Chapter 103: An Unexpected Episode at the Restaurant, Ryuu Wants to Help Her Friend! (Patreon)

Hestia had chosen to transfer Rozz to the Hephaestus Familia precisely because she was certain Apollo had no power to stir up trouble for the other side.

And he had to admit it: now that he knew, there really was nothing Apollo could do to Rozz. Hephaestus might be a merchant Familia of Orario, but in raw strength it was no worse than any exploration Familia. What self-respecting merchant Familia has a Lv5 Adventurer?

Hestia's behavior gave away plenty, too... that display at the banquet, when she'd all but sworn her claim to Rozz before every god in the hall. A goddess who made a transfer decision like this was obviously waiting for Rozz to come back.

So then—

Once the violent rage in his heart had faded, the young god regained his composure, and he soon found the loophole in all this.

Adventurers couldn't lay a hand on a god, true. But making life miserable for Hestia and the other Familia members? That was perfectly fine.

And if Rozz chose to look out for himself and stand aside, Apollo was honestly curious: what sort of tangled mood would Hestia be in, she who had thought of everything on Rozz's behalf?

And if... this pair of star-crossed lovers were truly as devoted as he imagined, then this was the perfect way to force Rozz to face Apollo's War Game.

To end this farce once and for all!!

"Excellent."

"What a delightful chapter this is turning out to be..."

The young god's face was flushed.

Whatever choice Rozz made, Apollo had nothing to lose. At worst, he'd get to watch a fine performance.

Infamy? He didn't care in the slightest. When he forced the Adventurers that caught his eye into his own Familia, he'd long since stopped pretending to have any scruples.

After giving Familia vice-captain Hyakinthos the specifics of what to do, he leaned back in his chair, eyes full of anticipation.

Besides, Rozz was only a rookie Adventurer. Barely half a month had passed since he'd become one. There was no way he could overturn Apollo, was there?

It made no sense!!

"..."

Listening to Apollo, Daphne Lauros suddenly felt there was no need to report the attitude she'd gotten from her earlier contact with Rozz.

No wonder...

When she had told him outright that Apollo might lay hands on his god, Rozz had shown that carefree attitude. So he'd found a solution?

"Sleight of hand." The phrase fit well enough. But Rozz, or rather the god who had guided Rozz through the conversion ritual, had seriously underestimated just how shameless Apollo could be!!

"Mm."

"Let's head back and rest, too."

With things having come this far, if she could have left the Apollo Familia, Daphne Lauros would have done so without hesitation. She had the feeling this conflict was something she had no business getting involved in.

Beside her stood Cassandra, head lowered as always. She nodded timidly and didn't refuse her dear friend's suggestion.

Only...

Ever since she had learned what the Familia would do next, the blue-haired girl had felt a tension deep inside that she couldn't put into words.

"Maybe..."

For some reason, the black-haired boy she'd met in Central Park came to mind. "Maybe... it was just my imagination?" she murmured to herself.

*

The Hostess of Fertility

Honestly, Lili had never imagined she could stand here like this... free of the Soma Familia for good, head held high.

If there was anything to regret, it was that Rozz was being hounded by Apollo Familia Adventurers. But the Supporter girl knew the inside story, and she wasn't worried.

They couldn't very well offend the Hephaestus Familia, could they?

If he hadn't been getting his Status Update tonight, she'd have made that guy come eat dinner with her, no question!

Looking at the rich menu laid out before her, Lili remembered the dishes Rozz had ordered before. From now on, their expeditions definitely couldn't be done as day trips.

So then—

Taking charge of Rozz's stomach might just help their relationship along?!

"That's not a bad point."

"There'll be plenty of chances to explore the Dungeon from now on. We'll definitely rest up at the Under Resort on the 18th Floor, once Rozz is done with all this."

Thinking that far ahead, the Supporter girl let a hopeful smile slip across her young face, the restraint she hadn't fully shaken off showing through.

But then Lili noticed several Adventurers in Apollo Familia uniforms approaching from a distance, heading in her direction.

Her face tightened instantly.

