(General POV)
"Just where the hell have you been young man? Haven't seen you since the day you bravely stood in my shoes for a moment and threw that moron out!" Bellowed Mia as she slammed his food down in front of him.
Lyze rubbed the back of his head and smiled as sweetly as he could.
"I've been a little occupied Mama. You know, getting used to the dungeon and all..."
"And stealing the Astraea Familia's target right in front of them huh?" She elbowed him in the shoulder as his body was rocked from side to side. "I've been hearing of your shenanigans in the dungeon all month. Folks can't stop talking about you."
"I didn't know I was so famous." Lyze said.
Mia chuckled and ruffled his hair, creating more cowlicks in the process which annoyed him. But the unspoken rule was to never tell Mia what to do... unless you were a higher level adventurer than her, but even then Ottar tried to stay out of her way when he could.
"Don't soak it up too much kid. Gossip will die down and you'll disappear back into the crowd soon enough. On another subject..." She grabbed his arm again like she did last time. Once again he felt powerless in her grip as she felt his biceps and his forearm up and down, pinching at bits of skin here and there. "...Mhm. Yes, even though you haven't come back here since, I can tell you've put a lot more meat on ya. I bet you've gotten much stronger now."
"I have." Lyze replied. "In fact, I'll probably be due to level up again soon."
Mia's eyes widened as she looked at his Familia sat by him. "Is that true?"
"Yep Mama Mia." Loki said, her face already flushed from the alcohol she'd inhaled. "Didn't I tell you he was amazing? It hasn't even been a month and he's technically already a level 3."
This drew a lot more whispers from the patrons than last time but now Lyze was not so worried about the attention on him. Now that he knew where he stood in the power ladder, he was confident he could defend himself against most threats. Besides, the people would find out soon enough anyway so what was the point of hiding it?
"You weren't kidding. You really have been busy." Mia murmured in amazement before she grinned and slapped him on the back. "Now I understand why little Syr is so taken with you."
"She is?"
"Of course. She wouldn't stop yapping about you when she came back with the laundry today." Mia said while waving her hand. "She even said she wanted to serve your drinks personally if you popped by. She's there right now."
And as a matter of fact, Syr was actually there, emerging from the kitchen with a bottle of mead and a tankard for him, a smile plastered on her face as she approached their table. Ais sat up a little, wary as the girl approached. The little frown that had appeared on her face did not go amiss by either Riveria or Mia.
Mia grinned wider while closing her eyes and held Lyze's shoulder as she bent down a little.
"Now I understand that I probably don't have to say this to you, but a lot of adventurers tend to come in here and speak rudely to my employees, treating them like their servants. Syr is a nice and forgiving girl which is why she tends to let things go..." Mia's grip on his shoulder tightened. "...but I don't forget young man. So do please treat her nicely while she serves you exclusively tonight, okay?"
"Of course." He nodded, not at all scared. This was just the way Mama Mia was, so there was no point getting worked up about it. Besides, common sense dictated that you took care of your waiters, so those that didn't deserved to be pummelled by Mia's fists.
Mia nodded approvingly before she straightened and cast a questioning glance at the rest of them.
"Not that I'm complaining and all, but why exactly do you all seem to be in high spirits? And for what reason did you order more booze than usual? You haven't had an expedition as far as I know."
"Well you see Mia..." Gareth began. "...it just so happens to be this young man's birthday today, his ninth to be exact. So times like these called for extra cheer and plenty of booze to celebrate."
"Is that so?" Mia raised an eyebrow as she looked down at Lyze. He nodded at her to confirm Gareth's words. Mia's smile became a whole lot wider as she smiled a big toothed one. "In that case, all his meals will be on the house!"
Lyze stared at her, not expecting that generosity at all. "Thank you Mama." he said, his tone conveying some of his surprise.
"You're welcome." She said before she leaned near him again and whispered quietly. "But in return, you'd better make sure you come here more often. I can't have you jumping levels that fast and you're not eating the proper food."
"I don't mean to be rude, but exactly how would you know how much I need to eat and what I need to make me grow? How much do you even think I'm eating?"
"HAHAHAH!" Mia laughed loudly. "Let me tell you something young man. I once knew someone that was exactly like you at your age. Small and thin but snippy with a big bite on him. I made sure he ate a lot just as much as he trained, and what do you know, he became one of the strongest out there. From a tiny little sprat to a giant, thanks to my food and my diet plan." She put her hand on his head again. "So you'd do well to listen to me when I tell you to drop by and eat."
"And have me constantly splashing out money for your extravagant portions." Lyze muttered.
"Of course!" Mia grinned. "That's the best part. Youngsters need to learn how to spend money well and what better to chuck your Valis at than good food?"
'Well I can't deny that her food is good even if it does not reach the same standards back home." Lyze thought. 'But at least the food is good. Back home, nearly all restaurants would overprice their palates whiles serving you absolute dogcrap. I can't count the amount of times I've thrown a takeaway in a public bin.'
"Thank you for the food, Mama." He bowed.
"You're welcome. And do keep calling me that from now on. Feels more wholesome when I feed you."
"Well then, I'll have to thank you again." Lyze lifted his head. "My mama didn't bother to feed me, so I guess you'll be filling in for her somewhat."
