I sure took my sweet time with this one, but here it is.
In the end, for the sake of releasing something after three weeks of silence, I'll post the first part before posting the second part. (10K words)
I had to cut the chapter into two because it was just too horrenduosly massive. I just kept writing as since I had no limit of words, ideas, or what I actually wanted to do, I did as I felt was right and wrote to my heart's content... Even if the chapter became a bit... Distracted?
Anyway, this isn't a main storyline chapter so I don't really care.
In case you don't understand, this is a Side Chapter, this means you don't need to read it to see the rest of the story, you can ignore and still appreciate the story as it is.
Thank you, that was all, the rest will be uploaded likely the day after tomorrow since I have some things left to do.
Peace.
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—--------------------------
/The day after Melen's nightmare…/
/Chirp chirp…/
/Chatter…/
"... Yawn…"
'Tired and worn out from Dungeon delving and the recent mess that befell Melen, Silver woke up to the chattering and hustling noises from the people walking and talking downstairs.'
'Usually, he would have grown somewhat upset about the noise pollution, but as he turned to the clock, he saw that it was already past 9 Am, way over the ordinary "quiet hours" of the Manor.'
'Everyone was likely already up and running by now, and soon enough, even their smithy would begin to flare. It was considerably far away from the Manor deeper down in its land, but with his hearing, he could still hear it easily, and it's not like he could unfocus while in deep sleep...'
'For him and some Demi-Humans as well, an afternoon nap was an impossibility. At least until the construction improvements to the forge came into being.'
'Until then…'
"Time to work." Silver said out loud as he entered the bathroom, taking a simple but fulfilling shower before leaving his room on the third floor, making his way down as he greeted everyone on the way
'Today, he had no plans, literally none... Well, it depends on what one defines as a plan...'
'No commissions pending, no prior arrangements, and no Dungeon diving, unfortunately.'
'Today, tomorrow, and maybe even the day after as well were 'free' days, time for him to prepare for his event he brought up on a whim just a while ago.'
'So in that sense, those weren't free days, instead, he would be preparing everything so he could give everyone a good time. Some of them really needed a rest…'
'Including him.'
…
/Sit…/
"Sigh… Pappers…" Silver said with a tired gaze as he looked at the piles of papers in front of him
'That was why, after meeting with a girl carrying a large pile of documents as she went to Daphne's Office, Silver did as he promised her and took the work upon himself, shaving some of the burden off her shoulders.'
'Nevertheless, seeing the pile nicked his spirits...'
"What is even all of this?... Construction Details… Contracts… Bank Receipts… Okay, this much is understandable… Still…"
'There was no need for him to organize the papers as it seemed someone had already done so. Still, Silver went through them all and sorted them out into several smaller piles.'
'In the end, all of the "important" piles were still less than half of the entire load.'
"Okay, what is all of this?" He asked out loud with some disdain
I don't really intend to stay here for long but neither do I wish to send the message I'm lazy with my work, I'll do this thoroughly but…
"Is this a darned love letter? Why is it in the Familia's document pile?!" Silver said out loud as his forehead tensed
'The pink love letter was as conspicuous as it could get, "cute" was written all throughout it.'
We have three mailboxes, one for Familia Members, one for the Familia itself, and one special mailbox for urgent/important matters.
The last one is private so not many know of its existence.
So why was this one in the Familia mailbox?
"There is no signature in this… Neither is there a recipient, but I think I can infer who this was written for from the description of the person in question from the letter."
There are only so many men in the Familia...
'Silver thought for a minute to confirm his suspicions before shaking his head in embarrassment, the letter was a bit too cheesy for him and he was a little sorry he opened it.'
'Still, better than reading it out loud to find who it belonged to...'
"... Whatever, this isn't for my eyes to see… Not that I can forget it."
It seems one of the boys has an admirer, good for them.
But why send it to the Familia mail? I can only imagine how Daphne would've felt to act as a cupid for this girl if she were to see this on her desk…
Wait, now that's my job…
Hum… This is troublesome, not for the issue itself, it is simple to solve, but for what it signifies.
"Did the sender commit a blunder and send it to the wrong address or are our mailboxes not properly disclosed?"
Wait… Was it on purpose?
What if the sender is from the Familia but decided to send the letter due to being embarrassed?
Hoho… That would be interesting…
'It wouldn't be hard for Silver to track the sender, but he abided by his previous words.'
'It was none of his business.'
"One done… A hundred more pending." Silver said with a sigh as he pulled the next one
…
/Later…/
'Time passed and the clock spun once as Silver pulled one letter after the other, quickly sorting through them as he pressed his brain for every ounce of its power.'
'To go through them faster, he created two clones to sit down next to him, letting them go through the simple texts that required just a signature to be completed, although they did read the text to confirm its contents.'
'Daphne would usually sign the papers herself as the Vice Captain, but in the end, many papers befell Silver to sign, or Hestia, but funny enough, Hestia did not know how to sign and even if she did, Silver would not let her out of fear of her accepting something like a construction project of a statue of him.'
'He was 85% certain she would accept on the spot.'
'As he worked, he was visited by several people, mostly the Executives, which made him realize it was time to update their numbers.'
'It had been around a month since the Recruitment began and they received several new Level 2 adventurers to their ranks, as such, there was the need for an update in their hierarch system, especially since they now had over 100 members.'
'In the next few months, many of them would likely Level Up, and it would be too much to give them Executive Status, most of them didn't even want such responsibilities, Cassandra was one such example.'
'She was an executive in name only, something along the lines of "Chief Healer", although what was the point of that when she was the only one was debatable.'
'Still, she did her "job" pretty well, training daily as she tried to master the techniques Silver requested of her when she first joined, many months ago.'
'From Concurrent Chanting to Chant Quickening, everything to make her less of a viability while in the field.'
'Aside from the Executives, Silver was also visited by a few other individuals as they wished to have an audience with him.'
