Chapter 266

Chapter 269: Ais: I Want It All! (Please Subscribe!)

While sharing laughter with his companions and enjoying the feast, Izay could feel many gazes observing him.

Fear, curiosity, envy, jealousy…

Among them, there was one gaze that was different from the surroundings.

A gaze that was almost straightforward, or rather, completely incapable of concealing its observation.

At the corner of the bar corresponding to the window-side seat, two young girls were staring at him, discussing something in shock.

One had white hair and red eyes, looking gentle and easy to bully.

The other had light silver hair; it was the familiar waitress Hiel.

To be honest, the distance wasn’t far. Chatting with Ais earlier hadn’t drawn attention, but now that he noticed, it was effortless for Izay to hear their conversation clearly.

The protagonist of the discussion was himself…

And it seemed they had noticed Izay looking over. Hiel waved and greeted him with a smile.

However, Beier wasn’t as composed.

Upon noticing Izay turning around, she immediately panicked. Her mind went blank, unsure of what to do, displaying all the signs of someone caught in an act of voyeurism.

Izay didn’t think much of it, smiling at the two girls and waving slightly, saying, “Long time no see~”

An obviously double entendre.

Even Beier could pick up on the meaning, making her cheeks flush even redder. She lowered her head, pretending to be an ostrich and not speaking.

Hiel looked at Izay, her silver eyes conveying a meaningful glance.

Their exchange ended there temporarily.

Izay wouldn’t deliberately leave his seat during such a Familial Group gathering to greet them. After all, their relationship wasn’t very close; they were merely acquaintances.

Doing so would always end awkwardly.

If he chatted briefly and left, it would seem too arrogant and awkward. If he continued chatting, he would neglect his companions.

Thus, this kind of brief exchange was the best approach.

“Do you know them, Izay?”

Noticing Izay’s actions, Tiona glanced in Beier’s direction and curiously asked.

“Yeah, I know them. Just acquainted.”

“Uh… Haruhi, did you understand that?”

Tiona, whose brain hadn’t caught up yet, looked at the fox girl beside her.

Before Haruhi could respond, Izay sighed again, “It’s like we’ve met once, just exchanged names. Got it?”

“Oh—! Understood!”

“Hehehe~” Suddenly, Loki laughed. She swirled her wine glass, sitting improperly on the wooden chair: “Is that really true, Izay? I saw that young girl’s face turn bright red?”

Generally, that means she has feelings for you, right? The mischievous Deity added.

“Go away, Loki. She’s just naturally shy. Stop fabricating things out of thin air, or your drinking money will be gone this month!”

“Cough cough, sorry, I got carried away~!”

With her lifeline in someone else’s hands, Loki had no choice but to bow her head.

As an alcoholic, is there anything worse than not being able to drink?

Nope!

Especially now, since Izay was footing the bill for the alcohol, even the bartender had withdrawn funding and stopped caring about these matters.

If Izay didn’t pay, then she really wouldn’t have any alcohol to drink.

After careful consideration, Loki shamefully chose to bow to money.

“Judging by her appearance, she should be a new Adventurer, right? When did you meet her, Izay?” Tione tried to curry favor but was pushed aside by the group leader. Finding no topic, she asked casually.

“Before I came to Orario~” Izay used the same excuse he told Ais to deal with these people.

This satisfied their curiosity while also closing the matter.

The conversation returned to normal, and everyone began chatting idly with their friends, sharing expedition stories centered around Loki.

Worth mentioning:

Bert, the embarrassing werewolf, got drunk halfway through. Despite being a top-tier Level 5 Adventurer, his tolerance was terrible.

When he was thoroughly drunk, he gave a vivid performance of “What happens when someone with poor drinking manners gets drunk.”

This time, Beier had no reason to be dragged into it and instead became one of the audience members watching the show. Alongside the slacking waitress Hiel, they watched with great interest.

The process was truly hard to describe in words.

In short, this wolf was dragged out by Gress and Izay, each holding one leg, under the farewell of the tavern staff.

Sigh, such a high-and-mighty werewolf, yet cursed with a mouth.

Whether talking or drinking, it’s truly indescribable!

“Old man, isn’t that right?” Izay expressed his sigh to Gress, seeking his opinion.

“Ah… actually, Bert’s heart isn’t bad. He’s just what you and Loki often say… tsundere, yeah, just a bit tsundere.” Gress stroked his beard with his free hand.

Although everyone didn’t know how Bert developed this personality (except for the three major figures and Loki), they could all sense that his heart wasn’t bad, just overly sharp-tongued.

This caused Bert to be respected more within the Familial Group.

Of course… there were also Amazon-style arguments due to his incompatible zodiac sign, leading to merciless ridicule and mockery now.

“Bert looks so funny! Will he go into seclusion when he wakes up tomorrow and realizes he was dragged home?”

“Pfft—! Feels like it might happen~”

“……Hehe.”

Tiona, Tione, and Refia couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Especially the sisters, clutching their stomachs, tears almost streaming down.

The second army members around them were trying to suppress their laughter, their faces turning red, looking quite painful.

During the dragging process, Bert didn’t feel much and even started snoring~

It’s not that they wanted to laugh, but they really couldn’t help it…

Unfortunately, there was nothing here to record video.

Otherwise, Izay would definitely keep this black history, perhaps using it when needed? (Add meme.jpg)

The next day, Izay resumed his normal routine, continuing morning practice with Ais.

The transcendence and qualitative change brought by breaking through Level 5 can be familiarized with fastest through combat.

Especially with both “Mind Eye” and “Intuition” activated, combined with the substantial accumulation of latent Ability Values.

Even if Ais was nearing the edge of level transcendence, with Strength and Durability reaching S, Agility and Dexterity breaking SS, Magic Power even reaching 3S levels, she was still firmly suppressed by Izay.

But the girl hoped Izay was stronger than her.

Being able to feel pressure was best.

Pressure leads to improvement, and Ais knew this truth well.

Ais didn’t have much to say about Izay surpassing her in strength.

Not because of anything else, just simply, nothing.

Because it’s Izay… so Ais could accept it.

And no matter how strong Izay becomes, it’s still his personal thing, unrelated to her.

The necessary training must continue, improvements need to be made, exploring the Dungeon needs to proceed, and “Adventuring” is the same!

She, Ais — wants it all! (Claw grip.jpg)