tap-tap-tap-tap

"Um…"

tap-tap-tap-tap

"Tulle-san, I think you should probably try to calm down."

tap-tap-tap-tap

"…This isn't going to make him get here any faster, you know?"

At that resigned comment, Eina finally took a break from her agitated aimless wandering to spin around towards the animal woman behind the Jagamarukun stall.

"It been twenty minutes since he was supposed to arrive, why isn't he here yet?"

"No, like I said earlier, he's probably just tired from everything that happened yesterday. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You've been keeping an eye on him every single day, I'm sure it's fine to let him loose a little."

…Back off? BACK OFF?! This was the same boy who very nearly wandered into the dungeon alone with nothing but torn-up rags. Putting someone like that right in the middle of a village being swarmed by monsters was nothing short of an all-out disaster! There was no way she could afford to just "let him loose a little"!

"Please don't look at me like that, it's scary."

"Why aren't you more concerned about him?! He's your coworker for heaven's sake!" Eina shot back, practically leaning past the stall that separated them.

"Well, he is a pretty capable guy from what I've seen, ahahaha…" the animal woman nervously laughed while backing away with raised hands. A second later, her eyes immediately shot open, followed by her finger raised to point straight ahead. "See?! What'd I tell you?"

Darting her head around fast enough to incur whiplash, Eina immediately took off towards the approaching auburn-haired teen as fast as her feet would carry her, oblivious to the animal woman letting out a discreet breath of relief behind her.

When the newcomer made eye contact with Eina, his eyes lit up in recognition, and he raised a hand in greeting.

"Ah, good morning Tulle-sa—ghrk?!"

"Emiya-san! Are you okay?! Did you get hurt anywhere?! Eina cried out as she grabbed Shirou's shoulders and started violently shaking him back and forth.

"W-wait Tulle-san, calm down, I'm fine, I'm fine!"

After giving the flustered teen a once over, the half-elf finally allowed herself to release her pent-up tension. "Thank goodness… I just heard about the attack on the village this morning. I thought for sure something might've happened to you while you were there. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Everything's all right. I'm more or less fine now, as you can see," Shirou comfortingly replied with a reassuring smile.

'"Now"? What does he mean by that?' Eina mentally inquired, but ultimately decided to put aside the detail.

"That's true. I don't know what I was so worried about. Even you wouldn't do anything reckless in the middle of a monster attack that huge. Now you know how deadly even the weakest monsters can be, so I hope you'll tone down your actions from here on out," she lectured, unconsciously shifting back to her guild adviser persona.

"No arguments there. I definitely underestimated how strong monsters could be," Shirou lamented with a profound look of self-reflection on his face. "Well, I already suffered because of it, so I'll be sure to be more careful next time," he casually added.

"That's right, I'm glad you understand," Eina concluded with a satisfied nod.

"Mhm."

…

"Wait what?"

Currently, Shirou Emiya was trapped with a rather attractive female, inside of a rather enclosed private interview room. Normally he would have been flustered in such a situation, but the present case was an exception, as said female was currently glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

'Why do I feel like I've been in this situation before?'

"So allow me to clarify a few things, you suicidal blockhead."

"Yes ma'am," the suicidal blockhead meekly replied.

"You were caught up in one of the biggest recorded monster attacks on the surface in recent history, and instead of immediately rushing to the nearest shelter like every other civilian without a Falna, you chose to dive straight into the fight without the slightest hesitation."

"Yes ma'am."

"Not only that, but when an enhanced monsters of all things showed up in the middle of everything, you even attempted to fight it?"

"Yes ma'am."

In the interest of his own self-preservation, Shirou decided to withhold a few minor details, such as how the "attempt" actually involved directly clashing weapons with it and nearly getting his head lopped off.

But judging by the sound of air being steadily taken in, Shirou belatedly realized that he probably should have withheld more. Just as the teen thought a familiar sequence was about to fully reenact itself, the half-elf seated opposite to him released the breath she had taken in with what appeared to be an excruciating force of will.

In response to his no doubt openly exhibited mix of apprehension and confusion, Eina merely shot him a half-lidded, displeased stare. "…If I let myself fret over every little thing you do, I'll end up leaving a stain on the long lifespans that my kind are known for."

