Capítulo 19: Hostess of Fertility (3)
Bete unconsciously swallowed, a bead of sweat forming at his temple. The back of his head suddenly felt itchy.
". . . So what? Why do you care?"
Anya's lips lifted into a small, solemn smile.
"You've just started adventuring, nya."
"And?"
"You don't know, do you? Down there, people die every day."
"I already know—"
"No, you don't."
Her voice was steely and steady, resolute as her eerily still, vertically-slanted pupils.
"Your friends die every day, nya. Each trip down there is a roll of a dice — a weighted dice not in your favor."
Her unblinking, caramel eyes stared deeply into his amber ones, seemingly peering deep into his soul.
"I've seen it all, nya. Even the most experienced, most well-equipped Adventurers all have a chance to die. In the face of the dungeon, nothing matters. One small mistake, one difficult enemy, and it's all over. No redos. Rookies, Level 3, Level 4, it doesn't matter. Anyone can die in the blink of an eye. A crushed skull here. A melted corpse there. Your comrade is laughing one second, then screaming in pain the next. The next thing you know, you're all alone."
Bete's mouth suddenly felt dry despite the continuous influx of fruit cider.
"Do you know what they say about the dungeon, nya? . . . They say that 'the one thing that's fair in the dungeon is death.'"
". . ."
"So I ask you again, do you really understand, nya? Is that something you can handle on a weekly basis?"
She drummed her fingers against the table, creating an eerie echo with her nails.
"You're still young, it's not too late to reconsider, nya."
He swallowed heavily, but refused to back off.
"What, are you trying to scare me off? Sorry, but a Cat Human waitress working in a bar is the last person that'll convince me. I'm here, and I'm not leaving. Besides, you're not much older than me."
"Hm. It wasn't supposed to be like that, nya. Just making sure you know before you're too deep."
She smiled widely again, but talked lacking the mirth in her high-pitched voice.
"But anyway. Keep in mind it's not all that it's tooted to be. And be careful. Okay, nya?"
As if the entire last few minutes hadn't happened, her still tail began to excitedly swing again.
Bete was left on pause, his right ear twitching like a broken record. Just what was this anomaly of a girl? But his inaction proved to be a mistake as he quickly remembered why he couldn't let his guard down around this waitress.
"Hehe! Sneak attack, nya!"
Grab—
"?!?!"
In the midst of his thoughts, the catgirl took advantage of his stupor by reaching and ruffling his hair. However, it quickly escalated past that once Anya's glinting cat-eyes caught his wolfish ears beckoning to her like a welcome mat.
Squish—
"Gaaaagh! What the hell?!"
Bete exclaimed, a numbingly shocking sensation racing straight down his spine from Anya wrapping her soft hands around his two pointed ears. He quickly reached up to block her grabby hands and get them away from his sensitive auditory organs.
The waitress paid his flustered expression no mind, only increasing the speed of her touching. It was like playing whack-a-mole, where for every spot he covered with his hand, Anya found two more exposed locations to fondle. Somehow, she outmatched his Falna-granted speed with ease and dexterity, not allowing him to block or even touch her at any point.
Squish!
'I-I'm being molested!'
'Pffft. So much for the big bad wolf. He huffed and he puffed and was petted to submission by a little cat.'
Leave it to Blackie to surpass Bete's expectations by breaking his silence so early. Of course this guy couldn't miss an opportunity to make fun of his embarrassment. While he was happy he was talking again, now was really not the time.
'T-this is no laughing matter! I-it seriously tickles!'
"G-guuuh!" he instinctively groaned when she touched a particularly sensitive spot.
'Curse whoever made this feeble race and this great weakness on our heads!'
Contrary to his embarrassment, Anya looked to be having the time of her life.
"Waaah, your ears are so fluffy, nya~ Maybe even softer than mine! Hey, we should give each other ear massages! I can clean your ear too! Want me to blow on it? It feels reeaaaaally—"
Crash!
