"No, we aren't accepting anybody right now, get out."
Those were the first and last words I heard before getting kicked out of the door. Nearly avoiding hitting my head on the stairs below, I managed to sit up, my head hung in anger.
"Grr, those gods are so mean!" I chided under my breath.
It has been like this for nearly two hours. Me and my sister Yuna have been wandering around Orario for some time, Yuna was wandering around Adventurers Way looking for a weaponsmith, and I wandered off to look around for familia without telling her.
I brought down my fist on the stone pavement in frustration. Knowing that staying here wouldn't do any good. I gathered my remaining energy, stood up and started walking back the way I came.
"First they say I don't have money, then they say I'm not good enough...so unfair."
My shoulders slumped with despair as if I had lost all hope, my bitter expression attracted a few suspicious gazes from people nearby. It looked like my chances of getting into a Familia were even worse than I thought.
The many gods and goddesses I met, along with their familia, had opposed me from joining them. All for several reasons I thought were negligible. As I was rejected from Familia after Familia, my frustration only grew, it wouldn't be long before it reached it's limit and burst out.
Feeling defeated, I turned a corner and started walking back towards the main plaza surrounding Babel. I started reviewing my options, I could either keep asking around, or I could give up and go back home.
Hmm….maybe I would be better off asking at the Guild, wherever they are.
The Guild was the governing body over all the Familia in Orario. I didn't know much about them or where they were, but maybe they could help me out. But I haven't gotten the chance to memorise the layout of the city in the time since I moved here.
After looking around for a few minutes, I spotted someone perusing the stalls at the sides of the streets selling snacks. It was a young girl dressed in a white corset dress with a pink cape covering her shoulders. She was holding a white staff with a piece of crystal at the tip. Judging from her outfit and gear, I assumed she was an adventurer of some sort. Not anybody could afford that kind of gear, too. The girl had a set of long, sharp ears protruding out of her golden yellow hair.
My ears perked up in curiosity, I could tell she was a mage of some kind.
'Those ears...an elven mage? I guess I should ask her,' I mumbled to myself as I walked towards her and tapped her on the shoulder.
Getting slapped was not what I expected.
"Eeeek!"
The elf turned around in surprise, the back of her hand hit my head and knocked me down on the ground.
"Oww…." I winced, feeling a throbbing pain in my elbow.
"I am so sorry! Are you okay?" The elf girl rushed over and crouched to my side.
"I'm okay….it's nothing."
"You're bleeding, can you stand?" She held out her hand.
"I can walk on my own." I pouted, my ears and tail drooping in embarrassment. I slowly stood up and looked at my throbbing elbow, a wound had opened up, blood started to flow from my elbow.
"We should hurry somewhere to get this wound fixed, can you follow me?" She asked in a soft but worried tone. With her golden yellow hair and beautiful features, she looked just as pretty as Yuna.
"O-okay." I agreed.
She led me to a less busy area and sat me down, pulling out a small vial. She poured its contents onto my wound, the dark blue liquid evaporating as it touches my skin, doing its magic.
"W-woah…" I was amazed by how fast my wound was healing.
Amazing! So this is what adventurers use to heal...
As I sat speechless watching the wound close up in real-time, the elf girl sighed, relieved that I was ok, or that she didn't cause too much of a commotion.
"I'm so sorry for hitting you just now! Are you hurt anywhere else?" The girl nodded her head apologetically. Not knowing how to respond, I tried to calm her down by holding her hand, the way I usually do when I try to calm Yuna.
"I-it's okay-"
Turns out, that had the opposite effect. As soon as I touched her hand, she forcefully pulled her hand away, startling me.
"U-uh...I-I'm sorry, did I scratch you?"
Lefiya felt extremely guilty. Her soul was practically burning from embarrassment.
Elves had an unspoken rule that they would not let anyone of another race touch their skin. But, being in Orario, it was an inevitability that that rule would be broken sooner or later. Though, it's not easy getting over something that has been ingrained in her since childhood.
Looking at the innocent, blissfully ignorant expression of the werewolf boy sitting in front of her. She racked her mind to think of an explanation that the young boy would understand, but nothing came to mind.
Lefiya had only just joined Loki Familia last week, she had been so busy training inside the Twilight Manor that she didn't have much free time to explore and get used to the city. She still felt out of place, so she hadn't attempted to socialize with other people.
Nevertheless, for the sake of this child. She gulped nervously and spoke.
"Eh...you might not know this, but elves don't like getting touched unless they tell you to."
The boy tilted his head, his ears twitched in curiosity, trying to comprehend her reply.
"Ah...I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"N-no, it's okay. It's not like everybody knows that," Lefiya's hand reached out towards him, the boy took her hand and stood up.
"Thank you, Miss-"
"Call me Lefiya, alright?" Lefiya smiled calmly at him. Seeing her expression, the boy also started to cheer up.
"T-thank you, Miss Lefiya."
"Alright then, so what did you want to ask me just now?"
"So big…,"
After explaining to Lefiya that I wanted to find the Guild building, she happily agreed to guide me there. As we walked along the busy streets, I was enchanted by the many different kinds of stalls and shops that were set up along the streets. Each of them sold a plethora of different goods. Ranging from food to potions, and even some simple weapons.
Lefiya explained that the Dark Age had just recently ended with the fall of the corrupt Rudra Familia, by the hands of a single elf no less. The Rudra Familia was only a but part of a giant group of radical terrorists, and all of them had one single goal in mind.
"They supposedly rose and started causing trouble after the Zeus and Hera Familia had been weakened and exiled from the city. It took the combined efforts of the Guild and various Familia 10 years in total to completely stop them."
I feel relieved that we didn't move into Orario sooner. I couldn't imagine living in a time where killings could happen anywhere at any time. Living in Daedalus Street, the danger would've been that much worse.
"Now, people have finally started to loosen up. The streets used to be barren, with not a single person in sight. And it's all mostly thanks to Loki Familia and Freya Familia," Lefiya's smile had a tinge of confidence when she mentioned the former Familia.
"Lefiya-san, are you also from Loki Familia?" I guessed.
"Eh, how did you know?"
"You sounded a little more confident when you said their name."
Lefiya's face turned red with embarrassment. She tried to hide her face with her hand, I couldn't help but chuckle at her expression. Her face turned a dark shade of pink.
