DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
The Aislynn Familia's regular day off passed quietly. Alfonzo and Tatsuo prepared breakfast while James, Violet, Aletia, Akatsuki, Sakura, and Momo trained behind the villa, Elicia slept in, and Zelretch studied the Language of the Gods with Aislynn.
After breakfast, Tatsuo headed back to the forge to create magical foci for Aletia and Sakura, Alfonzo joined the others in training, and Elicia worked on her design for Freya's request. Meanwhile, Zelretch went back to studying with Aislynn.
Eventually, Tatsuo stepped out of the forge carrying a pair of bracelets studded with magic stones. When he did, Aletia was the first to notice him, immediately dropping her physical training to run over and throw herself into his arms.
{Pic}
"Are you done, Tatsuo?" Aletia asked while hanging off Tatsuo with her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Yeah, I'm done for the day," Tatsuo replied, wrapping an arm around the back of Aletia's thighs and supporting her weight.
"Then come shopping with me," Aletia said with an excited smile on her face.
"Sigh, I'd love to if I could," Tatsuo replied in an apologetic tone. "But Aislynn is basically forcing me to play the piano for her this afternoon, and I really don't wanna deal with a pouting dragon after blowing her off."
Hearing that, Aletia's lips puffed out into a disappointed pout. As Tatsuo watched her, his apologetic expression deepened. But there was really nothing he could do about it. However, he did have something that might cheer Aletia up a little, at least.
"Although I can't go shopping with you..." Tatsuo said as he put Aletia down. Then, he reached into a pocket and pulled out an exquisite gold bracelet inlaid with dark purple magic stones carved into bat wings. "I have a gift for you."
{Pic}
Seeing the bracelet in Tatsuo's hands, Aletia's eyes were glued to it. At the same time, without her knowledge, her lips curled into a dazzling smile. Then, with shaky hands, she reached out to take the bracelet from Tatsuo's hands.
However, before Aletia could take the bracelet from Tatsuo, he reached out with one hand and gripped her wrist. Then, with the other hand, he slipped the bracelet onto Aletia's wrist before adjusting it to fit her slender wrist properly.
"There we go," Tatsuo said with a smile while watching Aletia inspect the bracelet on her wrist. "Since I know you don't really like using that staff, I— Mmph!"
However, before Tatsuo could finish his explanation, Aletia, with unbridled joy shining in her eyes, looked up before once again throwing herself into his arms. However, instead of just hanging off him like before, Aletia also pressed her lips against his and kissed him passionately. Aletia even managed to slip her tongue into Tatsuo's mouth while he was dazed from the sneak attack.
It did not take long for Tatsuo to come back to his senses. However, before he could pull Aletia away, he felt several gazes locked onto him. It did not take much thought for him to realize that James, Alfonzo, Violet, Akatsuki, Sakura, and Momo were all watching him. He could even guess what their expressions were at the moment.
More than likely, James and Alfonzo were grinning, waiting for the opportunity to make fun of Tatsuo. Akatsuki was probably rolling her eyes. Momo was definitely blushing from the base of her neck to the tips of her ears. Lastly, Violet and Sakura were probably watching with expressions that practically screamed, "I'm surprised Aletia-San held back for this long."
'Yeah, I'm not dealing with this shit right now,' Tatsuo thought to himself as he pulled Aletia away.
Then, after putting Aletia, who was still lunging for another kiss, back on the ground, Tatsuo reached into his other pocket and pulled out a chain with a magic stone pendant, tossed it to Sakura, and vanished from where he stood. An instant later, Tatsuo reappeared at the villa's backdoor, opened it, and walked inside without another word.
"Damn... He ran fast," James muttered while watching the villa's backdoor close.
"Aletia-San, why were you ki-k-k—" Momo started to say before she began stuttering so badly that she couldn't continue.
"Kissing," Akatsuki said while rolling her eyes at Momo. "The word you're looking for is kissing. And I think that's obvious. She was kissing him because of that."
As she spoke, Akatsuki pointed at the gold bracelet on Aletia's wrist, drawing everyone's eyes to it.
