The wooden doors of Twilight Manor closed behind them with a heavy, sturdy thud. What first greeted them was the large open reception area, able to easily fit the large congregation of the expedition party. Magic stone lamps lit up the interior, showcasing the marbled floors and countless decorations that lined the walls.
The main staircase was situated in the middle of the hall, leading up and splitting off to the left and right halfway up the steps. Members of Loki Familia who didn't join the expedition came out from the side rooms and the steps to help carry and sort the bags/cargo.
The passageways within the towers of the Twilight Manor were narrow, requiring groups of people to step aside and let them pass by if there were more than 3 walking side by side.
Anyone using the showers were instructed to finish up before Aiz, Tiona, Tione and all the others finished unpacking. The people returning from the expedition took priority and were in need of some much needed relaxation… especially with how much they stank.
The main members of the expedition party turned and gave a wave to Yuji before they departed towards their personal rooms to unpack their own belongings.
"Ya can hang out in the common room or library while they all finish up. I'll offer you to freshen up as well, but after the members of my Familia all shower. More comfortable for all sides, y'know?" Loki said before walking off, but Yuji couldn't help but notice a slight trace of mischief glinting in her eyes as her smile turned… lecherous.
"*Sigh* I just hope she'll go easy on them." Finn tiredly said, looking at Loki strutting away towards the girls shower rooms.
"You guys sure have your hands full, even back home." Yuji responded back with a slight shake of his head, a faint smile forming on the corner of his lips.
Finn smiled before looking up at Yuji, "Although she said otherwise, you can use the shower by the training rooms first. I'll have someone leave out some spare clothes outside after you're done. Just leave your clothes and we'll have it cleaned by the morning."
"Thank you, I could definitely do with a hot shower after all that time spent down there."
"You and me both."
With those words, Finn gestured to Yuji to follow him through one of the side doors that led down underground. Below featured a large training room with various wooden dummies in various states of disrepair lining one side of the walls.
Finn pointed to a door at the far right side of the training room, "In there are the showers for the training room. Take as long as you need, dinner should be ready in about an hours time"
With those parting words, Finn left Yuji to his own devices. Stepping into the side room, he saw what reminded him of a locker room for storing clothes and changing, with private booths for showering near the end.
Taking off his clothes and piling them on a nearby bench, he grabbed one of the towels and hung it on a nearby hook before taking a shower.
'Thank god there's hot showers…'
He heard the doors open and a voice cutting through the air as steam wafted out from his booth.
"Mr Itadori, I'll leave the clothes here for you on the bench. I'll be taking these and have them cleaned for you by tomorrow morning."
A male voice explained to him, Yuji responded back, "Sure, thanks. How long until the dinner?"
There was a moment of silence as the man thought before responding, "In around 45 minutes."
With that, the sound of the door opening and closing echoed in the room as Yuji finished up.
Drying himself off, he looked at the new clothes provided to him. Long black pants and a bright red shirt. They seemed to be able to gauge his size since it didn't seem too small for his frame.
Putting on the clothes, he stood by a full length mirror and took in his appearance. Standing at a full 6ft4 (193 cm roughly), he dried his hair and styled it back. His hands traced the scar by his left lip before he turned to leave.
Walking up from the stairs towards the main reception area, he spotted Riveria walking down the steps from the second floor of the Manor, looking far more refreshed compared to before after her shower.
She nodded in greeting as she made her way down the steps towards Yuji, taking note of his new clothing and only now noticing how much taller than her she was.
"I was about to come find you. We have a bit of time before the dinner and I was tasked with keeping you company until then."
Yuji curled an eyebrow, "You don't really have to. I was just gonna wander around the halls."
"It is also to steer you away from restricted areas."
Yuji shrugged and Riveria led him towards a side hall and up some stairs into one of the towers.
"How long have you been in Orario?" Riveria broke the silence first as she pushed open the door to the library, tall shelves lined with hundreds of books framed the inside. A couple of tables and chairs were situated to the side for people to read at.
"The Dungeon, or Orario?" Riveria turned her head at Yuji's play on words, staying silent for a breath before saying, "Both."
"Well, the Dungeon would be the time I came across your group and the time it took for us to get back up, so almost 2 weeks. Orario? Today's my first time."
