Hostess of Fertility.
After finishing the morning shift, Ryuu was about to head back to her room when a silver-haired girl blocked her path.
"Ryuu, are you feeling unwell?"
"No. Why?"
"Your complexion looks a bit off."
Syr pulled a small mirror from her chest.
Ryuu glanced down at her reflection. "Looks the same as always. You're seeing things."
"Sigh… I knew you'd say that."
Syr put the mirror away.
It had been two years since she first met Ryuu. After living and working together for that long, she knew exactly how serious and stubborn this elf could be.
Just this morning alone, Ryuu had knocked over two wine glasses.
Even Anya—the idiot cat—could tell something was wrong. Syr, of all people, wasn't going to miss it.
"I heard Lin Dong came yesterday morning and brought you a 'gift.' What was inside?"
"…Nothing. Just a bento he made."
"Ryuu. Has anyone ever told you that when you lie, your eyes always drift to the left?"
"..."
"Tell me what happened. I won't tell anyone."
"..."
"I understand. Then I won't ask."
Syr rose on her toes, patted Ryuu's head, and smiled.
"I'll handle Mama Mia. You go take care of whatever you're dealing with."
"Syr, I—"
"No explanations. No apologies. We're friends, aren't we? Friends help each other. That's normal."
Syr pressed a finger to her lips and winked.
"Go on. We'll all be waiting for you to come back."
"...Then I'll leave it to you."
Ryuu hesitated, then nodded.
Ever since she returned from that church, her mind had been full of Jura and the remnants of the Evilus. Compared to trying to work like normal, taking leave was the better choice.
After Ryuu left, the warm smile on Syr's face faded. She rubbed her chin, thoughtful.
"Something interesting happened."
"Allen."
A presence appeared beside her without a sound.
"What is it?"
"Do you know what Lin Dong gave Ryuu?"
"No. You took leave yesterday."
As Syr's personal guard, Allen usually stayed hidden near her. Since Syr had gone back to her Familia for the day yesterday, he had followed.
"Then investigate."
Syr's tone left no room for debate.
"Find out what Lin Dong gave Ryuu. And what Ryuu's doing right now."
"No." Allen shook his head. "I'm here to protect you. I can't just leave."
"Don't worry. Mama Mia's here. I won't get hurt."
"No."
"Ugh, you're so rigid."
"Please stop being willful."
Allen looked helpless.
If he left Freya unguarded for too long, once he returned to the Familia, the others would gang up on him.
He didn't fear fighting, but getting beaten by a crowd still hurt—especially that damn pig, whose punches were terrifying.
"If you insist on investigating, I can pass the message to Hedin."
"Then give it to Hedin."
Syr decided immediately.
As long as she learned the full story, she didn't care who did the investigating.
"Oh, and one more thing," she added. "Check what Lin Dong has been doing lately. He hasn't been running his stall these past couple days."
"...You seem very concerned about that man."
"I am. His soul is interesting. I've never seen a soul like that before."
Syr nodded without hiding it.
She'd been watching Lin Dong in the shadows for a while—not out of affection, but pure curiosity.
With eyes that could see through a soul's essence, she could read people easily. That was how she had chosen Ottar, Allen, and the rest, building the mighty Freya Familia.
But for the first time… that ability had failed.
When Syr recalled the fog that shrouded Lin Dong's soul, the curiosity in her eyes deepened.
"Tell Hedin: if Ryuu and Lin Dong are doing something dangerous, he can help—quietly. Don't expose our identity."
"Yes."
Night fell.
Outside Babel Tower, adventurers poured out of the Dungeon in groups and headed into the first-floor hall.
To make things convenient, the Guild had a counter on the first floor where adventurers could exchange magic stones and monster materials for valis.
Every evening at peak hours, the hall filled with long lines and loud chatter—boasting, complaints, battle stories.
But tonight, that routine shattered.
"Hmm? That smell—ggh!"
"Are you okay? You look—ggh!"
"Ugh! Who the hell fell into a latrine?! Why does it stink this bad?!"
"Bullshit! I slipped into a latrine once and it didn't smell this bad!"
"Ugh! That explains why you're not reacting as badly!"
...
A group had just emerged from the Dungeon, and an indescribable stench rolled into the hall like a living thing.
The adventurers in line stopped talking. Retching spread like a contagion.
Adventurers had strong stomachs—constant Dungeon work and monster blood did that. Ordinary bad smells didn't bother them.
But this was different.
It was like corpses rotting for months at the bottom of a swamp, mixed with sulfur fumes—then smeared in rancid corpse-fat and topped off with reheated, fermented shit.
A smell beyond language.
A smell beyond human limits.
Even Level 2 and Level 3 adventurers couldn't adjust in time. Some weaker Level 1s dropped to the floor on the spot, vomiting sour liquid, faces twisted in agony.
"Over there!"
The same adventurer who'd bragged about falling into a latrine pointed wildly at the source—
Takemikazuchi Familia, walking in.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!!"
The crowd panicked when the "culprits" didn't retreat, but instead advanced toward them.
In just a few breaths, the area in front of the exchange windows was cleared—people stumbling and crawling away—leaving a perfectly open path straight to the counter.
"Sakura… can I go home first?" someone whimpered.
"It's too late," Sakura sighed. "A little longer won't kill you."
Lin Dong's homemade bait was even more horrific than Sakura had imagined.
Once the smell got on them, it wouldn't come off—no matter how they scrubbed. They had no choice but to endure it and return to the surface.
There was, at least, one consolation: their suffering wasn't wasted.
"Hello. Please exchange this."
Sakura slammed two fully stuffed backpacks onto the counter, struggling to keep his excitement under control.
"Ugh—p-please—stand farther—UGHHH!!!" The clerk behind the counter was in tears.
Adventurers might withstand it. A normal person without Falna had no chance.
She desperately wanted to flee.
But she couldn't.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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