"A-anyway, right ahead of us is where the Guild is located, see that large building over there?" Lefiya pointed at a large building on the other side. It was a large building with orange brick walls and a Greek-style doorway at its entrance. Many adventurers were coming in and out of the building, the Guild was particularly busy in the morning.
As we walked towards the counter inside, I heard some commotion happening somewhere behind the counter. I craned my head and saw someone that stood out from the rest of the adventurers. A red-haired woman, wearing only a top and shorts, was grabbing a pink-haired employee by the chest. The red-haired woman looked as if she was having the time of her life, the same couldn't be said about the girl she was grabbing. She was wearing a Guild uniform, so I assumed she was a receptionist like the others. The girl struggled helplessly against the perverted death grip of the red-haired woman. Her arms held out in front of her hiding her face.
"L-Loki!?" Lefiya exclaimed in surprise.
"That's...your god?" I rubbed my eyes and looked again, bewildered at what her patron goddess was doing.
"Oooh, Lefiya! Didn't expect ta' see you here!" Loki called out, still grabbing onto the poor girl's chest.
"Let GO!"
"Oww!"
The pink-haired receptionist broke free from Loki's death grip. Loki lost her balance from the sudden push and falls on her butt. Now noticing that we and many other people saw a good part of it, the Guild receptionist nervously tried to straighten herself. Her face a deep shade of red.
"Misha, are you ok?"
"Lefiya….I beg you. Tell your goddess to stop coming over just to grope me again..." pleaded Misha. She didn't notice that Loki had already gotten up and was creeping closer. Her hands ready to pounce again.
"Aw, why not? Look at those big ones. They are just begging to be touched!"
"Nooooooo!"
As hell ensued shortly after, Lefiya hurriedly covered my eyes so I wouldn't see any of it. I heard multiple footsteps approaching, a few Guild receptionists came over. Judging from the grunts and noises I heard, they were all trying to pry Loki away from their co-worker.
"Your goddess is pretty funny, Lefiya."
"Eheheh…"
After successfully prying Loki away from Misha. The receptionists kicked Loki out of the building. Despite that, the narrow-eyed goddess wore the expression of a kid who just stole candy from a shop. Her smile was creepy and wide, drool leaking from the sides of her mouth.
"Hehehehe….that was fun," Loki's mannerisms were that of a child in an adult's body, but something felt off about this goddess. I had a feeling that messing with this particular goddess would be a death sentence.
"Goddess Loki, you shouldn't run around doing such perverted acts!"
"Ah, don't worry about it! More importantly, who is this cute boy you got there?" Loki looked at me with narrow eyes, her gaze felt different. I had a feeling she could see through everything I was thinking with just a glance, her eyes burning holes into my soul. My eyes averted her gaze.
What's with this goddess, Loki? She looks pretty scary…
"I'm not that scary, lil' boy," Loki replied, as if I said my thoughts out loud. I looked back at the goddess, she was looking at me with a frowning expression.
"I-I'm not scared of you."
"Oooh! Now that's the spirit!"
I looked over at Lefiya, silently pleading for help. Lefiya understood what I meant and nodded with a smile.
"Eh...Goddess Loki, this boy is looking for a familia. He said he wanted to earn money for his siblings."
"I see….siblings? Don't tell me he's-"
Loki silently mumbled the last few words to herself, the goddess stood there and pondered for a moment. The expression on her face was indiscernible.
"Fenrir, can I call you Fen for short?"
"S-sure."
"I'm not against letting you join, but don'tcha think yer' little too young for this? Life as an adventurer is extreme, ya' know."
"I….I can't live like this."
"Hmm?"
Loki's question hit me hard, so much that I took half a step back in surprise. I thought back to how I and my sisters lived in that old cottage in Daedalus Street. Living off two meals a day, having to rely on the kindness of others just to scrape by. It was a miserable way of living. I couldn't stand it, neither could Yuna and Aurora, but they hid their feelings for my sake. They didn't want to worry me.
"I can't live with relying on my sisters forever. I want to earn a living for myself, help them out any way I can. I-I don't want them to shoulder all the burden!"
As I spoke my true feelings, it was as if a dam inside me had broken. A tide of emotions overflowed me. Tears started flowing from my eyes, my voice started to crack. Unable to say anything else, I stood there.
"...."
Loki stood still, her expression blank and unintelligible.
"There, there. It's okay," Lefiya tried to calm me down, she put her hands on my shoulders. Holding onto me as I cried.
"Lefiya, what do ya' think of him?"
Loki and Lefiya were sitting in a nearby cafe. They decided to sit down somewhere and discuss things a little while after Fenrir had left. Loki ordered a glass of wine and bread, whilst Lefiya settled for a slice of cake and water. While waiting for their food, Loki decided to ask Lefiya about the werewolf boy they met earlier.
"Eh? Well, I think he wasn't lying about anything. I'm not too sure though. How about you, Goddess Loki?"
"Well, his intentions are pure. I didn't sense anything suspicious," Loki was sure of it. Being a god, she could see through any mortal's visage. Any lies or hidden agendas could not slip by a god's divine eye, except for another god.
Ten minutes ago, at the Guild building, after Lefiya had calmed down Fenrir. As he was rubbing his tears with his sleeve, Loki told him to think it over for a while before coming back.
"Fenrir, I'll give ya' one day to think it over. Once you have made your decision, you can come to meet me at Twilight Manor."
Loki had spoken with a serious look on her face, her usual cheery tone gone from her speech. Being an adventurer, along with being associated with any familia came with its dangers. Whether it was getting targeted by rival familia or monsters in the Dungeon, it wasn't something that should be taken for granted.
Looking up with pink eyes, Fenrir bowed earnestly. Thanking Loki and Lefiya for their help. As if suddenly remembering that he had things to do, Fenrir hurriedly rushed back to Daedalus Street. Leaving Loki and Lefiya at the Guild.
As a waiter arrived and placed their orders on the table, Loki and Lefiya started eating. As they ate, Lefiya gathered the courage to put down her spoon and faced Loki.
"Goddess Loki, didn't you say you were supposed to meet someone at the Guild today?"
"Yeah, but I got carried away after seeing Misha's gia-"
"Goddess Loki?"
Lefiya and Loki looked in the direction of the voice. A young girl was standing beside their table, her hair as white as snow. Her figure beaming with youthful beauty. All the customers and waiters nearby could not help but stare at her in awe.
"It's me, Yuna."
"Ohh! Ya' finally came!"
"Hello, my name is Lefiya. Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too, Lefiya."
