Chapter 6: Blonde Airhead
"You know, I have to call you something. As much as I would love to strip you of your individuality by continuing to refer to you as 'the voice in my head,' it's getting really annoying and long."
Bete was currently walking towards the Loki Familia house, feeling a lot better after his session with Airmid.
Why was he heading towards the Loki Familia? Well...
20 Minutes Ago
⌜ "Hey, which Familia is the best?"
"Obviously the Loki Familia!"
"Thanks. Beat it." ⌟
Present
Okay, that wasn't the whole reason he was heading there. He wasn't that anxious to join a Familia. Despite his initial drive to join a Familia as fast as possible to maximize his benefits, Bete wasn't about to dive headfirst into a Familia he barely knew about and contract his soul away to a God that he also didn't know anything about.
The conclusion he came to was: just go with it.
'If I join a Familia, good. If I can join the Loki Familia, great. If not, I can just beg Freya or something. .'
'Truly inspirational advice,' the voice sarcastically responded.
Furthermore, it wasn't like he had absolutely no information on the Loki Familia other than their strength. Yesterday, while asking her questions, he had conversed with Airmid about some of the best Familias that he could join.
According to her words, someone like him who could fight, without any Falna, head to head against a Level 1 Adventurer could easily get in any Familia. She had strongly recommended the Loki Familia over the Freya Familia. After hearing that Freya herself had approached him, Airmid was quite adamant about that.
"Don't you dare think about it, okay? It's for your own good."
"The Loki Familia, while it does have its flaws, is a stable, powerful Familia that can match the Freya Familia in terms of strength and gains. They visit here quite often so I can guarantee their quality and morality."
So with all of that information, Bete decided that paying Twilight Manor a visit couldn't hurt. Of course, he was told that they weren't currently recruiting but he could give a rat's ass about that.
Meanwhile, he was struggling coming up with a suitable name for this mystery in his head.
'I already have a name.'
"Then what is it?"
'. . . I can't tell you.'
"Then you don't have one. Okay, let's brainstorm. What kind of names suit you..."
'A grand, majestic name befitting someone of my stature!'
"Dark and moody... What about Blackie?"
'Hell no.'
"Blacker?"
'No. And don't you dare recommend Blackest.'
"Blackadore?"
'No!'
"검둥이?"
'Please stop...'
"Doggie-O?"
'What makes you think I'm a dog?'
"Wait was I right? I just guessed because you bark like a bitch."
'. . . what about something that starts with an F?'
"Fromage Fucker?"
'. . . '
"El Negro?"
'You really love toeing the edge, don't you.'
"Okay, Blackie it is."
'#$666%$69#$420&'
Bete hummed pleasantly, ignoring the cuss-fest from Blackie going on in his head.
'That's one thing off my to-do list.'
'Anything would have been better than Blackie at the very least. Racist and stereotypical in one word.'
'Aw shucks.'
'That wasn't a compliment!'
'Oh... so you're dissatisfied with your name?'
Bete's dark honey eyes gleamed with a dangerous glint.
'I have so many more ideas...'
'On second thought, Blackie is a great name. Blackie is very thankful for Bete-sama's impeccable naming capabilities! Arf, arf!'
'Glad to hear it.'
Suddenly, Bete paused, his pupils dilating as he sensed something.
Sniff
The Werewolf smelled a familiar scent that warmed his soul.
"Jagamarukun..."
His stomach did happy front flips at the mere fragrance. No, not just front flips, it was doing a fucking parkour track and a gymnastic routine at the same time.
'I'm starting to think you might be addicted. Did they put some drug in those snacks? They were OFDA approved, right? (Orario Food and Drug Administration)'
Before he knew it, the Werewolf was already in front of the cart, his tail wagging behind him.
[Welcome To Jagamarukun's!]
(Each order is 12 Jagamarukuns. No refunds or returns, Enjoy!)