'Despite how close he tried to act with every member, Silver was somewhat elusive, and sometimes, he would come and go before anyone had the time to share their troubles and requests with him.'
'This was something Hestia and Daphne had told him more than once to tone down a little, but it was hard to… At least according to him.'
'Their requests were nothing special, some were requests, others were suggestions, and a few were merely there to ask for permission to try something, such as a girl who wanted to expand the garden a little and add new flowers to it, which he let her do it as long as she first raised a garden in the back near the forest.'
'Transferring any flowers or plants would be easy then.'
'That was only one of the many problems he had to attend to as he balanced out the people's wishes and priorities.'
'Some complained about sound insulation between the rooms because some slept too loudly, others went to report mishaps such as a training sword breaking and so on.'
'There were too many small problems and Silver could not solve them all unless he wished to give up some of his well-deserved rest time, so needed to find a way to have people solve their own problems but not sow mayhem in the process.'
'A problem for another time… Maybe he could ask Finn and some other Familia Captains he knew for some pointers?'
'It wasn't like he didn't know how to manage things, but at the same time, managing an army of SuperHumans with particularly unusual problems was something else entirely.'
"This is tiring… I knew it was a bore but Daphne deserves more praise."
'Thank the Gods I'm having this beach party huh?' Silver thought with a smirk as he got up from his table, his job here done
'He pushed all of the papers onto his pocket space before leaving the room of his Office, closing and locking the door behind him and lifting a sign so that everyone knew he wasn't there anymore before going to Daphne's Office and putting all of the papers there with a small message from him that read:'
"If anything else pops up, just throw it at my table, door's locked so use the spare key. Also, thank you for your hard work."
'At the end of the message Silver drew a hand doing a thumbs up and he also left a glorious cake piece atop the letter, she would definitely enjoy it.'
'... Or maybe, she would frown in her usual manner before getting annoyed at Silver for his antics… Which wasn't unlikely…'
…
/Step step step…/
'As he walked around the Manor, ready to leave, Silver saw Hestia sitting around next to a group of around forty as she told them stories of the past.'
'They all sat around her like children around a campfire, which wasn't exactly far from reality given they were sitting next to one, and the fact they were somewhat young.'
'Most of their members beneath the age of 17 were here, which was quite a considerable number, many would begin working and pursuing their dreams around that age, since by 14, most people were already seen as adults.'
'Not that Silver agreed, that was why he banned alcohol consumption within the Manor grounds for anyone underneath 16, and even that was a hard fight from Hestia and the others who thought he was being too harsh...'
"..."
A Goddess huh...
'The sight of Hestia in a long white-blue robe sitting in a large chair as she recounted tales with a warm smile was enough to make anyone realize she was, in fact, a Goddess.'
'It didn't matter if her listeners were children or not, all could appreciate her stories one way or another.'
'But of course, this was Hestia… Whatever illusion she had created was bound to broken sooner or latter.'
"... And then, Silver teleported behind him and said: You are already dead! Before snapping his fingers, like this." Hestia said dramatically as she did an exaggerated pose
""Woah…"" Her listeners said in awe as they heard her
"..."
'From afar, Silver heard it all, and it baffled him.'
Really? I mean, mortals take the Gods very seriously and all but why are they believing her… It wasn't like that!
I never posed like that!... And those words are highly distorted!
'Although he wished to correct her, he wasn't there to ruin the mood so he let his Goddess act like one for a little longer. Because even if she was a bit silly with her antics, she was still his dear Goddess, and he wouldn't exchange her for anything.'
'She could play all she wanted for all he cared...'
"Hm?! Silver!"
'Nevertheless, as Silver tried to sneak away from the side, Hestia easily caught him, because no matter how much he tried to hide from her, she could always feel his blessing, which was by far the strongest out of everyone in the vicinity.'
'Like a shining beacon in the night, Silver's presence revealed itself to her so ever strongly.'
'In fact, that mattered little, Hestia could easily differentiate the blessings of every single one of her children, including even the triplets, whom she could always address perfectly without ever mixing them by mistake.'
'She also memorized all of their names and was already aware of their antics and individual personalities, something even Silver seemed to struggle a little to keep up with.'
'Even though she was terrible at it, Silver never won even a single match of chess against her, aside from when she was still learning the rules.'
'Such were Gods.'
""Hm?""
/Turn!/
'With Hestia's words, everyone turned their heads in synch, looking at Silver as he thought about what to do next.'
'His plan of leaving quietly burst like a soap bubble, so he approached her, knowing full well what she was about to ask of him.'
"Good morning everyone, I didn't mean to intrude." He said with a smile as he approached them
"It's almost Noon! Where have you been all this time?" Hestia asked as she got up from her seat, somewhat upset as she tried to take the high ground, prove to all she was their Goddess by reprimanding the Captain!
'Silver, however, wasn't interested in being played.'
"Ahem… I was in the Office doing paperwork." He replied with a tired expression, giving her a light pet in the head in the process
I could say I overslept, but I didn't go to the Dungeon yesterday and no one knows I went to Melen, it would be best to avoid having them question that.
"G-Good work, it must be tiring." Hestia replied awkwardly as she pushed his hand away, relunctely
"... I can tell just by looking at poor Daphne." She added with a sigh as she thought of her Vice-captain
"You should help her more, you know? Instead of vanishing who knows where every day!" She said with a pout as she tapped his shoulders, going on the offensive once more
"But I do help!" Silver replied in protest as Hestia began dragging him back to the center of the group
"Here! Sit with us for a moment, I was telling them some stories as we waited for Lunch to be made."
"Is it time already?" Silver asked as he pulled a chair for himself
'To promote an environment where everyone could grow closer to each other, Hestia decided that everyone needed to have their meals together.'
'From breakfast to dinner. It was similar to how Loki did it, she had a large lunch room where food would be served to whomever wished, like a school cafeteria.'
