Chapter 5: The Next Day and Preparing for a Feast

"Good morning Ryuu."

"Good morning Cyrus."

When I had seen the Elf coming into the kitchen, most likely because she had heard me cooking, I looked over to her with a smile that she returned when we had caught the other's eyes. It looks like last night was still a good memory for the both of us.

"Would you like some breakfast? Just let me know what you want and I'll make it for you if I'm able to." I said to her, recalling that while a lot of elves are for the most part vegans, there are still elves out there who don't care to eat meat and other animal products, although you won't find a lot of those types here in Orario.

{AN: Fun fact, J.R.R Tolkien's Elves did in fact eat meat.}

"You can prepare me the same food you are making. Thank you Cyrus." Ryuu said as she walked over to the table to take a seat.

"No worries Ryuu. So avocado toast with eggs on the side it is." I hummed as I plated the eggs I just finished cooking onto a plate, sunny side up, before taking the two slices of skillet toasted bread and laying them next to each other and taking a whole avocado, opening it in two pieces, making vertical slices on both sides before taking a spoon to scoop each half onto a slice of bread each. With that breakfast completed, I walked over to the table to lay the plate in front of Ryuu alongside a fork and empty glass, after which I walked to my fridge to pull out a pitcher of orange juice and pour a good helping of juice out for her.

"Here you go. Enjoy your breakfast alright? I'll be sure to visit you later today and also apologize to Mama Mia for last night." I said to her and turned my back to the girl so I could now begin cooking my breakfast.

"Thank you Cyrus." I heard her from behind my back before she started to consume her meal, the both of us knowing that the earlier to gets to the Hostess of Fertility the better, especially where morning cleaning is concerned. Though it does sound like she's eating a bit slowly?

After a few minutes, right when I finished frying my eggs and toasting my bread and began to plate my breakfast, I could hear her placing her fork down on the plate followed by a glass that I can only assume is now empty of orange juice. "You can leave the dishes there, I'll be sure to clean them after I eat, alright? You go ahead and go see Mama Mia for work." I said to her while looking over my shoulder, watching as she stood up. Strangely enough, she started walking over my way as I finished plating everything and began to hold her hand out for a moment as if expecting me to put something in her hand, causing me to look over to her in confusion.

Why is she looking at me in an expectant manner? And why is she so quiet all of a sudden? And why is she blushing?

.....

Oh, of course. Last night.

I quickly killed the fire over my stove, washed my hands and dried them as she patiently waited before reaching out and taking hold of her hand into my own. I honestly find it very sweet that she still wanted to hold my hand real quick before she departed, considering the fact that she's an Elf and this is definitely a new experience for her. If anything, this simple act, to me at least, feels more romantic than anything since it serves for us to show our affection towards one another from here on out, just the two of us holding the other's hand. I'd like to tease her about it, but something tells me she'd get back at me somehow through Syr and Mia.

Troublesome women.

"Have a great day Ryuu." I said to her with a smile, causing her to perk up further and smile back at me as she squeezed my hand.

"Thank you. You have a great day as well Cyrus. Be sure to head over to the Hostess today since you're on your break from your Dungeon...and please don't end your break early either. There's no need to start fulfilling your promise to me right away." She replied, her cheek showing a bit of pink as she was probably thinking back on our conversation from last night.

Tch, she got me there. I was serious about raising those eighty million valis to pay off the bounty that was put on the her head. Why can't I have some Bag of Holding so I can have a large inventory space or something so I can get that money quickly? It's a damn shame I normally went alone in the Dungeon because even though I use Shunpo to help transport magic stones, I can only do it for so long and for a particular distance before I tire myself out needlessly.

But Ryuu's right. I did promise Miach that I'd go on a break anyway, and I'm sure that the Familia would appreciate me hanging out with them as well for a while. I guess I can wait. At least I'm making progress anyway in case Naaza's accident did occur, so I have a good amount of valis saved up.

"Alright, alright. You got me, I won't rush to the Dungeon early." I promised her with an exaggerated sigh of faux annoyance, which merely served to make my waitress...best friend...blooming significant other...look amused before she nodded and then pulled her hand away, walking to the front door to leave, when I heard her speak again.