Jagamarukun - V 300
Spicy Jagamarukun - V 320
Cheese Jagamarukun - V 320
Sweet Filling Jagamarukun - V 320
Vegetarian Jagamarukun - V 330 (Recommended by the Demeter Familia!)
Herb Cream Jagamarukun - V330
Deluxe Jagamarukun - V 350
All You Can Eat Jagamarukun - V 1,000
'They added more items? No, it's probably because it's a different location.'
Bete licked his lips.
'What should I try this time... maybe the cheese? The spicy one also looked good... Ah, fuck it. I can make more money when I join a Familia. Prudence is the enemy of happiness, some say.'
'No one has ever said that.'
Drool was starting to form a small lake at his feet, and Bete's tail was wagging so fast he looked like he could achieve liftoff.
"Gimme one of everything," he barked.
The store worker, who was a different woman compared to the crazy food-chucker from last time, gently smiled and pointed towards the menu.
"If you want everything, why don't you try the All You Can Eat Jagamarukun? This way, you can have as many Jagamarukuns as you want with only 1,000 valis!"
"Say no more."
Bete slipped her a dull platina and took a seat on one of the stools off to the side. there was an entire side filled with one long food stand a long table which he assumed was for the All You Can Eat option.
Rubbing his hands together, Bete eagerly started to eye the various Jagamarukuns lying on many plates inside a food stand. Despite his immense hunger, he noticed a strange red light coming from inside of the food stand.
'What a weird gadget. Is it to warm up the food? It looks like it's powered some kind of crystal. Is that what Airmid was talking about?'
The store worker noticed his look and laughed.
"Looks like you're interested in this little thing, eh? The Goibniu Familia sells many of these kinds of nifty items for venders on the street. This one specifically warms up food using the monster crystal of a Hellhound. Of course, other monster crystals can also power this device, but something like a Hellhound crystal works the most effectively. There's also a cooling device, lamps, cooking stoves, water purifiers, all kinds of things."
'So that's why the guild pays for monster crystals. I guess it makes sense.'
But the time of thinking was long gone. Now was the time to devour.
Right as he was about to reach for a particularly plump plate of Cheese Jagamarukuns, a blonde flash passed by the corner of his eyes.
Thump!
"Eh?"
Right next to him, someone had face planted onto the brick floor. He peered down to spot... a little girl with her head buried in the ground.
'Is she okay?'
Emerging from a small cloud of dust, the fallen figure had long blonde hair reaching down to her hips. She looked thin, her blue pants tight around legs that looked malnourished. Otherwise, she wore a simple black dress that reached down to her knees.
All in all, her appearance made him wonder what she was doing collapsed in front of a food cart.
'What the Goldilocks?'
"Hey."
Bete toed her side with a boot.
"You okay down there?"
The corpse gave no response.
"Aight. Cool."
It wasn't his problem.
'You truly are scum.'
'Shut up Blackie, I'm hungry. Don't make me eat you too.'
'I still resent that name.'
'Well get used to it because you're going to hear it for the rest of your life.'
Bete grabbed the plate he was eyeing, then snatched two more off the racks at lightning speed.
Right as he touched the warm, crunchy crust and brought it up to his mouth...
GRUMBLE
'...'
GRUMBLE GRUMBLE
"food..."
A tiny voice came from under the table clashing with the thunderous uproar that he assumed came from her stomach.
When Bete looked down from his food, his gaze was met with two bright golden orbs filled with an unsteady light. Despite her rough appearance, her features were truly perfection. Shapely lips, button nose, two cute ears, meticulously curved eyebrows. Like a doll. For a moment, neither of them talked, merely staring at each other.
GRUMBLE
Bete's gaze moved down to her slim belly that looked much too small.
"You hungry, runt?"
The girl didn't seem to mind his language. Or maybe her name was runt.
'I would take Runt over Blackie-'
'What was that?'
'Nothing...'
For a few seconds, she stared at him a bit more. Then, with a small nod, little Goldilocks clambered up on a stool that stood taller than her shoulders.
