"The Loki Familia recruited two Amazon sisters last year. They say that even though they're only twelve, they're already Level 3 adventurers."
Lefiya continued whispering to Cecil.
Since she had once wanted to join the Loki Familia, the young girl knew their "intel" like the back of her hand!
"That's amazing."
"It is..."
"Lefiya, you're close to Level 3 too, aren't you?"
"Ehehe... it's all thanks to Isagi... Isagi's help."
The elf girl scratched her head bashfully, revealing a silly smile. Since joining the Astrea Familia as an intern, her [Magic] ability score had risen by over two hundred points these past few days. She wasn't far from a "D" rank, and when that time came, she could level up whenever she wanted!
Her talent naturally wasn't lacking, so she definitely wanted to wait until her ability scores hit their limit before leveling up. However, at her current speed, that might only take a few months.
Lefiya was basically a fangirl right now, thinking Isagi was simply incredible!
Before they knew it.
The carriage had arrived in front of the Hostess of Fertility pub. A beautiful gray-haired girl waved hello to the pair while calling for other waitress girls to help unload the goods.
Don't let their cute appearances fool you; they all possessed great strength. Presumably, like Anya, they were all adventurers, right?
Except for Syr.
That being the gray-haired girl currently directing everyone in moving the items.
"Would you like something to drink, Miss Cecil, Miss Lefiya?"
She asked, revealing an incomparably gentle smile.
"Mama Mia made ice-cold orange juice this morning. It's very delicious."
"Thank you, we won't say no then."
"Okay, please wait a moment!"
The girl walked quickly back into the shop. Before long, she brought out two large glasses of orange juice and handed them to Cecil and Lefiya, who were also helping move the cargo.
The pub didn't operate as a bar at midday; it only accepted meal orders from city residents as a restaurant, waiting until evening to fully open its doors. This was also why Anya could run out of the city at this time to help Isagi train.
Just as Cecil and Lefiya were preparing to leave, they saw several people walk in. The young man leading them wore a gorgeous pure white robe covered in various gold decorations—at a glance, the type of traveler who had come from far away.
Orario was the center of the world. Nobles and wealthy merchants from various countries often wanted to come and catch a glimpse of the only Labyrinth City in existence.
As a result, the tourism economy was quite prosperous.
The traveler walking into the pub was obviously here for the first time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done something like this, even with several bodyguards—who were clearly adventurers—by his side.
"Hello, beautiful lady."
He smiled, speaking to the girl named Syr in an affectedly soft tone.
"I seem to be lost. May I ask where the Bridge of Heroes is? I'd like to visit it. Of course, if you don't mind, it would be best if you could be my local guide."
As he spoke.
The man placed a sparkling blue gem in front of the gray-haired girl.
This was obviously a pick-up attempt.
Cecil and Lefiya both shot looks of disgust at this, but Syr simply spoke calmly.
"I'm sorry, I don't have the time."
"That is truly a regret."
The man shrugged. Before leaving, he still looked back reluctantly at the beautiful gray-haired girl several times.
The small interlude seemed to be over.
Cecil and Lefiya said goodbye to the pub's waitress girls, then drove the carriage, preparing to head to another pub to deliver goods.
However, not long after.
As the two girls skillfully navigated through the city, just within the Sixth District not far opposite the pub, they suddenly heard screams coming from a nearby alley.
Cecil and Lefiya both looked over curiously.
They then discovered.
In the alley not far away, several guys had been beaten to the ground. The one at the head was the foreign traveler who had just hit on Syr. His face was bruised and swollen; his originally handsome face was now covered in blood and grime.
And standing in front of him was a cat-person youth who wasn't particularly tall. He had choppy black hair, and his narrow golden eyes always radiated an indescribable chill.
[The Goddess's Chariot], Allen Fromel. The Vice-Captain of the Freya Familia, a Level 6 First-Class Adventurer. He possessed the rumor of being the [Fastest in the City]; it was said that no one could catch up to his speed.
Lefiya instantly recognized his identity. It was simple: a powerful adventurer like him, standing at the apex of the city, was simply too famous!!
"Get out of the city immediately. If I see you again, I'll kill you."
The cat-person youth spoke coldly.
He wasn't joking. However, what was puzzling was: why would he treat a few travelers from out of town like this?
"It couldn't be because of Syr, could it?"
Cecil suddenly recalled that she had seen Allen in the pub several times before. This cat-person youth always sat alone in the corner with a face that said "strangers keep away."
So scary!
A cat like Anya was much cuter!!