"I'm off. Bye Cyrus." Oh right! I should probably send her off shouldn't I?

"Bye Ryuu! Stay safe!" I called out, watching as the door closed. Well then...time to eat breakfast.

What was she still doing at my house, you may be asking? Well that's a simple answer...

After our talk last night and me divulging some of my Falna's secrets that none but Lord Miach knows barring the Bestow Skills and Hollowfication, since that is a whole different matter, I had her stay the night in my home. Sure, she could easily make her way home on her own, considering the fact that the Elf was in fact Level 4, but after last night, I just wanted her to stay with me, something that she agreed to when I had asked her. So I just gave her some spare pajamas and shirts I had that she could change into and had her take my bed, knowing that she wouldn't do anything she shouldn't be doing in my room while I took the couch in the living room.

What? Don't tell me that people would have thought we'd be hugging, kissing and/or sleeping in each other's arms within a single night? What, do people think I'm in some anime where the girls fall easily for the protagonist?

Oh...right.

Degenerates.

It honestly makes me wonder if I should beat Bell's dream out of him early, even though that technically did happen after Bete made fun of him. After all, no matter the world, Gods are typically scumbag beings, Zeus and Ishtar being prime examples of such, especially considering that Zeus was the one who planted that damn idea into the kid's head. Hm...maybe I should stick around whenever Hestia descends in two years since Miach apparently gets briefly acquainted with Bell before the canon starts.

After all, while I admit that I can admire the person he is capable of becoming, I don't really think I have much respect for him individually. I mean, who freaks out all the time in the face of a pretty girl, some simplistic anime harem protag-

Ahem...right.

Case in point, while I don't care if girls fall for him, so long it isn't my hopeful girl (aren't I possessive all of a sudden), I am going to beat the bitch out of him, even if it means I have to be the Bete Loga in this situation and deride him right in front of Hestia herself if need be, friendship with Miach be damned! Hell, maybe I should be the reason for his Liaris Freese so he has a real goal to reach as an Adventurer that isn't getting some with a blondie that he had only just met, which he can get as a side benefit for all I care!

Huh...maybe I should the Archer to his Shirou Emiya. Thoughts for later.

Anyway...

After I showed her my room, she gently took my hand in her own again and wished me a goodnight as I was leaving before she closed the door. I still couldn't believe how ballsy I was for taking her hand last night. I remembered how desperate I was when I reached for her hand so she wouldn't leave me that I hadn't realized what I had done until it was too late. And what happened next? She didn't let go. I mean, I know that she was told at one point to not let go of whichever guy she was okay with holding her hand or something, if my knowledge continued to serve me right, but I didn't actually think that I would be that guy. Still...it was a nice feeling that made it easier for me to talk to her, and even if it was a bit embarrassing for her to see me in a slump that I put myself in for seemingly no reason, now that I think about it, at least it allowed me to be closer to Ryuu.

I still can't believe that the other girls knew that I knew about who she was though. Honestly, I should have figured they would since they were all Adventurers barring the goddess in disguise, but I was caught up in how quirky they were that I honestly forgot at times.

I swear, almost all of the girls at the Hostess are all troublesome women. Except for May of course, that girl is such a sweet child and a hard worker. It's too bad that I don't get the chance to talk to her as much since she's always in the kitchen working. But I'm still fond of them even if I don't always show it.

And with the last bite of my breakfast, I began to wash the dishes, a simple action in my less than mundane life in Orario, before setting them out to dry.

"Well...time to head out." I murmured to myself before leaving the house to the Blue Pharmacy. What for, one may ask?

[3rd POV]

"Thank you very much for your patronage, please come again." The Captain of the Miach Familia spoke with a smile from behind the counter as he looked upon the patrons of the Blue Pharmacy as they were leaving, these being a few female adventurers who were enraptured by the fact that they were being tended to by the First Class Adventurer. He always heads over to the Blue Pharmacy when he's not in the Dungeon to just work as an employee on his spare time since he had nothing else to do, and even if it was boring it was still a nice routine to settle into at times.

