I woke up the next day, thankfully without a hangover.
"Tiona told me today's our day off, so we could train together."
However, she didn't tell me what time.
I got up and took a shower. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed some dark circles under my eyes. Last night, I had some rather unpleasant dreams after falling asleep completely drunk. I'm never doing that again.
Once I was properly dressed, I grabbed my sword and went downstairs.
I arrived at the place where breakfast was usually served.
It was my first time coming here.
It was a large room, with a long table that could seat many people. There were so many seats it was almost tiring to count them. However, the room was completely empty. I guess no one actually uses this dining hall…
It's probably only used for special occasions or something like that.
I'm sure every member of the Familia prepares or buys their own breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I don't think they have a chef who cooks for everyone.
After sighing in disappointment at the lack of food, someone entered the room—a woman I didn't recognize. She was tall, with emerald-green hair and eyes of the same color.
'An elf…' Her pointed ears were proof of her race.
I didn't know her name—I hadn't seen her once since I arrived here.
Speaking of which, I haven't even met Goddess Loki since coming to this world. I always go straight to the dungeon and then back to my room. I feel like I'm not meeting enough people.
"..." The woman walked past me, but after a few steps, she stopped. Then, she turned toward me. "You're Ethan, right?" she asked, looking at me seriously.
"Ah, yes." I didn't have the courage to ask her name, since I probably should've known it already.
Wait…
I remembered some conversations I'd had with my party members in the dungeon and at the restaurant. An elf… Could she be the vice-captain named Riveria? It must be her.
To make sure, I opened my status to check what was written above her head.
Name: Riveria Ljos Alf
Level: Knows You
Difficulty: Hard
Her difficulty level was "hard," not "very hard." Since she's an important member of the Loki Familia and a very beautiful woman, I was expecting her difficulty to be higher.
"Ethan? Ethan?"
"Hm? What?"
"What happened?" Riveria asked, looking at me. She seemed a bit confused.
Did I stare too much?
"It's nothing. It's just… the color of your eyes caught my attention."
"My eyes?"
"Yes. They're really beautiful."
After my compliment, I didn't receive any notification saying her affection had increased. In fact, she reacted quite indifferently.
She didn't even say thank you.
"How's your experience with Ais's group going? Is it too difficult for you?"
"Well, I feel like I'm a burden to them. I'm doing my best to improve, but it's been a little tough. I don't really feel like I belong in that group."
"Would you like to switch groups? I can reassign you to a lower-level team."
"No, of course not. I feel like if I stay with them, I'll learn much more. Actually, I'm starting private training with Tiona today."
"Tiona is going to train you?" Riveria's eyebrows rose. "That Tiona?"
"Do you think she's not capable?"
"Well…" Riveria looked away, resting her chin thoughtfully on her hand. "You'll definitely learn a lot from her."
After saying that, Riveria excused herself and left the dining hall.
She didn't smile even once.
Is she always this serious?
But that conversation made me even more curious about how I ended up in this Familia, and how I became part of such a strong and influential group. Riveria and the others know I'm part of Ais's team, yet no one questions it.
They just accept that absurdity.
"Well, that's fine. I don't want to leave this group anyway."
I'm sure God has something to do with this. Not the gods of this world, but the God above them—the one who brought me here.
####
After leaving the dining hall, I left the mansion and ran into a few Familia members. Fortunately, no one looked down on me or anything like that. In fact, they treated me with respect.
It's actually a bit surprising. Even stronger people treat me respectfully.
"Where is she?" I said, walking around the front of the Loki Familia's home.
"Who?" I suddenly heard a voice behind me.
I turned around and found Bete.
"I was looking for Tiona. Have you seen her?"
"Tiona? I haven't seen her today." Bete shook his head. "Why are you looking for her?"
"Didn't I tell you before? We were planning my training. I want to start today."
"You didn't go to her room?"
"No."
"She's probably still asleep. Want me to go with you?"
"No, that's alright."
"Alright then. Good luck with that." Bete waved and turned to leave.
Where's he heading, anyway?
I went back inside the mansion and asked a few people where Tiona's room was, since I didn't know.
After learning its location, I headed there. Once I reached her door, I knocked a few times, but no one answered. "Tiona~~" I called her name a few times, but there was no response.
With low expectations, I tried the door handle. To my surprise, it turned—and the door opened.
I slowly pushed it open.
"It's dark…" I whispered as I stepped inside.
After closing the door behind me, I carefully walked through the darkness until I reached the window.
Then, I opened the curtains.
When I did, I was greeted by a vision of paradise.
Tiona was sleeping almost completely naked.
As the sunlight hit her face, she began to stir, her eyes slowly opening.
When her gaze met mine, Tiona murmured, "Ethan…"
She still hadn't realized her chest was completely exposed!
"They're… so beautiful…"
####
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Next Chapters: Chapter 11 - They are beautiful. / Chapter 12 - Trying to land an attack on Tiona. (This is very difficult)
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