Out of nowhere, a mountainous fist slammed against the top of the poor cat girl's head, flattening her precious ears for a second.
"NYAAAAAAA?!"
"Whadd'ya think yer doin'?! I'm not paying you to laze around! Get back to work! All of yah!"
"Y-yes Mamma, nya!"
The girl scrambled away, clutching the wooden, circular serving tray close to her chest. Many of the other waitresses followed.
'Holy shit. It didn't look like Mia held back anything. Is that girl okay?'
The Dwarf stood stout and strong with her two pillars of muscles fixed on her hips.
"I see you've met Anya, one of our waitresses."
Bete tiredly leaned back on his chair. The little exchange between him and Anya had exhausted him more than any other event this night.
"Yeah... She's quite the personality. And a bit too touchy with strangers."
The barkeeper raised an eyebrow.
"Touchy, eh? Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are about that. She's usually not very talkative around folks — especially strangers."
"She's not?"
Bete found that hard to believe given the last 10 minutes of interactions with the bizarre waitress.
"No. She's been pretty quiet around here, ever since I brought her in. Glad ye were able to bring her out of it."
"I... I didn't do anything though?"
"Eh. Sometimes all someone needs is a new person to talk to. Perhaps something about how small and cute ye were tickled her fancy."
". . . Thanks."
Like most men out there, Bete was not exactly overjoyed at the fact that the two adjectives that seemed to stand out about his figure were 'small' and 'cute.'
"So what's her deal? Bad past?"
The Dwarf smiled humorlessly, crossing her arms.
"Everyone has a story, and everyone deserves a second chance. Though that's probably not something a young'un like you should be thinkin' about."
Mia lumbered off to shout at another group of drunk Adventurers, leaving Bete wondering what she meant by those words. However, there was something else that caught his attention.
'That hit... That's not something a normal waitress should... wait a minute.'
His eyes widened, everything coming together at once. He quickly studied the rest of the room to support his suspicions.
'You finally caught on, did you?'
'Damn. I can't believe I didn't notice earlier. I let my guard down because of how silly that girl acted but...'
Bete finally began to notice something amiss. A few more focused glances around confirmed his hypothesis.
'1, 2, 4, 7... All of them. Every single waitress here is insanely skilled. And that's purely based on footwork.'
As someone who lived in a tribal setting and grew up hunting, Bete knew how to pick his fights. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here to tell the tale. He knew precisely who he could curb-stomp, while his instincts screamed at him when he was barking up the wrong enemy. Eyes, scars, movement, even posture — there were countless ways to tell one's experience.
From what he could see, the shockingly powerful lineup of nonchalant waitresses ranged from experienced fighters to proficient experts who walked in a way that perfectly hid their tracks. One Hume Bunny waitress practically made no noise with each step. Granted, it was quite noisy and bustling inside the restaurant, but it was still quite a feat to fool his Werewolf ears.
'It's probably subconscious, just a remnant of past activities. But if they're that good without even thinking about it...'
Shiver
Bete suddenly felt like he had been foolishly frolicking around in a lion's den. A den filled to the brink with dozens of sharp-clawed, pointy-fanged lionesses. And he had just grabbed one by her scruff.
'Oh... shit.'
'Indeed. That catgirl was no ordinary girl, and as you can see, no one here is normal. Watch their movements.'
'Yeah. They're too perfect. And if you combine that with her strange advice, she's probably an ex-Adventurer — a good one at that. Makes me wonder what she's been through, especially considering she's not much older than me. And then there's Mia, who somehow manages to reign them all in...'
'Basically, don't mess with them. They will easily destroy you.'
'Wasn't planning on it.'
On his first visit, Bete figured out a fact about the Hostess of Fertility that was unknown to most new Adventurers and even some veterans.
Releasing a tense breath, he turned back to his meal, but was stopped by an intense stare.
"What?"
From his side, Ais was peering at his head with enough intensity to burn holes in his hair.
'W-was she just there the whole time? What the hell?'
