As we sat on the log in the middle of the forest, darkness prevailed on the surface and the forest floor where we currently resided. Karen was a noble girl from a wealthy family, unlike other adventurers in Orario.
Her hand trembled a bit, but she quickly regained her calm composure. It seemed like the matter was serious between those two families.
"God Aeshma's been kidnapping people for his sick breeding experiments for a long time. Some Gods know about this but tend to ignore it. A couple of months ago, Aeshma came to our residence with an offer to buy one of our familia members to include her in his disgusting experiments. Needless to say, my god, Player, rejected his offer, and that made God Aeshma mad."
It was the same reason mentioned in the Danmachi wiki page, but the timeline was different. I supposed that Azathoth made this happen now since the story between those two families is rarely known.
Meanwhile, the girl with the low skirt continued her story, "God Aeshma demands that we hand over our captain. He wants a child between his familia captain and ours. Of course, our God rejected such a barbaric offer, but ever since then, that familia has troubled us daily."
I nodded to each of her words and had already made up my mind to help them. I had to farm those kills somehow, after all.
"Fine, I will help you, but you need to point everything out to me, okay?" Her eyes widened upon hearing my acceptance of her offer, and she nodded, barely maintaining her act of a noble lady.
She stood up after that, and so did I. "My Familia is currently inside the small encampment in the corner of the floor. You can spend time there with us or go wherever you want until morning. In the morning, we'll begin our ascent to the surface, and I want you to come with us."
Her face couldn't hide her tiredness anymore as her eyes started closing by themselves from time to time. She must've had a rough day inside the dungeon.
"Nah, no need for me to be a waste of resources for you guys. I'm going to wait for you until morning, and then we can return to the surface together."
She was confused for a moment because of my rejection, but she accepted it in the end. With a wave, Karen went back to her familia camp to rest after a long day. What troubled me, however, was how she found me. Perhaps it could've been a coincidence, or Hermes's gooses had been spying on me.
Either way, I was in for an exciting confrontation with Aeshma Familia. I'd read before that their captain, Enoch, was a very powerful individual. Truth be told, he was known as a level 2 adventurer, but it was rumored that he was a level 3, which could be interesting.
Aeshma's theory about selective breeding might have some truth in it, but the skills and magic of a certain person only apply to their innate personality or soul. That's why people with colorful souls were unique, more special than those with gray souls, as described by Freya.
So selective breeding might attract a unique soul to a new life, but that wasn't completely the case since the guy I killed some time ago was a product of selective breeding, yet he was just another bastard without strength.
Such heavy thinking left me staring into the crystals above. 'Perhaps once I finish the killing quest, I could make myself a home somewhere here...'
(General POV)
A fire crackled inside the camp where multiple adventurers of Player Familia sat in a circle. They had been through a long day of fighting monsters and battling for excelia, and all of that had made their stomachs growl.
From one of the bushes, a pretty yet noble girl revealed herself. Karen approached the campfire with a tired look on her face. Her familia members watched her with anticipation, awaiting a good outcome from her pleas.
"So... what did he tell you?" a girl with golden yellow hair asked, her blue eyes reflecting the fire crackling from the campfire.
"I found him and told him the entire situation. God Hermes was right after all; he's willing to help us."
The whole encampment's mood brightened upon hearing the good news of a familia seeking aid. They held back screams of happiness since it was late at night, and they didn't want to attract any unwanted attention.
One girl sitting gracefully had a genuine smile on her face. Emma Flores, the captain of Player Familia, found a glimmer of hope after all Aeshma had put them through. Her pink eyes matched her hair and entire outfit, making her look like a princess.
"That is amazing! I can't wait to meet him tomorrow. I have lots of questions for him once we meet and introduce ourselves," she happily hummed at the thought of meeting a new friend who was willing to help her familia.
Emma was an energetic and cheerful girl, which earned her a reputation among her familia members. They all pitied poor Niall for what was coming to him.
"I wonder if that Niall guy is strong. Once I meet him, I'm going to challenge him to a duel and see if he has any heroism in him," a somewhat amused and cocky voice came from a tomboyish girl named Leo. At first glance, someone might have thought she was a boy. She's often quiet and serious but couldn't hold her excitement at the thought of a possible hero coming to their aid.
"Tomorrow morning, Niall will wait for us at the same spot where I met him today. Make sure not to cause him any trouble because Hermes told us he can be a bit difficult to handle. According to Hermes, Niall is indeed strong, Leo," Karen spoke stoically as the other familia members listened.
A small elf girl with two ponytails expressed her curiosity about this new ally. She thought of herself as a master of magic, her admiration for Riveria often motivating her to keep going no matter how hard it got.
"What's with you, Primo? Thinking about what kind of magic Niall has?" Emma teased the young elf with a chuckle, making Primo embarrassed.
"You could say that... but maybe he doesn't even have magic. Either way, I don't see how he could surpass my magic. I am too great to let humans be better than me."
Others just laughed at the young elf's narcissism. After all, she had sworn to herself that one day she'd be like the great Riveria.
The singing of Gina Gwen, an Amazoness who loved singing, marked the end of the night. The familia made of girls went to sleep while a green-eyed boy stared down at them from a nearby tree.
"I can see now that there'll be some annoying characters to deal with. That small elf and that masked girl will be trouble. They just look like the type to be annoying and unnecessarily talkative. Whatever..."
Niall's eyes stared down at their tents for a minute or so before retreating into the shadows. Spending some time in peace should hasten his stay here.