DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
"It's finally our turn." James said impatiently after waiting in line for more than an hour in a half.
"Yeah, that was a long wait.' Elicia said while fanning herself with her hand. "But it's not like it's gonna be quick to get registered, either."
"There's no point complaining." Momo said calmly while brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "As long as we cooperate with the guards, it will finish quickly."
The rest of the group nodded to Momo's assessment. Then, they stepped up to the guards one by one to be processed. And as it happened, Tatsuo was the first to start his processing.
Standing in front of a male guard with floppy dog ears wearing a red elephant mask, Tatsuo waited for the man to start his questions. However, instead of immediately asking questions, the guard picked up a green orb from the desk he was standing next to and held it in Tatsuo's direction.
"Please place your hand on this." The guard said in a tone that said he was tired of saying the same thing over and over. Then, when Tatsuo's hand touched the orb, he was holding, he started asking his questions. "Reason for entering Orario."
"To become an Adventurer." Tatsuo replied calmly.
"Where did you come from?" The guard asked in the same tone.
From there, it took about seven minutes for the guard to ask all the questions he was required to ask. And Tatsuo politely answered all of them. Though, he was not really paying attention to the questions.
Instead, the orb he was touching was what caught Tatsuo's eye. However, he did not ask the guard what the orb was. Though he figured it was some kind of device that checked to see if the individual touching it was dangerous in some way, without asking about it, he had no way to confirm his suspicion for now.
"Alright, that's the last question." The guard said before putting the orb back on the desk. Then, he continued while writing something on a piece of parchment. "Since you plan to become an adventurer, you will be staying in Orario permanently, correct?"
"That's right." Tatsuo replied with a nod.
"As I thought." The guard said as he finished writing. He then picked up the parchment and handed it to Tatsuo as he continued. "Then take this. The registration fee is three thousand Valis. You can either pay now or pay within seven days at the Adventurer's guild."
"I can pay now.' Tatsuo said as he took the parchment from the guard. He then reached into a pouch on his waist and pulled a small bag filled with coins out before handing it to the guard. "There should be three thousand in there."
Accepting the bag, the guard opened it before quickly counting the contents. Then, after confirming that there were indeed three thousand Valis inside, he nodded at Tatsuo.
"Then, let me be the first to welcome you to Orario." The guard said with a professional smile. "I pray for your success in the dungeon."
"Thanks." Tatsuo replied with a smile that caused several female guards near the gate to blush. He then turned around and nodded at the other members of the [Dimensional Chat] as he continued. "I'll wait on the other side of the gate. See you guys in a little bit."
Receiving nods from the others, Tatsuo walked through the gate. When he did, he immediately saw Aislynn standing with another woman. A woman that he recognized. But not only that, he also felt an aura that was similar to the feeling he got when touching the orb, a short while ago.
'Ah! So, that was divinity.' Tatsuo thought to himself while walking forward. 'So, does that mean that thing was used to determine if someone is lying? Or maybe---'
*Swish!*
Yet, before Tatsuo could even finish that thought, his eyes narrowed sharply. Then, he leaned to his left, barely avoiding the tip of a rapier, reached out with his right hand, grabbed the wrist of the person holding the rapier, made a quick turn, and threw the attacker over his shoulder while he used his tail to add more force to the throw. {Pic}
*Bang!*
Then, just as his assailant hit the ground, Tatsuo, with the attacker's wrist still in his grasp, lowered a knee onto their chest while simultaneously reaching for the dagger strapped to his left hip. However, before he could press it against the attacker's throat, he finally noticed the attacker's face.
"Who are you?" Tatsuo asked in a cold tone. "Why are you attacking me? And why the hell shouldn't I stab you through the--- huh? Why would such a pretty girl attack me for no reason? Are you some kinda yandere who got the order of things wrong?"
Partway through his threat, Tatsuo's words came to a sudden stop as confusion replaced his cold expression. Recognizing the person who attacked him as Ais Wallenstein, he used his [Acting Skill] to mask the fact that he recognized her. Though, he could not fathom why she would attack him out of nowhere. So, his surprise was not faked in the slightest.
Yet, when Tatsuo looked down into Ais' eyes, he saw that she was just as, if not more, confused than he was.
With her experience as an adventurer, Ais could tell that Tatsuo had not received a Falna based on the way he moved. Yet, even with the body of an ordinary human, he was able to react to her attack and subdue her with little effort.
And because of that confusion, Ais, like Tatsuo, froze while staring into Tatsuo's eyes.