"Your ears... are they really that soft?"
"?!"
Bete uncomfortably backed off, unconsciously clutching his ears as if someone might steal them.
'Want... to touch,' Ais hungrily thought, feeling strangely dizzy.
"O... oi. Are you alright? Why do you look like you're gonna pass out?"
Now that he took a better look, the little blonde looked rather reddish in her cheeks, though that could have been the lighting.
"T-touch!" she woozily cried, lunging at him in a way reminiscent of her Goddess.
'Nope. Definitely not the lighting.'
Bete kicked off his chair and rolled to the side, barely dodging Ais' grasp. The poor girl hit the deck head-first with a pitiful whimper.
"Hey! Who the fuck gave Ais alcohol!" he roared. That was the only reasonable explanation for her strange behavior and flushed complexion.
It only took him a quick scan of the room to spot a few, guilty-looking Loki Familia members holding a quarter-empty mug of beer.
"I-I didn't think she would react like this!" one of them wearing a red bandana cried.
"How did you even feed her something? She's usually aware about not accepting random stuff."
"I told her... I told her it would make her stronger."
'Tch. That would due it. This dumbass would jump off a fifty-foot cliff if she thought it would make her stronger.'
"I just wanted—"
Shiiiink
"Gaaaghh!"
"Kevin?!"
"She got Kevin!"
Somehow, Ais had teleported behind the suspect and dispatched him with a shaky slash of her drawn sword.
"J-Jagamarukun... hic... everywhere I see, Jagamarukun... hic... need to hunt them down... Gimme fluffy."
Ais stumbled across the room, slurring over her words with a bright red face.
"Whoa. A-Ais?"
The group of Loki Familia Adventurers noticed something was wrong and hesitantly backed away, their alcoholic mirth draining away as they noticed the sharp weapon in her hand.
". . . Hic."
"Ais?"
Bete felt the fur on the ends of his tail stand straight. He didn't need to be an expert to know what would happen next.
"Run!"
"FLUUU — hic — UUFFFF!"
Ais transformed into a furious tornado of sharp destruction, tearing the bar apart while also spilling blood. Furniture after furniture were cut in pieces, causing the shrieks of fear to spread.
"Hic..."
Slice
"Kyaaa!"
"Hic..."
"Noooo!"
"Hic..."
"Someone stop her!"
"You stop her!"
"I would if I— Keeckk!"
"She got another one!"
Even Loki stopped her relentless hunt for women to harass once she noticed the degree of severity. Then, her eyes shot open in shock.
"Th-That's the legendary Drunken Blade!" she stuttered, pointing a shaky finger.
"You've heard of this?" Bete asked.
". . . I just made up the name," she sheepishly admitted. "But it's definitely that forbidden technique where ya start slicing things up at random!"
"Are you kidding me?! Even I can see that!"
"Well whaddya want me to say?! I'm the Goddess of Trickery, not swords!"
"Move!"
Smash!
Ais's sword sliced between them, threatening to cut off their noses.
"Iyaaa! Aizu-chan, please forgive me! I didn't mean to "
". . . hic."
If the blonde could understanding what they were saying, she didn't give any signs.
Meanwhile, from a distance away, Mia folded her arms and amusedly watched the scene — albeit with a hint of annoyance twitching at the ends of her mouth.
"For you to reserve the entire Hostess of Fertility tonight... those two must be some special newbies, eh?"
Finn smirked in response.
"Oh they're special, all right."
"I hope it was worth it. You don't want to know how much profit I lost tonight by sending away every other customer. And that's not including what that lass is doin' to my bar right now."
He chuckled nervously.
"We'll reimburse you in full."
"Obviously," she huffed. "But meanwhile..."
Swoop
"F-fluff?"
Ais let out a confused cry as the world shifted around her when Mia picked her little body up with only two fingers.
"Drink all ya want, but don't get carried away. That's the rule in here. And most importantly..."
SLAM!
"Don't break store property, you dumbass!!!"
