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Chapter 13: The Case of the Loki Familia's Flat-Chested Amazon
The Atmosphere of Twilight Manor
The air inside the Twilight Manor had shifted from its usual boisterous training-day energy to something far more jagged and secretive. For days, the heavy-hitters—Riveria, Raul, and Aki—had been moving with a focused intensity that set the rest of the Familia on edge. To the rank-and-file members, it felt like the prelude to a war with the remnants of the Evilus in the Pleasure District.
Tiona Hiryute, however, wasn't one to sit idly by while a secret was brewing. Through some expert prying, she and her sister Tione had finally caught wind of the true "threat".
"Wait, so you're telling me someone is actually selling 'Spring Books' of Aiz and the Argonaut-kun without a permit?" Tiona asked, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and morbid curiosity.
"It's worse than that," Tione hissed, crossing her arms. "First it was Aiz, but now I've heard rumors that Lefiya has been made into a model too. The whole city is buzzing about it".
Tiona tilted her head, trying to wrap her brain around the logistics. "But why? Why would anyone risk the Captain's wrath to draw the Argonaut-kun like that?"
"Because he's famous, you idiot," Tione grunted. "He's the record-breaking rookie, and he's surrounded by beauties like Aiz. From a merchant's perspective, he's the ultimate golden goose for this kind of... artistic endeavor".
Tiona felt a prickle of annoyance. While she usually found the Rabbit's antics amusing, having her own "family" members exploited for back-alley smut felt like a personal jab. Yet, without orders from Finn, they were stuck in the Manor, simmering in a state of restless boredom.
The Interception
The boredom didn't last long. While wandering the corridors, they spotted Raul, who was behaving as if he were carrying a crate of fragile explosives. He was clutching a stack of books to his chest, his eyes darting toward every shadow.
"Hey, Raul!" Tiona chirped, appearing behind him. "Weren't you supposed to be on stakeout duty in the Pleasure District?"
"E-Eh?! Tiona? Tione?!" Raul nearly dropped his cargo. "I-I was just delivering these... research materials... to the Captain!"
"Research, huh?" Tione's eyes narrowed. "Let us see one".
"N-No! You really shouldn't! These are for the investigation—"
"Relax, Raul. We're Amazons," Tione interrupted, her hand snaking out to snatch a volume from the pile. "We aren't blushing Elven virgins. It's just paper and ink, right?"
But as Tione looked at the cover of the snatched book, she suddenly went still. Tiona leaned over to look, and her own breath hitched.
There, in a style that was disturbingly realistic and vibrantly colored, was Tiona herself. She was depicted with a radiant, loving smile, her arms wrapped around the neck of the Argonaut-kun in a framing of decorative hearts.
"Whoa... it's me and the Argonaut-kun!" Tiona whispered, her curiosity overriding her indignation.
Raul turned a sickly shade of green while Tione's face began to flush with a dangerous heat.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Tione roared, her voice echoing in the hall. "Why is my baby sister being used for this Rabbit-Foot trash?!"
"I don't know! I didn't draw it! Ask the author!" Raul squeaked, backing away from the Amazon's burgeoning killing intent.
The "Scripture"
While Tione continued to terrorize Raul, Tiona found herself drawn into the pages. She couldn't help it; the artwork was simply too compelling to ignore.
"Let's see here..."
The story didn't start with the usual Dungeon-crawl. Instead, it featured "Tiona" and "Bell" in stylish, modern attire, wandering through a festival like a pair of true lovers. Tiona watched the fictional version of herself laughing, eating street food, and pulling the Argonaut-kun by the hand. A strange, sharp ache pulsed in her chest—not of anger, but of a weird, unplaced envy.
"Hey, Argonaut-kun. It's getting late, but I don't want to go back yet... can we stay the night? Together?"
The "Tiona" in the book was different from her usual self. Her grin wasn't just energetic; it was soft, feline, and predatory in a way that reminded her of Tione's gaze when she looked at Finn. As they entered an inn, their fingers were tightly interlaced, a gesture far more intimate than a simple hand-hold.
Tiona's heart began to hammer against her ribs as the scene shifted to the interior of a room.
"Wow! The bed is so fluffy!!" "It is. So... who's taking a shower first?" "Why bother going one at a time? Let's just go in together. After all... we know why we're here, don't we? ♡"
"Hwoah..." Tiona breathed, her eyes glued to the page. It felt like she was reading a diary of a version of herself she hadn't met yet.
A Vulnerable Moment
The book took a sudden turn toward the emotional. Naked and clinging to the Argonaut-kun in the shower, the fictional Tiona's expression became uncharacteristically somber.
"Hey... I know I'm not as... big... as Tione or Aiz. Does that bother you, Argonaut-kun?"
Tiona's hand instinctively went to her own chest. It was a lingering insecurity she rarely voiced, yet here it was, laid bare on the page. But the response from the fictional Bell made her breath stop.
"It's okay. I love you, Tiona. I'm going to love you so much you'll never have to worry about that again ♡"
"Hwah...?!"
The Bell on the page didn't look like a nervous rabbit. He had the eyes of a man—focused, determined, and deeply affectionate. He cupped the fictional Tiona's face and kissed her with a passion that made the real Tiona's knees feel like water.
"Heh, I thought this was just trash, but the Rabbit-Foot has some guts," Tione remarked from over her shoulder, her anger replaced by a lecherous smirk. "If Captain Finn said that to me, I'd be energized until the sun came up! ♡"
"Tione, shut up!" Tiona barked, her face glowing a brilliant red.
She turned the page, seeing the culmination of the story: a messy, frantic, and incredibly intense depiction of two high-level adventurers exhausting themselves in each other's arms. It wasn't just "mating"; it was a battle of passion that left them both breathless and flushed.
"Hey... if we have a baby... let's get married, Bell ♡"
"...Bell".
Tiona stared at the name. She had always used "Argonaut-kun," but seeing her fictional self use his real name felt like a betrayal of sorts—as if the book-version of her had claimed a piece of him she didn't possess.
The Reality Check
Tiona eventually hid the book in her desk drawer, away from the heroic epics she usually read. But the feeling persisted. To clear her head, she went for a walk through Orario, only to find the man himself standing near a street corner, clutching his stomach with a pained groan.
Without a second thought, she sprinted toward him.
"Hey! Argonaut-kun!"
Bell jumped, looking at her with a wariness that bordered on trauma. Tiona tilted her head. Had he already run into the others? No matter.
"What a coincidence! What are you doing here?"
"Just... taking a break... walking..." he muttered, rubbing his midsection where Lefiya's fist had recently made contact.
Tiona saw her opening. "Hey, if you're bored, why don't you come on a date with me?"
"A-A date?!"
"Yep!" Tiona beamed. The embarrassment from earlier was still there, but her desire to see if the real Bell could match the "manly" one from the book was stronger.
"Are you sure? Someone like me...?"
"Hmph! I'm the one asking, isn't that enough?! Or do you hate the idea of a date with me?"
"No! I'd love to! Okay... let's go on a... a date".
"Great! Thanks, Argonaut—no, wait. Thanks, Bell ♪"
"F-Fweh?!"
Bell's face turned the color of a ripe tomato as he let out a strangled squeak. Tiona laughed—a bright, genuine sound—and grabbed his hand. She interlaced her fingers with his, exactly like the drawing, and began pulling him into the heart of the city.
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