Chapter 701

The next day, at the Freya Familia residence, the logistical members of the Freya Familia rose early to prepare breakfast, only to find the magic stone lamps in the kitchen already lit.

The logistical members responsible for the morning meal exchanged a glance, thinking some member of the Familia was hungry and had come to the kitchen looking for food.

But as they approached and looked into the kitchen, what they saw was the tall, beautiful Goddess busy at work inside, and alongside her, a gray-haired girl also busy.

"Ah, Lady Freya, why are you here?"

The logistics Department Head exclaimed in surprise.

"Tona, pay me no mind, you do your work, I'll do mine."

The Goddess waved her hand, though her cooking utensils had already occupied half the kitchen's prep tables.

"Uh..."

The human woman named Tona looked at this scene in the kitchen; if the one doing this were anyone but Lady Freya, she would absolutely have sprayed them with a torrent of abuse, even if they were other combat personnel of the Freya Familia, because the kitchen was the place where she devotedly served Lady Freya.

"Eh, did I mess up the kitchen too much and affect you?"

Freya asked, belatedly realizing.

"No, not at all, I just wanted to ask, Lady Freya, are you preparing a bento for that boy of the Hestia Familia?"

Tona hurriedly denied it and inquired about the situation.

"Mhm."

Freya smiled and nodded; yesterday, hearing Ryu say Broly liked her cooking, she had decided to cook for him herself today.

Of course, she had self-awareness about her own culinary skills, so she only planned to prepare a small portion of the bento dishes, though even a small portion amounted to quite a lot.

"Lady Freya, do you need our help?"

Tona asked with some hope; Lady Freya occasionally cooked, but most of the time she wouldn't be at the Familia residence on the Battle Wilderness side.

The view from the top floor of Babel Tower was superb, giving a feeling of looking down on all of Orario from above; ever since their Familia became one of the two great Familias of Orario, Lady Freya had often stayed on the Babel Tower side, reportedly wanting to prove she was not inferior to the once-great Goddess Hera of Orario.

So this was a rare occurrence, and she naturally had to seize the opportunity to work in the same kitchen as Lady Freya.

"No need, today I intend to prepare the bento for that child Broly all by myself, and don't need anyone else interfering."

Hearing this, Tona's gaze involuntarily turned to Helen busy at the side; Freya noticed and explained, "Helen is my close-attached Squire (also Xier), one with me, so her intervening is no problem."

Pausing a moment, she added to Tona, "You just prepare three shares of bento for the others."

"Yes—"

Before dawn even broke, there was a flurry of activity in the kitchen.

Not until after daybreak, when a luxurious giant bento stacked ten-odd layers high was completed, was it considered done.

Freya was very satisfied with this result, and taking Helen along, she headed over to the Hostess of Fertility.

The Freya Familia members on the Battle Wilderness side caught sight of this and discussed it animatedly.

Before long, the blue-haired Pallum Panis learned the situation from the logistics kitchen Department Head Tona.

"Ah, a bento personally prepared by Lady Freya, truly makes one, uh, envious."

One of the Black and White Knights, the Dark Elf Hegni, said with some envy mixed with reluctance.

The envy was for Lady Freya personally preparing a bento.

The reluctance was because Lady Freya's cooking level was truly something the Familia members who had tasted it before found hard to endure.

"Today that boy on the Hestia Familia side is getting absolutely luxurious treatment; if he dares vomit it up, we'll have to make some preparations."

Hedin of the White Witch's Staff spoke, and these words drew nods of agreement from the Flame Gold Four Brothers.

"Someone who can't even accept Lady Freya's terrible cooking is unworthy of receiving Lady Freya's favor."

"Hey, Gravel, you bastard, you said the quiet part out loud!?"

Freya Familia Healer Haize only felt a bit of a headache; compared to the others discussing what attitude they'd hold toward the Hestia Familia boy if he possibly refused Lady Freya's personally made cooking, she was more worried their own Goddess would play a terrible hand.

