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/Later.../
/Laughter.../
"Phew..."
'Using his powers to morph the ground, Silver sat down on a bench next to Syr as he finished her request.'
It's done, I can rest for a bit now...
For a waitress, she has quite high standards, almost had me redo some things 3 times until she was satisfied.
I don't really mind, but for a task that was supposed to be simple and easy... It became a bit of a chore.
'Syr and Silver proceed to watch the children play in the newly made playground as Loiju rested on the side, completely worn out after being used as a sandbag by those small demons.'
'At the same time within the Church, Maria started to make dinner using the ingredients they brought.'
'It was a very peaceful scene.'
'To pass on the time, Syr talked with him about the things that happened within the city while also asking how he was and what he planned to do in the future.'
'The usual ice breaker…'
'As such, Silver came to learn about the fall of Ishtar's tower and what exactly had happened in the Entertainment District earlier this morning, resulting in the unofficial and sudden disbandment of the Ishtar Familia.'
'He knew something serious was happening there due to what Daphne told him after they returned from the Soma Familia, but he was completely shocked to learn about the intricacies of it.'
'What would come of this was a mystery, now that Ishtar was missing? He wondered in silence...'
'With the Amazons all around and with the impossibility of keeping them all silent, Silver started to worry for her safety.'
'He was unsure if he could trust all Amazons to keep her existence a secret, even if they kept their mouths shut, there were over 100 of them, and one or twice might end up speaking more than she should've.'
'This isn't counting the male warriors under Ishtar, as Syr didn't know what had happened to them, but whoever got their hands on them would certainly learn about Haruhime in no time at all.'
'Above all, Ishtar vanished, and it was pretty much confirmed that she hadn't returned to Heaven…'
'Then there was a good chance she may still be out there, and if he is allowed to be bold, things might've become more dangerous than ever.'
'Before, Ishtar was secluded and limited to her tower, while now, she is out of sight, in the dark.'
'It was much simpler to monitor and control her within the confines of a single Familia home, especially considering he had stolen her Knossos Key…'
'Not that this would stop others from coming to her, as there were multiple such keys all around.'
'And lo and behold... This exactly what Silver deducted.'
'Who would strike Ishtar like that if not those she struck a deal with in the dark? The kind of people that would desire her to be silenced.'
'Now, it was only a matter of time until something happened.'
'He could only hope that by the time they did decide to act, he would be there to shield those that needed it.'
Looks like I'll have to bring forward those plans…
Since I'll have to contact Fels anyway regarding this event, I'll just cut two problems at once.
'Silver eyes sharpened.'
The Dungeon and my list of priorities are too vast for me to keep a close eye on them at all times... And our Familia is about to increase in size, so it'll be even harder to keep them safe.
And it'll take too long for Haruhime, Daphne, and Cassandra to Level up, only then would I have some level of confidence in their ability to protect themselves somewhat…
However, given her value, if the enemy decides to go after her… No matter how much time I give them, it'll be inconsequential in the end.
Just one more thing for me to worry about…
'Silver didn't realize right now, and neither would he in the future as this matter would quickly vanish from his mind due to his responsibilities, but Syr's information was rather odd as the Guild was withholding anything about this event from the public.'
'And for a normal waitress to learn of it before many others was definitely very suspicious.'
/Fwoosh.../
'The warm wind of summer brushed over them as they waited for time to pass...'
'Having nothing better to think about, Silver started to think about their conversation, only to realize that Syr was actually… Pretty bad at talking frankly.'
'Syr was very good at joining in mid-conversation and at joking, using small remarks to provoke people.'
'But she was rather awkward when it came to serious person-to-person talks, at least regarding the subjects at hand.'
'This was proven by how she is great at teasing others but loses her composure completely when someone teases her back.'
'Without a doubt, she was very wise and knew how to lift someone's spirit and to be professional, but something about her today seemed odd at the very least.'
'He couldn't tell what exactly, but he knew she was pondering something as several times already had she tried bringing up a subject only to not go through with it.'
/Laughter!/
'The kids continued to enjoy their new toys with great enthusiasm, making Silver relax a bit.'
"..."
It's almost time to leave.
'He looked around him and thought about what to do.'
Now's a good time to go back and ask Maria about the troublemakers she has been dealing with recently.
'Despite the fun he had and the amount of work he already performed, Silver still had an objective left to fulfill.'
'To find out, understand, and clear the Orphans of the thugs that have been causing trouble in Daedalus Street.'
'It may be hard to do it alone, but if he pulls his cards right…'
"Hm… You know, if there's something on your mind, you can share it with me." Silver said with a cheeky smile as he turned to face Syr
"I may be no 'Mama Mia', but I'm a good listener, and a rather decent problem solver too."
"Pfft… Are you sure it's not the contrary of that last one? Also, don't let Mia hear you calling her that, "Mama" is a nickname exclusive to us, okay~?"
'Cringing a little, he said "People commit mistakes from time to time." as he closed his eyes slightly.'
'Obviously, Silver was maintaining his abilities to keep up appearances.'
'Albeit he went to visit Loiju's house with his "Blind man" attire, he came out of it wearing a leather jacket and a brown hat.'
'Unsurprisingly, none of the Children recognized him, and this is obviously because Maria prevented them from watching the War game.'
'she didn't want them to strive to become adventurers, however, the last thing she wanted was for them to get trauma from seeing something they aren't ready to see yet.'
'This also meant she didn't recognize him as she couldn't manage to watch the War game on her own while keeping tabs on several dozen hyperactive children at the same time, which may have been for the best.'
