The sky was a cloudless, brilliant blue, the sunlight warm, yet the early morning air still held a refreshing chill.
In Orario, adventurers—some alone, others in parties, a few leading supporters—donned armor and robes, weapons slung across their backs, all converging towards the entrance of the underground dungeon.
For fame, for wealth, for glory.
But today, every one of these 'esteemed adventurers' made way, clearing a path for a particular group as soon as they spotted the war flag bearing the emblem of a laughing jester.
No words were needed.
The jester icon on that banner said it all.
Babel Tower.
At the vast central plaza, the members of the Loki Familia had already gathered.
Clap! Clap!
Finn clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Shouldn't everyone be here by now?" Being a Pallum, the diminutive Finn couldn't easily see over the entire group, and there was no convenient spot for him to stand on to gain some height.
He watched as everyone glanced around at each other, but no one spoke up to say anyone was missing.
"Since everyone's here, then we'll—" Finn began.
"Um... I think Miss Ais just dragged Miss Alice away..." It was Raul, a Level 4 adventurer of the Loki Familia, human, without any particularly outstanding traits.
He considered himself a thoroughly ordinary guy.
But Finn regarded Raul as one of the Familia's elite members.
"Ais and Alice?" Finn's head was filled with question marks at Raul's words. "Why would those two leave?"
"Probably because Ais wanted some jagamarukun and pulled Alice along to get them," Riveria sighed, massaging her forehead.
This wasn't a rare occurrence for Ais; she always bought a bunch before every expedition.
"Jagamarukun... yeah, that does sound like Ais," Finn nodded, but his gaze towards Riveria grew more puzzled. "But why Alice? Didn't she always drag Lefiya along before?"
As he spoke, Finn looked over at Lefiya. Noticing his gaze, Lefiya hugged the 'Shanghai' and 'Hourai' dolls Alice had given her tighter and offered an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, Alice, who had been dragged out by Ais, wore a thoroughly resigned expression.
"Extra cream for the potato balls, and even more red bean paste than cream," Ais stated flatly, making her rather picky request to the goddess behind the stall.
"Sure, sure~" Though Ais's request was finicky, the goddess behind the stall didn't seem to mind at all. On the contrary, she seemed quite cheerful as she prepared the cream-and-red-bean potato balls Ais wanted. While the order was particular, the money Ais paid was even more exceptionally generous.
Soon, multiple portions of fried potato balls were neatly packaged and handed over to Ais.
Ais took the packages, turned to look at Alice, her eyes shining with intense expectation.
Seeing this, Alice let out a helpless sigh. "I know."
With a casual flick of her hand, a gap opened in the air.
One by one, Ais's potato ball packages were deposited inside. Watching Alice's actions, a bright, intense light sparkled in Ais's eyes, mixed with a hint of envy.
After storing all the potato balls away, Alice looked at the goddess behind the stall and asked with a smile, "I'd always heard you had a part-time job, Hestia, but I never imagined you'd be selling jagamarukun here. How's business?"
"Not too bad~" Hestia replied with a radiant smile. Generally, fried potato balls were more popular in the afternoon, but she'd had a customer first thing this morning and had even sold so many.
"Thanks to you, Alice, and this... Wallen-something-or-other-shi here, that old lady supervisor will probably give me a nice fat pay for today's work."
Because of Ais, Hestia's mood had been excellent since morning.
"By the way, aren't you guys heading on an expedition today? What brings you over here?" Hestia asked, curious.
"Precisely because we're going on an expedition," Alice explained with a light laugh. "We'll be underground for a long time without coming back to the surface. After Ais found out I know spatial magic, she begged me to come along and help her store some potato balls."
"Well, it's about time. The main group should have assembled by now, so I'll be going, Hestia. Remember to tell Lili that I took all the dolls with me, so don't forget to clean the room."
"Okay, got it~ Come again when you have time~" Hestia waved cheerfully, watching Alice leave.
As Alice and Ais walked together towards the dungeon entrance, Alice asked Ais curiously, "All that cream and red bean, and so much of it... Ais, don't you find it too rich?"
Cream was sweet. Red bean paste was sweet.
And the potato balls themselves were fried. Combined, the sweetness became even more potent.
In other words, it was the kind of sweetness that could be cloying.
While Alice had never tried it herself, she could imagine.
Hearing Alice's question, Ais's tone became utterly serious.
"They're delicious."
"Really? Can I try one later?" Alice thought about it, her curiosity piqued about what something that sweet and potentially overwhelming might actually taste like.
After all, Alice had a bit of a sweet tooth herself.
"You can have several! No problem!" Ais's voice sounded almost happy.
Alice smiled faintly.
As Alice and Ais turned a street corner, a girl rushed straight towards Alice, aiming to throw herself into her arms.
Unlike before, Alice, prepared for the expedition, had made arrangements in advance. This girl did not succeed in launching herself into Alice's embrace.
Alice now wore a ring on each of her ten fingers, and attached to these rings were the spider silks she had acquired previously.
After special treatment by Alice, these silks had become incredibly resilient threads.
The moment she turned the corner and sensed someone lunging at her, Alice instantly manipulated the threads, binding the girl who was hurling herself forward.
Looking at the girl in front of her, Alice found her somewhat familiar.
"I think I remember you. If I'm not mistaken, your name is Syr, Syr Flova, right?"
The last time a girl had thrown herself at Alice, it was Syr.
And this time, it was her again.
Looking at Syr, Alice wondered inwardly if this girl was specifically targeting her for these ambushes.
"Syr, you're in such a panic. Is someone chasing you?" Alice asked, exasperated.
"Huh?" Syr seemed to suddenly realize she had been caught.
When she saw it was Alice holding her, delight instantly spread across her face, and she hurriedly pleaded.
"Alice-chan! Please, let me hide! Anya's older brother is trying to kill me!"
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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