The reason wasn't hard to guess. They probably hadn't yet realized that Rozz had transferred to the Hephaestus Familia. Were they thinking of putting some pressure on her, a member of the same Familia?

What happened next didn't surprise Lili at all. The Adventurers simply stayed at a distance, watching, because of the rules of the Hostess of Fertility.

The Apollo Familia Adventurers made no other move, but their ill-intentioned smiles were all too familiar to the girl.

Yes!

It was just like back in the Soma Familia: strong Adventurers who looked at Supporters as fish on a chopping block, to be carved up at will.

That terribly familiar feeling...

Lili's face grew uglier and uglier. If Rozz had been here, nothing like this would have happened.

And now?

"The tragedy of the weak."

If they hadn't been wary of the Hostess of Fertility, these Apollo Familia Adventurers would probably have made their move already.

"..."

What should she do?

This pressure was even worse than the threat she'd faced in the Soma Familia. Lili bit her thin lip and forced herself to keep a clear head.

The best solution?

Use her Cinder Ella magic, change her appearance, and slip away through the back door of the Hostess of Fertility.

Then carry this news to Rozz!!

"I can't be totally useless the moment I'm away from that guy, can I?"

If she couldn't even manage this, then from now on... she'd only be a burden to Rozz, and she'd never be able to stay by his side.

The Supporter girl quickly steadied her mood.

She remembered the two beautiful waitresses Rozz knew... Maybe she could use that connection to escape from here without trouble.

"Haa."

Lili took a deep breath and tried to act as naturally as she could, so the Apollo Familia members wouldn't notice anything amiss. "It'll be fine."

...

Someone else had noticed the strangeness, too.

It was the waitress Ryu Lion, a former Adventurer. Normally, Adventurers came to a restaurant to spend money, not to hog the seats. This felt more like surveillance.

Bound by the restaurant's rules, the Adventurers weren't doing anything out of line. The elf girl figured it wasn't her place to meddle, until her gaze landed on a very familiar face.

"Lili."

Ryu Lion frowned slightly and quickly remembered who she was: the Supporter who had been at Rozz's side yesterday morning.

So...

Her eyes swept the room, but she couldn't find Rozz anywhere, and she couldn't tell who this malice was ultimately aimed at!

Anya, the airheaded cat-girl, had noticed something was off as well. Carrying a tray, her eyes bright with curiosity, she asked, "What's wrong, Ryu Lion, nya?"

"Nothing."

The elf girl's mind raced.

She recalled that day, when Rozz had made a point of coming to say goodbye... with the aim of heading into the Dungeon to improve his strength. He had only just finished his Level Up, so there was really no need to rush.

Combined with what Lili was facing in the restaurant tonight, Ryu Lion quickly worked out the answer: some outside pressure was driving Rozz forward.

Pretend she hadn't seen?

In truth, she had long since lost the right to keep carrying "justice," and she had no business interfering in other Adventurers' affairs.

But.

Ryu Lion considered that, whatever happened, Rozz was her friend. She couldn't just stand by and watch his personal Supporter be harmed.

"Mm..."

"If something happens to Rozz, Miss Syr will surely worry, too."

The elf girl had been in a rather awkward mood, but as she thought of her dear friend Syr's smile, she quickly found a reason to fool herself.

Then,

Ryu Lion carried the dishes Lili had ordered over to the Supporter girl's side, her cold gaze sweeping across the Adventurers around them.

She didn't drive them out outright. But the aura of keep-your-distance in her very bones, together with the presence she'd had as an Adventurer, made the group look away.

At least they weren't so brazen as before.

"Here is your order."

The elf girl looked at Lili. From her clenched fists, she could tell just how tense the girl was.

How should she comfort her?

Ryu Lion was hopeless at this sort of thing. All she could do was make her voice as gentle as possible. "Um... you're a friend of Mr. Rozz's..."

Paying no heed to the warning glares of the Adventurers, the elf girl lowered her voice and asked about the situation. "These Adventurers... they're here to cause you trouble, aren't they?"

"You could say that."

