsuki exclaimed in confusion. "Do you really need someone to do your hair? I mean, there shouldn't have been anyone to help you with your hair on the Arifureta [Mission], right?"
"Right." James admitted without hesitation. "Actually, on that [Mission], even though I was turned into a human for the duration of the [Mission], I still had some of my basic abilities, like minor shapeshifting. So, I could use my abilities to keep my hair looking good."
"Then, why don't you just use it now?" Zelretch asked curiously. "Or do you not have that ability in this world?"
"Yeah, I still have it." James affirmed. "But I like getting my hair braided. I find it relaxing."
"Really?" Akatsuki asked. "I've seen videos of people getting cornrows on YouTube. And it looks really painful."
"For some people, it is," Elicia said with a shrug. "But there are just as many people who find it relaxing, like James."
"Really?" Akatsuki asked in a skeptical tone.
"I can try braiding your hair if you wanna give it a try," Elicia said with a smile. Then, she turned to James and finally answered his earlier question. "And yes, I can braid your hair. I don't mind. I actually like doing hair. Just not as much as making clothes. Otherwise, I would have been a hairdresser instead of a tailor."
"Nice! Thanks, Lici." James said happily. "How much will I owe you?"
"Let's see, I usually charge 6,000 Jewels to do hair back in Earth Land." Elicia said while doing mental calculations. "If you convert that to Yen... Then, convert that to Valis based on the stuff I've seen online... Hmm... Let's say... 9,500 Valis. How does that sound?"
{A/N: In Metal and Threads, I said 1 Jewel was equal to 0.01 USD. And from what I saw on Google, 1 Valis is equal to 10 JPY. So, you should be able to see my conversion process with that.}
"Sounds good." James replied with a smile. "I should be able to get that much after a day of Dungeon diving, even after we hand over the cut to the Familia."
"Handing over a cut to the Familia?" Aislynn asked with an eyebrow raised. "Why does it sound like we're some kind of mafia when it comes out of your mouth?"
"But isn't that what each Familia is?" Zelretch asked with a grin. "I mean, they are called Familias. On top of that, they fight amongst themselves, both secretly and overtly for power and influence."
Aislynn found it difficult to argue with Zelretch's analysis. So, instead of trying, she only glared at him for ruining her fun. She was pretty sure if she tried hard enough, she could make James apologize for absolutely nothing. But now that was off the table.
"Anyway... I can do your hair next week after training." Elicia said while giggling at Aislynn and Zelretch. Then, she turned to Akatsuki. "I can do yours, too. And since we're only testing to see if you like it, I'll do yours for free this time."
"I'm good with that." James replied with a nod.
"I'll think about it." Akatsuki said. "I'll let you know next week."
"Sounds good to me." Elicia replied with a smile.
Like that, the five of them continued to chat harmoniously while intermittent melodies sounded from the piano as Tatsuo and Momo continued to discuss music. Before long, Sakura came out to let everyone know dinner was ready. After that, the Familia ate dinner together before winding down for the day, as they would be headed back into the Dungeon the following day.