If the Hestia Familia boy, because of a bento of cooking that caused him poisoning, came to dislike the Quest Board girl who was the Goddess's avatar, the situation would definitely be bad.

"I'm going out for a bit."

Thinking thus, Haize stood and said.

"Eh, Haize, where are you preparing to go?"

Hegni asked with some curiosity.

"Where I go, shouldn't need to be reported to you, right?"

The Dark Elf choked, his non-dominant personality showing a wounded look.

"Mhm, preventing accidents is good too."

Hedin glanced at her, yet said this, clearly already realizing where their own Healer was preparing to go.

Cleaning up the occasional messes of their own Goddess was already something the Freya Familia members had long grown accustomed to.

"Ryu, this is today's bento."

"Eh, why so much?"

"Because you said that kind of thing yesterday, so today I prepared a bit more bento for Mr. Broly.

Mhm, this is something I got up before dawn early this morning to carefully prepare for him, so you have to properly watch whether he really likes my cooking."

Having already arrived at the Hostess of Fertility side, Freya in her avatar Xier handed the waist-high bento to the female elf, and so instructed her, hoping her good friend Ryu would properly observe the Saiyan boy's reaction to eating the bento dishes she made with her own hands.

"Of course, if he finds it unpalatable, there's no need to force him to eat it either."

However, at the last moment, the Goddess with self-awareness of her own craftsmanship still added a line.

"The cooking Xier makes is all delicious, how could he possibly need to be forced to eat it?"

Ryu was somewhat confused by this.

"That's not certain, my cooking today probably won't be as tasty as usual."

"Eh, did you intentionally make it unpalatable?"

"It's not on purpose, I just wanted to confirm — if my cooking turns out difficult to eat (not like a surface girl's appearance), would he still say he likes my cooking?"

Roli couldn't quite understand her friend's maneuver, but still nodded: "Alright, I'll observe for you."

"Remember, if Broly is truly barely managing it, you don't have to force him."

The Goddess was worried, and reiterated once more.

Yearning for love, yet doubting love.

Wanting verification, yet somewhat worried what if the boy refuses.

Although she could force it, she worried this kind of forcing would lead to the obtained answer being inaccurate.

After seeing off the elf friend who took leave today, Xier was in this kind of contradictory state.

She was somewhat absent-minded, holding a broom sweeping the ground in front of the tavern.

"Hey, Xier Jiejie, are you spacing out?"

Until a pair of slender small hands waved in front of her, and called her several times in a row, only then did she return to her senses from the worried, uneasy, complex mood.

"Eh, Lefiya Jiejie, Ais Jiejie, very sorry, I was just now thinking about some things."

【Can see through it, you look like you have a lot on your mind.】

The elf girl and the Sword Princess girl thought in their hearts.

"Don't know what you all are looking for me for?"

The quest board girl inquired.

"We want to go find Broly today, but don't know where his Familia residence is, yet want to ask you about it."

"Uh, what do you all want him for?"

Xier, with somewhat chaotic thoughts, subconsciously showed a somewhat vigilant, protective, cute appearance on her face.

"I want to find him for swordsmanship training, yesterday already rested one day."

Ais stepped forward, with a three-no expression, calmly answering the quest board girl's inquiry.

"I am accompanying Ais Jiejie to go do swordsmanship training."

Lefiya also hurriedly said, but she actually had no reason to go find Broly, desensitization training wherever done, whoever helps do it is all the same, she just simply wanted to spend more time with the person she likes.

"Uh, so it's like that, then it's coincidentally just right."

"Hm?"

"No, nothing, I'll tell you right now where the Hestia Familia residence is."

Seeing the two people looking over doubtfully, Xier hurriedly waved her hand and said.

"Thank you very much, Xier Jiejie."

Obtaining the Hestia Familia residence address, the two Loki Familia girls waved and left.

"Roli and the Sword Princess, don't know with both using swordsmanship training as reason, huddling together, how it will be."

