Capítulo 42: "Chapter 42: Family Dinner and Ishtar's Plans"
Alex's group arrived at the "Hostess of Fertility" and noticed that the restaurant was packed with customers having a good time. Seeing that there were no free seats, Alex sighed heavily, realizing that they might not be able to celebrate Bella's joining today. The girls noticed his sigh and exchanged crooked smiles, with Lili grinning maliciously, pleased that Alex wouldn't be able to ogle the waitresses. Alex decided to go inside to check if there were any available seats, and the girls followed him.
Entering the restaurant, Alex started looking around for an empty table or friends they could join. At that moment, a waitress approached him.
"Alex-nyan, you're here again," Anya said, approaching the group.
"Anya-nyan, I see you're slacking off again," Alex replied, looking at the cat-girl. Bella, looking around, heard Alex's conversation and turned her gaze to Anya, embarrassed by how casually Alex spoke with the waitresses.
"Don't think too much about it. He often comes here and is familiar with the waitresses," Cassandra whispered to Bella, noticing her confusion. Bella could only nod with a flustered look on her face.
"Alex-nyan, I've told you before-nyan," Anya said, pouting.
"Anya-nyan, is just Anya-nyan. There's nothing to change. Anyway, is there a place for my group?" Alex asked, looking at her.
"That's a tough question-nyan. But I'll see what I can do-nyan," Anya replied, scanning the room.
While Alex's group looked around for a free table, they attracted the attention of other adventurers who were eating and drinking at the time.
"Hey, look, it's the Demon King," said one adventurer, catching the attention of his friends.
"Why is he here?" asked another, turning towards Alex's group.
"What a stupid question. He often comes here to eat," said a third adventurer at the table.
"Sorry, I didn't think of that," the second one replied.
"You never think," the third one said.
"But the girls in his group are really beautiful," noted a fourth adventurer. His words made all his friends tense up, trying to become invisible, knowing how the Demon King protects his family.
"What are you guys doing? Did I lie? They really are very beautiful," said the adventurer, noticing his friends' reactions.
"Oh, shit! Who asked you to talk? Do you want to spend all your time in the hospital?" one of the adventurers asked, noticing that Alex was looking in their direction. The adventurer didn't understand why his friends were so scared until he turned towards Alex's group himself. He saw Alex looking at him and smiling. At that moment, a cold sweat broke out on the adventurer, and he decided it was time to leave.
"Thanks for the company, guys, but my cat is giving birth at home, and I need to be there," he said, standing up and putting money on the table before quickly running off.
"I just remembered that my grandmother is giving birth at home, and I need to help," said another, running out after his friend.
"My stomach hurts, probably diarrhea again. I need to run," said a third, also running out of the restaurant.
The remaining adventurer, feeling Alex's gaze on him, started trembling with fear and tried to leave the restaurant unnoticed. He quietly paid the bill, stood up, and lowered his head to avoid eye contact with the Demon King, slowly walking towards the exit. With each step, his legs felt like they were filling with lead, and the path to the exit seemed infinitely long as he constantly felt Alex's piercing gaze.
Passing by Alex, he tensed even more, fearing that something might happen to him. Finally, leaving the restaurant, the adventurer sighed heavily and, as if possessed by the Flash, dashed towards his friends, intending to catch up and beat them for abandoning him.
Alex, watching the scene unfold, could barely contain his laughter, feeling something crack inside him from the effort not to laugh out loud.
"Anya-nyan, look, a table just opened up," Alex said, pointing to the empty table.
"Hmm, you're right-nyan. But why did they leave without finishing their food-nyan?" Anya said, putting a finger on her chin in thought.
"Who knows, maybe they had some urgent matters," Alex replied, shrugging. The girls in his group could only roll their eyes, understanding that he was the cause of the situation.
"Well, alright-nyan. Follow me-nyan," Anya said, leading the group.
Seated at the table, Alex's group began choosing from the menu what they wanted to eat. All the girls were ready to order, except for Bella, who felt embarrassed due to her lack of money.
"Bella, don't hesitate to order food. I'm treating today, and in the future, you'll also receive pocket money in addition to what you earn in the dungeon," Alex said, looking at the embarrassed girl.
The other girls rolled their eyes at his words, as he acted like a father handing out allowances. Hearing him, Bella decided not to order too much, still feeling shy and planning to repay this debt in the future.
Once everyone had chosen what they wanted, Alex was about to call the waitress but didn't have to as Ryuu approached their table.
"Alex, I see your family has a new member," Ryuu said, looking at the new girl she hadn't seen before.
"Yeah. This morning, Hestia invited her to the family, and we already went to the dungeon so she could see what it's like," Alex replied, looking at Ryuu.
"Are you ready to order?" Ryuu asked naturally, taking Alex's hand.