Loki beckoned Yuna to take a seat next to Lefiya. Lefiya and Yuna both greeted each other and sat together on one side of the table.
"So, Yuna-chan. About your decision…."
"Yes."
"Are you sure? There's no going back, y'know."
"Yes, I'm willing to do whatever it takes."
Loki's narrow eyes sparkled with glee, her lips curled up in a smile.
"Alright, come to the Twilight Manor tomorrow morning, ya' got it?"
"Yes."
While I was with Loki and Lefiya, I completely forgot about my promise to train with my mentor that morning. As I ran through the streets of Orario, beads of sweat rolled down my chin and onto the pavement.
After a while, I recognized the street where my house was located. As I rounded the corner, a hand suddenly came out and flicked me on the head. I was running too fast to adjust, my momentum made me lose my balance and I fell on the pavement.
"Owww…." I rubbed my back, wincing from the pain.
"Hey hey, where were you? I was waiting for some time y'know."
An Amazoness walked over and looked down at me. Her shoulder-length black hair hung down as she leaned over. She only wore a simple strip of cloth around her chest and a pareo around her waist. She poked my ribs with her bare feet, smiling playfully.
"Come on, let's get started. I have some work to do later~"
"Yes, Tiona-sensei."
Tiona had been training me for a while thanks to my big sister, Aurora. They had met somewhere near Babel when Tiona and her sister were going around looking for challengers. Aurora saw Tiona fighting with her own eyes, and decided to go ask her. Tiona had been kind enough to accept Aurora's request. So now, she comes over and gives me lessons now and then.
Tiona had dragged me to an empty street right behind our house, to prevent attracting any unwanted attention. Daedalus Street had an abundance of thieves and burglars who often committed robberies and kidnappings in the winding alleyways, even in broad daylight.
"Had any luck finding a Familia?"
"Yes, I found one just today."
"Oh, so that's why you were gone this morning. But not bad. Considering your age."
Tiona picked up an old discarded broom from a pile of trash and broke off the tip. I looked around and saw two identical wooden sticks laying against the wall. I walked over and picked them up, holding one in each hand.
"You sure you want to double wield before learning using one-handed wielding?"
"I want to try something new, is that okay?"
"Mmm, no problem."
Both of us stood in the middle of the street, facing each other, wooden weapons at the ready.
"Ready?"
I fixed my stance and nodded.
"Yes."
"Here I go!"
We both rushed at each other. Tiona and I crossed, and the battle began. Tiona's swings were fast and precise, I tried to block and dodge, looking for an opening.
Every time I sensed an opening and aimed my strike there, Tiona would dodge or deflect it with ease. Her skills were leagues above mine. Even with my beast-like senses, her attacks were too fast. Nevertheless, I kept on trying.
We went on for nearly half an hour. After that, Tiona called a time out and told me to take a break. I sat down on a wooden box nearby to catch my breath.
"You've improved pretty quickly, not bad."
"No no, it's only because of your teachings that I have improved at all."
"My teachings can only go so far, Fenrir. Most of it is due to your willingness to learn and improve."
"Y-yes."
"Well, guess that should be enough for today. I gotta go back now, see ya!"
"Thank you for the lessons, Tiona-sensei!"
"No problem!"
Tiona hurried off into the street, I waved at her until she turned into a corner out of sight. After she was gone, I sat alone in the alleyway. My breathing still ragged from the training.
Tiona-sensei barely ever breaks a sweat even while we're fighting. Her movements are lightning-fast, too. I wonder if she is a high-level adventurer?
As I sat there, lost in thought. A girl with jet black hair turned the corner and started walking in my direction. I was too distracted to notice the girl until she stood in front of me. I felt something flick my forehead, snapping me back into reality. I looked up at the girl who just hit me. She was wearing a white blouse and black shorts. She wore a glove that reached the elbow on her right hand. A small bag hung from her waist, making jangling sounds as she moved.
"Yo, Fenrir. Missed me?" the girl asked with a smile.
"Huh, Aurora!?"
"So, you found a Familia. And you didn't say anything to Yuna?"
"Ehh….yes."
"Yuna's not gonna be happy when she finds out. But not bad, little Fenrir. Finding one that will accept you and suits your needs is very hard. Even for me, it took nearly a full day of interviewing to get accepted."
"Is that so….but why are you back already? Your letter said you would be gone for a few more days."
"It was supposed to be that way, but my Familia had some problems and our expedition was delayed," complained Aurora.
"But, on the bright side. I get to see you again for a bit before I go."
Even though it was already midday, Aurora didn't seem to break a single sweat like Tiona did. On the other hand, I was still covered head to toe in sweat. As I waited for my body to cool down, Aurora took out something from her prareo and handed it to me.
"What is this, Aurora?"
"A present, to celebrate you finally finding a Familia."
She held out her hand, on her palm was a headpiece. The brownish-gold metal was in the shape of a wolf's face. Jetting out from either side of the headpiece were two angled bladed fins in bright metallic silver. I carefully took it from Aurora's palm and held it with both hands in the sunlight.
"It looks so cool! Where did you get this?"
"I had it custom made for you."
"Huh!? How expensive was this!?"
"Ah, don't worry about it. Here, raise your head a little," Aurora walked over and stood in front of me.
Taking the headpiece from my hands, she style's my hair with gentle hands and puts the headpiece on me. The metallic surface shone brightly, the dirty gold finish reflected the sunlight and gleamed with the colour of sunset. After making sure it fit me correctly, she backed up a few steps to marvel at her work.
"Aww, my little brother looks like a real hero now!"
"S-stop that!" I turned away in embarrassment. Blood rushing up to my face. Aurora and Yuna both loved to tease me and watch me get embarrassed.
Aurora laughed with glee. As I tried to hide my face, she walked up in front of me and embraced me. I could feel her chest pressing against my cheeks through the fabric of her shirt, which didn't help my embarrassment. Nevertheless, a smile appeared on my face. Wrapping my arms around Aurora's waist, we both enjoyed a moment of silence.
"I'll be off on an expedition for a while. So take care of Yuna for me, alright?" asked Aurora as she released me from her embrace.
"Y-yes, I will."
"Oh, one more thing."
From her waist, she pulled out the small bag tied to her belt and handed it to me. Inside the bag, the metal coins collided with each other, making a sound that would make any person drool with greed.
"Huh? So heavy!"
"This was my advance pay, put it to good use. Alright?"
