Chapter 6 - Chapter 6

Clutching the communicator, Fels' bony hand shook.

His objective had been to locate Astraea Familia and direct aid their way if there were survivors.

If.

Those had been his god Ouranos' exact words.

The wizened deity was hardly a bastion of warmth, but he still worked tirelessly for the good of Orario's inhabitants. In fact, one could say his continued goodwill was the only thing keeping the Dungeon city afloat.

Thus, the orders, so pessimistic in what they implied, did more than enough in frightening Fels.

It was as if the loss of Astraea's girls was already a forgone conclusion.

The details had been sparse.

A monster rex, an irregular among irregulars, had been called upon by the Dungeon. Oranous did not elaborate further, nor did Fels feel the urge to waste time questioning him.

He descended into the Dungeon at once, hoping that whatever had spooked his god had not come to pass. And that precious lie, for he knew his god was rarely ever wrong, sped his movements all the way to the 30th floor.

And upon arriving...

"O-Oranous. I'd... like to report..."

"I see," a grave voice replied. "Then it's just as I feared. There was nothing to be—"

"Sir, they're all alive."

"—Eh?"

Yes; the old man's genuine befuddlement, not at all like his usual stony self, reflected Fel's current feelings perfectly.

...

...

...

A hero.

How was such a thing defined?

Was it someone who brought people salvation?

Was it someone who triumphed over evil?

Was it someone who gave their ideals life, breathing them into the world?

It was likely all of those and more.

It also stood to reason that, such a person would be kind and compassionate, the most praiseworthy of beings, a role model to those everywhere.

Alise had such beliefs in her heart.

She had no reason to doubt them.

...And yet.

"No, no. You're doing it wrong. Your screams won't carry that way. Tilt your head upwards. Yeah, like that. Now, use your whole throat when shouting. Let it come through naturally. Make it raw. People should actually be able to feel as though they're witnessing a crime by how loud you're shouting."

"H-HEEEEEEEELP! S-SOMEONE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

Three such 'someone's', being the closest, immediately moved to do so.

But the men somehow tripped on their bleeding ankles.

They did not get back up.

"Yes, good! Just like that. Calling out for help is exactly what somebody would do in this situation. You really sound as if you're in agonizing pain...!"

"WHO THE HELL IS ACTING YOU CRAZY FUCK! I'M ACTUALLY—A-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! FUUUUUUUUCKKKKK! YOU FUCKER! YOU STABBED ME IN THE—YOU ACTUALLY JUST STABBED ME IN THE DICK! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS! YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL FUCKING—a-ah, wait... please stop. I'm sorry so pleas—ahhhhh! That hurts! That fucking huuuurRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTSSSS! STOP! STOOOPPP! STOOOOO—..."

"Ooh—your eyes rolling backwards is a really nice touch...! Very immersive. Haha. Alright, we get it. You're a good actor. Now, just be a bro and tell your buddies to—...um, Gerald? Gerrard, are you okay? Jerry, get up you silly. I know you aren't actually—...oh wait no, he actually fainted."

Jura indeed fainted.

He was also frothing at the mouth.

The rest of his men didn't quite do the same. Although, they didn't seem to be able to fire themselves up to do anything else either. They had been successively reduced to just four people after all.

Alise found herself sympathizing, just as at a loss.

She was thankful for it, even.

Because at the present moment, it made the dissociation she felt with reality slightly less constricting. Yes; Alise didn't even begin to know how to summarize what she had just seen. She focused on the facts instead:

That a notorious member of Evilus had just screamed himself into a state of unconsciousness.

That the cause of such wanton panic had been due to the sharpened steel being pressed between his legs.

That, after which, Jura's remaining few cohorts had seen such an atrocity, paled a deathly white, and after a moment's considering, booked it into the forest as fast as they humanely could?

That last fact should have filled Alise with worry.

It didn't, not with the several or so weapons that had been left unattended and owner-less on the beaten ground.

Of course, the one currently standing in the middle of those weapons had just as much to do with her sudden and odd sense of security as anything else. Or perhaps, it would be better to label what Alise was currently feeling as estranged panic... Yes, because like the rumored calm in the center of a tornado, was of course, that person, standing none the worse for wear. 

The blond emphasized this by cupping his gloved hands over his mask and shouting into the forest.

"Where are you guys going—you had me outnumbered...!"

There was naturally no response.

Alise was only slightly surprised when the boy wordlessly went about his next task, if only because it was so seamless and instantaneous to what he had been doing... to Jura... before. Quite frankly, it went without saying that the last five minutes wouldn't be scrubbed from her mind anytime soon.

Really, without any qualms, the boy had actually—

Anyway, shaking her head fervently, Alise watched as the boy all too readily began 'working' with the five men who had just been left high and dry by the rest of their Familia. That said, if the very much unconscious Jura suddenly woke up, she thought he would have had choice words at what the boy decided to do next.

As if he was gliding through a bustling market, merely appraising fruits, the blond unhesitatingly started stripping the men of anything that hung onto their bodies: belts, bags, pouches, everything.

He did this with terrifying efficiency.

Before Alise, or any of them knew it, four protesting and slightly writhing men had been blindfolded and gagged.

It was to the point that they disappeared entirely, despite not actually having done so. And it was terrifying, for it was the kind of spectacle that looked as though it had been repeated hundreds of times already.

The hero had just slain the dragon, and instead of checking to see if the princesses were alright, he immediately started looting the lizard's corpse...

For some reason, that was the thought that came unbidden to Alise's mind.

"Oh. Almost forgot."

The boy silently took a particular object from his coat and began tapping at it with familiar efficiency.

Within seconds, the forest was screaming in such a way that would have given Alise a heart attack—if she didn't understand that the sound was proctored.

Scratch that, she still didn't understand.

Yet she knew that it was fake, and that the boy somehow had something to do with it. And with that thought, it no longer sounded so horrifying.

The masked gentleman must have gotten what he wanted, because not even a minute into the ungodly screeching, he turned it off. He did so only after hearing the several distinctive—and most notably male—screams that each followed in subsequent terror. He must have found it funny, as he chuckled.

He finally turned to acknowledge them.

"...What? I'm keeping them on their toes. Don't want them to think they can just waltz back over here. Well... that--was--a--lie. I kind-maybe-sorta just wanted to scare the shit out of them." Alise's eyes widened, as halfway through speaking, the blond's hands very casually took off his mask, immediately hiding it away.

Just like his words conveyed, the face she had only caught a glimpse of once was also just as unapologetic.

More than that, his hazel eyes didn't seem to express anything other than a distant interest, which combined with his airy tone, still gave off the impression he was amused.

"But you guys survived. So, hey, nice job. Clap. Clap. Clap."

One and only one person clapped.

He was the same as ever.

He had not once changed since he had involved himself in their problem no more than an hour ago, which, she could honestly say felt like a lifetime ago. But Alise wondered... if that had anything to do with the suddenness of the intense pull she felt around her heart.

And, what came after, too.

Soft, barely audible, almost completely unnoticeable sounds filled that clearing. Still, the quiet whimpers and subtle hiccups were all too recognizable.

And the sounds of light sobs only continued to echo.

It wasn't all of them, and it could hardly be considered crying, not really. But they were there regardless. Some might say it was unlike them, that Astraea Familia was not so weak in character that they would burst into tears when something scary happened.

Whether it was Ryuu blinking her eyes in-numerously, looking as if she was offended by the water that remained...

Celty heaving slightly, but still trying not to be too loud...

Ryana's puffy eyes that desperately sought cover...

This didn't make them weak.

This just made them teenage girls that had survived, survived, and survived again, a terrifying ordeal, and then realized it too.

That was why Alise watched it all without saying anything, unable to ignore her own throat clenching.

No tears came, but she certainly felt an all too familiar tightness.

But more than that?

There was an uplifting warmth.

Because no matter how scary it was, or how bad things had almost gotten, that was nothing compared to the relief threatening to hug her until she actually broke and let it all out.

So, Alise just quietly observed her weeping teammates, allowing them this moment without shame.

And throughout the whole thing, the male youth too didn't say a word.

...

...

...

It was... surprising.

At the arm coiling around her back, pulling her into a sitting position, Alise didn't experience any of the shock or aversion she had expected to feel.

It would have been warranted.

Alise had thought it was warranted, but... there was nothing.

A male, just like the ones now littering the rocky ground was touching her in an arguably intimate way. But instead of feeling as though she was drowning in mortification or shame, what she actually felt was infinitely more childish.

Alise was just a tad bit embarrassed.

She might bounce around as Astraea Familia's free-spirited princess, and to onlookers, it might look like she has nothing but justice on the brain. But right now, being taken care of by a member of the opposite sex who was barely even affording her any attention, she was nothing but the most helpless of normal girls.

Well, a helpless normal girl who was beautiful. But Alise thought that was already obvious, so it probably went without saying.

Honestly, the sudden turn of her thinking was the last thing she should have allowed. And, as it happened, she was successively punished for it. So, distracted with those meaningless thoughts, she failed to notice the danger until it was too late.

"Boop."

That being:

Her nose... being pressed like a button.

In the seconds that followed, Alise failed to understand what had happened.