Shirou had no idea how to respond in a way that wouldn't disrupt her delicate emotional balance, so he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't get killed ten times over last night," Eina muttered in mild disbelief.

"We've received reports of several civilians, and even adventurers, perishing over the course of that attack, so I find it hard to believe that someone without a Falna like you managed to survive after diving straight into the middle of it."

Buried feelings sprung up again after Shirou was reminded of the lives that were lost, of the lives that he had failed to save. The frustration must have shown on his face, as Eina cast him a concerned look.

"I don't know what's going through your mind right now, but what you did wasn't something any sane person would ever think of doing. You have to consider that without a Falna, you're more liable to hinder those who are supposed to do the fighti–"

"I'd do it again," Shirou abruptly cut in.

"Huh?" The sudden interruption appeared to have caught her off guard, and she momentarily fell silent.

"If the same thing happened in front of me, I'd do it again," Shirou reiterated. "Being a burden is one thing, but standing still when I could be of use is something I could never forgive myself for."

He wasn't entirely sure what provoked him to suddenly speak those thoughts out loud, but Eina's warning reminded him of the emotions he had shelved during the heat of last night's conflict, emotions which he could not, and had no desire to repress again at this moment.

After hearing his words, Eina wordlessly stared at him with a scrutinizing gaze, and Shirou responded in kind with his own unwavering one. After what could have been an eternity, the half-elf reluctantly backed down with a resigned exhale.

"I've got a lot more to say to you, but it doesn't look like you'll be willing to acknowledge any of it the way you are now, so I'll put it aside just for today."

"…Sorry about that," Shirou apologetically said as he inclined his head.

He would never regret the actions that he decided to take, but even he had at least some inkling as to the problems he was creating for the kind guild receptionist, who by no means had any obligation to help him as much as she had been doing.

"Never mind about that, I just hope that at the very least you'll keep your word about being more cautious from now on," Eina said as she half-heartedly dismissed Shirou's apology.

"Anyway, you're free to go. I wouldn't want to keep you in here for too long after what you've just been through," the half-elf spoke as she gestured towards the exit.

Shirou stood up and bowed one last time before making his way out. Just as he opened the door to the corridor, he came face to face with a pink-haired girl in a guild employee uniform.

"Oh, sorry adventurer-san!" The girl hurriedly apologized as she moved to make way for Shirou.

"Ah, it's no problem at all," Shirou quickly replied in spite of his surprise.

Once he exited the room, he heard hasty footsteps behind him as the girl entered in his place.

"Eh? Misha? What are you doing here?" came Eina's bewildered voice.

"Eina, it's an emergency! Do you know where to find a guy named Shirou Emiya?!"

At the completely unexpected mention of his name, said guy turned around in confusion. It seemed that the sudden request for a person she just dismissed also caught Eina off guard, as she could do nothing but stare in mute surprise.

"I checked over all the records and couldn't find a single trace of him! But I just happened to remember you mentioning someone like that a few days ago. Please, you're my only hope! Until we find him, They'll make me search through the whole city! I'll die of overwork!", the girl, apparently called Misha, wailed in what appeared to be very genuine distress.

In response to that desperation, the half-elf absently pointed a single finger in his direction.

The pink-haired girl spun around faster than Shirou could visibly register, and before he knew it she had appeared right in front of him.

"Uwah!"

"THANK GOD! I thought I was a goner!"

While Shirou was still reeling from the sudden violation of his personal space, the excitable guild employee had grabbed hold of his hand at some point and placed a large, somewhat heavy leather pouch on it. Upon dropping into his hand, the bag emitted a very distinct jingling noise.

Curiosity overcoming his current confusion, Shirou tentatively opened the bag—only to have even more confusion overtake him the moment his vision filled up with pure gold.

"And that concludes my job! Ahh, what a close shave for my precious free time…" the girl muttered as she began walking away.

The two remaining occupants of the room could do nothing but gape at the bag for a few seconds, but fortunately Eina managed to regain hold of her mental faculties in time, as accustomed as she was to unforeseen situations.

"W-wait, hold on a second you idiot! You can't just drop all that in his hands and walk away without explaining anything!"

Misha abruptly stopped in her tracks.

Slowly, with almost mechanical movements, the girl turned around, her face already set into a sheepish smile.

