Tiona latched onto the young elf’s back as she responded.
Despite Lefiya’s surprise at the sudden attack, she, too, felt a giddy excitement building inside her, as did the rest of the group. Bright smiles appeared on all their faces as they made their way down the road, eyes flitting back and forth around the environs and its endless distractions.
Aiz brought a hand to her chest.
I don’t remember this lake…nor this city…
Her own memories of ceaseless fighting with monsters were rusted with the blood of her many victims, so she couldn’t be sure whether she’d visited this city before or not. The Dungeon was everything she knew, leaving nothing behind but a vague feeling that she’d once been outside Orario.
…But this smell…I feel like I know it…
Somewhere in the back of her mind, the lake’s unique smell tickled her memories.
The humid breeze brushing past her was something she could never have felt when she was surrounded by the great walls of Orario. It had a gentle aroma, saltier than fresh water but not as strong as the sea, and it wrapped her in a warm embrace.
Her eyes narrowed instinctively as the wind played with the golden strands of her hair.
“Is something wrong, Aiz? You’re rather quiet over there, though you seem happy,” Riveria prodded her, the only one who’d noticed the Sword Princess’s spellbound expression.
“…Have you ever been to this city before, Riveria?”
“I have, yes.” The high elf nodded. “Once before I arrived in Orario and a few times after, as well. Though some believe the smell of this lake is trying on a forest elf’s nose…I’m actually quite fond of it. When I first laid eyes on this scenery, it seemed so different from the confining village in which I was raised—it was exhilarating.” A soft smile graced her lips as she looked out across the lake, toward the horizon and the glimmer of the far-off sea.
Hearing this, Aiz couldn’t help but think of everything she’d heard about Riveria’s past—how she’d left her elven home in hopes of broadening her world and discovering the unknown, similar to how Finn had hopes of restoring the pride of the prum race.
The first time she’d met Finn and the others was when she’d strong-armed her way into Loki Familia with such force, Loki herself had described it as “making a deal with the devil,” apparently leading to countless days of contention. Her journey to Orario had been far more than the “simple trip” she’d originally described it as.
All of this, however, would mean that Riveria, too, had experienced a great many wonders as she made her way to the city. Her longing to discover the unknown, her curious heart—everything about her had the makings of an adventurer, and today she was every bit a citizen of the great dungeon city of Orario. Having said that, even she herself had remarked at one point that she’d like to see it all again—to traverse the world a second time.
The sudden memory of this stole Aiz’s thoughts, her mind questioning what she would do if Riveria were to leave.
As improbable as it seemed, she found herself imagining what such a future would be like…and the resulting pang of heartache, like a child unwilling to leave her mother, brought an embarrassed flush to her cheeks.
“What’re y’all hangin’ about for, huh? C’mon! The sea is…I mean, the lake is callin’ us!” Loki shouted joyfully from her spot at the front of the group. This was in spite of the fact that she herself was contributing the most to this “hanging about.”
“Sometimes I really wonder about her…” Tione muttered wearily.
But continue behind her they did, and as Aiz watched her patron deity humming and strolling along in front of her, her thoughts drifted back to the night prior and the events that had led them here.
“We’ve gotta find that second entrance to the Dungeon, and the first place we’re gonna look is Port Meren,” Loki had announced from within Twilight Manor’s large dining hall once everyone had returned from the party.
“Meren’s that little port city just outside of town, isn’t it? How come we’re not searchin’ inside the city itself, huh?” Tiona questioned from her spot next to Aiz at one of the hall’s many tables.
Most of the other familia members, however, ignored her question, instead reacting as if they understood perfectly.
“Tiona, do you know how marine life-forms first emerged on the surface?” Finn turned toward the girl.
“Erm, well…from beneath…Babel?”
“And how are they going to do that? Grow legs and walk? You idiot!”
Tione immediately balked when her sister answered with a curious finger to her chin.