A righteous steel fist of fury pummeled on to the poor girl's head in a perfect line. Ais didn't stand a chance against the fearsome woman's punishment — her eyes rolling to the top of her head and her body slumping over.
That day, just as Ais learned not to misbehave in this pub, the Loki Familia learned to never let the girl get her hands on alcohol.
.
.
.
"Huff... huff."
Bete plopped down on the wooden floor of the Hostess of Fertility with his back against the wall. Next to him, the unconscious form of Ais rested in a cute position — curled up into a ball with a blanket deposited on top of her.
The Werewolf had personally taken it upon himself to watch her, both in case if she hurt herself or another idiot tried to feed her alcohol.
Whack
Still, he let himself release some of his pent-up resentment with a glancing blow against the blonde's head.
"Mmnhhh?"
Her arms instinctively covered her head and her brows adorably furrowed in pain.
"You deserve at least this much," Bete snorted. "Almost took out half our entire Familia, crazy airhead."
Fortunately, no one had been seriously injured and it was more of a shock than anything. It would take more than a drunk Level 1 girl wildly swinging her sword to kill or even maim High Class Adventurers with years of experience.
Sitting at her table, Riveria watched the rather cozy scene with strangely satisfied feelings.
She distinctly remembered the night of their recruitment when she, Finn, Gareth, and Loki got together to discuss how they would proceed.
.
Days Ago, Twilight Manor, Strategy Office
⌜ "Me?! A teacher?!"
The usually stoic High Elf let out a shocked cry.
Finn nodded.
"I believe you are the best suited. After all, you were the one to initially recommend we force them into a week-long buffer so they were better prepared for the dungeon."
"T-that was so they don't foolishly kill themselves."
"And that's exactly what we wanted. Just keep doing that."
Not for the first time, Riveria felt a deep irritation towards Finn's unbreakably calm smile.
"Then what about Gareth?" she hotly replied, pointing a finger towards the Dwarf.
"I've got my side stuffed to the brim with those Evilus fools. 'Sides, I haven't a single idea on what to do with children, an' Finn's the Captain so he can't be babysitting just two members," Gareth replied.
His words made an annoying amount of sense.
"But... Evilus and all my other duties. How will you all—"
"Riveria. We can handle it," Finn firmly interrupted her. "Right now, those two are the priority."
Clap
"It's perfect! Now I have a legitimate reason to call you, 'Mama!'" their resident Goddess chimed in, putting her hands together in a cheer.
"Hmph. I'm unmarried and you know it, Loki."
Despite her displeasure, Riveria knew she was defeated after being bombarded by rational arguments from the three. Still, that didn't stop her from trying one last time.
"Finn... you're expecting too much from me. I'm just an Adventurer who knows more about Concurrent Chanting than about motherhood. They're children — ones of different races at that."
Finn's smile took on a sympathetic touch.
"You're definitely not just an Adventurer. Trust me, between us, I truly believe you're the best suited for this."
"There's one more reason too," Loki added in an uncharacteristically serious tone. "You can feel it, right? The start of a new generation."
". . ."
"Those two are just the first. From now on, more and more young'uns will join the Familia. It's our job to show them a mother's touch — build a proper foundation for the future. If our foundations are grown improperly, it'll have consequences in the future. I acknowledge Evilus is currently a large problem, but we should always keep an eye out for the future."
"I. . . Sigh."
Riveria set her teeth, eyes closed in resignation.
"I accept the job. I'll let Alicia know so she can handle the brunt of my responsibilities."
Loki grinned from ear to ear and stuck out a thumbs up.
"Good luck, mama!"
"Don't call me mama!" ⌟
.
Looking back on it, Riveria was glad that she accepted (not like she had much of a choice). Although they could be a pain at times, her two first students were a delight to teach.
Ais with her cute antics, sometimes surprised her with incredible skill or with an absurd lack of common sense. The little girl that whined about her stomach grumbling was the very same war machine that had just bulldozed through a mob of monsters a few hours back.
