"You are so late! How long do you think I have been waiting?!"
Loki was so annoyed that she had been forced to wait at the house's entrance for many hours!
Even though many things would happen and the crisis might even hit, Orario, Isao, and Hestia still had time to chill around, which somehow made her a little jealous.
If possible, Loki wished for Finn and the others to be in a chill somehow.
"Loki-sama, here is cold tea."
"Have a little snack too."
While there were machines Isao created to help with the household, there was no need for them to hire maids or even butlers; sometimes, using people was necessary.
So, even though Daphne and Cassandra were a bit exhausted after a long training session last night, they helped prepare the snacks and teas for the guests.
Fortunately, when Eina came, she also decided to help like a good girlfriend.
As for how Isao could develop those machines, it was all due to Tatsuya's DNA, and in the world of "Mahouka," there was a household machine that mostly handled all the matters at the house, whether it was cleaning, cooking, or everything related to the house. Moreover, it was simple to create it, so he just made it.
If there was a difference, it would be that in the world of "Mahouka," electricity was used, but in this world, it was a Magic Stone.
Nevertheless, all the people present didn't pay attention to such a thing since they had something significant to discuss.
Still—
"Is the guild calling me Eina?" Isao looked at Eina, who came with the Loki Familia.
"Yes." Eina nodded. "Can you come?"
"Sure, but later, okay?"
"..."
If it was another Familia, in case the guild called them, they would come as soon as possible, but Eina knew that Isao didn't care much about the guild. Nevertheless, it wasn't her problem anyway, so she just decided to relax and spend time with him as he had just returned to the dungeon.
Isao then looked at Loki, Finn, and Aiz, who joined this party to visit his mansion. Still, while Aiz came with Finn and Loki, she never looked at him and kept staring at Eina.
"Is there something wrong, Wallenstein-san?"
"No."
"...then, why did you keep staring at me?"
"No."
"...." Eina.
Isao looked at Loki and asked, "You don't like my gift?"
"...." Loki.
Gift.
This fitted the description, especially with how dire the financial situation of their Familia was.
"Thank you for your help, Isao-kun." Unlike his goddess, Finn was as polite as ever.
"No problem."
"But you really don't want a percentage of the ransom?" Finn asked with a doubt.
"It's fine. You can only get about hundreds of millions of Valis anyway. It is a small amount of money."
"...small money." 2x
Finn and Loki were speechless about how Isao thought of hundreds of millions as a small amount of money.
Yet, Isao told the truth, especially regarding the adventurers' daily consumption or the magic stone's total transaction, which could reach tens of billions of Valis or more daily.
Hundreds of millions of Valis are nothing to him now.
So, why didn't he pay his debt to Hephaestus?
First, Hephaestus didn't urge them, and they could pay for installations, so there was no need to hurry.
More importantly, if he could pay the debt with his body, why should he pay the debt with his money?
At the same time, it was fun to play the role of a helpless fool who was trapped by debt and being played by the debtor, yet in the end, the debtor became the plaything of the fool.
If this was in his original world, Isao believed that this could become the most-sold AV in history!
"So, is that how you treat your benefactor, Loki-sama?" Isao looked at Loki with doubt.
"...." Loki, Finn, Eina, Hestia, Daphne, and Cassandra.
The word "-sama" appeared like sarcasm somehow.
"...do you want to enter my Familia?"
"Sorry, no."
"Then, do you want me to thank you with my body? I don't mind if it's you..." Loki appeared like she had sold her body to help her Familia. "Finn, don't tell me what is happening here. Let me use my body to repay our benefactor..."
"....." Everyone.
Isao blinked his eyes at Loki, who appeared shy yet lustful, then looked at Finn and asked, "So, what's wrong, Finn? You even come to my place so early."
"Well, yeah, this is an important thing after all." Finn felt that danger might come to Orario and that Isao had an important clue about what was happening.
"But I have told you everything I knew, and I just goddamn returned to the surface. While I owe you with the problem of the Ishtar Familia, I know nothing else."
"But I want you to listen to our investigation and exchange your opinion with us so we can solve the problem of Revis and what is hidden under the Orario."
"Then, let me hear it first. Let me know what you know."
"Okay."
As the two talked, Loki blinked her eyes and asked, "Hey, did you just ignore me? Hey!"
Hestia looked at Loki and snorted while staring at Loki's pitiful chest!
"Shorty!"
"Hmph!"
While the two goddesses fought, the discussion between Finn and Isao was not bothered.
Nevertheless, Daphne and Cassandra thought that, as expected of Isao and Finn, they were as amazing as ever, considering how they could talk while Loki and Hestia fought each other.
"Wait, do you think it is okay for me to listen?" Eina suddenly asked since she felt that their discussion might be something
"I don't mind." Isao nodded, but then he looked at Aiz and said, "But Aiz, what do you think? Our discussion might involve your secret. If you are not comfortable, then I can ask Eina, Daphne, and Cassandra to leave."
Evilus aside, Isao knew that this discussion would relate to Aiz, especially when they would talk about Revis.
Still, it was Aiz who became the center of everything, though for a while, feeling as complex as her past would be revealed as this conversation continued.
Whether Eina, Daphne, or Cassandra didn't really mind, even if Aiz didn't tell them since everyone had a secret they wanted to keep in their hearts.
If Isao made an example, it was like Daphne and Cassandra, who couldn't tell Hestia, their goddess, what they did to Isao last night.
