The three Elf waitresses behind the solid-wood counter looked up in unison at the sound of the door.
They wore neat deep-blue uniforms with white aprons tied at the front, their gold buttons polished to a gleam, backs straight, hands folded primly before them.
When their gazes passed through the entrance and settled on Haimer, who led the way in, the faint coolness in their expressions shifted at once.
The corners of their mouths curved upward in unmistakably warm smiles of welcome.
They recognized him.
After all, just a few days prior, this black-haired god had come here with Loki to have coffee.
The fine features that met Elven aesthetic standards perfectly, combined with that perpetually calm and composed bearing — the kind of bearing that had even managed to leave Loki-sama at a loss — had made an excellent impression on the waitresses.
Two of the Elf waitresses moved immediately, stepping out from behind the counter. They smoothed the folds of their skirts and stepped briskly forward to receive this distinguished guest.
But.
Just as they took their first steps — they noticed the others who had entered behind Haimer.
To his left and slightly behind him walked Ryu, in her white short dress.
And to his right and behind him, Helen.
And then, behind those three — pressed flat against the outside of the café's clean glass windows — were three faces squished against the pane, cheeks distorted by the pressure, peering shamelessly inside: the cat-person Anya, Chloe, and Lunor.
Five young women in total, surrounding him.
"..."
The two Elf waitresses' feet stopped dead where they stood.
"..."
"The window seats will do."
Haimer paid it no mind. He raised a hand and pointed toward a quieter corner deeper inside the café, decorated with a few potted green plants.
"Of course, Kami-sama."
Ryu drew a slow, steadying breath, forcibly ignored the stares of her fellow Elves, reached out and caught Helen by the wrist, and quickened her pace toward those seats.
The two of them settled side by side on a long sofa.
Haimer walked to the opposite side, pulled out a straight-backed wooden chair, and sat down with unhurried ease.
Then he turned his head and looked at the glass window beside them.
Outside, Anya, Chloe, and Lunor were all pressed flat against the pane in a tidy row — six hands splayed against the glass, leaving a collection of grey smudges behind.
Anya had her mouth wide open, mouthing something exaggeratedly at those inside without making a sound, both hands waving nonstop.
Haimer gave a helpless shake of his head, raised his right hand, and beckoned to the three of them.
The moment they saw the gesture, the three instantly stopped waving, shoved each other once, and — not five seconds later — the café door burst open again. To the frantic jangle of the wind chime, the trio bolted inside in single file.
They made straight for the table, grabbed the surrounding chairs with a flurry of hands, and without the slightest sense of shame wedged themselves in beside Ryu and Helen and along the side of the sofa.
"We want the most expensive coffee on the menu! And desserts absolutely drowning in cream, meow!"
Anya's bottom had barely touched her seat before her right hand shot into the air and she announced this at the top of her voice.
"Be quiet! Keep it down — this is an Elven café, not the tavern we work at!"
Lunor hurriedly clamped a hand over Anya's mouth and smothered the rest of what she'd been about to say.
After they had ordered.
Before long, an Elf waitress arrived carrying a tray, setting several steaming cups of coffee and two plates piled high with thick-cream scones on the table — then cast a single look of undisguised disappointment at Haimer, turned, and walked dejectedly away.
"..."
Haimer had nothing to say to that.
Anya and Chloe, the moment they spotted the scones, immediately picked up their forks and buried themselves in the plates.
As for Helen.
She sat beside Ryu.
From the moment she'd sat down, she had kept her head lowered, both hands placed neatly on her knees, performing the very picture of a timid, introverted girl — her gaze fixed on the wood grain of the tabletop.
It wasn't until the coffee was served that she reached out, lifted her cup, and brought it to her lips for a small sip.
Haimer picked up his own coffee, took a sip, and set the cup back down.
His gaze traveled through the curl of steam rising from the table and settled on Helen.
"Does this place suit your taste, Miss Syr?"
Finding herself addressed so directly, in that casual and easy tone, Helen's shoulders contracted the slightest bit — and then she set her cup down at once.
"It's... it's quite lovely."
Helen's reply came with a faint stammer. She returned both hands to her knees and clasped them together tightly — convincingly.
"Ryu has always looked after me so well. It's only recently that I learned how much trouble I've caused for Kami-sama, and how much expense I've put you to."
"Though this is the first time we've met formally... I'd heard the adventurers drinking at the tavern talking about it. Everyone says the members of the Haimer Familia are all remarkably formidable individuals."
"So the rumour is that the chief god of the Haimer Familia must be a truly terrifying existence as well."