Riveria was much more amiable in her explanation.
“We’ve always been told that the hole directly beneath Babel was the only entrance to the Dungeon…but that’s not, in fact, correct. There exists another tunnel outside Orario—one that connects to the waterfront and through which the aquatic monsters of the deep can reach the surface.”
“And that’s…Meren,” Aiz finished the thought for her.
“There’s a hole that leads to the Dungeon’s lower levels right below our noses—in Lolog Lake. It’s how the water beasties make their way to the surface. Seems no one even knew it existed ere the gods’ descent,” Gareth added.
“Really? Whoa! I never knew!” Tiona exclaimed somewhat obtusely, garnering another look of disbelief from her sister.
“About fifteen years ago, the familias of Zeus and Hera worked together with Poseidon Familia to close up the hole at the bottom of the lake, making it impossible for any more monsters to use it as a path to the surface…or, at least, that’s what everyone thought,” Finn began as his green eyes turned toward Loki.
The recent activities of Levis and the Evils, however, strongly hinted that the hole may have been reopened. While it wasn’t a sure bet…the mere possibility that the violas and other vibrantly colored monsters were being transported via the hole at the bottom of the lake was one they couldn’t ignore.
“While investigating wouldn’t do any harm, I personally feel it’s a bit unwarranted…” Riveria added her thoughts on the matter, closing one of her eyes.
“Same. I’ve got two words—im-possible! You all saw those things on the twenty-fourth floor, right?” Bete piped up in agreement.
Next to him, Aiz and Lefiya exchanged glances, both of their thoughts traveling to the situation back in the twenty-fourth floor’s pantry.
It was there that they’d seen all those violas trapped in cages by the Evils’ remnants. While it certainly wouldn’t be impossible for associates of the Evils to transport them all the way down to the lower levels and release them into the water…it was still a bit far-fetched.
“I get what you’re tryin’ to say—I do! But accordin’ to Dionysus, some new, never-before-seen species of monster was just sighted off the coast of Meren…some kinda nasty snake thingie. Real ugly green color, too.”
The color drained from every face in the room at the news.
A “nasty snake thingie” and an “ugly green color”…That could mean only one thing—carnivorous violas.
As the group shared worried glances, Finn opened his mouth.
“In light of this news, I believe we’ve no choice but to investigate. If anything, we should be able to uncover some sort of clue.”
His proposition was met with unanimous support.
Thus, it was decided that Loki Familia would travel to Port Meren.
“But don’t we need permission from the Guild to go outside the city? The procedure is actually, uh, pretty annoying. Not sure we’d be able to finish things up in time to leave tomorrow.”
Tione was resting her chin somewhat dejectedly in her hands as she pointed this out.
Orario’s biggest fear or, in this case, the Guild’s biggest fear, was losing their first-tier adventurers. Aside from a few special cases, they weren’t allowed to leave the city whenever they pleased, and the process to obtain permission was nothing short of exasperatin
g. Not only that, it could take as many as a few days for the paperwork to get finalized.
“Never fear! I already got permission!” Loki quickly asserted.
“…You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m serious! Delivered the form to ol’ Ouranos himself! Well, it’s mostly ’cause I made a big scene at the service counter. But I wrote specifically in hieroglyphics ‘We’re investigatin’ the violas. Don’t get in our way!’ so it’s all good.”
The goddess laughed triumphantly as Tione’s chin slid off her hands in disbelief.
At any rate, for whatever reason, whether barring them permission would raise suspicion or he actually wanted to use Loki Familia to solve this whole problem with the violas, the Guild leader had acquiesced to their request to leave the city.
As Loki proudly waved around the scroll with the Guild’s seal on it, even Finn found the corners of his lips curling upward.
“She must’ve obtained it earlier today after she left the mansion with us…”
“B-but still! Don’t you think this is all happening a little too quickly?”
Tiona offered her thoughts, and Lefiya was quick to respond.
