The pub bustled with rowdy and merry conversation. Various beverages sloshed about as wooden tankards and glass cups struck together. Waitresses bantered with their customers with natural playful charm in their voices. Utensils clinked against plates and bowls. Men and women decked in all sorts of gear and attire filled the room with cheers and smiles, basking in the warm orange illumination of wall-mounted magic lamps.

The atmosphere in the pub was perfectly jubilant, and yet Lefiya could not bring herself to smile. The goddess whose arm was around her, however, was grinning like a fox.

"Let's drink our troubles away, Lefiya!" Loki said, making her way to their reserved table alongside the young elf mage.

Lefiya responded with a grumble as she closed the wet umbrella in her hand. Her current 'troubles' were the dubious goddess beside her. With both women being the only two members of their Familia currently in the pub, there was no doubt Loki would get plastered and attempt to investigate Lefiya in places she did not want investigated - or at least not by her. Loki may have been a goddess, but there was only one woman Lefiya wanted to worship, and that woman was currently in a Dungeon expedition with the other members.

Lefiya had wanted to join them, but Loki had a craving for the Hostess of Fertility after a long day of maintaining positive relations with various Familia and the guild and requested company. Finn had everyone draw straws, and Lefiya drew the shortest one. It had made her want to cry.

"C'mon!" Loki continued cheerfully to her follower, plopping into a seat. "There will always be time for adventuring later, but one on one time with Loki-sama? That's a precious rarity."

"Forgive me, Loki." Lefiya sat next to her and rested her staff and umbrella against the edge of the table. "There are many things on my mind."

"Lucky this place wasn't just made to spill alcohol out of your cup, then." Loki gestured at one of the waitresses to serve them, then she looked back at the elf mage. "You can have anything you want, Lefiya. I'm buying!"

The waitress who approached them was a blonde elf with a blank expression as solid as statue. She had large pretty eyes the color of the sky, but there was a hint of sadness in them that made Lefiya want to inquire whenever she saw the woman during their visits to the pub, but Lefiya never asked her anything, out of politeness and fear of bringing up potentially painful memories.

The waitress bowed curtly, before handing the women food menu cards. "Only you and one companion today, goddess Loki?"

"The others've got Dungeon duty," Loki said. She put her hands on Lefiya's shoulders. "This lucky cutie gets me for the whole evening. Ain't that right, Lefiya?"

Please help me, Lefiya wanted to say to the fellow elf woman, but she did not. Instead she tried focusing on the fact that the ginger-haired goddess was going to pay for their meal. The thought was enough to put a smile on her face. "Please treat me well, Loki."

" 'Course! I take care of all my girls."

"I see," the waitress said, impossible to read. "What will you be drinking today?"

"Almond milk please," Lefiya decided quietly.

Loki gawked at her. If the goddess had a cup in hand, she would've surely slammed it on the table upon hearing that.

"H-hold on a sec', Lefiya. You're not getting milk - this is the Hostess of Fertility for crying out loud, and no way in hell I'm drinking by myself!"

Lefiya wasn't in the mood for alcohol. She mostly drank in times of celebration and hardly ever enough to get intoxicated, as she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of the Familia, especially Ais. And here, now, Loki would go on an unfettered adventure with her if one or both of them managed to get drunk.

"W-well, you see, I've been feeling lightheaded all day," Lefiya lied, planting a hand on her forehead. "I don't want to make it worse."

"Nonsense. Weren'tcha just saying how ya got stuff on your mind bothering you? Ya got the best remedy right here!" Loki waved her arm at the shelf of assorted alcoholic drinks behind the counter. "We're getting destroyed tonight!"

Lefiya's pointy ears drooped along with her shoulders as she sighed. Further attempts at declining would earn Loki's childish ire. There was no use in arguing about it.

"O-okay," Lefiya murmured.

"Ryuu-chan, was it?" Loki asked the waitress, who nodded. "Rum will do for now."