Then her eyes locked onto the golden ones right next to her—surprisingly dark this close up—looking at her like nothing had even occurred... as if he hadn't just... "Did..." Alise had to mentally confirm the words about to come out of her mouth. "...Did you just... boop... my nose?"

"Yeah."

"...why?"

Her confusion was getting through to him, right?

"You just had this weird look on your face, so I thought, hey, let's prank her and do something perverted."

Was... he serious?

No, his face hadn't changed at all—he was dead serious.

Alise's words came out slowly. "I... wouldn't say something like that is very... perverted... though..."

They stared at each other.

Seconds passed.

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah."

"But like, are you certain—positively certain?"

Unsure what else to do, Alise slowly nodded.

"But... But what if I touched your forehead? Like right in the center. Think about it. Me, an impudent man, touching your proud little forehead, practically groping it. You would be mortified, right? It would be awful. How would you live with the shame? What do you think?"

"W-What are you even---okay, you're doing a reaaaally good job making it sound as dirty as possible but, um, I don't think you're grasping the underlying concept of the word... perve—..."

Blinking, Alise stopped talking.

Because, with blond hair tilted downward, and accompanied by a flash of amusement that was in complete contrast with the ridiculous amount of seriousness behind those words, a small grin was now tugging at the corners of that boy's mouth.

...Oh

He was teasing her.

It was definitely his usual, goading people into reacting like that, his interactions with Noin, Kaguya, Ryuu, and even Lyra on the forefront of her mind. So she should haven't been surprised. Not really. And yet. ...Does he not realize? Because even if Alise ignored that tiny but bleeding smirk, did the boy really not realize that his eyes, eyes that usually had such a hard edge to them, now looked...

"...You have a pretty weird look on your face again."

The smile disappeared. 

It dropped, as if thousands of invisible hooks had let go all at once. Not that the boy seemed to notice or care. He just began rifling through his coat.

"Anyway, I found these sketchy vials of liquid while I was looti—... while I was professionally removing those guys of their weapons and armor. What are they? Rations? Drugs? Rations and drugs?"

Alise had to stifle a chuckle. 

"I'm... a bit stumped you're not more familiar. They're everywhere in Orario. Liquid substances with a plethora of different effects and properties, depending on how they are brewed and what ingredients are placed inside... in other words, potions."

"Hm. So what do these ones do?"

In his hands were two small vials, one red, one blue.

"The red one is a healing potion. The blue one, an antidote," she explained.

"Mkay. We'll start with the red one then."

"Huh? Why?"

Golden yellow eyes gave her a look.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this Red, but you kinda got stabbed."

The words didn't do anything immediately.

But then Alise remembered:

A biting pain so suddenly erupting from her back.

How she had forgotten, she didn't know.

No, actually, she had a vague idea why.

Even now, she didn't even feel it. The wound. Now, she wasn't sure if that was because of the numbing poison, or the adrenaline that was so nearly on the cusp of running out from her body, but... "I was... stabbed," she confirmed.

"Yep." He popped open the red vial. "Welcome to the club. Still in the lead by the way." 

Without waiting at all, he poured the liquid down her back.

Alise had been right.

She didn't feel anything.

The boy hummed approvingly, and she assumed that meant the potion was doing its job. He pulled out the blue one next, moving it to her lips. When the glass touched, more instinctively than anything else, she bobbed her head forward, the liquid trickling into her throat.

But that was when, far too late, Alise realized something. That her throat, haven't having been wet with something in hours, was far too dry to simply take in the first thing she was given all at once.

The reaction was immediate.

The artificial blue solution went in, and then immediately came right back out.

Yes; between a horrendously loud coughing fit, the liquid had nowhere to go but to splatter messily against the only thing close enough to meet it.

To be honest, Alise found the following seconds of silence horrifying. Especially, as the boy slowly, all too slowly, lowered the vial down and away from her mouth.

Drenched.

His entire face was drenched, most of the liquid having hit dead center.

If the strategy had been to subsequently blind and attack him, she felt she would have been well on her way to succeeding. But such a thought hardly mattered, not when her body was far too busy with the blood subsequently draining from skin. That, and the lead-like feeling weighing down on her tongue, preventing her from saying anything even resembling human speech.

Thus, anything like a rapid-fire apology was also off the table.

Alise's body had gone completely stiff—or at least, the parts of her capable of it anyway.

Knowing for certain that he was definitely about to react in anger... would have been a mercy, but as was demonstrated by some of her other teammates, this person wasn't so predictable.

So when he suddenly sighed with a droop of his shoulders, Alise flinched.

His hands moved, but it was only so his sleeve could make a swipe at his face and eyes, where along the curvature of his chin too, the color blue continued to drip down unceasingly. His already messy bangs fell in front of his face, now made even messier.

That was when he opened his mouth.

"Lady—I'm flattered, I really am—but don't just throw your women liquids at someone you barely know."

Alise found something new about herself today.

She was still capable of stuttering like a little girl.

"I-I-I didn't do anything as promiscuous as that!"

Raging embarrassment trumped professionalism in how loud her mortified cry had been. And then upon remembering herself and risking a glance... E-Everyone is staring! Alise suddenly had a very strong urge to run away, and it was cruel that she couldn't.

The pricks of heat on her neck were now especially prominent.

And then she was suddenly pulled even flusher against his chest, and Alise thought her mouth a traitor for crying out in the feminine way that it did.

"W-...What are you doing?"

"Here."

Alise blinked at the long-forgotten canteen that had been at her waist, now being dangled from the gloves clutching it.

The object he had pulled her closer to grab.

Her face actually burned, and Alise really hoped he couldn't tell.

Luckily, the fantasy of wetting her throat with such delicious aqua did its job in keeping the embarrassment at bay.

Almost.

Only?

Alise was thrown for a bit of a loop when the boy suddenly pulled it away to take his own swig first. And, she was well aware she was eyeing where his lips touched the rim.

He saw this hesitation.

"Of course, the other option is mouth to mouth," he suggested with an infuriatingly emotionless tilt to his head.

"I'll do it the first way please," she found herself saying instantly.

Seconds later, water was quick in soothing Alise's dry throat.

Gods, she was thirsty.

Luckily, she didn't spit it back out this time, which only gave her the confidence to take greedier gulps. And she only savored this feeling, closing her eyes. But, in doing so, it was getting harder and harder for her mind not to drift to other things.

For example, the blond boy who she was pressed up against, face approaching boredom as he without a word kept the canteen level with her mouth.

Of course, Alise found that strange, since he was the exact type to complain or poke fun in situations like this. But since he wasn't, that just made her grow increasingly more self-conscious of his presence. Except, now, the reason why was more embarrassing than something like stray physical contact.

Because no matter how she looked at it, Alise had regressed back to her childhood, back to the days when she had been all too eager to allow her mother to dote on her in every way. And, that the same thing was now happening with someone she barely knew?

It was almost too much.

Especially since Alise could acknowledge exactly why she felt this way.

Because as vulnerable as the situation left her, there was a just as loud part of her that was enjoying it. That for once, she could be the one being taken care of, rather than the opposite. With the option of putting on a strong front quite literally robbed of her, Alise had no choice but to rely on this person in this way.

It was by far the strangest of feelings, and something she normally never would have allowed.

And yet.

Alise finally opened her eyes, and they drifted with intent.

The thin black glove had a little blood on it.

It trailed to a coat's sleeve that was worn with just as much—dirt and grime too.

And then to the torso, where a white dress shirt was in the middle for all to see. But, one side was almost completely in rags, absolutely covered in a darkened splotch—dried but still sickeningly red.

Only then did Alise glance back to those eyes, too absorbed in his task to notice her staring.

Yes, this situation was strange.

No, it was perplexing in the most ungodly of ways.

But.

Every time it seemed like an end was coming?

This person had completely knocked it off-kilter.

Every time.

So, was it really so surprising that Alise found herself not minding it all?

Was it so shocking that her heart, her painfully honest heart, was beating as fast as it was?

Alise didn't want to put a name to this feeling.

She felt she couldn't trust herself too, not right now.

So instead.

"Thank you."

Alise whispered that softly to the boy who lowered the canteen, and she tried to put as much into those words as she could.

Because, the girl who was always un-shattering, filled with spunk, taking everything in stride with a smile, was just nowhere to be seen right now.

And a part of her wanted him to know that.

The boy looked at her. "You're welcome? Believe it or not, I don't actually want you to release yourself all over me again. Once was enough." The canteen fell to the dirt, and he once again procured a familiar blue vial.

"P-Please don't say it like that," she all but sighed out. But Alise didn't allow herself to be distracted this time. Struck with this sudden urge, she fully craned her neck to face him. "I'm serious. Thank you. Not just for this, but everything. You've saved us, saved me, in more ways than you know."

"I know—it's weird, right? This is ME we're talking about."

Alise's face twitched once before giving up, allowing the smile its way.

It didn't stop her from making one more last-ditch effort though.

"Well, that'll have to be fine... for now. But I hope you don't think you're hearing the end of it, Mister. Just wait until you meet our Goddess. Haha, our gratitude will look like nothing in comparison."

"Yeah, no. I think I've had my fill of estrogen for one d—... wait, you're what?"

