{10:03 PM}
It was a peaceful night in the Panacea Familia home. Dinner was once again a delicious affair, work at the Medical Ward above the Tower of Babel wasn't as busy today, and Faith noticed that she had more energy to spare. 'It's odd, but I don't feel as tired as I usually do after work. Could this be a benefit of Dinah's training?'
Faith; the Captain of the Panacea Familia, was currently enjoying a relaxing moment in her office. There was no current paperwork for her to look over, so she was taking this moment to relax and enjoy a cup of hot tea. *Sip* "Ahhh... hibiscus tea with a spritz of lemon and a dash of ginger powder." *Mmmm* "Delicious..."
She would've gladly enjoyed this moment until she finished her tea, but she knew that was too much to ask for.
As if the world decided to prove her right, a knock on her door sounded out. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Come in."
As her door opened, she saw that it was Nuit; a Dark Elf, and fellow sister of the Familia, followed by Isabella; the resident Thread Magic user of the family.
"Well hello girls, make yourselves at home.", welcomed Faith with a gesture at the couches in her office.
Nuit just nodded in gratitude while she took a seat on the couch to the left while Isabella took a seat on the one to the right. "Thank you for the welcome, Captain.", said Isabella with a nod while she adjusted her bronze-framed glasses.
"So, what brings you two here?", Faith asked with a raised brow.
Nuit's golden-yellow eyes met with Isabella's violet orbs. And with a few gestures, Iz rolled her eyes before she started her report.
"I'm here to report on our progress at Kim's Workshop. It looks like Kim had a breakthrough before dinner. She named it..."
Those last few words made both Faith and Nuit flinch while Isabella paused and gave out a large *Sigh* while a sheepish look appeared on her face.
"Yes, she named it... I know. Don't look at me like that. We couldn't exactly overturn her over her naming schemes. And besides, it was her invention. But what it does is the most impressive part. The name can be glossed over. I assure you", said Iz with a slightly confident look to her.
"Let's hear what it~ does first, before we~ hear the accursed name..~ that Kimberly's given her~ new masterpiece..", said Nuit while she looked away as if pained.
Faith just nodded while she wore a neutral mask to prepare herself.
'C'mon girls, it's not that bad...', were Isabella's first thought as she saw Faith and Nuit preparing themselves for the dreaded name.
*Sigh* With no further preamble, the blue-haired teen continued with her report. "Kim's found a way to make an explosive.", said Iz with a slight smirk.
Nuit's eyes widened significantly while Faith froze for a few moments.
"It's not just any explosive either. It's an acidic compound. She found a way to make one of her experimental potions into an acid that can explode with a great amount of force."
"How? Why? And is everyone alright?", asked Faith while she studied Iz with a wandering gaze, looking for wounds, injuries, burns, and the like.
"I don't know how, but she mixed a few things out of curiosity with the Liquid Essence of a Goblin Fang. It smelled terrible, so she threw it at an empty barrel in one of the testing sites. She accidentally inserted a little bit of Mana into the solution and once the flask that contained it shattered, the liquid immediately exploded and melted the barrel as well as the area around it for 2 meters in diameter. Everyone's alright. The barrel and the stone floors.. not so much.", answered Iz with a shrug.
"Hnn... impressive.", said Nuit with a slight nod.
*Sigh* "It sounds amazing, but can she replicate it?", the Half-Elf asked while pinching the bridge of her nose.
"She can, and she has. Before she turned in for the night, Kim finished and sealed up her 20th flask of what she's now calling the 'Amazingly Explosive & Acidic Potion of Tossing'; a.k.a. The 'AmExAnAcPoofTo'.", Iz replied with a grin.
"Well~ it's not the worst~ name I've ever heard.", Nuit confirmed with a minor flinch in her eye.
"We need to find a better container for them that aren't the regular potion flasks which can easily break if mishandled even slightly. Breaking a health potion is one thing, but these things are both acidic and explosive. If we find a solution, then Dinah can definitely use this during her dungeon dives.", continued Faith with a nod of assurance.
"Sounds like a plan.", Iz agreed readily. The electric blue-haired teen looked at Nuit and gestured for her to take over.
With a shift of her shoulders, Nuit relaxed against the back of the couch. "I've been hearing~ rumors of a Familia~ trying to buy up~ most of the real~ estate on Babel's topmost~ floor. It's not anyone~ from the Zeus or~ Hera Familias. Or anyone~ else from the other~ top 10, but that's~ all I could learn~."
"I'm guessing the Guild is staying neutral about that as long as long as no one tries to buy off the Medical Ward.", stated Iz while she shifted her glasses. "Hey Captain, why isn't the Medical Ward closer to the entrance of the dungeon? I've been meaning to ask, but all the Guild personnel that I've asked so far just snubbed me off."