Once they left, Cyrus slumped his shoulder and sighed, which was fair in his opinion since he spent the morning and afternoon being ogled and stared at by Adventurers for one reason or another, and it does get quite old if he had to be honest. But that's just life in a way, so he may as well just continue to suck it up. But finally, he can call it a day!

"Alright, that's enough of that. Naaza, you mind manning the counter for me? I'm going to help Lord Miach finish the rest of the paperwork." He called out to the Chienthrope whose head popped out from behind the door to the storage room with a nod.

"Sure! Just let me finish stocking these potions really quickly and then I'll take your place."

"Great. Say, we should gather the Familia and go to the Hostess Tonight, what do you say? The two of us haven't been able to spend time together in a while and I'm sure that Miach would appreciate some food as well, so how about we make it an outing for us all to hang out? I'll cover for everyone this evening." The Level 6 Captain suggested to his 'little sister' while there was some shuffling going on before she finally popped out to talk to him and man the counter.

"I don't see any problem with that. I'm pretty sure that everyone in the Familia will be in Orario today, and we don't seem busy either, so it won't hurt for us to go out and eat tonight. I'll let everyone know whenever they stop by here. Have fun with paperwork Cyrus!" Naaza said to her 'big brother' with a small smirk, leading him to ruffle her hair much to her irritation.

"Stop that!"

"Hah, as if! This is practically my job." Cyrus laughed aloud as the girl was busy fixing her hair.

"Maybe it is, but I like my hair how it is thank you!" Naaza huffed as she glared up at him, leading him to flick her on the head followed by a small yelp.

"Come on don't be like that, you'll always be my precious and cute little sister." He said to her with a smile with the girl just sighing in fond resignation, remembering when they had first met.

{Four years ago...}

"This is Cyrus everyone. He's now officially a new member in our Familia. Let's all give him a warm welcome shall we?" Lord Miach had asked as he gently guided the 13 year old boy forward. The 12 year old Chienthrope had known how handsome he was and how he seemed to be her age when she had had first seem him being brought into the pharmacy from outside, but actually seeing him awake was a different story since he had the prettiest green eyes.

"Nice to meet you guys. Like Lord Miach said, my name's Cyrus. I hope we get along." He said with a polite smile, which opened the floodgates for him to be greeted by the Captain and Vice-Captain first followed by the rest of the Familia, and when it came to Naaza's turn to greet him, Lord Miach was the one to speak first.

"Here she is Cyrus. This is Naaza, the other child who is your age. Naaza, this is Cyrus. Since you two are around the same age, I hope that you get along."

Cyrus stared at her for a moment, a bit too long if she had to be honest and she was starting to feel uncomfortable when he started speaking.

"Call me big brother."

"W-What?" She asked him in surprise.

"We're not going to be friends. No, I'm going to be your big brother. So call me 'big brother'."

"No! Why would I call you my big brother for no reason?!"

"Because you seem like an adorable little sister. Now-"

"I'm not calling you big brother!"

And with that exchange followed by more yelling, teasing and laughing from the Familia, Naaza would come to acknowledge Cyrus as her big brother even if she will never call him as such.

{Back to the present...}

"Will you stop that? Now go help Lord Miach already like you said you would!" Naaza ordered her Captain as she pointed to the back towards their patron god's office with Cyrus chuckling.

"Alright alright, I'll get going." Cyrus said to her as he walked away, the two of them knowing damn well that he didn't even respond to whether or not he would stop. And once she was out of his hearing range, Naaza merely sighed and whispered to herself.

"What a troublesome big brother I have, even if he is reliable..." And it seems like she picked up that habit of calling people troublesome as well.

[1st POV - Some time later...]

"And that marks the end of today's work. Thank you for your help Cyrus. I'm lucky to have such a hardworking Captain such as yourself." Miach thanked me with a smile as I was organizing the last of the paperwork I had just completed, something that I dismissed with the wave of my hand.