Thinking of this, Xier felt this should be very interesting.

"Miya Mama, can I ask for a day off today?"

"Can't, Roli took leave, you also take leave, then who does the store's work?"

Little Giant Miya without mercy refused the girl wanting to slip away.

"Ah, how can this be, how about, I get someone else to cover my shift?"

Xier proposed a solution and said.

"Your age isn't small either, always like this giving people around you trouble, is that really okay?"

Miya put on a non-negotiable posture, only because she felt pity for another Xier girl's exhaustion, today when seeing Haize, the other party already had dark circles, clearly exhausted from a certain Goddess's willfulness these days.

Freya doesn't cherish that child, that child also doesn't cherish her own situation, but she Miya won't spoil them, after all, both are children who often come to the store to help.

"Wu, then okay."

Freya Xier was somewhat depressed, but also heard Miya's dissatisfaction produced toward her overusing Haize.

"I'll give her a holiday right now, let her properly rest one day today."

Hm, the holiday place, completely can be not in her own Familia.

"Haize, hard work, you can rest one day today."

Just like that, the Goddess Attendant girl called back obtained a day of free activity holiday.

"Eh?"

Haize was somewhat dazed, didn't understand how she suddenly had a day off.

"Ah, really want to know the situation on Hestia Familia's side."

However, the quest board girl's emotional words quickly let her understand the origin of this day's holiday.

Turns out, Goddess-sama wants her to act as mobile surveillance.

"Understood, Xier-sama. I'll go to Hestia Familia's side to spy right now."

Haize said.

"Ah, this isn't spying, Haize Jiejie, you're just during your holiday, helping this friend go look at that side's situation.

Hm, only need to look at Roli and Sword Princess's situation after contact, after finishing watching, other time, is handed to you to freely dominate."

Freyya Xier said somewhat embarrassedly, but thinking this shouldn't take much time, indeed counts as holiday, then gradually felt at ease.

For this, Haize just nodded, fundamentally not caring about holiday or not, went to execute the quest board girl posture Goddess-sama's entrustment request.

And when arriving at Hestia Familia's side, she coincidentally at the street corner bumped into the same pink-haired girl also coming to Hestia Familia residence this side.

"Eh, Haize, why are you here?"

"This line should be me asking you, Haize, don't you need to go back help Freya-sama, preside over our Familia daily affairs handling?"

"Freya-sama gave me a day off, let me come this side to look at the situation."

Helen explained a sentence.

"I'm worried that Lady Freya's bento might bring trouble to Lady Freya."

After listening, Haize also explained a sentence.

"Together then?"

"Good."

The two girls of the Freya Familia hit it off immediately and directly formed a team outside to tail them, and because they weren't wearing clothes bearing the Freya Familia badge, no passersby looked at them with reverence.

"Little girls, you two want to join the Hestia Familia, right? Let me tell you, the Hestia Familia is absolutely a Familia with potential. If my child weren't still small, and if the Hestia Familia weren't an exploration-type, I'd want her to join too."

During this time, instead, a neighbor auntie living nearby came out for a stroll, spotted the two girls loitering outside, mistook them for wanting to join the Hestia Familia, and actively leaned over to speak well of the Hestia Familia.

"Hah, we're not..."

Haize's words hadn't finished before being interrupted by Helen.

"Yes, we have the intention to join, but currently we don't understand the Hestia Familia's situation. You seem to know; could you tell us?"

Hearing this, the neighbor auntie enthusiastically introduced the situation of the original church on this side of Forgotten Alley to the two: "This was originally an abandoned church, but after the Hestia Familia took over, in just three months, a huge transformation occurred.

Not only was a luxurious Familia residence built, but Lady Hestia also had Hephaestus's artisans repair the road surfaces of the nearby alleyways. Places that used to accumulate water on rainy days don't accumulate water anymore..."

Benefiting the people, this made the Hestia Familia's reputation very good on this side of Forgotten Alley.