I looked up at my sister. Even if she wasn't the type of person that cared about wealth, giving away such a large amount was unexpected.
What Familia would give their new members such a large sum of money at once?
"B-but, what about you?"
"Don't worry about me, I already earned enough money to get myself a set of gear. You should save up, too. The stuff the Guild gives you is unreliable. My Familia also provides food, water and living space too."
"So...what about our house?"
"We should ask Yuna about that too before we make a decision. But, I think it's best if we locked it up and left it as an emergency space."
"Oh…"
Noticing my expression. Aurora crouched down and held my face with both her hands. Her delicate fingers gave me a feeling of comfort, just like Yuna's.
"It's okay, little Fenrir. Even if we are in separate Familias, we can still go into the dungeon together as a party. But for the time being, we need to train ourselves for the worst, okay?
Pushing back my tears. I looked at my sister's eyes, her sea-green eyes were beautiful. It looked as if an entire alternate reality existed within those green eyes. As I calmed myself down, I took my sister's hands with mine and held them together.
"I promise, I will become as strong as the King one day. And I will become one of the best adventurers of Orario. Just like the ones you told me about back then."
"It's a promise. I will be here to fight you, along with Yuna. The Dungeon won't be ready for us." Aurora cheered me up. I rub my eyes and look up at my sister. Both of us smiled with confidence and renewed vigour.
"Then, before I head back. Tell me, what Familia did you end up with?
"Um….don't say this to Yuna nee-chan yet if you see her, please."
Aurora's eyes glinted, her expression showing as if she already knew what I did. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed again.
"It's okay, say it."
Gathering up my courage, I looked up at Aurora.
"I….got an offer to join Loki Familia."
Aurora froze up, she blinked twice as if to check if she was dreaming.
"Loki Familia? As in one of the two strongest Familia in Orario right now!?"
"H-huh!?"
Even though I had known and idolised some of the strongest adventurers in Orario since I arrived. I was too fascinated with their individual achievements that I had not bothered to learn about their respective Familias. First-class adventurers like Braver and Nine Hell, apparently both hailed from Loki Familia.
"Stupid! You've known their names since forever and you forgot what Familia they came from!?" insulted the voice inside my head. Clearly disappointed that I didn't know about such a simple fact.
"Huh? You didn't know anything about them?"
"Eheh….I-I didn't know that," I admitted.
"Pfff-Hahahahah!" Aurora burst with laughter, crossing both her arms over her stomach to catch her breath.
"Stop it!!"
My pleading fell on deaf ears. Aurora could not hold back and kept on laughing, tears of joy flowing from her eyes. It was a while until I could stop her.
Wiping away her tears with her hands, Aurora finally settled down and sat beside me. As she wiped, I told her everything that happened that morning.
When I finished retelling what happened, Aurora's mouth had fully dropped open. Her eyes opened wide in disbelief. This was the first time I've seen her look this shocked.
"You should be thankful, Fenrir. It's not every day that a god personally comes and offers a position in their Familia to anybody."
"Ohh…." I nodded in reply. Silently thanking my incredible luck.
"Ahh, I guess I'm also at fault here. I didn't have the time to tell you much about the Familias and such because of my work."
"No-no, I also didn't do much research on my own before I went searching."
"Well, now you know. You should be thankful to be accepted in such a big Familia. That means you won't have to worry about getting overworked that often, unlike me."
"Why? Is your Familia really that bad?"
"Ahahah-Not really, our god tends to give us extremely complicated missions. I heard that even our commander, 'Perseus', has constant headaches because of Hermes-sama."
A normal person would think the gods to be divine in all aspects. But when actually dealing with one, their holy facade starts to fade. From gods who gave their Familia members headaches like Hermes. To gods like Loki, who I recently met, loves to fondle other girl's chests shamelessly. All the gods were weird in their own way, for better or worse.
"I hope your god doesn't overwork you, Big Sis."
"Don't worry about me, I'm having fun working for him. You should worry about yourself, too. Dungeon exploration requires you to do a lot of preparation and combat training before you go in for the first time. I had to do the same for my first trip, too."
I nodded in agreement.
Aurora had just recently gone on her first mini-expedition into the Dungeon a few days ago. She wrote a letter to Yuna and me, retelling her experience. Apparently, her party had run into horde after horde of monsters. Milking them dry of their energy very quickly, even though they had prepared enough equipment to last a trip into the middle floors.
That showed how unpredictable the Dungeon could be, it was as if it was watching every single adventurer that entered its bowels. Meticulously hunting for its next prey. Punishing any adventurer that dared to let down their guard while inside it's territory.
I should be wary when I do get the chance to go down.
I made a mental note to study about the Dungeon when I get the chance.
Sitting on the box, Aurora stretched her arms out and exhaled. No doubt her work has been exhausting, but she has been holding on. I made a silent wish that I could be as amazing as her one day.
"Well, it's getting pretty late. We should head back home."
"You aren't staying at your Familia's home?"
"Nope, I miss Yuna's cooking, and my bed too." Aurora grinned.
"Promise me you won't hug me to death in your sleep again."
"Eheheh…"
The next morning, Yuna, Aurora and I went to a cafe near Babel to eat breakfast. We picked a spot outside the cafe so we could admire the city. We sat around a square table, with two benches on each side. Me and Yuna sat on one side and Aurora sat on the opposite side. As we ate, I got lost thinking about what it was like inside the headquarters of Loki Familia, one of the strongest in Orario.
Gigantic halls with statues and trophies? Baths as luxurious as the Divine Bath? An arsenal with enough weapons to arm an entire army?
The only way to know for sure was to go there myself. I could barely contain my excitement, but I made sure to not let it show on my expression.
"What are you so excited about, Fenrir?" Yuna smirked at me, her eyes gleaming.
Of course Yuna would notice.
"N-nothing, just wanted to check out the Guild later!"
"Ehehehe….sorry, Fenrir. But the cat's out of the bag." Aurora admitted with an apologetic shrug.
"Huh!?"
"But, I didn't expect the both of you to be invited to Loki Familia at all. You two were extremely lucky." complimented Aurora as she took a sip of tea.
"Should we ask if we can transfer Aurora to Loki Familia then?" I asked Yuna.
Yuna shook her head, "There is a one year grace period before you can change Familias, you can't just decide to leave all of a sudden."
"It's fine. There are benefits to being in the Hermes Familia, too. Our commander is a prodigy at making all sorts of magic items. Not to mention we have access to information that even the Guild doesn't know of." Aurora smirked.
