"Gin, you here?" Raul entered the room and looked at him in disbelief. "Wow, you really are here."
"Yeah, pretty unusual sight, huh? And another one bites the dust." Gin finished scribbling down the notes from the book he had just read and opened up another one.
"Thirty-four more to go." He went back to the grind.
"This is one tier above unusual, if you ask me." Raul scoffed and reached for the book Gin had just finished. "Elf Magics and The Rest: A Comparison? History of Altena, Curses and Spells... Magic Circle: The Gathering?"
"Yeah, the last one's pretty weird, not gonna lie. Some old dude from 300 years ago actually compiled the shapes and colors of magic circles from all the people he met, along with their magic effects, and noted them down in the shape of cards with illustrations."
"Dude… Are all these books yours—!?"
"Keep quiet, please. You're in the library, Raul." Gin didn't even bother to lift his head.
He still had so much to do!
"And to your question: yes, yes they are. They are my homework."
"Teach told me to read these magic theories and make sense of them by the end of next week." Gin motioned to the massive pile of books sitting on his desk.
Magic theories, history of mages, lists of documented skills, comparisons of bloodline magic and acquired magic, catalogs of magical relics and items… and other stuff he didn't even bother to skim.
Riveria, his new mentor, had ushered him inside the Loki Familia's personal library, showed him the tomes and books she'd personally picked, and basically told him to cram the contents into his brain.
"So what do you need, man?" Gin looked back at Raul, who was putting down the books with a disinterested look.
"I was thinking we could go adventuring again today."
"Sorry, but I don't think I can go to the dungeon today or even tomorrow." Gin shrugged helplessly. "If you and Aki are still going to dive, then please say hello to the goblins and kobolds for me."
"Sure, I know those things will miss your witty remarks after killing their kin." Raul snorted. "What about the day after tomorrow, then?"
"Sorry, I can't. I have a dinner with a bunch of cute girls scheduled that day."
Raul looked at him funny.
"It's totally true."
Yes, the weekend dinner with the Astraea Familia was in three days!
..
Days passed pretty quickly when you were busy with things you liked.
Gin couldn't really tell if the fact that the previous two days were just a blur of food and books meant he liked studying or not, but the books were surprisingly not that boring.
He had never read this much in his entire life. Hunting wasn't a field where you needed books to get better, and food was pretty much the only thing that interested him before he met Hel.
Books were a new thing for him.
Maybe he actually had a talent for reading?
Or maybe the books chosen by Riveria were purposefully easy to enjoy?
Well, the point was, his study session wasn't the hell he expected it to be. Before he knew it, two days had passed and the weekend arrived.
Gin and Hel were getting ready to leave for the dinner with the Astraea Familia.
As the two of them walked toward the gate of Twilight Manor, Gin noticed two familiar figures standing outside.
"Ryuu? Lyra?" Gin called out to the two of them.
The blonde elf's expression was as flat as ever, while the pallum girl looked as easy-going as usual, leaning carefreely against the gate even with the guards glaring at her.
"Good evening."
"Yo bro, we're here to pick you up."
Gin made his way over to them, giving a polite nod to the guards on duty before turning his attention to the two girls.
They were wearing their adventuring clothes—similar attire to what he had met them in.
Their weapons were securely strapped to their sides even for this casual outing. Typical adventurers.
Well, he wasn't any different.
Experience had taught him that it was better to be prepared when in Orario. Some crazy Evilus member like Dix Perdix could pop out of nowhere and do bad things in an instant.
His bow was left behind, unfortunately, but he still kept some throwing knives in his inner jacket pocket.
"You're finally here. Let's just go," Ryuu said curtly.
"…You really are eager for this date, aren't you, Ryuu?" Gin raised an eyebrow at her.
She looked back at him in surprise.
He noticed her mortification from a minuscule facial change.
"No flowers, though? Wow, I thought I was special."