"R-rum to start off with?" Lefiya asked.

"What, would you prefer scotch?" Loki replied. "Maybe some whiskey or tequila?"

"Something light-"

The feminine theatrical yell of someone at the open entrance caught all three women's attention.

Loki and Lefiya both looked on with widened eyes; a small smile formed on Ryuu's face.

"Bell-kun, you didn't tell me that she'd be here!" the Goddess Hestia shouted, pointing a finger in Loki's direction.

Bell Cranel, the human boy Lefiya was destined to defeat in the battle for Ais's affection, cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly. He folded his umbrella, sending raindrops pattering against the wood floor.

"Goddess-sama, it's rude of you to point like that, you know? And it's not like I could've known."

"Her," Loki said.

"Him," Lefiya said.

"Are you two alright?" Ryuu asked.

Lefiya formed a fist on the wooden table and looked at Loki. "On second thought, rum sounds good."

"Lots," Loki agreed, nodding.

"Understood," Ryuu spoke. "I will return shortly. Let me know when you're ready to order your meals."

She left the mage and goddess to brew in annoyance together. Both of them threw occasional glances at Bell and Hestia, watching the boy and his short but well endowed goddess take up seats in front of the counter, with an ash gray-haired waitress greeting them - Bell in particular - joyfully. Lefiya knew that look, that fawning spark of attraction in the girl's eyes. So, then, Bell Cranel wasn't after the heart of just Ais, but another girl too? Clearly his lechery knew no bounds.

When Ryuu arrived with their drinks, Loki wasted no time in chugging hers down completely in a few seconds. She exhaled contently.

"L-Loki," Lefiya exasperated, holding her own tankard in hand, still full. "B-but how?"

"Heh, that's nothin', kiddo." Loki leaned back in her chair and rested her hands on her head below her ponytail. "Try it for yourself, you'll see."

A pungent aroma filled Lefiya's nostrils as she caught a whiff of the rum in her cup. The elven reflection in its amber color was frowning slightly.

"I... I don't know about that." Then, through the clouds of conversation in the pub, her elven ears happened to pick up on Bell's boyish laugh and homed in on it. She looked in his direction, seeing him smiling with his goddess and the other waitress. It made her grit her teeth. Her dark blue eyes wandered back to the handle of her tankard.

"Yes!" Loki said fervently, striking her tankard against the table as she was finally getting what she wanted: Lefiya was lifting the drink with trembling hands, trying her best not to spill any. "Do it! Do it! Do it!"

Lefiya brought it to her lips, and tipped her chin upwards - and almost regretted it immediately. The sweetness and smoothness of the beverage could not save nor prepare her for the feeling of an infant dragon breathing fire down her throat, but she forced herself to continue gulping it down, in part spurred on by Loki chanting her name victoriously. Other adventurers near them took note and joined in on the cheering.

After what seemed like an eternity (of hell) to Lefiya, she finally finished and set the cup on the table. Her eyes were teary and red.

"W-water," she rasped weakly. "I need water." She closed her eyes in hopes that it would lessen the pain, to no avail.

Ryuu brought her a cold glass and Lefiya wasted no time downing it, feeling the coolness slowly soothe her aching, burning throat. Some of the water ran down her chin and dripped onto the wooden table.

"That was an impressive showing," Ryuu said, with an inkling of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah!" Loki agreed, patting Lefiya on the back. "That was awesome! I didn't think you'd actually drink it all like that."

Lefiya grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. "Wh-what were you expecting exactly, Loki?" she inquired. There was a sort of existential worry to her voice, as if she was questioning every decision she had made in her entire life that got her to this point.

Loki scratched her own cheek with an index finger and smiled nervously. "Well... I thought you were just going to take a sip or two."

Lefiya leaned in toward Loki - close enough that their foreheads almost touched - and stared into her eyes. The elf mage was scowling.

"H-hey, Lefiya, what's with that look in your eyes? It's kinda scary."