"Woah….scary," I replied. It seems like there is more to the Hermes Familia than meets the eye.
After we finished our meal, me and Yuna said our goodbyes to Aurora, who was heading off to prepare for an expedition.
"Well, it's off to the Twilight Manor we go!" Yuna said excitedly.
"Yeah, let's go."
The Twilight Manor, the home of Loki Familia. One of the strongest and most influential Familia in all of Orario. It was a huge structure built on a plot of land near the edge of Orario. A large main building with multiple towers at the side, overlapping and supporting each other. With one tower being much bigger and taller than the others. It was a truly magnificent structure.
Inside the largest tower, four of the Familia's most important people have gathered in the Familia captain's office. "Elgram" Gareth Landrock, the dwarf. "Nine Hell" Riveria Ljos Alf, the high elf. "Braver" Finn Deimne, the prum. And finally, Loki, the patron goddess of Loki Familia.
The four of them were in a semi-circle. Finn sat in his seat behind a huge ornate table, with Loki casually sitting on the table, legs crossed. Riveria stood alongside the wall to the left of Loki, and Gareth sat on a large chair to Loki's right.
"So, what did you call us for, Loki?" asked Finn, his chin rested on both his hands.
"Well, the Guild has been pestering me to go on another expedition. So there's that."
"I see, then Gareth will be responsible for preparing the potions we need as usual. Riveria will make sure all the mages have their gear ready."
"Another expedition? What a pain." Gareth complained.
"Well, our Familia hasn't been on one for a while now, it was expected sooner or later." Finn shrugged.
Expeditions were a mission given by the Guild, all exploration type Familia that had passed certain criteria were required to do expeditions now and then. On each trip, they had a quota to fulfil depending on the deepest floor they have achieved beforehand. From collecting several drop items to exploring a Floor they had never gone to. Expeditions were the Guild's way of making sure each Familia were doing their part as the leading force of Dungeon exploration in Orario.
"So, when is the expedition supposed to start, Loki?" asked Riveria, twirling her hair with her finger.
"In less than a month, so you have more than enough time to prepare. Oh yeah, how's your student, Lefiya doing?" Loki leaned forward and looked at the high elf.
"Not bad, but she still has a long way to go."
"I see. Oh, one more thing. We have two recruits coming in today! They should be downstairs in the lobby by now!" Loki announced, rubbing her hands together with excitement.
"Recruits? You didn't tell us anything beforehand." Finn let out an exasperated sigh. Loki, the trickster god, staying true to her name, tended to do the unexpected.
"Aw- don't be like that, Finn. But you see, I see a lot of promise from those two." Loki's mouth widened into a grin. The god couldn't control her excitement.
The three executives shook their heads in unison.
"Well, I got nothing better to do today. Let's go meet them. Shall we?" Finn got off his seat and exited the office, the other three followed behind.
""Wow….."'
Me and Yuna both stood at the entrance to the Twilight Manor, our eyes widened in awe. The manor was incredibly big. With those tall towers, it looked as if it was a medieval fortress.
'So this is Loki Familia's house….Twilight Manor. To be able to afford such a big building, they must be swimming in Valis.' I thought to myself.
As we walked inside through the ornate doors, we were greeted with an extraordinary sight. The main lobby was a large room, with a stairway in the middle splitting into two sides. Multiple hallways lead to other facilities inside the manor. The ceiling was unbelievably high. For Yuna and I, who have never been to a building of such magnificence, it felt like a dream.
"Yoohoo, Fenrir! Welcome to Twilight Manor!" A playful voice called out from the floor above, my tail stood up at the mention of my name.
I looked up, searching for the source of the voice. An Amazonian girl was waving down at us from the second floor with a wide grin. Her outfit looked extremely familiar to me, a strip of cloth around the chest and a pareo.
"T-Tiona-senpai!?"
Filled with excitement, Tiona vaulted over the railing on the second floor and landed on the ground with ease. Hopping over excitedly, she pounced on me, rubbing my hair with her knuckle.
"I never thought I'd see you here too, Yuna" Tiona looked up at her.
By now, a good number of Familia members have gathered around the lobby. No doubt attracted to the commotion Tiona had started. I gulped nervously, my instincts unconsciously flaring. No doubt all of them were experienced adventurers.
"Same to you, Tiona. I didn't know you were from Loki Familia." Yuna replied with a nervous smile, also caught off guard by the sudden appearance of spectators.
"Tiona, what are you doing?" a girl's voice called out from the hallway behind me. Another Amazonian girl walked towards us, her outfit was similar to Tiona's, except for her obviously bigger chest. Her long silky black hair flowed behind her as she walked towards us.
"Eh….hello," I said nervously, my ears twitching.
"My, who is this?" the long-haired Amazon bent forward, her dark green eyes staring at me. I looked away shyly.
"Don't be so nervous, you two. Introduce yourself." Tiona urged.
"I-I'm Fenrir, Fenrir Ahlberg. Nice to meet you."
"And I'm Yuna Ahlberg. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I see. I'm Tione Hiryute, I assume you already know my sister."
"You guys are so loud. Who the hell are those two?"
A werewolf with greyish-white fur called from the second floor. Scowling at us, his gaze was of a predator observing its prey. I could tell he was trouble, and the Amazonian sisters had the same opinion.
"Bete, is that how you are supposed to greet your fellow kin?" Tione chided.
"Hmmph, whatever." the werewolf said nothing else and disappeared behind the railings.
"That werewolf…."
"Don't worry about him, Yuna. He's a jerk, but he isn't bad." Tiona assured.
"Hm…." Yuna didn't seem convinced.
Seeing that the atmosphere had turned awkward. I tried to speak up.
"Yuna, let's go. We have to meet the Goddess Loki."
"Ah, right. Uh...Tiona, could you show us where Goddess Loki is?"
"Oh yeah, Loki should be right over-"
"It's fine, Tiona. We'll take it from here." A loud voice came from the second floor.
Tiona stopped mid-speech and turned to look where the voice came, me and Yuna following her gaze.
A blond prum was walking down the stairs, his gaze fixed on us. Following behind him was a giant dwarf, and elf, and a certain red-haired goddess.
"Yoo! Ya' guys finally came!"
As the goddess walked over to us, Yuna half bowed to the goddess as a sign of respect.
"It's nice to meet you again, Goddess Loki." Yuna kindly smiled at the goddess, who was jumping from excitement.
