Night had fallen once again over Orario.
The streets were as lively as ever, almost like a festival. For adventurers who faced danger every day, these nighttime festivities were perhaps the only time they could truly relax their tense nerves.
Only a major crisis in Orario could ever force adventurers to stay quietly within their Familia at night.
At that moment, space distorted inside Finn's office in the Loki Familia, and three people were suddenly transported back into the room.
However, the office was completely dark—understandable, since Finn wasn't always here.
"You're back."
Bathed in moonlight, Raul glanced around at the familiar setup and quickly realized where they were.
"It's so dark."
The room was pitch black—he couldn't even see his own hand in front of him.
"Bang!"
A loud thud echoed through the room, followed by a quiet whimper:
"Ow... that hurt..."
Judging by the sound and the groan, it was easy to picture someone's little toe smashing into a piece of furniture. Raul and the other person winced just imagining it.
"Cassandra, be more careful, would you? It's pitch black in here—stop moving around so much."
"Ugh... Daphne, why are you scolding me..."
"Seriously, we're adventurers, aren't we? It's just a stubbed toe. Does it really hurt that much?"
And then, in the very next second—
"Bang!"
A louder crash this time, hard enough to make Raul jump.
"What happened?"
There was a moment of silence before a voice, strained in pain, spoke up.
"Raul... I tripped too..."
Raul let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"Daphne, watch where you're going. I just warned Cassandra to be careful, and now you go and do the same thing?"
It was like chasing after a mummy only to end up becoming one yourself.
No helping it—he'd have to handle it.
Raul was very familiar with the captain's office. With a bit of moonlight and some careful steps, he was sure he wouldn't bump into anything. The real problem was that the two girls had just been too reckless.
He quickly made his way to the wall and turned on the magic lamp, filling the office with warm light.
Turning back, he saw both girls crouched down, clutching their feet. Judging by their expressions, they'd hit themselves pretty badly.
Raul couldn't believe how they managed to be this clumsy right now. Was carelessness something you could actually catch?
"Cassandra, Daphne, are you two... alright?"
Usually, they could shrug off even a monster's attack—so why were they so fragile today?
Of course, Raul couldn't really grasp the pain they were feeling. Getting your little toe smashed hurts just as much as taking a hit from a monster.
"Yeah... we're fine..."
But Raul didn't think they sounded fine at all.
"Cassandra, aren't you good with healing magic? If it really hurts that much, just use it."
Cassandra snapped out of it and quickly pulled out her staff, then began to chant a spell.
A soft green glow filled the room, and the pain in their toes faded. The color slowly returned to the girls' faces.
"We're good now, Raul."
"Hmm..."
Raul noticed both girls were looking down as they stood up. Probably best not to bring it up again—no point in making them feel more embarrassed.
"Let's go."
...
At that moment, Twilight Manor was hosting a celebration for the Sword Princess reaching Level 6.
Loki was weaving between the girls, getting a little too handsy, which earned her a mix of scolding and playful squeals.
"Loki-sama, stop touching me!"
"Oh! Line, have you gotten bigger again?"
"Loki-sama, don't say that!"
The girls being teased turned bright red, while the others nearby laughed at the scene.
"Seriously, Loki-sama, she's already this age and still growing. That's not normal."
"You guys, stop saying that!"
The girls often chatted freely about things like body shapes or crushes, but the most common topic was always romance.
Among them, the most popular story was between Tione and the captain—something all the girls in the Familia were rooting for.
Not that they had much choice. Everyone knew Tione hovered around the captain constantly, to the point where any other girl interested in him had long since given up.
Talks about Tione and the captain were just part of everyday life in the Loki Familia. But over time, people stopped bringing it up—they were all just waiting to see when the captain would finally give in.
Given how forward Amazonesses were, it felt inevitable that Tione would have him wrapped around her finger sooner or later.
Lately, though, another story had started making rounds: a rumor about a budding romance between the newly joined Haruhime and a boy from the Hestia Familia.
But more than Haruhime's love life, what really had the girls curious was Ais.
After a round of teasing and laughter, everyone's attention shifted to Ais, who was quietly sipping her drink in the distance.
"Loki-sama, has something been going on with Ais lately?"
"Yeah, she's been acting really different. She used to train alone in the Dungeon, but now she's been asking us to train with her."
"Honestly, it's less like training with us and more like she's trying to help us train."
"Totally."
The girls' questions were full of curiosity, and Loki looked over at Ais with a somewhat satisfied smile.
"That kid... something must've happened, I guess. After all—"
The girls' eyes widened, faces lighting up with anticipation and excitement.
"Wait—could it be that she's fallen for someone?"
"...Huh?"
Loki, who was just about to speak, was so thrown off she choked on her words.
"Please, Ais would never fall for some guy! That's the one thing I'm absolutely sure of!"
Yes—she can't. She absolutely cannot!
I haven't even gotten her yet, how could someone else?
Even with Loki's intense denial, the girls weren't buying it. They even started trying to gently convince her.
"Loki-sama, Ais is going to fall for someone eventually."
"Right? And she's changed so much—if it's not love, what else could it be?"
"Besides, Loki-sama, Ais has perfectly normal tastes. I doubt she's into you."
Each comment hit Loki like shards of glass right to the face.
"No way! Absolutely not!"
"I've been watching over Ais this whole time—there's no way she'd fall for some random thief who popped out of nowhere!"
Right now, Loki was like a tiger guarding its meal, baring her fangs at anyone who dared come close.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake