After gathering the Familia in the living room, our group headed towards the pub, with me standing between Astraea and Alise on the walk.
"So Sirius, I heard that you've done pretty good in the dungeon. Did you keep your promise to make a profit while we were gone?"
Alise asks with a playful expression, I tilt my chin up and smirk with an arrogant expression, playing along with her joke.
"Of course! I've gone all the way to the sixth floor with minimal injury! In fact, I made around 80,000 valis! Although it's been shrunk to 60,000 after Astraea made me buy some things for hobbies."
My playful arrogance recedes into mock depression as I talk about my grand expense from earlier today, causing her to laugh.
We continue some casual discussions with Alise making a joke or teasing whenever possible, her personality really is a delight to be in the presence of, able to lift up even the most gloomy of atmospheres.
It makes me truly admire her as a captain and as a person, while also causing a slightly warm feeling to rise in my chest.
I'm not an idiot who has no knowledge of emotions, I know that this feeling is attraction, a quickly growing feeling at that, but I force the feeling to be suppressed.
As a member of an all-female Familia, the last thing they would want is for their newest member to begin lusting over their captain.
Though I don't know what I would do if another person was to show attraction towards her.
But that’s an issue for future me.
Eventually, we reach the 'Hostess of Fertility', the owner and head chef, Mia Grande, welcoming us with open arms.
After all, our Familia are frequent patrons, and our attitudes cause no issues, what's not to love as a pub owner?
It is quite funny when she sees me walking in with the rest of the Familia, after all, I never told her what Familia I'm a part of, it must be quite a shock that I'm part of a famously female one such as Astraea.
Sitting down at our reserved seating, with me sitting between Astraea and Ryuu, which consists of several tables joined together, we begin ordering.
I myself have been attempting to go through the menu for the past two times I've been here, ordering spaghetti and then roast chicken, continuing with the trend I order an item I haven't tried yet, one a bit more fantastical in ‘fire lizard stir fry’.
Whether it is due to how they cook it or how the fire lizard simply tastes, it has a smoky accent, with it tasting like chicken for the most part with the tender consistency of beef.
All in all, quite tasty.
The conversations over the table, with me and Astraea asking various questions about their expedition, were quite interesting.
Although I had a bit of knowledge of the lower floors due to Rose's lessons and my own studies, hearing it in person was something else.
While they avoided combat for the most part until coming into contact with the monster that drops the material they needed on the 42nd floor, combat in the dungeon is inevitable.
I was impressed with how easily they dealt with the Goliath, the monster rex of the 17th floor, as well as their massacre of a monster party on the 29th floor, consisting of Bloodsaurus and Violas, I also inexplicably feel a pang of worry at the mention of Violas, but I decide to ignore it.
As the night progresses and alcohol was consumed, the conversations began to become sillier and more slurred.
Knowing that everybody in the Familia got the development ability Abnormal Resistance which eliminated poisons, I ask Astraea why alcohol is not considered a poison and removed.
Apparently with the subconscious knowing they want the supposed 'poisonous' effects to happen, the resistance doesn't happen, a similar phenomenon appears in birth control and sleep medication when intended to be used.
Although many of the members have become drunk early into the celebration, there is still me, Ryuu, Celty, Noin, Kaguya, and Astraea who are sober.
Kaguya and Noin due to not liking the feeling of being intoxicated, Ryuu and Celty being Elves are incredibly weak to alcohol, while Astraea and myself are the designated, umm, walkers?
Yeah, designated walkers, ensuring everyone gets home safe and clean.
With everybody talking with their own groups, I'm left in silence alongside Ryuu, trying to muster up the courage to talk to such a beautiful girl in this setting.
""Uhh-""
We both stare at each other for a moment after interrupting the other with our attempt to start a conversation, then break out into a fit of giggles.
I've never heard the Elf giggle before, perhaps it's the atmosphere that caused her to loosen up?
Either way, it sounds like a beautiful chime, enchanting even.
"You can start, Ryuu."
"O-ok, I heard that you've improved quite a bit during our trip. Has that fixed your feeling of inadequacy?"
"Y-yeah, a little, though I still really want to catch up to you guys, especially after hearing about your adventures like this, I now know how important taking your time is when building your strength a little better now, I'm not so immature about such things."
"That's good, it shouldn't take too long for you to join us, as long as your magic continues to have such an effect, by the time you're level 2 you will probably be able to join us as a supporter."
"That's good to hear, I have been practicing picking up magic stones lately."
This causes her to giggle once again, charming me once again.
"I overheard your conversation with Alise on the way here, you picked up some hobbies?"
"Yep, I got a nice Lyre since I played a similar instrument before coming here, and although I'm not great at art, a whittling set as well. I hope that my increase in dexterity will help increase my skill in both."
"Hmm, I myself have a flute that I like to play, it comes from my homeland so I have mixed feelings about it."
"I bet you sound beautiful using an instrument, once I get good enough I'd love to play with you."
We stare into each other's eyes for a moment, my heartbeat picking up and the other conversations drowning out into silence.
Time seems to stretch as I peer into the two dazzling blue orbs.
Only breaking out of the trance after Ryuu averts her eyes, a blush reaching all the way to her ears.
With a lull in our conversation, I quickly down my nearly untouched ale I planned to slowly sip throughout the night, clearing my head of my haze incited by the enchanting fairy.
Once our mutual embarrassment dissipates, we continue our conversation, learning more about each other's personal lives, me being vague in some matters when concerning my coming from another world, but still roughly telling by the truth, although at my age the timeline is shrunk.
I also learn about why she left her Elven forest, especially at such a young age, it was due to her homeland's prejudice and dislike against other races which she found disgusting, she came to Orario, the hotspot of all races, intending to shred the previous racism she had accrued throughout her growing up.
After meeting Astraea and Alise, she decided the best way to combat her homeland's racism is to protect all the races as a paragon of justice.
"Well, I certainly admire your tenacity and your reason for joining Astraea. It makes my own pale in comparison, 'Oh why did I join my Familia? I appeared in the dungeon out of the sky and defeated a super strong monster while being witnessed by her entire Familia. She told me that I would be used and wrung for information like a wet rag without her protection, so here I am'."
I finish with a light chuckle while she descends into giggles, causing my mind to blank.
It's due to this sudden loss of brain power, I mindlessly share my true thoughts.
"Your laugh is really beautiful, Ryuu."
Her cackling quickly stops, and a red blush appears as her eyes widen, blinking at an increasing pace.
I turn away quickly once I realize what I've said and look down at the table in embarrassment.
"I-I'm sorry f-for suddenly-"
My hastened apology is interrupted by a mug slamming to the table.
I turn over to see Ryuu with a dazed expression with glossy eyes, while Asta's mug of wine is empty, the only evidence of what transpired is the dribble of red liquid rolling down Ryuu's cheek.
The entire table becomes silent and stares at Ryuu, I guess it's rare for her to consume alcohol.
Before I could formulate a hypothesis, Ryuu looks towards me with a lopsided smile before hugging me.
I freeze while my heartbeat rapidly picks up and warmth spreads across my body, particularly my face.
Oh shit, I'm attracted to two girls in my Familia, very attracted even!
The rest of the table is in a similar state of shock, only Astraea forming a wide grin at the situation.
Breaking us out of our paralyzed states, Ryuu begins mumbling with a dazed tone.
"Mmm, warm, fuzzy feelings, hehe, hic, warm fuzzies."
Oh my god, she's adorable!
And it seems that Elves are indeed weak to alcohol, as she promptly lays down on my lap and passes out.
A moment of silence ensues with the Familia as my light buzz from before has been completely extinguished due to what had transpired.
Only Alise has the courage to speak up at the table.
"D-did, did that just happen? T-that Ryuu, our Ryuu, just did that?"
As everyone takes their time, slowly accepting the situation, only one remains completely unaffected, that being our resident Goddess.
"Fufufu, oh Ryuu, my sweet innocent child, fufu, hahaha."
She then devolves into a fit of laughter while the rest of us comes to terms with everything.
Kaguya, Alise, and Lyra, originally looking like their world had completely shattered, morphed their expressions into something I can only describe as wicked.
Casting a silent prayer for the teasing Ryuu should expect to receive in the future, I attempt to move her off my lap onto Neze's, who is sitting next to her, though after nudging her head, her arms reflexively wrap around my waist.
I concede to the situation while breathing slowly, casting my 'excitation' at having such a pretty girl on my lap away.
Shortly after, everyone is prepared to go home, with only Asta and Maryuu needing help getting back, Kaguya and Noin decide to help them while I am of course stuck with the passed-out Ryuu.
Receiving devilish smirks when asking anyone else to take her, even including Astraea, I'm left with carrying her back home.
Initially wanting to do a princess carry, that thought is quickly cast out as she tries to hug me in her sleep, leading to an uncomfortable position.
And unfortunately, due to her being three levels above me, even her unconscious strength is enough to completely overpower me.
Conceding to her slumbering wishes, I carry her to the Stardust Garden on my back with her arms tightly wrapped around my neck.
I forcibly put my head down to ignore the jeers and stares from passersby and my own Familia during the journey, worrying about how this might affect my and Ryuu's future relationship.
Finally reaching home, I quickly glance at everybody with a pleading expression, while verbally asking for someone to take her to her room.
The only thing I receive being teasing smirks and directions to Ryuu's room from Alise.
Accepting my fate, I take Ryuu to her room and then lay her on her bed, ensuring that she's laying on her side in case she vomits during the night.
Taking off her shoes and getting her tucked in, I notice a sheen of sweat adorning her face, so I quickly return with a wet rag before lightly wiping off the sweat from her face.
Turning off the lights, I then leave the room, closing the door on the way out, only to be met with the sly smiles of Astraea, Lyra, Kaguya, and Alise.
Reaching levels of embarrassment I never knew I could, I run down the hall to my room, unknowingly using stellar magic to enhance my speed, before shutting the door and the lights, casting off my clothes, and instantly falling asleep on my bed.
Not even attempting to think about what could happen tomorrow.
After gathering the Familia in the living room, our group headed towards the pub, with me standing between Astraea and Alise on the walk.
"So Sirius, I heard that you've done pretty good in the dungeon. Did you keep your promise to make a profit while we were gone?"
Alise asks with a playful expression, I tilt my chin up and smirk with an arrogant expression, playing along with her joke.
"Of course! I've gone all the way to the sixth floor with minimal injury! In fact, I made around 80,000 valis! Although it's been shrunk to 60,000 after Astraea made me buy some things for hobbies."
My playful arrogance recedes into mock depression as I talk about my grand expense from earlier today, causing her to laugh.
We continue some casual discussions with Alise making a joke or teasing whenever possible, her personality really is a delight to be in the presence of, able to lift up even the most gloomy of atmospheres.
It makes me truly admire her as a captain and as a person, while also causing a slightly warm feeling to rise in my chest.
I'm not an idiot who has no knowledge of emotions, I know that this feeling is attraction, a quickly growing feeling at that, but I force the feeling to be suppressed.
As a member of an all-female Familia, the last thing they would want is for their newest member to begin lusting over their captain.
Though I don't know what I would do if another person was to show attraction towards her.
But that’s an issue for future me.
Eventually, we reach the 'Hostess of Fertility', the owner and head chef, Mia Grande, welcoming us with open arms.
After all, our Familia are frequent patrons, and our attitudes cause no issues, what's not to love as a pub owner?
It is quite funny when she sees me walking in with the rest of the Familia, after all, I never told her what Familia I'm a part of, it must be quite a shock that I'm part of a famously female one such as Astraea.
Sitting down at our reserved seating, with me sitting between Astraea and Ryuu, which consists of several tables joined together, we begin ordering.
I myself have been attempting to go through the menu for the past two times I've been here, ordering spaghetti and then roast chicken, continuing with the trend I order an item I haven't tried yet, one a bit more fantastical in ‘fire lizard stir fry’.
Whether it is due to how they cook it or how the fire lizard simply tastes, it has a smoky accent, with it tasting like chicken for the most part with the tender consistency of beef.