"My pleasure! Nice to see you again too, little Fenrir."
"H-hello...nice to m-meet you," I replied nervously, clinging to Yuna's arm. I'd never thought I would get to see the three heads of Loki Familia right in front of me. My mind went blank, my tail was wagging randomly in distress.
As the prum walked over and greeted Yuna. I hid behind her back, my face was sweating bullets.
"Fenrir Ahlberg, was it? I guess that you've heard of me before. I'm Finn Deimne, but just Finn is enough." Finn looked over at me with a confident smile on his face.
"About that, my little brother used to look up to you a lot back then, and he's pretty shy about it too." teased Yuna.
"Yuna!"
"Ahaha….I see. Well, I have to announce the Familia. Why don't you go with Loki somewhere to get your Falna first?" Finn suggested.
After introducing ourselves to some of the members. We followed Loki upstairs into a private room. It was a big bedroom with a bed enough to sleep two alongside the wall, with a table and chair to the right. Loki sat on the edge of the bed and moved one of the chairs in front of her.
"Here we are, sit down ere' so I can give ya my blessing."
Yuna went first, I leaned on a wall to wait my turn. As she took off her blouse and moved her hair to expose her back, I could not help but look away my face reddening.
"Oh, what's this?"
Loki's expression changed when she saw Yuna's back. On it was once the Falna of another god drawn in ichor, the blood of the gods. The difference was ichor has faded beyond recognition, meaning the god that had given the Falna, had been sent back to heaven.
"Ya had one before? Why's the mark so faded-"
"I-it's nothing important, please continue. Goddess Loki." Yuna hurriedly tried to avoid the subject.
"Hmm, alright."
Loki took a sewing needle and poked her index finger, blood started to flow out from the wound. As the blood pooled and formed a droplet, Loki extended her arm and started to draw on Yuna's back. The blood looked like it was moving on its own, slowly forming into a mark. The mark of the trickster god.
After what seemed like forever, Loki moved her finger from Yuna's back.
"It's done. Welcome to my Familia, Yuna Ahlberg."
"Thank you."
As Yuna stood up and started putting her clothes back on. Loki motioned at me to come over.
"C'mere, little Fenrir. It's yer turn."
I nodded my head. Taking off my shirt and tying my hair in a quick ponytail. I stood with my back towards Loki.
When I sat down, Loki mumbled something under her breath. But I couldn't make out what she said.
"Did you say something, Goddess Loki?"
"Its nothing. Now, this'll feel a li'l tingly, but bear with me."
While Loki was busy granting Fenrir and Yuna Ahlberg their Falna. Finn had gathered all the executives and core members of Loki Familia in the lobby. Among the group were Tiona and Tione, the werewolf with white fur, a young blond girl with a blank expression, a human male with short spiky hair and a catgirl.
"Now, allow me to explain. Our expedition issued by the Guild will commence in a week. This time, our goal is to reach the 49th floor and beat the Monster Rex there. So make sure to get your gear and weapons fixed up and ready beforehand. Any questions?"
The group shook their heads in response. All except for the werewolf, who stood against the wall in silence.
"Good, Gareth will take care of purchasing the potions as usual. Riveria, make sure your magic crystals are in good shape. That is all, dismissed."
As the group dispersed to start their preparations, Gareth walked up to Finn, his giant body a stark contrast to Finn's thin figure. Stroking his mighty beard, the dwarf spoke in a rough voice.
"What will you be doing, Finn?"
"Hmm? I was thinking of checking out the two recruits first."
"Tch! You always take the fun part, Finn."
"Ahaha….you'll get your chance later when you get back."
"Hmmph."
With a slight grunt, Gareth walked out of the manor to purchase the potions and gear needed for the expedition.
After watching the dwarf exit the building, Finn started walking back up the stairs.
"Now, where did Loki bring those two?"
"Alright, it's done."
Loki smiled contently as she gently moved her finger from my back. I stood up and positioned my back towards a mirror against the wall. Now inscribed on my back was a drawing of the trickster god's emblem, and lines of hieroglyphs spread throughout the drawing. Two new followers of the trickster god had been born. Even though I felt like nothing in my body had changed, Loki assured me that I would feel the change when I started fighting.
"Receivin' a Falna won't suddenly make ya feel powerful. But, ya will be able to do things that ya thought were well above yer abilities."
"Oh…" I listened earnestly. Yuna stood beside me, also trying to process the goddess's explanation.
"Well, if ya got any other questions, ya can ask me or one of the higher-ups in the Familia. Don't worry, the members are always open to help out with any problems ya' have, I've made sure of that."
"Thank you, Goddess Loki." I bowed in gratitude.
"No biggie, I wish ya both luck in the future. Now, let's head back and see how we could get ya two geared up, shall we?"
After leaving the room, we followed Loki down the many hallways back to the lobby. As we walked, Yuna spoke up.
"Uh, Goddess Loki. Where are we going to get weapons? I've looked around the smiths in Babel for some time, and all of their wares are way too expensive."
"Ah, smiths love ta charge high for their stuff. But don't worry ya two, Guild-issued weapons should work for now. Let's go find someone to-"
As we reached the second floor of the lobby, we noticed Finn walking up the stairs. He had just finished briefing the Familia members.
"Oh, Finn! Could ya do me a favour and get these two registered and geared up?"
Finn raised his eyebrows. "Huh-"
"Ya have been busy all week, go and get some fresh air fer once. God's orders." Loki insisted.
"Hmm, I haven't been outside for a while. I guess it won't hurt to have a nice stroll just once." Finn gave in to Loki's request with a sigh. His usual serious expression now relaxed. With a casual smile, he gestured for me and Yuna to follow.
"Let's go, I'd like to get to know you two while we walk."
My eyes widened with disbelief. The Braver himself had agreed to bring us to get registered as adventurers and to gear us with weapons.
"Y-yes, I'll be in your care," I muttered, nodding at Finn.
Yuna giggled, "Fenrir, don't be so nervous. He's your captain now."
"But-"
"Come on. Our adventures had just started." Yuna flashed an encouraging smile at me. I couldn't help but grin in response.
"Y-yeah, let's go." I let out a small sigh and nodded. Still feeling a little nervous after just receiving my blessing. I took my sister's hand, her warmth calming me a little, and followed the captain outside the manor.