"Ah, I forgot."

Shirou barely resisted the urge to elegantly place his face on his palm.

SLAP

But clearly, the same couldn't be said for the other person in the room.

"Ahaha, ahem," the girl awkwardly laughed before clearing her throat and beginning the long-overdue explanation in a formal tone.

"The adventurers involved in yesterday's incident came over to give the full report just now. We finalized everything and handed them their reward for repelling the attack and defeating the enhanced monster, but then a little complication came up."

'Oh crap, why do I have a really bad feeling about this?'

Regardless of Shirou's internal panic, Misha continued speaking without pause.

"They refused to take a portion of the reward, claiming that this Shirou guy over here helped out a lot during the fight, so they left the money here behind for us to give to him."

"…"

Under normal circumstances, Shirou would have vehemently denied the excessive sum of money, especially since he himself believed he hadn't done nearly enough to warrant that much. But all of his attention was currently directed towards another, far more pressing issue.

"Say Misha…" the beautiful half-elf still seated in the room began with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Would you mind telling me a bit more about what happened?"

The dazzling rays of the midday sun descended upon Orario, the city of dreams and ambitions. The streets bustled with liveliness as adventurers and civilians alike all went about their business, eagerly anticipating what new events this day would carry along.

All except for a certain auburn-haired teenager dragging his feet through the busy streets.

'Could this day get any worse?'

After getting thoroughly chewed up by an infuriated half-elf, Shirou was unceremoniously spat out of Babel Tower.

Needless to say, after Eina had heard the full story behind what had happened last night, she had completely barred him from returning to work that day. Most likely having lost all measure of faith in him; the incensed guild employee had dragged him over to his workplace to personally explain the whole story.

If anything, he could at least take comfort in the sympathetic looks his coworkers threw his way while Eina wasn't looking.

Regardless, that now left him with a completely free day that he hadn't accounted for. But after just a moment of deliberation, the teen had happened upon the perfect way to make use of this extra time.

Absently brushing the hilt of a familiar sword hung on his belt, Shirou thought back to what had happened after he had regained consciousness and before the group had set off.

Upon returning to the former adventurer's house, the teen had immediately sought to return the weapon that had quite literally saved his life during the attack. He had offered to clean the blade in the owner's stead, but the man refused, and spent a good couple of minutes wiping the residual blood off the weapon and oiling it.

Once finished, he retrieved a scabbard kept within a nearby cabinet and sheathed the weapon—only to immediately hand it back to Shirou.

"That thing was just sitting here collecting dust. You've done far more with it last night than I have for the past 10 years. I'm sure its purpose will be better served in your hands than in mine."

As much as Shirou attempted to protest, the man would have none of it. And so it was with that brief exchange that he had found himself obtaining an unexpectedly high-quality blade as his first weapon in this new world.

However, the weapon wasn't quite ready to go through another round of whatever bad luck Shirou would encounter next just yet. A quick structural grasp had told him all he needed to know about what his messy fighting had done to the blade last night.

All the shearing of flesh and bone had done a surprisingly light amount of damage to the weapon, but the real concern stemmed from his impromptu reinforcement of it and what followed after. Despite the mysterious properties of the sword that enabled him to easily inject prana into it, he had yet again misjudged the maximum capacity of the weapon in his inexperience.

His earlier grasp of the Orc's giant axe had revealed that it was composed of a similar, if slightly less pure material as the sword. So while the latter had ultimately triumphed against the former thanks to his reinforcement, it hadn't come out unscathed. Several hairline fractures, too minute for even the original owner to spot during his cursory analysis, branched off from the point of impact.

They wouldn't be too big of an issue now, but the damage would only get worse over time. So this unexpected block of free time Shirou found himself with was the perfect opportunity to find a place to repair it.

The only problem was, he had absolutely no idea where to begin looking.

Fortunately, he was given a rudimentary understanding of this world's writing thanks to whatever magecraft had spirited him away to this world. But that didn't mean he knew of any reputable blacksmiths who could perform a satisfactory job on the valuable weapon.

The teen had half a mind to ask for Eina's input before they separated. But he thought better of it after realizing the Half-Elf probably wouldn't appreciate him asking how to fix a weapon—after she had just finished railing into him about how he should be doing his best to avoid fighting.