"Huh?"

His confusion only made her confused.

He all too quickly waved it off.

"Doesn't matter. Long story short, your thanks are unneeded, Red. See, you're the one doing me a favor."

In his arms, Alise blinked.

"I... I am?"

Now it was the boy's turn to smile at her.

It didn't really feel like a smile.

"Didn't you know? Why do you think I picked you first? The key to a successful life experience is knowing~ when~ to delegate~," he chirped, tapping her forehead with each syllable. "And in this case that's you, Big Sis. Thanks in advance. Or," he chuckled, "did you actually think I wanted to repeat this—" He made an overarching gesture to her entire body. "—with ten other girls?"

Alise stared blankly into those eyes that definitely said he was impressed by his own cunning.

It was the kind of shamelessness that could rival, if not dwarf completely, Lyra's own propensity to shirk her duties onto others.

Basically, it was a mindset devoid of any integrity whatsoever, one he had not hesitated to demonstrate in front of someone technically still very much in peril.

.

. .

. . .

"Pfffttt!"

And therefore, Alise started to laugh.

Because it suited what she knew of the blond boy perfectly...! The one who had never once changed character ever since appearing before all of them. 

It probably made her just as strange, but she still laughed, uncaring as to who heard it, or how loud she was.

In a situation like this, to be able to laugh in such a genuine way, who could have guessed it?

It certainly wasn't Alise.

The blond didn't seem to expect it either.

"Um, okay... not the reaction I was expecting..."

"Heeheehee—"

"Uh, you do realize that was me taking advantage of you, right? Should I have been more direct? ...Unless, you're going into shock. Oh hell no. Absolutely not. See, lady, that's kind of a no go. I am so not equipped to deal with that kind of stuff. Tch. Protect them my ass—please don't tell me that was just some bullshit euphemism for their mental health. Hey, really sorry, but if you're feeling sad or distressed right now, can't you like, I dunno, bottle it up or something?"

Alise laughed even harder.

And despite how incompatible it was with the eerie Dungeon floor it resided in, the sound continued to bounce throughout.

...

...

...

Honestly?

Alex didn't think he was doing too bad.

He had skillfully managed to avoid manhandling ten women after all.

Now he wasn't completely sure, but that had to be deserving of a self-inflicted pat on the back.

Even more so after throwing everything on Red's shoulders, which as it turned out, had been a good decision.

Not that he left her completely in the lurch. Did he appear so evil? Well, yes, he probably actually did with the mask and everything, but that was unimportant.

Anyway.

Even though he was slightly miffed she was still under the mistaken impression he was someone of upstanding character, Alex still passed over more of those potion thingies he had found. In fact, that was what he said as he gave it to her.

That awarded him a funny look.

He didn't see the problem.

Everyone knew it didn't count as stealing if the ones you were stealing from tried to kill you.

That was just common sense.

Crack.

Alex broke off a flimsy yet sizable branch from the tree he was atop, weighing it in his hands for a bit.

Oh, he had climbed a tree by the way.

He lobbed the stick in the air, watching as it collided perfectly with the back of the head of one of the men lying face down on the ground, vision still covered by a bundle of cloth. About four or so girls saw him do it, and while their slightly disturbed faces were amusing, he focused on the bandit in question's sudden cry of strangled surprise.

Alex hummed, before nestling right back into his magnified scope, overlooking the odds and ends of the forest's messy overgrowth.

While unlikely, the chance of a follow-up attack had been there. Not that it would go very well if it happened now.

His... companions... had regained most of their fighting force, with just a few of them still shaking off the remaining vestiges of the paralysis.

Anyway, it seemed his 'keeping watch' turned out to be unnecessary.

A shame.

Alex wanted to see how an enemy force reacted to having a leg or two blown off via an anti-material rifle. Admittedly, it would have been a foolish and inefficient way to waste his final bullet, but then again, they didn't know that.

Ah.

He suddenly realized how inconsiderate he was being.

"Don't worry. I won't let you pick up dust just because I run out of bullets," Alex promised, caressing the length of the barrel lovingly. "I bet that mean old assassin didn't even clean you regularly, did he~? Did he~?" Almost bashfully, the sleek black surface shined back at him. "You deserve someone that can treat you right~, yes you do~"

Now, Alex was so distracted in whispering sweet nothings to who he saw as the true heroine of this tale, that he almost didn't hear the voices that came not long after.

"Noin, tell me he's not talking to his weapon."

"You... want me to lie to your face?"

"Yes."

"He's not talking to his weapon, Neze."

Alex looked down, cheek leaving the cool metal it was pressed against.

Not figments of his imagination, two girls gazed up at him, one of which was glaring. No, wait, she just had one of those faces. The other just stuck with him a look that implied she was staring at something she had given up trying to understand.

Anyway, between the respective gray and black-haired maidens, albeit finding himself distracted by the one whose ears were (flopping?) (twitching?) in his direction, he addressed them both.

"Hey ladies, how are you both feeling? I was worried."

There was a pause.

"...Were you really?" asked the short black-haired one.

"No." Alex shook his head. "I wasn't. But, I heard somewhere you should feel flattered that I pretended to be."

He watched as the girl deflated.

The one with the (cute?) (scientifically impossible?) ears simply wrinkled her brow.

"You say that... but it's hard to believe you're telling the truth," Black Hair said with a light smile. "How many times have you saved us already? I don't know if its humility or something entirely different... but even as much as you act like that, I think I'll still choose to have faith in the person whose actions have been incorrigibly those of a good person."

The voice from beside her came without missing a beat.

"Noin. He castrated a man."

Alex watched with interest as the black-haired girl's smile froze.

Somehow, it seemed such a fact had slipped her mind.

Pitying her and the dreadfully entertaining awkwardness wrapping around her like a cocoon, he broke the silence with a slight grin of his own.

"Ah, nearly castrated," he corrected, cradling the rifle's impressive barrel in his lap. "Having holes in cheese doesn't mean people stop calling it cheese. Dude still has it, just, everything... might not be working the same as before? Yeah, something like that."

They just stared at him.

Wolfie pointed.

"Noin, he just said that with a completely straight face."

The other one laughed.

Or she tried to.

It wasn't very convincing with how forced it sounded.

Tearing her gaze away from her friend with a sigh, Gray Hair once again looked up at the tree. "And...? Do you plan on getting down from there anytime soon?"

"No. I'm good."

"Oh? And, do I dare ask why?"

Alex didn't need to look to figure out the identity of the new voice.

Both the regal and commandeering tone made it obvious. So, to the separate black-haired lady, the one in fancy PJ's, he answered as truthfully as he could.

"I've recently developed a fear of women."

He saw their delayed reaction, subsequent confusion, then mounting skepticism.

Pajama Lady raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm serious," he implored, pointing at someone. "That girl stabbed me." The blonde, who had been watching in silence until now, immediately flushed a bright red, going rigid in place. He wasn't done though, already pointing to someone else. "And I kicked that one in the stomach, so I'm fairly certain she wants to stab me too."

The brunette in full-metal body armor immediately exploded in panic.

"I-I would never! I-I'm not like Ryuu!"

"A-Asta?!"

"Chaos, every time he opens his mouth..." One of them muttered in disbelief, an orange haired girl watching off from the side.

"Hahaha—!"

Someone immediately started laughing, that boisterous little pink-haired girl, suddenly breaking away from the kneeling Red, who was still busy helping out one of their team. Anyway, the girl with the improbably short stature, and even more impossible hair color, just bounded forward with a grin.

"Come on, Ryana—you say it like it's a bad thing. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that gloomy atmosphere from before is nowhere to be seen. And wouldn't you know it, he seemed to have done the exact same thing with our illustrious leader too. What do you think, Mister? Am I close?"

The smaller girl smiled up at him.

Well, she was certainly an amusing one, that was for sure.

That grin of hers was infectious after all.

"What I think—" Alex shrugged himself off the branch he was sitting on. He was in freefall for less than a second before his legs hooked around the thing, his body rotating like a pendulum. His feet were suddenly on the ground, and he was readjusting the massive gun behind his shoulder. "—is that all of you are under a colossal misunderstanding, but since I really can't be bothered to correct you at this point... Sure, why not."

"Sounds like you're just shy."

"I castrated a man not even twenty minutes ago."

"Nearly!" a familiar voice interjected. And then, as if realizing what she said, and that everyone had immediately turned to look at her, the dark-skinned wolf cosplayer seized up. She coughed. "I-I'm just saying. H... He said nearly..."

She scratched at her darkening cheeks.

Alex watched her squirm for a bit before pointing with a smile.

"What she said. Anyway, if I'm shy, then THEY all had the biggest of crushes on you guys." He kicked a rock slightly bigger than a pebble, not really showing any outward reaction when it struck the forehead of someone lying down in the periphery.

Once again, a male voice cried out.

"Hm. I guess I'll just have to believe you this t-time."

The girl was trying very hard not to smile, but she gave up near the end.

"You guys look like you're having fun."

Red walked over with one other, a brunette with wheat colored skin, emphasized by her revealing red and orange outfit. And by outfit he meant glorified swimwear.

The duo encroached closer to him, and Alex realized something.