As we walked along the streets of Orario, the sun shined brightly on top of our heads, bathing the city in its warm yellow light. Ever since I came to Orario with my sisters a few months ago, the scenery never ceased to fill my eyes with wonder.
"Here we are," Finn announced as we reached the Pantheon, the main building of the Guild. We had to register to the Guild before we could officially become adventurers and enter the Dungeon. As we entered the building, Finn walked towards one of the counters. The Guild was still bustling with adventurers even in the afternoon. Stepping on a small wooden stool intended for prums, Finn greeted the receptionist sitting behind the counter.
The human receptionist looked up when she noticed the captain. She looked like she was about as old as Yuna, her short pink hair at shoulder level. I looked at my sister and then at the receptionist, comparing their features in my mind.
"Hello, Loki Familia Captain Finn Deimne. My name is Misha Flott. What brings you here today?" the receptionist greeted the captain with a cheerful tone.
"Hello, Misha. I'm here to register new adventurers. I would like you to process these two."
Misha's face flushed with confusion.
"Uh….which two? I only see one."
"Here."
Finn looked down at me. Following his gaze, Misha lifted herself from her seat and leaned over the counter. I peeked over behind Yuna and made eye contact with Misha.
"....Huh!?"
"H-hello." I waved shyly at her.
Misha looked flustered. It wasn't common for people as young as I was to register as adventurers. But, I had decided to become one anyway despite the dangers.
"Ah...I remember you, you were here with Lefiya yesterday, weren't you?"
"Y-yes, can I register?"
"....Alright, please fill in these forms first."
Returning to her professional attitude, Misha pulled out two pieces of paper and placed them on the counter.
Me and Yuna both started filling out the registration form with quill pens provided by Misha. I stood on a stool and wrote, with Yuna doing the same beside me. Misha watched us as we wrote to be sure no errors were made. After we finished, Misha took a quick look at the information.
"Fenrir and Yuna Ahlberg. Age ten and sixteen….from Dragon Valley!?" Misha looked up at Finn in disbelief. "Is this true?"
Finn shrugged, "I'm not sure myself, but it would be better if you don't pry."
"Eh...yes."
This was the first time Misha have seen or met anybody who came from Dragon Valley in her years as a Guild worker. That place was considered one of the few great unexplored regions of the world, alongside the Dungeon in Orario.
But if these two were actually from there…..how did they survive!?
True to its name, an unknown number of dragons lived in that region. Sometimes, a dragon would fly far from its home looking for prey. As a result, the villages and towns nearby had been razed to the ground, the area around them became scorched earth, the ground painted black with soot. Nobody dared to live anywhere near that dreaded valley.
Misha decided not to question it. Looking at the werewolf boy and human girl in front of her, she tried to change the subject.
"Alright, with the forms done. Is there anything else you need?" Misha returned to her cheery tone.
Finn put his hand under his chin in a thinking pose and thought for a moment.
"Oh, could you let Fenrir use the armour from the Guild stock?"
"Yes, please follow her to get your measurements taken," Misha called another woman behind the counter. Her fellow werewolf coworker Rose came over and gestured for the boy to follow her.
The boy looked over at his sister, like a child silently asking their mother for permission. The girl nodded and reassured him, "It's fine, go."
Those two are pretty close together, huh?
As Fenrir followed Rose a corner to get his measurements, Finn noticed that Yuna had her eyes on Fenrir the whole time. Before they arrived at the Guild, Fenrir had been holding Yuna's hand while they were walking. From behind, it looked like they were mother and son. The sight gave Finn a feeling of déjà vu. A certain golden-haired girl and her elven guardian came to mind.
"Yuna, do you mind if I ask you about your background?"
"Huh? I don't mind, but we aren't from anywhere notable in particular…"
"The fact that you were from Dragon Valley is notable enough. But, how did you manage to come here with him? Orario is a long way from Dragon Valley."
"Well….we have another sister and a kind god that took care of us during that time."
Finn's ears perked up, "Another sibling, and a god, huh.."
Finn had wanted to know about the mysterious background of the two siblings, but personal information of a fellow Familia member had to be kept away from public ears. So Finn decided to change the subject.
"Anyway, since you both are now registered. What kind of weapons does you two use? I can get them ordered if you want."
"Huh!?"
Yuna was taken aback. She didn't expect the captain of such a large Familia would just offer to order custom made weapons for newcomers.
"T-there's no need for you to do such a thing for us, captain!"
"It's a welcoming gift from me, no arguments allowed. Alright?" Finn replied with a smile.
Yuna still felt reluctant, but Finn insisted on it. So she decided to accept the captain's kindness.
"Yuna, look!"
Fenrir had come back from taking measurements. Instead of the simple garments he had been wearing, he now wore a set of leather armour issued by the Guild. His expression filled with pride as if he was trying to say 'Look how cool I am now!'.
"Oh, you look like a real adventurer now!"
"Eheheh...thank you!" Fenrir replied with a giggle.
"It looks like it fits you well. Well, let's get moving."
""Yes.""
Shortly after we registered at the Guild, we arrived at a blacksmith shop nearby. A sign hung from the front of the shop, drawn on the sign was an emblem with two hammers crossed at the handles with some decorative patterns behind them. As we entered the shop, the smell of metal filled the air. Several weapons were arranged on display shelves along the walls and tables around the shop. Each with a label attached to the weapon itself, written in Koine on each label was the weapon's name and price.
"Wow, this place is amazing!" I was dumbfounded. All these weapons looked like they could destroy hordes of monsters. Yuna was at one corner of the shop admiring some daggers.
Meanwhile, Finn walked towards the counter and greeted the blacksmith handling it.
"Hello, could we speak to Tsubaki?"
"Nice to meet you, Finn Deimne. Tsubaki's just behind that door."
The blacksmith pointed at a door behind him.
"Thank you. Let's go, you two." Finn called out to us.
We followed Finn through the door, beyond the door was a small outdoor lounge area for employees to relax. Sitting on one of the chairs outside, a tall woman with brown skin and long black hair was eating a big plate of noodles. Looking up from her plate, she noticed us coming in and greeted us. When she looked up, I noticed that her left eye was covered with an eyepatch.
"Yo, what are you guys doing in here?"
"Hello, Tsubaki. I'd like to have two weapons custom made for these two, is that fine?"
"Hm…" Tsubaki inspected the two of us with her right eye. Her expression was friendly, no doubt. But I felt like something was off, my instincts told me she isn't like any normal blacksmith you would find. I unconsciously bared my fangs for a moment, but quickly hid them.