'Silver liked the idea, but decided to change things a little, especially since they had only one table in their living room, an extensive rectangular table, an upgrade from the previous one.'
'Due to the layout of the Manor, it would be hard to construct a cafeteria unless he demolished some rooms, something he was unwilling to do, so he improvised around it.'
'This, of course, created some problems, especially around some of their shy members, so to help them, anyone could fetch a tray of food and eat anywhere as long as they cleaned afterward, and if they stained anything, it would be up to them to clean it.'
'As for the food itself, before, cooking for three dozen people was more than manageable as long as a small group got together two to three hours before every meal.'
'Silver himself would usually do most of the work for breakfast, giving everyone a chance to wake up to a nice meal.'
'However, now that they had a few times that many members… Hestia was finally forced to accept his previous idea, they needed maids.'
'Before, Haruhime would clean certain areas on a cyclical schedule, but no matter how efficient she was, she couldn't take care of the Manor and train at the same time, so to make up for it, Hestia asked some of her Godly friends around and she found a Maid rental service that would do the work they needed.'
'For three hundred thousand Vallis a month, they would have a whole dedicated team of Maids who would do everything from cleaning to cooking daily, even on the weekends albeit then they wouldn't clean.'
'They were pretty efficient and their work made life in the Hearth Manor so comfortable, and that was why everyone was pretty okay with giving part of their earnings back to the Familia, to some degree they even felt it was too little.'
'Life in the Manor was pretty decent, there was a lack of privacy to some degree as you would be sharing your room with two others, sometimes three, but you had three high-quality meals every day, together with the protection of a pretty decent Familia and access to all of the establishments within'
'If you were to consider the cut the Familia took as the price of living in the Manor, the rent for such a luxurious place was reasonably small.'
'Of course, all of the contracted workers were female Maids much to the older boys' approval and some girls' disappointment.'
'However, no matter how much they complained, Hestia's and Silver's wills were unbendable, there was no way they would allow boys to enter the Familia like that, no matter how well-behaved and trained they were.'
'Of course, it is incorrect to believe there aren't troublemaking girls out there, Silver knew quite a few, but overall, the chances of one of the girls fooling around with one of the boys was lower than the contrary.'
'Though of course, there were still regulations in place to prevent mishaps from happening, from both males and females, given that all Maids were just ordinary people.'
'The details of such are far too numerous for Silver to remember right now.'
'Nonetheless...'
"Since that's the case, don't mind me." Silver said with a smile as he pulled a seat and sat down
I am quite hungry and I'm sure Daphne can wait a bit longer.
'He also had to deliver the letter, he couldn't forget that either.'
"... Anyway, what were you talking about? I heard it a bit as I came downstairs but…"
"Hehe… I was telling them some of your old stories." Hestia said with a smile as she looked at him with a smirk
"..."
/Stare…/
'As he turned to the side, he noticed how everyone was looking at him expectantly.'
"What?... You guys want a story too?" He asked as he raised his right eyebrow
/Nod!/
"Captain! Tell us about one of your adventures!" Someone exclaimed from the crowd, a young man no older than 17
'It was a little amusing how a boy his age referred to him as if he was a decade or two older… Though at the same time, Silver always acted as if he was many years older than he was nor did he dress the part.'
'If Silver let his beard grow, he could easily pass as being in his late 20s to early 30s, maybe that was part of his charm?'
"An adventure? I have a few…" He said with a pensive expression as he scratched his chin
I need a simple tale, but wouldn't that be boring?
Most of my stories are bad examples though...
"Oh! How about your Level Up feat?" Someone else exclaimed in the back, a 'young' Elven girl with red hair
'That one he knew, it was one of the Executives of the Familia, Level 2 adventurer, Fernin.'
'Like always, she claimed to be 21, but Silver always doubted it, unfortunately, aside from Hestia and a few other girls, no one else knew if that was the case or not.'
'No matter how much he asked, no one would ever say the truth, not even her arch nemesis, the Amazon she was constantly quarreling with.'
'Ignoring her strange presence in this gathering, Silver replied in a somewhat worried tone:'
"My Level Up feat? Which one? I have four."
"Stop bragging! Tell us your first feat!"
""Yeah!""
"I've heard of it but you never shared it with us." She replied with a smile of her own as she retreated back to the safety of the crowd, unwilling to enter a staring contest with her captain
"That's because the story is a bit…"
Heavy.
'But as he talked, Hestia patted his shoulder, saying it was okay.'
'Silver had multiple reasons to avoid sharing such stories, one being because they were terrible examples to set for the newbies who knew no better.'
'One thing was sharing it with High-Level adventurers who already went through many experiences and wouldn't give in to their emotions so easily, and another was showing it to a bunch of newcomers who only saw Kobods on the surface and goblins with flimsy knives and swords.'
'However, Hestia seemed to believe it was okay so Silver agreed to it in the end.'
"Fine, I guess there's nothing wrong with showing it once."
""Yay!"" They cheered
"Erm… Is there something wrong with the story?" Someone else asked as they raised their hand
'This time, it was a somewhat timid-looking girl, another girl Silver talked with quite frequently, Emma.'
'Emma had grown quite considerably ever since she joined, and despite her short stay, she had already become one of the strongest Level 1s of the Familia, not solely due to her Skill, but her actual combat ability and willingness to learn and improve herself.'
"Something wrong? Heh, depends on who you ask." He replied with a smirk as he looked out through the window
"... The opponent I faced as my Level Up feat is likely not going to be what each of you will face for your own achievement, and I don't want to put up a precedent for what one and must not do..."
"It isn't unusual for it to be an Orc or a Wyvern, sometimes it can even be a group of weaker Upper floors monsters…"
"But don't assume yours will be the same, it can come anytime, anywhere, you'll have to be ready for it and face it head-on, be it to flee or defeat the foe you've been pushed against."