With her dark blue eyes still locked onto Loki, Lefiya's hand reached for an unopened bottle of rum on the table. She dragged it across the wooden surface until it was just short of the edge.

"L-let's continue, Loki," Lefiya stammered, failing to come across as the bold and confident woman she wanted to appear as. Though drinking the rum had given her pain, it gave her a small bit of courage too. And she definitely wanted to continue, to forget about that white-haired third class adventurer sitting at the counter.

That same boy was currently stuffing his face with blueberry pie, and making a complete mess and embarrassment of himself. To think he likely had delusions of putting those filthy lips on Ais. It was making Lefiya's blood boil.

"Slow down, Bell-kun!" Hestia said. "Before you choke!"

"R'm vreelvy humvgee vrite novv," he muffled, cheeks filled to the brim with the sweet pastry.

"I can't tell what he's saying," the ash gray-haired waitress said to Hestia, with an amused smile on her face.

Bell continued chewing before swigging it down with a glass of orange juice. "Sorry. The Dungeon really worked up my appetite today."

Hestia raised a napkin to his blueberry-stained cheeks, wiping gently. "Geez, Bell-kun, you look like a little kid right now."

"G-Goddess-sama, you don't have to do that for me!"

The smile on the small goddess's lips was warm, disarming.

"I wanted to, silly."

"That's not entirely what I mean," Bell said. "It's just... kinda embarrassing."

"Oh? Shall I feed you, then?" Hestia asked playfully, scooping up a piece of his pie with her fork. She glanced at the waitress beside them, making sure she was watching the exchange. "Or maybe you would prefer by hand?"

"I couldn't do that to you, even if I wanted to," he answered, cheeks slightly red.

"That's too bad," Hestia said, before parting her lips and putting the piece of pie in her mouth. Her unblinking blue eyes were on Bell as she chewed and swallowed.

The waitress looked at Hestia, then back at Bell and gulped. "Bell-san, I can feed you by hand if you want. I'll even let you lick the crumbs off my fingers."

Bell nearly choked on his food after hearing that.

Hestia grit her teeth slightly. She removed her snow white glove and placed another piece in the palm of her bear hand. "Bell-kun, say, 'Aaaaah'."

Syr pouted and did the same. "Here, Bell-san. Please accept this offer!"

Confusion muddled Bell's brow and smiling lips. "Goddess-sama, Syr-san, what's gotten into you two?"

Lefiya sneered to herself. Not just Ais, not just that waitress Syr, but chasing after even his own goddess? Bell Cranel was a depraved animal through and through.

Loki filled her cup with half of the bottle in one hand and held her chin in the other as she stared at the boy and goddess, sighing. "Damn that shrimp, flirting so easily with her kid. I wish Ais-tan would let me feed her." Then she poured the other half in Lefiya's cup.

"She would probably bite your hand like a snapping turtle..." Lefiya could picture it clearly: the trickster goddess armed with a piece of fried potato, hoping to capture the heart of the elusive Sword Princess, only to be meant with a blank stare followed by a chomp to the goddess's hand and an audible nom nom. The thought put a smile on the Thousand Elf's rosy face.

The scenario seemed to have an opposite effect on Loki; she frowned before taking a swig of rum, and Lefiya was perfectly fine with that. The adventurer took a sip from her own cup, this time allowing herself to enjoy it and not melt her throat.

"I can't stand being sober in the same vicinity as that shrimp goddess," Loki said.

"I know how you feel," Lefiya blurted out.

"Oh?" Loki's slanted red eyes opened with interest.

"It's n-nothing." Of all the people who could discover the elf girl's hatred for the Little Rookie because of his obvious infatuation with Ais, Loki was the last person she wanted with that knowledge. There was no telling how the goddess would react. "W-we should order some food, now, don't you think, Loki?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm frickin' starving."

Lefiya sighed in relief.

After that the duo ordered their food and more drinks. Less than half an hour later, the world was beginning to blur and slow slightly for Lefiya.