The worker, noticing what they were doing, walked over with a stern gaze.
"I'm sorry, dear customer. The All You Can Eat option only applies to one customer..."
The little girl whipped around towards her, golden eyes quivering.
"B-but I can make a special occasion for today!"
"!"
Her eyes shone like diamonds, showering the woman with a warm feeling.
'Ah... what a wonderful child,' she thought. 'What if I put her in a Jagamarukun costume? That would be...'
"KYAA~"
The worker ran away squealing in delight, leaving two confused kids.
Still, they now had full access to an entire food stand's worth of all kinds of Jagamarukun.
"..."
The girl seemed to still be hesitant, looking towards Bete for his permission to start eating.
"Come on, eat. Here."
Bete pulled another plate of Jagamarukuns, this one a normal plate, and offered her one of the bigger, crunchier ones.
"F-food!"
Stretching her tiny mouth as wide as possible, she leaned over and chomped down on the snack, still leaving a good half of the Jagamarukun left in his hands. The cute action left her mouth filled to the brim, inflating her cheeks like a squirrel.
"Mmm!"
Her eyes seemed to shine even brighter, awakening a Jagamarukun love that would grow to unparalleled heights.
"Good, right?!"
Bete, personally, was delighted that he found a partner to share his love of this delicious potato snack.
"Yeah!"
The girl only paused to say one word before jumping into the plate of good.
Unwilling to be left behind, Bete also dug in to his three plates.
'Oh, that one's delicious! The cheese oozes through the cracks! You can tell they definitely filled it up all the way. Damn, the sweetness in this one is just right! It fills your mouth with deliciousness! The spicy one burns my mouth but it tastes way too good!!!'
Together, with just the two of them, they finished an entire half of the cart before they stopped, rubbing their bloated stomaches while collapsed on the stools.
"What the hell..."
"Monsters!"
"How in the world?!"
Passerby's stared in both horror and awe at the sheer number of plates stacked on top of each other in about a dozen white mountains surrounding the table.
'Thank goodness they finally stopped... I thought we were going to lose our business.'
Standing in fear a good distance away, the worker stared at the monstrous duo. She had realized her mistake too late. Still, she pulled out a pen and began scribbling over their menu poster.
'Are you done?'
Blackie sounded a little annoyed at the fact that they were enjoying a bountiful meal he couldn't even taste.
"I think so..." Buuuuurp.
"Jaga... kun..."
Aiz also looked like she was going to fall into a coma.
"Okay, I think it's time to go."
Bete pulled the girl up on her little feet and off the stool, dragging her away from the terrified pedestrians.
.
.
.
As the two walked north towards where he assumed Twilight Manor was, Bete tried warm up to the strange little girl, who he had bonded with over Jagamarukun of all things.
"You got somewhere to go? Someone looking for you?"
The cold expression she immediately switched to answered his question for her.
'You truly have developed an art of stepping on landmines.'
'Thanks. They call me J. Ro-Bete Oppenheimer.'
'Oppai Hammer?'
Bete didn't bother responding.
"O-okay, never mind. Why don't you tell me why you collapsed in front of me?"
"I was hungry."
"Uh huh."
The girl stared at him blankly.
"And?"
"That's... it?"
Bete blinked, wondering if this girl was okay in the head.
'Ah... she's a complete airhead, isn't she?'
"Okay, moving past that: what are you going to do now? Any goals?"
Her eyes darkened, gaining a far more serious demeanor.
"I'm... I'm trying to get stronger, no, I will get stronger."
His eyes widened at the eerily similar words.
"I have something to kill. So I need to get stronger as fast as possible."
The Werewolf grinned, baring his fangs in approval at the words that might make another adult frown in concern for the little girl.
"What a coincidence. I have a bastard in my life I need to kill as well. You got a Familia, pipsqueak?"
She shook her head, "I'm going to see the Loki Familia."
"What the hell? I'm going there too!"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Hey, what's your name?"