Lili looked up and saw the elf Rozz called "Senior Ryu Lion," the restaurant's waitress with the strikingly delicate face.

She could probably trust her.

The Supporter girl hesitated for a moment, then explained. "The Adventurers around us are members of the Apollo Familia."

"To be precise, their target is Rozz."

"But Rozz has temporarily moved to the Hephaestus Familia Home, so they can't touch him. That's why they've come after me instead."

"Their god, Apollo... wants to use this to force Rozz to convert to his Familia."

Through Lili's explanation, Ryu Lion quickly understood the whole story. It matched her earlier guess: Rozz, who could clearly have slowed his pace, had rushed back into the Dungeon, and there had to be a reason.

Only, she had never imagined that Rozz, a rookie who had been an Adventurer for barely twenty days, would have to face a problem like this.

Especially once she understood that the whole incident was nothing but a disaster that had fallen on him out of nowhere.

Ryu Lion's face remained as cold as an iceberg, but the words she spoke were unusually gentle. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"I was wondering..."

"Could I leave through the restaurant's back door? I want to take this information to Rozz, so at least he can be prepared."

She couldn't drag Miss Ryu Lion into this.

If it were Rozz, he'd definitely do the same!

Lili looked up again, her tone full of conviction. "Once I'm out of the restaurant, Lili has a way to shake their pursuit."

"If you got dragged in, that guy would definitely worry."

Ryu Lion had been ready to escort Lili out herself. But the girl's answer surprised her, and she could feel the sincerity behind it.

In fact... she could count herself a fairly capable Adventurer.

The elf girl didn't say this aloud. Ryu Lion nodded lightly. "All right. When the time comes, I'll take you to the restaurant's back yard."

"Mm..."

As if feeling that wasn't enough, she paused briefly and added, "If there's a problem you really can't solve, have Rozz come find me here at the restaurant."

"Thank you."

The Supporter girl nodded quickly, her eyes full of gratitude.

While Lili focused on getting through her dinner, another waitress walked over. She looked like a girl too, but with conspicuous cat-girl features.

Anya.

Carrying her tray, she stopped in front of the Apollo Familia members. The cat-girl's smile was perfectly harmless, as if she were greeting ordinary customers.

"What'll you have, nya?"

"If you're not planning to eat here, then don't get in the way of our business, or Mama Mia will get really mad, nya!"

Anya spoke with her usual verbal tic, but there was an unmistakable firmness in her manner.

The male elf leading the Apollo Familia group could naturally feel the threat in the waitress's tone.

Anyone who had spent any time in Orario knew that Mia, the owner of the Hostess of Fertility, was the former vice-captain of the Freya Familia, the strongest faction of all.

Lissos looked up and noticed the tall, sturdy dwarf at the counter, brow tightly knotted.

He swallowed his anger and glanced toward the Supporter girl, who seemed to have sensed the danger. "Since it's nearly dinnertime,"

"what are you all having?"

"Anything's fine."

"..."

Only...

Lissos, the male elf who had ordered, noticed that Lili, the Supporter girl he was supposed to be watching, had decisively stood up and shown signs of leaving.

He was about to follow close behind.

The next instant,

Lissos felt Anya's very unfriendly stare, as if he were prey in the eyes of some powerful feline.

A chill ran down his spine at once!

When the Apollo Familia Adventurers still showed no sign of leaving, a smile surfaced on the cat-girl's face, and she gave a friendly reminder:

"Mr. Adventurer, don't even think about dining and dashing here. Let Anya add up everything you just ordered, nya~"

"Oh."

Anya couldn't be bothered to hide it any longer.

The cat-girl's light brown slit pupils glanced over her shoulder. Once Ryu Lion had led the Supporter girl completely out of sight, she dropped the last of her act.

She spread her hands, her whole attitude one of can't-be-bothered.

"Anya can't add it up, nya. Actually, I never wrote it on the bill at all, so if you really want to eat, why not try somewhere else, nya!"

"Because Anya thinks you guys are kind of disgusting~"

...

[Author's Note: PS: That's the first update of the day. There'll be a bonus chapter later.]