"Really?" Mia's smiled dropped a little. She then seemed to steel herself a little and put a fist on her hip. "Well get ready then. because I'm going to keep feeding you until you drop!"
With that, the large dwarf woman turned back on her heels but then noticed one of the other waitresses standing around and immediately barked at her to pick up her slack.
Syr smiled as she poured his drink for him. "Happy birthday Lyze. I hope you enjoy yourself while you're here."
"Thank you Syr. I guess I should just kick back for today and enjoy life while I'm at it."
"I agree with the sentiment Lyze." Riveria said as she leaned in. "But I thought you wished to be discreet about your level ups. Your little proclamation has everyone's eyes on you."
Glancing around, he noticed it was true. Adventurers were indeed looking at him in awe and some with a little frustration. Others were downright wary or annoyed as they gave him dirty looks. He chuckled and waved the elf's concerns off.
"We're in a tavern Riveria. This is easily solved."
"Oh, really? How?"
"With a classical isekai move." If he hadn't been wearing a blindfold, he would've winked at her. Instead he stood up and raised his tankard in the air. "I guess this is a special day for me, which has me feeling a little generous. As such, the next round is all on me!"
The change in atmosphere was instantaneous as drunken adventurers raised their own tankards cheering while alcohol sloshed around. Lyze nodded as a trope proved itself to be useful for once.
Behind him Gareth whistled at Finn.
"He's a sly little bugger isn't he?"
"That he is. He's quite quick to find a solution in these kind of situations. Which makes me curious as to whatever else he uses that brain for." Finn said as he eyed a shadow lurking in an alley across the road.
The rest of the night was spent in laughter and drowning themselves in drinks. At some point Loki begged Lyze to sing again which he refused. But after incessant begging from all of his Familia members and then eventually other patrons there, the last straw was Mia giving him an encouraging nod of approval.
In the end he supposed that people would probably be too hammered to remember everything in detail, so he conveniently pulled out a small violin from his hammer-space.
I suppose you could guess what song he sang, and safe to say everyone was too puzzled to even understand what he was saying and just singing along while banging the tables at the appropriate times with his directions.
Lyze however revelled in the feeling of just being able to have fun, especially seeing Ais in a drunken state.
'You know, I suppose I could get used to this...for now.'
---
Finn stepped out of the Hostess for a bit of 'fresh air' as he claimed while he took a walk. He travelled a little up the road before turning into a little alley and continuing along a different path. He came to a stop by an opening on his left.
"I wasn't sure you would actually come, but I'm glad that you're not completely estranged..." Finn looked at the large shadow he'd seen earlier "...old friend."
"I don't like being away from my Lady's side any longer than I need to be." Ottar replied, his face obscured by the hood he was wearing.
"Yes." Finn replied as he narrowed his eyes. "You lot seem to suffocate her so much up there in that tower that she likes to give you the slip every now and then."
"It is for the best." Ottar said. "Now, just say it straight. Why exactly did you call me here?"
"Well I chose this location because you and I are a bit of a great deal around Orario. If we were seen speaking together, it would cause a bit of a stir." Finn gestured to their surroundings. "And as one Captain to another, I'd like to know exactly why you targeted one of our junior members when they are not even second class."
"I simply wished to test his power. Someone that is able to progress as swiftly as he should possess some sort of notable and interesting quirk. I merely wanted to find out what it was."
"Don't give me that." Finn said firmly as he tried to lock eyes with the bigger man. "Tell me straight. What does Freya want with him?"
"That is not for me to answer."
"I demand one right now. Do you really think I will let you and your goddess poach one of our members like you are known to do?"
Ottar remained silent a bit before sighing.
"Are you saying that you really don't know?" The Boaz asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm asking if you really don't know what walks amongst you, and more importantly..." Ottar stepped out into the moonlight as the hood fell back to reveal his face fully. "...what exactly he's capable of?"
Finn's eyes widened as he caught sight of the horrendous scar Ottar was sporting on his face now. Even in this light, it looked to be from a particularly terrible wound.
"What happened to you? What monster was strong enough to leave a mark like that?"
"The same one whose birthday you're celebrating." Ottar said dryly.
"Lyze did this!"
"Well yes. Is that so hard to believe?" To Finn's shock, Ottar smiled a little. "Can you imagine? A little boy, with only a month's time of adventuring at his back, was able to leave his mark on me when not even the adventurers of the Zeus and Hera Familias could. More than that, he fought solely to achieve that objective while not expecting to win or survive."
Finn could only gape as he inspected the wound. His own face began to feel a little uncomfortable the more he looked at that scar. There was something unsettling about it, as if it oozed with a malicious feeling.
"What did he do to you that it caused something like that?"
"So you noticed it too?" Ottar sighed. "Even my own Familia members are wary of what this scar emanates. The only one who doesn't seem perturbed at all is Lady Freya. But even she is not able to properly explain what he did."
"Exactly what did he do?"
"If you don't know yourself, then it is clear that he doesn't want you to know. On which note, I suppose our conversation is over." Ottar turned before pausing. "That boy has hidden powers you cannot even comprehend, and mark my words, he will leap past you before you even realise. Protect him if you must, but I will endeavour to fulfil my duties just as you will yours. As you said, Captain to Captain."
With that, Ottar bounded onto the rooftops and way into the night, leaving behind a frustrated Pallum who had much to think about.
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