"You won't gain special powers by defeating stronger monsters, that's not how it goes, so don't jump into danger…"
"You're one to talk! You say they're supposed to be ready, but weren't you the one who kept disobeying me and seeking out trouble in the Dungeon?!" Hestia asked out loud as she kept poking his chest
"Ahem... Those were... Controlled instances..." Silver said weakly as he looked away, smiling slightly as he had the urge to laugh
"Uhum, was your Level Up feat one such controlled instance?"
"..."
"No matter, enough with the boring talk, everyone here already knows that! You keep repeating every single time." Hestia said out loud as she pinched Silver's arm
/Nod.../
'They all nodded, was he really like that?'
"Ouch… I was just being considerate."
"You've done that enough times, now on with your story!"
"... Sigh, very well."
"My Level Up feat was a Minotaur." Silver said plainly
/Chatter…/
'Everyone began to chatter with each other, their reactions varied…'
"That's… Simpler than I thought." Fernin said as she touched her chin
"Not that it isn't impressive, I mean, a Minotaur isn't something a Level 1 can face, it's just…"
"I wasn't done talking." Silver said as he interrupted the Elf
/Silence.../
'They all waited, eager for details.'
"My Level Up feat wasn't just a Minotaur, it was an Irregular, enhanced species Minotaur... One that I created due to an experiment as I tried to see what would happen if I fed a monster too many Magic Stones."
"As you can imagine, it did pretty well..."
"It didn't!"
/Chatter!/
"No shot..." Someone exclaimed in the crowd
"Feeding Magical Stones... Isn't that... Ilegal?"
"So cool!"
"Who said it's cool?!" Hestia exclaimed once more as she looked around, her eyes narrowed
"Ahem... I was also ambushed by rogue adventurers, one of which was Level 3, ordinary stuff..."
"As if!" Hestia said out loud as her forehead tensed
/Gasp!/
"... After facing them off and defeating their leader, I was charged at by the Minotaur, who just massacreted their remaining members, and we both fell down a shaft, falling a few floors somewhere underneath Rivera where we had our showdown."
"I emerged victorious, pretty cool huh?"
""Stop bragging!"" Hestia and Fermin said at the same time as they looked at Silver
""What?!""
'Their reactions were all pretty similar, shock and disbelief was written on their faces, some even felt chills in their stomach.'
'To an ordinary adventurer, what Silver did was no short of monstrous, like the descent of a nightmare.'
'Although to some... It was like a story straight out of a Heroic tale.'
"Heh, now you're all surprised… Sit down then, I'll tell you all what happened, just don't go telling others about it, I like to be the one to share my own stories."
/Nod!/
'They nodded with great zeal, sitting down silently as they waited for Silver to start his narration.'
"Let's see, where should I start…"
…
'For the next hour or so, Silver shared his story with everyone, taking out some details such as the people he killed that day, albeit still keeping some of the details so the story would be closer to what happened.'
'He did say he defeated the Level 3 adventurer, but left the rest of the details out of the story as he didn't wish to imprint fear into the minds of the younger ones.'
'At the same time, he did not use his Plasmids to depict the story as he wished to do it naturally, and everyone seemed to enjoy it regardless.'
'Towards the end of his story, bell chimes were heard coming from within the Manor, so everyone got up. It was time for Lunch.'
…
'Nothing especial happened during the lunch, Silver sat down besides Hestia while everyone began to enjoy the food prepared by the Maids and cooks.'
'Following that, he discussed some more with Daphne regarding the Beach Party and took the time to see how everyone was progressing with their respective trainings, especially Haruhime who now had a lot of time in her hands.'
'He didn't stay for long as soon enough, he left through the front door of the Manor, stepping onto the streets outside.'
…
/Later…/
'In the street right in front of the Manor, Silver looked around as he thought about what to do next.'
'The street itself had changed greatly since he moved here with many of the buildings closed for reforms and maintence.'
'As he discussed with Daphne before, Silver bought most of the land of the street, it wasn't the sole street that led to their Manor, but it was the one that led to its entrance.'
'Many of the houses and shops were being refurbished and remodeled into all kinds of facilities, warehouses, potion workshops, smiths, and even dormitories.'
'And not only those, but the street itself was undergoing reforms as well as the stone was smoothed out, the sidewalks were decorated, the street lamps were changed to fit a certain theme, that Hestia was used to, the Olympian Archtectural style of preference.'
'It was quite the mess right now, but within a few months, everything would quieten down and things would resume their usual pace. Although until then, Silver had to figure out what to do with the multiple empty buildings he would have by then.'
'For once, he was thinking of leising them off until the Familia expended further, but that wasn't exactly that profitable, not that money was his priority.'
'Silver paid for most of these out of his own pockets by going to the Dungeon, killing everything within a floor before selling the loot on the surface every day.'
'He was very efficient as well, he dreamed that one day, he could buy several streets and make his own little community in a similar way Hephaestus and Ishtar did with their surroundings.'
'Although that was a dream far too distant.'
"Hupp!… Alright! Everything's done." He said out loud as he stretched his back
I gave the letter to the guy and I talked with Daphne, the Beach party will be the day after tomorrow, a bit earlier then I expected, so it's time to get some things ready.
I'll be leaving Orario the day after that so anything that's pending needs to be cleaned up, especially now that it's sooner then I expected.
With the conclusion of Melen's investigation, I would say I don't have anything major on my agenda left, so that's one.
Hum… First, I think I'll visit some people, tell them I'll be unable to visit for a while.
'Silver thought of the Xenos, he tends to visit them every few days to train and talk whenever he is in the Dungeon.'
'It's hard to find monsters as strong as them, as usually, only Boss monsters would have their strength, aside from the rare Irregular or Enhanced species.'
'Their strength comes mostly from their intelligent as it makes them wise enough to create tactics and master combat techniques.'
'Aside from them, he didn't have anyone left to inform, Loiju was already aware he was leaving Orario, and although he wished to keep it a secret for the most part, he knew there would be many who would be worried if he did not visit after a few days, so he could extend it to others he knew as well.'