"Shameless elf," Lili muttered, watching Ryuu, who was getting bolder. The other girls smiled crookedly, observing Lili. Bella, noticing this, shyly covered her face.
"I'll have the usual, and the girls have made their choices too," Alex said, squeezing Ryuu's hand. The girl was used to such contact and wasn't shy; she only wanted to explore other ways of intimacy.
"Aren't you tired of eating the same thing every time?" Ryuu asked, looking at Alex, who was playing with her fingers, making her feel ticklish.
"No, I don't want to try anything else," Alex replied, continuing to tickle her fingers.
"Well, as you say," Ryuu replied, blushing from the new sensations.
Having taken their order, Ryuu went to relay it to the kitchen, and Alex's group began sharing their experiences in the dungeon with Bella. Lili, sitting next to Alex, pouted, jealous of his tender interaction with Ryuu. She wanted similar attention but didn't know how to approach it.
While Alex's group chatted, another group of adventurers entered the restaurant, looking for empty seats. Finding none, they were about to leave when Alex noticed them.
"Hey, kids!" Alex shouted, trying to get their attention.
His shout caught the attention of everyone who was eating at the time. They looked at Alex and the group of adventurers he addressed. Hearing his shout, some adventurers, almost annoyed by the disturbance, immediately changed their minds, realizing who had shouted. Knowing it was pointless to object, they returned to their meals.
"Alex!" a girl shouted, running up to the table. Bella, hearing the shout, was startled by the newcomer approaching them.
"Nice to see you, Tiona," Alex said, introducing the girl.
"Did you come to eat after the raid?" he asked, looking at the group approaching their table.
"No, we didn't go on a raid today. It's a gathering of gods today, so we stayed home," Riveria replied, glancing at the new girl in the group. Bella began to blush under the attention.
"I see. And where's 'Frodo'?" Alex asked, looking for their family's captain.
"Don't you get tired of calling Finn that? He gets annoyed when you call him that," Riveria said, looking at Alex, who was amused by her words.
"I can't help it," Alex replied, shrugging.
"Finn is currently out with Loki on emergency duties as the family's captain," Riveria continued.
"So, Finn is just standing outside the hall where the gathering is being held and will wait until Loki finishes eating and drinking before going home?" Alex asked, looking at the girls, who averted their gazes.
"Maybe I should feel sorry for 'Frodo' when I see him again," Alex said, nodding his head. The girls from Loki's family only shook their heads, knowing that the nickname would soon stick to their captain, as Loki had already started calling Finn that.
"If you came to eat, you can sit at our table," Alex offered.
"Great! Thanks!" Tiona said loudly, taking a free chair and sitting next to Alex, which caused a twitch in the eye of the entire group.
Alex noticed that there weren't enough seats for everyone and created a few extra chairs so everyone could sit and place their orders. Ais, who remained standing, didn't know what to do. On one hand, she wanted to sit next to Alex; on the other, she didn't want to cause inconvenience. Haruhime, sitting on the other side of Alex, noticed Ais's internal struggle and decided to move her chair to make room for the girl. Ais thanked Haruhime and sat next to Alex. Haruhime simply smiled, saying nothing.
Alex decided to take the order for Loki's family girls himself and bring it to Mama Mia to avoid waiting for the waitress. After handing over the order and exchanging a few words with Mia, Alex returned to the table, where the girls from Loki's family were telling Bella about their adventures in the dungeon. Bella listened to their stories with shining eyes, forgetting her shyness.
"I see you've already become friends," Alex said, returning after placing the order.
"Yeah. Bella is a sweet girl, but she's still too weak to handle the dungeon properly," Riveria said, looking at Bella, who looked upset by her words.
"Don't be discouraged, Bella. I'll take care of your training myself," Alex said, giving a thumbs up. The girls could only look at Bella sympathetically, knowing how tough Alex's training would be.
"Thank you so much, Captain. I won't let you down," Bella said confidently, unaware of how tough the training would be.
"I hope you can keep up that spirit during the training," Riveria said, feeling sorry for Bella, who didn't realize what she was getting into. Bella blushed at her words, not understanding why she said that.
"As Alex said, 'You'll have to ignite the fire of youth and become better than your former self,'" Tiona said, nodding her head, causing everyone to smile wryly as they remembered the training where Alex constantly shouted about the power of youth.
"It's not so bad when he throws you into the dungeon with a monster-attracting spell and says, 'Surpass your limits or die,'" Daphne said, recalling her solo raids during the three-month training. The other Hestia family girls shuddered at her words. Bella blushed even more and wanted to back out.
"It's still better than doing a speedrun through the dungeon," Lily replied, recalling her unfortunate experience. Bella was almost ready to withdraw her words.
"Don't listen to their nonsense. They got stronger and still cry about how I treated them," Alex said with a twitching eye, looking at the ungrateful girls who averted their gazes.