Him, and the majority of the other women, were in some sort of makeshift little group huddle. He wondered if it served a purpose. Oh yeah... Now that he thought of it, he recalled that his classmates did something similar amongst themselves. By placing themselves in an obvious group formation, they could pretend to ignore their own solidarity. Some sort of cult-esque codependency ritual.

Basically, it was a woman thing, right?

Still, Alex surprised himself a little.

A small part of him was suddenly struck with the urge to scamper back up the tree.

Actually, come to think of it, said tree's brethren had also stabbed him, multiple times. It was like the world was trying to tell him something. Well, he was probably over thinking—

His body moved without thought.

The girl with the wheat-colored skin standing shoulder to shoulder beside him—her knees had suddenly buckled without warning.

Maybe it was because Alex had been so lost in his own thoughts, that he reacted to it so readily, like how one instinctively tried to catch something hurdling towards their face. Nonetheless, his hand caught one of her flailing arms, only distantly recalling that the girl had only recently started standing again.

Now, she must not have been expecting the contact, because she jerked a bit in his grip with a sharp gasp. Then, as if to maintain her own footing, she stepped back into him, hard, and he had to steady himself to remain standing.

That said, now that he was aware, Alex was about to let go, regardless of whether or not she fell, but something stopped him.

Hm?

Rather, because he suddenly heard an odd sound.

No, it was odd because of how disturbingly familiar it was. But while he was figuring that out, he realized a vast silence had settled over the others.

The girls—they had gone completely quiet, just staring at him.

No, weren't their expressions kind of weird?

They looked like a puppy had just been dropkicked right in front of them.

What, was he not supposed to touch her or something?

Alex's eyes finally trailed to the girl he hadn't yet let go of, but she wasn't even looking at him.

Completely pale, her eyes settled somewhere below his face. Stomach? Why is she staring at my—? Unconsciously, he chose that moment to shift in place a bit—and he immediately felt it.

Something sharp dragged against the length of his abdomen.

No.

Something was poking him from the inside.

"...w-wait...I didn't, I-I didn't mean..." The girl removed her elbow from his stomach as if it was scalding hot, retreating several steps.

This caused Alex to hear it properly this time, and it was a very loud, very unnatural sound. Something inside him popped out of place. And was it seconds, or minutes before a dollop of blood came rushing out of his mouth, staining the ground an intensely dark and ugly red?

He once again found the terrified girls.

"T-Technically... I'm pretty sure my ribs were already broken, so it's not like—"

His vision abruptly swerved.

From Alex's point of view, closing his eyes had instantly teleported him to his back, the irritatingly familiar wide ceiling stretching out above him. Though, it was hard to see with all the heads in the way.

Oh, that was because several attractive faces were crowding over him, their mouths moving frantically.

He wondered what they were saying, and why he couldn't hear them.

In fact, none of his body parts seemed to want to respond to him.

Alex was tired.

Why was he so tired?

He had slept—... when was the last time he had done that again...? His eyelids felt like weights. If he closed them, what would happen? He could close them, right?

Yeah.

Just for a little—

///

[ Warning ]

*Failing a quest might cause severe penalties to be enacted on self*

[ Warning ]

*Failing a quest might cause severe penalties to be enacted on self*

̴̧̨̘̬̼̲̊̈[̶̨̥͙̱͎̰͗͐ ̴̦̺̔̓W̶͎̭̘̟̰͕̫͂̾̋̕ͅ a̵͉̪̝̓̐͗̊̐̏̈́ r̸̳̜͉͓͚̺͕͒̏̈͠ n̷͚͕̬̻̄̒̀͒̈͗̔̀̓̚ i̶̧͓̫͇͇̱̮͂̓͛͑̋̕͜͝͝ n̶͈̦͕̈̄̄̕ g̷͔͎̦͔̹̼͐̍̆͒̏̓̄ ̵̢̢͎̱̦̝͉̗͐̄̇̾͌̑̈̂͝]̵̧̘̪̝̬͖͇̫̃ͅ

̴̷͍̫͙̠̞̞͎̪̰̳̖̲̀͌̐̇͂͑͋̽̏̽͂̓̀̍*̴̢̜̤̫͎̗͈̪́̾̔͂͗̎̆̑̈F̷̛̳̃̃̈́͊̈́͘ a̷̬͇̼̼͐͒̋̽̒̓̎́ i̵̙̟͂̓̈́̑͑̓͘͝ͅ l̴͖͗͊̂͘ i̸̳̤̘̼͝ ṋ̶̢̙̳͓̤̤̜͋͜͜͝ g̸͉̮̪͉̮̬͚̹͗͌̋̇͝ ̴͙̻̦͎̰̹̘̲̞̓̈͑̅͒̂̀͘ ą̸̛͕͚̥̺͓͍̠̯̿̈̈́̈́͋̊̋ ̷̝̻̑͐̎̊̈̓̾̀̈̊ͅ q̷͈̈́̈́͛̄ u̵̢̳̺͇͎͈̟̗͐̎̇̾̍̓̌̔͐͘ e̴̪̳̯̦͌̏͗͘͝ s̵̲̊͗̓̓ ṯ̶̡̧͈̠̔̓̓̂ ̶̢̛͉͙̙̭̬̬̠̜̗̈́̑͌͌̾́̈́͂͘ m̷̻̬͕̖̓̕͠ i̷̤̠̭̩͓̾͠ g̴̞̫̟̥̫̹̼̥̎͛̄̽͋̃͘͘ h̴̢͙̥͔̩̞̱͖̥̩̀̈́̑̐ ţ̶͓̬͓̪͈͎͉͕̭̔̔̊̎͑—

Heart-rate skyrocketing, his eyes shot open.

It gave Alex his sight back, but he couldn't really see. No, that didn't matter. He just needed to snap himself out of it. He didn't have time for this. Nothing was over yet. Effort and preparation. Yes. He just needed to apply a bit more. Just a bit more and he could put this entire thing behind him. Failing right near the end, what kind of bullshit ending was that? He was not that incompetent.

"... come on... little more... need to... need to—"

He clambered to one knee... and was immediately back on the ground.

No.

Something had pushed Alex down.

He couldn't process it fast enough, the warmth wrapping around his head like a blanket. And it was so strange, since it didn't feel like a physical sensation. It was just there, but at the same time, not. But it was nice. In fact, it was too nice, and it was getting harder and harder to stay conscious. But, just when he started to fight it—

"It's okay."

A voice whispered in his ear.

"Sleep. I'm giving you permission to sleep. We will definitely take care of the rest."

Red hair flashed in his mind.

Or was it his eyes that saw it?

"So, please rest now—hero."

And against his better judgement, Alex listened.

...

...

...

—"Hey, did you hear...?"

Astraea brought the petite teacup to her mouth and took a sip from the creamy brown liquid inside. It, along with the matching saucer, soon returned to her lap.

—"What... something happen?"

—"Hell yeah it did. Early this morning, explosions, all over the lower floors. Lasted for a while, and not just one or two either."

Astraea repeated this process, again and again, until the tea was all gone.

—"Think it's them?"

She was barely even receptive of the fact she tasted none of it.

"Course it is. Who else could it be?"

"Tch. Evilus, crazy bastards..."

It was now the second day, and still nothing.

Beyond the frantic murmurings of the townsfolk, concrete info on expeditions having gone to the lower floors had been very little. The Guild was the same in that regard. No one seemed to know what was going on in the deeper areas of the Dungeon.

It had now been more than twenty-four hours, and her precious children were still nowhere to be seen.

"No news is good news. I'm sure they're on their way up right now," a half-elf receptionist had told her with a smile.

Astraea wanted to believe that.

She wanted to believe that no news indeed meant they weren't currently messily strewn about in some cold dark place, reduced to mere monster food as—

She once again brought the cup to her mouth.

But it was empty.

"Oh... I should... make a new batch..."

Astraea moved on autopilot to the kettle on the far side of the room. Her mind, however, stayed completely still.

She was not blind to her Familia's strength.

She knew full well how powerful they were. And even failing what their statuses said, their wills were just as tenacious. Not even her newest member, the cute and fumbling Ryuu, was an exception to that.

So whether it be the dungeon or anything else, they would survive it. Alise was far too serious a leader to allow anything different, as silly as she often was. That girl would keep them safe, and in turn, the others would do the same. Astraea had faith.

So why was her intuition screaming at her that something had gone terribly wrong?

"Ah...!"

Walking back, she didn't see the uneven groove in the carpet until it was too late. With a loud clatter, the tray holding the teapot and cup flew out of her hands. The liquid from inside the metallic pot rushed out, staining the beautiful carpet an ugly brownish black.

Clean it up, her mind told her.

Yet Astraea didn't move from where she was.

She just sat there, slumped on her knees, staring at the mess she had just made.

Her eyes soon drifted to the discarded teacup.

Alise had surprised her with it one day.

It was the first gift she had ever gotten from a child of the mortal world. That was back when Astraea Familia was just the two of them. Actually, the red-haired girl had revealed that it had taken her a few weeks of Dungeon diving to save up for it. The memory caused Astraea no shortage of fondness.

Now, there was a sizable chip along the rim, and it ruined the golden arc crisscrossing the surface area.

