No matter the day, I never change my routine. That's my personal creed. Wake up as usual, train as usual, eat breakfast as usual. Even if today is a special day, that doesn't mean I should break my habits. No, it mustn't be broken.
Besides, there are days when Lefiya and I head out together for work, so it's nothing to get worked up about.
Yeah… there's still time before Lefiya arrives. I'll squeeze in a little extra training. It'll keep my mind off things.
I train for an extra hour, then wait for Lefiya in the living room. Around 7 a.m., there's a soft knock at the door, knock, knock, knock.
A twinge of nervousness hits me as I walk to the entrance. And that's when I realize,
(There are two people with her?)
Now that I think about it, she did say we'd go together, but she never said it would be just the two of us. A little disappointed, I opened the door.
"Good morning, Lefiya."
"G-Good morning, Toki."
She looks the same as always… and behind her, as I suspected, are two other people. What I didn't expect was that they were a pair of Amazonian twins.
"Ooh, so this is Lefiya's boyfriend?"
"He's not bad-looking. What do you like about him, Lefiya?"
"C-Come on, Tiona, Tione! Stop teasing me!"
From their names, they must be Tione and Tiona Hiryute, First-Class Adventurers of the Loki Familia. I think Lefiya mentioned they were close friends.
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Toki Ortyx, a lower-class adventurer from the Hermes Familia. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"I'm Tione Hiryute. Likewise."
"Tiona Hiryute! Nice to meetcha!"
We exchange brief introductions.
As I mentally reset my expectations, I realize this could be a good thing. Getting to accompany First-Class Adventurers is a rare opportunity, after all.
"Hey, hey, boyfriend-kun."
"I'm not Lefiya's boyfriend. What is it, Tiona-san?"
"Disappointed you're not alone with her?"
She hits the mark so suddenly, I almost show it on my face, but I manage to hold it in with pure willpower.
"Well, honestly, it's a bit disappointing. But getting to meet you two lovely ladies and explore the festival together? I'd say that's a bonus."
"My, how honest."
"I figure lying would only fool myself. Besides, Lefiya would see right through it."
"Hmm…"
"P-Please don't look at me like that…"
While Tione continues teasing Lefiya, Tiona leans in and asks something else.
"Hey, hey, boyfriend-kun?"
"Yes?"
"Just curious, what do you find charming about me?"
"Tiona, seriously?"
"Well, first off, you're beautiful, same with Tione-san. You've got great skin, and I find your energetic and friendly personality very appealing."
Tiona suddenly turns to her sister with bright eyes.
"Tione, he's a really good guy!"
"You're unbelievable…"
Tione sighs, clearly exasperated, while Lefiya looks… less than amused.
"And yet you're flirting with Tiona?"
"I'm not flirting. Especially not with you, Tione-san."
"Oh? So you're saying I'm not attractive?"
Her tone sharpens slightly, but I'm not intimidated.
"Not at all. It's just that you belong to Captain Finn Deimne of the Loki Familia, don't you?"
Huh?
"I mean, I'm not bold enough to flirt with the woman of the famous Braver himself."
While the others look stunned, Tione's mood does a full 180.
"Fufufu! Did you hear that, you two? Even a Level 1 rookie from another Familia knows I'm Finn's woman! How's that for recognition?"
"Umm… you really believe that?"
"Of course. Anyway, have you had breakfast yet?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Great. I just need a moment to get ready, please wait here."
I shut the door and quickly prepare. I don't need to bring anything, but I make sure the stove, faucets, and locks are secure before heading back out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we go?"
Later, I ended up hearing a lot about Finn Deimne from an overly excited Tione… and honestly, I regretted it a little.
….
Lefiya's POV
The roaring cheers and applause of the massive crowd shook the arena to its core.
"The Ganesha Familia never disappoints, huh? Taming a monster that easily… I could never do that."
"It's amazing. Taming monsters already has a low success rate, and to pull it off on a stage like this…"
"They've got style, too. They're not just taming monsters, they're putting on a show. You could sell tickets for this."
We'd entered early in the morning, and now we were thoroughly impressed by the Ganesha Familia's skills.
Taming monsters requires talent, and the success rate is notoriously low. Even more so with dungeon monsters. And yet…
"Well, that's not the only reason."
Toki, sitting beside me, suddenly spoke up.
"What do you mean?"
"One reason the Ganesha Familia succeeds is that they're incredibly skilled, of course. But also, this isn't the dungeon. That makes a big difference."
He seemed unusually fidgety as he explained.
"Dungeon monsters are at home in the dungeon. But this isn't their territory. Even a small environmental change can throw them off, enough to affect their full strength. That alone increases the odds of taming them."
"I see…"
"Of course, the main reason is still their skill. …That aside, it looks like something bad is happening."
"Oh, so you noticed too, boyfriend-kun?"
"Yes… the Ganesha Familia's been acting strange. They seem frantic."
Looking around, we saw members of the Ganesha Familia whispering urgently to other adventurers and gods. There was no trace of their usual confidence.
"What should we do?"
"…Let's go check it out."
We slipped through the lively crowd and raced up the stairs.
….
"Loki!"
"Oh?"
Outside, we spotted Loki. She raised a hand as we ran toward her.
"Well, look who showed up. …Hm? Lefiya, is that your boyfriend?"
"H-He's not!"
"Nice to meet you, Loki-sama. I'm Toki Ortyx from the Hermes Familia. But more importantly, could you fill us in on the situation?"
"Well, I've got plenty to say, but I'll save it for later. To put it simply, some monsters escaped. They're loose in the area."
"That's… really bad, isn't it!?"
"Yep. Pretty bad."
Tiona looked shocked, but Loki didn't seem fazed.
"Why are you so calm!?"
"Well, I want you girls to go keep an eye out, if Ais misses one, make sure to handle it. I'm heading out too, so find a good vantage point and hold the line."
"Has Ais-san already gone after the monsters?"
"Nope, "
"She's standing at the outer edge of the arena."
Toki answered. Sure enough, we spotted a figure near the arena's perimeter.
"Miss Misha, do we know which monsters escaped?"
"Umm, give me a sec."
"No rush. Just be precise, please."
I took in the information the guild official, dressed in a black suit, gave me and committed it to memory.
"What are you doing, Lefiya!? Come on already!"
"Tiona-san, the view's better from that building over there. Let's set up there!"
"Got it!"
And with that, we moved out to locate the escaped monsters.
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