Lefiya's enthusiasm exceeded Isagi's imagination.
It was early in the morning.
Just as he was setting up his stall to prepare for his part-time job selling fried potato snacks for the day, this girl was already standing by the roadside waiting—she didn't know where the Astrea Familia station was, and they had agreed yesterday to meet at the Hostess of Fertility pub at noon.
As it turned out, likely due to pure excitement, she had run all the way from the port city of Melen to Orario before the sun had even risen.
"Aren't you tired?"
Isagi asked, feeling a bit drowsy himself.
She must have only returned to the School District from Orario in the middle of the night last night, yet she was back so soon. Was her stamina just that good, or was this the executive ability of an honor student?!
"Hehe~"
In response, the Elf girl simply scratched her head with a silly smile and asked the boy when they would be going to the Dungeon.
For adventurers, staying up all night was indeed manageable.
The God's Falna not only granted strength surpassing that of ordinary people, but it also brought with it immense stamina. For high-level adventurers, going without sleep for days and nights in the Dungeon, or maintaining combat readiness with only brief rests, was quite normal.
Furthermore, it was a proven fact that the Falna slowed aging and even extended one's lifespan to a certain degree.
Regardless, Lefiya was a Level 2 adventurer; going one day without sleep didn't affect her at all. In truth, Isagi was much the same, but the boy simply wasn't used to it yet.
Back in Solingen, there were no monsters requiring him to stay up all night to handle. Since coming to Orario, because he only wandered around the 1st Floor, he could go home and sleep whenever he wanted.
And so.
Before joining the Familia to start her internship, Lefiya helped Isagi sell fried potato snacks for the entire morning.
The girl was quite dexterous, and her smile while serving customers was absolutely perfect. No matter the race, gender, or age of the customer, she greeted them warmly. One could even naturally feel that she was immersed in it, thoroughly enjoying the interactions with guests, finding it novel and pleasant.
Although he didn't know other Elves, whether back in Solingen—the City of Swordsmiths was arguably one of the cities Elves disliked the most, as forging required vast amounts of wood, iron, sand, and stone, destroying forests and the environment—or after coming to Orario...
The Elves Isagi had seen on the streets all wore masks of indifference. Their haughty pride and rejection of other races were visible to the naked eye.
This was likely because Lefiya's hometown was Wishe Forest.
Located in the [Great Tree Sea] in the center of the continent, it was a place unlike other Elven settlements that were closed off and detested outsiders entering.
It was not only open to the outside world but had also become one of the continent's mainstream trade routes. Because it was accessible from all directions, merchants from all over the world would pass through it to go anywhere.
Therefore, the local Elves were not only skilled at communicating with other races but were also full of curiosity about the world. They would often naturally leave the forest to venture out, which was completely different from the closed, traditional customs of their kin in other Elven settlements.
Also.
This was because the progenitor of [Wishe Forest] was one of the most famous bards from a thousand years ago, before the Gods had descended to the Lower World. Many famous fairy tales, including the Argonaut, were written and spread by her.
Her actions influenced a group of Elves, so they came to the legendary hometown of Wishe, reclaimed it from monsters, and established [Wishe Forest] there, living for a long time until today while maintaining that spirit of openness and passion for the world.
"When I was little, I used to run to the tavern often and find anyone I didn't know to tell me stories."
The vast and boundless ocean, waterfalls known to no one deep in the mountains, the Kaios Desert that conjured illusions, the magnificent and tall Imperial Capital, and the Dungeon mentioned by the most people...
"I have a secret base in my hometown."
"Passing through a gap where you have to crawl on your stomach, past a large tree trunk covered in moss that had fallen to the ground who knows when, almost blending into the surroundings... if you work hard for just a little while, you'll arrive at a [Secret Garden]!"
"It's full of tiny white flowers, very beautiful!! I often lay there, fantasizing about scenery far away, wondering what I would be like then~"
While working, her little mouth chattered non-stop.
It certainly wasn't boring being with Lefiya; the Elf girl was talkative to an extremely powerful degree.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a social menace.
Isagi mostly just listened, though he did tell her some amusing stories about himself and Cecil back in Solingen.
For instance, when the axe that guy forged couldn't split firewood, the girl ran over to look, then suddenly got angry and tore the firewood apart with her bare hands.
That was the first time Isagi had a visceral understanding of an adventurer's "strength." After all, Cecil was usually just a soft, silly, clumsy girl who only knew how to be tsundere...
...
The morning work hours seemed to pass very, very quickly thanks to the Elf girl's help.
Before long.
Cecil arrived driving the wagon to pick him up as usual, and she was surprised that Lefiya was there too.
The three of them then headed back to Daedalus Street together since it was on the way, and Isagi took Lefiya to the Familia station to let her meet the Goddess.
The [Familia Internship] was a very formal project.
Theoretically, it required signing a contract with the God in the presence of Guild members, then registering as an adventurer on the spot while switching the original Falna to the internship Familia—for example, Lefiya was currently a member of God Baldr's Familia.
Her [Status] could only be updated and improved by God Baldr.
So a "Conversion" operation was needed to transfer the girl from God Baldr's Familia to Astrea's side.
The operation itself wasn't complex, but the Guild needed to ensure the entire matter was completed with the consent of both parties.
Isagi didn't know how the Goddess planned to handle it. After he told Astrea about Lefiya last night, she said she would take the Elf girl to the Guild herself, rather than going through the standard channels (likely to avoid attracting attention).
And so, bringing along Lefiya, who was looking around like a curious baby, they navigated the complex Daedalus Street and returned to the Familia station.
After handing the Elf girl over to the Goddess and eating lunch together casually.
Isagi left directly.
Because he promised Lefiya that he would wait for her to return from the Guild and officially join the Astrea Familia internship, then go to the Dungeon together!
So Isagi planned to go help Cecil, joining the girl to deliver those fruits, vegetables, and meats from the Demeter Familia to various pubs and restaurants in the city today.
He quickly found the wagon driven by the girl; he knew her delivery route, so it wasn't difficult.
As a result.
Just as he got on the wagon, he was caught by a certain catgirl.
"Hum hum hum! Come with me nya!!"
"Anya, what are you doing?"
Looking at the pair of cat ears that suddenly popped up from the back of the wagon, Isagi felt a bit of a headache—of course, he knew Anya. After all, she was a rare individual who was even more of an idiot than Cecil, so how could he not have an impression?
Cecil, sitting to the side, also didn't know when she had hopped onto the wagon.
Probably.
Was it when they passed the Hostess of Fertility pub just now?
"Anya, if you run around like this, be careful or Mama Mia will sort you out!"
Mama Mia was the owner of the pub, a female Dwarf one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, with arms thicker than Isagi's thighs.
"!!!"
Hearing Mama Mia's name, Anya subconsciously shrank her neck and covered her head with both hands, but she soon put her hands on her hips and spoke very toughly.
"Today is my day off nya! No work!! Okay, hurry up and come with me nya!!"
"What exactly do you want?"
Neither Cecil nor Isagi understood this guy's brain circuitry at all, while the catgirl just grumbled indignantly.
"Nyan wants to prove myself! Damn it!! They actually think I'm an idiot!! I'm a super powerful adventurer nya!!"
___
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