This and the next chapter are pretty big, following that, starting next week, we'll be following through with Loki's request which should end pretty fast, about a week's worth of chapters before starting the next arc.
All of this in total should be about 10 or so chapters.
I've been trying to reduce the number of details in every chapter but remember I have 25 advanced chapters, so we'll only be seeing the effects of this around chapter 15 to 20+, so for now, I can only try to make the already written chapters feel more dynamic.
This isn't a problem to most, but I can understand those who feel we're slow as well because I agree.
In any case, that was all, enjoy today's chapter.
PS: Zero Fate will likely be delayed for tomorrow due to my yearly Minecraft obsession, I apologize...
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/Later…/
/Chatter…/
"Hum?..."
Are they finally done?
'Hearing the sounds of chattering coming from within the cloth, Silver stretched his arms as he yawned slightly.'
I haven't had the chance to properly rest after spending a few days in the Dungeon.
These last few days I have been in my office going through all of the paperwork that accumulated due to my negligence and also due to Daphne being occupied with the preparations for the recruitment.
I took up doing her part of the job, and so I did, that resulted in me getting fewer hours of sleep, especially since I sneaked into the Dungeon once or twice... Sigh, I should've contained myself a bit more.
My original idea wasn't to spend so much time there at once, but you kind of lose your perception of time while down there, which can be even harder to track when you're being besieged by dozens of monsters every minute.
I wanted to climb back and rest, but I was dragged to the preparations of the recruitment, something I've yet to recover from even after many days have passed.
I wonder how Daphne and even some of the busier people like Hephaestus last through this... I can't even think about Asfi running all of Hermes' shenanigans.
Still, they really got me this time, it's taking me quite an effort to just stay awake.
Not because I'm tired per se... Although that certainly helps.
It's mostly due to the environment... When I'm sitting here with little to do my body just dozes off on its own.
I'm also using my Plasmids at all times, not only to maintain many effects throughout the area, but also as a form of training, and also to heal my remaining left arm, which contributes to my tiredness.
It's almost done, and I'll be back in action once it's back to me.
Not that I wasn't, though I'll be more confident with my physical arm rather than one made of my Plasmids abilities.
'Smiling slightly, Silver turned his head slightly, asking:'
"You guys' done?"
/Fwoosh…/
'Not long after he spoke, a small hand poked from the cloth, pulling it aside slightly.'
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
'A small Elf, no more than a child appeared, with long blond hair and a thin body that had yet to grow any muscle of any kind.'
'A pair of sapphire purple eyes stared down at him amidst a pair of sharp ears.'
(Image again)
'It's the Elven child I saw her before during the examination.' Silver thought as he looked at the girl
'She was a strange girl that had left an impression on him due to her confidence and way of speaking and acting, a girl that wished to become the best mage as she believed herself to be a genius of magic.'
'She also seemed to admire Riveria despite not admitting to it, but due to how frequently she tended to mention her as she kept comparing herself to her, even Silver who did not speak with her directly knew of her admiration.'
'And despite her childish antics, she did have the groundwork of a mage as she cast magic in her performance, though Silver did not know if it was old Elvish ritualistic Magic or Falna Magic.'
"Nice to meet you." She said with a very formal expression, she was so serious it even gave Silver a slight shock
He did not expect such a performance from a 'child', it was a reflection of the burden she placed on herself, to try and reach for a world beyond her age to make up or prove something.
Normally done by those who had lost something and wished to stay tall despite being unprepared for it.
"... I could say the same." Silver replied with a slight delay
"I'm called Primo Libera, sir, I'll be in your care." She said with a slight bow
'Despite her appearance, Silver saw honesty and eagerness in her, she was ready to move forward, though he was afraid she was trying to cover too much ground at once.'
'It would be too bad if she were to fall.'
"..."
This girl, she's too tense.
"Me too Primo." Silver replied with a smile
"From now on we're together, let's work hard and Level up a few more times."
"! Y-Yes Sir!" She said with a smile as she opened her arms to salute, accidentally opening the cloth…
""...""
"Ah?!"
"..."
This girl… She did it on purpose?!
'With a cheeky smile on her face, Primo opened the cloth, revealing the inside to Silver to see.'
'Most of the girls had already finished their updates, but some were still in line, including the likes of Daphne, Haruhime, Lili, Cassandra…'
'Pretty much all of the girls that joined first as they were left for last.'
/Silence…/
"Mnfuun…"
"Cassandra?!"
'Just as he looked at their semi-naked bodies, their reactions started to appear as Cassandra was the first one to fall unconscious, followed by Haruhime who rushed behind someone else, her tail between her legs.'