'She may know Silver is an adventurer and Loiju is an Advisor, but if she were to know what sort of being she was dealing with, her relaxation may have been thrown out of the window.'
"Well…"
'Syr's eyes seemed to sparkle a little, she turned to the children as she swung her foot around without a care in the world, letting the wind move her hair around…'
'But in the end, she seemed to have come to some sort of resolution as she turned to him and said:'
"What do you think? Can't you tell~?"
'Her smile seemed deep as if hiding something within it…'
"Is that a game?"
"Perhaps~" She said with a warm smile
"Hm…"
'Silver raised an eyebrow as he looked at her before saying with a smile:'
"You're thinking of how cool I look right now."
'Syr put one of her fingers atop her head as she tilted it, thinking deeply…'
"Unfortunately, that was a miss~" She said as she waved her hands around slowly
"Tsk."
'Smiling and chuckling, she said:'
"You sounded awfully certain about that answer, how do you feel now that you've lost?"
"I say the jury cheated, the game was never fair."
I feel like there's no answer... Though, strangely enough, I think she was hoping for me to get it right.
No... I know her look, she looks just like Loiju was when I first met him today.
She's lost, she doesn't have the answer.
/Chuckle/
"Indeed it was not~"
'Getting up from her seat, she put her hands on her back as she did a slight spin to stare at him.'
"I'll give you another chance to guess the answer in the future."
"Why not now? Do I have limited tries per day?" Silver asked as he got up from his seat as well
"Precisely."
'He rolled his eyes as he turned around.'
"..."
'Pouting a little, Syr watched him leave… Or tried to as one of the kids came running in his direction, clinging to his legs as he begged him to play with them.'
'Silver smiled, grabbing the kid and throwing him in the air above his head, altering gravity so the kid fell very slowly.'
'The child seemed extremely euphoric as it laughed loudly.'
'It didn't take long for him to be swarmed, and it was at this moment Loiju smiled evilly, finally having some time for himself.'
/Smile/
'Seeing this Syr also smiled as she mumbled something in a low tone:'
"Thank you for asking."
'Her voice was a bit deeper than usual as it carried an ocean of meaning.'
…
/Later…/
'Inside the Church, Silver sat next to Maria as they waited for the food to get ready in the oven.'
"... I… Sigh, I believe they were from… The Aeshma Familia." Maria said in a slow and saddened tone as she replied to Silver's question
'Finally!' Silver thought to himself
'It had taken some trouble, but he finally managed to have her speak and share her troubles with him.'
"Aeshma Familia?..."
/Nods/
'She nodded.'
"..."
'Silver went into deep thought, thinking about this Familia he never thought of before, but recognized nonetheless.'
'The Aeshma Familia was a rather notorious exploration type Familia that has been in Orario for a rather long time, longer than even Loki's and Hephaestus'.'
'At least long enough for several generations to have passed through Aeshma's hands.'
'Different from many Familias with a similarly long history, the Aeshma Familia remained around the same level of power, which was weird considering Adventurers grow over time.'
'Aside from that, Silver doesn't know much more, the Aeshma Familia can be considered like one of those Familias many know of but rarely ever talk about.'
'People will only remember they exist when asked, however, this in itself is already impressive.'
'The only other thing Silver could remember about them was that their God was weird, but then again, which Gods in Orario aren't?'
'What he didn't understand was why they would provoke an Orphanage of all places?'
'Its not like there's much to gain, how much would they be able to collect from all Orphanages at the same time? A couple thousand Valis per day?...'
'From Maria's own words, the Aeshma Familia always had some ties with every Orphanage in Daedalus Street, and this has been going on for as far she can remember.'
'Due to this, many of the children from these Orphanages, if they do decide to pursue a life as adventurers, tended to join them as they are the most available choice.'
'However, they never did anything bad for them, though neither did they interfere with them either.'
'They were just… There, sometimes they helped, but it always felt like their focus was somewhere else.'
'Maria herself can't say much about them, none of the children she took care of joined them, but with the recent events, she has started to form a negative view of them…'
'Silver felt something was missing here, he even felt that this was one of those classic sceneries…'
'The ones where the children start doing things beyond their jurisdiction beyond the will of the Familia itself, and this usually has two outcomes…'
'With the Familia itself being unaware of what is going on.'
'Or with the Familia being aware but uncaring about their actions.'
'Though, until anything could be proven, that was all just speculation.'
"..."
She said they visit once every few days to collect money?
Do they think they are the Guild to collect tax? Much less from the poor…
Still, according to her, they came here a few days ago and they did not pay them because they had no money.
And albeit, fortunately, they did nothing to them, it wouldn't be wise to trust the morals of thugs that decided to steal from Orphans in the first place.
'Besides… It was always better to just ask them directly.'
'It wouldn't take long at all.'
…
/At the same time, somewhere in the West…/
/Gallop…/
'A simple carriage made its way across the road under the sun…'
/Open…/
'A girl with pinkish hair opened the windows to stare at the distance, gazing at the grandiose city in the distance with hopeful eyes…'
"Sister…" She mumbled as she thought of the past
/Neigh!!/
'The horses moved with the wind, the start of a tale.'
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Notes
These chapters were pretty much my attempt at introducing characters from one of the Danmachi Games.
There are many interesting characters there, but for the sake of convenience, I won't spend too long on them as we have other things to do.
To make this more meaningful as well, this Arc with the Aeshma Familia will have an impact on Silver's power development, though we may have to wait quite a bit of time for that to happen.
This Arc will likely last quite a bit but it isn't a main one but more of something that'll happen in the background.
At least that is how I see it for now.
Peace.