"Oh, so he finished the new magical foci, huh?" Alfonzo said while leaning forward to get a better look at Aletia's bracelet. "Damn... T's [Magic Circle Creation] Skill is a cheat. I'd never be able to make anything usable and that small with the materials available on the market. I'd either need to make it much bigger and use a shit ton more magic stones, or I'd have to buy some stupidly high-quality magic stones. But he just amplified everything with a magic circle. Seriously, this is some ol' bullshit."
"Then, does that mean Sakura-Chan's is the same?" Violet asked while pointing at the circlet in Sakura's hands.
"Of course it is," Akatsuki said without a hint of doubt. "That guy usually acts pretty flippant, but he doesn't play around with stuff like this."
"I agree with Akatsuki-San," Momo said with a nod. "Tatsuo-Kun is very serious about matters like these."
"Yeah, we all know Tatsuo's a good guy," James said impatiently. "Instead of talking about how great he is, why don't you try out those new toys he gave you?"
"That sounds so lewd coming from you," Akatsuki said with a hint of disgust in her tone.
Confusion blossomed on James's face when he heard what Akatsuki said. Meanwhile, Alfonzo threw his head back and started laughing uproariously. A few seconds later, however, James figured out what Akatsuki was getting at and joined Alfonzo in laughter.
"Damn… You're just as much of a pervert as the guy you despise, aren't you, Akatsuki?" James asked between bouts of laughter.
"Sh-Shut up!" Akatsuki shouted, her face turning completely red after being called out. "I'm not a pervert. It's all your fault, you stupid Devil!"
That only made James and Alfonzo laugh even harder. At the same time, Violet, Aletia, and Sakura also got the joke, leaving Momo as the only one confused at what everyone was laughing or blushing at.
"Anyway, you two should start testing the new foci," Alfonzo said while wiping a tear from his eye. "You need to be familiar with the output and consumption before we head into the Dungeon tomorrow."
"Understood," Sakura replied, her face tinted pink.
Aletia, completely unbothered by the crude joke, nodded along with Sakura. Then, she marched over to a training dummy and raised the hand with the bracelet towards it.
"[Oh, Lightning, I beseech thee. Gather at my call and smite mine enemies. Lightning Dragon]," Aletia chanted.
At the same time, Sakura arrived in front of another training dummy with the circlet on her head and a magic stone carved into the shape of a four-pointed star hanging in the center of her forehead.
"[Bind, trap, restrain, and skewer. Oh shadows, follow my will and do my bidding. Kage Sosa]," Sakura chanted a moment later.
*Zap!*
In the next instant, crackling blue [Lightning Magic] gathered on Aletia's outstretched palm. Then, the [Lightning Magic] elongated into an eastern dragon with glowing yellow eyes that lunged at the training dummy.
A moment later, as Sakura's chant ended, her shadow expanded wildly, nearly covering half of the magic training area. Then, tendrils rose from the shadow, all of which were aimed at the training dummy Sakura was facing, before skewering it from all directions.
{Pic}
Meanwhile, Tatsuo had returned to the villa's main hall. Inside, Aislynn was teaching Zelretch the Language of the Gods, and Elicia was sitting on a different couch, sketching a design for Freya's dress.
"Oh, looks like you're almost done," Tatsuo said while leaning over the back of the couch Elicia was sitting on to take a look at her design. "Damn… that looks too innocent for a goddess with Freya's personality."
{Pic}
"Yeah, I know," Elicia replied without looking up as she continued to draw. "But I think this is what she wants, so this is what she's gonna get."
"*Sigh* You didn't have to work on it so quickly, though," Tatsuo said in an exasperated tone. "It only means she's gonna show up faster."
"I can't help it," Elicia replied with a giggle. "Once I get started, I have trouble stopping. But at least I won't be the one sewing it."
"Now I get the feeling you'll definitely be the one sewing it," Aislynn said in a deadpan tone.
"Come on, Aislynn," Elicia said with a pout. "Are you doing this, too?"
"Yes and no," Aislynn said with a smile. "I think this one will happen whether you say anything or not."
"What do you mean?" Zelretch asked while putting down his study material.
"*Sigh* It's because there is no one better with needle and thread in this city," Aislynn replied with a sigh of fond exasperation. "If Elicia actually submits her design, there is no way Freya will find someone who can do it justice. As a result, the King will probably show up here with a request for Elicia to create the dress herself."
Tatsuo and Zelretch fell silent when they heard that. And for the first time, they could not blame an incoming disaster on Elicia's choice of words.