"Um, Alex-sama, may I ask you a question?" Lefiya asked timidly, trying not to look at Alex.
"You've already asked," Alex replied, causing confusion among the group. Lefiya realized her mistake and blushed.
"I'm just joking, my little elf. You can ask questions. I've already told you, there's no need to be shy, and you can feel free to ask," Alex said, looking at the embarrassed elf.
"Alex-sama, I've been wanting to ask for a while. How did you send Beta flying with just a snap of your fingers?" Lefiya asked, struggling with her shyness. Her question intrigued everyone at the table.
"Well, that's a pretty interesting question," Alex said, stroking his chin. "There are two ways to pull off that trick," he continued, raising two fingers. "The first is to simply enhance your fingers with magic and create a shockwave after the snap. The second way is to enhance the sound created by the snap."
"I understand the finger enhancement part. But how do you enhance the sound?" Riveria asked, pondering Alex's words.
"It's more complicated. Sound is a vibration that occurs even when you speak. You can try it yourself. Place your hand on your throat and make a sound like 'Aaaaaah,' and you'll feel the vibration in your hand. When bards play their music, they pluck the strings, creating sounds. That's the answer," Alex said, giving an example of how sound works.
The girls tried it and realized it was true.
"To perform the trick using sound, you need more control over your mana. If you get good at it, you can even create a sound that isn't heard but deals internal damage to enemies," Alex said, igniting a fire in Lefiya's eyes as she aimed to achieve such a level.
"Can you show us?" Tiona asked, wanting to see an example.
"Alright. Watch closely," Alex said, using sound vibrations to shatter a glass. The girls watched the broken glass in amazement. Alex, who wanted to fix the glass, felt something hit him on the back of his head. He saw it was a rolling pin and awkwardly turned around to see Mia glaring at him. Alex could only apologize and fix the glass.
While Alex explained various ways to use magic, Lefiya, being a diligent student, pulled out her notebook and began jotting down everything in detail, not wanting to miss a word. Soon, their food arrived, and everyone began to enjoy their meal. At that moment, a group of goddesses approached. Hestia looked as if her soul had been drained.
Seeing the goddesses, Alex waved to them, indicating where they were sitting so they wouldn't waste time searching. Hestia, noticing Alex waving, perked up, returned to her cheerful self, and rushed to the table. Alex wanted to create a few more chairs so the goddesses could sit, but he didn't have the chance: Hestia plopped down on his lap and began eating his food. Alex's face twitched at Hestia's actions. He began to wonder if Hestia hadn't eaten at the banquet after the meeting. Hephaestus could only shake her head, watching her friend, and couldn't understand how Hestia could fit so much food. She began to suspect that Hestia was not a goddess of the hearth but a goddess of hunger, as she was behaving like a famished ghost.
"Hestia, didn't you eat at the banquet?" Alex asked, looking at the goddess who had already devoured half of the food on his plate.
"I wasn't full, and I kept a modest appearance, so I couldn't eat much," Hestia said, not looking up from her plate.
"Chew first, then speak," Alex said, patting Hestia on the head, making her blush at his words.
"Indeed, you're like a hungry ghost. And what modesty are you talking about? Last time, you scooped up food as if you had come from a starving land," Loki said disdainfully, already reaching for alcohol.
"You forgot to ask, flat-chested. Unlike you, I don't drink all the time when my family isn't looking," Hestia said, pointing her fork at Loki.
"What did you say, cow tits? Are you asking for a fight? Do you think Alex can protect you?" Loki asked nastily, pointing a finger at Hestia.
"Alright, you two, enough. Where's Freya? Wasn't she at the meeting?" Alex asked, calming the two goddesses who could start a fight at any moment.
"Freya stayed at the banquet when we left; she was talking to someone there," Hephaestus said, sipping from Alex's glass. He noticed this and sighed heavily, realizing he had nothing more of his own. Such is the fate of a guy in a relationship.
"Why do you need that woman?" Hestia asked, having finished Alex's food and wanting to reach for a drink, only to see it in Hephaestus's hands as she drank.
"Something happened in the dungeon, and everyone involved should know. I just don't want to go around explaining it to everyone individually," Alex replied, shrugging. Hestia could only roll her eyes at him.
"Loki, when you get home, take Frodo and come straight to us to find out what happened in the dungeon," Alex said in a serious tone. Loki slightly opened her eyes and nodded. The girls from the Loki family also decided to be present and go with Loki to the Hestia family home.
"Then, after you finish eating, you can go home to get Frodo and come straight to us. I'll go pick up Freya, as she should be heading home soon," Alex said, feeling that Freya was already moving toward her home.
"Alex-kun, Ishtar was present today, and as you said, ignoring her would only make her angrier," Hestia said proudly.
