DanMachi Lower World, Orario.
"You're late," Aislynn said as the rest of the Aislynn Familia stepped into the Dragon's Nest's main hall.
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A moment later, however, she noticed the state everyone… or rather, the state Tatsuo and Sakura were in.
"What happened to you two?" Aislynn asked as she shot to her feet. Then, she continued while checking Tatsuo and Sakura for injuries. "Where did all this blood come from? And why do you two look so exhausted? It was that damned Apollo, wasn't it? I'll go and—"
Aislynn realized the two had no serious injuries by the time she mentioned Apollo. Immediately afterward, she turned toward the Dragon's Nest's front door with a murderous expression on her face. However, before she could even take her second step, Tatsuo reached out and grabbed her by the wrist before she could finish declaring war.
"Chill out, Aislynn," Tatsuo said in an exasperated tone. "How about letting us answer your questions before you answer them for yourself, alright?"
"All this blood is because we ran into Killer Ants for the first time," Sakura said quietly. "And we're so tired because they just kept coming. We couldn't kill the last one before it asked for help."
With Tatsuo and Sakura quickly explaining the situation, Aislynn calmed down rather quickly. Then, after looking Tatsuo and Sakura over one more time, she smirked.
"I see," Aislynn said while looking Tatsuo up and down. "I guess you're not as fast as you think you are, huh? Can't even kill a Killer Ant before it can screech."
Tatsuo could not help the twitching of his eyebrows after hearing that provocation. A moment later, he let go of Aislynn's wrist and turned around, heading for the stairs leading to the upper floors.
"Alright, everyone," Tatsuo said while walking away. "If we hurry, there might be a table for ten at the Hostess of Fertility. Tonight will be a team-building exercise for just the mortal members of the Familia, and I, as the captain, will cover all of tonight's expenses. So, everyone can eat and drink as much as you want."
Hearing that, Aislynn put on a dumbfounded expression while everyone else looked at her with schadenfreude.
"What… just happened?" Aislynn asked while looking at the other nine members of the [Dimensional Chat]. "Since when has Tatsuo been that petty?"
"Hasn't he always been that petty?" Elicia asked, tilting her head in confusion. "I mean, he actually made me eat room-service food while he cooked for Sakura and Medusa during the [Mission] we went on."
"And what did you do?" Alfonzo asked curiously.
"Hmm… Now that I think about it, I don't remember…" Elicia said after a few seconds of contemplation. "But… chances are, I probably deserved it for teasing him too much."
"I thought so," Alfonzo replied with a nod. "I've never withheld my cooking without a good reason, either."
"But I only teased him once," Aislynn said in a genuinely confused tone.
"I actually think it's a combination of things," Zelretch replied, drawing everyone's attention to himself. Then, he continued while counting on his fingers. "There's the thing about being the Familia Captain. Then, there's the fact that he was the one saying we should come back so Lady Aislynn wouldn't feel left out. And finally, and probably most importantly, he still can't vent his anger on Hyakinthos and the Apollo Familia yet."
After hearing Zelretch's explanation, Aislynn smiled warmly. The fact that Tatsuo was thinking about her made her happier than she would ever admit.
"*Sigh* Fine~," Aislynn said as she started walking toward the stairs. "I suppose I really did wrong him. I'll go apologize and give him a little reward for his thoughtfulness."
"Reward him after we get back," James said with a lecherous grin. "If you do it before we leave, we might not be able to get a table."
*Bang!*
"Fuck! That hurt!"
As soon as James finished his crude joke, Aislynn, without even looking in his direction, waved her hand at him. However, that casual wave carried enough force to create a shock wave that slammed into the center of James's forehead, causing him to yell out in pain and Aislynn's smile to widen triumphantly.
"Damn… She's ruthless," James muttered while watching Aislynn walk up the stairs.
"Maybe if you learned to keep your mouth shut, she wouldn't be," Akatsuki shot back while rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" James asked with a cheeky grin.
"So, do you think she'll be able to get T to change his mind?" Alfonzo asked curiously.
"Probably," Elicia replied with a smile of her own. "I mean, have you seen her? She's super-hot, and Tatsuo is a hormonal dragon teenager. It probably won't take long at all."