Nevertheless, Aiz knew that her past was necessary to be talked about if they wanted to solve this problem, so—
"I... don't mind."
"Aiz..." 2x
Loki and Finn wanted to cry, watching how their princess had grown.
"Thank you."
Still, Aiz's expression quickly became gentle and comfortable when Isao patted her head softly.
"..." Loki and Finn.
Even though they had decided to give Aiz to Isao, they felt conflicted when they saw how close they were.
"Aiz-san, can I call you that?" Eina asked with a gentle smile.
"Yes?"
"You can sit by Isao's side." Eina was generous.
"Oh?" Aiz was confused, but she took the chance without hesitation and even laid her head on his lap like a sleepy cat.
Cute, they thought, but this wasn't the time to talk about this, right?
Still, Isao softly caressed Aiz's hair as he looked at Eina. "I will make you up later."
"I will wait for that." Eina nodded with a soft, gentle smile.
"...."
While Isao felt guilty, Eina somehow reminded him of Kanae, a gentle and dependable wife who could tolerate her husband's infidelity.
Yes, Eina could tolerate him, especially when she knew how busy and weak her body was; she couldn't handle this handsome beast.
So, as long as his heart was for her, it was all fine, she thought, especially when Riveria had come to talk with her, talking heart-to-heart, how big the meaning of Isao for Aiz was.
Moreover, Eina also knew that she couldn't control this bad guy~!
While Aiz was sleeping, it didn't matter as Aiz's advantage wasn't her head, so they just let her.
Nevertheless, with Aiz's permission, they talked about the beginning of the problem they found on the Monsterphilia: the man-eating flower, Violas, that suddenly appeared on the Orario, an egg-like item that turned the Violas into a large female-like monster, and what Revis called Aiz by "Aria."
"Aria?" 4x
Whether Hestia, Eina, Daphne, or Cassandra heard this term for the first time.
"It's a wind spirit in the storybook." Finn hesitated, but Loki said, "Aiz should be the descendant of that spirit."
"Spirit..."
Watching the beautiful Aiz, who slept soundly on Isao's lap, and understood why she was so lovely.
If she was the descendant of the fairy, then wasn't it normal for her to be beautiful?
Nevertheless, even if Aiz's origin was told, no one asked about how she could come to the Loki Familia or her family, as none of them were insensitive fools.
Still, Isao looked at Aiz, who held his hand softly, then at Loki, who was staring at him. He knew that he couldn't let them down, and if there was a reason Loki could blatantly tell him everything to those in this place, it was because she trusted him.
This trust... was heavy, Isao thought.
Yet Isao wouldn't betray it. "Tell me more. Everything."
Soon, Finn told what the Loki Familia knew, including their visit to Melen, where they found the transaction of a man-eating flower monster between the Njord Familia, the leader of the branch guild, which caused Eina to blush, and also the governor of the Melen.
The three worked together to make money and hid the fact that Evilus had used the hidden path that connected Melen and Orario.
Isao looked at Eina, who said, "The branch leader of the guild has been punished."
"I see."
While the guild might be the de facto leader of the Orario, it wasn't like they didn't have enemies. Or rather, it had so many enemies as the business from the dungeon was too delicious to ignore. Many kingdoms, countries, wealthy merchants, or any other Familia wished to get their hands on the Orario, changing the position of the guild.
Frankly, Isao's opinion toward a guild was neutral since, like any organization, it was impossible for it to be white and pure all the time. Naturally, it had a hidden darkness that kept everything in movement, especially those who moved into the Orario; not all of them weren't exactly good people, so an extreme method was sometimes needed, especially when the Evilus terrorized the Orario previously.
Loki also told them about her deal with Dionysus.
"Dionysus..." Hestia's expression became strange when this name was mentioned.
"Shorty, what's wrong with you? Do you know him? Oh, right, you two are in the same region in heaven, right?" Loki asked, feeling strange since Hestia kept making a strange expression when Dionysus was mentioned.
"Well, he tried to make me the enemy of everyone, after all..." Hestia showed an annoyed and angry expression, thinking of what Dionysus did on the "Banquet of Gods."
"What's happening?" Isao asked with a doubt.
"It's like this..." Hestia talked about what Dionysus did to her, trying to put all the blame for the death of his children and everyone on her, making her the enemy of the public.
"Really?" Isao looked at Loki.
Loki nodded. "He did that before." Like her, who always used a trick, she could tell that Dionysus did the same. Frankly, she felt that this god was suspicious, or rather, all the deities were suspicious except for Hestia, who was silly, lazy, and shut-in.
"...." Hestia.
Nevertheless, Isao, Daphne, and Cassandra's expressions became ugly when they learned from Hestia that Dionysus tried to take away the newspaper business by blaming their Familia for the death of his children and many due Violas.
Fortunately, while Hestia was silly, she wasn't stupid and never backed away, especially when she had someone to protect. Like how Isao protected her dignity, she would do the same to protect Isao.
"Then, lastly, Revis."
"Yes." Finn nodded. "I wonder why she called Aiz by Aria?"
Everything they knew was already exposed, but there were still many missing pieces, especially when Evilus was gone, and they weren't even sure what Revis was.
Also, why did the Violas attack the Dionysus Familia?
Yet—
Isao thought for a while and then asked, "What if Revis is a spirit? Or even if she isn't a spirit, she is a creature created by a spirit? If that's the case, it isn't strange for her to know Aiz and Aria, right?"
"..." Everyone.