A gloomy orange began to seep into the room.

It was suddenly dusk.

Or, had she just been sitting there for hours and not realized it?

Astraea couldn't be sure.

Only, she knew night would approach soon.

What would happen then? What would she feel resting her head upon her pillow, for a second night?

The thought squeezed at Astraea's insides.

"I should have... I should have gotten down on my hands and knees and asked for aide. Ganesha. Loki. Even Freya."

She murmured this to no one.

Perhaps if she had done things that way, she wouldn't have to feel this way, this awful gnawing in the recesses of her chest.

Loud obtrusive banging halted all of that in its tracks, her heart swerving and falling off a narrow tightrope.

"Goddess Astraea! Goddess Astraea come quick! I have news from the Guild!"

A voice overflowing with urgency had Astraea violently whipping her head to where it was coming from. In less than a second she had clambered to her feet, almost falling over in the attempt, taking frantic steps away from the living room and into the main foyer. Her heart only continued to storm in her chest, dwarfed only by the banging of the door that grew louder and louder.

"Excuse me, is anyone—ah! Goddess!"

Astraea all but threw the door open, and there was a chienthrope man in formal Guild clothing there to greet her.

His expression was bright.

"Your Familia, goddess! Ganesha found them. A messenger from Rivera confirmed it. They're probably due for the surface any—L-Lady Astraea?!"

If the man had more to say, Astraea didn't hear it.

She had already taken off running.

...

...

...

Misha had been placed on standby.

Well, technically, her supervisor's exact words were: "assist to the best of your ability."

And that would have been fine—if only she knew what in the hell she was supposed to be doing! She was still a trainee for crying out loud. Asking her to not only complete a task, but to also look professional while doing it?

Misha thought they were severely overestimating her.

At least she wasn't alone though.

Eina was managing it flawlessly, as usual.

Although, seeing her friend's regal elf features made her realize how much of a knockout she was, at least compared to a plain-Jane like her.

I know I should feel jealous but the only reason I passed the final exams was because Eina held my hand the entire time! 

And even after they both graduated from the Education District, the fact that Misha somehow had a successful interview and got hired by the Guild, was also a miracle—but once again one hundred percent due to Eina's lingering spartan-like teachings.

"M-Misha? Why do you look like you're about to cry?! H-Hey! Don't use my sleeve!"

It was late in the day, and the square outside Babel was busy.

Usually, the traffic of adventurers would have dwindled down during this time of day, but that wasn't the case. Today, as it happened, was different. An impressive crowd had gathered, and Misha and the half elf girl beside her had been instructed to be at the very front and center of it.

Was she shaking?

She wondered if she was shaking.

The reason they were here was obvious—is what she'd like to say, but honestly, Misha didn't know all that much.

Things had gone from busy to hectic fast.

It started with a very distraught goddess visiting the guild the day prior, inquiring about her wayward Familia. Misha had of course recognized her on the spot. Even as little as she had been working here, everyone had heard about the deity of the renowned peacekeeping Familia—Astraea.

So of course she froze up when the Goddess approached her with those imploring eyes.

But nerves aside... there had been nothing to tell.

The whereabouts of Astraea Familia's expedition inside the dungeon were completely unknown.

Luckily Eina came and placated the divine woman with some kind words in the nick of time. And after that... she left, more downtrodden than before.

It hadn't gotten any simpler from there.

Reports of sizable explosions below the 25th came through, numerous of them, and Adventurers told of it lasting for several minutes before they finally turned tail and fled themselves.

Yet the information had been consistent.

They would stop, pick up, cease, and then start right back up again in that woefully atypical manner. Whispers, hardly based in fact, began to circulate, and it only caused the general populace to grow more fearful.

After all, if anyone was causing havoc these days...

"E-Eina, is that really them?"

Misha could hardly believe her eyes.

A clamor of footsteps marked their arrival.

Coming out of the Dungeon, flanked by the Ganesha Familia's familiar might on all sides, were a group of seedy-looking men, a dozen or so, dressed in even shadier clothing. Their faces were just as rough-looking.

Misha was hardly out of the know given her position, so it might be odd of her to say, but even ordinary townsfolk should be able to tell who these people were by sight alone.

These were the real deal.

These were Evilus.

It was immediately apparent they were restrained, hands bound in front of them with cuffs with a metallic sheen. Distantly, Misha wondered how such things were able to contain the strength of an Adventurer, something she was sure Eina had told her at some point, but she soon abandoned the thought.

Because it wasn't just Ganesha and their detainees that came out of the Dungeon.

Girls, too.

Not just that, but very conspicuous girls, and Misha thought that was putting it lightly. After all, when very few organizations in Orario were entirely comprised of women, it made them extremely noticeable when they popped up. And that's indeed what she was looking at.

Misha had actually never seen all of them in one place before, but this was definitely the Familia of that very worried Goddess.

Astraea Familia.

And the one leading them, and perhaps the most noticeable of them all, was standing next to Ganesha's first in command.

Both Alise "Scarlet Harnel" Lovell, and Shakti "Anakusha" Varma made for quite illustrious figures.

Lovell, with a fond look in her eyes, was shaking Varma's hand. The blue haired woman's mouth moved, before she nodded resolutely. After that, she called her men to attention. A resounding chorus echoed before Ganesha Familia forcefully prodded at the Evilus she had nearly forgotten about.

The fact they did so with hardly any resistance confused her.

In fact, a number of them looked almost eager to follow after Ganesha's group. Although, one of them stalled for a bit, causing a more heavy-set Ganesha member to give him a solid kick for it. The cat-man yelped in surprise as he got moving, not before Misha noticed his very odd limp. The way his face flashed with pain every now and then made it even more obvious.

But, the way he turned his head to look back at the twelve women one last time?

There was nothing but fear in that gaze.

Misha blinked.

Huh? Twelve? But I thought—

Someone suddenly tugged at her sleeve.

"Misha. Let's go. As representatives, we should be the ones leading the injured to Babel's Medical Center. Let's go greet them."

"A-Ah, right."

Luckily, Eina did most of the talking.

If it had been left to her, she would have been much too rigidly speechless. But with her friend taking the lead, she nodded along the best she could and maintained a smile. That would be enough, right?

She could at least do that much.

Unless her smile looked too happy-go-lucky and they took issue with it, then it would be most certainly not fine, and she would be screwed and they would stare at her in a weird way with their perfect justice filled forms and she would need to go look for a Misha-shaped hole to crawl into and what if she couldn't find one—and why did she think it would be a good idea to come to Orario again?

Fake it 'till I make it. Fake it 'till I make it. Fake it 'till I—

Misha wondered how brittle her smile looked.

But ignoring the impending panic attack, there was still something on her mind.

"Hey Eina," she whispered. "Who's that boy?"

"Huh? Boy?"

Her and Eina leading the group from the front as they were, Misha didn't do anything as rude as pointing back at them. She just tossed a glance instead, allowing the elf to follow her gaze. It wasn't strange that Eina was confused and hadn't noticed with how she had taken charge. Misha had only spotted it by accident herself.

Astraea Familia was known for its eleven members, a number just shy of being even, that is, if their blacksmith wasn't being included. But that was exactly why one of them stuck out—that being the sole male in odd clothing affixed to one of the girls' backs.

And coincidentally, the hair color of the one being carried and the one doing the carrying, matched. Perhaps that was what had caught Misha's attention the most, to the point where she was slightly surprised it hadn't alerted Eina as well.

After all, Ryuu "Gale Wind" Lyon, a proud elf, was carrying an unconscious blond-haired human boy on her back.

But, even as recognizably embarrassed as the girl looked doing so, the unconscious face being so close to hers, there was no move made to put him down, nor hand him off to someone else.

"I... don't know..." Eina eventually answered, sounding just as taken aback as her.

Misha had to wonder what her friend found stranger: a full-blooded elf being so closely in contact with a human, or, that the elf in question was in a Familia that, from what was known, all but banned impure relationships between the opposite gender.

It was quite the sight.

Misha's eyes fell back to the boy, whose eyes were hidden behind messy blond locks.

Maybe... he's some rookie they saved on their way up? Huh. Lucky him.

...

...

...

"Hm. Astraea's children are as cute as always. I wonder if I should take a few..."

"Forgive me for stating the obvious, my lady, but I don't think she would take too kindly to that."

"Well, you're right. I've seen how, vivacious, demure little 'Straea can be when she's angry."

"..."

"Curious, Ottar?"

"Of course not, Lady Freya. Other women are not even worth thinking about."

"That so~."

Smiling wistfully, Freya gingerly sat with a hand propping her face up, watching the proceedings below.

More specifically, the souls of those that had just returned from the Dungeon's clutches.

Only, where the souls were usually bright and full of life, as all that woman's justice-driven kids were, today was different. Within, resting atop the normal luminance was a thin coat of shadow. And it was flickering, as if it was unsure of its own existence.

Poor girls. Must have seen something frightening.

Freya wanted to go comfort them—wash their worries away.

Of course, her charm would only make it temporary.

The hand left her face. "Still, to think that all eleven came back alive after everyone was making such a fuss, and with barely any injuries at that. A bit boring, is it not?"

