DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
"Damn… It looks a lot more impressive than the pictures I saw on the internet." James said while looking towards the city of Orario from a hill northwest of the city. "And how the hell do you build something that big with a technology level like this?"
Currently, the mortal members of the [Dimensional Chat] were standing atop a hill about six and a half miles northwest of Orario. Having just been placed here after accepting the [Mission], they were all marveling at the scenery. {Pic}
Well, most of them were marveling at the scenery.
"My magic is so weak." Aletia muttered while flames flickered between her fingertips.
Aletia's muttering snapped everyone out of their wonder. They then began checking their own bodies to see the differences from before the transfer.
"At least you can use magic." Elicia said while flexing her fingers. "I can't use mine at--- Argh!"
However, before Elicia could finish, she cried out in pain as she fell to one knee. Yet, she was not the only one, as the others also cried out and began to writhe in pain. And the reason for this was the memories that were being assimilated.
Before long, the cries of agony and painful whimpers stopped, and the ten members of the [Dimensional Chat] rose to their feet unsteadily.
"Do you all go through that every time you go on a[Mission]?" Momo asked while holding her head.
"That was quite possibly the most unpleasant thing I've ever experienced." Zelretch said while propping himself up with his staff.
"Tatsuo, my head still hurts." Aletia said in a pitiful tone. "Can you give me a hug to help me feel better?"
"Wow! That one never misses a chance, does she?" Elicia asked as she shook her head vigorously.
"Nah, she was just like that when I first met her, too." James added. "But that won't work on Tatsuo, who has been on every [Mission]. By now, we all know that the pain disappears as soon as the memories settle."
"Tch!" Aletia clicked her tongue while glaring at Elicia and James, who only smiled back at her in response.
"I wonder if these memories affected Aislynn as much as they did us." Tatsuo muttered while glancing at Aletia.
In fact, Aislynn, who also just underwent the flood of memories in Orario, was completely unaffected by the pain. As a divine being, pain on that level was nowhere near enough to bother her.
On top of that, as the Dragon of Dreams, seeing every living beings' dreams at all times were more of an information overload than that. So, she barely even stopped moving towards the northwest gate when the memories hit her.
"If she was as negatively affected as we were, I'd be thoroughly disappointed." Alfonzo muttered. "It would make me look down on gods and divine beings."
"More important than that, should we talk about our memories?" Akatsuki asked.
"Yeah, although I don't' think we'll have trouble keeping our stories straight, we should still talk about it." Sakura added in a soft tone.
"I'm fine with that." Tatsuo replied. "Let's walk and talk. According to the memories, we've been traveling for three weeks and we're almost at Orario. And I really would like to find a place to take a break as soon as possible."
Receiving nods from the other nine, the group began the final leg of their journey to Orario. Along the way, they discussed the backgrounds they bought before the [Mission] started.
For the most part, the group all had the same background. They were from a village in the countryside. Most of them, James, Alfonzo, Elicia, Akatsuki, Violet, Sakura, and Momo grew up together, trained to be the village's hunters and protectors. And the one who trained them was Zelretch.
However, one day, shortly after Momo was born, the previous generation of hunters and protectors brought back a strange infant. This infant, Tatsuo, was a demi-human. Yet, he was not like any of the demi-human races they had seen in the past. With a pair of horns on his head and a thick, reptilian tail growing from his back, they could not classify him with any of the other demi-human races they knew of.
Either way, the kindhearted villagers would not leave an infant to fend for himself in this dangerous world. And Zelretch, one of the most senior villagers, chose to raise him, as he had no children or grandchildren of his own.
Like that, Tatsuo was raised to become a protector of the village like the other seven. And for the next few years, they lived a peaceful life.
Then, a few years ago, Aletia, a former student from the city of Altena, a city that adopted a magic supremacy doctrine, found her way to the village after she grew weary of the life in Altena. Though, that was mostly because she was unable to join a Familia while living in Altena, causing her to leave and try her luck elsewhere.
However, about a month ago, the peace in the village was shattered when a monster horde showed up at the village. And although everyone fought with all they had to defend the village, by the time the horde was defeated, only the ten members of the [Dimensional Chat] survived.