"-! You're wrong! I am—"
"Yeah, sorry about that, champ. Ryuu's still old-fashioned, you see? All about those traditional male and female roles. Me and Kaguya already told her to be more progressive," Lyra remarked. "I got this half-eaten Jagamaru-kun, though. Want some?"
No need to think too much about free food.
"Gimme."
"Catch." Lyra lightly tossed the snack to him.
His mouth caught it out of the air almost immediately.
'This must be the effect of Dexterity H. Awesome.'
"So how does an indirect kiss with me taste, bro?" Lyra faked a blush, squirming like a schoolgirl in love.
That, or an infant holding her wee-wee.
He was pretty sure she was aiming for the former, though.
Gin gulped down Orario's classic potato snack and addressed her again.
"Lyra, you are a charmer. Romance just oozes out of you," Gin declared passionately. "Your crispy outer crust. Your mellow potato flavor. Your sweet red bean paste. You have truly taken my soul prisoner."
"Ohh, honey, that's the Jagamaru-kun, you silly. No words for cute little old me?"
"Mou, baby," Gin wagged his finger in front of her. "Not in front of Ryuu. Okay?"
"Oh dear." Lyra acted surprised. She turned to Ryuu.
"Forgive me for trying to claim what is yours, but how could I not!?" Lyra gestured dramatically. "For day and night, a certain elf would profess her newfound feelings loudly! Can you blame my heart for being moved by it!? She would whisper poems of your encounter and—Atatata—!"
Lyra's performance was cut short by an iron grip to her face, courtesy of Ryuu.
She looked toward Gin, Lyra's head still firmly held between her fingers.
Gin felt cold sweat forming on his back.
"We are wasting time. Let's go. The others are waiting." Ryuu began to walk away before stopping for a second.
"What she said were lies. Don't trust a single word of it."
Gin nodded wordlessly, valuing his life and safety.
Lyra, however…
"Not all of it is, though—"
"Silence."
"Oi, Ryuu! This actually hurts! Oi! My skull is cracking! Sorry! Uncle! Uncle!"
Okay, so the two of them had gone a little too far.
Lyra, being the last one holding the hot potato, took the brunt of the damage.
Her sacrifice would not be forgotten!
"My champion."
Gin turned to face his goddess, who had stayed silent this whole time.
"…Yes, my goddess?"
"You are quite beloved. I am proud of you… But," Hel adopted a stern expression. "All of your bride candidates shall only be admitted into our home through a strict Hel Check. I shall not settle for less than the best for you."
'Are you some kind of mother-in-law, my goddess?'
...
"Hello, I'm here for the reservation. Table for fourteen people," Gin said to the waitress manning the door.
She looked at him in horror, as if he were a human-shaped Monster Rex.
"Mama Mia! That walking famine is back again!" The cat-person waitress screamed and ran to the kitchen.
"He's a paying customer, you moron!" Mama Mia's voice and a loud knocking noise came soon after.
"Get the table ready! Girls, you can't afford to make any mistakes today!"
"Everyone! We shall not fall! He will not defeat us! He will not defeat us!"
Gin could actually hear the kitchen crew huddling up and psyching themselves out.
Okay, that was just too much.
What had he ever done to them?
As the waitress placed the last dish on the table, Gin stood up and looked at his gathered guests.
The Astraea Familia members, along with Hel, glanced back at him silently, waiting for him to start.
"A couple of days ago, I was attacked by some crazy dude. He was strong, a Level 3 adventurer. For me, who's only a Level 1, the outcome of fighting a Level 3 like him is pretty obvious. I would kick the bucket ten times out of ten."
"But yet, here I am, alive and well. That is thanks to all of you ladies of the Astraea Familia! Thank you. For saving me and for taking part in keeping the peace in Orario!" Gin grinned at them, eliciting various responses—ranging from Alise's proud smile, to Lyra's smug look, and Ryuu's deadpan yet content expression.