'Lili's face was flushed, but she only covered herself slightly, even turning around a little, though it didn't seem she was trying to show herself but more of trying to cover her chest, unknowingly doing something a bit devious…'
'While Daphne was definitely embarrassed, still, she was mature enough to know it was an accident and not an act of perversion…'
'Though she was afraid some might've liked it if that were to be the case.'
'Of course, before anyone could say anything, Silver closed the cloth, leaving Primo flabbergasted at his lack of a reaction.'
'Or at least the one she expected.'
"... You did that on purpose didn't you?" Silver asked as he looked at Primo
"EH?!"
"Don't give me that look, I'm not that naive." Silver said with a chuckle as he crossed his arms
"You don't need to worry about others hearing us, there's a barrier around."
"I'll overlook it this time and treat it as an accident, but if I were you, I would start preparing my lines… Daphne will definitely come charging in for your ears soon enough." He said as he pointed backward
"UGH…"
'Primo covered her ears, fearful for what was about to happen.'
'Though she may act as an adult, she still possessed some childish antics, which was good, it meant some of her purity as a child had yet to completely vanish.'
'One of the saddest things that could happen to a child was for it to lose its innocence too soon and grow without a proper childhood.'
'Primo was considered to be young even here in Orario, where children tend to grow faster in an already cruel world that expected much of them.'
"Heh, there's no guilt in being playful as long as you're skillful enough to pass it out as an accident, though good luck convincing her as she's quite stiff."
"All my sentiments to you." He said with a nod
"..."
'The little Elf turned around as a bead of sweat fell from her forehead, realizing the weight of her little prank as she gazed at the cloth.'
'She had come to learn of this fearsome beast known as "Vice Captain Daphne" and right now, she came to know of this equally fearsome creature known as "Captain Silver".'
'The latter proved to be calm and collected, not punishing her, definitely a plus in her books, despite his lack of a reaction, which was boring.'
'But better that then...'
'It was then that a thought came to her…'
/Turn around… DASH!/
'Primo bolted out like a flash!'
/Fwoosh…/
'And not long after, someone opened the cloth… Daphne.'
"Where is she?" She asked deeply as she looked around
"She just ran away."
"For a mage, she has quite the legs, guess children just know how to run."
"She vanished into the manor before I even had the time to finish my chuckle." He said innocently as he moved his hands around
"You… Captain… You should've at least tried to stop her." Daphne replied with an annoyed face
"I did try! But my hands slipped… You know… I was stunned!" Silver said as he exaggerated his expression as he pleaded innocence
"..."
He's doing it again…
"I must say… You got some taste." He added with a nod as he remembered Daphne's appearance
A mature lady with a mature body and refined tastes...
"..."
/STAB!/
"COUGH!"
'With a slightly flushed expression, Daphne stabbed her elbow at his sides, walking after Primo menacingly without turning back.'
"Cough… A fully powered elbow strike from a Level 2 adventurer… She held nothing back on that one." He said as he took in a deep breath
Oh well, she has quite the fashion sense, red for hair, red for underwear… Heh.
I already saw her once before, and her reaction now and then has changed a little.
I'm a bit sorry for her, she was once displayed due to her own carelessness and it was now due to someone else... Maybe that was why she didn't hold back this time.
Though... Come on Daphne, how could I punish the person that gave me such a sight?
I'm not that evil, I repay the favors given to me tenfold... Or whatever they say.
'Smiling, Silver rested his head on his chair…'
/SMASH!/
"GHA!"
'Until a pile of papers came crashing down on his head like a brick.'
"Look at you! All pleased with yourself!"
"Did you enjoy the show that much?" Hestia asked with a sharp gaze as she looked at him as she took a step out of the makeshift room
From behind him, Hestia appeared from the cloth, a displeased look on her face as she crossed her arms, she looked rather cute, like a small chimney oozing smoke.
At least she closed the cloth behind her, it would've been embarrassing to have shown everyone this side of him.
Also, it was important to say Silver allowed himself to get hit, he had heard Hestia approach from the moment she got up from her seat, although he found it surprising she did so.
"..."
She's already here?
Did she finish updating everyone in that short amount of time?
She really is petty towards some things…
"Can I choose to remain silent?"
"I'll hit you again." She said as her expression grew dark
"That's harassment…"
"So is peeking at them!" She replied as she gnashed her teeth
"That was an accident."
"You watched for a rather long while for it to be an accident." She said with a sharp gaze
Hestia was on the verge of pulling his hair.
"I was checking to see if everyone was okay and well, and thank the heavens, they were."
"... You'll really not admit to anything, will you?"
"You know what'll happen if I do, instead, how about we just throw that under the carpet and move on?"
"... Sigh, fine, I'm too tired to continue arguing." Hestia said as she exhaled, too tired to get angry
'She wasn't even angry, just... Jealous.'