"I've been worried this whole time that Ryu might face very severe punishment for having offended you."
"But seeing you in person today, I realise the rumours and the reality are worlds apart."
"Kami-sama is, in truth, a very gentle god."
With that said.
Helen quickly rose to her feet and gave Haimer a small, polite bow.
"Is that so."
Haimer paused briefly, let his gaze drift to Ryu — who was visibly tense beside her — and then brought it back to Helen.
"Rumours have a way of being endlessly magnified with each retelling, acquiring all manner of personal embellishment along the way."
"As for you, Miss Syr —"
"Someone who could inspire an Elf to throw herself into danger without a moment's hesitation just to protect her — I believe Miss Syr must possess something very singular, and very much worth cherishing."
At those words.
Helen's eyelashes gave the faintest tremble, fluttering almost imperceptibly.
The god had smoothly steered the conversation back to her and Ryu.
That complete command of the rhythm of a conversation — it quietly elevated Helen's inward assessment of Haimer by another degree.
"You flatter me. I'm just an ordinary girl who carries plates for a living. There's nothing singular about me at all."
With that thought in mind, Helen answered softly, and offered no further probing of any kind.
Beside her, Ryu had been listening as Haimer praised Syr, and the knot of tension in her chest loosened noticeably.
After all, she'd been holding her breath the entire time, dreading that Haimer might form some unfavourable impression of Syr.
But as things stood now, everything had gone smoothly.
And with that.
The time of a few cups of coffee passed quickly.
The two plates of scones on the table had been picked completely clean by Anya and Chloe — scraped right down to the last smear of cream on the porcelain.
Ryu stood, fished a few silver Valis coins from her pocket, walked to the counter, and placed the money on the surface to settle the bill.
The group pushed open the café door and stepped back out onto the street.
They walked out of Vishen Café.
The foot traffic along the road had grown somewhat since they'd arrived, streams of people from all manner of races moving back and forth across the wide stone-paved boulevard.
The sun directly overhead had begun to tilt toward the west.
"That's enough for this afternoon."
Haimer turned and looked at Ryu and Helen standing before him, and the trio lined up behind.
"Since our afternoon tea has now concluded, we'll part ways here."
"Yes — and thank you so much for giving us so much of your time today. Your generosity is truly appreciated, Kami-sama."
Upon hearing this, Ryu immediately brought her heels together, leaned forward, and gave Haimer a deep, earnest bow — a full ninety degrees.
Helen and the others behind her also dipped their heads respectfully.
"Until tomorrow morning, then."
"Yes — until tomorrow morning, Kami-sama!"
With the thought of reporting to Haimer's residence again for the early shift tomorrow fresh in her mind, Ryu said nothing more, her face already pink. She turned, gathered the other four, and led them along the side of the street in the direction of 『The Benevolent Mistress』 — and as she walked, she kept looking back to wave.
Haimer remained where he stood, quietly watching their figures until they had been fully swallowed by the crowd and disappeared from sight.
Only then did he tilt his head back and look up at the sky.
"The sun has already shifted west."
"But there's still a good while before evening falls."
"Might as well wander for a bit."
With those quiet words to himself, Haimer picked a direction at random and continued walking at an unhurried pace along the street.
On either side of the road, shops of every description stood with their doors open — the sound of hammering metal drifted out from a weapon shop, a tool shop's apprentice called loudly from the doorway, and the back-and-forth of haggling voices never seemed to stop.
The crowds were thick and lively, the street buzzing with noise.
And yet.
Haimer's thoughts had already drifted away from the chance encounter on the street and turned toward the evening's plans.
In accordance with the arrangement made last night at the underground altar of the Guild, with the great god Ouranos —
Tonight, Fels would take him for the first time into the true depths of the Dungeon, to meet those beings spoken of only in rumour — monsters who had somehow come to possess reason: the Xenos.
The existence of the Xenos was something Haimer had long since grasped entirely.
Those who bore within them the shattered memories and fierce obsessions of monsters who had died before them — reborn through the Dungeon's peculiar mechanisms, into this world once more, and impossibly possessed of something resembling human intellect.
Aberrations of the Dungeon.
But.
Beyond the matter of meeting the Xenos themselves.
There was one other presence on this journey into the Dungeon that occupied Haimer's thoughts considerably.
That was Fels, who would be guiding them.
Or more precisely.
The singular 「Magic」 that Fels alone possessed.
『Dia Orpheus』.
The one and only 「Resurrection Magic」 in the entire Lower World — one that could truly shatter the absolute boundary between life and death, and wrench a soul that had already died and descended into the abyss back from the underworld into the living world by sheer force.