Let it be known that Shirou Emiya was a man capable of reading the atmosphere, to a certain extent.

Still, making an effort to avoid that bullet had now left him aimlessly wandering the streets, hoping that he'd stumble across a decent blacksmith who wouldn't try and rip him off and/or destroy his blade by accident.

'Hm?'

It was just as the teen walked past the entrance to an alleyway that he heard a peculiar sound.

Or perhaps "heard" wouldn't be the right way to describe it. It wasn't so much that his mind registered a noise that entered through his ears. Instead, it felt like whatever stimulus he had picked up on had resounded far deeper, in a part of his body he wasn't even sure how to describe.

While reflecting on anomaly this in his mind, Shirou found his body unwittingly stepping into the alleyway, drawn towards the source of that unknown "something".

As each step took him closer, he found the steady beat of that "sound" interposing with another, physical noise.

The reverberation of metal striking metal.

Before Shirou knew it, he was standing in front of a rather inconspicuous-looking entrance. The alley he was in was narrow, and everything in it was packed together to an almost suffocating degree. Despite the fact that hardly any sunlight reached this location, the surrounding area was notably hot.

The building Shirou was facing was long and narrow, with a simple door fixed onto its front. The only detail of note on the otherwise unadorned piece of wood was an intricate carving of three harmers, along with a series of letters engraved on the centermost hammer.

"Goibniu…" Shirou quietly muttered the displayed word as he moved to open the door. Immediately, his senses were overwhelmed by a sweltering heat dozens of times stronger than what he had felt outside. Most people would have been forced to step back after experiencing such an inferno unprepared, but Shirou merely squinted his eyes slightly before unhesitatingly entering.

The sound of hammers striking anvils came in full force. A variety of tools and materials were hung along the walls, waiting to be used by the smiths scattered throughout the interior, hard at work on their individual projects. Flames billowed out of forges, casting a dim, amber glow throughout the room that somehow managed to remain just as dim as the alleyway outside.

"Welcome ta tha Three Hammers Forge, what can we do for ya lad?"

A burly looking dwarf seated close to the entrance paused in his work to greet him.

"Hi there, I'm looking for someone to help repair this sword," Shirou spoke while unfastening the sheathed weapon from his belt.

"Ah see, did ya make any prior arrangements with us before?"

"No, sorry I haven't. I just happened to find this place for the first time."

"Hrmm..." The dwarf stroked his beard as his expression twisted slightly in discomfort. "Well sorry tah say lad, but we're a wee bit booked right now. Ahm surprised ya managed to find this place on your own, but 'fraid we can't take ya any time soon. Ah recommend finding another place."

Judging by the clamor of activity pervading every corner of the room, what the dwarf said was likely no exaggeration. If anything, it was an understatement.

"Oh, I see. I'll take my leave then, sorry for wasting your time."

While Shirou was slightly crestfallen at being rejected, he figured it wasn't that much of a loss considering it was a complete whim that led him to this area in the first place.

Holding back a dejected sigh, he began making his way back to the dim alleyway to resume his search.

"Before you leave, would you mind giving this run-down smithy another try?"

All of a sudden, an unfamiliar deep voice made Shirou stop in his tracks. Turning around, he found that the gaze of everyone else in the room had likewise been drawn to the source of it.

Stood all the way at the end of the room, an old man was leaning against a door frame with his arms crossed. His figure was shrouded in the shadows cast by the embers of the furnaces.

"B-boss, what's da matter?" The dwarf from earlier hesitantly spoke.

"Oh, nothing in particular. I just saw you trying to chase this young man away, and figured it'd be a shame to lose a paying customer," the old man uttered as he began to take slow, confident steps towards Shirou.

As he got closer, the outline of his figure gradually became clearer. Compared to many of the other blacksmiths in the forge, the man was decidedly on the short side. Yet his build was solid and robust, without any unnecessary parts, leaving behind nothing but pure, lean muscle.

For lack of a better way of explaining it, it almost seemed like his body was shaped for the very purpose of forging weapons, and nothing else. Coupled with a full grey beard that concealed his entire mouth, the man looked very much like a dwarf, although his smaller frame made it entirely clear that he was human.

Or at least it would have, to anyone but Shirou.