"That was clear because, according to Freya, Ishtar is often compared to Freya, which makes her feel that her pride as a goddess is being undermined. She's always trying to surpass Freya, and if you trample on the pride of such a goddess, she might make many mistakes. But if she can think rationally at that moment, then we'll have to take a more severe approach," Alex said, his eyes gleaming slightly.
"What do you mean by a severe approach?" Hephaestus asked, not understanding where he was going with this.
"There will be a raid on the Red-Light District by the Cult of the Pasta Monster," Alex replied, his smile widening and causing an uneasy feeling among those at the table. Members of the cult could only shake their heads, knowing that it would be difficult to dissuade Alex and that they would have to follow him to prevent something radical from happening.
"You must be joking. This isn't just an attack on adventurers and Soma's family; it's an attack on an entire district," Hestia said, worried about the consequences of such an attack.
"It's fine, as long as we're not recognized, the rest is minor," Alex said, waving his hand to indicate not to worry. Hestia could only grimace, realizing that her beloved was a bit unhinged.
"And don't look at me like that; I'm perfectly sane. It's just that sometimes you need to channel accumulated stress somewhere," Alex said, kissing Hestia on the forehead.
While Alex's group discussed his plans for the raid on the Red-Light District and tried to dissuade him, Ishtar returned to her domain and summoned members of her family to hear about the rumors concerning the Hestia family. She knew little, only that Haruhime, whom she intended to sacrifice, had been kidnapped by a member of the Hestia family. However, something about the situation bothered her, especially Freya's strange behavior. Usually, Freya responded sarcastically but never threatened her, but this time she seemed ready to kill Ishtar on the spot. Ishtar didn't like how things were unfolding. As she pondered, trying to understand what had happened during her absence, her family members arrived. Ishtar snapped out of her thoughts and focused on them.
"Does anyone want to tell me about the Hestia family?" Ishtar asked, looking around at her subordinates.
"They're just a bunch of level-three weaklings. There's nothing to worry about, Ishtar-sama. We'll easily handle them and get Haruhime back," said Phryne with an air of arrogance.
"Really? Or does anyone else have something to say?" Ishtar asked, surveying the others.
"Ishtar-sama, let me speak," Aisha said, drawing her goddess's attention. Ishtar looked at Aisha and nodded, allowing her to continue. Phryne looked at Aisha with disdain, thinking she was doubting her own abilities.
"Ishtar-sama, I don't think we can handle the Hestia family," Aisha said, causing Ishtar's eyes to narrow.
"Why is that?" Ishtar asked with a frown. Phryne, in turn, smirked, making her face look even more unpleasant.
"The Hestia family is allied with Hephaestus and Loki. The most dangerous member of their family is Alexander Voldigoad, who is currently known as the Demon King," Aisha replied, trying to dissuade Ishtar from attacking the Hestia family. Ishtar recalled the gods' reaction at the meeting when Uran had mentioned this man's name.
"What makes him so dangerous that you're daring to contradict me?" Ishtar asked, glaring at Aisha.
"I'm not contradicting you, Ishtar-sama. I just don't want you to be put in danger," Aisha said, trying not to anger her goddess.
"And what kind of danger could the Hestia family pose to me?" Ishtar continued, studying Aisha, who was choosing her words carefully.
"It's just rumors that adventurers discuss, but I had a visitor who attended the Hestia family's military game against Apollo," Aisha replied, deciding to share all she knew.
Aisha detailed the rumors she had heard from an adventurer who couldn't keep quiet. She described the brutal treatment of Apollo's family members and the savage killing of their captain, who was then resurrected and killed again. She also mentioned the protection of her family members in the dungeon from adventurers who wanted to seize the girls.
"Are you saying that a mortal can resurrect people?" Ishtar asked after listening to Aisha.
"I don't know, Ishtar-sama. All I've learned comes from rumors and the words of the adventurer who attended the military game," Aisha shook her head.
Ishtar pondered again. If a mortal possesses such power, they are clearly not ordinary. From Aisha's words, she understood that Freya was not directly involved here, but perhaps she was interacting with this guy and wanted to obtain him. Ishtar was unaware that Freya had recently become obsessed with Alex and had also decided to join Hestia's club to keep other women away from him. While Ishtar considered her next moves, her family members watched her, waiting for orders.
To be continued…
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
GreedHunter
GreedHunter "I've already decided that this fanfic will transition into a multiverse, but I'm still thinking about which world Alex will enter first. Actually, I didn't think about it much; I just decided to watch all the Annabelle movies at one point and kind of forgot about it. Happy reading!"
(Back in the back
Of a Cadillac
Number one with a bullet, I'm a power pack
Yes, I'm in a bang
With a gang
They've got to catch me if they want me to hang
'Cause I'm back on the track
And I'm beatin' the flack
Nobody's gonna get me on another rap
So look at me now
I'm just makin' my play
Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way)
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