*Sigh* "Personally, I don't know. It would make too much sense for that to happen, but my guess is that they fear retaliation.", answered Faith wearily.
"Retaliation~?", asked Nuit with a raised brow.
"They fear retaliation from the dungeon. No one in the Guild is a combatant. None of them even have Falna, so they tend to stay away from the dungeon. They could establish a Medical Ward near the entrance of the dungeon easily, but who'd guard them. No one works for free, after all.", Faith informed them with her voice growing slightly heated as she continued. "It would make too much sense to have a Medical Ward close to the entrance, but without actual 24/7 guards, then they'd be an easy target for high-level monsters trying to breakthrough to the surface. It's a rare occurrence, but they don't really want to risk it. It's their lives we're talking about, after all."
Faith paused for a few moments while she took a sip of her tea; trying to calm herself down. "If you ask me, they chose right." *Sigh* "I've worked with these people for years, and they have aspirations, families, hopes, dreams, and lives of their own outside of the Ward. Most Familia just see the glory of conquering the dungeon, but does anyone really thank the people who put them back together? I'd be happy if I got even one thank you out of the hundreds of patients we see in the Ward every day."
Before Faith could continue on, Nuit interrupted her. "Let's change the subject~ shall we? I'm pretty~ sure that Isabella~ and I got the~ gist of what you're~ saying, Captain."
"You're right, Nuit. I apologize. I just get easily high strung when talking about the stupidity and single-minded idiocy of most Familias.", Faith replied with a small sheepish smile.
"That reminds me. Will anyone actually want to dungeon dive alongside our Songbird?", questioned Iz with a frown.
Nuit frowned as well while Faith slumped in her chair a bit.
After a few seconds, Faith straightened out once again and met both Isabella's and Nuit's eyes with her own intelligent emerald. "I've already told my Vice-Captains last night, but I guess it hasn't spread around yet."
Faith's eyes hardened into molten pools of green steel which made Nuit flinch subtly while Iz's brow started to build up droplets of sweat. "If I could, I would gladly go with Dinah. If Lianne was a few years older or stronger, then I would've let her. Anyone else would be dead weight. Besides my responsibilities here and at the Ward, nothing would've stopped me from going with her."
With a subtle gulp, the Dark Elf spoke up. "That can't be it~. I don't believe for~ one second that that's~ everything..~ What aren't you telling~~.. us?"
"I asked her if she would let me join her. She said, no...", after Faith dropped that particular bomb, a subtle aura and a heaviness dropped down on top of Isabella's and Nuit's shoulders.
"Why...?", Iz asked with a heavy breath.
That question made their Familia Captain take a heavy breath before the subtle aura she was emanating slowly dissipated. 'What was that?', were the mirrored thoughts of the two teenaged girls who were slowly breathing easier now that the atmosphere in the room changed back.
"She doesn't feel as if I'm ready yet; which as sad as I am to admit it, I'm not.", Faith answered a little sullenly.
'Is she sulking?!' Isabella's eyes widened in shock while Nuit turned her head and giggled to herself silently.
Nuit cleared her throat and spoke to her dejected Captain gently while she approached silently. "Captain, from what~ I've seen, you and Lianne~ are growing faster..~ and stronger every~ day. If you two aren't..~ ready now, then I can't~ wait to see what~ you being ready looks~ like."
While Nuit continued trying to cheer Faith up, Iz just watched them with an increasing amount of shock and incredulity. 'Captain Faith is sulking...? Nuit the Silent is trying to cheer her up...? And within this week alone, Kim's got her spark back and she's having the time of her life with her experiments. My goodness, Dinah the Songbird is truly affecting us all.'
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{Unknown Time}
Within the bowels of the Red Light District, the Black Market, and any other disreputable business within the City of Orario, news of another shipment of goods that's about to arrive just reached them slowly over the course of the last few days.
Rumor has it that fresh bodies from all over Eden, the Far East, and beyond have been collected by the 'Slavers Company'. And their first shipment is about to arrive in 4 months.
Now this information, it's not new. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, and there's no doubt that it won't be the last.
It would've been kept within the circle of crime, but sometimes a few grapes fall from the vines. This nugget of information has been picked up by a select few informants and once it's been picked up, then it'll only be a matter of time until the right people hear of them.
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-> Author's Note: It's shorter than 3K, but it's the last part of a 4 part chapter. I hope you liked it. It's a short time skip, but I believe that it was very informative.
Keep reading, enjoying, commenting, and supporting me on this journey. Look forward to everything. I know I am. :)