Chapter 37: Hestia: Promise Me It's Only for Bathroom Use.
.....
Kihara came back to the surface with twenty bottles of Joja Cola, collected Aiz and the others, and headed for the Hostess of Fertility. The moment he walked through the door, he met Ryuu's gaze — the specific look of someone who had correctly predicted the next event and was privately pleased about it.
It wasn't peak service hours. The rest of the staff had no legitimate reason to intercept the table before Ryuu could, and were quietly struggling with this fact when she solved the problem by simply walking over first.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility. You're early today, Mr. Kihara."
"I need a word with Proprietor Mia. Hestia — find us a table, I'll be right back. Miss Ryuu, could you take me through?"
"Of course. This way."
She brought him to the kitchen. Mia had just set down her cleaver and turned to assess the visitor with the unhurried attention she gave to everything.
"What does the famous Mr. Kihara want to discuss?"
"At least this isn't Night City, or that would sound like a threat..."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. I'd like to propose a supply arrangement with the Hostess of Fertility. A carbonated sugar water. Unusual product."
He produced a bottle of Joja Cola from under his cloak and set it on the preparation table. Mia examined it with clear scepticism.
"Mr. Kihara, I'm not in the habit of selling beverages of unknown origin."
"I can only tell you it came from a hidden area of the dungeon. The safety I can vouch for personally."
"The dungeon..."
Mia glanced toward Syr at the pass-through window. A small nod came back. Her expression shifted.
"Even so — I don't see why adventurers would want sugar water."
"Try it first."
He opened the bottle. Ryuu produced two wooden cups, and he divided it between them.
Mia contemplated the dark, faintly fizzing liquid for a moment, then tipped the cup back.
"Pfft — cough cough—"
"Proprietor — are you alright?!"
The noise from the kitchen drew the front-of-house staff in one by one. Mia wiped her mouth and pointed at the untouched second cup.
"Someone try this. Fair warning — it does something unusual to your mouth."
They looked at each other, negotiated briefly, and divided the remaining cup into five portions.
"It feels like lightning magic hit my tongue, meow~"
"Strange. But I want another sip."
"I think it would go perfectly with fried chicken."
The consensus was cautiously positive. Novel, memorable, worth trying on the regular menu.
Mia and Kihara settled on a revenue split. Official sales would begin the following week — the current supply wasn't sufficient to meet even the minimum daily drink volume for a busy service.
He rejoined Hestia, Lili, and Aiz at their table and distributed three bottles.
"New drink I sourced. Try a sip first — see how you feel about it."
Hestia sipped, immediately furrowed her brows, and held the bottle back out to him. "I don't think this is for me. Kihara, finish it."
"Sure."
Lili watched her chief deity execute this small manoeuvre — a sip from the bottle, which was then passed to Kihara's lips — and spent a moment in silent criticism of her own reflexes. The opportunity had been right there.
"Here are your dishes. Two more are still on the fire — just say the word if you need anything."
Ryuu set the last plate down and didn't notice the bottle that had been left underneath it on the tray. Chloe spotted it and was drawing breath to call out when Kihara reached over first, his hand resting lightly over the back of Ryuu's.
"One moment — there's a bottle under there. Let me move it."
"Oh — thank you."
"Not at all."
Chloe stood very still for a moment, then moved to her colleagues at a speed that suggested urgency.
"Meow — I just saw something extraordinary. Kihara touched the back of Ryuu's hand. And she said nothing."
"...Seriously?"
"That's — that's not possible, is it?"
Their reaction was proportionate to what it meant. Ryuu's policy regarding physical contact was well established among the staff — no one touches me unless I've decided I accept them, carried without exception and enforced without explanation. A hand on the back of her hand, no reaction, no comment: something had happened between those two that none of them had been present for.
"Sleepover tonight. We're asking Ryuu directly."
"Agreed."
Mia shook her silver bell from across the room with the patience of someone who has done this many times.
"Food. Now."
"Mia's going to actually be angry—"
"Moving, moving—"
After dinner, Aiz produced an invitation with characteristic directness.
"Kihara. We're planning a deep expedition. Do you want to join?"
"Excuse me — Lady Aiz — Lili and Lady Hestia are sitting right here, you can't just say that and expect us not to respond." Lili's eyes had sharpened. "Why would the Loki Familia want Lord Kihara on their expedition?"
"Riveria said deep expeditions sometimes produce conditions for Heroic Feats. Kihara's combat level is approximately equivalent to Level 5. He'd function well as an auxiliary."
"Auxiliary..." Lili's index finger and thumb began their familiar rubbing motion, and a particular smile appeared. "Meaning the Loki Familia would be offering appropriate compensation in falis?"
Kihara had no particular objection to joining an expedition, but the expression on his treasurer's face gave him the distinct feeling of being sold by his own strategist. He reached over and pinched her cheek.
"Since when are you this mercenary?"
"Lord Kihara spends money like he's breathing, and our monthly balance is consistently negative. Lili has to generate income wherever she can."
"...Fair point."
"Lili-san — you won't be coming along?"
Lili shook her head with visible reluctance.
"A Loki Familia deep expedition isn't something a Level 1 supporter joins casually."
Hestia registered the absence of her designated monitoring unit and recalculated her position. Her infidelity sensor had been producing intermittent readings in Aiz's direction since the beginning of the evening, and she was not inclined to dismiss them.
She is definitely still plotting something regarding my Kihara.
"Kihara..."
"What?"
"Promise me—" She arranged her expression into something approximating innocent appeal, which failed to fully conceal what she was actually about to say. "—that during the expedition, your black flame dragon is only used for bathroom purposes."
He stared at her for a moment, then flicked her on the forehead.
"I'm going to do actual dungeon work. This isn't a recreational trip to the Ishtar Familia's entertainment district."
Aiz's face set immediately. "Kihara. The entertainment district isn't somewhere you should go."
"Lili strongly agrees with Miss Aiz. Lord Kihara — please, under no circumstances, visit the entertainment district."
"The topic was the expedition. How did we arrive at 'I want to visit the entertainment district'?"
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Thank you for reading.