Loki stood up from her chair, hoisting her first mug high into the air. Everyone else followed suit before clinking their glasses together and taking the first drink. Aiz held up her own glass, joining everyone else, but with a little less enthusiasm.
Their table was in the corner of the main room. They could see out to the café terrace through a window right next to their table. A door was right there as well; they could go outside at any time. Food and more drinks started arriving; everything looked and smelled absolutely fantastic. Hands started flying everywhere, trying to grab as much as possible before it was too late. The grilled chicken and fruity wine were particularly sought after.
“General, I’ll pour you another drink.”
“Ah, my thanks, Tione. But you know, this is the third time already. I’m not used to drinking this fast. Is this some kind of plan, getting me drunk?”
“Fu-fu, nothing at all. Now, try this one.”
“That damn Amazon never changes…”
“Ah-HA! Gareth! I’m gonna drink ya under the table!”
“’At right? Right, then, I’ll drink ya under the floor!”
“I do declare that the winner gets ta have playtime with Riveria’s bosom!”
“I-I’ll join in!”
“Me tooooo!” “I’m in!” “Hiccup!—Then I’ll join, too.”
“General?!”
“L-Lady Riveria…”
“Allow me some say in this…”
Aiz stayed out of this ruckus, watching the show. However, it wasn’t long before she was drawn into their flames. Normally, the weaker and younger adventurers were very reserved around her. Now that they were drunk and felt invincible, a few saw their chance and tried to get Aiz to sample the wine. The blond girl didn’t know how to react to all the glasses being shoved in her face.
“Cut it out, idiots. Don’t make her drink.”
“…What? You don’t drink wine, Miss Aiz?”
The adventurers immediately withdrew their glasses after Riveria’s sharp warning. Lefiya, who was sitting on the girl’s left, turned to her and asked a question.
Aiz sat there in silence, but Tiona was quick to react. Tearing the last of the meat off the bone in her hand and downing the rest of the wine in her own glass, she leaned forward to respond to the elf.
“Nngahh…Haaa. Bad things happen when Aiz drinks, yeah?”
“…”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“You could say that things get messy, that she can’t hold the alcohol…that she nearly killed Loki…”
“Tiona, please…Stop.”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha! Aiz, you’re so red!”
Tiona leaned in close to Aiz to examine the rare look of embarrassment on the girl’s face. Lefiya started looking around the table in a panic. Tiona noticed that, too, and laughed so hard she had to put both hands on the table to stay upright. Aiz looked away from her, grimacing.
Both groups of Loki Familia were hitting a high note, laughing and enjoying one another’s company. The waitresses worked quickly and efficiently to bring out more food and drinks the moment the first ones disappeared from sight.
Laughs in loud voices came from other customers at the bar as well. Time passed quickly, but the night was still young.
“Oh yeah, Aiz! Tell that one story!”
Loki had been enjoying everyone’s take on different events in the expedition when Bete jumped in.
He was looking directly at the girl across the table, several empty glasses in front of him. The werewolf had been riding high on everyone’s good mood and made that request.
Aiz didn’t understand what he meant and tilted her head to the side.
“You know the one! About those Minotaurs that ran away on the way back! Remember, ya finished off the last one on the fifth floor? And then, ya know, Tomato Boy!”
—At last, she knew.
The white-haired boy she had saved.
“Minotaurs? Are you talking about the ones that attacked us on the seventeenth floor but all turned tail right away?”
“That, that! By some miracle, they all just kept going up an’ we had to haul ass just ta catch up! All after two weeks in the Dungeon, too!”
Bete slammed his mug down onto the table and nodded vigorously when Tione asked for confirmation.
There was a different tone to his voice, and it was making Aiz nervous.
Loki and the other adventurers listened to Bete retell the whole story until he finally got to his point.
“Yeah, and there! That ‘adventurer’! Damn newbie kid!”
—Stop.
Aiz’s heart whispered.
“Got himself cornered like a lil’ bunny! Shakin’ like one, too! Almost couldn’t bear to watch!”
“Oh? What happened to the boy? Was he okay?”
“Aiz carved up that Mino at the last second, ain’t that right?”
Aiz had no idea what her face looked like at this very moment.
She didn’t recognize the strange feeling that was building in her heart. Why was it getting stronger every time Bete brought up the boy who had been in the back of her mind since yesterday?
The werewolf looked almost childish to her, laughing at the top of his lungs. Aiz asked herself many questions, including about last night’s precious dreams.
“That kid took the full blast of that stinky cow’s blood, got soaked! Looked like a bright-red tomato sitting in the Dungeon! So, Tomato Boy! Gya-ha-ha-ha—Ow, my ribs…!”
“Whoa…”
Tiona scrunched up her face.
Even something that simple made Aiz’s heart weep.
“Aiz, please tell me you were trying to do that! You were, right? Please, I’m begging you…!”
“…No, I wasn’t.”
Bete was laughing hard enough to squeeze tears out of his eyes. It took everything the blond girl had to force those words out of her throat.
Other customers had overheard the story and were joining in the laughter. It made her cringe.