Aside from all that, it's a good time to start inviting people to the party too, isn't it?
'Silver took a piece of parchment from his 'pockets' before writing several names in it.'
Hestia already invited some people out of her own volition, so I should keep track of who she's calling... Would be a bit awkward to call Gods in opposing terms to the same party.
Let's go from top to bottom, shall we?
/Shua!/
'With that, Silver vanished on the spot.'
…
/Around an hour or so later.../
/Bam!/
/BAM!/
/Step back.../
"Huff… Great, you're doing great." Takemikazuchi said as he blocked one of Silver's blows
"Phew…"
"Keep up this momentum and you'll become a Master!" He praised as he rested, standing in a stance as he recovered his stamina
"That'll likely take a few more decades though. But thanks for the incentive." Silver added as he breathed heavily
I still can't land a blow on him. Not if I limit my strength to his level.
He can easily read my moves if I slow down. It's not wrong to say he can predict them.
Better put, he pushes me towards a position I'm forced to either do what he wishes or lose, all of that combined and more and you have what it feels like to face him.
"Decades you say... That's already pretty good, many train for longer, sometimes their entire lives without achieving such status."
"In your case, I can see a glimpse of such a possibility in a not so distant future."
"... If the God of War says so then it must be true." Silver said with a smile as he wiped his hands of dirt and sweat
'Like always, Silver passed by Takemikazuchi's rented home to train in Martial Arts, a process he was already far too used to.'
'It was a way for him to grow closer to his Familia while also spending some time with the God, who was more than happy to teach someone willing to learn with both sweat and blood, maybe someone too eager…'
'It was also a form of meditation for him, training with Take helped Silver calm and sooth his mind, it was especially effective given how stressed he was after the War Game, and in a certain sense, were it not for his advice, Silver might've gone after Emma's persuers with blood in his eyes.'
'In the end, he controlled himself, taking a more passive stance as he observed them from afar. But don't take it as submission, Silver would take care of them once he was back, it's just that they aren't an issue for now.'
"Being too humble can oftentimes pass by as arrogance." Take said as he smiled slightly
"Still, I stand for what I said before, your foundation is good enough, you know how to fight, maybe too well..."
"You're too violent and fighting style is not yet defined, one being the consequence for the other."
"Because of your Unique Ability, your 'realm of influence' is far too great to be fully explored."
"Most swordsman will stay sharp so they can cut their foe before they are cut, they will sharpen their senses for decades, centuries on end to achieve even a slight advantage."
"But you don't need to fear blades as you can heal from said injuries, if a swordsman cuts and he is faster then you, then you can push through it and slash back with little repercussion."
"However, for as big of an advantage as that is, it isn't all powerful, negligence sprung from overconfidence will drill a hole in your ability, and one day, that hole will collapse your foundation when pressure from unexpected sources arise."
"You can learn anything and add onto it, but given how hard it is to master a technique and weapon, just when will you master them all?"
"... I'm aware that my abilities can lead to negligence... It isn't something I'm new too. That is why I often limit what to use within the Dungeon, albeit that also falls onto what you said before, I can't master it all, and in this scenario, I'm giving up my ability for the sake of training my body and senses."
"I aim to strike a balance between two, that in their combined efforts, I can achieve a degree of power beyond what both could ever achieve alone."
"As for wheater or not I can master it all... I never thought I could. I just want to learn everything to a certain degree, it counts as good physical exercise either way…"
"Nonetheless, I can't say much about my fighting Style…" Silver said in a pensive tone as he touched the back of his head
"It can be complicated, to reach a realm of 'individuality', still, however hard it may be, never give up pursuing it, even if it may lead you back to the very beginning." Take said with a small smile as he rested his hands on his hips
"Right, I never thought about giving up." He replied with a smile of his own as he conjured some water to wash his face with
'For a moment, both of them remained silent, resting before Take opened his mouth to ask:'
"Regardless, what was that you wanted to ask me? You've been somewhat distracted today, I've noticed it from the beggining."
"Oh yeah, it's nothing really impressive." Silver replied with a chuckle as he stretched his neck
"Soon enough, I'll be leaving Orario to visit my hometown and family."
"And since it's been around a month since the recruitment ceremony and all of 'that'... I thought it would be a good idea to throw a party between friends."
"Homeland? That's good, a Familia's bond can be strong but not as thick as one's blood." Take said with slow nods as he thought of the Far East and what he was here to do
"I love both either way." Silver replied as he shook his head
"But I really need to visit them, it's been almost a year for once, my mother will kill me if I take any longer to visit her."
"I bet! It has always been like this… The love a mother..."
'Take was initially happy, but his expression turned solemn rather quickly before returning to normal.'
'It wasn't hard to understand why, he was the Head God of a Shrine whose main purpose was to shelter orphans, he must understand what being a parent is more than many other Gods, but at the same time, he is sad for the fact those children do not possess what so many others take for granted.'
'It's as they say, all children deserve loving parents.'
"I won't take long, my hometown is just a few days on foot from Orario, a Village to the North… So I'll have to skip a few classes, I hope you won't mind that." Silver said with a smile as he moved to the side, grabbing a shirt and putting it on
'As always, both Silver and Take trained without their shirts on, much to Mikoto and the other girls' bother, although their captain and the other boys said it was pretty mainly...'
'There was a certain fantasy in seeing a God of War train a Warrior in such rustic manner within a field of sand next to an Oriental Style building…'
"No worries, just make sure to never skip morning practice. No matter one's talent, daily exercise can do wonders for one's goals. It's always important to walk, no matter how slow it may be, even if you have to crawl." Take said as he shook his head
"Don't worry, I will."
"Oh, as for the party I mentioned, I plan on having a beach meetup on Lolog Lake two days from now, so I wanted to ask if you'd be interested, your children included of course."