"You really should consider it properly. A rising Familia like this isn't easy to encounter in Orario."

Before leaving, the neighbor auntie didn't forget to say this one sentence, as if missing out on the Hestia Familia would be their loss.

"Helen, you wouldn't be thinking of betraying Lady Freya and planning to switch to the Hestia Familia, would you?"

After the passerby auntie left, Haize's gaze turned somewhat unkind toward the Squire girl.

"Of course not. It's just that if we stand here like this without a legitimate reason, we'd be too conspicuous.

And incidentally gathering intelligence on the Hestia Familia would also let Lady Freya more clearly understand the Familia environment that the boy she favors is currently in.

Hmm, one could say the Hestia Familia only rose this fast because they luckily encountered Broly."

Helen explained the situation one by one.

"Fine, you make sense."

Haize stopped speaking and instead looked through the iron bars outside the Hestia Familia headquarters toward the courtyard inside the Hestia Familia headquarters.

At this moment, Liu and the Sword Princess girl had already met head-on. Upon learning the other party was also here to receive the Saiyan boy's swordsmanship training, the Elf miss had a feeling of surprise yet within expectations.

"Of course I have time. Miss Liu is practicing sword dance, and Ais Xiaojie you're practicing counter-defense. If you two don't mind, you can actually gather together and conduct training."

"Eh?"

"I don't mind."

"Does Miss Liu have a problem?"

Ais had no objection. Broly looked at the Elf miss who made the surprised sound.

"Uh, I don't have a problem either."

Since the first battle seven years ago where she vented by picking a fight, Liu hadn't expected the second battle to unexpectedly occur under these circumstances. But whether it was Broly guiding the other party's swordsmanship first, or her being interested in the current strength of the Sword Princess girl she'd crossed swords with seven years ago, Liu would not back down, so she directly agreed.

【Ais Xiaojie is very powerful, but a mere tavern employee waitress miss how could she possibly...】

Lefiya originally thought this way, doubting this swordsmanship practical training was a waste of time, but when the Sword Princess girl and her fellow Elf miss's wooden swords clashed in swordsmanship, she discovered she was wrong. This waitress miss seems a bit excessively strong.

【Can she recognize me, who once crossed swords with her?】

Liu thought, a horizontal sweeping slash chopped toward the Sword Princess girl in front.

【This swordsmanship, seems a bit fast...】

Ais crossed her sword to block. The long sword was like a swimming snake, wanting to flick the Elf's wooden sword away.

But the other party was like willow catkins in the wind, following the momentum on her long sword to spin and kick over.

Ais raised her leg. The leg armor and the Elf's spinning kick foot collided together.

Blocked this strike, but was also kicked flying out.

Not injured. Before landing, force dissipation was complete.

After landing, Ais didn't hesitate in the slightest and rushed over to continue launching attacks at the Elf.

It's said they're practicing sword dance and Water God Style, but after these two actually started fighting, it seems they fundamentally have no consciousness of practicing moves.

From the start of the fight, it's practical combat close to real battle. Use whatever works. Swordsmanship doesn't cling to the level of moves at all.

Regarding this, Broly didn't stop or call halt either. The two, not being swordsmanship beginners, obviously don't need comparatively rigid training methods.

Broly wandered around the two sparring, occasionally speaking up to remind them of mistakes in moves, loss of battle rhythm, fully displaying the demeanor of a professional coach.

Regarding this, whether Liu or Ais, both very tacitly, when distracted listening to the Saiyan boy's guidance words, lowered their own attack intensity.

Hmm, not a single interesting development. There's only the waitress Elf miss and the Sword Princess girl, that extremely pure attack-and-defense swordsmanship practical sparring.

Due to the battle's intensity, both tacitly controlled at a level, causing the battle scene to look very spectacular.

If not for Lefiya confirming Ais Xiaojie had no private time these days, she would almost suspect the tavern's waitress miss and her own Ais Xiaojie, whether they'd secretly rehearsed in private.

(Chapter End)