"I don't think it will be as easy as you think," James said while looking down at his left hand. "At least, that's what Ddraig says."
"Why not?" Violet asked curiously.
Instead of responding immediately, James continued to look at his left hand, clearly having a conversation with the red dragon dwelling within his soul.
"Because a dragon has his pride," James said, finally answering Violet's question after a few seconds. "Still, Ddraig thinks it will happen. Aislynn's too experienced for a problem like this to stump her for long."
"It looks like you want to say more," Momo said, tilting her head curiously.
"I do," James replied with a nod. "But I'm afraid Aislynn will hear me and somehow slap me upside the head again."
"I'm sure she'll find out what you were thinking when you sleep tonight," Sakura pointed out. "So, you might as well say it now."
"Nah, I'm good," James said, waving off Sakura's suggestion. "As long as I'm not thinking about something harmful to the group, she won't do anything. I mean, I think stuff that could be considered rude about Aislynn all the time. But she's never hit me for just thinking it. Saying it out loud, though… that's a different story."
"Fair enough," Alfonzo said. "Anyway, let's get going, because I damn sure don't wanna be the reason Aislynn is kept waiting."
With that, Alfonzo grabbed Elicia by the hand and started pulling her toward the stairs. Shortly afterward, the others followed behind them, and everyone returned to either their rooms or the communal bath to get cleaned up.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo was in his bedroom. By now, he had already stripped out of his combat attire and was standing in front of his closet with a towel draped over his shoulder.
*Click!*
However, as soon as he heard the click of the doorknob, Tatsuo quickly wrapped the towel around his waist, because there was only one person living in the villa who would enter his room without knocking first.
"What's up?" Tatsuo asked without turning around.
"I've come to reward you for your stellar work as Familia Captain," Aislynn said as she approached Tatsuo from behind.
"Oh, and here I thought you were here to apologize," Tatsuo replied while walking toward the bathroom.
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"Why should I apologize?" Aislynn asked while following Tatsuo into the bathroom. "Is anything I said untrue?"
"I guess not," Tatsuo replied without turning around.
"Even so, I can see why you might find it insulting," Aislynn said, her tone softening as she did. "Still, I will not apologize for stating the truth. But that does not mean you do not deserve to be rewarded for the work you've done."
"And how do you intend to reward me?" Tatsuo asked as he stepped into the bathroom.
"I was thinking I would wash your back," Aislynn said with a smile. "From one such as I, that sounds like quite the reward, does it not?"
For the first time since she entered his bedroom, Tatsuo finally looked back at Aislynn. However, the excitement Aislynn was expecting was absent from his expression. Instead, his eyes were filled with wariness as he raised his arms defensively over his chest.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aislynn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Loki is your best friend from Heaven in this world, right?" Tatsuo asked while inching away from Aislynn. After receiving a nod from her, he continued, still trying to put some distance between them. "Then, does that mean you've picked up the same bad habit of molesting your Familia members that she has?"
For a moment, Aislynn froze where she stood as she processed what Tatsuo had just asked her. Then, once she had internalized it, her face cycled through a number of expressions: amusement… helplessness… irritation… before finally settling on annoyance.
"Just sit down and shut up," Aislynn said as she took three large steps, stopping right behind Tatsuo. Then, she grabbed him by the shoulders and moved him toward a stool placed in front of a showerhead as she continued. "Just accept my goodwill. For someone growing at your rate, an opportunity like this will not come again for several millennia."
"What the hell did you just say?" Tatsuo asked in an irritated tone.
However, Aislynn did not answer. Instead, she forced Tatsuo down onto the stool. Then, she rolled her sleeves up to her elbows before reaching past him, turning on the shower, and starting to rinse his body. Once Tatsuo's body was covered in water, she reached to the side, grabbed a washcloth, and began lathering it with soap.
"Wow!" Tatsuo exclaimed with mock surprise. "So, this is how you act when you don't wanna answer a question, huh?"
"Tell me about your trip to the Dungeon," Aislynn said, completely ignoring Tatsuo's sarcasm. "Surely, there was more to it than just Killer Ants."