"Ais Wallenstein."
"Mine's Bete Loga. I'm guessing you just recently arrived in Orario as well?"
Ais nodded.
"I guess we're going in the same direction then. Wanna tag along?"
She continued to bob her head up and down like a broken doll.
Usually, Aiz would have been much more wary and cold, but the introduction to Jagamarukun convinced her that Bete had to be a good person.
"All right. Twilight Manor should just be ahead of us based on what I've been told."
Bete squinted at a strange blob in the distance.
"That could be it."
Listening to his words, the blonde confidently strode forward, her long hair trailing behind.
"Oh, and one more thing..."
"?"
"When they say 'All You Can Eat,'" he said, producing a large bag. "They mean all you can eat."
Bete popped the lid open, revealing all kinds of Jagamarukun leftovers that he had shoved haphazardly into the container.
"Waaaaa!"
Ais cheered brightly, memorizing his sacramental words, reaching for another nugget.
Bete yanked the box away from her grasp and shoved it back in his bag. When Ais tried to run up to him, he pushed a finger against her forehead, not letting her get any closer.
"Nah, not right now. I'm saving this for later. Besides you just ate yourself to death like 10 minutes ago."
"A-ah, no..." she mewled, pawing at him despite her short arms proving it futile.
The Werewolf flinched at her unbearably shining eyes looking at him with expectations of a delicious, golden brown treat. However, he had learned from Airmid. He refused to face her dark sorcery.
'She's like a needy puppy...'
'How ironic.'
"I-I don't have anymore, idiot. Go buy some yourself if you're that desperate."
Her invisible Chienthrope ears drooped almost tangibly, her downcast gaze shooting down to the floor.
"Hmph!"
With a pout, Ais kicked a pebble on the ground that somehow bounced off a street lamp and hit her in the forehead.
"Owww!"
'. . . is this girl for real?'
'Hey, stop goofing around. You've arrived.'
Caught up in their conversation, the Werewolf hadn't even realized he had arrived at Twilight Manor. Indeed, it was a grand castle that suited one of the top Familia in Orario.
"Needlessly big..." he muttered.
'Now, where's the front door?'
Luckily, they were saved from having to run around the entire manor to search for the entrance by a loud noise.
Crash!
.
.
.
From a large plume of smoke, like an action hero, a familiar man with wavy blonde hair emerged with a determined look.
On the other side, a stout, muscular dwarf with a face full of dark hair slung a large warhammer over his shoulder.
"That was the last warning. D'you realize what becoming an Adventurer means? This is what kind of danger you'll face in the dungeon. Now fer the last time, you can't join us, lad."
"No."
The man resolutely shook his head.
Dain sighed, it wasn't the first time the foolish opponent had responded this way.
"I can't with you, lad. I smacked you into a building for Zeus' sake!"
"I refuse your refusal! I already visited the Dian Cecht Familia, Freya Familia, Vidar Familia, Astraea Familia, Baldr Familia, Samira Familia, Hermes Familia, and many other Familias, but none of them let me in!"
The man was on the verge of tears now.
"I've been emasculated, insulted for being a human, stepped on like a stool, and been called a pig, cow, horny dog, virgin bastard, three-inch fool, motherless *******, soy boy, and an egg. Please, I have nowhere else to go!"
The dwarf massaged his forehead, in both confusion and weariness.
'He was rejected from all of them? Does he just not have a single talented bone in his body?'
"We have trials in a few months. Until then, go home and prepare."
"B-but I'm ready now-"
From his side, a dark blue haired Amazoness stepped up, slamming her fist against her palm.
"That's it! We let you waste our time for way too long. You wanna prove yourself? Then come at me!"
The man stared at her, flinching as her burning eyes glared into his soul.
"O-on second thought, I'll take some time to train. Y'know... don't want to pull a bicep. These massive muscles are hard to maintain. Maintenance and all that."
He scurried off, his previous bravado nowhere in sight.
Dain sighed, turning back to his two friends.