Noticing it, the woman squinted and pointed at me.
"You there, what's your name?"
"Huh? M-my name is Fenrir Ahlberg."
"Fenrir Ahlberg, huh? That's a little too hard to pronounce, I'll call you Fen-Fen for short." Tsubaki smiled. "So, why do you want a weapon? Answer me honestly."
"H-huh? I don't get-"
"I'm waiting."
I thought for a moment. What did I want a weapon for?
Unfortunately, I couldn't think of an answer. My brow furrowed in concentration.
Yuna and Tsubaki did nothing and watched. After a while, Finn spoke up.
"Let me rephrase it for you. Why do you want to be an adventurer?"
"!?"
That's...
The same question Loki had asked me yesterday. Another dam of emotions threatened to break and wreak havoc inside me. The words I had been looking for formed in my mind. My eyes widened in realization.
"I...I know why I want a weapon."
Tsubaki narrowed her eye.
"The reason?"
Holding in my emotions. I answered Tsubaki's question with gritted teeth.
"So I don't have to rely on my big sister's protection. I want to protect them, too. That's why."
A smile slowly grew on Tsubaki's face. Behind me, Finn sighed with relief.
"I see," Tsubaki replied.
Seeing me in pain, Yuna walked over and embraced me from behind. Her head leaning on mine.
"It's okay, let it out."
It wasn't cloudy that evening, but drops of water had rained on the ground.
"There you go again, asking those weird questions."
Finn and Tsubaki were sitting on one of the tables in the lounge. Earlier, Finn had told Fenrir and Yuna to go back to the manor and get some well-deserved rest.
"How were those questions weird? I had to know who I was making weapons for, y'know?"
"If I remember correctly, last time you did it. You nearly broke certain member of my Familia, Tsubaki."
"Oh, you mean Ais? She's much better now, but at the time, she was a drawn sword waiting to be broken."
"So, what's your decision? Will you make weapons for them?"
"....."
Tsubaki closed her right eye and thought for a moment.
"I will."
"Oh? You will?"
"Yeah, I will make him the weapon he needs to protect himself, and his sisters." Tsubaki smiled proudly, "I swear on my pride as a smith."
Hearing this, Finn also smiled with relief.
"I see. Well, I have to head back and take care of some work. I'll tell him to come to you when he's ready."
"Alright. Seeya, Finn."
After watching Finn leave, Tsubaki sat there in silence, staring into the evening sky.
After Finn told us to go back and get some rest. Yuna and I stopped by a restaurant to get some food. Soon after we ordered our food, a cat waitress came to the table and served us our food. As we ate, my mind started thinking back to what I had just said to Tsubaki.
Ahhhh, why did I have to say those embarrassing things in front of Yuna!?
I decided that thinking too much would do no good, and ate my food.
After we finished our meal, we started walking back to the manor. The sky had already turned dark, bar's strewn about the city were starting to fill with civilians and adventurers alike, all wanting to drink the night away. When we arrived at the manor, a cat person saw us and introduced herself as Aki. She had a friendly aura about her, similar to Tiona.
"Welcome back, you two. I'm Anakitty, you can just call me Aki."
"Nice to meet you, Aki."
"N-nice to meet you."
"Likewise, you two just came back from registering, right? You should go get some rest. Follow me."
We nodded and followed right behind Aki as she guided us to our bedroom. She gave us quick rundowns of the many facilities that were in the manor as we passed through them.
"Oh yeah, would you guys like to sleep in the same room or sleep separately?"
I looked at Yuna with pleading eyes. Her eyes met mine, and she looked as if she understood immediately. As expected of my perceptive sister.
Yuna heaved a small sigh, "We'll take a twin room, please."
Aki nodded in response, "Alright, follow me."
"I love you, Yuna!"
"Yes, yes. Let's go."
When we arrived at our bedroom, Aki had given us a quick rundown of where we should go tomorrow morning.
"You should take a quick bath first thing tomorrow, the baths are on the second floor at the end of the hallway to your right in the lobby. After that, head to the cafeteria on the first floor, it should be in the hallway to your left. Got it?"
"Yes, thank you for your help, Aki."
"No problem, Yuna. Have a good nights sleep, Fenrir." Aki leaned over and patted me on the head. Her friendly smile and personality were calming, my tail wagged with happiness.
"Thank you….Aki."
"Hehe...no problem. Goodbye."
After Aki waved goodbye to us and left. Yuna opened the door to our room and we went in.
Our bedroom was significantly bigger than the one we used to sleep in our old house. To the left, a table with two chairs sat alongside the wall. To the right, two beds sat between a nightstand with a small magic stone lamp on top. Two wide windows were installed on the wall, we could see the tower of Babel from our room, the city lights at night combined with the skyscraping tower made for a breathtaking sight.
"Which bed do you want to sleep on, Fen?"
"Yuna, can I sleep with-"
"No can do. You are an adventurer now, learn to sleep by yourself, alright?"
"Ok..."
Reluctantly, I laid myself on the bed closest to the windows. Yuna undid her braids and slept on the other bed. As I laid there, I could see the full moon from the window. The moonlight shone in through the window, casting a mellow silvery colour across the room.
I closed my eyes and slept.
On one of the highest towers in the manor, Loki had gone back to her private room to get a drink. From one of the shelves, she took out a small pot filled with wine, the logo stuck on its side read "Soma". With all the members of the familia busy getting prepared for the expedition happening in a week, only a few low-level members will be left in the manor to keep watch. When the time came and her precious Familia went out for the expedition, the only thing Loki could do was wait patiently in the manor. Expeditions to the Deep Floors usually took weeks. While it wasn't the first time she had to endure this pain of waiting and worrying for her children, she could never get used to it.
Loki sighed, opening the pot of wine and pouring its contents into a glass, she brought the glass of wine to her lips and drank the whole thing in one go. Looking out into the city through the window in front, Loki thought back to the werewolf boy and human girl she had given her Falna to a while ago, her brow furrowing.
"That mark…...yeah, no doubt about it. It's his."
She poured another shot of wine into her glass and drank. Slamming it back down on the table when she finished.
"Heimdallr, that bastard. Heh, always giving me trouble, aren't ya."
Loki poured another shot.
"Fine. You sit there in Heaven and watch, my rival. I'll make sure your sacrifice wasn't in vain, I swear on my pride as a goddess."
Loki raised her glass. "This toast is for you, Heimdall."