"A beach party?" Take asked as he touched his chin
"Correct, it's nothing fancy, merely something I thought about doing to give everyone some rest so they can relax, you can't be working all the time, can you?... Cough…"
"Although it'll likely get quite crowded, the space we have is pretty big so it won't be an issue."
"I think it's a great idea, although, in the end, it's up to Mikoto and the others to decide, I'll follow their decision." Take said with a nod as he crossed his arms
"But uh… Ahem… Our situation is…"
"You don't need to worry much about that, just get a pair of trunks and you're golden, and swimsuits for the girls of course."
"The rest we can provide, if you don't have one I can give you a spare, I have a few, too many even, a result from going shopping with Hestia from time to time."
"Still, it would be too much to freeload you…"
"I'm inviting you to a party I'm scheduling, you aren't freeloading." Silver retorted with a laugh as he waved Take away
"If you wish, you can bring some food and some drinks, although they'll likely vanish in the wave of people that'll go…"
"But I would suggest you bring some sunscreen and a pair of slippers since the sand will likely be pretty hot, maybe some beach toys as well? Your choice really."
"That much I can do! Still, it's on them… But who else is going?"
'His question made Silver think of his list, so he began going through it out loud:'
"Well, from those I know, aside from the Familia, there will be Artemis', Leto's, and Kichijoten's, I was thinking of inviting Miach as well, although he has a shop to look after so I'm not too confident on that."
"..."
'Take was quite surprised, those were quite a few Gods...'
'Also, did he just herd Kichikoten's name? Was she in Orario as well? What a surprise, to find another Far East God here...'
'Maybe he should visit her if possible, it had been ages since they last saw each other, in fact, wasn't this just the chance to catch up?'
"Hum... Maybe Demeter will go too? She's pretty busy since Winter is right around the corner, but still..."
"Hephaestus will likely refuse since she has her issues to take care of so she'll likely refuse… There's Dia too, she's a friend of Hestia if you're unnware, I'm uncertain if she has any more though."
"Hermes? Loki? Hum… Between the both of us, I'm not too keen on inviting perverts to a party where most of the participants are girls, still, maybe some of their members will go too."
"I also invited some other people that don't belong to a Familia either."
"Anyone else?... I don't know, maybe there will be more. But the likely estimation of people is around 200, with over half being from my Familia of course."
Quite a few people, we'll crowd a section of the beach that's for sure.
"You… Know quite some people don't you?" Takemikazuchi said as a bead of sweat fell from his forehead
"That's how it usually goes, I met quite a few people over the days..." Silver replied awkwardly as he looked away
"Ahem… Still, two days from now is a bit close but manageable, however, how do you plan on getting there? Melen is quite far from here, I've not gone there myself but I heard about it a little."
"Yes, Melen is half a day on foot from Orario, you can get there within two or three hours if you ride a wagon, but distance is not a problem."
"Not a problem?"
"Yup, here, let me show you." He said as he raised his right hand, stretching it towards the air
/Grab! Pull!/
'In a somewhat exaggerated motion, Silver pulled the air, stretching it before "ripping" it apart, revealing a long, beautiful beach of golden sand.'
"Here, that's how I'll lead everyone there." Silver said with a sly smile as he took a step through the 'hole' he just made
'He was really showing off now, going out of his way to look cool…'
"... Impressive, your abilities never cease to amaze me." Take said as he followed Silver inside the portal, stepping onto a beach for the very first time ever since he descended
'There, he saw many things, a wooden house on the side with a rather wide counter, together with dozens of beach chairs with wide umbrellas, and more.'
'Although it seemed some places were still under construction, the place seemed rather cozy.'
"Did you… Make all of this?" Take asked in awe as he looked around
"Yes, it's nothing impressive, just your run-of-the-mill beach kiosk. The house itself was simple to make, the chairs aswell, while the umbrellas were bought from several stores throughout Orario, you know, since shops don't usually have large stocks of them."
"Still, it's quite neat since now we have several colorful umbrellas decorating the beach."
'Silver pointed to the side where a large expanse of nothing stood.'
"I'm currently planning on stalling a bathroom there and there, but I'll leave those for later once I spend sometime thinking about how to make it work..."
"After we're done, I plan on leaving these things here so we can use them whenever we want, it's not against the law either since I got permission not long ago, and as long as we don't litter and take proper care of the beach, I don't see the problem." Silver said with a cheeky smile as he looked around
Melen could easily develop itself into a tourist attraction, a beach city right next to Orario, it could easily bloom into something… If they can solve the issue of the monsters in the lake that is.
Although we may have a solution for that.
"This is incredible, you're as capable with construction as you are with fighting." Take praised once more as he nodded
"Come on, it's not really that complicated, a wooden hut and some chairs, anyone could've done it with some time…"
"But few do, that's what matters." Take interjected as he shook his head
"... I'll talk with the others and try to convince them to come, this is a great opportunity for them to socialize a bit more. I'm afraid I've been too harsh on them recently with their training, necleting the due private time they all rightfully deserve." Take said as he looked down, somewhat disgrunted
"Together with their responsibilities, I fear they may be worse than they show, they need a rest, as you said."
"Maybe, although I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't, their mentality is strong, far stronger then your ordinary adventurers."
"I'll be waiting for the good news then." Silver said as he turned back, stepping through the portal, Take right in tow
/Close…/
'Once they stepped out and put on their clothes again, Silver said his goodbyes to Take before continuing on his journey, there was still much to do and many people to talk to.'
'It was a shame Take's children weren't there to say what they thought about it, but it wasn't like the world stopped moving just because he went on a vacation, they were down in the Dungeon, working hard as always.'
'And that was exactly why they did deserve a rest.'
…
'Following his visit to Takemikazuchi, Silver passed by Hephaestus' workshops, inviting her and her captain to the beach party as he planned previously.'
'Unfortunately, as to be expected, both flat out refused.'