“And get this! Tomato Boy, he ran away, screaming his head off!…Geeh! Our princess rescues a boy, and he just buggers off!”
“…Keh.”
“GYA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Absolutely priceless! Aizee scares away a newbie!! You are soooo awesome!!”
“Ha-ha-ha…S-sorry, Aiz. I can’t take it…!”
Waves of laughter swirled around the table.
Lefiya, Loki, Tione, everyone’s shoulders were jumping. Tiona was facedown on the table, pounding her fists up and down.
Aiz was the only exception, a massive hole in the laughter.
She was in a completely different world, distant.
“Ehhhh? Don’t make those scary eyes. They’re ruining your pretty face!”
Tiona looked up from the table and leaned in.
Aiz had no clue.
What eyes was she making for the boy who triggered her memories?
“Been a long time since I’ve seen somethin’ that pathetic, thought I was gonna puke! Makin’ me cry just thinkin’ about it!”
“…Hmmm.”
“The hell was he doing anyway? If yer gonna cry like a little baby, ya shouldn’t be down there in the first place! Ain’t that right, Aiz?”
Aiz’s hands clenched into fists beneath the table.
She felt a gaze and turned to see Riveria with one eye closed and the other looking at her.
In an instant, Aiz could tell that out of all the people at the table, only Riveria could tell that there was a storm brewing behind her aloof expression.
“It’s weak ‘adventurers’ like him who make us look bad. Just give it up already.”
“That’s quite enough, Bete! It was our fault that the Minotaurs escaped in the first place! That boy did nothing wrong! You have no right to make light of his trauma over ale!! Learn some respect!”
Riveria was now glaring at Bete, eyebrows arching into a sharp frown.
Tiona and the others now recognized the true meaning of the shiver in Aiz�
��s shoulders, the flames growing in her eyes. However, the werewolf did not stop.
“Oh-oh! You elves and yer pride! But yeah, what’s the purpose of protectin’ a piece of work like that? Sayin’ it’s our fault, you’re just tryin’ to protect yer ego ’cause you feel guilty. Trash is trash! What’s wrong with callin’ it what it is?”
“Hey, hey, enough with this. Bete, Riveria, you’re killin’ the mood.”
Even Loki stepping in wasn’t enough to convince the werewolf to quiet down.
Taking Riveria’s outburst as a challenge, Bete’s instincts took over. He didn’t attempt to hide his laughter, fangs glistening in the magic-stone lamps’ light as he looked back at Aiz.
“Huh, Aiz! What did ya think about him, that pathetic piece ’a crap shaking in front of you? Does he deserve to stand at our level as adventurers?”
“…I don’t blame him for his reaction, under those circumstances.”
“Why ya actin’ all goody-two-shoes?…Fine, then, I’m changin’ the question. Him or me—who’s a better man?”
Even Finn was taken aback.
“…Bete, are you drunk?”
“Shut it! Now, Aiz! Choose! As a female, which of us wags your tail? Which male makes ya all stirred up?”
For the first time in her life, Aiz felt clear anger at Bete.
She would take the boy over the vile man in front of her any day.
“…I have no reason to answer that question. Especially to you.”
“How absurd.”
“Quiet, hag!…Well, then, if that kid came right now and said he liked ya, would ya take him?”
The flames of anger burning within her were suddenly quelled.
No, that wasn’t possible.
Not happening.
Aiz had no time to be weighed down by those weaker than herself.
She couldn’t stop her progress for someone so far below her.
Her eyes were locked on a higher level, on progress.
She had a dream that must become reality.
Aiz would never return to the weakling she once was.
“See, of course ya wouldn’t! Why would a tiny kid so weak, feeble, and all-around nauseating be allowed to stand next to you? Most of all, you wouldn’t let him.”
He took in a big breath before adding:
“A tiny kid could never land Aiz Wallenstein.”
She couldn’t deny it.
A heartbeat later…
Someone in the corner of the room stood up.
“Bell?!”
One of the waitresses called after a young boy as he tore through the crowd and dashed out the door.
For just a second, Aiz clearly saw the boy’s face. The waitress wasn’t far behind.
…
Her mind went blank and she stood up.
It happened so fast that no one knew what happened. The girl left everyone to their confusion and went outside.
That boy…
Hair as white as the winter mountains. Ruby-red eyes glistening with tears.
He’d heard everything.
The boy she’d saved.
Walking out the front door, Aiz looked up and down the street. She caught a glimpse of the waitress running to her right, heading toward the Dungeon entrance at the center of the city. But Aiz couldn’t bring herself to take another step.
She couldn’t chase him.
—Bell.
The name the waitress yelled inside echoed around in her head.
It was the name of the boy she saved yesterday. It was also the name of the boy she hurt today.
The white rabbit had brought her those precious dreams, revived memories within her long forgotten.
“…”
Several familiar voices called out to her as she stood in the street.
There was no doubt in her mind that her younger self would have given chase.
She would’ve caught that boy who was making his way to the large hole in the ground, the Dungeon.
But today, she could not.
As she was now, Aiz could not chase the rabbit.
CHAPTER 4
BETWEEN TRANQUILITY AND TURBULENCE
The sun emerged from the eastern horizon, lighting up the landscape.