“…You don’t trust her?” Aiz spoke up as well.
“It’s a little suspicious…” Tione finished. All four at the table felt a very real sense of foreboding sweep over them.
Everyone in the familia was more than used to their patron deity’s bizarre nature, but even as their caution rose, Loki never lost her wide smile.
“So! Will you and the other guys hold down the fort while we’re gone, Finn?”
“What?!”
“Aiz and the other gals plus little ol’ me want a few nights to ourselves. Wouldn’t want any men around to bother us, ya know.”
She continued rather teasingly, completely ignoring cries of injustice coming from Bete and the other men.
“What the hell?! You better have a damn good explanation for this!” Bete roared.
“What?” Loki shrugged him off. “We can’t just leave the manor unattended, can we? Who knows what could happen! But we already decided to go to Meren, sooooooo. Plus, I reassured the Guild that I’d leave at least half the familia behind.”
“That’s not what I’m askin’, you cow! Why do only the girls get to go, huh?!”
“Oh, right. Finn. I also want you to keep an eye on Dionysus and the others, okay? Always givin’ me the grunt work—would be nice if I had something to hold over him. Also, I don’t trust Hermes at all, sneakin’ around all the time.”
“LISTEN TO ME, WOMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!” Bete was practically fuming at this point. Raul and the others braced themselves while Finn could only sigh alongside his fellow elites as the familia’s women watched everything unfold in weary silence.
Aiz, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya exchanged glances among themselves. It would seem their lady-only investigation in Port Meren was about to begin.
“We really were the only ones who got to come…Ughh, I wish the captain was here…” Tione grumbled to herself, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Meren’s streets.
“Ah-ha-ha…” Lefiya forced a somewhat awkward laugh. True enough, the only ones allowed to join the investigation at the port had been Loki Familia’s women.
The womanizing goddess had invited her pride and joy—gorgeous elves, an elegant catgirl, an adorable human—making for a sight that attracted the notice of the surrounding crowd. Aiz and Riveria in particular garnered quite a lot of male attention with their beauty that rivaled even goddesses.
“Now then! We should be reaching the harbor right about now…”
Loki continued along aimlessly, still refusing to tell them exactly where they were going. The large pack on her back—a pack that she refused to allow anyone else to carry—was stuffed to the brim with an apparently “secret” item.
Under the dubious gazes of her followers, she finally cut through the crowd and made her way toward the harbor proper.
“Ah! It truly is a sight to behold!” Lefiya gasped in awe upon seeing the grand port up close. Its docks were bustling with sailors, their heads wrapped in towels for a truly “seaman” look, and all around them ships had laid anchor along the marina.
They bobbed and lilted in the pure breeze below a blue sky—sailboats of all shapes and sizes, more than they could count. And in the middle towered the merchant ships, so tall you had to crane your neck just to see them in their entirety. Every one of them found their gazes stolen by these seaworthy masterpieces, Aiz included.
“You’ve fallen in love with the ships, huh, Aiz?”
“Yes, they’re…amazing.”
Tiona asked her question with a laugh, arms behind her head. Aiz surveyed the breathtaking view, watching in fascination as one of the mighty vessels pulled out of the harbor.
The arc-shaped port city wrapped around the banks of the brackish lake was so alive with activity, it nearly put Orario to shame. Brawny seamen lugged crates and barrels down from their ships where horse-drawn carriages carted everything away to locations unknown. Passenger ships unloaded their cargo of people—everything from finely dressed elves to traveling animal people making their way down the wooden bridge connecting the ship’s deck with the dock below.
Beyond the dock itself, the wide expanse of Lolog Lake was a sight to behold. Big enough that its opposite bank remained hidden along the hazy horizon, it could easily have been mistaken for the sea itself, spread out beneath a swath of fluffy white clouds. As the radiant sun reflected off its surface, it glittered the same brilliant blue as Lefiya’s eyes.