'Hephaestus really had no time in her hands, that week alone she had two commissions left to fulfill, which made Silver wonder who had so much money in their hands to have her work like that, still, Orario wasn't short of rich individuals.'
'As for her captain, Tsubaki, she was literally interested in nothing aside from her work, something she made clear every time they met.'
'She was so adamant and laser focused on continuing her work she could barely even name the streets surrounding her workshop.'
'So unless Silver gave her a reason to follow him, such as he going on an adventure and needing her assistance, she would remain in her forge as per usual, sharpening her craft so she could one day surpass her Goddess.'
'The reason she was still single and would remain as such…'
'At the very least, Hephaestus promised to participate next time, knowing full well Hestia would annoy the shit out of her if she refused twice.'
'If he worked a little hard, maybe he could create an excuse to pull Tsubaki into it as well, but that was something for the future.'
'A little disgruntled, Silver understood their position and accepted their emotions before moving on to his next target, Miach.'
'There wasn't much to say about the Alchemist, as always, Miach was hands-deep in his experiments inside his laboratory.'
'Somewhat unexpectedly, Miach accepted going without thinking too deeply about it, however, due to the fact he needed to keep his shop going, since even a single day outside of business could lead to his rival, Dian Cecth taking a larger share of the market, he would only be bringing Nazza and another girl, a recent alchemist that joined their Familia to the party as she showed interested in going to the sea once before.'
'And as the Gigolo he was, Miach remembered it all too clearly.'
'After explaining the details very much like he did with Take, he moved on to invite his next target…'
…
/Stop…/
"Here it is." Silver said out loud as he looked up
'In front of him, a few stories tall building rose from amidst the rolls of houses.'
'It looked average in every way, but it was unique in its own way. Looking like a mix of a postal office and an Inn, and for good reason.'
'Next to a wooden door was a plaque, it read: "Traveller's Inn".'
'This seemingly unassuming place was the home of a Familia, one with a very troublesome and mischievous God…'
/Push…/
'Silver pushed the door open, entering the Inn.'
…
/Din din din…/
'Inside, he was met with the usual appearance every other Inn in the city had, with the twist it was extremely empty.'
'Honestly, this place didn't look like an Inn as it looked more like the reception of the Guild then a the first, even if it were, the emblem of the Familia hanging on the wall gave away what this place trully was.'
"Just a minute…" A voice echoed from within
'As he waited for the voice to arrive, Silver approached the empty counter, stretching his arms as he looked around more.'
"Phew… Hi, how may I… Oh! It's you!"
'The girl who arrived was a cat girl with short dark hair, he met her before during Melen's investigation.'
(Image?)
"I didn't expect you to visit already, most of us are still sleeping after that tiresome day, nya." She said with a sigh as she looked around
'Diferent from some other catgirls he knew, her distinctive "catgirl speech" was a relatevely tame. Almost forceful even, as if she lost all of the energy she once had.'
'Compared to Anya, who loved screaming "Nya" every minute, her slow, methodical, almost robotic way of saying it felt odd and wrong.'
"Why aren't you also?"
"Humph, someone has to wait for customers, you know how it is, I'm being paid extra to stay awake, I'm used to it already." She said as she moved her right hand around
'She didn't look tired, but the faint dark circles around her eyes hinted at the fate she would soon experience...'
'Meanwhile, as she said that, she rested her elbows on the counter, looking at Silver with curious yet lazy eyes.'
"Anyway, how may I help you? Are you here for a commission? We do many things, though officially, we mostly handle transporting duties to whatever isn't related to the Dungeon."
"Need a pair of eyes? A pair of ears? Maybe a mouth to leak some words?"
"A pair of hands to fetch something important? A pair of pockets to hide something? What about a pair of feet to step where they do not belong? Nya~" She asked slowly as she inspected Silver's expression
'It did not change, but it wasn't like she was paying much attention to it regardless, it was more of a... Instinctual reflex then anything.'
'Silver was amidst some of the few she could trust, but then again, trust was a hard earned luxury in her line of her work, and for someone like Silver, one could never drop their guard.'
"It's nothing like that, it's simpler you see…" Silver said as he began explaining his idea
…
"Oh! A beach party! Now that's a plan I enjoy." She said with a chuckle as she took a step back
"After going all the way to Melen only to walk around a port that stinks of fish and sweaty sailors, together with a bucket of too much salt, I can't help but say I'm disappointed, nya~…"
"Still, I don't think we have the time to play around, not after what happened." She said in a deeper tone as she looked to the side
'Silver could understand her emotions, after seeing people die and burn in a fire, it was likely too much to enjoy a party right beside their now scorched homes.'
'It made him awkward, maybe he was the weird one here.'
'It wasn't like he felt nothing, but what he felt wasn't too significant either…'
'Somewhere along the way of his journey, he had grown a tidy too unsympathetic.'
"That's okay, I guess now is not the time…"
"No no, you misunderstood me." Tabitha said as she shook her head
"We've experienced our fair share of trouble and unfortunate circumstances, in a sense, that's how most of us even joined this little corner of the world."
"So if we were to mourn a day for every tragedy we've experienced over the years, we would have no time to rest."
"When you work in this field, it's just like that." She said in a deeper tone as her tail reached the ground
"Still, we can't keep being gloomy all the time, the dead wouldn't want us to feel that way…"
"And if they did, fuck them nya!"
"..."
/Chuckle/
"It seems even you can lose your composure from time to time." She said with a light smile as her tail began to wail around
"We're up to our necks in commissions, so taking a rest now would only make things worse, we did spend close to a few days outside of Orario after all, if we include the days we took to prepare and now the time to handle the aftermath…"
"We may be a bit lazy, but we still have appearances to keep, and if we don't want others sniffing around because their commissions got late, then we ought to work."
"There's just too much left pending, if we rest now, we'll only have to work more later, maybe even some issues to resolve."
"Just your usual day of overwork, that is the motto of the Hermes Familia. Just don't tell Hermes-Sama I said that, he'll start nitpicking at me again, nya~..."