"It's no problem Lord Miach. But why don't you ask Aífe to help you?" I asked in curiosity, referring to the former Vice-Captain of the Miach Familia who happily stepped down to become Miach's assistant when the I took the reins as the next Vice Captain due to the responsibilities associated with it.

"Well, every since she gave birth to her child Connla, she's been taking care of her son more frequently, so I've been dealing with this paperwork whenever I'm gone. And as for Sétanta, well..."

"Ah. Say no more."

Truly, say no more. Imagine my surprise found out this world's version of the Child of Light and essentially Irish Hercules was in fact the Captain of the Miach Familia until he willingly stepped down to become the Vice-Captain. It wasn't the fact that there was someone who had Cú Chulainn's birth name that threw me off, since I knew that there were mythological figures in Familias whose namesake was associated with the particular god.

No, what I found odd since was that even though Miach was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, it was actually Lugh who was his father, yet it seemed like Lugh had not descended once I got my hand on some records and as such, there isn't a Lugh Familia.

While he's not the equivalent of the actual mythological depiction of the Ulster Cycle hero aside from having red-orange hair and brown eyes, nor is he the equal of his more fictional iteration of Fate/Stay Night's Lancer, he was still a fairly skilled combatant who did the name justice at a good Level 4 at the age of 25, which really is impressive if one considers the fact that he started at a pretty young age and he reached a level that not many older Adventurers have even reached.

Unfortunately, even if he's not called Cú Chulainn, his alias was still 'Hound'.

Before I came along, he used to be the primary money-maker for the Familia since he liked to fight in the Dungeon more than he liked to work in the Blue Familia, which is odd considering that this Familia is more of a production type Familia, as shown in our sale of potions. If anything, he was probably here because of Aífe, the woman who was considered his lover in the actual Ulster Cycle and gave birth to a child, to no one's surprise if they knew the lore, named Connla. Yikes. Hopefully they don't try to kill each other in this world though.

Honestly, I'm the most conflicted of those two. For all intents and purposes, they looked over me the most when Miach wasn't around, and they were very loyal to the Familia and even enjoyed being with Naaza. What could have prompted them to leave the Familia aside from the debt? Was it concern about raising Connla with the debt over their shoulders? Did they die at some point before this year and that was why Naaza lost her arm? Or did they just leave Orario due to a mix of the debt and of guilt that they didn't believe themselves fit to be Adventurers out of fear that the same would happen to Connla? Whatever the case, they truly were good people and if anything, I want to ensure that they stay here.

"He's just not suited for paperwork, hence why he is helping Aífe with Connla, right? That's fair enough."

"Indeed." Miach agreed with a small laugh before looking at me in a concerned manner.

"Cyrus, I heard about last night and I just wanted to say that-"

"Lord Miach." I interrupted, knowing what he was going to say. I should have figured that he heard about last night, but it was alright.

"It's fine Lord Miach. Someone dear to me talked to me after I left the Hostess of Fertility, so I'm alright." I assured him with a smile, and it seemed that he saw something in my smile and eyes that prompted him to smile back at me.

"Very well then."

"Oh right, and speaking of the Hostess of Fertility, Naaza is letting everyone know that we're all going over there tonight for dinner, so be sure that you're free alright, Lord Miach?" I asked as I stood up to stretched and before the god could say something about funds, since to be fair, the Hostess isn't cheap, I spoke up again as I started walking to the door.

"And I'm the one who'll be covering us. So make sure to be there, alright? See ya!" I finished, walking off before he could level any complaints. Seriously, the man needs to enjoy himself more.

Now, off to the Hostess. I'm sure something interesting is going on today.

...

"What the fuck..?" I mumbled to myself when I was greeted to the sight of one red haired goddess who was in a dogeza in the middle of the street watched over by her strict Top Executive. How did this come along exactly? Well the answer was pretty simple. Apparently Riveria gave Loki one hell of a scolding last night for being too inquisitive about my 'past', which I honestly didn't mind to be honest, and expected the goddess to apologize to me. And apparently since my Kidō was in the Far Eastern language, they sought out Takemikazuchi to learn how to deliver a proper apology, leading to this weird scenario where the trickster goddess was prostrating herself while delivering her apology.