Finally, after spending a week to bury the deceased and gathering as many supplies as they could for the journey, they set out for Orario to try and start a new life. They also had the desire to become adventurers and gain the strength to make sure they never had to deal with another tragedy like the one they all barely survived.
And three weeks later, the [Mission] began and the group found themselves on the hill overlooking the Labyrinth City, Orario. {Pic}
By the time they were finished discussing their backgrounds, the members of the [Dimensional Chat] had arrived at the northwest gate of Orario. Or rather, they had arrived at the end of the line of people waiting to enter through the northwest gate.
"Well, at least we don't have any blind spots in our memories." Tatsuo said as he and the others joined the line.
"Yeah, so now we can worry about more important things." Elicia said with a nod. "Like, where in the DanMachi time line are we? Has Bell Cranel arrived in Orario yet?"
"Actually, maybe we should wait until we find somewhere more private." Alfonzo said while glancing at the other people in the line. "we're drawing a lot of attention right now."
Hearing that, everyone fell silent while looking around at the other people in the line. And just like Alfonzo said, there were quite a few people looking in their direction. Then again, that was not surprising when you consider how good looking their group was as a whole. On top of that, Tatsuo stood out as someone on a completely different level when it came to his looks. And that was not just because of his handsomeness.
"Hey, does that guy have horns on his head?" An elf woman asked her companions.
"That tail, doesn't it look like a dragon's tail from the stories?" A man with dog ears muttered to himself.
"Oh, my goodness, he's so handsome." A human woman squealed quietly. "Hey, do you think one of the women around him is his wife? If not, do you think I have a chance?"
Comments like that could be heard from all the people in the line who could see Tatsuo. They even caused the people towards the front of the line to look back, hoping to see what had the people behind them so excited.
"This happened when he enrolled in U.A. too.' Momo said while shaking her head. "Though, I can understand why."
"It happened at the school before we were transmigrated to Aletia's world, too." Violet added. "Watching those girls swoon over him was a common thing."
"You would have been one of them, too, Violet." James said with a grin. "But your role as an intern teacher made that impossible."
"What are you talking about, James-San?" Violet asked while tilting her head. "I didn't have to compete for his attention. We lived in the same house, remember?"
"Tch! Lucky." Aletia said with clear jealousy in her tone.
"You don't have to worry about that now, though." Violet replied while turning to Aletia with a smile. "Since we'll all be in the same Familia, we'll all live together this time."
Hearing that, Aletia's face, which was often rather emotionless, bloomed into a radiant smile. But she was not the only one who smiled at the thought of living with Tatsuo, as Sakura and Momo, though she did not realize it herself, also smiled.
"Great… We're gonna have to deal with the antics of a bunch of horny teenagers and a horny three-hundred-year-old vampire." Akatsuki muttered. "I don't' know which is worse, them or Naotsugu."
"Stop acting like you're so much better." Tatsuo shot back. "If you weren't so shy, hiding your desires behind your, so-called, duty, you'd be all over Shiroe, too."
"Sh-Shut up!" Akatsuki shouted with red cheeks.
The whole group laughed at the back and forth. And as they got closer and closer to the front of the line, they continued to chat while ignoring the gazes of the people around them.
However, when the group was about halfway through the queue, the atmosphere in the line changed. When it did, fewer people paid attention to their group, as they all looked towards the gate.
Finding the change interesting, the members of the [Dimensional Chat] also turned their attention towards the front of the line. And when they did, they could not help but sigh in unison.
"How did she even know we would be at this gate?" Elicia asked in a curious tone.
"Probably because of her dominion over dreams." Zelretch surmised. "I bet she saw into our dreams the night before and knew we would be coming from this direction."
"Oh, I forgot about that." Elicia said while slapping the side of her right fist into her left palm.
"Wait… does that mean she can see all of our dreams?" Akatsuki asked. "Even the ones we don't know we're having."
"Pretty much." James replied. "So, that basically means there are no secrets in front of her."