All in all, quite tasty.
The conversations over the table, with me and Astraea asking various questions about their expedition, were quite interesting.
Although I had a bit of knowledge of the lower floors due to Rose's lessons and my own studies, hearing it in person was something else.
While they avoided combat for the most part until coming into contact with the monster that drops the material they needed on the 42nd floor, combat in the dungeon is inevitable.
I was impressed with how easily they dealt with the Goliath, the monster rex of the 17th floor, as well as their massacre of a monster party on the 29th floor, consisting of Bloodsaurus and Violas, I also inexplicably feel a pang of worry at the mention of Violas, but I decide to ignore it.
As the night progresses and alcohol was consumed, the conversations began to become sillier and more slurred.
Knowing that everybody in the Familia got the development ability Abnormal Resistance which eliminated poisons, I ask Astraea why alcohol is not considered a poison and removed.
Apparently with the subconscious knowing they want the supposed 'poisonous' effects to happen, the resistance doesn't happen, a similar phenomenon appears in birth control and sleep medication when intended to be used.
Although many of the members have become drunk early into the celebration, there is still me, Ryuu, Celty, Noin, Kaguya, and Astraea who are sober.
Kaguya and Noin due to not liking the feeling of being intoxicated, Ryuu and Celty being Elves are incredibly weak to alcohol, while Astraea and myself are the designated, umm, walkers?
Yeah, designated walkers, ensuring everyone gets home safe and clean.
With everybody talking with their own groups, I'm left in silence alongside Ryuu, trying to muster up the courage to talk to such a beautiful girl in this setting.
""Uhh-""
We both stare at each other for a moment after interrupting the other with our attempt to start a conversation, then break out into a fit of giggles.
I've never heard the Elf giggle before, perhaps it's the atmosphere that caused her to loosen up?
Either way, it sounds like a beautiful chime, enchanting even.
"You can start, Ryuu."
"O-ok, I heard that you've improved quite a bit during our trip. Has that fixed your feeling of inadequacy?"
"Y-yeah, a little, though I still really want to catch up to you guys, especially after hearing about your adventures like this, I now know how important taking your time is when building your strength a little better now, I'm not so immature about such things."
"That's good, it shouldn't take too long for you to join us, as long as your magic continues to have such an effect, by the time you're level 2 you will probably be able to join us as a supporter."
"That's good to hear, I have been practicing picking up magic stones lately."
This causes her to giggle once again, charming me once again.
"I overheard your conversation with Alise on the way here, you picked up some hobbies?"
"Yep, I got a nice Lyre since I played a similar instrument before coming here, and although I'm not great at art, a whittling set as well. I hope that my increase in dexterity will help increase my skill in both."
"Hmm, I myself have a flute that I like to play, it comes from my homeland so I have mixed feelings about it."
"I bet you sound beautiful using an instrument, once I get good enough I'd love to play with you."
We stare into each other's eyes for a moment, my heartbeat picking up and the other conversations drowning out into silence.
Time seems to stretch as I peer into the two dazzling blue orbs.
Only breaking out of the trance after Ryuu averts her eyes, a blush reaching all the way to her ears.
With a lull in our conversation, I quickly down my nearly untouched ale I planned to slowly sip throughout the night, clearing my head of my haze incited by the enchanting fairy.
Once our mutual embarrassment dissipates, we continue our conversation, learning more about each other's personal lives, me being vague in some matters when concerning my coming from another world, but still roughly telling by the truth, although at my age the timeline is shrunk.
I also learn about why she left her Elven forest, especially at such a young age, it was due to her homeland's prejudice and dislike against other races which she found disgusting, she came to Orario, the hotspot of all races, intending to shred the previous racism she had accrued throughout her growing up.
After meeting Astraea and Alise, she decided the best way to combat her homeland's racism is to protect all the races as a paragon of justice.
"Well, I certainly admire your tenacity and your reason for joining Astraea. It makes my own pale in comparison, 'Oh why did I join my Familia? I appeared in the dungeon out of the sky and defeated a super strong monster while being witnessed by her entire Familia. She told me that I would be used and wrung for information like a wet rag without her protection, so here I am'."