And then there was Bete with his unexpected maturity, showing a self-aware mindset that not even some veterans had. He could be so silly but at the same time so intelligent. The pinnacle of street-smart that was grown from years of direct experience with no coddling or false accomplishment — a lesson some High Elves from her home village could use.
Together, they made a harmonious duo, supporting the other when they needed it most. There were inevitably still a few hitches and bumps in a few areas, but they had advanced way farther than she expected after a mere week or two, both in terms of level and synergy. She saw a bright future ahead of them; by correlation, ahead of the Familia as well.
It filled her with anticipation — imagining all the new, diverse members that would come in the next few years. Perhaps even a new Elf or three. Riveria doubted any of her race would disappoint her Goddess' strange visual-appeal requirement.
'Hmm. A simple daily exercise working on their teamwork would also work wonders. I could come up with something later...'
"Valis for your thoughts?" Finn asked, back from paying Mia back for the reservation and damages. His inflection suggested it was a question, but the smug tone suggested that he knew exactly what she was contemplating.
"Merely thinking."
Regardless of her position in the Familia, Riveria was a proud Elf at heart. It would be remiss of her to let Finn enjoy his victory so easily.
"Mhm. And?" he pressed.
She finally took her eyes off the cute duo and cross her arms. Bete now asleep as well after the night of wild festivities.
"What do you want me to say?"
"How about the truth?"
Riveria rolled her eyes.
"You were right. Happy?"
Finn only responded with a wider smile.
"Only happy for you. From the start, I thought it was a perfect role. Everyone could see that. There's a reason why Loki calls you 'Mama'. . ." He tilted his head, realizing he should probably add another explanation: "Beyond the sexual fetishization."
The High Elf rarely disliked how her Captain always had a way of being right — almost never during combat — but now was one of those times. Even her mind, armed with decades of experience, stood little chance against that of the equally little Pallum.
". . . You all know I'm far from having children," Riveria muttered, a little miffed that everyone was so quickly hopping on the motherly bandwagon.
Finn chuckled.
"Who knows? Maybe your time is near."
"Heh, maybe. Perhaps when all of this commotion with Evilus settles down." She delicately adjusted her grip on her staff. "What about you, Finn? Have you found the right Pallum yet?"
The Captain shook his head.
"Not yet. But I can almost sense her. At most a decade, I want to say."
Riveria blinked, a little surprised.
'A decade... But considering a Pallum's average life cycle... No. There's no way, right? Finn wouldn't be into... younger folks?' Her thoughts rapidly spiraled into a flustered mess.
"N-not that! Definitely not!" Finn quickly corrected, seeing the lines being drawn in the verdant haired Elf's mind.
The emerald-eyed Elf furrowed her beautifully sculpted brows in suspicion. She silently prayed that her Captain wasn't strolling down the wrong path.
"A-anyway, I need to talk to you for a different reason as well."
Riveria noticed his voice gained a serious tinge, and stored the previous information in the back of her mind for another time.
.
.
.
"... and then we traded in the monster stones and came directly here," Riveria said, finishing her shortened explanation of their day in the dungeon.
Finn, whose face had been steadily darkening the entire time, finally opened his mouth.
"So in the end, it was like we predicted. There's no way we can tell Ais about her magic, the way she is now. Especially so considering your retelling of her dungeon experience."
Riveria closed her eyes in deep thought.
"While I do agree for now, I don't think it was as severe as we thought. It's at least better than what we expected. Like I said, she had some semblance of control. I believe having Bete along with us definitely helped."
"Of course. It was never our intentions to keep Ais from her natural power forever — just until we're sure she won't hurt herself."
"Sigh. Unfortunately, we don't know when that will be, and you know she's the type that'll take it the worst if she finds out how we hid this from her."
". . ."
After a moment of fiddling with his thumb, Finn firmly set his teeth with a determined gaze that locked on the slumbering girl.