Amid the scent of the water drifting in on the breeze, the seagulls cawing in the distance, and the cries of the sailors going about their business, even closing one’s eyes couldn’t diminish the feeling of standing on the threshold between land and sea. It was a different experience from the unknown discoveries they made deep within the Dungeon. As Aiz felt her mind and body grow calm, she found herself at a loss for words.
“Over here, y’all!”
Aiz and the others followed the sound of their patron deity’s voice toward the southern wharf.
Loki herself wove her way through the mountains of casks and cargo until she seemed to find what she was looking for—and raised her voice to meet the figure in her sights.
“Hey, Njörðr!”
“Hmm? Well, I’ll be. If it isn’t Loki!”
The god who turned around was a finely built specimen. His brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that dangled from the back of his head, and the smile he gave the group exuded a sort of calming warmth despite the virile gallantry of his features. He was about the same height as Bete, and his upper half was bare, revealing a muscular chest and arms. His physique was one not often seen in the streets of Orario. For Aiz and the others, their first impression of him said that this fellow carrying a fishing net slung over his shoulder was unmistakably a man of the sea.
“Feels like just yesterday we last saw each other. How many years has it been? Or should I say, how many decades?”
“Well, considerin’ our scale of time, a few years feels like a blink of an eye. You forget to catch up and suddenly it’s been half a century. I really did mean to visit more often! On my honor!”
“You lie the same, too.”
Njörðr laughed as sweat glistened on his pearly white skin. The strange fact that no part of him was tanned proved he was a deity. His shorts stopped at the knees to reveal two shapely legs that looked as though the sea itself had washed them clean.
As he put down his fishing net and walked over to Loki with an amiable smile, the long-standing relationship the two shared was clear.
“Seems you’re doing fine, too, Riveria. Word of your fame reaches even beyond the walls of the city.” The carefree god shifted his attention to the nearby high elf.
“There’s no need for flattery, Njörðr. It does nothing but swell one’s pride.”
Riveria responded with a small smile.
“Lady R
iveria, are you and this god acquaintances?” Lefiya asked somewhat timidly.
“He did much for me before I came to live in Orario. He’s a friend of Loki’s from the heavens. Surely you have heard of Njörðr Familia and their famed sea products, yourself?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“Now that you mention it…”
Tiona and Tione piped up as even Aiz’s face mellowed in realization.
Besides its important role in trade, the port of Meren was also famous for its fishing industry, with a fourth of its area devoted to the craft. The ones in charge of the business were none other than Njörðr Familia.
The familia itself was made up of a system of fisheries, prevalent mostly in cities along the coast. This included, of course, Lolog Lake but also the ocean it flowed into. The large catches Njörðr’s followers brought in from the water were sold not only in Meren’s shops but also in Orario, bringing a fresh taste of the sea to the city. Both Njörðr Familia and Demeter Familia, the latter with its rich agricultural industry, had long histories of supplying food to the Labyrinth City.
“What brings you here, then? You even brought the whole family along, though I see that Finn and Gareth are missing. Quite the bag you’ve got, too…” Njörðr shot Loki’s bulging backpack a dubious look as the fishermen around them continued their work.
Loki just grinned. “I’m actually on a bit of a treasure hunt. But I decided to have some fun while I’m at it. To that end, I was hopin’ I might ask ya a question or two.”
“And what might those questions be?”
“You’re pretty familiar with this area, yeah? I mean, obviously…”
The two deities continued their huddled chat, faces close. Aiz and the others standing nearby could catch only a few phrases here and there—“A ‘hidden gem’ kinda place,” “Somewhere nobody else knows about, yeah,” “A real paradise, if you know what I mean…!”
Njörðr threw a suspicious glance at Loki’s bag and her pack of followers, apparently inferring what the goddess was up to before leaning in to whisper in her ear.
Loki responded with a series of nods, the smile on her face growing with every word.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 6 Page 4