What was confusing was, would the Vice-Captain of the Freya Familia really care that much about an ordinary girl like Syr who wasn't even an adventurer?
While the two girls gossiped, Allen's figure had already vanished, gone to who knows where...
...
Anya never spoke of her past.
The empathetic Isagi didn't ask, either. It wasn't a big deal anyway, because what mattered was never the past, but the present.
"Look, Anya. This is cooked just right. The skin needs to be slightly charred to taste good..."
In a clearing outside the woods.
Away from the fields planted with green seedlings, the boy and the girl crouched beside a small campfire, focused intently on roasting potatoes.
Training was over.
In the end, he still hadn't managed to touch the small bell at Anya's waist. That was normal; he'd just keep trying tomorrow.
And truthfully, through training with the dummy cat, he really felt that he was regaining mastery and adapting to his body bit by bit.
Winning or losing never mattered; what mattered was helping himself adapt to the brand-new power gained after leveling up.
And now.
With the afternoon having passed, before Anya returned to the pub to work, he had to teach her how to make a delicious potato feast in accordance with their "agreement"!
During the Harvest Festival (Goddess Festival) that would be held this autumn, the cat-girl wanted to display her skills and shock everyone at the pub with delicious food!!
This was the most important thing this year (for the dummy cat), decided after Anya ate the "Omelet Potato" he brought earlier.
Isagi could imagine it, though.
In previous years, Anya must have been laughed at for being too clumsy. After all, she was a "Senior" who would accidentally trip even when serving dishes in the pub.
Of course, it wasn't just to prove herself!
Anya also wanted to do something for everyone at the pub. Mama Mia had taken them in when they were homeless, so she wanted to repay her most important "family"!!
As for the request to teach Anya how to make a "Delicious Potato Feast," Isagi felt there was no difficulty at all! When it came to potatoes, as long as the raw ingredients were fine—and what problem could there be with an excellent variety cultivated personally by the Goddess Demeter?!
Then.
As long as it was cooked through, it would be delicious.
Just like now, the potatoes roasting over the firewood were emitting an incomparably sweet fragrance into the air.
"Ooh..."
Anya had already started drooling. She could already imagine how tasty these golden roasted potatoes were.
"Here, try one first."
"Roar! Then this meow won't be polite... Hot meow, hot meow, hot meow, hot meow..."
The cat-girl's small hands were fine, but she seemed to have burned her mouth in her haste to eat. She couldn't stop sticking out her pink, tender kitten tongue, blowing urgently on the roasted potato in her hand, looking utterly impatient to devour it!
"Don't rush, aren't there plenty left?"
"Wu!"
"By the way, Anya."
Isagi was also eating a roasted potato, thinking that carbs after exercise were truly delicious, when he suddenly thought of a very important question.
"What [Development Ability] do you think is good?"
When an adventurer levels up from Level 1, they obtain a brand new [Development Ability]. It's not guaranteed; zero or several choices appear based on the adventurer's own "leveling history," and only one can be chosen each time. It grants the user some special bonuses or unique abilities.
For example, [Blacksmith], essential for smiths, is one of the most classic Development Abilities. Only blacksmiths who obtain it can create weapons and equipment with special traits, as well as forge [First-Class Armaments] for adventurers Level 5 and above.
There's also the common [Abnormal Resistance], which increases resistance to various poisons, and so on...
Isagi hadn't chosen his Development Ability yet, so he thought he'd ask Anya, who counted as a "veteran adventurer."
And to this, the dummy cat's answer was—
"[Escape] meow."
"Eh?"
"In the Dungeon, surviving is the most important thing meow."
"But I remember [Escape] is a rare ability that only appears at Level 4 and above."
"That's right..."
"Do you have [Escape], Anya?"
"No! Meow knows [Abnormal Resistance] meow!!"
"Isn't that the most common one?"
Isagi remembered that because there was a monster called the Purple Moth on the Upper Floors that sprayed paralyzing or poisonous powder, many adventurers would have the [Abnormal Resistance] Development Ability available to choose when leveling up.
"It is not meow! Meow is different from those ordinary guys meow!!"
"Different how?"
"Meow's [Abnormal Resistance] is the same as a Great Dragon's meow!"
"That impressive, huh."
No wonder she was fine after finishing the bento that poisoned Cecil after just one bite.
"Hehehe, of course Meow is the most amazing meow!"
The dummy cat once again placed her hands on her hips, proud of herself.
Of course Anya didn't know [Escape], because a Chariot only charges forward, or else it is eliminated as a defective product and discarded in a corner where no one cares..."
___
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