The Hostess of Fertility deserved its reputation.
The roasted meat was lightly charred outside but remained tender within.
The soup was rich.
Fresh bread absorbed the stew perfectly.
Lelouch immediately understood why the tavern filled every evening.
Mia continued watching from behind the counter.
Every time Lelouch slowed down, she looked toward him as though reminding him of her earlier threat.
That alone was enough to keep him eating.
“You look like you’re facing an enemy,” Alice said.
“I’m evaluating whether my body is physically capable of accommodating this much food.”
“You used your brain enough today to deserve the extra energy.”
“The brain does not convert unlimited quantities of food into useful energy.”
“If you can still talk, you can still eat!”
Lelouch began to suspect Alice and Mia had studied logic under the same teacher.
As the Familia talked and laughed, a young waitress emerged from the back carrying another tray of drinks.
Soft ash-gray hair.
Eyes of the same color.
A gentle face.
And a smile that seemed to warm the space around her naturally.
“Sorry for the wait.
Here are your additional drinks.”
She approached the table.
Then saw Lelouch.
Her steps stopped.
Less than a second.
So brief that an ordinary observer might have assumed she had simply stumbled.
But to a being who had spent an existence far longer than any mortal life observing the radiance of countless souls—
That instant felt strangely long.
She noticed his appearance first.
Black hair.
Violet eyes.
An elegance that did not come from his clothing, but seemed woven into every movement.
Then—
By instinct—
Her gaze attempted to look deeper.
Every other time, a mortal soul had revealed its color to her.
Pure.
Clouded.
Burning.
Beautiful.
Fractured.
No one could hide such things from the eyes of the goddess who ceaselessly searched for beauty within the soul.
But this time—
No color appeared.
What waited behind those violet eyes was not emptiness.
It was a door.
Pitch-black.
Closed directly in front of her.
And engraved upon that door was a will so absolute that no language was required to understand it.
Permission denied.
The gaze of a goddess—
Was refused.
Not blocked.
Not resisted.
Refused as though her divine nature had never possessed the right to touch what lay beyond that threshold in the first place.
The tray in Syr’s hands tilted.
Lelouch reached out automatically and caught the glass that was about to fall.
“Careful.”
His voice dragged her back into the bright tavern.
Syr blinked.
“Thank you.”
Lelouch returned the glass to the tray.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.
I only…”
She stopped.
Then looked at him again.
This time, she limited herself to his visible face—
As an ordinary girl should.
“…was a little surprised.”
“Syr stopped walking because she was staring at Lelouch so hard she almost dropped the drinks!”
Lyra’s cheerful voice came from the table.
The Prum rested her chin in one hand, openly enjoying herself.
“Lyra…”
Syr sounded helpless.
Neze covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
“You really did stop walking, Syr.
Our new member’s face must be impressive.”
“I’ve simply never seen him before.”
“Plenty of handsome adventurers come through this tavern every day,” Kaguya added.
“You rarely stare at any of them for this long.”
Every member at the table turned toward Syr.
Alice folded her arms.
Then moved slightly closer to Lelouch with a teasing smile.
“Sorry, Syr.
I’m afraid we can’t give him away.”
“I am not property belonging to the Familia,” Lelouch protested.
“He’s our first male member,” Alice continued as though she had heard nothing.
“I had to go all the way into the street and pick him up myself, so naturally we have to take good care of him.”
“Please stop describing me as though you adopted a stray animal.”
The Amazoness raised her mug.
“If Syr wants him, she should at least pass our test first.”
“There is no such test.”
Lyra grinned.
“Or we could lend him out by the hour.”
“Stop trying to generate revenue from my existence.”
Ryu set down her spoon.
“Everyone should stop talking as though Lelouch were an object.”
Her voice was calm but firm.
“He has the right to make his own decisions.”
“That’s our Ryu!”
Alice gave her a thumbs-up.
Lelouch nodded in agreement.
Then Ryu turned toward Syr.
“However, he has only just arrived in Orario and is unfamiliar with the city.”
Her expression remained completely serious.
“If anyone wishes to invite him somewhere, the Familia should be informed first.”