"...Eleven, my lady?"

"Ottar?"

"...It is nothing. My mind was miles away."

"Fufu. That's unlike you. Well, no matter. However... I get the strangest feeling that things are about to undergo quite the change soon."

Freya continued to stare at the souls of the group.

All eleven of them.

...

...

...

Ryuu was nervous.

No, simply being nervous wasn't accurate.

What she felt—was restlessness. She was faced with a problem that couldn't be solved by her rushing headlong at an enemy, or fighting until she couldn't. Rather, that was what she had already done, and the situation now was the result. Waiting; waiting for news that would most likely shatter her in one way or another.

No one spoke in the spacious waiting room they were in.

It wasn't Babel's medical center.

That had been their first stop.

Her and the other girls—their injuries were summarily checked and treated with little issue, Alise being the one who needed a little bit more attention, given the mostly healed wound on her back.

Then he was looked at.

Initially, the staff had nodded along as his injuries were recounted, even as they were told a potion had been given to him as quickly as possible afterwards.

Then they checked his pulse.

Their reaction was startlingly different.

The Bable medical staff, usually so passively professional, suddenly looked confused, even a little flustered. They called someone else in, an older staff member, whispering something in his ear. He had frowned, before checking the boy's pulse himself. He brought a hand over where his heart was as well, and the frown only deepened.

"We... cannot help this boy."

He had said.

"Dian Cecht Familia. He needs to go there at once."

That was what led them here.

Ryuu and the rest of Astraea Familia were sat down in throes of chairs, waiting as one of Dian Cecht's most notable faces continued to cast a busy shadow beyond the large sheet that had been pulled up in front of them. "For privacy," the doll-like girl had said, before telling them with her eyes to sit down and be quiet while she worked.

Airmid "Dea Saint" Teasanare being among two of the most powerful healers in Orario, Ryuu felt like she could speak for the entirety of her team in saying that they should leave it to her.

Not that it made the waiting any easier.

"They... took one look at him, and panicked..."

It was Ryana who spoke.

The girl sat with her hands on her lap, frowning. She looked up, trying to meet some of their gazes.

"That was definitely weird... right?"

Her question did not receive an answer. For they all had to have known it already. And Ryuu thought it was unlikely that they were thinking about anything else.

"Maryuu, Ryuu... his stamina and vitality, you tried healing him before Ganesha found us, right? Did you sense anything off?" Noin asked separately, looking at Maryuu and then at her.

Ryuu tried to recall.

At that time, she had panicked, so panicked that even now she could barely even visualize what Ganesha's sudden entrance onto the 30th had looked like. And she felt she couldn't be blamed. They had all heard that rib, or ribs, crack. But the sound that it made.

And... and the blood that came out after...

Wasn't it far, far, too much for the severity of the wound? In fact, there had been a few instances like that, hadn't there been? Didn't that boy seem to be...

"I... I'm not sure," she said honestly.

Maryuu gave a similar answer, worried gaze not leaving the floor.

Ryuu wondered if the girl realized how many mirrored her. One such person, barely having spoken a word since they were rescued, moved her quivering lips.

"I... broke him..."

The words came out, crumbled, no louder than a whisper.

"H-He caught me because I fell like an idiot, and I just... reacted. And then he just... broke." The amazon having put all her feelings into that final word, looked on the verge of tears. Her fists, her main weapons, she stared at in uncertainty.

It was unlike Iska's usual upbeat self in every way.

Ryuu listened with what she was sure was a bitter expression on her face. After all, she had the exact same thoughts plaguing her as well. Without meaning to, without realizing what kind of mistake she would be making, she too had acted, and it had harmed someone who didn't deserve it.

"He'll wake up."

A voice decisively stepped forward.

Alise looked at Iska, then, as if she knew, she looked at Ryuu too.

"He'll wake, and then, if you feel that bad, you can apologize." But then, quite unlike the mood, the red-haired girl suddenly broke into a silly smile. It strangely looked a bit exasperated though. "Though when you do... just be prepared not to be taken seriously at all."

Ryuu immediately felt something tugging at her lips, with Iska letting out a gasp-like laugh before she could stop herself.

Most of the room was the same.

Just the inkling of talking in circles with that odd, dreadfully odd personality of his, was just too amusing a thought to ignore.

That was when the sheet separating half of the room loudly opened, and a silver haired girl stepped out.

"I've finished healing him."

Ryuu was already out of her seat. "A-And?"

The girl's doll like facial expression didn't change. Rather, only her eyes seemed to sharpen.

"I would normally never ask this because it's neither our business nor policy to do so, but for any future patients I might receive, I have to inquire where this boy got his injuries."

"The... the dungeon," Noin supplied.

The girl named Airmid sighed. "I figured. Then he was quite lucky to run into you, yes?"

"Ah, huh?"

"What I mean, is that rushing into the dungeon like he did was beyond suicidal, and had you not found him when you did, he would have most assuredly been killed. I imagine you found him on the first floor?"

Ryuu was deeply confused.

Noin clearly was as well. "Um—no, actually we didn't. And, I'm sorry, what? He was actually the one who saved u—"

"—Miss Airmid."

Alise suddenly spoke over Noin, a serious look on her face.

"You said suicidal. Why would it be 'suicidal' of him to go into the Dungeon?"

Airmid finally allowed surprise to flicker across her face.

"Why, I thought you all would have been able to tell? But I suppose it makes sense. Anyway, I've run the tests, and even failing all of that, his pulse was extraordinarily weak. Far too weak. I've confirmed the boy does not possess a Falna—probably signed up at the Guild first chance he got and rushed in the Dungeon. Frankly, he should be dead ten times over for that decision. He's lucky to be alive, and to only have the injuries that he did."

The healer gave them a tiny smile.

"Your actions gave someone another chance at life today. I'm sure he'll be more than grateful when he wakes up."

Airmid said some other things, and then left.

Ryuu could barely remember them.

She just stood there, rooted in place, vaguely aware of Noin collapsing into her seat beside her, some others matching her.

No one spoke.

Ryuu didn't even think she could have if she tried. She only stared at one spot of the room, or rather, her eyes just seemed to eventually drift to it. She knew the others were doing the exact same.

However, there wasn't a response.

The cynical and whimsical blond, the civilian, continued to sleep.

...

...

...

When Alex woke up, he became aware of it rather quickly.

And it wasn't due to the light teasing his eyelids.

His body felt like it had gotten eight different kinds of whiplash, bitch-slapped by an incoming train, and then run over by a woman's minivan with her five kids, all in succession.

Suffice it to say, soreness scorned his muscles like a plague, and he couldn't suppress a groan as he pushed himself up. That said, the snug sheets wrapped around him didn't give much way, which he definitely didn't remember slipping into in the first place.

Just... like... he didn't remember taking his clothes off.

Alex was naked from the waist up.

His thoughts lulled, and he peeked under the sheets. Yep. He was naked from the waist up. Only his black pants, and some tightly wound bandages clung to his body.

So that just begged the question—where the hell was he, and why was he half naked? He hadn't been drugged, had he? He doubted it, since he didn't feel any of the usual effects.

But speaking of effects...

Going off of the basis that what had just happened to him hadn't been a dream, and Alex had actually thrown his body around like a Super Bowl trophy, in a quest to prevent a bunch of strangers from dying—he had been expecting something like a splitting headache upon waking up, or even because of the glare of that annoying sunlight... but strangely enough, there was no such thing.

Instead, his mind felt refreshed, revitalized even, a complete offset to his body's rampant aching. It was definitely more than a little weird. 

Although... I don't exactly get much sleep these days, so maybe that's why.

Alex took a gander at his surroundings.

For one, the source of light couldn't be more obvious.

On the left side of the room he was in, there was a very conspicuous open veranda. Past it, he could see the one thing he had yet to see so far.

Blue with specks of clouds rested atop a few rooftops.

Well, if he needed any greater confirmation that he had reached the surface, the sky in all its glory was certainly it.

He looked at the rest of the room.

Extravagant carpets, ornately crafted walls and ceiling. Beyond that, there was the bed he was laying in, and a sturdy looking desk on his side. Honestly, it put anything from Ikea to shame. Like, someone had put a gun to some poor architect and carpenter's head, and viola, this masterpiece was created.

But Alex ignored all that when he saw what was placed on the desk.

"Ooh."

Neatly placed and not looking a day older from when he last saw them, were a great many items. The first of which was a familiar ensemble of clothes that couldn't have looked cleaner if they tried. Folded, one on top of the other, were his missing black coat and white dress shirt. His golden tie, belt, and various other parts of his outfit were just as present.

He reached out and snagged the dress shirt, holding it against the light.

The holes that had made the article of clothing look like swiss-cheese, were nowhere to be seen. It was like it was brand new. That wasn't true of course, but the mend-work was so impressive that he could barely spot the difference.

Alex was also pleased to take note that some of the knickknacks and goodies that had been hidden within his coat were still in good shape. Though, he wouldn't be able to replenish them anymore like he usually did. He'd take inventory and come up with a solution later.

He somehow doubted this world would be short on ways he could get the edge on unsuspecting opponents.

Maybe do some experimenting with paralysis?