Yuji pulled out a chair and leaned back on it, looking at the various books on the shelves, unable to decipher the names on their spine.
"*Sigh* I would seldom believe you, but I find no logical reasoning for you to be lying. My 'other' avenue of thoughts pertaining to your words would go against the sort of character you possess that I have built up in my mind over the time we have spent travelling together."
Yuji leaned back more in his chair, rocking it on its two back legs with perfect balance as he rocked himself back and forth. "And what if you were wrong? Maybe I did all of this to put your guard down, all so I can gain the trust of the Loki Familia and enter their home, before enacting my plan."
Riveria, much to her credit, faintly smiled, "If I were to be a misjudge of character, then I wouldn't be alive till this day. If you wanted to, you could've killed us in the Dungeon when we first met, but you helped us instead."
"Like I said, it could be an act."
"I happen to be an enjoyer of the fine arts, theater included."
Yuji stopped rocking his chair and stayed silent, staring at the stonefaced woman across from him, before letting out a chuckle.
"Your Familia is lucky to have you."
She shook her head, "No, I am the one who is lucky." She smiled, placing her hands on her lap as the two settled into a comfortable silence.
Yuji leaned his head back and closed his eyes, wondering when was the last time he had even been inside a library.
"Yuji, I have to ask you a question, and apologize in advance if it is rude of me to do so, but… How are you able to perform magic without chanting?"
Yuji slowly opened his eyes and looked across the table at Riveria, seeing her expression tense but also full of dying curiosity.
She had devoted her life to studying magic and furthering her mastery over it, so to encounter someone who possessed knowledge over one of the greatest weaknesses of magic made her drive to uncover his secret grow.
"Hmm, you're talking about my Dismantle?"
'Dismantle…' Riveria took note of the name before nodding, "Yes. I have noticed that when you do a similar attack, you sometimes don't chant it but are able to cast your magic either way… How?"
"Well, I think you have the wrong idea here over what I do." Yuji spoke up, raising a hand to pause her line of thinking.
"In the first place, I don't need to chant any of my techniques. The act of doing so empowers the technique's strength and maximum output." He explained to her, spreading his hand out as blood pooled and formed the shape of a sharp red dagger.
He reached out towards Riveria, who blinked and picked up the dagger, his mind fraying into countless thoughts over the implication of his words. She held the red dagger in her hand, feeling the hard surface and catching the glint of light that reflected off of its sharp blade from the glowing magic stone lamp above.
"Give me an example of one of your chants." Yuji asked her, pulling Riveria out of her deep thoughts.
Nodding, she began reciting, "The flame will soon be released. Creeping war, unavoidable destruction. The horn of battle sounds aloud, the cruelty of conflict will envelop all. Come, crimson flames, the ruthless inferno. You are the avatar of hellfire. Sweep completely, bring a close to the great war. Burn them through, Sword of Sutr. My name is Alf."
(A/N: Yea no wonder mages need to be protected, imagine trying to say all of that in one continuous line without being interrupted mid battle while maintaining concentration. Wanna know something funny? Bete has a long ass chant, one of the longest in Danmachi)
She paused at the very end, not finishing the chant, "That is the chant for my Rea Laevateinn. The longer our chants, the more powerful the magical power behind it is. Although there does exist chantless magic, the user still has to invoke the name of the spell for it to function."
"That's certainly… Lengthy. I know a couple of people who also had chants to release the maximum strength of their technique, but nothing as long as yours."
She handed the dagger back towards Yuji, watching it liquidate and be absorbed into his body through his hand. "What you do, however, defies all preconceptions that true chantless magic doesn't exist."
Looking out the window of the library, Yuji thought for a moment before saying, "I think you can still keep that belief. I doubt there's anyone out there that can do what I do, but I'll have to confirm that over time."
As Riveria was about to ask him what he meant, a knock from the door interrupted them before it swung open violently, "Dinner's ready!" Tiona shouted as she announced, but then paused seeing Riveria and Yuji sitting across from one another.
She snuck a hand up close to her mouth before teasing Riveria, "Oho~ What's this? A secret rendezvous?"
Riveria could only sigh in annoyance as Yuji flicked her forehead on the way out.