I looked up from this somewhat of a disaster at Riveria as if mentally communicated with with small gestures, something we seemed to come to an understanding to despite the fact we didn't actually know what the other was attempting to say.

'What's with her deal?' A tilt of the head.

'Consider it punishment.' A glare directed at the goddess before she looked up at me with the glare gone.

'Why?' A questioning look back at the elf.

'Because you require an apology.' A determined stare aimed at me followed by a nod.

'Well okay.' A nod and a shrug.

"Well whatever. I don't really care Loki. The past is the past and that's all. You don't need to apologize...well okay, maybe you did need to apologize."

If only for my amusement if anything.

"So just put it behind you okay? How about this? Next time you go shopping for Soma's failed wine, you share a glass with me. I did tell you that I drink on special occasions and considering your trash luck at scoring the wine-"

I could see the metaphorical arrow stabbing into her as she was still in her dogeza.

"I'll settle for sharing my first glass with you then. But afterwards, I'm still holding you to our deal when I hit Level 7. Now...can you please stand up? I'm starting to feel embarrassed."

And with that Loki popped up with a grin, apparently fine with pushing last night off into the past at my insistence as well as the promise of sharing a glass of Soma wine with her in the future, assuming she gets the bottle.

"You got it!" She exclaimed with a thumbs up, causing Riveria to sigh and shake her head and pull the goddess away after giving me a silent bow of her head, the goddess yelling at her 'Mama' to stop that and that she will behave. She is just the weirdest person sometimes.

[3rd POV - Hostess of Fertility]

"Hey there Ryuu."

The Elf who was passing the door turned her head to see that Cyrus had come into the pub with a smile on his face as he waved over to her, a typical greeting between the two Adventurers, one former and the other active.

Of course, things are no longer 'typical' between them.

"Oh. Hello Cyrus. How was your day at the Blue Pharmacy with your Familia?" The Elf greeted her...partner...love interest? With a smile as she walked over to him when he came in, her answer coming in the form of a small laugh.

"It's just another day of working the counter and selling potions before helping Lord Miach with the paperwork. But overall, I gotta say that the day's been good. How about you? How's your day been Ryuu? I hope that the morning wasn't too hectic for you." The Level 6 'Devil' said as he looked down at the Elf, who shook her head.

"No it's been perfectly fine. We're just getting everything set up for service tonight while taking in the occasional patron who likes to come in for lunch. Thank you for asking though." Ryuu answered as she held his gaze, her blue eyes staring up at him with a different form of fondness.

Meanwhile the other girls, all lead by Syr were huddled together and tried to make themselves small as they watched this spectacle. They all knew that Ryuu was in a very good mood this morning when she came in, especially considering she was the one who ran to check on Cyrus last night, but what is this development?

Did their Elf girl-friend finally confess her feelings to their 'Devil' patron? Or did he perhaps confess his undying love for her after whatever had happened between them last night and she accepted? Regardless, they knew the two had the hots for each other for some time now, and seeing this scene which seems far more sweeter and normal, they're sure that something happened.

But what went on between them?!

"Yeah, it's no problem, Ryuu. Anyway, since I'm already here, I just want juice for now, but can you help me make a reservation for the Miach Familia tonight?"

'And there he goes with his order of juice/And there he goes with his order of juice, nya.' The waitresses of the Hostess thought simultaneously while simultaneously being let down at not seeing more between them, knowing that despite the fact that the Hostess of Fertility is a pub that serves liquor and alcohol, the Adventurer, for as long as they've known him, has always ordered juice. In fact, soon after he became Level 2 and set the new record for the level up, Cyrus even challenged Mama Mia herself that she couldn't make a juice that could go on the daily menu that he would enjoy, and she wholeheartedly accepted the challenge and even blew it out of the water, leading to the at the time 13 year old teenager becoming one of Mia's favorite and frequent regulars. At least, this is what Ryuu, Chloe, and Lunoire had heard, since they hadn't started working until the year after, but that's what Anya and May claimed to have happened and Mama Mia never disputed it.