If those bandits were that well stocked, there had to be similar venues that he could take advantage of himself, more so than Earth anyway, with the countless hoops and hurdles one had to go through just to purchase basic drugs and medicines.

Beyond that, there was his knife, and...

The object, with its darkened onyx slits, grinned back at him. It too had been cleaned, the blood and grime nowhere to be present on the glaringly white surface.

Alex eyed the mask for a moment longer before looking away.

It was finally time to address the elephant in the room.

///

Quest Complete.

View Details?

[Yes] [No]

///

Alex pressed 'no' without any hesitation.

The screen disappeared for all of five seconds before the same exact message appeared again. Rolling his eyes, but not even that surprised, he chose the other option. Another orange screen with text instantly greeted him excitedly... far too excitedly.

All Objective(s) met.

The scheduled consequence(s) of [ Death by Sporadic Amputation ] will therefore not be enacted on self during this turn.

Please be prepared for the next quest.

Alex alternated between staring at the screen and then at his bare arms for several seconds.

Sighing, he dismissed the screen with a wave of his hand.

Well that's fucking horrifying.

Note to his future self: don't ignore the quests.

The door suddenly opened.

Alex blinked as, what looked like familiar ease, a woman he did not know entered, opening and closing the door without so much as a glance in his direction.

She had brown hair that was just long enough, and it cascaded around a dress that could almost be considered immodest. A basket containing something resembling food was crooked around her elbow.

Oh, and she was also no longer moving.

His attention was brought back to her face. She was looking at him now, and she looked surprised.

Alex made a rainbow with his hand.

"Hey?"

"...You're awake," she breathed out.

"I gathered that myself, yes."

Her eyes seemed to not once leave his form as she just stood there. Was she shaking? "M..." Her lips quivered a bit, her eyes doing the same. "May I sit down... please?"

"It's a free country," Alex said, gesturing towards the chair pushed into the desk beside him. "Then again, it could also very much not be."

She paused a bit at the words, before nodding once, moving to the chair. She placed down the basket as gingerly as she could. Whatever was inside smelled good. She pulled out the seat, falling down onto it gently. In a demure way, her hands rested atop her lap. Then, she just continued staring at him.

Closer, he could better see her eyes. She was looking at him, not appraisingly, but... fonder. It was as if she was trying to match him to something she already knew... or had been told? Well, none of that really had anything to do with him, so Alex spoke candidly.

"Is there a reason you're staring at my naked body so intently?"

That did the trick.

As if realizing what kind of image she had been portraying, and even that she had begun to lean forward in her seat a bit, her skin lit up, and she quickly adjusted herself. Her mouth didn't change in the slightest, however.

Her reaction gave him the impression she was a well-mannered and considerably mature woman.

So, a challenge then.

"M-My deepest apologies. That must have been truly unsightly. My feelings... just surged up all at once and I couldn't stop myself. Please. Even though I don't deserve it, I humbly ask that you forgive me, child."

And she's one of those... great.

Alex slipped a hand over his face, covering his eyes.

"See, I-I would genuinely like to, but... it's... hard. I, I actually have a slight fear of women. It... was a close friend's older sister. She was kind, inviting, and me being the innocent idiot I was, I believed her... s-she wouldn't stop no matter how many times I begged her. O-Oh god, I think I'm--" He started to breathe a little faster. "I... I can't breathe, I-I can't—"

"You are... lying."

Alex's hand slid off his face, and he allowed the smile to finally tug at his cheekbones. "What gave me away? I'd say it was a fairly realistic story."

Looking at her again, he was a little surprised to see she didn't appear very annoyed, even though she was frowning. Rather, her expression appeared more directed at herself, given the way her eyes left his and travelled upwards, as if she was recalling something strange.

She pursed her lips a bit, but ultimately settled on a smile.

"They told me... you were like this, but I guess I forgot once I saw you. But to think you would feel confident enough to lie to a goddess."

She now even looked faintly amused.

As the silence stretched on though, and when she peeked at his expression, hers faltered. "What's wrong?"

Alex tilted his head.

"I just.. didn't take you as the type to say that with a straight face."

Now it was her turn to cock her head a little, confused.

"I'm sorry, I do not follow. Did I say something strange?"

"No, no." Alex looked her up and down. "I'll admit you can most likely, very safely, fall into the category of 'gorgeous', but isn't it a bit self-flattering to call yourself a goddess, especially to someone you just met? I don't even have that much of an ego, and that's saying something."

"I... thank you for the compliment, but I actually wasn't trying to flatter myself. I meant it in the literal sense. I am a goddess. My name is Astraea. I preside over justice and virtue, as well as chastity."

She smiled beautifully at him.

Alex's eyes rose as high as they could go.

...

...

...

Noin found it strange, sitting at the table for breakfast.

Upon returning last night, all of them had eaten their fill. Astraea wouldn't have allowed anything less—after the woman finally ceased embracing them, that is.

That had been quite the scene.

Running into their Goddess on their way back to Stardust Garden.

At first, no one seemed to know how to react. They just stood there in the middle of the darkening Orario streets, lit fires flickering, same as their hesitation.

Of course, Astraea had broken it all at once when she wrapped as many of them in hugs as she could. Noin recalled they had all talked for hours before retiring to their rooms. With heightened emotions, tears especially, there had been a lot to sift through after all.

In any case, come morning, Noin and the rest all gathered at the table, as they always did.

Perhaps that was why she found it so strange.

It was just so... normal.

Either way, they had all found themselves hungry.

Goddess Astraea's home cooking only made that hunger more pronounced. Unhindered, their cutlery continued to move. It was delicious, extraordinarily so, even if it had only been a day or so since her last taste of it. It felt longer.

There was a lump in Noin's throat as she savored yet another bite of the stew-soaked bread.

—They had completely run her through, and she couldn't process the out of place feeling, the steel-like claws disproportionately attached to her gaping, endlessly bleeding ribcage. Her attempts to cry out were pointless. Blood clogged her throat to the point where speaking was impossible.

Noin coughed lightly before reaching for her water glass, only to find it empty.

"Here, Noin."

A hand suddenly picked up the pitcher to fill her glass.

Noin covered her mouth with one hand, before taking steady gulps. She looked over at the amazon woman with a grin. "Thanks, Iska."

The girl smiled back.

—Iska likely died instantly. Her screaming stopped the moment the gaping teeth clamped down on the entirety of her upper body.

A plate clattered noisily next to them.

"Astraea's going to scold you again if you push aside all the carrots like that, you know?"

"I-I'm eating them okay."

Across from Noin, Ryana drove her fork down on a stack of carrots, making a face as she put them in her mouth. Celty, who didn't seem to realize she was the one doing the scolding, couldn't hold her serious face any longer and giggled.

The orange haired girl simply closed her eyes, turning her head a bit. "Is it so weird I don't like carrots? They're too mushy. At least cook them a bit less," she muttered, suddenly a lot more defensive.

—Ryana and Celty—their deaths had most likely been the most painful. Saying they were burnt alive was far too nondescript. Fire and lightning wore them instead of the clothes on their backs. The actual clothes had become stitched together to their sizzled flesh.

"Come to think of it, you don't like bell peppers either. Or Sweet potatoes. And then even oranges. You see the pattern here, right?" Neze smirked. "They're all—"

—Neze was tri-sected into a heap of mangled skin and exposed organs.

"Yes, yes! They're all orange! And no, that doesn't mean I hate myself!"

"Stop bullying Ryana, everyone."

"Thank you, Maryuu!"

"Her pallet is just developing in a childi—... in a unique way."

"Y-You were totally about to call me childish! Maryuu! You were, weren't you?!"

—Maryuu's head had been ripped from her shoulders.

The others around the table couldn't withhold their laughter and started giggling.

—Asta was chewed for three unbearably painful looking seconds before her entire body exploded in viscera.

—Kaguya's beautifully sleeved limb flittered somewhere and everywhere.

—Lyra experienced the feeling of her eyes being cauterized to her sockets.

—Alise, by her own ally, was sidewindered into oblivion by the luminous supernatural wind of—

.

. .

. . .

"I dreamt we all died... against that thing."

The sound of cutlery ceased.

Just like that, the superficial mold framing the air shattered.

That's what it felt like as the words came out of Noin's mouth.

She didn't move, didn't even look up, but she was sure the others had frozen stiff.

She had brought something up that would have been better off forgotten. But she couldn't do that. The previous night had been that sleeplessly terrifying. Her put-on facade of normalcy had long faded, and she wondered how many of them she had just forced to, without warning, do the same. She could well imagine their faces.

The ensuing silence became a vast ocean.

Noin stood up when it became unbearable, shame sending nauseous quakes throughout her body. She was about to apologize, to retreat to her room, or out the door, or anywhere that wasn't here—

"So... it wasn't just me."

The loud tremors of her heart tripped and fell.

Noin looked up.

Alise's eyes rose from the broth careening at the side of her plate, meeting hers. The smile on the crimsonette's face wasn't really a smile. It was the kind of expression that one wouldn't expect from the one known as Scarlet Harnel. But it was there, nonetheless.

"None of my dreams were kind last night. It was... well—it was quite scary."

Noin swallowed.