And there was one goddess in the vicinity who did not like the way that looked, despite the fact that she was just shouting at Ais to stop the attack.
"Hey, Brat!" Loki shouted as she dashed towards Tatsuo and Ais. "What the hell are you doing to my Ais-Tan? I'm warning you, just because she's the cutest thing on two legs, you better not have any ideas about her. Otherwise, I'll crush you with the weight of the entire Loki--- Huh? Hey, what the hell are you doing, Aislynn? Let go of me! I need to lay down the law for that brat!"
Yet, before Loki could even cover half the distance to Tatsuo and Ais, Aislynn, the Dragon Goddess in human form, moved even faster. She then reached out and picked up Loki by the back of her collar with one hand, causing the Trickster Goddess to stop her rant and start thrashing around in Aislynn's grasp.
Meanwhile, Riveria, who had also started moving in an attempt to stop Ais from killing Tatsuo, was now staring at Tatsuo and Ais with her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly agape.
"How is this possible?" Riveria asked absent-mindedly. "Just who is that boy?"
"Loki, instead of threatening the boy your child just attacked, shouldn't you be apologizing to him and maybe offering compensation?" Aislynn asked in an amused tone.
"But look at that brat!" Loki shouted while pointing at Tatsuo. "He's clearly trying to seduce my Ais-Tan!"
"Yeah, because seducing girls at knife point is all the rage right now." Tatsuo replied sarcastically.
Loki sputtered at that. A moment later, however, she pointed at Tatsuo once again with righteous indignation on her face.
"That's right!" Loki shouted. "How dare you attack my Ais-Tan? I'll have you drawn and quartered for this!"
*Bang!*
"Please stop." Riveria, looking tired, said after bashing Loki in the head with her staff. "You're twisting black and white again."
"But Mama~, look what he did to my Ais-Tan!" Loki whined.
*Bang!*
"And don't call me that." Riveria said, her tired expression morphing into one of frustration.
"Ow!" Loki exclaimed while holding her head. "I'm gonna have a bump… why do you have to hit the same place every time?"
"Soit will hurt more." Riveria replied as she looked away from Loki. She then addressed Tatsuo while walking closer as non-threateningly as possible. "I am terribly sorry for the way this girl acted. But do you think you could let her go? It's not like you could hurt her with that, anyway."
In response, Tatsuo looked at Riveria for a few more seconds. Then, he looked down at Ais, who was still wearing an expression that practically screamed: "Does not compute." After that, he noticed that she was not showing any signs of pain after being thrown to the ground. And finally, he looked at the blade in his hand.
*Thud!*
"Tch!" Tatsuo clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as his tail slapped against the ground. "Yeah, there's no way I could do anything to an adventurer like her with this. In fact, the only reason she probably ended up on the ground was because she was caught off guard."
"Exactly." Riveria said calmly while nodding her head.
"Still, I don't really like being attacked out of nowhere." Tatsuo said as he pressed the knife a little closer to Ais' throat. "On top of that, how do I know she won't just attack me again? Hell, I don't even know why she attacked me in the first place."
Riveria could not answer that question immediately. Although she knew exactly why Ais attacked, that was a secret of the Loki Familia.
"It's because you have draconic traits." Aislynn, still carrying Loki in one hand, said while approaching the trio. "She has a rather intense hatred for dragons, you see?"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Loki shouted while waving her arms and legs around frantically. "Stop telling my Familia's secrets! Damn Dream Dragon!"
"Stop that." Aislynn said in an exasperated tone. "I only gave this child an explanation as to why he was attacked, seemingly without cause. I've not disclosed anything that could be considered secret."
"I guess..." Loki replied with her arms crossed and looking away.
"Now, would you mind letting that child go?" Aislynn asked with a smile as she put Loki down next to Riveria. She then continued after taking a couple of steps forward. "If your companions were to see you like that, they might get the wrong idea."
"*Sigh* Alright..." Tatsuo replied while cautiously taking his dagger away from Ais' neck before quickly standing up and jumping away from her.
As soon as Tatsuo moved away, Ais also leapt to her feet. Though, her confusion was still evident.
After her initial confusion passed, Ais tried her best to get up. Yet, because of the way Tatsuo distributed his weight across her body, she could not put any force into her actions. And that was what confused her the most. Not since she became an adventurer had she ever been put in a situation like that by someone weaker than her.
While Ais was trying to piece together what just happened, the second member of the [Dimensional Chat], Violet, stepped through the gate and immediately made her way over to Tatsuo's side with her shield and spear in hand.