"... I see, either way, if you guys feel like coming, just send me a letter, you can also pass by the Hearth Manor and I'll take you guys there."
"If it's an inconvenience for you guys to approach us in the open, once again, just send in a letter and I'll come fetch you all up."
"Even if you can't stay for long, you can still enjoy the morning sun with a good drink, that should lift your spirits, even if little." Silver said as he waved his hand to Tabitha
"Send my regards to Hermes and the others, see ya, I hope you guys can make it." Silver said as he turned around, leaving the Inn
"Bye bye, thank you for the invite, nya~... Hm… Alright, you guys can come out now." She said in a serious tone after a while
/Thud!/
"Hey! You sure he isn't around anymore? What if he notice we were there?" Keaks asked as he pushed a blond pallum aside
"Get your greasy hands off my hair Keaks! Besides, of course he would notice you with your wide ass nose sucking in all of the oxygen in the street." Pock exclaimed as he slapped Keaks' hand away
"What did you say punk?! How about you grow a few inches down there first before you speak to me like that?"
"Beh! The only inches I need is how deep I can shove my fist on your face!" He replied as he got ready to punch Keaks
/Rolls eyes…/
"Sigh."
If even I knew you two were there, do they think he didn't know either?
I'm glad he didn't point it out, it would've hurt their egos...
And if there's one thing worse then dealing with that guy is tending to these guys' antics.
'Everything went back to normal, kust another day for the Hermes Familia.'
…
/Another hour later.../
'Following his visit to the Hermes Familia, Silver went around Orario buying large quantities of supplies such as meat and vegetables to be grilled at the party before stopping by his last spot for the day.'
'A large European castle stood in the middle of a large plaza, the home of the Loki Familia!'
…
/Just a few minutes later.../
"... I'll be frank, you guys wanna go to the beach?" Silver asked as he looked at Loki and company
""...""
'Inside Finn's Office, Silver sat on a couch in front of Loki and Finn while Gareth and Riveria stood nearby, equally perplexed by the nature and abruptness of his request.'
'When Silver visited them, they were already somewhat surprised, when he said he had a preposition, they got curious, and now, they were stunned, not for the nature of his request, but for how out of nowhere it came...'
'It's not everytime you hear something like that, especially for someone in their position, this may have been their first time ever being invited into a beach party.'
'It wasn't that surprising Silver was the one who gave the idea, his way of acting was similar to the Gods in some ways...'
'He always came up with an absurd idea from seemingly nowhere, only a God would decide to organize a beach party or to drink poison as a way to train in the Dungeon... At least, in a non-fatal way...'
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No no… We're just surprised, that's all." Finn replied as he smiled slightly
"So what do you guys think?"
"I do think it's a nice idea, a good way to release some steam before our next expedition." Gareth voiced as he scratched his beard
"I think so too, but I imagine you didn't come here to invite all of us did you?" Finn asked as he looked at Silver
"Well… I wouldn't mind having a bigger party somewhere in the future… But yes, I came here to invite you guys, since I know you better, Ais' group too of course, if they're interested."
/Tsk.../
'From the side, Silver heard Loki tsk quietly as she looked away, thinking deeply as she remained still.'
"That's understandable, thank you for the consideration and the invitation but as you just heard, we're preparing for an expedition and I have no time to fool around." Finn replied as he shook his head
"No problem, I can see you all share the same feelings, that I can understand."
"A party is not enjoyable if your friends aren't there to enjoy it with you." Silver said as he looked at both Gareth and Riveria
"It's a shame but it's okay. If you ever feel the need to explore the sea, give me a call." Silver said as he turned to Loki
"Anyway, since I'm here, was the wine any good? One of my Familia members 'borrowed' those bottles from the warehouse, causing quite the ruckus as they went around drunk in the Manor."
"It's quite the strong liquor." He said with a thin smile
"... Haaa… Don't make me remember, I don't think I can forget its taste…" Loki said dramatically as she touched her forehead
"It was excellent, been a while since I had such a good one. Thank you, it was a nice gift." Gareth added on the side as he gave Silver a nod
"I'm glad, for a moment I was afraid… Don't tell me…"
"Sigh, what do you think? She got so drunk she went around groping everybody, especially some of our younger female members who were powerless to stop her, so she had to be detained in her room for an entire day and night before we felt it was okay to release her." Riveria said as she looked at Silver
"... I already apologized okay?…" Loki said weakly as she looked away, pouting as she pushed her fingers against each other
"..."
So that's why she's been so silent, she's feeling guilty… And a bit fearfull...
Riveria must've been really mad.
"Do you want some more?" He asked with a 'honest' smile as he looked at Loki
"Yes please!"
"No, thank you." Riveria replied with an icy frown as she pulled Loki's shoulders back
"R-Riveria, you're hurting me..." Loki whispered in a low tone as she felt Riveria's tyrannical grasp
"Hahaha… Don't worry, those were my last ones, to get some more you'll have to go pester Soma, but I don't think he'll give in easily… Maybe not, he's too lazy to refuse." Silver said with a chuckle before going pensive
"Well, if you guys do reconsider spending a morning on the beach, send me a letter and I'll take care of the rest." He added as he got up from the couch
"That was quick." Loki said as she touched her shoulders, trying to ease the pain as she massaged them
"I've already taken much of your time already, next time we can talk more."
"Once Ais and the others come back from the Dungeon, tell them I said hi. See you guys next time."
'Everyone exchanged their goodbyes, and like the wind, Silver left through the Office's door as quickly as he came, leaving Loki and the others alone with their thoughts.'
"Siiigh, what a shame, a little party by the beach with some pretty girls and good wine seems like such a good idea… Exactly what I need..." Loki said out loud as she rested her head on her couch
"Do you think anyone will accept going to the beach with you after what you did?" Riveria asked as she looked at Loki
"I already said I'm sorry!"
…
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Notes