Lelouch slowly turned his head.
“How is that materially different from what everyone else just said?”
The tips of Ryu’s ears twitched.
“It’s a security measure.”
Syr laughed softly.
“It seems you’re being very well looked after.”
“Excessively well in certain respects.”
She smiled.
“I’m Syr.”
“Syr Flova.”
“Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility.”
“Lelouch.”
He inclined his head.
“A pleasure to meet you.”
Their eyes met again.
Syr did not attempt to use a goddess’s sight a second time.
Even so—
Lelouch sensed that the young woman was interested in something beyond his appearance.
It did not feel like simple admiration.
It felt more like—
A collector encountering an artifact that should not exist.
“Is there something on my face?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then what are you looking for?”
The blunt question interrupted Syr’s smile for the smallest fraction of a second.
Then it became even more beautiful.
“Perhaps I’m trying to read your story.”
“I’m afraid that particular book has lost a considerable number of pages.”
“A book whose ending you don’t know is more interesting than one you’ve already finished, isn’t it?”
Lelouch fell silent.
There was more weight in that sentence than the words alone should have carried.
Before he could press further—
Mia’s voice thundered from behind the counter.
“Syr!
If you’ve got time to stand around talking to a boy, then you’ve got time to take food to table six!”
“I’m coming, Mama Mia!”
Syr flinched slightly.
Then bowed to the table.
“I’m sorry.
I was rude and stared for too long.”
She smiled at Lelouch.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
“It’s fine.”
Syr turned and returned to work.
Her gentle smile remained.
Yet in the brief instant before she stepped beyond the lamplight—
Something far more intense appeared in those gray eyes.
Not the embarrassment of a girl who had met an attractive young man.
Fascination.
The desire of a goddess who had found something even she could not see through.
None of the other members noticed.
Alice was laughing at something Lyra had said.
Kaguya was trying to take a pitcher away from Neze.
Ryu was staring with great determination at her food, unwilling to admit how much attention she had paid to the previous exchange.
Lelouch returned to dealing with the mountain of meat Mia had ordered him to finish.
Only Astraea noticed.
The goddess of justice remained seated at the head of the table, her familiar gentle smile unchanged.
She knew who the girl called Syr truly was.
She knew that behind the appearance of an ordinary waitress hid the gaze of a goddess commanding one of Orario’s most powerful Familias.
And she knew very well what could attract that goddess’s attention.
Astraea had already seen the Skill written upon Lelouch’s Status.
God-Opposer.
Divine authority could not touch his body, mind, or soul without his consent.
Apparently—
That law also extended to a goddess’s ability to perceive the beauty of a soul.
Freya had not seen what lay inside Lelouch.
And because she could not see it—
She wanted to see it even more.
Astraea raised her cup and took a quiet sip.
She did not expose Syr’s identity.
She did not confront her.
And she would not allow concern to ruin a night in which her children were happy.
But deep within her eyes—
Caution quietly intensified.
If Freya had merely been interested in Lelouch’s face, there would have been little cause for concern.
That gaze had not stopped at his appearance.
It had reached toward whatever lay sealed behind it.
And Astraea knew the goddess of beauty well enough to understand—
Things Freya could not easily possess often became the things she desired most.
Astraea gently placed one hand on Lelouch’s shoulder.
The young man turned.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“Eat properly.
You’ve worked hard today.”
Lelouch regarded her with mild suspicion.
He chose not to ask.
“Understood.”
The celebration continued.
By the time a second pitcher arrived, Alice had begun retelling the negotiation—
With increasingly fictional details.
“And then Lelouch slammed both hands on the table and said, ‘Surrender!'”
“I neither struck the table nor said anything remotely similar.”
“But your face basically said it,” Lyra argued.
“Then the Budget Department head turned white like he’d seen a monster from the deep floors!” Alice continued.
“He was merely displeased by the amount I requested.”
“And in the end, Royman got on his knees and begged you to accept twenty-four million!”
“This story is diverging from reality at an alarming rate.”
The entire table burst into laughter.
Even Kaguya failed to completely hide her smile.