"It's something we'll have to live with. For her sake. If that means we also have to live with the worst cast scenario where Ais comes to hate us — so be it. I'd rather she feel betrayed than be dead."
Riveria closed her eyes in resignation.
"Indeed. For her sake."
But that would be the end of their conversation, as a loud, drunken holler broke their serious mood.
"Wooohoo! Hic... I'm the king of the world! Fuck y'all cow tits! Hestia! Hic... Freya! Come face me like a real deity!"
Even a wild Ais couldn't stop the Goddess of Drunkards from partying. Once Mia knocked the girl out, Loki simply picked up the nearest bottle and dove back to chasing girls.
"Yup, I think that's our cue to leave," Finn said, cheerfully clapping his hands together.
When their own Goddess of Alcoholism started feeling hammered, that was their official signal to exit. They had learned their lesson after a particularly wild night a few years back. The poor victims had never recovered from that incident...
"Up you go!" Gareth called out in a gruff voice.
The Dwarf took the two sleepy rookies each in a muscular arm and plopped them on top of his shoulders. Bete shakily fluttered his eyelids as he tried to get used to motion. Ais didn't even budge.
"We... we leaving?" he dazedly stuttered.
"Yup. Ready to go home?"
"Defin... definitely."
Before being carried out, Bete took one last look at the dim, warm chamber that was still filled with the assorted scent of delicious food. Suddenly, cutting through the drowsy mist, piercing gray eyes seemed to flash in the corner of his vision.
'. . . Eh?'
He didn't recall seeing eyes like those from the waitresses, nor his Familia members. And no other customer were allowed in for the rest of the night.
'Huh. Must have been the wind?'
'. . . '
.
.
.
Hostess of Fertility, Closing Time
Anya Fromel wasn't typically a social person. Coming from life in a top Familia with harsh training, socializing wasn't something she was used to. Cooperation was not a reliable tactic. For most members, it was just them and their Goddess.
The breaking point was after a... conflict of sorts. That was when Anya realized how desperate she wanted to get away from the Adventurer life that so many fantasized about. A waitress wasn't exactly the top choice on her list of alternatives but the catgirl made do with what she could in a dungeon city.
That, and because Mia promised she wouldn't be bothered too much besides the occasional newbie Adventurer. Honestly, she grew to welcome those idiots because they provided a perfect chance to release stress. True to Mia's words, no one from her past came to haunt her...
But this was too much work, no?!?! Bussing tables, greeting, walking around with that stupid smile smacked on her face (if she irritated Mia, that metaphor would become literal); it was all much too tiring and bothersome. Look at her now! She was washing a mountain of dirty dishes at almost midnight — a cruel and unusual torture for the innocent catgirl. Anya intentionally ignored the fact that this was punishment for harassing a customer.
At least, that was until she found an interesting toy. At first, Anya thought he would be another one of those dream-chasing, fragile-ego'd Adventurers. He obviously had some kind of hidden goal in mind, and she wouldn't have been surprised if it was to become the 'harem king' or something along those lines.
However, after talking to him some more, she realized the Werewolf had too much reason and sense for a silly boy wrapped up in unrealistic fantasies.
Once Anya started talking, she couldn't stop. How could she when this little Werewolf so perfectly reminded her of Al... him? The same brash confidence mixed with sharp intelligence. The same hungry glint in his eye that had a goal in mind behind every action.
Something inside screamed at her to scare the boy away at all means. He wasn't ready for the true horrors of the dungeon. No, it was more like Anya wasn't ready for the boy to experience the dungeon. She was too scared of what might happen, what would happen. She was too afraid that he would literally become him.
Yet at the same time, that similarity drew her in. For instance, even though she knew her strength enough to realize that her playful tail whack wouldn't cause any damage, Anya took advantage of the situation to close her distance. That proved to be a trap, as once the catgirl touched his cheeks and saw his flustered look, she couldn't help but go in for more. His exposed ears in particular.
She stared down at her soapy palm, making grabbing motions to recall the feeling of soft, wolfish ears in her grasp.