'She ended up falling for the same spell that had befallen Silver without even realizing, and thus, her only chances of getting the upper hand on him had vanished.'
'Though it was just like her to set herself like this.'
"Here, take them, I'm sure you've been waiting for this."
She gave him the stack of papers, the Statuses of all the girls, old and new.
Silver had been waiting for them, to add them to the archive on his subspace.
It would also be a good time to check on the progress of the others.
He needed to know them all if he wished to try and guide them somewhat, either by putting groups together or merely by giving advice.
It would be harder to care for close to 200 members, but he would try his best.
"Now… I'll take a rest, my finger's numb after getting prickled by a nail all day long…"
"I also feel a bit anemic." She said with a yawn, although that was an excuse
'It would take a lot of effort to actually kill a God through bleeding them out, though it would be possible.'
'After all, it is known that Gods have extremely high degrees of resilience for all kinds of damage and stimuli.'
'Although that varies from God to God, Hestia and Loki can get drunk very easily while Demeter's tolerance for wine is so damn high it puts even Soma to shame.'
'Hermes is a God that is very used to being punched around by his children, and he is very used to being tossed around by their superhuman prowess.'
'While Artemis can fight against a Level 3 adventurer in a contest of strength alone, and Takemikazuchi can defeat a Level 4 with technique alone.'
'Even then, a God could be easily cut only for the injury to vanish after they pressed a slight bandage upon it, the next day, the injury would vanish.'
'And even now, Hestia pricked her finger with a nail multiple times to draw her own blood, and even then, the only first aid she conducted on herself was sucking her own thumb with a pained expression as she walked with her head down.'
'This might have been the only time in her life Hestia felt pity for Loki… Even during her time in Heaven, Hestia only found Loki to be… Pitiful.'
'Since she understood too well what loneliness and boredom could do to a God, with Loki's past behavior being the exact definition of that.'
'Of course, she hated her guts, but that didn't stop Hestia from understanding the pains of someone, that was her special ability after all, to feel something about everyone she met.'
'As such, she would be completely fine after napping on her bed, waking up, having dinner, and eating something sweet followed by… Whatever Silver had planned to do to her that night…'
'A story for another time.'
/Fwoosh…/
"Captain?..."
'As he thought about that, the cloth was once again pushed aside, but this time, no one was half naked.'
'Many girls could be seen actively discussing something or just leaving through the sides since pushing the cloth aside wasn't that hard.'
'The ones in front of him consisted of the Executives, the Amazon, the Elf, and the Human.'
"Good work, Hestia has just left." Silver said as he turned to look a the distant figure of the small girl
"... Sorry for what just happened, I should've paid more attention to the surroundings, some of our recruits are still children after all, and some misbehaving was bound to happen." Igva replied awkwardly as she scratched her head
They're all so dramatic, he only saw them for a split second and it was an accident, why act like maidens in a fairy tale?
Pfft... That Elf got completely beet red and so did the blondie, heh, I'll not make them forget this anytime soon...
"I expected boys to try and peak in, not the girls to try and prank us, Life once again taught me that things aren't as transparent as they seem to be."
"Ha! Don't take it so heavily upon yourself, not to the antics of a child." Silver replied with a smirk as he got up from his seat
"You all did splendid well, so rest for now, as much as you want."
"There is still much of the day left and I need to get this all sorted, though if you wish, you can participate in the first training round for the recruits." Silver said as he waved the Status sheets on his hand
I know it was planned for it to happen today, but the blessing event took longer than we thought...
Though the sun is still high in the sky... Yeah... Guess there's no running away from this.
"Better now than ever, the recruits may be tired mentally, but their bodies can still do something…" Silver added as he touched his chin
"Besides, I have something special planned this time, it'll be fun, and don't worry, it won't be that tiring, that is if you wish to participate."
Silver turned around, waving his hand.
"If something happens you know where to find me, also, don't look for Hestia, she's definitely going to crash down in bed."
"We should have just enough dormitories in the right wing for all of the newcomers, though if there are problems with room allocation I can try to settle it with everyone or even make some modifications."
"I won't however, be making exceptions, let me be clear on that note, the last thing I want is to have everyone demanding a sole room due to the extra empty rooms in the Left Wing."
"Don't even mention it to them if possible..."
"That's all, bye." He said with a smirk as he snapped his fingers
/Burn!/
'The ground burned around him, and when the embers dissipated, Silver was nowhere to be seen.'
""...""
""Show off."" They all said in unison as they saw the lights of his Office on the third floor lit up
…
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Notes
Next chapter, now for real, will be the Statuses showcase.
Over 20 Statuses will be shown, most of them will be of the girls but I'll show other Statuses as well.
It'll be a pretty big chap so yeah.
Thanks for reading :)
As always, if anyone wants images, just make a request to me.
Peace!