"This is still your fault," Tatsuo said dryly.
"What?" Elicia exclaimed as she turned towards Tatsuo with her eyes wide open. Then, without looking away, she pointed at Aislynn as she continued. "Didn't you hear what she just said? This was going to happen anyway. How is it my fault?"
"Because you decided to join Freya's stupid contest," Tatsuo replied in the same dry tone. "If you'd just stayed out of it, Freya wouldn't think of coming to you to get her dress made. Hell, if you don't submit that design, I bet it will take several more months before she finds a dress that meets her standards. Meaning, she wouldn't come here for several more months."
This time, it was Elicia's turn to fall silent. As much as she wanted to refute Tatsuo, doing so would force her to admit that her design was not so great that Freya would pick it immediately. And her pride as a tailor would not allow her to do so. As a result, instead of saying anything, Elicia could only stare at Tatsuo while opening and closing her mouth repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Zelretch and Aislynn watched the back and forth with smiles. At the same time, Tatsuo was struggling to keep the same deadpan expression on his face. But seeing Elicia's utterly dumbfounded expression was making that rather difficult.
Luckily, Tatsuo did not have to maintain his expression for long, because...
*Snap!*
"Wahh~~~~~~~~!" Elicia wailed as she snapped her sketch pad closed. Then, she stood up quickly before running towards the Dragon's Nest's backyard while crying at the top of her lungs. "Fonzie! Tatsuo is bullying me! Beat him up for me!"
*Bang!*
A few seconds later, Tatsuo, Zelretch, and Aislynn heard the villa's backdoor open and slam shut. At the same time, Elicia's cries were cut off. Then, the three exchanged glances before they all burst into laughter.
"You shouldn't always mess with Elicia," Aislynn said in a faux-reprimanding tone.
"But it's so fun," Tatsuo said with a smile. Then, he started walking towards the piano as he continued. "Anyway, I'm gonna start playing. Any requests?"
"Some Schumann, perhaps?" Zelretch asked as he lowered his eyes.
"Of course, you'd ask for a German pianist and composer," Tatsuo said while rolling his eyes as he sat down at the piano.
"Does that mean you can't do it?" Zelretch asked in a provocative tone while raising an eyebrow.
{BGM: "Piano Sonata in G Minor: IV. Rondo" -- Clara Schumann}
Instead of replying verbally, Tatsuo closed his eyes. Then, he let his fingers respond, causing Zelretch to smile as he returned to his studies.
The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully. Elicia eventually returned to her sketches when the others finally returned from training. And to Tatsuo's surprise, she did not clamor about the teasing from before. Instead, she worked even harder on her design to show that she was not the bringer of catastrophe.
Meanwhile, James, Alfonzo, Violet, Aletia, Akatsuki, Sakura, and Momo all went to get cleaned up. Then, after their baths and showers, they joined the others in the main hall and chatted about everything and nothing.
All the while, Tatsuo continued to play the piano, taking requests from the others. Then, as the sun started to set, he and Alfonzo got up and started cooking dinner, leaving the others to continue chatting.
A couple of hours later, the teams for next week's Dungeon dives were decided over dinner. This time, the ten would be broken into four groups. The first team would be Elicia, Sakura, and Momo. The second group was Alfonzo, Violet, and Aletia. The third group was James, Akatsuki, and Zelretch. These three teams would all be exploring the Fifth through Seventh Floors.
The last group, which consisted of Tatsuo alone, would be exploring the Eighth and Ninth Floors this week. He would probably end up exploring those two floors the following week as well. Though there was also a fair chance that his Attributes would rise enough for him to head down to the next section.
After dinner, the Familia chatted for a little while longer before they all decided to head back to their rooms to rest. And because he spent the afternoon playing the piano after his time in the workshop, Tatsuo decided to bathe before heading to bed.
"I'm more excited than I thought I'd be," Tatsuo muttered to himself while drying his hair with a towel after his bath. "This is the first time I'll be going solo in the Dungeon.... Ugh... That means I'll have to pick up my own drops, too. I don't know if I—"
Before Tatsuo could finish voicing his thoughts, he stopped dead in his tracks. The reason? Violet and Sakura were sitting on his bed in sleepwear while smiling at him seductively.
{Pic}