Standing this close, the third-rate magus was all but certain that the entity before him was anything but an ordinary human, or even living creature for that matter. The magical sixth sense that he perceived through his sense of smell was screaming out at him, in a way not unlike what he experienced when standing before servants.

Oblivious to his internal turmoil, or perhaps intentionally paying no heed to it, the old man sized Shirou up, his gaze lastly falling towards the sheathed sword still held in the teen's hand.

At that point, the other occupants of the room finally appeared to break out of their stupor, as the dwarf quickly interjected in a frantic voice.

"Boss, ya can't be serious! We're already swamped up ta our knees in requests, we ain't got the time for another!"

"Well you won't have to worry then, since I'll be taking this one up personally," the stout man casually interjected without batting an eye.

"Wha-?!" For the second time in those few minutes the dwarf was left speechless.

The old man turned to look at the slack-jawed individual with a questioning stare.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-no, of course not. If thats what tha boss wants…" The dwarf quickly stopped talking and returned to his work, although his slightly harried hands made his internal state of mind clear for all to see.

Without any further complaints, the old man silently motioned for Shirou to follow him. As Shirou trailed behind, he found himself the uncomfortable recipient of several not-so-discreet looks, but did his best to ignore them. It was obvious from everyone's reactions that this was not a regular occurrence. For better or worse, Shirou had somehow managed to garner the attention of a very significant person without so much as lifting a finger.

Once the two of them reached a small side room connected to the forge, the old man closed the sturdy door, leaving the room quiet save for the muffled impacts of metal. Taking a seat on a small stool likely meant for work, the old man let out a tired breath.

"Well then, I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Goibniu, I'm the god of this Familia."

The completely casual way in which he revealed himself as a god didn't surprise Shirou nearly as much as he thought it would. Probably because he already experienced it first-hand the moment they met.

"My name is Shirou. I'm just a regular citizen, as inadequate as that makes me feel."

Goibniu raised an eyebrow in response. "Is that so? Not every day I see a regular citizen walking around with such a high-quality blade."

The fact that the god could immediately tell such a thing, despite the blade being completely concealed by a solid sheathe, significantly upped Shirou's impression of him. There was always the possibility that the blacksmith was just throwing those words out there without actually being certain of them. But somehow, the complete confidence in which the deity made his assessment of the weapon was enough to convince Shirou otherwise.

"This wasn't originally mine, it was given to me by a former adventurer."

"Is that so?" Goibniu uninterestedly muttered, seemingly content with leaving things as is.

"Well, pass it along, I'll see what I can do with it."

Readily complying, handed the sheathed sword over to the professional blacksmith. Upon receiving it, Goibniu grabbed both ends of the weapon before gradually unsheathing it. The moment the blade was fully withdrawn, his eyes widened slightly, which was the biggest indication of surprise Shirou had ever observed from the otherwise unflappable god.

"Interesting… this really is a quality weapon. It's not every day I come across a longsword made of pure mithril—even in my line of work," the god spoke in a tone of undisguised praise.

"Mithril?" Shirou repeated upon hearing the unfamiliar word.

"Ah, you must be new to Orario. Mithril's a type of ore that can only be found in the dungeon. It's hardness and utility as weapon material are top tier, and it also has the added attribute of absorbing and conducting magic," the deity explained.

"Not many Familias or individuals have the resources needed to craft a longsword entirely from it. That former adventurer must have been really fond of you to part with something like this for free."

With the details provided by Goibniu, it felt like the mystery behind the unexpected weapon Shirou found himself with was finally solved. The reason why he struggled to fully grasp the weapon initially was because it was made of a metal not inherently part of the world he originally came from, and the relative ease in which he was able to reinforce the blade could be explained by its inherent magic-absorption capabilities.

Even disregarding the extremely useful magic-based properties of it, if the metal constituting the sword truly was as rare and valuable as Goibniu claimed it was, then Shirou definitely had to express his gratitude to the former adventurer again the next time they met. Perhaps even make it a point to pay back some of the absurd cost the weapon likely took to obtain.

"Hmm?" Goibniu's voice drew Shirou's wandering thoughts back to the matter at hand.

It appeared the god had finished his initial analysis of the sword, as he was now staring at a particular point of the blade—the same point that Shirou had identified to be damaged through his prior structural grasping.