"On top of that, lying to a god is impossible." Alfonzo added. "So, yeah…"
Everyone grimaced slightly upon hearing that. But they did not dwell on it too much. They were all mentally strong enough that they could compartmentalize that information and move on as if they never heard it.
Meanwhile, just as Tatsuo and the others noticed her, Aislynn, who was standing at the gate with Loki, also noticed them. {Pic}
"There they are." Aislynn said quietly while looking at the other ten members of the [Dimensional Chat]. "Oh, and they've noticed me, too. Especially the one with the horns."
Hearing that, Loki's eyes, which were perpetually squinted, opened a crack. And when they landed on the members of the [Dimensional Chat], they lit up brilliantly.
"Hey, Aislynn." Loki said sweetly. "Surely, you don't need all ten of them. Why don't you let me have five or six of them? With the Loki Familia's resources, I'm sure I could raise them into fine adventurers."
"Five or six, huh?" Aislynn asked in a sharp tone while shooting Loki a side eye. "And is it just a coincidence that six of them are all pretty girls?"
"Of course not." Loki replied shamelessly. "As an avid lover of beautiful girls, what kind of Goddess would I be if I didn't try to get them into my hands… *Cough* *Cough* I mean my Familia?"
"Careful, Loki." Aislynn said with her eyes narrowed. "Your true thoughts are showing."
"As if they were ever hidden from you in the first place." Loki shot back. "With your dominion over dreams, I bet you know me even better than I know myself."
"And somehow, I'm still friends with you after all these years." Aislynn said in a tone that made it sound like she regretted quite a few of her life choices.
"Oh, don't say it like that." Loki said with a wide smile on her face. "You know you love me."
"Loki! Do you have to always run off like that?"
As the banter between the longtime friends continued, it was suddenly interrupted by a woman's exasperated shout. And when the two deities looked back, they saw a pair of female adventurers, a blonde girl looking to be about thirteen years old and a green-haired woman wearing a luxurious mage robe and carrying an expensive looking magic staff. {Pic}
"Don't be mad, Mama Riveria." Loki replied with a smile. "I saw a friend and just had to come say hi. And little Ais! Did you miss me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Loki threw herself at the human girl, Ais Wallenstein. However, before she could wrap her arms around the girl, the elf, Riveria Ljos Alf, slammed her staff, which could double as a bludgeoning weapon, down on Loki's head.
*Bang!*
And thanks to the force behind Riveria's strike, Loki's forward momentum was halted immediately. Instead, it was all converted into downward momentum, causing Loki to slam face first into the street.
"Please act with the dignity befitting a goddess of your station, Loki." Riveria said as she pulled her staff back. She then turned towards Aislynn and bowed politely as she continued. "And it is always a pleasure to see you, Lady Aislynn."
"You're so well-mannered, Riveria." Aislynn said with a smile. "You're really wasted on a buffoon like Loki. Why not come to my Familia when I start it in a few hours."
"Hey! Don't try poaching my Vice-Captain!" Loki shouted while jumping back to her feet as if she had not been hit. "Mama is mine!"
*Bang!*
Riveria once again slammed her staff into Loki's head. Though, this time Loki was not knocked to the ground. Instead, she glared at Aislynn with fierce protectiveness.
Yet, Aislynn did not pay any attention to Loki's expression. Instead, she turned her attention to Ais, who's black expression made her look like an exquisitely crafted doll.
"But I'd suggest you keep that girl in line." Aislynn said while narrowing her eyes. "One of the children that will be coming through the gate is special. And I'm sure she will have quite the adverse reaction to him."
Loki's fierce expression immediately vanished only to be replaced by one filled with concern.
"Oh… shit… I forgot about that." Loki muttered She then spun to look at Riveria with an urgent expression on her face. "Riveria! Get Ais out of here! Right now!"
*Swish!*
Unfortunately, Loki's order came a moment too late. At that moment, Tatsuo, after paying the entrance fee, stepped through the gate and finally entered the city. However, when Ais saw him and his draconic features, her eyes narrowed and she reached for the rapier on her hip before vanishing from where she stood in a burst of speed.