Hearing her captain say that, got rid of any lingering resistance she might have had. An aversion that had been there—yet only for herself. That she wasn't strong enough, that it made her weak to be this scared after the fact. Because that night, the images that wrestled sleep from her had been raw, visceral, and they had seemed very, VERY, real.

Real enough to believe them memories.

But they weren't.

And that was what made them all the more terrifying.

"Um..."

Someone else spoke up.

Everyone looked at Celty.

"Me too. B-But I thought I was the only one, so I didn't want to say anything..."

Then...

Iska's lips were taught before they opened. "Same here," she admitted.

And next to her, expression unreadable, Neze nodded mutely, her ears flattening against her head.

A brief silence.

"It was so..." Maryuu eventually breathed out, unable to finish. She just pressed her hands further into her lap.

"Realistic?"

One of Lyra's hands, spanned out atop the table, was shaking, and she quickly removed it when she realized. Then, perhaps unconsciously, rose to gingerly touch at her eyes. "Yeah... it was. Makes me think what could have have happened if, you know..."

Not saying a word, Kaguya frowned beside her.

"I was so relieved when I woke up..." Asta whispered, expression crumbled.

"One by one... you all, and I—" A choking gasp cut Ryuu off, and her blonde locks quivered. "I was so terrified. I was so scared. I couldn't move. I couldn't save any of you..." The girl covered her eyes, hiding what was building up.

Noin watched it all grimly. What she herself had dredged up.

But she was hardly a bystander.

Noin palmed a spot just below her chest.

Those fleeting seconds, where she could only now look back and recognize how terrifying they had been. A count of two or so. That was all her life would have been worth. That was all it would have taken for those agile claws to completely skewer her.

And in the imaginings that played out last night, they had.

But.

Noin let out a shaky breath.

The hand she had clutched to herself fell away.

As scary as it was, as realistic as it was, it was just a nightmare. None of those horrible things had actually come to pass. They very well could have, yes. They were likely going to. But they didn't.

That fearsome monster had been obliterated so that not even a magic stone remained.

Jura and his entourage, now turned skittish and babbling, had been cuffed and hauled to a place where they would never be able to harm people again.

Astraea Familia had gone down into the Dungeon hoping their justice would triumph over evil.

It hadn't.

They had to be saved.

They had to be saved by the most chaotic of miracles.

"Noin?"

Noin looked up.

Kaguya was giving her a questioning look, and that made it so the others soon joined her, making them the center of attention. Rather, they were just looking at Noin.

She hadn't gone and done something odd, had she?

"You're smiling..." with a raised eyebrow, Kaguya followed up.

That took Noin a moment.

Doubtful, she touched her face.

She was.

Maybe she should have felt embarrassed. But, even under the gaze of so many, and even when they looked so confused and perplexed, rather than shy away, the already present smile on her face widened instead. Because honestly, she wanted them to know what she was thinking.

"Well, I was just thinking... how strange this has all been. How strange... he was..."

'Strange' likely didn't cover it at all.

But she could think of no other way to recount those last several hours.

Nonetheless, they seemed to digest that, something in each of their eyes flickering.

And then a strange noise suddenly came from Celty.

Noin caught the tail end of the girl's hands flying to her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry. I... um."

Her voice broke off a bit, and was trembling, but it wasn't out of grief like before. Rather, the sound being inflected into her voice sounded far too much like the ringing of a small bell. If Noin wasn't mistaken, the greenette was holding back laughter.

"I'm just remembering, h-he thought Jura was 'propositioning' him—heehee."

For a moment, the room was quiet.

It lasted only until Lyra stood up, slamming her hands on the table.

"Oh gods that's right—how could I forget about that? Did you see that creep's face? He was so lost! Like he had been slapped across the face!" The prum broke into a fit of giggles, her own smile impossibly wide. "A-And he actually fainted when his 'you know what' was being poked! Haha!"

Maryuu put a hand to her head, a certain flush to her skin.

"I can't believe that boy did something like that."

"You say that Maryuu, but your mouth is twitching," Ryana teased lightly.

"Oh shush, you."

Still standing, Noin looked at everyone's expressions.

An onlooker might find it strange.

The mood from before had been so depressing. They might ask where it all went. But such a person was misunderstanding. It wasn't like it had gone anywhere. In the absence of light, there was still darkness. But just because it was dark out, didn't mean the light wasn't there. If anything, it was even more visible and easy to spot because it was missing.

Those hours in the Dungeon hadn't been all bad.

The proof was right in front of her.

"Hey... why do you think he helped us?"

They had settled down a bit, and Iska had a sad little smile on her face as she caressed her elbow.

"I mean, he's... that whole time, he was only... and m-me and Ryuu, we..."

An all too different kind of tense air filled the room.

Ryuu shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

Noin felt like she knew what she was trying to say.

That whole time, the boy had cemented himself as such a reliable figure, undaunting, invincible, in a way different from the way Alise did. He had so much self-assured confidence, and he extended that confidence when it came to looking after them.

That kind of person, Noin wouldn't have once believed he was the one who had been in the most danger.

Why would she?

Why in the world would she have believed, thought, or given rise to the idea that the enigmatic blond boy who saved them had actually been a civilian? Someone who their own Goddess had confirmed did not contain a trace of a godly ichor running through their veins. Someone barely stronger than a goblin or kobold. Someone who at any time could have exploded into a mess of blood, flesh, and bone.

In fact, he almost had on several occasions.

And yet, he didn't.

He dodged death with practiced ease, with skill, not ones given by his status, but with practical ones, ones that seemed almost otherworldly. He had to have known the severe risks of descending that far into the Dungeon. Yet he did so anyway.

Why?

Noin found herself right back to Iska's question.

"Well, I honestly have no idea what was going through his head," Kaguya said after a while. "But we'll just have to ask him when he wakes up, knock him around a bit too."

Everyone looked at her.

"What?"

The black-haired girl looked at them with a completely straight face.

"You know he's not going to give a straight answer. This is the same guy who got stabbed by Miss Elf over there, but only brought it up when he was accusing her of sexual assault."

"I-I did no such thing!"

"You did penetrate him though."

"...Kaguya, please stop."

"Only when I die. Anyway, you guys should be overjoyed. We now know everyone in this room can physically overpower him."

"Y-You make it sound like we kidnapped him," Asta said uneasily.

"We kinda did. Took off his clothes and everything. Celty even fainted."

An adorable squeak was heard.

Noin sighed. "Lyra?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not helping."

"I'm aware. What about it?"

Right along with Noin, Ryuu also tiredly tore her eyes away from the prum. The elf then cleared her throat.

"While I am curious about his motivations for helping as well, especially given his... physical weakness... even so, we should be as accommodating as possible when he wakes up. No matter what, him saving us and risking his life to do so hasn't changed."

Noin smiled.

It wasn't as if Ryuu had more integrity than the rest of them. But she would always be the first to be vocal about it. Beyond that, Noin had the feeling the elf was still bothered by what she did. Iska too.

"Exactly right, Ryuu," Alise clapped. "We'll repay this debt, not just because our Goddess' principles demand it, but because I, and I believe you all too, want to pay back his kindness. Now it's just a matter of when he wakes u—"

A startlingly shrill noise slammed into the air.

Noin immediately recognized it as laughter.

Because, it was just so unashamed, so pointedly amused, but most of all, it was incredibly boyish. That familiarity was why she latched onto it so quickly.

The others weren't any different.

One by one, their eyes travelled upward, as if doing so would allow them to see what was happening one floor above.

It didn't.

But the conversation allowed Noin to imagine plenty.

"—fail to see what is so funny, child. I only said I was a Goddess."

"Yeah, I heard you. And that was why you heard me exploding in euphoria."

"W-What?"

"Relax, mother goose. Let me see if I got this. You, Miss Justice AND Virtue—because you definitely need both—simply awakened into existence one day along with all your other divine friends, no Mommy and Daddy needed. And then, after a few odd millennia later, you not only decided to start slumming it up with the neighboring shit-stain called humanity, but you came up with the idea to start cults in order to shepherd them as well. Which was fucking diabolical of you by the way. Respect."

"C-Cults...?!"

"Moving on. After weaving yourselves into our society, you proclaimed yourself gods. Because of course you did. And the only proof of that, the only definitive proof that your role play backstory is actually real, is being able to mutate people's genes with—your own—mutated ones, and tell when people are lying. People can already do that—and they were clearly humbler about it than you. And, o-oh, and let's not forget your eye candy appearances that you generously labeled as godly auras. Beyond that, what? Because it sounds to me like the only true requirement to being a lowercase 'g' is wearing a borderline slutty outfit, calling everyone 'children' like some kind of unhinged sex offender, and most likely the most important, practicing your 'I'm pretty and I'm powerful' speech every morning in the mirror. You're not a goddess. You're an admittedly attractive twenty-something with delusions. Now, I'm just as delusional, which is why I won't be falling for your shit like those impressionable girls you conned."

A beat passed, and the subtle air of condescension vanished along with it.

"All that being said, that's just my opinion. I am open to hearing any counter arguments if you have them."

There was no such thing.

Only the sound of a door eventually closing shut, before their very own Lady Astraea dazedly stumbled her way down the stairs.