Syr started to run a hand along my waist, coiling her arm around my hip as she gave an intoxicated smile. A heavy breath left her mouth as she pushed closer, beginning to snuggle up to me. Pressing her face into my side.
Hearing footsteps I turned my head over my shoulder, spotting a familiar red headed home owner that I waved too with my free hand.
"So what brings the two of you my way?" His tone was jovial, but there was clear intrigue in his tone. The value in a pouch jingled on his hip as he moved, and he seemed in a great mood.
One that slowly turned to confusion as Syr crawled out from my arms and revealed herself.
"We're on a date!"
". . . Who are you?"
"This is Syr. She's a friend of mine who wanted to spend some time with me after we got out of the Dungeon." I paused in my speech, as he just looked even more confused. "Sorry for borrowing your things without asking Welf! We got caught up in the heat of the moment."
"It's not a big deal, I can get you two some water before you head out for the night."
"Thanks Welf! Just finished a good workout so that wouldn't hurt." Syr firmly grasped my hand, softly pouting in Welf's direction as she pulled me a bit closer.
"Is that all you'd call getting sweaty with me?"
"Should I call it something else?"
Welf's eyes turned down to the weapons at our feet before giving a chuckle and opening the door to his smithing shack. Smithing Shack . . . that's a good name for it!
"Well come on in, the sun will go down soon so I won't keep you for too long."
"Thank you again Welf. It's important to stay hydrated." I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded my head as I picked up the two swords and the shield in my arms. Holding them tightly into my bosom I walked inside of the now open door of Welf's Smithing Shack.
He softly closed the door behind Syr and I, then letting out a small sigh. He still had an expression of happiness on his face though, our little excursion hadn't dampened his spirits!
He walked over to a large wooden box in the corner, opening it with a single hand. As he did so a small mist broke free from it, causing a faint chill to enter the room.
Syr, taking the opportunity, pressed into my side. However, I had a deeply important task before me! I can't get distracted now! Forgive me Syr!
I returned the weapons to where we first got them, causing her to sigh as I peeled away. Just when I finished doing so, I turned around to be greeted with Welf offering me a metal cup that vaguely reminded me of a soda can. It didn't have the pull tab on the top, instead having a twisting mechanism as its lid.
"I made these myself in my free time. They are good for holding liquids, and are easily resealable." He handed one to Syr as well, the faint cold not truly affecting her as she held it firmly.
I walked over to the table and took a seat, gently twisting the lid. I suddenly frowned as I met a much stronger resistance than I originally +anticipated. It wasn't opening.
Welf let out an embarrassed cough as he pointed at it.
"You've gotta press down a little bit, I put that in so it doesn't get loose by accident."
Wait a second. Was I just defeated by a child lock?
"Round two." With ease I opened it, and I let out a small sigh of relief. Losing was never embarrassing, but losing twice to such a weak opponent would stain even my ego! Though it would also be a good learning experience . . .
I shouldn't get distracted thinking about containers.
Taking a slow sip of the water, Syr covered her mouth and laughed slightly at my comment. She followed suit and took a drink as well.
"Back at the diner we have an ice box, but I've never seen a metal canteen with a lid like this before."
"Just something I threw together, I got tired of everything falling apart on the long walk through this less developed part of the city."
"Hey Welf, do you know why this part of the city is so underdeveloped?"
"Actually I can answer that one." Syr, seeing the opportunity, took center stage. "Back when Orario was initially founded, it wasn't even a city. It was a massive military encampment! The Tower of Babel was created by the gods, as well as the massive walls you see around the city today. The walls kept monsters out, and the tower kept monsters in! Over time Orario began to develop, and now it's the city you see today. Though some parts of it aren't as developed as the others . . ."
She became thoughtful after her brief monologue, seeming to wonder about Orario as she did so.
This city is really cool!
"Didn't take you as a history buff by the way you two were wielding weapons. I'd never actually heard that bit of knowledge before."
"You must read a lot of books Syr." I gave the girl a bright look and she blushed faintly in response.
"No, no, I don't read that much. I just like history is all."
"I like history too. Though honestly I don't really know all that much about it." Well, at least not for this world. I knew a decent chunk of Earth's history, and a lot of it was really weird. Earthlings were weird.
"Then let's go on another date and I can teach you all about the past."
My face heated up at her statement. I really liked Syr, but I wasn't sure I could do that when I knew how Belle felt. Syr clearly liked me, but I knew Belle did too!
"A shared history lesson could be fun, but I need to spend some time with Belle first."
Syr frowned, and Welf raised an eyebrow at the interaction. He stared silently at the two of us for a moment before waving a hand.
"Well you best get back, have a good night you two."
Setting down our cups we walked outside, and I couldn't help but feel Welf was made a little bit uncomfortable by Syr. I gently shut the door on my way out with a small sigh.