"Of course Cyrus. And I'll be sure to check and see if we don't have any reservations tonight." Ryuu answered him with a nod and began to walk away before she felt her hand being gently grasped, stopping her momentarily, and saw that it was Cyrus who was the one to take her hand, the Human doing it when he was sure that no Adventurers were looking. He didn't quite care if the other girls saw though since it was clear from what he could see in his peripheral vision that they were watching the pair, so the cat was bound to be out of the bag.

A small squeal seemed to erupt from the gathered group of girls as they witness this miraculous sight, causing the occupants of the pub to look their way before they tried and failed to act casual after what they just did.

Ryuu, even if she was embarrassed by what had just happened, had taken the chance to squeeze his hand before gently pulling it away as she sent an embarrassed glare that didn't seem to phase Cyrus.

"Did you really have to do that?" She softly asked him with her cheeks flaring red as Cyrus merely responded by sending her a lazy smile.

"No I didn't have to, but I still wanted to. After all, I made you a promise, didn't I?" He returned with a grin, causing the Elf to look away, but it was clear that her lips were turned upwards as she did so.

"Yes you did. Now if you excuse me, I'll go get you your drink." Ryuu replied before she turned to walk away only to be accosted by Syr and company and dragged away, much to Cyrus' amusement as he went to take a seat at the counter.

"You sure seem to enjoy causing a disturbance with my girls when they're supposed to work kiddo." Mia's voice rang out as she walked towards him from the other side of the counter, but it seemed she was equally amused as well, watching those two lovebirds finally get together.

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm called the Devil and was called the Swift Snake for a reason you know, Mia. Who knows? Maybe it's just in my nature." Cyrus said in a lighthearted manner as the Dwarf woman let out a laugh and reached over to deliver a nice slap on his shoulders.

"Isn't that the truth!" She exclaimed before smiling down at the young boy who often frequents her pub as a small comfortable silence settled between the two while the girls seemed to bicker over yonder, with a quiet and embarrassed Ryuu being harassed by an excited Syr, Chloe, and Anya being heard in the tangle of voices.

"By the way, sorry if I ruined business last night. I didn't think that we'd approach more sensitive territory." Cyrus apologized to Mia who just shrugged in response.

"It's no issue, it was just a single night and I can't blame you since it's just the cruelty of reality, even outside the Dungeon." She was quick to dismiss the apology of one of her favorite customers before continuing to speak.

"While I don't know what happened last night after you left, it seems that Ryuu is now the happiest I've ever seen her since she came here three years ago. We're both not idiots, Cyrus, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about." She spoke in a slightly low tone so that they weren't overheard.

"I figured that you and Syr already knew that I knew about Ryuu, but I didn't expect the other girls to know, but I should have expected that given that they used to be Adventurers as well, but I was so used to how...much they could be." Cyrus voiced the thoughts he had this mornings to Mia as she chuckled as if knowing something that the boy didn't. Though she's not surprised that he knew that the others were Adventurers, since the boy has always been a sharp one.

"Well anyway, let's just say that some things happened last night and I made her a promise." The newest Level 6 stated with a smile as he looked the Elf's way.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm happy for the both of you kids. But that said..." Mia's gaze seemed sharper as she stared down at Cyrus.

"These girls I have here are probably the closest thing I'll ever have to daughters. So help me, if you break Ryuu's heart..."

"That's quite a nasty stare that you got there Mia." Cyrus said to her as he weathered her stare with a calm gaze that was directed to the former member of the Freya Familia.

"Don't worry Mia. She's in good hands." He continued as if he was stating an absolute fact, knowing something that Mia herself didn't, but seeing as that he didn't seem to cower under her stare and was completely confident in the four-word sentence that he said to her, she merely nodded as her lips turned up again.

"I'll hold it to you then, boyo."

And so a peaceful afternoon passed in the Hostess of Fertility with a content Mia, an amused Cyrus, and a group of waitresses exchanging gossip while teasing one of their own.

{As always, be sure to check the AN}