"Keeping up with justice and the like might be a thankless task sometimes, but a certain awesome guy—" Gin shamelessly pointed to himself, earning some chuckles and snorts. "—will not let your good acts go unrewarded. And so!"
"Ladies! Eat and drink all you want until you are satisfied and a bit more, for the food is on me! To the Astraea Familia! To the Hel Familia! And to the brave people manning the kitchen! Cheers!"
Gin raised his mug high, with the others immediately following his lead and raising their own.
""Cheers!!!""
With that toast, the celebration was finally running in full swing.
Food and drinks were quickly consumed and replaced with freshly cooked ones from the kitchen.
In between devouring his food, Gin made small talk and exchanged adventuring stories with the Astraea Familia.
As he left another plate of food decimated, he moved on to the next, not once killing his momentum.
After a while, however, he noticed that the others had stopped eating altogether.
"Something wrong?" Gin gave them a questioning look, munching down the burger he had been eating whole.
"Oh dear, look at you go… Is your stomach bottomless?" Kaguya remarked, putting a hand to her cheek.
"I sure hope not. That would be hell on my wallet." Gin shrugged easily.
"I was surprised that the waitress brought so many dishes to our table, but I guess most of them are for you, huh, Gin?" Alise, who was sitting across from him, noted.
"Technically, these are our portions." Gin motioned to the various foods on the table. "No need to be shy. Girls, just eat as much as you want. I won't judge."
"Yeah, no thanks. If I eat that much I will go past fat and straight to exploding my stomach," Lyra chimed in from beside him.
"Honestly, I am feeling pretty full just by looking at you eating," Ryuu huffed.
That was… that was not good. Gin paused at that and put down his utensils.
"Oh, have you had enough? Are you finally full?"
"No, I just think I need to pace myself a little. Give a break to those cooks in the back, you know."
"Oh, thank god!!!"
Gin looked back toward the kitchen, noticing the cooks' grateful cries.
'Wait, how the hell did they hear that?'
"My, my." Gin turned his attention to a giggling person—no, a giggling goddess would be more accurate.
With long brown hair, a white dress, and a beautiful, kind smile on her face, the goddess of the Astraea Familia gave him a knowing look.
"Something on my face, Astraea-sama?"
"No. I was just thinking that you are a kind person, Gin. You think too much, though." She chuckled.
Yup.
She definitely knew why he'd stopped eating.
Why did goddesses have to be this insightful? How troublesome.
'Let's just change the topic naturally.'
"Anyway, do you girls know that in the town where the hamburger was born, they actually don't put any kind of condiments on it? No mayo, mustard, or even ketchup. Weird, huh? Personally, I like my burger with mayo and—"
"Yeah, yeah. You are definitely hiding something. What's wrong, bro?" Lyra interrupted his trivia.
"What makes you think something is wrong? Everything is okay. All cool. Anyway, about burgers, did you know that technically sixty percent of sandwiches are burgers?"
"…Was it something we said?" Ryuu looked worriedly at him. "If so, then I apologize. My familia can be a little annoying at times, but I assure you, none of them are trying to hurt your feelings in any way."
"Ara, Ryuu? If someone said something wrong, then it would be you, no? Gin stopped eating right after you spoke, after all," Kaguya said.
Yikes, Ryuu looked alarmed at that.
"It was something I said?"
"Okay, Ryuu. Relax." Gin sighed. "Yeah, it was something you said, but it's not a big deal, okay? I am not angry or hurt or anything like that."
"I said that I felt full just by looking at you eating, or something along those lines, right?" Ryuu inquired.
Gin nodded. They looked at him in confusion. Hel and Astraea-sama looked like they knew what was up, though.
Not surprising.
He knew Hel understood him better than anyone, and Astraea-sama seemed to be very perceptive.
'As expected of a goddess, i guessed.'
"It's a personal principle thing, okay," Gin said. "Everyone needs food to stay alive, right? For me, eating is proof that you are alive and you want to stay alive. The more you eat, the more you want to live. Eating and breathing are not that much different to me."