Haimer was very much looking forward to witnessing that 「Magic」 with his own eyes.
...
At the same time.
While Haimer strolled along the boulevard in quiet contemplation.
On the other side of the city.
The Northwestern Boulevard.
One of Orario's famously lively and prosperous districts.
Hestia, Onigawara Rin, Kikakujou Mary, Inaba Tsukuyo, Amou Kirukiru, and Hanasaka Warabi were walking down the street — along with the Holy Emperor, Tendou Kisara, Aihara Enju, and Hiruko Kohina.
A group of exceptionally striking young women had just emerged from a lavishly decorated three-storey clothing department store.
Each of them carried paper shopping bags of various sizes, as well as ribbon-tied wooden gift boxes.
They hadn't held back in the slightest.
On this particular shopping run, they had been thoroughly without restraint.
Not only had they purchased a large quantity of everyday toiletries — soap, towels, and the like — along with several sets of soft spare bedding, but they had also outfitted each member, especially the four newest ones, with a complete set of quality everyday clothes and tough protective undergarments.
The Holy Emperor in particular.
With Kikakujou Mary's help, she had already changed into a moon-white fitted long trench coat, its fabric draping with excellent weight.
Beneath it she wore a soft pale-blue silk blouse, the neckline simply and elegantly cut — free of the constrained, exposed feeling of what she'd had before.
Below were a pair of tailored white slacks and a pair of flat-soled ankle boots suited for walking.
The outfit suited her innately noble and graceful bearing perfectly — stripped of unnecessary ornamentation, and thoroughly practical.
Tendou Kisara had chosen several all-black fitted combat uniforms.
The fabric was woven from a high-tensile spider-silk blend harvested from the middle floors of the Dungeon.
The garments clung to the lines of her body without the slightest sense of restriction — in fact, they were ideally suited to the explosive, high-velocity draw-and-slash technique she relied upon.
Aihara Enju and Hiruko Kohina had likewise each changed into freshly tailored children's clothing.
Aihara Enju wore a bright yellow short-sleeved top under a pair of deep-blue cargo dungarees with large pockets, with small leather boots on her feet.
Hiruko Kohina had changed into a deep-purple dress with a layer of black lace along the hem, and a matching rounded hat perched on her head.
The moment these two ten-year-old girls put on their new clothes, their naturally lively spirits reasserted themselves immediately — they were now running circles around Kyoubou, who was ambling along at the back of the group, their clear, cheerful shrieks drawing looks from passersby on all sides.
Hanasaka Warabi walked alongside them empty-handed, both eyes fixed unwaveringly on the two small figures bouncing about in perfectly fitted children's clothes.
Then she lowered her head and looked down at her own body — this unremarkable, perennially short, elementary-school-student frame that stubbornly refused to grow.
"Tch."
Hanasaka Warabi clicked her tongue, turned her face away, and said nothing more.
"I think everyone's shopping is more or less done?"
Kikakujou Mary paused and looked down to count the number of bags everyone was carrying.
"Clothes for daily changes, toiletries, and bedding for the rooms — there should be enough here to last all of us for quite a long while."
"In that case, let's head straight back to base from here, along this street."
As she spoke, Kikakujou Mary shifted the two heaviest wooden gift boxes to her other hand.
"Right, let's go put everything down first!"
Onigawara Rin nodded in agreement and hoisted her own armful of large bags.
And so.
The girls turned for home.
Only.
As the group made their way along the smooth, well-kept road and prepared to round a corner ahead, heading back in the direction of the upscale residential district —
Inaba Tsukuyo, who had been walking with her eyes quietly closed the entire time, suddenly faltered in her step. Her wooden sandals came to a halt right where she stood.
In that instant, her hearing had caught something — an unusual commotion carrying over from beyond two alleyways, more than a hundred metres away.
"Hey, hey, hey — Erde."
"Don't walk so fast, come on."
"Word is it was you, you little jinx, who was stirring up trouble over on the Eastern Boulevard a couple days back — not only got outsiders to hurt our people, but got our people arrested by the Ganesha Familia's military police and thrown in prison?"
That venomous accusation was followed by —
Thud!
The muffled, meaty crack of a fist driving hard into a human face.
Then the sound of a small, slight body losing its balance and crashing heavily onto rough stone paving — and the thud of a heavy pack hitting the ground alongside it.
At that unmistakably clear sound of a beating.
Inaba Tsukuyo's tightly closed eyes gave the faintest flicker — her eyelashes trembled.