"I don't know where these fools are popping out from. They always show up a month or so before recruitment, but it's getting ridiculous now."
Noir chuckled, palming his eastern blade.
"It's just a sign that the new generation is doing well. Speaking of them, Finn was telling me about the Hephaestus Familia putting up a new blade for sale. I heard it was made from the Monster Rex of floor 35. I think they'll give me a discount since we brought them most of the key materials."
Bara glowered in the direction the man had ran off towards.
"I don't particularly care for new recruits. Our current strength is fine as it is."
Dain frowned at his comrade's nonchalance.
"With the resurgence of Evilus activity, I think we should at least shore up our defenses. Gain some competent new blood."
"With meat shields?"
"With trained members," Noir intervened.
"Wait, stop. What are you little kids doing here," the Dwarf rumbled.
""...""
Two amber and golden eyes stared at the trio.
"Let us in your Familia."
______________________________________________
Some Thoughts:
Finn is canonically the first Loki Familia member which means the Familia itself is at maximum 32 years old based on his age when his family died.
However, Noir, Bara, and Dain are three of the older Loki Familia members that were supposedly more experienced than the original 3 Loki trio, said to have taught Finn, Riveria, and Gareth. The story isn't described any further than that (at least according to my research, lmk if I'm wrong), so I'll write my own version of their story and how they joined the Loki Familia.
In other words, I'm assuming they joined the Loki Familia from another Familia, which explains joining the Loki Familia later on, but having more experience.
Also, on the topic of transferring Familia, there's a slight conflict. For basics, we all know Falna is gifted by the Gods on each member of their Familia. The best explanation I've read is that it's like a book that can be added to or locked and unlocked, but can't be erased. The only way members lose their powers is if their Falna is sealed or 'locked.' (This is different than the locking that Gods do on their own members so their Status can't be leaked)
When Adventurers transfer Familias, their former God unlocks their Falna so the new God can write their name and then their Status is back to normal, like Mikoto transferring from the Takemikazuchi Familia to the Hestia Familia.
Now here's where the conflict occurs. When God's 'die' and are sent back to Heaven, what happens to the Falna of their Familia members? Are they automatically sealed? Is their Falna just fine? Do the returning Gods choose to lock some and unlock others?
There's also inconsistency in the actual canon as well. During the Great Feud, 9 Familias were destroyed which left multiple Adventurers "unable to defend," suggesting their Falna was sealed. However, when the Ishtar Familia was destroyed, many of them were able to switch Familia. Same for Apollo Familia. Generally, the anime supports Falna being left unsealed after a God goes to Heaven. There are also conflicting situations of deity-less Adventurers that range from being able to use their Falna, to being unable to use their Falna, and to being able to join another Familia.
Also similar case for Zeus and Hera Familia. I'm guessing Zeus went back to Heaven some time between Bell's birth and his arrival in Orario and Hera passed sometime before that, but Zald and Alfia still had their Falnas. Still, nothing is confirmed for their deaths so I'm leaving that untouched.
Basically, being able to join another Familia suggests either that their Falna was already unlocked and never got sealed in the first place with their Gods' deaths, or that all of their new Gods had a way of removing the seal. I personally believe in the former since I don't think it would be that universally simple to remove the seal without consent from the other God.
For now, I'm gonna say that when Gods return to Heaven, their members retain their Falna and can still use it. The Great Feud case with Evilus is just a special case that will have a future explanation.
TLDR:
Falna is goofy when God's go zoom back up, I'll base it off my own hypothesis to try to make a reasonable explanation for this story.
Feel free to comment your own opinions on how the process works, or comment anything at all. They're all so fun!
Also, little Aiz is so cute~
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
noveler132
noveler132 I was reading through some of the summaries for the extra Danmachi stuff, yk Memoria Freese arcs, light novel Freya and Ryuu stories, and I got a lot of inspiration for one of the future story arcs. Let's just say we enjoy expanding our boundaries around here ;)
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