Chapter 265

Chapter 268: The So-Called Pandora Effect (Please Subscribe!)

Izay entered the shop with Ais and Tiona, and Lunowa, the waitress responsible for greeting customers, greeted them with a smile saying “Welcome.”

During this time, the little angel had been complaining that Izay was too slow, and she hadn’t seen him all afternoon.

Inside the tavern, many people of various races were drinking and reveling, almost every spot was filled.

The customers in the shop weren’t exactly decent folks; many came here just to see the waitresses, finding the food more delicious when served by those beautiful young ladies.

But there were also quite a few who kept their eyes on the seats near the windows.

“Whoa…! First-level adventurers from Loki Familia, I’ve never seen them so close before!”

“Look at your incompetence, you’re such a noob! This is my second time seeing them!”

“That’s the [Sword Maiden]!? The one next to her is [Silver Star], right? And there’s [Great Sever]!”

“They even waited at the entrance!? Ugh, I feel like there’s some sour smell!!”

“You can complain all you want, but the latest news from the Guild says that [Silver Star] has already reached Level 5.”

“Nani —!?”

The voices spreading like waves were all filled with fear.

The arrival of Loki Familia as usual caused whispers among the adventurer customers, but the group ignored these sounds without hesitation, being accustomed to it.

“Izay, you took forever to get here today. I was wondering if you were trying to skip out on paying since you promised to treat us～.” Loki raised her glass teasingly.

Izay rolled his eyes: “Just got delayed with something.”

“Eh～? Wasn’t Loki supposed to treat tonight? How did it become Izay’s turn?”

Alisia, the elven older sister, asked in confusion.

“It’s my treat, but I’m just using Izay’s money to pay the bill. What’s the problem with that?”

Loki took a sip of her wine and replied with a grin.

By the way, she had already received the money — about enough to cover a full banquet and still have some left over.

“Ais, did you see that? This goddess is such a cheapskate, promising to treat and then using the Familia’s money to pay.”

Izay pointed at Loki, who was unreasonably bold, tarnishing her image in Ais’s mind.

To be precise, it wasn’t really tarnishing since what Izay said was true.

“Hmm, Loki is indeed a cheapskate.”

“This…”

Faced with the golden-haired natural girl’s response, Loki’s playful movements paused.

Suddenly, the drink in her hand didn’t seem so fragrant anymore!

“Ais! You can’t believe what Izay says! That money was rightfully obtained by me!”

“But… isn’t that still Izay’s…”

“Pfft——!!!”

Loki suffered real damage.

The farce involving the goddess made everyone laugh.

Everyone knew that Izay wasn’t really concerned about the money issue, he was just taking the opportunity to criticize Loki.

Unexpectedly, with Ais’s cooperation, the effect exceeded expectations.

However, upon learning that Izay was treating tonight, some people had ulterior motives.

“Since Izay is treating, I definitely need to eat a lot today! Waitress, please add more dishes!”

“Yes, yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

A certain spiky-haired youth grinned widely and requested additional dishes, while his friend Cruz agreed wholeheartedly.

The two inseparable friends discussed what to order while sitting at the same table, causing Anqi to look at them with disdain.

Around the same time, in the corner of the bar counter where the seats were arranged in a straight line.

Beside a solitary seat facing the wall, a white-haired red-eyed girl sat slouching with a pout, eating her spaghetti with a fork.

She seemed… to have been taken advantage of by a girl she met for the second time…

Claiming to repay a meal’s worth of kindness, insisting on being a bit more generous.

Even though it was given to her willingly, waaah…

While she silently complained, halfway through her spaghetti, she saw a familiar blonde figure enter the shop and suddenly froze.

Unexpectedly entering her field of vision was a familiar blonde figure.

No, maybe there were two?

“Is that… Mr. Izay…?” The girl murmured softly.

When she lived in the village, she once had some contact with him.

Though their village often had travelers or merchants stopping by, and she had seen countless people,

Mr. Izay left a particularly deep impression on her.

Because rarely had she seen her grandfather guard against someone like a thief.

Even though she herself didn’t feel much hostility towards Izay, her grandfather inexplicably guarded against him.

Because of this behavior, Beier remembered Izay very well.

And the blonde girl beside Mr. Izay.

Speaking of which, she thought back to when she was chased by the Minotaur on the fifth floor. It seemed like they were the ones who saved her.

At that time, she was only focused on running away, and when she regained her senses after turning the corner in the maze, she found that the Minotaur had already been defeated. When she turned the corner again to check the situation, all that remained were two silhouettes.

“Miss Beier?”

Beier furrowed her eyebrows, her face showing signs of distraction.

Facing someone she once knew, and also her savior, she wanted to thank them. But she felt that now wasn’t the right time to interrupt.

They obviously looked like they were having a Familia gathering, and she, an outsider, would probably just end up as a laughingstock if she went over now.

“Miss Beier—!”

“Ah, ah!? Yes! I’m here!”

Hiel, the tavern’s signboard girl, called out to Beier for a while, confused, finally bringing her back to reality.

Realizing that she had zoned out during their conversation, Beier appeared somewhat nervous.

“Miss Beier… Do you know Mr. Izay?”

“Eh? Does Miss Hiel know him… well?”

Upon hearing Beier’s words, the silver-haired signboard girl showed a slightly surprised expression.

This response was already equivalent to giving a tacit acknowledgment.

These two actually do know each other!?

But this surprise came and went quickly, Hiel leaned in closer: “We could say we know each other pretty well~ One of my close friends has secretly fallen for him.”

Actually, she herself was quite interested in Izay, but due to various reasons, she couldn’t make a move…

“Fell… Fallen for him—!?”

Such a topic seemed too stimulating for a teenage girl, Beier’s face instantly turned bright red.

“Shh~ Please keep it down, the subject of our conversation is working in the store. If she hears…”

Hiel didn’t finish her sentence, but Beier already understood the implication.

It definitely wouldn’t end well!

So she nodded seriously and lowered her voice, joining the ranks of whispering with the nearby Miss Hiel.