"This is strange. For a weapon like this to have been damaged in such a way is…" Goibniu muttered curiously, before turning towards Shirou with an inquisitive glance.

"I might have put it through a bit more than it was meant to take," Shirou ambiguously replied with a hint of embarrassment.

The unamused stare Goibniu directed towards him spoke of just how content the god was with the teen's explanation.

"...No matter, it's not the place of a blacksmith to pry into what a customer does with their weapon," the god eventually relented.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't do this too often though," Goibniu added with a somewhat exhausted tone. "When it comes to damaging weapons that aren't supposed to get damaged, I've already got my hands full with the Sword Princess."

"Wallenstein-san?"

Having his most frequent customer get mentioned all of a sudden had caught Shirou completely flat-footed.

"You know her? Certainly might explain where you got this particular habit from then," Goibniu dryly spoke without taking his eyes off the sword.

"I don't recommend looking up to her as a role model though," the deity quickly added. "Her sword skills are undeniably top-class, but treating your weapons the same way she does hers would make any blacksmith you go to weep. I've seen it happen before."

"…I'm having a hard time believing that."

Try as he might, Shirou just couldn't reconcile the image he had of the airheaded girl, with someone fierce enough in combat to break supposedly unbreakable swords with nothing but brute force.

"Well then believe this: When it comes to that girl, first impressions aren't worth very much."

"Eh?"

Shirou couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a further implication in the god's otherwise casual response. But before he could decide to further question him, Goibniu sheathed the sword in his hands with an audible clink, as if to signify the end of the conversation.

"I've finished looking over your weapon. I can get it back into top form for you by the end of the week."

"Thanks, it would be a great help if you could," Shirou replied, deciding to let the topic drop.

He assumed that the matter was already settled with that, so he was surprised when Goibniu continued to speak.

"Is there anything else you need? With how much you've managed to do to the blade in such a short time, I'd imagine you could do with some armor if you don't already have a set."

Again Shirou had to marvel at how much information the blacksmith deity was able to gleam just from looking at his weapon. He gave his answer after putting some thought into it.

"I appreciate the suggestion, but unfortunately I just recently moved to Orario, so I don't have a lot of money on me right now."

Without saying anything, the grey-haired deity cast his eyes down towards a certain pouch strapped to the teen's belt, with a hint of gold visible through its opening. An object that so happened to completely disappear from the teen's mind ever since a certain traumatizing incident earlier that day in Babel Tower.

"…I'll take a look at what you have, if you don't mind."

As Shirou wearily stepped out of the double doors, he looked up in time to see the sun just about to disappear behind a nearby building. Finalizing matters at the forge had taken a lot longer than he had expected, but he supposed it was better than being left with nothing to do for the rest of the day.

"Well, I guess it's about time to head back."

On his way to the closest main street, Shirou suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten dinner yet, or even lunch for that matter.

With all of the extra money he now found himself with, he had enough leeway to splurge a little on food. But after everything he went through today as well as the lingering fatigue from the previous day, he honestly didn't feel up to the task of searching for a decent place to eat at, which he had an inkling wouldn't be an easy task.

With that in mind, he decided to just draw from the never-ending stock of leftover potato snacks he had back in his room. Continuing to subsist on such an unhealthy diet, even when he now had other options, didn't fare well with the teen. But he was honestly too exhausted at the moment to care.

"…"

All of a sudden, his aching feet stopped in their tracks.

It was just by pure chance.

That line of thought, along with part of the conversation he had with Goibniu made Shirou remember something he had said to someone a few days ago.

From an objective point of view, it wasn't a very important detail. Certainly not something as big as a promise or obligation that warranted delaying the chance to rest his worn-out body. There wasn't even any guarantee that sparing the effort to act on those words now would yield anything in the end.

But still, before he was even aware of it, Shirou found his body moving not towards his home, but to the stall that he had spent arguably the longest amount of time in since coming to this world.

Another day had passed, and rays of moonlight were beginning to fall on the chaotic mishmash of towers that made up the Loki Familia residence.

Inside the tower leading to the main gates, a set of footsteps could be heard as a certain adventurer descended the staircase. To any outside observer, the otherwise impassive expression on Aiz Wallenstein's face wouldn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. But to those who knew her at least somewhat well, her ever so slightly faster footfalls might have seemed odd.