I finish with a light chuckle while she descends into giggles, causing my mind to blank.
It's due to this sudden loss of brain power, I mindlessly share my true thoughts.
"Your laugh is really beautiful, Ryuu."
Her cackling quickly stops, and a red blush appears as her eyes widen, blinking at an increasing pace.
I turn away quickly once I realize what I've said and look down at the table in embarrassment.
"I-I'm sorry f-for suddenly-"
My hastened apology is interrupted by a mug slamming to the table.
I turn over to see Ryuu with a dazed expression with glossy eyes, while Asta's mug of wine is empty, the only evidence of what transpired is the dribble of red liquid rolling down Ryuu's cheek.
The entire table becomes silent and stares at Ryuu, I guess it's rare for her to consume alcohol.
Before I could formulate a hypothesis, Ryuu looks towards me with a lopsided smile before hugging me.
I freeze while my heartbeat rapidly picks up and warmth spreads across my body, particularly my face.
Oh shit, I'm attracted to two girls in my Familia, very attracted even!
The rest of the table is in a similar state of shock, only Astraea forming a wide grin at the situation.
Breaking us out of our paralyzed states, Ryuu begins mumbling with a dazed tone.
"Mmm, warm, fuzzy feelings, hehe, hic, warm fuzzies."
Oh my god, she's adorable!
And it seems that Elves are indeed weak to alcohol, as she promptly lays down on my lap and passes out.
A moment of silence ensues with the Familia as my light buzz from before has been completely extinguished due to what had transpired.
Only Alise has the courage to speak up at the table.
"D-did, did that just happen? T-that Ryuu, our Ryuu, just did that?"
As everyone takes their time, slowly accepting the situation, only one remains completely unaffected, that being our resident Goddess.
"Fufufu, oh Ryuu, my sweet innocent child, fufu, hahaha."
She then devolves into a fit of laughter while the rest of us comes to terms with everything.
Kaguya, Alise, and Lyra, originally looking like their world had completely shattered, morphed their expressions into something I can only describe as wicked.
Casting a silent prayer for the teasing Ryuu should expect to receive in the future, I attempt to move her off my lap onto Neze's, who is sitting next to her, though after nudging her head, her arms reflexively wrap around my waist.
I concede to the situation while breathing slowly, casting my 'excitation' at having such a pretty girl on my lap away.
Shortly after, everyone is prepared to go home, with only Asta and Maryuu needing help getting back, Kaguya and Noin decide to help them while I am of course stuck with the passed-out Ryuu.
Receiving devilish smirks when asking anyone else to take her, even including Astraea, I'm left with carrying her back home.
Initially wanting to do a princess carry, that thought is quickly cast out as she tries to hug me in her sleep, leading to an uncomfortable position.
And unfortunately, due to her being three levels above me, even her unconscious strength is enough to completely overpower me.
Conceding to her slumbering wishes, I carry her to the Stardust Garden on my back with her arms tightly wrapped around my neck.
I forcibly put my head down to ignore the jeers and stares from passersby and my own Familia during the journey, worrying about how this might affect my and Ryuu's future relationship.
Finally reaching home, I quickly glance at everybody with a pleading expression, while verbally asking for someone to take her to her room.
The only thing I receive being teasing smirks and directions to Ryuu's room from Alise.
Accepting my fate, I take Ryuu to her room and then lay her on her bed, ensuring that she's laying on her side in case she vomits during the night.
Taking off her shoes and getting her tucked in, I notice a sheen of sweat adorning her face, so I quickly return with a wet rag before lightly wiping off the sweat from her face.
Turning off the lights, I then leave the room, closing the door on the way out, only to be met with the sly smiles of Astraea, Lyra, Kaguya, and Alise.
Reaching levels of embarrassment I never knew I could, I run down the hall to my room, unknowingly using stellar magic to enhance my speed, before shutting the door and the lights, casting off my clothes, and instantly falling asleep on my bed.
Not even attempting to think about what could happen tomorrow.