Lelouch shook his head.
This time—
He stopped attempting to correct them.
Conversation.
Warm food.
Golden lamplight.
People gathered around one table without anyone fearing betrayal before the night ended.
Something warm began to form inside his chest.
Then—
Another image surfaced.
A large room inside some kind of academy.
A long table covered in documents and snacks.
A pink-haired girl laughing. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
A tall young man who loved competition shouting loudly.
A brown-haired girl carrying a tray of food.
And someone with long black hair sitting not far from him.
Everyone was smiling.
Then the entire scene turned red.
Blood.
The sensation of a blade passing through his body.
Lelouch’s fingers tightened around his cup.
The memory shattered again.
“Lelouch?”
Ryu’s voice pulled him back.
He realized several people were watching him.
“I’m fine.”
“Another headache?”
“I remembered something for a moment.”
Alice set down her cup.
“Good or bad?”
Lelouch looked around at the members of the Familia.
The memory hurt.
But before blood had swallowed it—
Those people really had been laughing.
“I’m not sure.”
It was the most honest answer he could give.
Astraea did not force him to dig deeper.
She merely raised her cup.
“Then create more good memories first.”
Her gaze softened.
“One day, when everything returns, those new memories may keep you from having to stand alone with the old ones.”
Lelouch looked at the goddess.
Her kindness still reminded him of someone whose name he could not call.
Someone whose belief in compassion may have looked like weakness—
Yet who had been braver than countless people carrying weapons.
“I’ll try.”
“Not just try!”
Alice shoved her mug upward.
“You have to enjoy yourself too.
That’s an order from your captain!”
“Does a captain possess authority over matters such as personal enjoyment?”
“Of course!”
“No rule says that,” Ryu observed.
“Then I’ll write one tomorrow!”
Lyra raised her hand.
“I propose another rule.
Any member who makes the atmosphere gloomy has to buy sweets for everyone.”
“You’re searching for another excuse to make me pay for things.”
“See?
You’re already understanding Familia rules.”
Laughter rose again.
This time—
The corner of Lelouch’s mouth lifted before he realized it.
Only a faint smile.
But Alice saw.
“Everyone!
Lelouch smiled!”
The smile disappeared instantly.
“Please don’t announce it.”
“Ryu, did you see?
He really smiled just now!”
“I saw.”
A faint smile appeared on Ryu’s lips as well.
“If all of you continue treating this as a major event, I will return to the manor.”
Alice immediately caught his sleeve.
“No!
Dessert isn’t here yet!”
As though summoned by those words, Syr returned carrying a large fruit pie drizzled with honey.
“Dessert for this table.”
Lyra checked the menu.
“We didn’t order that.”
“It’s my gift to celebrate your new member.”
Syr placed the pie directly in front of Lelouch.
He looked at the dessert.
Then at her.
“I dislike accepting things without understanding the reason.”
“The reason is simple.”
Syr smiled.
“I wanted to welcome a new adventurer—and thank you for making the city a little safer.”
“All I did today was negotiate a contract.”
“Sometimes words save more lives than swords.”
Lelouch could not deny that.
“Then thank you.”
Syr smiled in satisfaction.
Before she could say anything else—
Lelouch cut the pie into equal portions for every Familia member and distributed them around the table.
“A gift welcoming a Familia member should be shared with the Familia.”
Syr looked at the final piece remaining in front of Lelouch.
A trace of disappointment passed through her eyes—
Then disappeared beneath the same gentle smile.
“You really are a fair person.”
“This is primarily a defensive measure to prevent everyone from fighting over my portion.”
“You made the right decision!” Neze declared, already eating hers.
Mia shouted from behind the counter.
“Syr!
Stop inventing excuses to give away desserts and get back to work!”
“Yes!”
Syr bowed and hurried away once more.
Astraea followed her with her eyes for only a moment.
Then returned her attention to her children with a smile.
She would say nothing tonight.
But from this point onward—
Allowing Lelouch to wander the city alone would probably not be wise.
And not merely because he was weak.
He had already drawn the attention of someone more dangerous than most monsters inside the Dungeon.
….
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….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it