The Hostess of Fertility.
After finishing her morning work, Ryuu, who was about to return to her room, was stopped by a silver-haired girl.
"Ryuu, are you feeling unwell?"
"No, why?"
"Your complexion is a bit poor."
Syr pulled a mirror from her bosom.
Ryuu looked down at herself in the mirror: "It's no different from usual, you're mistaken."
"Sigh~ I knew you'd say that."
Syr sighed and put the mirror away.
It had been two years since she first met Ryuu.
After two years of spending time together day and night, she knew very well how serious the Elf Maiden's personality was.
In just one morning, the other party had knocked over wine glasses twice in total.
Even that stupid cat Anya could tell something was wrong, let alone her.
"I heard Lynn came to give you a gift yesterday morning. What was inside?"
"...Nothing, just a bento he made."
"Ryuu, has no one told you? Your eyes always tend to look to the left when you lie."
"..."
"Talk to me, what exactly happened? I won't tell anyone else."
"..."
"I understand, then I won't ask."
Syr stood on her tiptoes and patted Ryuu' head, a smile appearing on her face.
"I'll handle things with Mama Mia. Go resolve whatever business you have on your hands."
"Syr, I..."
"No need for explanations or apologies. We're good friends, and it's only normal for friends to help each other."
Syr held a finger to her lips and winked at the Elf Maiden.
"Go. Everyone and I will wait for you to come back."
"...Then I'll leave it to you."
Ryuu hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
After returning from the church, her mind had been filled with thoughts of Raryo and the Remnants of the Dark Faction.
Compared to continuing to work at the pub, taking leave to temporarily depart was the best choice.
"It seems something interesting has happened."
After watching Ryuu leave, the previously smiling Syr stroked her chin, deep in thought.
"Allen."
"What is it?"
A figure appeared silently beside her.
"Do you know what Lynn gave to Ryuu?"
"I don't know, you took the day off yesterday."
As the Goddess's personal guard, Allen usually hid in the shadows to protect Syr.
Yesterday, Syr had taken leave to stay at the Familia's residence for a day, and he had likewise followed her back.
"Then go investigate it."
Syr's voice came again.
"Investigate what Lynn gave to Ryuu, and also what Ryuu is doing now."
"No," Allen shook his head. "I must protect you; I cannot leave at will."
"Don't worry, Mia is here at the pub, I won't get hurt."
"Still no."
"Sigh, you're so rigid."
"Please stop being so willful."
A look of helplessness appeared on Allen's face.
If he dared to leave Freya for too long during his guard duty, he would be ganged up on by the others upon returning to the Familia.
Although Allen wasn't afraid of fighting, being beaten by a group of people still hurt a lot.
Especially that damn pig; his fists hurt terrifyingly much, and even he couldn't stand being hit a few times.
"If you want to investigate this matter, I can pass the message to Hedin."
"Then leave it to Hedin."
Syr made the decision decisively.
As long as she could figure out the ins and outs of this matter, it didn't matter who did the investigating.
"Right, also help me investigate what Lynn has been doing lately; it seems he hasn't set up his stall these past two days."
"...You seem very concerned about that man."
"Yes, that child's soul is very interesting; it's the first time I've seen a soul like that."
Syr nodded without any concealment.
Although it wasn't very obvious on the surface, she had actually been watching Lynn in secret.
Not out of affection, but pure curiosity.
With eyes that could see through the essence of souls, Syr could easily peer into others' souls and understand their nature.
Relying on this ability, Syr had selected Ottar, Allen, and others from among countless people to be recruited as Peerage Members, forming the renowned Freya Familia.
But this very powerful ability had failed for the first time not long ago.
Recalling the the mist shrouded around Lynn's soul, the curiosity in Syr's eyes grew even more intense.
"Tell Hedin that if Ryuu and Lynn are doing something dangerous, he can step in to help appropriately, but don't reveal his identity."
"Yes."
...
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, night fell.
Outside The Babel, adventurers who had finished their day's exploration walked out of the Dungeon in groups, arriving at the corner of the first-floor hall.
To facilitate the adventurers' activities, the Guild had set up exchange windows on the first floor of The Babel, where magic stones and monster materials could be exchanged for Valis.
During the peak period every evening, several long queues would form in the first-floor hall, with a large number of adventurers squeezed together, heatedly discussing their experiences in the Dungeon.
But today, this situation was broken.
"Huh? This smell... blech!"
"What's wrong with you, are you un—blech!"
"Blech! Who the hell fell into a cesspool? It's so stinky!"
"Bullshit! Last time I slipped and fell into a cesspool, it wasn't even this stinky, okay?!"
"Blech! No wonder your reaction is so small!"
...
As several figures walked out from the Dungeon, a peculiar odor wafted through the entire hall.
The adventurers standing in line before the first-floor windows stopped their conversations, one after another letting out dry heaves.
As beings who entered and exited the Dungeon and fought monsters year-round, the adventurers' endurance was extremely high; ordinary odors were nothing to them.
But right now, this smell drifting through the first-floor hall was different.
It was as if a rotting corpse from the depths of a swamp that had been festering for several months was mixed with sulfurous toxic gas, the surface of the corpse further coated with fermented corpse oil and heated-up shit.
This indescribable stench had completely surpassed the limits of human endurance. Even battle-hardened Level 2 and Level 3 Adventurers couldn't adapt to it in a short time.
Some Level 1s with weaker stomachs even collapsed on the ground, vomiting bile with distorted expressions.
"Over there!"
Just then, the Adventurer who had mentioned falling into a latrine earlier waved his hand and pointed at the approaching Take-Mikazuchi Familia.
"Don't come over here!!!"
Seeing that the culprits were not retreating but instead walking straight toward them.
The retching Adventurers showed terrified expressions, scrambling to get away.
In just a few breaths, the area in front of the first-floor window was cleared, and an unobstructed path appeared before the Take-Mikazuchi Familia.
"Ouka, can I go back first?"
"It's too late now. A little longer won't hurt."
Ouka sighed and led the way toward the exchange window not far away.
The effect of Lynn's bait was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
Once tainted by the smell of the bait, no matter how they cleaned themselves, they couldn't get rid of the odor in a short time.
Helplessly, the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia could only bite the bullet and return to the surface.
If there was anything comforting, it was that their sacrifice had not been in vain.
"Hello, please exchange this for me."
Ouka dropped two bulging backpacks onto the counter, a hint of excitement suppressed in his voice.
"Ugh! Sir... ugh... please stay back... ugh!!!"
The staff member behind the counter was in tears.
This was an odor that even Adventurers couldn't bear, let alone an ordinary person like her without a blessing.
She wanted to run, but she couldn't.
…