"So… hearing someone refuse to eat because of something that I do, to me is like… you know? It's not a good feeling. Not to mention, this feast is to repay you girls for saving me. I should have reined myself in a bit more. I am sorry."
Their looks of confusion slowly turned to understanding. They shared a look with each other and gave him a tired smile.
"Bro, Ryuu was just speaking figuratively, yeah? Sheesh… relax. Here, look, I'll take some of this stuff home if you're still worried." Lyra actually packed some breads into her satchel.
"You actually have some pretty delicate spots, don't you? Ryuu will have quite a troublesome future ahead." Kaguya smiled. "Your effort to hide your discomfort is quite cute, though."
"Haha! Astraea-sama is correct. You are thinking too much, Gin." Alise chuckled. "She's also right that you are kind, though. So that's a plus."
They were looking at him warmly, like a little kid. Dammit. He was probably younger than them, but this wasn't cool at all.
Gin proceeded to reach for another dish, eager to drown out their comments by taking in more calories.
His hand met some resistance.
Looking a little further, he could see the cause.
Ryuu was grabbing the same dish as him.
They looked at each other.
"I want to eat that one," she said quietly. "I am hungry now."
"Hoo, they are reaching for the same plate at the same time. Is this what they call fate!?" Alise commented.
She really was enjoying this.He could tell from her tone.
"Nice, Ryuu. Face aside, Gin isn't half bad."
"Oi! That last comment is unnecessary, dammit!"
"Don't mind, Gin. Me and Kaguya both think you are still a fair 7 in the face department."
"Thank you very much! You are a 7 in my book too, Lyra, Kaguya!"
"Don't mess around! I should be an 8.5 at least!"
"Ara? That's too low of a score for a beauty like me. Please recalibrate your taste this instant, Gin."
'Why are you two unsatisfied!? You're as attractive as me, you know!? Damn women!' Gin put his concentration back on Ryuu.
"Gin, please take your hand off this plate. You have eaten enough. Let me have this one."
She had a point.
Besides, this was a thank-you dinner for her. He was a low priority here.
If anything, he should happily help her eat, right?
"Yeah, you're right. This is all yours, Ryuu." Gin reached out for his spoon and scooped out some paella.
He brought it in front of her mouth.
"Then, say ahhh…"
"Hah!?"
"Eh, close enough." Gin quickly put the spoon inside her mouth.
He watched as Ryuu instinctively chewed and swallowed.
After a moment, she looked at him with that now-familiar half-horrified, half-blushing look.
"…Is it tasty?"
"Y-you—!"
"Hyuuu! Ryuu, you are so bold!" one of her familia members squealed.
"Aww, I want a boyfriend too!" said another.
"Die, you normies!"
No, that one was from the peanut gallery.
Gin looked back to see a group of male gods presenting their middle fingers at him.
Eh, worth it.
All of them happily laughed at Ryuu's predicament. Gin laughed the loudest, happy that Ryuu had become the focus rather than him.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side.
He flinched and looked at Hel, who was pinching him.
He obediently shut up and sat down properly even without her ordering him to do so. He patiently waited for Hel to speak up.
"My champion, enough. Displays of affection should be done within the walls of your own chamber," Hel said sternly.
"Besides, even if you might harbor a feeling for that one, the Gale has not passed my check. She is still lacking, my champion."
Ryuu still lacked something? Well… it wasn't like he liked her or anything, but Ryuu wasn't a bad choice for a romance partner, to be honest.
She was beautiful and strong. She might look cold, but her calm temperament sometimes slipped, making her look cute instead.
He could actually imagine falling for her for real!
…Well, just in case he fell for her, wasn't it better to know what Hel thought she lacked?
"So… what does she lack, my goddess?"
"Umu, from the precepts I have adjudicated, she has only passed some of them."