Her fingers snapped shut, gripping the straps of the bags she was carrying with white-knuckled force, the tendons on the back of her hand standing out in sharp relief.
The placid, gentle expression that had been on her face moments before darkened all at once — as though the very temperature of the air around her had dropped several degrees.
Noticing that Inaba Tsukuyo had stopped, and that an unmistakable chill was emanating from her entire being.
Onigawara Rin, walking alongside her, also stopped in her tracks, turned her head, and looked at Inaba Tsukuyo with a puzzled expression.
"What is it, Tsukuyo? Your complexion just went terrible all of a sudden — are you feeling unwell?"
"Rin."
Inaba Tsukuyo did not turn around. Her face was oriented toward the alleyway from which the sounds had come.
"Do you remember — a few days ago, on the Eastern Boulevard — we met that little girl carrying a large pack?"
"Hm?"
Onigawara Rin's mind flashed at once to the image of that small Pallum girl in the oversized, tattered clothes, eyes full of wary, self-deprecating guardedness.
"A group of people from the Soma Familia have that girl cornered in an alleyway right now and are beating her."
"What?"
Onigawara Rin's eyes went wide in an instant, pupils contracting, and she reacted immediately.
"They're settling scores with her over the guards' arrest from the other day."
Inaba Tsukuyo said nothing superfluous — she simply recounted in plain terms what she had heard directly through her exceptional hearing.
The moment those words were out.
The colour drained from Onigawara Rin's face as well.
"Rin."
Inaba Tsukuyo looked straight ahead.
"Last time, I was the one who stopped you. But do you remember what Kami-sama taught us yesterday?"
"Of course I do!"
Onigawara Rin gave a firm, sharp nod, and dropped the paper bags in her hands straight onto the ground.
The words Haimer had declared in the sitting room yesterday still rang clearly in both their minds: the Haimer Familia was not bound by worldly conventions — whenever something displeased them, they could strike back at any time.
Without another word between them.
They turned at once, and following the direction from which the sounds had come, strode in long steps toward that out-of-the-way alley.
"Wait — where are you two going? What about your bags?"
Kikakujou Mary, who had been leading the way at the front, saw the two of them leave their shopping on the ground and march with dead-serious expressions toward a back alley — and she stopped, calling after them.
Amou Kirukiru meanwhile had caught the sharp smell of impending violence in the air with her keen senses, and she stopped too, those narrow, sharp eyes lighting up at once with a gleam of avid interest.
"Looks like those two are about to start a fight."
"Things are about to get interesting."
With that said.
Amou Kirukiru licked the corner of her mouth, shoved the bags in her hands into Mary's arms, and fell into step after them with long strides.
"Hey, hey! What's gotten into you all of a sudden!"
Hestia, who had been happily carrying her own new purchases by the arms just moments before, watching Familia member after Familia member suddenly light up as if possessed and charge into a pitch-dark alleyway — panicked at once.
"You impossible lot, you never let me rest for one second!"
"If Haimer finds out I took you all out shopping and something happened, he is going to be absolutely furious with me!"
With that, Hestia also hoisted her bags in both hands and, still complaining loudly, set off at a scrambling trot on her small-booted legs after the others.
The Holy Emperor, Kisara, and the rest saw this and hurriedly set down some of the heavier items before running into the alley as well.
Meanwhile.
Deep inside the alley.
Nine male adventurers in crude leather armour bearing the badge of the Soma Familia had Lili Erde pinned against the wall in a dead corner, completely hemmed in.
Lili lay on the ground, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
The enormous pack — larger than her own body — had been hurled callously to one side, a few worn tools spilling out of it and scattering across the ground.
"You little runt!"
The scarred man leading the group stepped forward, raised his foot, and drove the hard sole of his boot down viciously onto the back of Lili's hand.
"Because of you, the boss chewed me out, and today I am going to cripple one of your hands!"
Lili trembled with pain from head to toe, but did not cry out — she only stared back at him with those chestnut eyes full of hatred, which infuriated the scarred man to no end, and he pulled the short blade from his waist.
And then.
Thud!
A wooden sandal, carrying a force utterly beyond what any ordinary person could have imagined, swung in from the side and connected squarely with the scarred man's face.
The other eight Soma Familia members froze.
They spun around as one.
At the mouth of the alley, Onigawara Rin and Inaba Tsukuyo had already drawn [Black Crow] and [White Heron]. The tips of the blades angled downward, and they regarded the men with cold, measuring eyes.
"It seems the last thrashing didn't teach you anything."
"In that case — this time, we'll beat you until you can't take care of yourselves."
____
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