As she spoke, Ais kept her expression carefully composed and gave Jeanne's group a small bow.
"These two are newcomers who joined our Familia in the past year or so. They just leveled up to Lv. 2, and since we heard you were camped nearby, I brought them over to broaden their horizons."
Before she'd even finished, the human boy of the pair lunged forward a step and snapped into a textbook ninety-degree bow, introducing himself at a volume that could've shaken leaves off trees.
"Lady d'Arc, Lady Marbleheart, Lady Clyret, Lady Persephone, Miss Swall, Miss Moriel, it's a pleasure to meet you all!"
"I'm Raul Nord, the High Novice, from Loki Familia! Lv. 2! I look forward to learning from you!"
Everyone: "..."
Leon: "..."
Finn nearly spit out the mouthful of wine he'd just knocked back.
Ais's lips twitched, her composure crumbling completely as she quietly slipped behind Riveria.
Too embarrassing!
Rose and the others managed stiff, awkward smiles, none of them quite sure how to respond.
That was... a little much, wasn't it?
Silence fell over the group. Everyone's eyes drifted to Raul, then to the cat person girl beside him who'd already turned her face away, unable to watch. They exchanged glances, collectively at a loss.
Riveria pressed a hand to her forehead with a soft sigh and offered Jeanne's group an apologetic explanation.
"Ahem, sorry about that. Please don't mind him. The boy's just a bit nervous."
Then she tilted her head slightly and murmured to Raul.
"Raul. You're scaring everyone."
The boy's face went beet red, and he launched into a rapid-fire series of bows.
"S-sorry! I'm sorry!"
Everyone: "..."
In the end, it was Jeanne who stepped forward with a smile.
"There's no need for all that. Being nervous around strangers is perfectly normal."
Once Raul had retreated to one side looking rather worse for wear, the black-haired cat girl stepped forward. Poised and composed, she gave the group a proper bow and introduced herself in a clear, measured voice.
"I'm Anakitty Autumn, the Alchat, from Loki Familia! Lv. 2! I look forward to learning from all of you!"
The moment they got a good look at how well-behaved and adorable she was, every woman in the group, not a single one of them capable of resisting anything fluffy, lit up like a kid on Christmas and swarmed her.
"Wow! Anakitty, you're a black cat! And... your ears and tail are so cute! C-can I touch them?"
Suddenly surrounded, Aki went tense and shy, her cheeks flushing fast as she mumbled in a small voice.
"Um... Jeanne, ma'am, a little touching is okay, nya... b-but please don't go overboard, nya..."
Riveria watched Aki being enthusiastically mobbed, then glanced over at Raul standing off to the side by himself, looking completely lost, and let out a quiet sigh.
"Well, no matter where you go, a cute girl will always be more popular than an unremarkable boy. Don't you think, Raul?"
Raul: "..."
Raul stood there like his soul had left his body, his eyes visibly glazing over.
"Aki's cute..."
"Aki's cute?"
"Cute..."
Listening to him loop like a broken record, and thinking about how mercilessly strict Aki was toward him back in the Familia despite them being the same generation of recruits... yeah, anyone else would have a hard time seeing the "cute" in her too.
The thought made Riveria stifle a laugh. She gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, then led the still-stony-faced Ais and the thoroughly deflated Raul over toward Leon and Finn.
"Looks like our Aki is quite popular with the women in your Familia."
Finn and Leon clinked their bottles together in lieu of proper glasses, taking small sips of the fruit wine Demeter had brewed herself, chatting as they drank.
Leon glanced over at the cat girl trapped in the middle of Jeanne's group, face burning red, and smirked.
"If it were me, I'd obviously pick the cute cat-eared girl too. What, am I supposed to ignore her and go make awkward small talk with Raul instead? What if people got the wrong idea?"
Leon's blunt, merciless take drew a laugh out of Finn.
As for Riveria, Ais, and Raul, who'd just walked over in time to catch that line, their reactions were... varied.
Riveria's expression went complicated. She wanted to laugh, but held back out of consideration for Raul's feelings.
Ais remained as doll-like and expressionless as ever, seemingly indifferent to any of this. The only thing on her mind was hunting monsters...
And Raul, the man of the hour? Let's just say the word "uncomfortable" didn't begin to cover it.
Noticing them approach, Leon kept right on smiling, as if those words had never left his mouth.
As long as I'm not the one feeling awkward, it's someone else's problem.
"Sorry about that, Raul."
Leon threw an arm around Raul's neck, pulled the boy's head down, and grinned knowingly.
"But that's just how it is, man. You're still young. You haven't fully experienced just how cruel this world can be yet. Next year, once you're of age, take a stroll through the Pleasure Festival and you'll understand exactly what I mean."
Riveria's eyes narrowed. Something cold flickered in her gaze as she looked at Leon.
"The Pleasure Quarter?"
"Did I just hear something I shouldn't have come out of your mouth?"
Leon: "..."
Was it the alcohol? Did a couple drinks make me get too cocky?
Since when did I just let anything fly out of my mouth like that?
Wanting nothing more than to slap himself, Leon hurriedly plastered on a smile and started explaining.
"The Pleasure Quarter? That den of depravity run by Ishtar Familia? Why would an upstanding guy like me ever set foot in a place like that?"
"Besides, we've got so many lovely ladies in our own Familia to look after. You know what I mean, right?"
"Lady Riveria, you have definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent got the wrong idea!"
Riveria said nothing. She just kept staring at him, expression blank, as if watching a particularly bad one-man show.
Leon: "..."
Like mother, like daughter, I guess? That look on her face was the spitting image of little Ais standing right next to her.
Leon's lips twitched. Then he glanced over at Finn, who was smiling and watching the show with a look that said "none of my business," and an idea struck.
"Ahem, let's save the small talk for later. Finn, you're the Braver. You don't drop by without a reason. Loki Familia's a massive operation, and you and Riveria are the captain and vice-captain. You've got a million things on your plate every day, especially during an Expedition. So... you didn't just bump into us down here and decide to pop in for a casual visit, did you?"
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