"Yeah…" Tatsuo replied, rolling his eyes. "I ran into a Jack Bird, too. It took longer to catch than expected, but I caught it without using [Blink]."
"Is that why you all came back so late?" Aislynn asked as she started scrubbing Tatsuo's back with, to his surprise, the perfect amount of pressure.
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"Hngh!" Tatsuo groaned in satisfaction. "You're surprisingly good at that."
"I can be good at whatever I choose to be," Aislynn replied. "The only question is whether I care to do so, not whether I can."
"If you say so," Tatsuo replied before falling completely silent and enjoying the service.
About an hour later, the members of the [Dimensional Chat] once again gathered in the Dragon's Nest's main hall. Then, they all left for the Hostess of Fertility to have dinner. And yes, that included Aislynn as well. Though she never said anything to Tatsuo about coming along, Tatsuo did not attempt to exclude her, either.
Mostly because he knew he could not stop her even if he wanted to.
Dinner at the Hostess of Fertility passed peacefully, with Syr being suspiciously absent. Everyone in the Aislynn Familia knew why. During dinner, Mia also made a point of telling Tatsuo and Alfonzo that she and May wanted to learn more from them. Other than that, not much happened, and the Familia returned to the Dragon's Nest to get a good night's sleep.
The remaining four days of this Dungeon-diving stint passed peacefully as well. While James, Alfonzo, and the others were getting bored with fighting Goblins, Kobolds, and Dungeon Lizards, Tatsuo and Sakura made it down to the Seventh Floor, where the monster spawn rate increased significantly.
On top of the higher spawn rate, there were also several new monsters to contend with.
The first new monster Tatsuo and Sakura came across was the Purple Moth. As the name would suggest, it was a moth-like monster that was purple in color. On top of that, it was much larger than any conventional moth one might come across. It attacked by flying above Adventurers and scattering poisonous powder, requiring them to carry a sufficient number of antidotes.
The next monster they came across was the Needle Rabbit. This small rabbit-like monster was not considered much of a threat. In fact, it was definitely the weakest monster on the Seventh Floor, with its only form of attack being a forward lunge led by the horn protruding from its head. However, they did get annoying when they appeared during fights with Killer Ants.
The last of the new monsters to appear was the Blue Papilio. This monster was a blue, butterfly-like creature that was nearly the same size as the Purple Moth. Although it was less dangerous than even the Needle Rabbit, the Blue Papilio was much more troublesome to deal with. The reason for that was… this monster healed other monsters whenever it appeared.
Luckily, the Blue Papilio was a very rare monster. In fact, during the few days Tatsuo and Sakura spent on the Seventh Floor, they only saw one. However, its rarity was also unfortunate, because its drop item was quite valuable and could be used to create Healing Potions.
"Another week down," Alfonzo said while leaning back into a couch in the Dragon's Nest's main hall. "But after this update, we should all be able to move down to the next section of the Dungeon."
"Yeah, we'll finally get to see more than just those three monsters," James added. "I'm so damn tired of killing Goblins, Kobolds, and Dungeon Lizards."
"There are Jack Birds up there, too," Tatsuo pointed out with a smile.
"Only for lucky people like you," Akatsuki replied while rolling her eyes. "We've never actually seen any."
"Damn protagonist bastard," James muttered playfully.
"As fun as your banter usually is, I'd like to get through this quickly," Zelretch said. "I want to get back to studying the Language of the Gods so that I can be sure to get the Mystery Development Ability as soon as I reach Level 2."
"Hmm… Now that I think about it, what other kinds of Development Abilities are there?" Violet asked curiously.
"It's too early to be thinking about that now," Aislynn said while shaking her head. "Focus on actually reaching the Level Up conditions before thinking about what kind of Development Ability you want. Unless you're going for Blacksmith or Mystery, that is."
"I guess that makes sense," Violet replied with a nod.
"Actually, I'm with Zelly on this one," Elicia said with a smile while snuggling against Alfonzo. "I wanna get back to designing that dress for Freya. I'm almost done, after all."
"Fine, then let's get to it," Tatsuo said with a grin. Then, he looked at the other members of the Familia and asked, "So, who's first?"