"Sorry about Welf being a little bit odd. He's not great with new people." I still remember our first encounter vividly. This was the only logical conclusion!
"He seemed plenty nice to me. I'm glad you have such good friends in your life." Her lips turned upwards as she silently stared into my eyes, almost staring past me as she did so.
"Thank you for spending time with me today Syr, and sorry it took me so long to fulfill my promise. I've been really busy for a while."
I really didn't like breaking my promises! Sometimes I had too, but I really, really didn't like to do it if I could avoid it.
"Then why don't we make a different promise this time? One that is a bit simpler."
"Another one?"
"Yep. How about you promise to bring your party to the Hostess of Fertility?"
Ah, that wasn't something outlandish. I even got to bring my friends!
"Alright then. It's a promise."
Her smile grew even larger the moment I said the final word.
"Amazing. I'll see you later then!"
I watched Syr slowly walk away, and I didn't move as I stared at her retreating form.
I didn't know how to feel about Syr. I really liked her. Though Hector didn't like her. I couldn't tell how Belle felt, but I knew she didn't have the best feelings. If it was just that, it wouldn't be a big problem. I was certain we could figure something out.
Though there was something about how she carried herself. Something I couldn't just ignore completely.
The way she wanted me to make such a mundane promise, and the way she fought as well.
It was all very . . . deceptive? Illusory? I didn't really have a proper word for it, but I guess that could just be considered another part of the disguise.
The problem was that I had no idea if she was doing it on purpose or not. Certain fighting styles sometimes just come naturally to certain people.
Sometimes those styles are opposite of that person's nature, but there was something subtle about her that I just couldn't shake.
Maybe . . . I could ask Hector? I slowly undid the restraint I'd put on him, and pulled my consciousness inward. I didn't really know how this would work, and I knew Hector was extremely bias, but it didn't hurt to at least ask the guy.
I walked past the mountains of coiling shadows around me, eyes opening and staring at me from them caused me to wave back in their direction before continuing.
The shadows were pretty cool at least. Morphing into different animal shapes before going back to being a part of the cave I was in. Snakes, dragons, lions, and so much more. This place sort of felt like it was full of friends!
But I was looking for one guy in particular.
I knew that with a Persona inside of me I could probably feel the guy, but having a winding maze of shadow caves was making this more difficult than I expected!
Just as I let out a sigh and began to open my eyes, I spotted a faintly hazy figure lazily leaning against a nearby tree.
The large person's arms were crossed over their chest. Thick bracers over thick armor made it seem like their heart was impenetrable. A red shawl contrasted with the green armor, and my mind couldn't help but flick back to the brief moments I saw him during our first meeting before he shattered like glass saving my life.
https://postimg.cc/Mn668Tws
"Most Fools don't have a Sea of Souls as complicated as yours that stops us from communing normally. Nor can I hold state this for long. So all I'll say is this." The spear tip on his back gleamed with a dangerous light as he said the next words. "Don't trust that woman."
I blinked, and he was gone.
Well that didn't tell me anything! I wasn't just going to stop trusting Syr because the mysterious guy in my head told me not too! At the same time I wasn't just going to ignore his words. It was certainly something to keep in mind moving forwards, even if I didn't like it.
Though even if I couldn't trust the current Syr, I knew we'd become good friends eventually. My face blushed slightly as I thought about an idea of 'maybe more' but I wasn't sure if I could ever open my heart up to someone who I couldn't trust.
Dang it Hector. You're corrupting me!
Well I suppose time will tell. I need to get back home and get some sleep.
Moving through the forest was relatively easy as I made it back to the part of Orario that actually had stone roads. Moving towards the church with a jog I began to relax some more.
Today was oddly stressful, but I'm still happy today happened.
Welf went on an adventure with us, and became closer with me. I had some fun with Syr, and I had some fun with all my friends.
That only left one person!
Sitting on the steps half asleep was Hestia, waiting for me patiently, but also faintly snoring as she did so.
"Andrew. You shouldn't be out so late with women I don't know." Gently picking her up, I gave her a hug.
"Then can I spend the rest of my night with you?"
"Of course, thought I'm a bit sleepy." She gave a soft smile and a yawn as she partially woke up. "Though you look pretty tired yourself. Why don't we get your status updated and talk about what happened today."
"That sounds great. Thanks for being awesome Hestia." I couldn't help but yawn slightly at the tail end of my words, causing her to chuckle.
"Of course, you're very important to me."
"I'm sorry for worrying you Hestia." I gently sat her down as I prepared to take off my shirt.
She could only sigh as she stared at my bare chest before her eyes worked their way up to my face as her neck bent back slightly at my height.
"You worry me a lot more going into the Dungeon with all the stuff my two beloved children get up too. Would it seriously hurt to have a day without some kind of crazy event like a break parade?"
So Belle told her? That makes sense.
"I like it. It's fun!"
"Only you could say the unpredictability of the Dungeon is 'fun'."