When it came to the girl who went at her own pace for anything not related to battle, to see her in a rush to get somewhere on a perfectly peaceful day was a rare sight.

"Sorry, but I won't be free over the next two days."

At the time the boy had said those words, she hadn't paid them much mind. He was clearly not in a position to do anything about it, and she wasn't selfish enough to demand that he stay. She had been perfectly content with regular potato snacks up until then, so she figured going back to them for just two days wouldn't pose much of a problem.

Oh how wrong she was.

Immediately after leaving the dungeon the following day, her body had automatically moved towards the stall that the boy was no longer even in. By the time her thoughts caught up, she had already ordered a potato snack and put it in her mouth.

Perhaps subconsciously she was expecting the snack to have the same flavor she had grown accustomed to over just two days. Immediately after her mind had registered the taste, she was assaulted by an overwhelming sense of disappointment—no, despair. It was like going to bed after a hard day's work, fully expecting to be welcomed by the feeling of soft feathers, only to realize that someone had filled the mattress with stones instead.

The day after that wasn't much better. While she was thankfully able to mentally prepare herself enough to avoid the same worst-case scenario, she was still left with a gaping hole in her expectations.

And so, the third day had arrived. The spoils from the dungeon were particularly large this time, so she had to help her party carry some of it back to the residence, despite vehement protests from the lower-rank members.

Now, she was finally free to satisfy the craving that had been baring its fangs at her like a persistent monster!

"Yo, Aizu-tan! Where ya off to so late?"

"…"

Hearing the familiar voice of her goddess coming from behind, Aiz turned around.

"Geh-! W-what's the matter?"

For some strange reason, the moment she did so Loki immediately recoiled back in what appeared to be fear. Even when Aiz tried to think of a reason for that, her mind was strangely clouded over. It didn't help matters much that the longer she looked at her goddess, the more she had an urge to cut something.

"…I'm just going out for a snack. I'll be back soon."

"O-oh, I see. Is it jagamarukun?" The deity hesitantly asked.

"Mhm."

"…I know how much ya love them, but there's no need to look at me like that," Loki squeezed out.

Thinking that was all her goddess had to say, Aiz started walking away.

"Say Aizu-tan…"

Desperately suppressing the feelings of impatience welling up inside, Aiz once again stopped and faced her goddess.

"What?"

"Ya wouldn't happen to be heading to the same place ya were at before our meeting a few days ago, would ya?"

"…Is there a problem?" Aiz slightly tensed up.

Her memories from that day were a little hazy, but apparently she had been left in a state that warranted more than a little concern from a number of people. There was a chance that Loki would try and stop her from going.

"Nope, I was just wonderin' if I could tag along with ya."

"…?"

While Aiz was still confused over the sudden request, Loki continued to speak.

"After ya came back all blank-faced and stuff, it got me real curious bout' what got ya so worked up. Now's the perfect chance for me to give that place a try, don't cha think?"

"…It's up to you," Aiz replied after some consideration. As long as she could have her long-awaited snack, she didn't see any problem with letting her deity accompany her like usual.

"Whoppee!" Loki exclaimed, all traces of her earlier trepidation vanishing like the frivolous deity she was. "I've got a late-night date with Aizu-tan! C'mon, lets hold ha–blrgh!"

"If you do anything weird, I'll leave you behind."

"…Yes ma'am."

With that, the blonde once again started making her way out of the mansion, now alongside a red-haired goddess who was gingerly rubbing a visible handprint on her face. Aiz was relieved that she was finally free to go.

But she hoped that her troublesome goddess wouldn't cause any problems for the boy along the way.

Author Notes:

Welp, it's been a while I guess. I've actually been pretty busy lately, so I haven't had much time to write. Even when I told myself I'd sit down and work on the story, I wasn't able to focus on it for any long periods of time. So apologies for the unexpectedly long wait (again).

Thanks to whoever's still sticking around after all this time. I'll try and start getting in the habit of writing consistently again, so with any luck the next chapter will come out a lot sooner. No promises though, because I might end up having to spend more time on assignments that get thrown my way.

As usual, drop a comment on what you think so far if you're up to it.

Till' next time.