The first of the sun’s rays cleared Orario’s high city wall.
A cool air hovered over the metropolis.
“Aizuu…still not herself again today…”
Said Loki quietly as she leaned over the railing.
She was standing on a bridge connecting two of the towers. The stone bridge overlooked a garden far below.
Loki, however, was looking at the blond-haired girl sitting in a chair beneath one of the many trees on the narrow lawn.
“She was down in the dumps all of yesterday…”
“Aiz wasting time in this manner is beyond unusual; it’s strange.”
“Ya got that right…”
Another person, a demi-human, stood on the bridge next to Loki with her eyes on the girl below.
Her hair was like a constantly flowing river of jade, with eyes to match. Her feminine frame was long, thin, and absolutely radiating elvish beauty. Even her silky white skin was flawless.
Riveria stood on the bridge with an air of brilliant elegance. There was a stark contrast between her and the goddess with her elbows on the railing.
“Usually, it don’t matter if it’s after an expedition or whatever, she’s always headed ta the Dungeon…On the bright side, I don’t have ta worry as much when I can see her.”
“I am very much in agreement. So, then.”
Riveria turned her back to the railing. Her refined facial features, usually symmetrical enough to rival the gods’, twisted into a grimace.
In fact, she and Aiz possessed enough beauty to pass as goddesses themselves. A few of the divine women had made this mistake and become jealous in the past.
In Riveria’s case, it was because royal blood flowed through her veins. She was a high elf.
By and large, elves tended to avoid interacting with gods and humans, choosing to spend their lives in their forest homelands. Riveria had followed a different path and eventually ended up in the Labyrinth City.
However, other elves, including Lefiya, could instantly recognize her lineage and treated her with the utmost respect. While she tolerated it, the special treatment made her uncomfortable.
“The cause of her depression must be the incident at the bar.”
“I don’t blame her, Bete harassin’ her like that. For what it’s worth, Bete’s hurtin’ real bad, too.”
“Not my problem. He’s getting what he deserves.”
Two days had passed since the night at the bar.
Tiona led the charge to capture Bete after Aiz had run outside. Believing that he was the reason she left the table, they took it upon themselves to punish him. It took no time at all to tie him up and hang him by his ankles outside the bar. Riveria had taken part—he’d called her a hag, after all—by pinning his head to the ground with her foot as the Amazons prepared the rope.
The werewolf had no memory of this incident the morning after. He became extremely depressed after hearing the details. Tiona and Tione had taken it upon themselves to keep him out of Aiz’s sight.
Riveria sighed, hoping that the werewolf would learn from his mistakes.
“Then again, Aiz ain’t the type of girl ta get worked up over somethin’ like that…”
“Then there must be another cause?”
“Most likely. But that’s somethin’ only Aiz knows.”
Riveria tilted her head and glanced down at the garden.
The only other events from the other night that she could remember were the waitress who ran outside and the mysterious customer who dashed out before her. Everything happened so fast that Riveria didn’t know the full story, but she assumed that something Aiz couldn’t ignore transpired before the incident.
What’s more, it was just as Loki said. Only Aiz knew what the problem was; they ha
d nothing to go on.
“What shall we do? Give her some space?”
“That’s the thing, ain’t it? If we fix her problem an’ she roars back to life, there’ll be no stoppin’ her from goin’ to the Dungeon.
“Ehh…” Loki groaned for a moment, letting her voice trail off until, “AH!” She spun to face Riveria.
“I’m leavin’ it to you!”
“…What?”
“I’m trusting ya, Riveria. Rather than me doin’ this and that, you’d be much better.”
Loki walked closer to the elf.
“You never planned on leavin’ her alone, even with the whole ‘shall we give her some space’—No need for that. You wanna ask her what’s wrong as much as I do, don’cha?”
Loki mimicked Riveria’s words—poorly—with a grin on her face.
The elf fought back an annoyed twitch but was still impressed by her goddess’s ability to see her true feelings. Her face relaxed.
“Go do your thing, Mama.”
Loki walked past Riveria, patting her on the shoulder before making her way to the open tower door. The elf silently watched as her goddess put her hands behind her head and disappeared from sight.
Riveria Ljos Alf had been a member of Loki Familia for longer than most could remember.
She had known Aiz for longer than anyone, with the exception of Loki herself. The two had developed a strong bond over the years.
“…Mama?”
Despite her verbal confusion, she couldn’t reject the idea.
Sighing quietly to herself, Riveria walked to the central tower.
“Aiz.”
The central tower was surrounded by a garden at its base.
The other towers blocked light for most of the day, but the efforts of other members of the familia were paying off. All of the plants were green and lush under the light of magic-stone lamp ornaments shaped like orbs.
Riveria emerged from the central tower’s wooden door and walked across the lawn toward Aiz.
“Riveria…”
“Up early, as usual. But for some reason your weapon is still.”
Aiz was sitting in a long chair in the shade of a tree.
The rapier, rather than her weapon of choice, was propped up against the roots. Riveria deduced that Aiz more than likely came down here with the intention of practicing but wasn’t in the mood.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 1 Page 13