"Hehe!"
Anya couldn't help herself from letting out a giggle while in the middle of scrubbing the dishes.
"Something funny, Anya?"
"Nya!"
The catgirl's tail stood straight for a moment in shock. In her daydream, Anya forgot that she wasn't alone in the kitchen.
Next to her was Syr, one of her closer friends since coming to this establishment. With her warm personality, it was impossible to dislike this girl. As easily as cutting through warm butter, this girl had broken through her thick boundaries coming out of a cutthroat Familia.
Ignoring all kinds of warnings or cold threats, Syr had single-handedly won over the catgirl in only the first few weeks. A couple fresh fish didn't hurt either.
Proving her endless generosity for the umpteenth time, the gray-haired waitress had hung back to help Anya wash dishes out of the kindness of her heart.
"That boy back there was really interesting! Don't you think so?" Syr excitedly chatted.
Anya didn't want to give her true feelings away. Not only that, but it would be rather uncharacteristic of her current self to enthusiastically respond. Although they were still close friends, she still wasn't at the point where she could imitate Syr's infectious brightness.
"He seems okay. Smart for a young rookie, nya," she answered in an even tone.
"Yes, he does seem so. He'll fit in just fine with the rest of them. I expect to see him frequently."
"But an Adventurer at such a young age... Guess I can only pray he doesn't end up like—"
Anya paused, cutting herself off from ending her thoughts.
Her co-worker merely smiled understandingly.
"It's okay. One step at a time."
Syr was a unique waitress in that she was one of the few who seemed to have no horrid past to hide. She was always smily and warm, no matter the time and place. No trauma, no blemishes. She was perfect. Anya would be lying if she said she never wondered why Syr worked here in the first place. However, the catgirl would always be thankful for it.
Anya took a deep breath.
"Do you think he's making the right choice?" she asked — voice audibly quieter.
Syr nodded, ash-colored eyes gleaming brightly.
"I'm completely sure of it. He'll become a great one too. I have no doubts."
"If you were so confident, why didn't you go outside, nya? It's kinda weird that you just stayed in here, cooking and cleaning. Isn't it boring?" she asked, a little perplexed.
"Oh, I had my reasons. Today was... just not the right day to introduce myself."
Before Anya could ask any further, Syr quickly turned it around on her with a question of her own.
"But what about you, Anya? I saw a glimpse through the windows. You seemed quite interested in Bete-san? Did you see something in him as well?"
"Uh... no reason?" Anya said, her sentence unintentionally ending more like a question than an answer.
"Fufu, of course."
Syr fortunately dropped the matter and went back to drying the wet dishes with a rag.
'. . . A great Adventurer indeed. Though his knack for getting into trouble is concerning. Perhaps a little supervisor is necessary?'
Meanwhile, Anya blankly stared at the back of her hand, thoughts of adventuring rekindled in her memories. For a second, the dirty rag in her grip was replaced by a sharp dagger.
'Ugh.'
She shook her head, blinking the stray thoughts away.
'Think of something else. Anything else. Fresh tuna. Ball of yarn. Angry Mia. Or...'
Anya's mind strayed to a subject that had been on her mind the entire night:
'His damned ears! I just can't get over how fluffy those ears were!!! I have to ask how he takes care of them! Some kind of special cream? Magic hair dryers??? He'd better not go off and die in the dungeon!'
The waitress quickly went off on a mental tangent, forgetting about her worries. In fact, for the next few days, the catgirl would only be able to think about Bete's fluffy ears. They would fill her dreams and smother her senses, continuously distracting her until Mia's fist found a home in Anya's skull, accompanied by a harsh chastising session.
.
.
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______________________________________________
Okay, managed to finish this entire bar scene with way more words than I expected. Probably unnecessary but I had so many ideas I wanted to unload. Hopefully gets easier for me to write from here since it'll be more time skips + simpler dialogue + fight scenes.
.
As always, thanks for reading~
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