"Oh my, there is an actual condition to be Gin's consort? How exciting." Astraea-sama clapped her hands delightedly.
"Ryuu, please take notes. You don't want to miss this."
"My goddess! It's not like that!"
"Hush, Ryuu. This is for your future."
Ryuu actually whimpered helplessly and hid her face behind her hands.
Gin felt kinda bad for her.
Somehow, the whole table was intently listening to Hel now.
"I am the dead, the dark, the silence. I am Hel. Hear me, O' Maiden vying for my champion."
The fact that Hel declared her usual introduction meant that this was actually important to her.
"I shall allow thou to tie your future with my champion with these provisos:
"One: Thou shall be Level 6."
With that single condition, the only person he could currently date was the Warlord, Ottar.
His future wasn't looking that good!
"Two: Thou shall know thyself in full."
"Oh, I know that one! If you know yourself, you don't need to fear a hundred battles, right!?" Alise raised her hand confidently.
"If you don't know the enemy, you will suffer a defeat for every victory, though," Gin retorted.
The others looked at him in disbelief.
"What? I read books. Sue me."
"Three: Thou shall be beautiful."
"Wow, that's a worldly one," Kaguya said. "Not only that, it's also vague. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no?"
"My goddess isn't a worldly type, though. This precept must have a deeper meaning," Gin said in contemplation.
"Could it be… love is blind, right? As long as you like someone, they will look pretty to you, no? Basically, this one means that bro needs to decide that he likes the gal, yeah?" Lyra put out her suggestion.
"Oh! That's deep! This is the correct interpretation, right, my goddess!?"
"…Umu." She looked unconfident, but that was probably his imagination.
"Sasuga Hel-sama!" His goddess was the best!
"Four: Thou shall possess a just moral foundation."
"Right, right. This is a must. I fully agree with you, Miss Hel." Astraea-sama nodded happily. "In fact, this one should be adopted into our familia."
"…This is the one that I passed?" Ryuu finally voiced her thoughts once more.
She must have been invested in this one, since she was a member of a familia that held justice in high regard.
"Nay."
"Nani!?"
"Fufu! Hel-sama must have seen your inner pervert, Ryuu." Kaguya grinned cheerily. "You must have peeped on Astraea-sama bathing, right?"
"Oh, I know! Are you keeping some hidden stash of illegal drugs, Ryuu?"
"Nah, she probably breaks wind inside someone's house or something."
"Line up and grit your teeth, all of you." Ryuu looked at her fellow familia members with unrestrained fury.
"Five: Thou shall be fertile."
…
"This one is—"
"Anyone who speaks up right now will be dead to me." Ryuu's ultimatum kept all of their mouths shut.
"And lastly, Six: Thou shall be mortal. And thus, six precepts have been spoken." Hel turned toward Ryuu.
"Thou have a long, winding road to tread to win my blessing, O' Young Gale."
"…I'll keep that in mind, Goddess Hel." Ryuu sounded tired.
Gin could understand why.
She probably just decided to play along so they could quickly move on from the conversation.
As the others continued chatting, whether about Hel's six precepts or other things, Gin sat there nodding along, while his mind was in turmoil for an unknown reason.
Thou shall be mortal? What the hell was that? Why was he so shaken by that single precept?
His gaze unconsciously settled on the figure of Hel sitting beside him.
He felt his heart stir.
'Ah, so that's why.'
Hel seemed to notice his gaze. She cocked her head to the side inquiringly.
"My champion?"
Gin simply smiled at her and went back to drinking his ale, not wanting to stay sober for once.
'Ah… this sucks. I really do find her attractive, huh?'
----
One shall be the winner of this battle, the candidates for mc partner is Ryuu lion, Riveria Ljos Alf, and Hel for now.
Chance of Mc getting with each girls :
Hel : 0.5%
Riveria : 30%
Ryuu : 70%
It would please me if y'all donate some power stones, thank you!