"Tatsuo-Kun, what happened?" Violet asked in a sharp tone. "Why did that girl just attack you?"
"*Sigh* Because she's got something wrong with her brain, apparently." Tatsuo replied while shaking his head. "But you can put your weapons away. The conflict is over for now."
"Do I have something wrong with my brain?" Ais asked while tilting her head to one side with a blank expression on her face.
"I see." Violet, after seeing Ais' reaction to Tatsuo's words, replied with an understanding nod as she slung her shield and spear onto her back.
That exchange made Riveria want to defend Ais. But after seeing how Ais reacted, she did not even know where to start. Meanwhile, Loki, after getting to see one of the ladies from the [Dimensional Chat] up close, practically started drooling.
"Hey, Lass." Loki said, sounding like a dirty old man. "How 'bout joinin' my Familia. If you do, I promise I'll take really good care of ya."
*Smack!*
While Violet recoiled at the slimy tone, Riveria momentarily lost her composure and face-palmed hard enough that the smack echoed around the area. Aislynn, on the other hand, looked at Loki with dissatisfaction. {Pic}
"Um... No, thank you." Violet replied while trying to avoid Loki's gaze. "I'm going to join the same Familia as Tatsuo-Kun. In fact, our whole group plans to join the same Familia."
"Come now, Lass." Loki said, completely undeterred by Violet's rejection. "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to find a Familia willing to take in all ten of you? But if you join mine, at least you and the other ladies will be able to stay together. *Gulp* Isn't that a good deal?"
"Loki, didn't we just talk about this?" Aislynn asked in a tone so calm that it sounded scary. "Or do you want me to turn all your dreams about your Ais-Tan into ones with bulky men with her face?"
Immediately, all the color drained from Loki's face. Then, she turned around and grabbed Aislynn's arm with a desperate expression on her face.
"Aislynn, you... you wouldn't really do that, would you?" Loki asked in a trembling tone. "You wouldn't really be that cruel, right? I mean, we're friends. We've been friends for eons."
Shaking her head at Loki, Aislynn turned her attention back to Tatsuo and Violet.
"In that case, why not join my Familia." Aislynn said while smiling at Tatsuo. "I haven't actually formed a Familia yet. But with the ten of you, our foundation will be great. Plus, I have all the startup capital you could ever need, a very nice villa in an upscale district, and there are very few gods in this city who would be willing to cross me. Meaning, you will more than likely not be harassed by other Familias in Orario."
"That almost sounds too good to be true." Tatsuo muttered, putting his [Acting Skill] on full display.
"It seemed like you were waiting for us, too." Violet added. "But how could you have known we were coming here."
"That's because she has dominion over dreams." Loki answered before Aislynn could. "She can see all those subconscious thoughts you didn't even know you were having while you were asleep. So, if you join her, you won't have any secrets at all. Doesn't that sound dreadful?"
At that moment, Zelretch stepped through the gate and joined Tatsuo and Violet. And he was just in time to hear Loki's explanation. And as soon as he came into sight, Riveria's gaze focused on him immediately. Her senses telling her that Zelretch was quite accomplished as a mage, despite the fact that he had more than likely not been granted a Falna.
"Please pardon my interruption, Lady Goddess." Zelretch said while bowing elegantly. "But based on what you said, would that fact change even if we did not join your Familia?"
"Of course not." Loki replied without even looking at Zelretch, an old man.
"Then, would it not be better for us to take shelter under the wings of such a goddess?" Zelretch replied, completely unbothered by Loki not really paying attention to him. "At least, if we join this goddess' Familia, our secrets would not leak outside, correct?"
"That's a good point, Zelretch-San." Violet said with a nod.
With that, Loki finally looked at Zelretch. However, her gaze was less than pleasant, as he just ruined her recruiting pitch.
"We would like to see the environment you spoke of before making a decision." Tatsuo said while taking control of the conversation. "Would that be alright with you... Lady Goddess."
"Please, just call me Aislynn." Aislynn said with a smile. "And please, do not use any formal titles. We are going to be family, after all. So, it is only right that you be comfortable with me."
And with that, the members of the [Dimensional Chat's] next move was set. Meanwhile, stewing over her failed attempt to recruit half a dozen beautiful girls into her Familia, Loki shamelessly decided that she, Ais, and Riveria would be going to Aislynn's villa, as well.
So, after James, Alfonzo, Elicia, Aletia, Akatsuki, Sakura, , and Momo finished their check in procedures, the group of fourteen left the northwest gate and made their way towards Aislynn's villa.